Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

With Bai Zhi's support, Chen Yuan walked for three days and three nights.

It wasn't that he didn't want to use escape techniques—it was that he simply couldn't. His body, depleted of vital essence, was like a leaky sack; every time he channeled a wisp of spiritual energy, his meridians ached as if being pricked by needles.

They could only walk, stumbling along, through the black pine forest north of the Medicine Valley, over two unnamed low hills, and finally stopped in a valley.

At the mouth of the valley stands a stone tablet, the inscription of which has been blurred by wind and rain, and only the two characters "无定" can be barely made out.

Wuding Valley.

Dozens of wooden houses and thatched huts, along with a few animal skin tents, are scattered throughout the valley.

A dirt road runs from the mouth of the valley to the bottom. There are some stalls along the roadside, with some medicinal herbs, ores, animal bones, and a few rusty magical artifacts on display.

The market town for independent cultivators.

It was the most dilapidated kind.

"Let's stop here." Chen Yuan took a breath and leaned against a rock. "If we walk any further... I'll really fall apart."

Bai Zhi nodded, helped him sit down, and then took out a water pouch from her bosom and handed it to him.

Chen Yuan took the water and gulped it down. The water was spring water, cool and refreshing, but it felt like a knife cutting into his throat—his vital essence and blood were so severely depleted that even swallowing was difficult.

He looked down at his right hand.

The Chaos Divine Crystal in his palm was completely shattered, its fragments deeply embedded in his flesh, its gray light dimmed like burnt-out charcoal. He tried to activate the power of the stars—his dantian was empty, with only a faint warm current slowly swirling within, even weaker than when he was at the first level of Qi Refining.

His cultivation level dropped.

It fell sharply.

"I need to find some medicinal pills," he said in a hoarse voice, "some to heal wounds and replenish qi and blood."

"Do we have spirit stones?" Bai Zhi asked.

Chen Yuan touched his pocket. There were still twenty-two low-grade spirit stones and fifty-odd broken spirit stones left in the cloth bag—that was the last batch of payment from Yuancao Hall, which he hadn't had time to use yet.

"Yes, but not many." He stood up. "Let's go take a look."

The two walked along the dirt road into the valley. Most of the roadside stall owners were listless; some would glance up at them, then lower their heads again to doze off.

Occasionally, a few sharp-eyed individuals would linger for a moment on the bloodstains on Chen Yuan's hands and the blue lamp at Bai Zhi's waist, but they would not say anything.

The rule of the independent cultivators' market: Don't meddle in other people's business.

At the bottom of the valley, there was a slightly more decent wooden house with a wooden sign hanging at the door, on which the three words "Bai Cao Ge" were crookedly carved.

Push the door open and go inside.

The room was dimly lit, with wooden shelves on three walls, on which were scattered bottles and jars.

In the center was a long counter, behind which sat an old man, grinding medicine with his head down.

Hearing the door open, the old man looked up.

Chen Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

This old man... is not simple.

It wasn't that his cultivation level was high—his spiritual energy fluctuations were very weak, probably only at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining. But his eyes were too clear, so clear that they didn't seem like those of an old man running a medicine shop in a market for rogue cultivators.

"Buy something?" the old man asked, his voice hoarse.

"Healing medicine." Chen Yuan walked to the counter. "The kind that replenishes qi and blood, strengthens the body's foundation."

The old man looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on the palm of his right hand.

"Have you exhausted your essence and blood?" he asked.

Chen Yuan did not respond.

"You don't have to tell me." The old man took out a porcelain bottle from under the counter and pushed it in front of Chen Yuan. "'Nourishing Essence Pill,' twelve pills in one bottle. Take one pill a day for twelve consecutive days, and it can replenish 30% of your essence and blood."

"How many?"

"Thirty low-grade spirit stones."

Chen Yuan frowned: "Too expensive."

"Expensive?" The old man chuckled. "Young man, a wound that depletes your life essence would cost at least a hundred spirit stones in a major sect. This is already a fair price for me."

Chen Yuan remained silent for a moment, then took out a cloth bag from his pocket, counted out thirty low-grade spirit stones, and pushed it over.

The old man took it, weighed it in his hand, and put it into his pocket.

"Let me remind you," he suddenly said, "the Nourishing Essence Pill can only replenish 30%. The remaining 70% will have to be replenished by yourself over time. It will take at least a year and a half."

"Is there... a faster way?" Chen Yuan asked.

