The entry for cultivating immortality states that after dying a hundred times, I attained immortalit

The deathly aura in the cellar was still slowly circulating.

Jiang Bai sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. The Corpse Poison Body beside him was absorbing the Yin energy gathered around him. Dark golden poison patterns appeared and disappeared under the skin like living things, constantly rising and falling as if "breathing". In the past few days, he had clearly felt that the death energy of the wasteland was very different from ordinary Yin energy - it was more concentrated and ancient, and it was also mixed with some resentment and obsession that were difficult to completely eliminate.

These resentments may be harmful to others, but after being transformed by the poisonous patterns, they become a special kind of "nourishment".

He opened his eyes and looked at the opposite wall.

While cleaning the cellar during the day, he noticed extremely faint traces of an array in a crevice in one of the walls. These traces were very old, almost worn away by time, but upon closer inspection, it could still be seen that they were runes drawn with some kind of animal blood mixed with cinnabar.

"It's neither a defensive formation nor a warning formation."

Jiang Bai stood up and walked to the wall.

He extended his right index finger, the tip of which gleamed with a dark golden light, and then gently pressed it onto a relatively well-defined rune node on the wall.

hum.

A very slight vibration was felt inside the wall.

The rune flashed briefly, a pale red light, like a dying ember, before going out completely in an instant. But in that brief moment, Jiang Bai sensed a faint spatial fluctuation coming from behind the wall.

"A mezzanine?"

He withdrew his finger, took two steps back, and carefully examined the wall. The wall was rough and covered with chisel marks, no different from the other three walls of the cellar; however, if one used the [Killing Intent Perception] to "observe," one could sense that the flow of death energy behind this wall was slightly slower than the other three walls—as if something was hindering the natural penetration of the death energy.

Jiang Bai hesitated for a moment, then placed his palm on the wall.

Nine dark gold poisonous patterns spread from his right arm to his palm. The poisonous power flowing on the patterns subtly changed, from an offensive stance to a defensive one, transforming into wisps of pure yin-attribute spiritual power that merged into the rock crevices.

He was testing the waters.

If there are traps or mechanisms behind the wall, such a pure infusion of yin energy could very well trigger the restrictions; if there is nothing behind the wall...

Click.

A slight clicking sound of a mechanism turning was heard.

The three-foot square rock in the center of the wall caved inward and then slid to the left, revealing a dark hole behind it.

There were no traps or mechanisms. Only a stronger, more stale smell wafted over, a mixture of rust and dust.

Jiang Bai did not go in immediately. He stood at the cave entrance and fully activated his [Killing Intent Perception] to carefully investigate the situation inside the cave.

The cave wasn't deep, only about two or three zhang (approximately 6.6-7 meters). There was no sign of life inside, only extremely faint, almost vanished signs of vitality—the "residual death energy" left behind by the decaying corpses that hadn't completely dissipated even after many years.

In addition, there is another strange kind of "emptiness".

It was as if something had existed here for a long time, and then it was forcibly removed.

Jiang Baimai stepped into the cave entrance.

The stone chamber was only about ten feet square, even smaller than a cellar, yet its walls were exceptionally smooth, clearly having been carefully polished. In the center of the chamber was a stone platform, which was empty except for a circular seal, around which fine lines were faintly visible.

Several broken pieces of jade were scattered on the ground next to the stone platform.

Jiang Bai picked up a piece.

The jade pieces were as thin as cicada wings, with a lustrous texture, and the fine carvings from the original time were still faintly visible at the broken edges. He pieced together several fragments of jade, and although it was incomplete, he could vaguely tell that it was originally a disc-shaped ritual object with a groove in the middle, suggesting that something had been inlaid there before.

"Array formation?"

Jiang Bai examined the broken jade pieces and found several tiny characters engraved on the inside of one of them:

"The garrison commander was Zhang Meng, appointed in the first year of Qifeng."

The first year of Qifeng.

Jiang Bai searched his memory for this reign title. It was not found in the Great Yan Dynasty, nor in previous dynasties. It probably belonged to a more ancient dynasty, or was a reign title used by a separatist force when it became king.

"Soldier Commander Zhang Meng..."

He looked at the circular mark on the stone platform.

The size of the imprint was almost the same as that of the broken jade array plate.

The garrison commander once set up some kind of formation here, using this jade plate as the formation's core. Later, for some unknown reason, the formation plate shattered, the formation failed, and only this empty stone chamber remained.

Jiang Bai circled the stone chamber but found nothing else of value. Just as he was about to leave, his gaze suddenly fell on a corner of the wall behind the stone platform.

