Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

The air near the Well of Rebirth had frozen into ice.

When Yin Jiu landed, the hem of his black robe was still burning—a mark left by Hong Gu's vengeful fire, but he didn't care. His eyes were fixed on the person by the well, on the dark gold bead in the person's palm.

"Senior brother."

Two words, squeezed out from the depths of his throat, were covered in a century of accumulated dust.

The man in black robes—Yin Jiu's senior brother, the chief disciple under the Law Enforcement Elder of the Yellow Springs Sect, whose Daoist name was "Xuan Gu"—slowly raised his head. His face was expressionless, or rather, it was so withered that it could no longer express any emotion. Only in his gray-white pupils did the dark gold light of the beads reflect, as did the burning eyes of Yin Jiu.

"One hundred and thirty years," Xuan Gu said, his voice like two old bones rubbing together. "Junior brother, you've gone far enough."

Hong Gu landed on a withered tree three zhang away, the Soul-Capturing Bell tinkling softly, and seven vengeful spirits swirled around her. She didn't speak, but squinted, looking at Xuan Gu, then at Yin Jiu, a playful smile playing on her lips.

The show is about to begin.

"Give me the bead." Yin Jiu took a step forward, the withered leaves beneath his feet shattering. "That's Xiao Die's soul source."

Xuan Gu didn't move.

He simply stared at the bead in his palm, at the silhouette of the curled-up girl within it, for a long time before softly saying:

"Xiaodie has been dead for two hundred years, junior brother."

"She's not dead!" Yin Jiu's voice suddenly rose, his black robes billowing even without wind. "Her soul source is still here! It's in your hands! As long as you find a suitable body, as long as you nurture her in the Soul-Nourishing Coffin for three years, she can—"

"So what?"

Xuan Gu interrupted him, his voice still calm, yet sharp as a knife:

"So you can come back to life? Eat, sleep, and cultivate like a normal person? Junior brother, the night you stole the Soul-Nourishing Coffin, Master said something to me—he said, 'Xuan Gu, your junior brother isn't bad, he's just obsessed. Obsessed to the point that he can't distinguish between 'living' and 'existing.'"

He looked up at Yin Jiu:

"The existence of the soul source does not mean that the person is still alive. Xiaodie's physical body has long since turned into dust, and her memories have long since dissipated into smoke. What you are nurturing now is just a wisp of obsession, a shadow, an illusion... created by yourself."

"Shut up!"

Yin Jiu's black robe exploded, black energy surged around him, and seven pale white bone spurs burst out from his spine, gleaming with a chilling light in the morning light.

Hong Gu clicked her tongue softly from the tree.

The Yellow Springs Sect's "White Bone Netherworld Technique," seventh level, "White Bone Penetrating the Netherworld." This old ghost is truly risking his life.

Xuan Gu looked at the seven bone spurs, and finally a trace of expression appeared on his face—sorrow.

"Your master expelled you from the sect not because you stole the coffin," he said softly, "but because you went mad and practiced this forbidden technique. 'White Bones Connect to the Netherworld,' each level you cultivate reduces your lifespan by twenty years and damages your soul by thirty percent—you've now reached the seventh level, how much lifespan do you have left? Ten years? Five?"

Yin Jiu did not answer.

He just stared intently at the bead.

"Give me the bead." He repeated, each word like dripping blood, "This is the last time, senior brother. Give it to me, and I'll turn and leave, never to return to the Yellow Springs Gate in this lifetime."

Xuan Gu remained silent.

The only sound in the valley was the wind, the miasma swirling, and the withered leaves twirling.

After a long while, Xuan Gu slowly shook his head.

"I can't give it to you."

He gripped the bead tightly, and a dark golden light seeped from between his fingers:

"Because this is not Xiaodie's soul source."

Yin Jiu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Hong Gu was also stunned, and forgot to ring the Soul-Capturing Bell.

"What...did you say?"

"I said," Xuan Gu said, enunciating each word clearly, "this is not Xiao Die's soul source. This is a 'soul seed'—a secret treasure that only the law enforcement elders of the Yellow Springs Sect can access, specifically used as bait to track down traitorous disciples and recover the results of forbidden techniques."

He let go.

The bead hovered three inches above the palm, slowly rotating. In the dark golden light, the girl's silhouette remained curled up, but upon closer inspection, the edges of that silhouette were undulating slightly, like a reflection in water, not quite real.