"Yes." The old man took out another wooden box from under the counter, opened it, and inside lay a crimson ginseng with long, thin whiskers and dark gold patterns on its surface.

"Blood Marrow Ginseng, fifty years old. Chewing it directly can replenish 60% of one's essence and blood. If combined with auxiliary ingredients to make 'Blood Marrow Pill,' it can replenish 80%."

"How many?"

"Ginseng, 100 low-grade spirit stones. Pills, 300."

Chen Yuan's expression darkened.

He only had twenty-two low-grade spirit stones left.

"Can't afford it?" The old man closed the wooden box. "Then there's another way."

"What?"

"Go and gather it yourself." The old man pointed outside the valley. "Thirty miles north, there's a Black Wind Mountain. Inside the mountain is a Black Wind Cave, where you can occasionally find Blood Marrow Ginseng deep within. However—"

He paused.

"A nest of 'Black-lined Pythons' lives in Black Wind Cave, top-tier first-grade demonic beasts, equivalent to the peak of Qi Refining. The leader of the pythons is said to be second-grade."

A second-grade demonic beast is equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Chen Yuan remained silent.

"Of course, you can wait," the old man continued. "Wait a year or two, and your essence and blood will slowly recover. But judging from your appearance... you must have quite a few enemies, right? Can you afford to wait?"

Chen Yuan stared at him: "How do you know I have a lot of enemies?"

"Just a guess." The old man chuckled. "His life essence was exhausted, his cultivation level plummeted, and he was accompanied by a little girl who looked anything but ordinary—either he was being chased or he had just pulled off a big heist."

He stood up, walked to the door, and pointed to the north.

"Black Wind Mountain is right there. Whether you go or not is up to you."

When Chen Yuan walked out of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, it was already dark.

Scattered lights illuminated the valley, mostly oil lamps, with a few moonstone lamps occasionally, all of which provided dim light.

The wandering monks gathered at roadside stalls to drink and gamble, their noise carrying far into the night.

He found the cheapest thatched inn, paid five spirit stones, and rented it for one night.

There was only a wooden plank bed and a thin, moldy quilt in the thatched hut. Bai Zhi spread out the quilt and helped Chen Yuan lie down.

"You rest, I'll stay here," she said.

Chen Yuan did not refuse. He closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into his sea of ​​knowledge.

The sea of ​​consciousness, which should have been filled with five-colored stars, is now completely dark.

The five stars are still there, but their light is as faint as a candle flickering in the wind.

Among the stars, tiny, silvery-white roots are faintly growing, trying to connect with each other, but the roots are too thin and too fragile, breaking at the slightest movement.

Is this... a sign that they're going to settle down?

"Because your essence and blood are exhausted." A voice suddenly rang out in your mind.

It wasn't the old man's voice, nor was it Bai Zhi's. It was a strange, aged voice.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes—in his sea of ​​consciousness, there was a phantom image that had appeared at some point.

He wore a gray robe, had disheveled hair, and a sickly pale face.

Furukawa.

"Senior...?" Chen Yuan tried to communicate using his mind.

"It's me." Gu He's illusory image drifted in his sea of ​​consciousness. "I attached a wisp of my soul to that green lamp and followed you out. That girl Bai Zhi doesn't know."

"you……"

"Listen to me first," Gu He interrupted him. "Your life essence is exhausted; you only have one breath left to live."

He paused.

"You must use the Blood Marrow Ginseng to replenish your essence and blood as soon as possible, stabilize your body, and slow down the rooting process so that it can proceed gradually."

Chen Yuan was silent for a moment: "Blood Marrow Ginseng?"

"That's right." Gu He nodded. "Blood Marrow Ginseng is one of the best medicinal materials for replenishing essence and blood. But ginseng alone is not enough. You also need 'Dew Grass' as a medicinal guide to neutralize the medicinal properties. Otherwise, the domineering medicinal power of Blood Marrow Ginseng will rush into your body and kill you just the same."

Where can I find dew-collecting grass?

"It's in Black Wind Cave," Gu He said. "Where Blood Marrow Ginseng grows, Dew-Gathering Grass usually grows alongside it. But remember—before harvesting the ginseng, harvest the grass first. Cover your palms with the juice of the Dew-Gathering Grass before touching the Blood Marrow Ginseng, otherwise the blood-fiend energy of the ginseng will seep into your body through your skin, causing your blood to boil and your body to explode and die."

After he finished speaking, the illusory figure began to fade.

"Senior Gu," Chen Yuan asked hurriedly, "why are you helping me?"

