The mountains stretched endlessly, bordered by dense forests.
Outer perimeter of the Cangmu Sect.
Spirit Tree Garden.
The October weather was pleasantly mild.
Under a crude sunshade structure, a middle-aged man reclined on a rocking chair, basking in the sunlight.
Beside him, four men and women in their twenties or thirties leisurely cracked melon seeds and drank tea, occasionally casting sidelong glances at the laborers in the Spirit Tree Garden.
If anyone slacked off, the long whip on their waists would surely strike.
At this moment, the middle-aged man on the rocking chair suddenly opened his eyes and said, "What time is it?"
"It's noon, time for lunch," responded a sharp-looking young man.
Yang Shi, in his early twenties, was one of the supervisors in the Spirit Tree Garden, with a Qi Refining Second Layer cultivation.
"I'll take a stroll." With that, the middle-aged man stood up and spoke.
Gu An, the lead supervisor of the Spirit Tree Garden.
The others didn't mind; this kind of strolling had happened more than a few times.
At that moment, Gu An walked alone through the Spirit Tree Garden.
The Spirit Tree Garden was home to various spirit woods, but the majority were Vajra Wood, which was both a material for construction and for refining artifacts.
It could also be used for alchemy.
Though in this case, it would simply be firewood for the pill furnace.
Even a single piece could burn for an entire day and night.
Gu An wandered around for a while, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Still haven't seen the person she mentioned."
Gu An's face bore traces of confusion.
He had been reincarnated here for some time now.
Ending up in the body of a lead supervisor wasn't the worst thing—there was a bit of authority, at least.
Even though this was the cultivation world, it was safer than being at the bottom rung as a loose cultivator or laborer.
However, when he assimilated the memories of his body's original owner, he discovered that twenty years ago, the prior Gu An had been chosen by a woman and fed a poison pill.
He would have to serve her whenever summoned.
The antidote was given once every ten years.
For the first ten years, no tasks were assigned, and, to Gu An's relief, someone delivered the antidote when the time came.
Now, it was the second decade.
He had thought the antidote would soon arrive.
Instead, he received a mission from her not long ago.
She said someone would escape to the Spirit Tree Garden, and he must capture them alive.
Her tone was clear—no capture, no antidote.
On top of that, the mission demanded a twenty-something man reincarnated into the body of a forty-something-year-old—losing two decades of life out of nowhere.
Sighing aloud, Gu An couldn't help feeling melancholic.
"I'm still too weak."
His life wasn't his own to control.
With such thoughts in mind, he glanced at his status panel.
[Name: Gu An]
[Cultivation: Third Level of Qi Refining]
[Status: Poisoned, on the verge of an outbreak]
[Magic: 45/50]
[Hard Cultivation: 20/100]
[Ring of Destiny]
This was something he discovered after reincarnating; the status always displayed "Poisoned."
Luckily, the poison hadn't flared up yet; everything else seemed normal.
Because of this, he was convinced that the person he was to contact hadn't been lying.
If this mission went wrong, it would indeed cost him his life.
The "Magic" value reflected his progress in learning spells.
"Hard Cultivation" corresponded to cultivation techniques.
Without an appropriate cultivation technique, no advancement was possible.
The way to increase these numbers was baffling—logging.
Those ubiquitous advertisements about chopping trees to grow stronger had unexpectedly been real.
Whenever timing allowed, he would join in on logging.
However, Magic and Hard Cultivation points were notoriously hard to accumulate.
The Ring of Destiny worked more randomly.
But, at times, it could save his life.
Just then, the Ring of Destiny showed some activity. Gu An extended his consciousness to examine it.
Moments later, strings of text appeared in his mind.