"One hundred and thirty years ago, when you stole the Soul-Nourishing Coffin, Master buried this soul seed inside." Xuan Gu's voice was as calm as if he were telling someone else's story. "It absorbs the aura of Xiao Die's remnant soul, simulating her soul source fluctuations. Once you nurture it to a certain degree with the Soul-Nourishing Coffin, it will be fully formed, and then..."

He paused:

"I'll bring you back. Or, I'll lead you to where you are."

Yin Jiu stood there, motionless.

The body beneath the black robe began to tremble, initially slightly, but gradually more violently, causing even the seven bone spurs to vibrate.

"Impossible..." he murmured, "I've nurtured her for two hundred years... I can feel her presence every day... She's crying, she's laughing, she's calling me Ninth Brother..."

"That's the soul seed imitating you," Xuan Gu said. "It absorbed your memories, your obsessions, all your imaginings about Xiao Die—and then acted them out for you. It acted them out for 130 years, until you believed them to be true."

He looked at Yin Jiu, his gaze complex:

"Junior brother, what you are nurturing is not Xiaodie, but your own dream."

Dead leaves drifted down from the tree, one, two, three.

It landed on Yin Jiu's shoulder, on his trembling bone spurs, and into the surging black energy around him, instantly turning into ashes.

Hong Gu suddenly smiled.

They laughed so hard they were doubled over, and the spell bells rang wildly.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" She clapped her hands, her alluring eyes full of mockery. "A ghost cultivator, dealing with souls every day, only to be tricked by his own sect, raising a fake for 130 years! Yin Jiu, Yin Jiu, I could laugh at this joke for 300 years!"

Yin Jiu ignored her.

He just stared at the bead, at the illusory outline inside, for a very long time.

Then he laughed too.

The laughter started softly, then grew louder and more manic, echoing throughout the valley, causing miasma to surge and withered trees to tremble.

"Good...very good..."

He stopped laughing, raised his head, and seven bone spurs suddenly unfolded, like a pale white flower.

"Senior brother," his voice calmed, eerily calm, "since it's not Xiaodie, then this bead is useless to you, isn't it?"

Xuan Gu's pupils contracted.

"Give it to me." Yin Jiu held out his hand, palm up. "Consider it a farewell gift from your senior brother to your junior brother."

"What do you want it for?" Xuan Gu didn't move. "It's just bait, it has no value for nurturing, and it can't revive anyone."

"I know."

Yin Jiu grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth:

"But I've raised it for 130 years. Even if it were a dog, I should have developed a bond with it by now."

He moved as soon as he finished speaking.

Instead of rushing towards the Xuan Bone, it rushed towards the ground—seven bone spikes pierced the soil, and black energy poured in like a tide, causing the entire valley floor to crack, bulge, and churn!

"The earth's veins are connected to the netherworld!" Hong Gu exclaimed, retreating rapidly.

Xuan Gu's expression finally changed.

He leaped up suddenly, the ground beneath his feet exploded, and three pale, bony hands burst from the earth, grabbing straight for his ankles! He narrowly dodged, and Xuan Gu made a hand seal in mid-air. The golden light of the Soul Seed in his palm shone brightly, transforming into seven golden locks that shot straight at Yin Jiu!

Yin Jiu neither dodges nor avoids.

He let the golden lock pierce through his black robe, sinking into his flesh and bones—but seven bone spurs had already emerged from the ground and wrapped around Xuan Gu's left leg!

"Snap!"

The sound of leg bones cracking.

Xuan Gu grunted and slashed the bone spikes with his backhand, blood splattering everywhere. He used the force to retreat, landing on the edge of the well ten feet away, kneeling on one knee with his left leg twisted at an odd angle.

"You're insane..." He stared at Yin Jiu, his voice trembling. "The Earth Vein Connection is a forbidden technique among forbidden techniques. Forcibly activating it will cost you the last bit of your lifespan—"

"Not enough for an incense stick to burn," Yin Jiu replied calmly. "I know."

He pulled the bone spurs from the ground, and with each one he pulled, a mouthful of black blood gushed from his mouth. After seven bone spurs were pulled out, he was already swaying precariously, his black robe soaked in blood, and his face ashen like a dead man.

But he was still smiling.

"Senior brother." He walked step by step toward the edge of the well, each step leaving a bloody mark on the ground. "Give me the bead. Before I die... I want to see it one last time."

