Moments earlier, Hao Yu had been brimming with excitement, rubbing his hands like a shady merchant about to make the deal of a lifetime. Now, he felt like a customer who’d bought a "miracle pill" only to find out it was just powdered sugar.

"I refuse to believe another 150 years of lifespan won’t push my five-element spiritual roots to at least four-element spiritual roots!" Hao Yu declared, his voice brimming with both defiance and desperation.

"System, invest another 150 years of lifespan into evolving my spiritual roots!"

Prompts began to appear before him, each line delivering a mix of suspense and frustration.

[You’ve invested 10 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Your five-element spiritual roots’ sensitivity has increased but failed to transform into four-element spiritual roots.]

[You’ve invested 100 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Your five-element spiritual roots’ sensitivity has increased but failed to transform into four-element spiritual roots.]

[You’ve invested 150 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Your five-element spiritual roots’ sensitivity has increased and has successfully transformed into four-element spiritual roots.]

Hao Yu’s heart clenched at the first two prompts. His breath was caught in his throat.

"This can’t be happening… all that lifespan wasted?"

But as the final prompt appeared, relief washed over him like a summer rain. He exhaled a shaky breath and slumped back.

"Finally!" he muttered. "If 250 years of lifespan hadn’t been enough to evolve my roots, I’d have… I don’t even know! Cursed the heavens? Dismantled this system? Or maybe just cried in a corner."

A subtle sensation coursed through his body. Something had changed within him, though he couldn’t quite place what. Curious, he followed the cultivation manual given by Cheng Lao and began to refine spiritual energy.

At first, he hesitated, fearing the slow and tedious process he had always struggled with. But the moment he started, his eyes widened in shock.

"The speed… it’s nearly nine times faster than before!" Hao Yu exclaimed, awe overtaking him.

The difference was staggering. Refining spiritual energy, which had once felt like drawing water from a dry well, now flowed like a river after a storm.

"I underestimated the grades of spiritual roots," he murmured, a grin spreading across his face. "This… this was worth every year of lifespan I spent!"

As he marveled at his newfound efficiency, his thoughts turned to the highest grade of spiritual roots. His eyes gleamed with ambition.

"If just reaching four-element spiritual roots boosts my speed ninefold, how much faster would I be with dual-element or even heavenly-grade roots? A thousandfold? More?"

The idea electrified him. Determined, Hao Yu resolved to save at least a thousand years of lifespan before attempting his next upgrade.

........

Four Years Later

The medicine garden remained largely unchanged, save for a few subtle modifications made by Hao Yu. Over the years, he had extended the garden, increasing the production of spiritual plants.

By day, he planted and cared for the garden, meticulously tending to every sprout. By night, he cultivated diligently using the Spirit Gathering Sutra.

Now, four years later, Hao Yu had reached the seventh level of Qi Refining. His progress had been nothing short of astounding, though he had worked tirelessly for every bit of it.

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At the one-year mark, when Hao Yu finally saved up a thousand years of lifespan, something extraordinary happened. A new system function was unlocked—Lifespan Investigation.

This function allows Hao Yu to inspect lifespan of others. He can view the remaining lifespan of people, beasts, and even plants within a certain range.

Hao Yu then spent an entire millennium’s worth of lifespan to upgrade his four-element spiritual roots to three-element spiritual roots.

Though the cost had been staggering—1,000 years of hard-earned lifespan—he was immensely satisfied with the results. The speed of refining spiritual energy had increased by at least sixfold compared to when he had four-element roots.

Still, this wasn’t enough for Hao Yu. For the past three years, he had worked tirelessly, saving every ounce of lifespan he could scrape together. Today was the day he would reach the coveted 5,000-year mark, a milestone he’d set for himself.

With this accumulated wealth, he planned to invest heavily in evolving both his spiritual roots and his cultivation techniques. The leap in his abilities would be monumental—or so he hoped.

After tending to the spiritual plants in the garden, Hao Yu noticed several had started showing signs of maturity. These weren’t just any plants—they were nourished by special water infused with the energy of spiritual stones.

This water, enriched with spiritual essence, significantly accelerated the maturation process of the plants, making them prime candidates for harvest.

For a brief moment, a mischievous thought crossed his mind: What if I drank some of this spiritual water? Surely it would enhance his cultivation. But the rational part of him quickly doused the idea. If anyone caught him, the consequences would be severe.

Losing his job in the herb garden would mean losing his primary source of lifespan income. Just imagining such a disaster made his stomach churn.

“Focus, Hao Yu,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head. “No job, no lifespan. No lifespan, no cultivation. And no cultivation means no future.” The risk wasn’t worth it.

Once the matured plants were carefully harvested, Hao Yu submitted them to Cheng Lao, as was protocol. Wasting no time, he hurried back to his courtyard. Locking the door behind him, he sat cross-legged on his bed.

