I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Afterwards, Xu Zhou took an opportunity to ask for half a day off under the pretext of exchanging cultivation techniques.

As an apprentice, there aren't many reasons to take leave. Choosing a cultivation method is one, but you can only ask for half a day. If you don't find the required method this time, the next application won't be until at least a year later.

Fortunately, Xu Zhou knew in advance that the anti-aging technique did exist, and this time his goal was clear.

After inquiring for a while in the library, he finally found a method to preserve youth that met his needs. Unexpectedly, there was more than one such method.

"The Springtime Youth Preservation Technique" is not a cultivation method, but a secret art. Once one masters the basics of this technique, one can maintain eternal youth and remain youthful even in old age. The price is only ten contribution points.

"The Longevity Technique" is the main cultivation method. Once mastered, it can solidify one's vital energy, thus extending lifespan. It requires sixty contribution points to exchange.

Aside from both being able to preserve youthful appearance, they are almost incomparable.

The former is easy to cultivate, and its effect is simply to preserve youth. Once mastered, the latter can extend the lifespan of a Qi Refining stage cultivator by at least one or two decades. It is also a powerful cultivation technique, and its value is far greater than the former.

Even though Xu Zhou could have lived a long life through studying, he was still quite tempted by the latter.

He has enough contribution points to exchange for this cultivation technique.

However, Xu Zhou did not make a decision immediately, but instead spent some time carefully reading through the introduction of "Longevity Technique".

He was puzzled. Since this cultivation method could prolong life, even if the magical power it produced was relatively weak, it should have attracted countless cultivators to practice it, and it should have been collected by the sect as a cultivation method that was forbidden to be passed on to outsiders. Why would it be placed in the library for people to read?

After careful investigation, he finally understood why the "Longevity Technique" was not well-received.

The reason is simple: this technique is extremely difficult to master and takes a considerable amount of time to learn.

This is enough to deter cultivators. If it takes more than ten years for a cultivator to even learn an introductory cultivation technique, then even if it can extend their lifespan by one or two decades, it would still be a loss for most people.

Moreover, extending lifespan by one or two decades is hypothetical. The actual lifespan extension effect will fluctuate depending on the cultivator's specific circumstances, and the final result is not stable.

Furthermore, the magical power cultivated through the "Longevity Technique" is unremarkable, so naturally, no one cares about this technique. Wouldn't it be better to use that time to learn something else instead of practicing it?

Even if Xu Zhou could learn indefinitely, he still felt that spending so much time learning this was a bit of a waste.

"My appearance is already arousing suspicion, and I must find a way to cover it up immediately. Everyone knows that the Longevity Technique takes too long to practice, so this technique can no longer be used as an excuse."

Therefore, only the "Spring Essence Youth Preservation Technique" can be exchanged.

His gaze fell once again on the simple and ancient cover of "The Art of Longevity".

"As for this cultivation technique, I'll make a note of it for now. I can look it up later when I have time."

After exchanging for the "Spring Essence Youthful Appearance Technique," Xu Zhou didn't linger and took the secret manual back to Baicaotang.

That afternoon, he pretended not to notice and "accidentally" exposed the book to Xiao Bing.

Soon, the other apprentices all knew that he had exchanged for this cultivation technique.

They never expected that Xu Zhou, who had poor aptitude and no background, would not focus on studying the medicine classics but instead exchange his attention for a youth-preserving technique.

After a brief moment of surprise, Xiao Bing glanced at Xu Zhou again and suddenly smiled.

"I think I understand."

"Are you planning to make a living off your looks?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Xiao Bing slowly said, "Junior Brother Xu hardly cultivates at all, focusing all his attention on studying the scriptures. But even if he learns them to the extreme, he will only be a first-level alchemist. This accumulation will ultimately not be enough to establish a foundation."

"However, if he could find a female cultivator with good aptitude, become her Daoist partner, and have offspring, then with Junior Brother Xu's status as an alchemist, his offspring would have a very high starting point."

He glanced at the location where Xu Zhou had placed the book on the art of preserving youth.

"With this face intact, life should be pretty good from now on."

The others were stunned for a long time before they finally realized what was happening.

"I see, Junior Brother Xu has thought far ahead!"

"Since Junior Brother Xu wants to leave behind descendants, he naturally needs to carefully select his bride. It would be a waste of his efforts to just find any ordinary person. Therefore, Junior Brother Xu has long since set his sights on the female disciples of the inner sect."

"Of course, those female disciples are too picky, and being an alchemist alone might not be enough to win them over. But Junior Brother Xu is handsome and likely to be popular. As long as he can retain his good looks, why worry about not finding someone in the future?"

Xiao Bing concluded with a smile, "I used to think that Junior Brother Xu was too young to be studious. I never expected this kid to be so meticulous. Hehe, I'm no match for him, no match for him at all."

Before long, the news spread within the small circle of Baicaotang.

The impact wasn't too great, since Xu Zhou was just an apprentice, but when it reached Steward Zhang, it still caused some minor trouble.

During the next test, Deacon Zhang's face was particularly gloomy. He kept him behind and gave him a cold reprimand, saying that his attempt to climb the ranks using the art of preserving youth was purely a crooked idea and that he should not be too ambitious.