The faint image of the ancient river has faded to almost invisible.

"I said it," his voice echoed in my mind, "I want you to live. Live strong enough to change something."

The phantom image completely disappeared.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes.

Footsteps came from outside the thatched hut, very light, but there was more than one person.

He gestured for Bai Zhi to be quiet, then quietly moved to the door and peered out through the crack.

Three rogue cultivators stood outside the door, all appearing to be at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining, dressed in tattered robes with swords and knives at their waists. The one in the lead, a scarred-faced man, was speaking in a low voice to the other two.

"...Right here. I saw that kid enter the Hundred Herbs Pavilion with my own eyes and buy the Nourishing Essence Pill. He must also have spirit stones on him."

"And what about the little girl?"

"They were together. Looks like they're badly injured; they're easy prey."

"Done?"

"Let's do it. We'll sneak in late at night, grab the spirit stones, and run. In this godforsaken place, nobody cares if you die."

The three of them muttered a few more words to each other, then turned and left.

Chen Yuan stepped back to the bedside and whispered to Bai Zhi, "Pack up, let's go."

"Now?"

"Now," Chen Yuan stood up, "if they come in the middle of the night, we won't be able to leave."

Bai Zhi nodded, helped him up, and the two quietly slipped out of the thatched hut and walked out of the valley in the shadows.

When he reached the mouth of the valley, Chen Yuan looked back.

The lights were still on in the windows of Baicaoge, and the old man's shadow was reflected on the window paper as he bent over grinding medicine.

He withdrew his gaze and, together with Bai Zhi, disappeared into the night.

Thirty li to the north lies Black Wind Mountain.

The mountain wasn't high, but it was very steep. Its surface was black, as if it had been burned. The night wind blew through the cracks in the mountain, making a howling sound, like the wailing of ghosts.

There was a cave entrance halfway up the mountain, about three zhang high and two zhang wide. The cave was pitch black inside, and a cold wind was blowing out.

Black Wind Cave.

Chen Yuan stood at the entrance of the cave and glanced inside.

Bottomless.

He spread out his right hand and tried to activate the remaining starlight in his palm—the gray light was faint, but it could barely illuminate three steps away.

"Stay close to me," he said in a hoarse voice.

Bai Zhi nodded and picked up the green lamp. The starlight within the lamp had been used up, but the lamp base itself was made of moonstone, emitting a soft, milky-white light that could illuminate a radius of ten feet.

The two entered the cave one after the other.

The cave passage was very narrow, initially only allowing one person to pass at a time. After walking for about half an incense stick's time, the passage gradually widened, and some glowing moss began to appear on the stone walls on both sides, its eerie green light barely illuminating the path beneath our feet.

After walking for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a hissing sound came from ahead.

Like a snake.

Chen Yuan stopped and gestured for Bai Zhi to turn off the lights.

The two hid in the shadow of the stone wall, holding their breath.

In the darkness, two thick black shadows slid out from the depths of the cave. They were pythons, entirely black, with a dark red line running down their backs from their heads to the tip of their tails.

Black-striped python.

The two pythons circled the cave entrance once, found nothing, and then slithered back into the depths.

Chen Yuan waited until they were far away before continuing forward.

The further you go in, the wider the cave becomes. Stalactites begin to appear on the stone walls, and the dripping sound of water is particularly clear in the silent cave.

After walking for about half an hour, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

There are three roads: one to the left, one to the right, and one straight ahead.

Chen Yuan crouched down and examined the ground carefully. At the left intersection, there were fresh snake tracks. At the right intersection, the ground was dry and the stone walls smooth. At the straight intersection, a faint breeze blew from deep within, carrying a faint…smell of blood.

"Go straight," he said in a low voice.

The two entered the straight cave entrance. The cave began to slope downwards, growing deeper and deeper, and the temperature dropped accordingly. The moss on the stone walls gradually disappeared, replaced by dark red, vein-like patterns that pulsated slightly in the dim light.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

It is a huge natural cave.

In the center of the cave, there was a small pool of water. The water was dark red, like blood. Beside the pool grew a dozen or so crimson ginseng plants—blood marrow ginseng.

The sea cucumber is plump with long, thin whiskers, and the golden patterns on its surface shimmer in the dim light.

And right next to the blood marrow ginseng, there grew a pale blue grass with dewdrops on its leaves.

Dewdrop Grass.

Chen Yuan was overjoyed and was about to step forward—

Suddenly, two huge, scarlet eyes emerged from the pool.