There was a very shallow scratch, as if hastily made with a fingernail or a sharp object, with only two words inside:

"Don't believe it."

The handwriting was messy, and the carving was done in a very rushed manner; the last stroke even scratched the wall.

"Don't believe it?"

Jiang Bai frowned.

What shouldn't you believe? Should you not believe that garrison commander? Or should you not believe anything in the stone chamber?

He crouched down and carefully examined the wall around the two characters. Where the plaster had peeled off, some earlier characters could be vaguely seen, but they were already blurred and could only be barely made out with a few broken strokes, roughly resembling characters like "Star...Fall...Pavilion..."

Starfall Pavilion.

Jiang Bai had never heard of this name before, but intuitively realized that this stone chamber, this shattered jade array plate, and the words on the wall might all be related to it.

"It seems this place is more than just a simple beacon tower for garrison soldiers."

Jiang Bai stood up and walked out of the stone chamber.

Back in the cellar, he sat down cross-legged again, but didn't immediately resume his cultivation. Those two words echoed repeatedly in his mind:

"Don't believe it."

In the world of cultivation, the hardest thing to trust is the human heart, a principle he understood. But to deliberately inscribe these two words on this abandoned beacon tower deep in the wilderness seemed too contrived—as if someone was intentionally guiding later generations to make certain associations.

If the intention was truly to warn future generations, why not write it more clearly? Wouldn't it be more direct to write "Do not trust the Starfall Pavilion" or "Do not trust Zhang Meng"?

Jiang Bai unconsciously tapped his knee with his fingers.

Either the writer himself was unsure what to believe, or he was afraid that revealing his meaning would cause trouble.

As soon as this thought crossed Jiang Bai's mind, he suddenly felt that this wasteland was not so simple.

Beneath the beacon tower lies a stone chamber containing an array made of fragments of jade, and cryptic warnings etched on the walls. Adding to this, Jiang Shi mentioned that the "Soul-Reaping Grass" only manifests on the night of a full moon…

"What exactly happened in this desolate burial ground back then?"

Jiang Bai shook his head, suppressing his chaotic thoughts. Whatever happened in the past, the most important thing now was to complete the Foundation Establishment stage. Once he had the strength, it wouldn't be too late to investigate these old matters.

He closed his eyes again and began to circulate the "Hundred Poisons Tempering Body Technique".

Dark golden poisonous patterns flowed across his body, further accelerating the absorption of death energy.

During cultivation, one is completely unaware of the passage of time.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already dusk on the third day.

Jiang Bai emerged from the cellar and stood beside the breach in the beacon tower. The desolate wilderness outside remained silent, the gray-brown earth stretching endlessly towards the horizon, merging with the gloomy sky. He looked up at the sky; the thick clouds obscured the sun, moon, and stars, but by his sense of time, he knew it was the time of the full moon—the Yin Soul Grass would appear around midnight.

Jiang Bai returned to the cellar and took out the rough paper map drawn by Jiang Shi. Several potential hiding places were marked on the map, one of which was located in the center of the wasteland, with the words "Ancient Stele" written crookedly next to it.

"An ancient stele..." He remembered that Jiang Shi had mentioned seeing a broken stele in an ancient tomb, with an inscription about the Yin Soul Grass. Perhaps the Yin Soul Grass might be found near that ancient stele.

He put away the map and checked the items in his storage bag again: Condensing Essence Jade Liquid, Eight Directions Warning Array Flags, Remnant Blood Blade, Burial Mountain Ancient Sword, Xuan Snake Scales, Poison-Avoiding Pearl... All the necessary items were there.

Finally, his gaze fell on the few pieces of jade fragments in the corner. After hesitating for a moment, he still put them away—whether they were useful or not, he would take them with him for now.

As night deepened, the wind on the wasteland took on a different flavor.

The wind, which had previously been rough and sandy, now carried a chilling coldness, as if it were rising from the earth. A whistling sound mingled with the wind, indistinguishable from other noises. Jiang Bai stepped out of the beacon tower and headed deeper into the wasteland. He silently activated [Shadow Stealth], his figure blending into the night like a fleeting shadow. The soil beneath his feet was soft, sinking half an inch with each step, yet making no sound.

After walking for about half an hour, a pile of rocks appeared ahead. The rocks varied in size, some as large as houses, others as small as fists, piled up haphazardly like toys carelessly discarded by some giant. Jiang Shi's map marked this spot with an X, and next to it was written "Stone Forest, Do Not Enter".

Jiang Bai stopped at the edge of the stone forest, activating his [Killing Intent Perception] to detect several faint life fluctuations deep within the forest, as faint as those of small animals like ground squirrels. Besides these, a barely perceptible yin energy emanated from the center, purer and more active than elsewhere in the wasteland, as if something was drawing the surrounding death energy there. "This is it." He didn't rush in, finding a waist-high rock on the outer edge to hide behind, and waited quietly.

