Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

Chen Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. It wasn't fear, but a deeper chill stemming from "obsession."

"You want to kill him?"

"Take him back," the man in black said. "Before his death, Master said that the sins of the Yellow Springs Sect must be settled by the people of the Yellow Springs Sect themselves. The Soul-Nourishing Coffin is still in his hands. Every ten years, he has to find a 'willing' vessel to nurture the remnant soul in the coffin with that person's soul source. That remnant soul is Xiaodie, our junior sister, his Daoist partner. In one hundred and thirty years, he has used thirteen of them."

"Am I the fourteenth?" Chen Yuan asked.

The man in black robes looked at him, his gray-white pupils shrinking slightly: "You have fragments of the Soul-Suppressing Pendant on you, Yin Jiu's soul imprint, and... traces of the Blood Refining Technique. It's no coincidence that he sought you out. You have four spiritual roots, poor aptitude, and low cultivation, but your will is strong enough—the soul source of such people is the most 'resistant to burning,' and can be nurtured for a longer time."

He took a step forward, and the corpse puppets followed suit, forming a triangle around Chen Yuan.

"Tell me where he is, and I'll take you away. Your soul has been corrupted by the Blood Refining Technique, and within three years you will suffer a backlash, turning into a monster who only knows how to gnaw at blood. The Yellow Springs Sect has a way to remove it, although it will damage your foundation, it can save your life."

Chen Yuan didn't move. His gaze swept over the two corpse puppets, over the black-robed man's withered white hands, and finally landed on the man's gray-white eyes.

"You said your junior sister failed in her attempt to cultivate the Rebirth Technique," Chen Yuan said slowly. "Then whose remnant soul did Yin Jiu nurture with the Soul-Nourishing Coffin?"

The man in black robes stiffened almost imperceptibly.

"The Soul-Nourishing Coffin can nurture remnant souls and reshape their physical bodies," Chen Yuan continued, "but it requires living souls as sacrifices. You've been chasing him for 130 years, really to cleanse your own house? Or...?"

"Is it because there might still be a trace of your junior sister's remnant soul remaining in that coffin?"

The thatched hut was deathly silent.

In the distance came the sounds of roosters crowing, dogs barking, and farmers calling out as they went to the fields.

But those sounds were like they were through a thick pane of glass, blurry and distant.

The man in black robes stared at Chen Yuan for a long time before slowly pulling down his hood.

His entire face was exposed.

Besides his greyish-white eyes, there was a vertical, dark red scar in the center of his forehead, stretching from his hairline to his brow, like a closed third eye. The skin around the scar was slightly raised, as if something was wriggling underneath.

"You're very clever," he said, his voice still flat, but the crack beneath it had widened. "Clever people die quickly. I've seen many like that at the Gates of the Underworld."

The man in black robes raised his hand, his withered white fingers pressing against the scar on his forehead.

"This was left behind by my junior sister. In her last moments before her soul dissipated, she used the backlash of the Rebirth Technique to carve a 'Heart-Questioning Seal' into my soul sea. This seal asks me every moment: Senior brother, you cultivate Soul Suppression, whose soul are you suppressing? You pursue Yin Jiu, what kind of sin are you pursuing?"

He lowered his hand, the scar glowing an eerie dark red in the dim light.

"One hundred and thirty years, I have no answer. But I know one thing: Yin Jiu must go back. The Soul-Nourishing Coffin must go back. The sins of the Yellow Springs Sect... must be atoned for."

Behind him, the green flames in the eye sockets of the two corpse puppets suddenly surged!

"This is the last time." The man in black robes looked at Chen Yuan, his gray eyes devoid of any emotion, like two dry wells. "Where is Yin Jiu?"

Chen Yuan remained silent for three breaths.

Then, Chen Yuan turned around and walked to the table, picked up the jade box containing the Demon Transformation Pill, opened it, poured out a dark red pill, and held it between his fingertips.

"He gave me the Demon-Transforming Pill, saying it could neutralize the blood mixed with evil spirits." He held the pill up to his eyes, facing the light. "He also gave me the Soul-Capturing Bell, saying it could force out the source of the soul. And the Soul-Suppressing Pendant, saying it could protect me once."

He paused, then looked at the man in black robes: "You fellow disciples, the way you give things is so similar. You mix antidote into poison, and hide new poison in the antidote."

The man in the black robe remained silent.

Chen Yuan threw the pill back into the jade box and slammed it shut.

"He came three days ago, gave me these things, and said he would come back in seven days to collect the blood ginseng."

"I don't understand your Yellow Springs Sect's affairs, and I don't want to get involved. But there's one thing—"

Chen Yuan looked directly into the black-robed man's ashen eyes: "This blood ginseng is mine. I watered it, fertilized it, bled and endured the backlash; I risked my life for it. Anyone who wants to take it will have to ask me first."

The man in black robes stared at him for a long time before slowly nodding: "Alright."

Chen Yuan understood.

"Three days," the man in black said. "If Yin Jiu comes in three days, I will be there. During this time, you'd better not leave the shantytown. I'm not the only one from the Western Desert Yellow Springs Sect in Southern Xinjiang; there are several other 'Cleaners' nearby. They... aren't as reasonable as I am."

He pulled his hood back on and turned. The two corpse puppets followed stiffly, their footsteps heavy like stones pounding the ground.

He stopped at the door without turning around: "I can temporarily seal the Blood Refining Qi on your body for three days. After three days, regardless of whether Yin Jiu comes or not, I will remove it for you. This is a deal."

Chen Yuan remained silent.

The man in black robes raised his hand, his withered white fingers drawing a talisman in the air. The talisman turned dark gray, flashed, and disappeared into Chen Yuan's chest.

A chill instantly spread, making Chen Yuan's jaw clench. But then, the blood energy within his body, which had been subtly agitated due to the blood refinement, was truly suppressed, as if it had frozen into ice.

"Don't use your spiritual power to attack this talisman." After saying this, the man in black robes stepped out of the door.

The figures of the black-robed figure and the corpse puppet quickly disappeared into the morning mist.

Chen Yuan stood there for a long time before slowly exhaling.

The breath condensed into white mist in the air, but at the edge of the mist, there was a very faint trace of dark red—the blood-refining aura was not completely sealed.

He looked down at his chest, where a pale gray talisman appeared on his skin, slowly seeping into his flesh.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, the seedling of the word tree trembled slightly.

[External sealing energy detected]

[Nature: Soul-suppressing restriction, capable of suppressing evil and yin auras]

[Status: Stable, estimated duration 72 hours]

[Warning: Lifting the restriction may trigger an energy backlash]

Chen Yuan twitched the corner of his mouth.

Another "antidote to poison".

He walked back to the blood ginseng and squatted down. The blood ginseng leaves swayed gently, their golden veins flowing, seemingly sensing the changes within his body.

"Three days..." he said softly.

Then he got up, walked to the door, closed it, and bolted it.

The thatched hut became completely dark.

Only the golden light emanating from the blood ginseng leaves and the quietly flowing light of the saplings in the sea of ​​consciousness.

Chen Yuan sat down in the darkness and closed his eyes.

The dull thud of the "Copper Skin Kung Fu" hammering sound rang out again.

One punch after another.

It's like beating fate, and it's also like beating yourself.