Xuan Gu gripped the bead, his knuckles turning white.

He looked at Yin Jiu, at this junior brother who was once the most talented and most favored by his master, at how he had turned himself into this wretched state, at the obsession in his eyes that had burned for 130 years, burning until the lamp was exhausted, yet still refusing to be extinguished.

for a long time.

Xuan Gu loosened his grip.

The bead slowly floated towards Yin Jiu.

Yin Jiu caught the bead, holding it in his palm as if it were the most precious treasure in the world. He looked down at it, at the illusory outline inside, his eyes as tender as if he were looking at a lover.

"Xiaodie..." he called softly.

The outline inside the bead moved slightly, as if it were actually responding.

Yin Jiu smiled.

He laughed like a child.

Then he looked up at Xuan Gu:

"Senior brother, I'm sorry."

Xuan Gu was taken aback.

The next second, Yin Jiu suddenly turned around and, with his last bit of strength, slammed the bead down hard—

Well of rebirth.

"No--!"

Xuan Gu and Hong Gu exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

But it was too late.

The bead traced a dark golden arc before precisely falling into the well and disappearing into the dense darkness.

From the depths of the well came a fourth sigh.

This time, with a clear, satisfied... swallowing sound.

The entire valley began to shake.

The miasma surged wildly, dead trees fell in droves, and countless cracks appeared in the ground, from which a dark green, viscous liquid gushed out, emitting a pungent, fishy stench.

The bluestone along the edge of the Rebirth Well began to crack.

The moss peeled away, revealing dense runes underneath—runes that were originally golden, but were now rapidly turning black, decaying, and turning to ashes.

"What have you done?!" Xuan Gu roared, "That's a soul seed! It contains a wisp of Master's soul! You fed it to that thing at the bottom of the well—"

"I know." Yin Jiu leaned against the well edge, slowly sliding down to sit on the ground. "That's why I'm doing this."

He looked up at Xuan Gu, his smile bleak:

"Senior brother, you were right about something you just said—what I've raised for 130 years is just a dream of my own."

"Now……"

"It's time to wake up from this dream."

A fifth sigh came from the bottom of the well.

This time, it's right in front of us.

A pale hand reached out from the well and gripped the edge.

Her fingers were long and slender, her nails were jet black, and her skin was so white it was almost translucent, with no blood vessels underneath, only flowing dark gold lines.

The hand slowly applied force.

A second hand reached out.

Then there was a head of jet-black hair, an extremely pale face, and a pair of completely black eyes with no whites.

It climbed out of the well, stood on the edge, its bare feet stepping on the cracked bluestone, its long, jet-black hair moving without wind.

It lowered its head and looked at Yin Jiu, who was slumped on the ground, a glint of dark gold flashing in its dark eyes.

Then it spoke, its voice ethereal and otherworldly, like countless voices layered together:

"You... raised me... for 130 years..."

Yin Jiu looked up at it, his smile widening:

"yes."

"Raising them is...so hard..."

It reached out, its pale fingers gently touching Yin Jiu's face.

The movements were gentle, as if touching fragile porcelain.

"So..." it whispered, "I'll give you... a gift..."

He placed his finger on Yin Jiu's brow.

A dark golden light flowed in from the fingertips.

Yin Jiu's body trembled violently, and his pupils suddenly dilated—he felt that his already depleted lifespan was flowing backwards at an alarming rate!

The damaged soul is being rapidly repaired! The fallen realm is rising again!

But that's not all.

And then there were memories—memories that didn't belong to him—surging into his sea of ​​consciousness.

Those are memories from the bottom of the Well of Rebirth.

It is the memory of countless souls who have fallen into the well over the centuries. It is pain, despair, resentment, obsession, separation from loved ones, encounters with those one hates, and unfulfilled desires…

Too much.

There was so much that his mind was about to explode.

"Stop..." he roared, "Too much... I can't take it..."

"Unable to bear it... then I became..."

It spoke softly, its tone as gentle as a lover's murmur:

"To become the Well of Rebirth... and the next well-keeper..."

Xuan Gu and Hong Gu retreated simultaneously.

But it was too late.

Centered on the wellhead, a dark golden light shield instantly unfolded, enveloping the entire valley!

Inside the light shield, the flow of time began to distort, space began to fold, miasma condensed into solidity, withered trees turned into skeletons, and viscous blood seeped from the ground.

The Well of Rebirth has awakened.