Time passed slowly, the night in the wasteland grew deeper, the howling of the wind became clearer, and occasionally the sound of metal clashing against stone could be heard in the distance, but it vanished in an instant, as if it were a hallucination. As midnight approached, the yin energy in the center of the stone forest suddenly became restless.

Like boiling water, it churns and boils, frantically converging towards a certain point.

Jiang Bai held his breath, staring intently at that spot without blinking.

In the open space in the center of the stone forest, the ground gradually emitted a soft, silvery light. This light was gentle and peaceful, not dazzling, but it enveloped the surroundings in a hazy scene.

The silver light gradually gathered and slowly condensed into the shape of a blade of grass.

The grass leaves are slender and silvery-white with small serrations along the edges. The grass stems stand straight, and at the top of the stems blooms a flower the size of a fingernail, with layers of silvery-white petals that exude a cool and refreshing fragrance.

Ghost Grass.

Jiang Bai did not step forward immediately.

Jiang Shi once said that this thing is extremely insidious and poisonous, and if an ordinary cultivator touches it, his soul will be damaged.

But this plant in front of me, apart from being a bit yin, showed no signs of being poisonous.

"Could it be that it's not old enough? Or... is this not a Ghost Grass at all?"

As Jiang Bai was pondering, footsteps suddenly came from the other side of the stone forest.

The footsteps were very light, but they did not escape his perception.

He immediately suppressed his aura and shrank into the shadow of the rock.

Two dark figures crept over from the west side of the stone forest.

Both were dressed in black night clothes, their faces concealed except for their eyes. Their movements were quite practiced as they moved slowly close to the stone shadow, making almost no sound.

Judging from their figures, they should be a man and a woman.

The two stopped ten feet away from the Yin Soul Grass and hid behind two rocks.

"Is this it?" the man asked in a low voice.

Yes, it matches the records. At midnight when the moon is full, the silver light gathers and forms grass. The woman's voice grew softer. Be careful; there might be something protecting this thing.

"What's there to be afraid of? We have the 'Soul-Locking Net' with us. Even if there are ghosts interfering, we can trap them for a while."

The two fell silent and waited quietly.

Jiang Bai observed from the shadows and immediately understood that he wasn't the only one who knew about the existence of the Yin Soul Grass.

This wasteland seems to hold many secrets.

Half an hour later, the silver light around the Yin Soul Grass gradually stabilized, its leaves fully opened, and the small flower slowly began to rotate, bringing an even stronger coolness.

"Now!"

The man in black gave a low shout and leaped out from behind the rock, throwing a large black net with small bells hanging on it, each about the size of a copper coin. The net made a jingling sound when it was thrown, which sounded particularly sharp and piercing in the silent night.

The large net covered the Yin Soul Grass.

Right now—

A sudden gust of cold wind swept through the depths of the stone forest, carrying a piercing shriek, as if many voices were crying out together. A moment later, a dozen semi-transparent beams of light emerged from the cracks in the rocks and rushed madly toward the black net.

"A ghost!" the woman in black cried out in alarm. "Quickly, close the net!"

The man hurriedly made a hand seal, and the bells on the large net began to shake violently, emitting sharp sound waves. The translucent shadows were hit by the sound waves and paused for a moment, but then they immediately rushed towards this side again.

*Sizzle sizzle sizzle!*

When the shadow touched the net, a large plume of black smoke billowed out, and the man's face turned pale; clearly, he had done everything in his power to keep it afloat.

Seeing this, the woman in black took out a stack of yellow talismans from her bosom, bit her fingertip, and gently drew blood across the talismans. The blood immediately stained the talismans red.

"town!"

She threw the talisman, which burst into flames in the air and transformed into more than a dozen golden beams that shot toward the shadows. The golden beams entered the shadows' bodies, causing them to scream in pain and gradually slow down.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the man suddenly pulled, and the large black net wrapped around the Yin Soul Grass, trying to pull it back.

"Trying to leave?"

Suddenly, a hoarse voice came from the stone forest, its source coming from all directions, making it difficult to pinpoint its exact location.

The man and woman in black also heard the sound, and their expressions changed drastically.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" the man shouted sharply, a short knife already in his hand.

"hehe……"

After waiting for so many years, someone has finally come to harvest this Yin Soul Grass. Perfect, I'll borrow your living souls to restore my vitality.

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground in the center of the stone forest suddenly cracked open.

A withered, emaciated hand reached out from the crack.