Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

The outer gate of the Flying Feather Sect, west of the medicine garden, is the dormitory for registered disciples.

When Chen Yuan woke up, he found himself lying on a hard bed. The bedding was new and had a faint smell of soap, but the fabric was rough and made his skin itchy.

He opened his eyes and stared at the roof beam above him—it was made of pine, unpainted, and the clear growth rings were visible.

The wound on my left arm had been re-bandaged with fine cotton cloth, neatly wrapped, and the coolness of the ointment was faintly visible through it.

The wound still hurts, but it's no longer the sharp, agonizing pain; instead, it's a dull, slow healing sensation.

He tried moving his fingers.

active.

still alive.

He let out a long breath, pressed his back against the cold earthen wall, and then began to examine the room.

The room was small, with a bed, a cabinet, a table, and a chair. An oil lamp hung on the wall, with only half an oil left.

The windows were made of thin paper with wooden latticework, and the morning light shone through, illuminating the room in a half-light, half-dark atmosphere.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

It was light, yet steady, with each step perfectly spaced. Chen Yuan tensed, his hand reaching into his chest—empty.

His storage bag, the ginseng root, and several low-grade spirit stones were all gone.

The door was pushed open.

Su Wanqing stood at the door, still wearing the same blue and white dress, but now with a light blue gauze outer garment over it. Instead of a sword, she had a jade token hanging at her waist.

The token has the character "medicine" engraved on it.

"Awake?" She came in, leaving the door open. "How are you feeling?"

Chen Yuan didn't speak, he just stared at her.

Su Wanqing didn't mind. She walked to the table, took out a coarse cloth bag from her sleeve, and dumped it on the table with a "whoosh"—it was his stuff.

The contents included a storage bag, ginseng roots, several dozen low-grade spirit stones, a flint, and half a packet of spirit grain seeds.

"Let me check," she said. "There's a rule in the outer sect that new disciples must register their belongings upon entering the dormitory. Your things are all here, nothing's missing."

Chen Yuan still didn't move.

Su Wanqing turned around and looked at him: "What, are you afraid I'll poison you?"

"I was afraid you wouldn't use poison," Chen Yuan finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "Just poison him to death, that'll be quicker."

Su Wanqing raised an eyebrow: "Then you'll be disappointed. If a disciple of the Flying Feather Sect's outer sect dies without cause within a year, the steward must report it to the Punishment Hall for review—I don't have time to write those documents."

She walked to the window and opened it.

The morning breeze wafted in, carrying a rich medicinal fragrance—not the smell of a single herb, but a complex aroma of dozens or even hundreds of herbs mixed together and diluted by the morning dew.

It has some bitterness, some sweetness, some spiciness, and some coolness.

"Put your clothes on." Su Wanqing had her back to him. "I'm taking you somewhere."

---

Medicine Valley is not located within the Flying Feather Sect's mountain gate.

It is located 30 miles west of the main peak, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only a narrow stone staircase leading in.

The road was steep, and the stone steps were covered with moss, so slippery they looked like they had been smeared with oil.

Chen Yuan followed Su Wanqing for half an hour, and the wound on his left arm began to bleed again, but he didn't say a word, just gritted his teeth and moved forward step by step.

By the time we reached the mouth of the valley, it was already broad daylight.

Chen Yuan looked up and froze.

There was no gate at the entrance of the valley, only two enormous ancient trees—the one on the left was entirely crimson, its trunk like red-hot iron, its leaves shaped like flames, moving without wind and scattering sparks; the one on the right was entirely ice blue, its trunk like millennia-old ice, its leaves shaped like snowflakes, their edges covered with white frost, and the air around it distorted and turned cold.

Between the two trees was a passageway three zhang wide.

The path wasn't made of soil, but of countless tiny, colorful pebbles, with velvety moss growing between them, making it as soft as a carpet when you stepped on it.

"The Crimson Sun Tree and the Mystic Ice Tree," Su Wanqing pointed to the two trees. "One of fire and one of ice guard the valley entrance and regulate the yin and yang within the valley. Ordinary demons and evil spirits dare not approach."

She stepped into the passageway.

Chen Yuan followed, and as soon as he stepped into the passage, he felt as if his left side was being roasted by fire and his right side was being soaked in ice—the alternation of extreme heat and cold caused a sharp pain in his wound.

Su Wanqing didn't even turn her head: "Just bear with it, I'll only need to walk ten steps."

After ten steps, the temperature returned to normal.

But the scene before him made Chen Yuan completely forget his earlier discomfort.

---

The valley is another world.

The sky was shrouded in a pale golden light, upon which flowed intricate runes and slowly rotated.

Sunlight streamed through the diffuser, filtered into a soft gold that spread evenly across every inch of the land.

The land was divided into countless pieces, each of different size and shape.

Some plots of land were steaming, with red soil covered in vines with flame-like patterns; others were covered in thin ice, with silvery-white soil covered in ice-crystal-like grass; some plots were suspended in mid-air, with clouds supporting the soil below and glowing orchids blooming on them; and some plots were sunken underground, with only deep pits visible, from which huge, man-eating plants emerged, their centers exhaling colorful mist.

The aroma of herbs in the air was so strong it was almost tangible; taking a breath felt like a cleansing of one's internal organs.

But what shocked Chen Yuan the most were those "people".

Not disciples of the Flying Feather Sect—at least not all of them.

Some people, dressed in coarse robes with their hands and feet covered in mud, were kneeling in the ground carefully weeding; others, dressed in luxurious long gowns, were carrying hoes and digging a hole under a large, purple-gold tree; still others, shirtless and showing off their strong muscles, were using specially made copper kettles to water a patch of wriggling mushrooms.

They were busy and focused, and no one looked up to see Su Wanqing and Chen Yuan walk in.

"Medicine Valley," Su Wanqing said softly, "one of the three sacred sites for spiritual plants in the Flying Feather Sect. More than 70% of the sect's rare spiritual plants are grown here, and it is also the place where outer sect spiritual plant masters cultivate, work, and take exams."

She turned and looked at Chen Yuan:

"Starting today, you will come here at 3:45 AM and leave at 3:45 PM every day. Your job is to take care of the plot of land you are responsible for—which plot will be decided by drawing lots later. Your monthly salary is three low-grade spirit stones, and you will be provided with room and board, but not cultivation resources."

Chen Yuan remained silent.

He simply looked at the plots of land, at the strangely shaped plants, and at the busy people.

After a long pause, he finally asked:

"Why did you bring me here?"

Su Wanqing smiled. ...A smile tinged with inquiry.

"Because I want to know."

"How did a rogue cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, with mixed spiritual energy and no background, learn the forbidden technique 'Destiny Grafting'?"

She paused:

"I'd also like to know, even though the grade of that half-blood ginseng—a top-grade third-rank golden-veined blood ginseng—has dropped, its foundation is still intact. A spiritual plant of this caliber shouldn't be able to survive in a place like a shantytown."

Chen Yuan's heart tightened.

But Su Wanqing didn't wait for his answer and turned to walk into the valley:

"Keep up. Before we draw lots, let me show you the way."