His eyes darted around the room, scanning every corner to ensure no one was lurking. Satisfied that he was alone, he took a deep breath.

“Status,” he whispered, his voice trembling with excitement and anticipation.

[Name: Hao Yu]

[Lifespan: 18/5021]

[Spiritual Root: Three Element Spiritual Roots (Lifespan can be used for evolution)]

[Cultivation: Seventh Level of Qi Refining (Lifespan can be used to improve cultivation)]

[Technique: Basic Spirit Gathering Sutra (Master) (Lifespan can be used to increase proficiency)]

Seeing the dazzling 5,000 years of lifespan displayed in his status, Hao Yu’s heart raced with excitement. His lips curled into a smug grin as a bold thought crossed his mind. Even Soul Transformation cultivators don’t have this much lifespan, right?

In this world, cultivation stages were clearly defined: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and finally, Soul Transformation. Hao Yu recalled overhearing a conversation in the library one day, where someone mentioned that Nascent Soul cultivators typically lived for 500 years.

Based on that, he estimated that even Soul Transformation experts couldn’t live beyond 2,000 years.

Heh, look at me, a mere Qi Refining cultivator, already outliving top-tier experts. The irony!

Pulling himself out of his triumphant daydream, Hao Yu decided it was time to invest a significant portion of his precious lifespan into evolving his spiritual roots. His eyes gleamed with determination as he gave the command.

“System, invest 1,000 years of lifespan into the evolution of my spiritual roots.”

As soon as he spoke, glowing prompts began to appear before his eyes.

[You’ve invested 10 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Your three-element spiritual roots sensitivity has increased slightly but failed to transform into dual-element spiritual roots.]

[You’ve invested 100 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Your three-element spiritual roots sensitivity has increased slightly but failed to transform into dual-element spiritual roots.]

......

[You’ve invested 1,000 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Your three-element spiritual roots sensitivity has increased slightly but failed to transform into dual-element spiritual roots. Please invest more.]

Numerous failed prompts flashed before Hao Yu’s eyes, but he remained unfazed. After all, he had previously used 1,000 years of lifespan to evolve his four-element spiritual roots into three-element spiritual roots. Expecting the same amount to transform three-element spiritual roots into dual-element spiritual roots was clearly unrealistic.

"System, invest another 2,000 years of lifespan to upgrade my spiritual roots."

As expected, a series of notifications began to flash before his eyes, each one testing his patience.

[You’ve invested 10 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Minor improvement have been detected in three-element spiritual root sensitivity. Transformation to dual-element spiritual roots unsuccessful.]

[You’ve invested 100 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Minor improvement have been detected in three-element spiritual root sensitivity. Transformation to dual-element spiritual roots unsuccessful.]

[You’ve invested 500 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Minor improvement have been detected in three-element spiritual root sensitivity. Transformation to dual-element spiritual roots unsuccessful.]

...

[You’ve invested 1500 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Noticeable refinement in three-element spiritual root sensitivity. Transformation to dual-element spiritual roots still unsuccessful.]

[You’ve invested 2000 years of lifespan into the evolution of spiritual roots. Breakthrough achieved! Your three-element spiritual roots have successfully evolved into dual-element spiritual roots. Congratulations.]

Hao Yu let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, his eyes glued to the final notification. Relief and excitement surged through him, his lips curling into a triumphant smile.

"Finally!" he muttered, feeling an indescribable sense of accomplishment.

With only 2,000 years of lifespan left in his reservoir, Hao Yu contemplated his next move carefully. After a brief moment of deliberation, he resolved to invest 1,500 years of lifespan to upgrade the Spirit Gathering Sutra that Cheng Lao had given him.

"Time to turn this basic manual into something extraordinary," Hao Yu muttered, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

As soon as he issued the command, a cascade of notifications began flashing before him, each one bringing a mix of suspense and excitement.

[You’ve invested 50 years of lifespan into the evolution of cultivation manual - Spirit Gathering Sutra. Minor optimization have been detected in Spirit Gathering Sutra. Refinement efficiency increased slightly.]

[You’ve invested 100 years of lifespan into the evolution of cultivation manual - Spirit Gathering Sutra. Significant enhancements have been noted. Refinement efficiency improved by 20%.]

[You’ve invested 500 years of lifespan into the evolution of cultivation manual - Spirit Gathering Sutra. Spirit Gathering Sutra has undergone a qualitative change. Refinement efficiency has been improved by 50℅.]

.......

[You’ve invested 1500 years of lifespan into the evolution of cultivation manual - Spirit Gathering Sutra. Monumental breakthrough! Spirit Gathering Sutra has evolved into Heavenly Spirit Refinement Art. Refinement efficiency doubled. Spiritual energy absorption has been harmonized with dual-element roots for maximum compatibility.]