Verdant Cloud Continent — Evernight Sect, Outer Mountain Herb Garden
The sun beat down like a cruel overseer, scorching the earth with merciless heat. Cicadas screeched from the treetops, echoing the exhaustion of the dozens of disciples hunched over rows of spiritual herbs.
Sweat dripped freely from young foreheads, soaking their robes as they toiled under the midsummer sky. Some complained softly, others worked with forced discipline, but all cast occasional glances toward the nearby hill, where inner disciples lounged beneath shade canopies, sipping spiritual tea and laughing.
Among the humble workers was a skinny youth with loose gray robes and sun-darkened skin. His back was slightly hunched, his hands calloused and stained with soil. He moved slowly but with focus, carefully tending to the glowing herb stalks without complaint.
His name was Lin Xuan, age 17.
To the sect, he was nothing more than a servant boy.
He didn't have a spiritual root. He wasn't a disciple. And he had no master.
He was assigned to the Herb Garden—a quiet punishment that allowed the sect to forget he existed.
But Lin Xuan didn't curse his fate. In fact, in his silent way, he embraced it.
Because today… something had changed.
He knelt beside a row of Spirit-Gathering Grass, a low-tier spiritual herb that shimmered faintly with green light. They were nothing special—merely used to brew Qi-tonics for new initiates.
Lin Xuan reached out, brushing his fingers gently along the root of one plant.
The moment he touched it, pain erupted in his skull like lightning.
His eyes widened. The world faded into darkness for a heartbeat—then a silver light burst into existence before his eyes, suspended in midair.
No one else saw it. Only him.
> [Lifespan Absorbed: Spirit-Gathering Grass — 1 Year]
[Lifespan +1]
[Initializing — Life Devourer System]
[Welcome, Host]
Lin Xuan's hand trembled.As a web novel reader from previous life,he know what this is .
This is sign that his Golden finger that is exclusive to Transmigrator has arrived.
He stared at the faded stalk of grass. It hadn't been crushed or broken, yet the vibrant green had dulled slightly—as if some part of its vitality had been stolen.
Suddenly, the light vanished, replaced by a glowing translucent screen that hovered before his eyes.
---
[Life Devourer Interface]
Name: Lin Xuan
Age: 17
Lifespan: 17 / 49
Cultivation: Mortal (Qi Unawakened)
Spiritual Root: None
Techniques: None
Special Ability:
★ Life Devourer-
[Can Absorb lifespan from plants, beasts, and sentient beings.
Use lifespan to evolve body, techniques, spiritual root, or cultivation base.
Hidden by default; cannot be detected by others.]
---
He forgot to breathe for several seconds.
Lifespan? Absorbed?
Lin Xuan had never even dreamed of cultivating. Without a spiritual root, he was barred from the path the others took for granted. And now, this…?
He touched another herb.
> [Lifespan Absorbed: Spirit-Gathering Grass — 0.8 Years]
[Lifespan +0.8 | Total: 17 / 49.8]
His breath caught. The dullness returned to the herb once more.
It was real.
He could steal time—from life itself.
A thin, trembling smile stretched across his lips.
---
"Hey, you!"
A loud voice tore through the air like a whip.
Lin Xuan stiffened, then turned slowly toward the approaching figure. A tall, well-groomed youth in bright green robes strolled down the garden path, a sneer playing on his face. Behind him, two lackeys laughed like hyenas.
Zhao Chen. Outer sect disciple. Son of Elder Zhao. One of Lin Xuan's many tormentors.
"Slacking again, dog?" Zhao Chen asked, flicking a small pebble toward him. It bounced off Lin Xuan's shoulder harmlessly. "What's the matter, forgot how to dig weeds?"
"I was just focusing on the roots," Lin Xuan said softly.
"Focusing?" Zhao Chen scoffed. "Trash like you doesn't need to focus. Just pull weeds and know your place."
He stepped closer, casting his shadow over Lin Xuan. "No Spiritual root. No hope for cultivation . You're lucky we let you wear the sect's uniform."
Lin Xuan didn't reply. He kept his gaze low, unprovoking.
But inside… he wasn't angry.
He was calm.
And quietly, laughing.
Zhao Chen's insults didn't matter anymore. The heavens had finally given him a weapon. And it didn't involve begging anyone for pity.
---
Later that evening, when the sun dipped below the peaks and the other disciples filed away to eat and rest, Lin Xuan lingered behind under the excuse of tool cleanup.
He wandered deeper into the herb garden, where old, near-withered stalks remained unattended.
One by one, he touched them.
> [Absorbed: Dustroot Orchid — 0.6 Years]
[Absorbed: Dewdrop Vine — 0.4 Years]
[Absorbed: Faintmoon Leaf — 0.9 Years]
[Lifespan: 17 / 52.7]
His eyes shone in the dark.
These were worthless plants. But to him, they were lifespan.
He sat beside a withered pine tree on the edge of the field and opened his status panel again.
---
[Life Devourer Interface]
Lifespan: 17 / 52.7
Available for Allocation: +3.7 Years
Options:
1. Enhance Spiritual Root
2. Advance Cultivation
3. Strengthen Physique
4. Store for Future Use
---
His fingers trembled over the "Enhance Spiritual Root" option.
He had none. Cultivation without one was impossible.
But now…
He selected it.
> [Allocating 3 Years of Lifespan to Spiritual Root Evolution…]
[Spiritual Root Acquired: Low-Grade Wood Root]
[Remaining Lifespan: 17 / 49.7]
[Cultivation Path Unlocked]
Lin Xuan gasped as warmth surged through his body. His chest tightened, and his spine straightened. For the first time in his life, he felt Qi stir faintly within him.
Weak. Pathetic. But real.
He laughed under his breath, chest heaving.
The boy who once couldn't even sense Qi… now walked the path of cultivation.
---
Above him, stars twinkled like cold fires in the night sky.
Lin Xuan sat alone in the shadows, hands dirty, back sore, but soul alight with something new.
Hope.
Ambition.
And a hunger that whispered with every heartbeat.
> "Life is time."
"Time is power."
"And power… I shall steal."
---
End of Chapter 1