Xu Zhou was thoroughly scolded and felt quite helpless.

However, in retrospect, it wasn't a bad thing for him.

Xiao Bing did him a great favor.

From now on, no matter how much his appearance remains unchanged, others will only think that he has impure thoughts and will never think of anything else.

He didn't care about being misunderstood by others. He wasn't really just a teenager like he appeared; these jokes couldn't affect him at all.

The only problem was that Deacon Zhang was much stricter with him.

Xu Zhou remained calm and focused on her studies, preparing for the monthly tests.

His performance was impeccable. After observing him for a period of time, Deacon Zhang saw that his progress was not slowing down and assumed that he had listened to his advice, so his attitude returned to normal.

Business as usual.

Xu Zhou's familiarity with the classics of medicine has steadily improved.

When he first joined Baicaotang, Xiao Bing and the others had a far greater understanding of the Materia Medica than he did. But over the course of a year, his mastery of the Materia Medica steadily improved, and the gap between them narrowed.

Others also thought this was normal, after all, Xu Zhou had almost completely given up cultivation, and if his research on the medicine classics didn't yield any significant results, then it would truly be outrageous.

Even though he learns very quickly, people take it for granted that his cultivation level is still at the first level of Qi Refining.

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Xu Zhou and the others went to the pharmacy to identify medicines again.

This is a process they've always been accustomed to, only today is slightly different.

Upon entering the pharmacy, instead of the usually aloof and rigid senior brother, a strange young girl was sitting inside.

His expression was gentle, and his eyes were soft, completely different from the serious atmosphere that usually permeated this place.

The apprentices looked closely and were all slightly taken aback.

The girl noticed them, looked up, and said softly, "Please sit down."

The group snapped out of their daze and sat down. Occasionally, they would glance cautiously at the girl, seemingly wondering where she had come from.

The girl didn't leave them puzzled for long. After they were seated, she slowly said, "Your senior brother Ke has to leave urgently today, so I will be conducting the herb identification class in his place."

The others suddenly understood and accepted the explanation.

The herb identification class proceeded as usual, except that the girls used a booklet to compare and select herbs when they picked them up.

When the medicinal herbs were placed in front of him, Xu Zhou keenly sensed that the difficulty in identifying them was about the same as usual, just at a level where he was confident but still somewhat challenged.

Clearly, the booklet in the girl's hand was left by Senior Brother Ke to ensure that the medicine identification class would proceed as scheduled.

However, having a different teacher inevitably leads to distraction, especially since this young girl is exceptionally beautiful and leaves a fragrance as she walks around the pharmacy, making one's heart flutter.

Xu Zhou remained calm and composed, quickly regaining his composure and steadily advancing the process of identifying the herbs.

When the final inspection results came out, the girl nodded upon hearing Xu Zhou accurately name all the medicinal herbs, a faint smile appearing on her face: "You must be Xu Zhou, not bad."

This simple compliment was followed up by Xiao Bing and the others even after the course ended.

"Junior Brother Xu, you're quite lucky; you left a good impression. Do you know who that woman was?"

Hearing Xiao Bing's question, Xu Zhou couldn't help but ask curiously, "Could it be an inner disciple?"

"good."

Xiao Bing said, "She entered the inner sect on her own merit, unlike us who got in through connections. I heard that when she entered the inner sect, even the Foundation Establishment elders were interested."

Xu Zhou was startled: "Why would someone like that come to Bai Cao Tang?"

"You don't understand," Xiao Bing said with a smile, "This senior sister also has the surname Ke."

Xu Zhou suddenly realized: "No wonder she was able to replace Senior Brother Ke."

Xiao Bing continued, "Actually, she was originally an apprentice at Baicaotang. Her aptitude wasn't particularly good before, but she unexpectedly awakened a cultivation physique while working as an apprentice, which is why she was exceptionally accepted into the inner sect."

Xu Zhou never expected that this senior sister had such a past.

However, it was just a fleeting surprise. After all, he had no real connection with this Senior Sister Ke, and leaving a good impression wouldn't affect his current life.

...

Inside the pharmacy, the young woman surnamed Ke sat upright in a chair, carefully studying the classic texts in her hands.

At that moment, a figure slowly walked in.

The girl looked up and a smile immediately appeared on her face: "Brother, you're back?"

"I'm done," Ke Yanfeng breathed a sigh of relief. "Deacon Yuan's request was urgent this time, but thankfully it wasn't difficult, and I've finally finished dealing with it."

"Thank you for your hard work." The girl stood up and offered her seat.

Ke Yanfeng didn't stand on ceremony, slumping back in his chair and letting Qiaoshu, an inner disciple, massage his shoulders and legs. A rare, stiff smile appeared on his usually impassive face as he asked, "Qiaoshu, how did the herb identification go today? Those kids didn't offend you, did they?"

The girl named Ke Qiaoshu laughed and said, "They're also inner disciples. I've met them before. Why would they offend me?"

"There is one person who is not an inner disciple."

"Is that Xu Zhou?"

Ke Qiaoshu smiled slightly: "He is indeed good, a good disciple who is eager to improve. Among everyone, he is the only one who can identify all the medicinal herbs. No wonder my senior brother often mentions him."