[Yesterday, Yang Shi discovered he had decent talent in talisman making and decided to sell talismans to earn Spirit Stones in preparation for advancing to the Third Level of Qi Refining. That evening, the Chen Family's young lady met with him. After several rounds of drinks, Yang Shi cursed and claimed you were worthless, occupying the lead supervisor position for ten years without stepping down. He declared that as soon as he reached the Third Level of Qi Refining, he would challenge you for the position. At forty-something, you wouldn't stand a chance. He planned to step over you and make you beg for mercy, while the Chen Family promised to help handle all arrangements, urging him to make his move.]
Gu An sighed as he read the Ring of Destiny's notifications.
"So Yang Shi has a talent for talisman making. No wonder the families are paying attention to him."
The sects often had some powerful affiliated families.
But entering the Inner Sect was the ultimate goal—it conferred the highest status.
As for how the Ring of Destiny triggered its insights, Gu An still hadn't figured that out.
But it definitely involved someone he knew fairly well.
Additionally, the Ring could only reveal past events, not the present or future.
Seeing what Yang Shi was planning, Gu An sighed internally, "These people are way too ambitious."
Yang Shi was someone he had promoted.
No trace of gratitude at all.
Just discovering some talent in talisman making, and he already wanted to stomp on him.
"I need to find time to chop some wood, accumulate magic points, and upgrade the Mountain Opening Fist."
When Gu An reincarnated, he only knew two spells: Fireball Technique and Mountain Opening Fist.
The Fireball Technique was the most basic, but the Mountain Opening Fist had reached Small Success, which earned him the lead supervisor role.
He had improved it once before, and it was now at Great Success.
One more level, and it would reach Perfection.
At that point, he would face scant competition even within the Third Level of Qi Refining.
Rustle, rustle!
Suddenly, there was a strange noise.
Gu An froze for a moment, his caution heightened.
'It's happening?'
He stopped where he was, scanning his surroundings.
After so many days of waiting, the target had finally appeared.
The contact had claimed he could handle the situation, but Gu An wasn't convinced.
Focusing his perception, Gu An caught no more unusual sounds around him.
But the unmistakable scent of blood lingered in the air.
It came from ahead on the left.
He restrained his Qi and silently approached.
Of course, he kept some distance first, ensuring there would be room to react once the target was in sight.
As he got closer, the metallic tang of blood became stronger.
Not just that, but he also picked up faint breathing.
The person was injured, and badly.
They were just behind that large tree.
Moving silently, Gu An crept closer. Just as he began to peek out, a sudden sense of danger overwhelmed him.
He had been discovered.
Without hesitation, he backed away.
Yet an attack came crashing down like a mountain, radiating an oppressive force.
At once, he channeled all his power into the Mountain Opening Fist.
Blood Qi surged through his hands as violent energy burst forth.
Boom!
His fist collided with something solid, yet even the fully-powered Mountain Opening Fist failed to budge it.
Thud! He staggered back a few steps.
Stabilizing himself, he saw a disheveled and severely injured woman, now forming a hand seal.
Gu An didn't hesitate—he lunged forward and struck a swift kick.
Thud!
His blow landed squarely on her abdomen.
The woman flew straight into a nearby tree.
Pfft!
She spat out a mouthful of blood.
Only then did Gu An breathe a sigh of relief—it turned out she was at the end of her rope.
That attack just now wasn't ordinary; if not for his mastery of the Mountain Opening Fist, he might not have survived.
Sure enough, he couldn't fully trust his handler's words.
A starved camel was still bigger than a horse.
The severely injured woman looked at Gu An's attire in startled recognition, "A disciple of the Cangmu Sect?"
She weakly pulled out her identity token as though clutching at a lifeline. "I'm an Inner Sect disciple. Take me back to the sect, and I promise to help you reach Foundation Establishment as repayment."
Foundation Establishment?
Gu An's heart skipped a beat. Reaching Foundation Establishment would make him a prominent figure in this little corner of the world.
He hadn't even met someone of such caliber before.
Yet he couldn't help her—he needed the antidote.
Seeing Gu An remain unmoved, the woman froze, then her face contorted with fury as a realization dawned on her. "You're that bitch's mole?"