Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

For the next hour, Chen Yuan followed Su Wanqing like a puppet, moving between different plots of land in the Medicine Valley.

Su Wanqing walked slowly, stopping briefly at each special plot of land to say a few words.

"This 'Lava Land' contains seven miniature fire veins buried underground, specifically for growing fire-attribute spiritual plants. Do you see that Crimson Flame Fruit? It's a mid-grade third-rank fruit, ripening once every thirty years. The fruit, when refined into the Crimson Sun Pill, can assist fire-attribute cultivators in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage."

"That 'Cold Pool' has water drawn from an icy spring in the back mountain, and it stays below zero degrees Celsius all year round. It is planted with Ice Heart Lotus, a second-grade superior variety. The lotus can calm the mind and soothe the spirit, and the lotus seeds are the main ingredient for refining the Ice Soul Pill."

"That tree is called 'Cloud Mist Wood.' It's not a high-grade tree in itself, but its canopy naturally gathers clouds and mist, which contain a faint spiritual energy. Under the tree grows 'Mist Concealing Grass,' a top-grade first-class herb that is used as an auxiliary material for making invisibility talismans."

She spoke casually, but Chen Yuan was alarmed.

It wasn't because of the rarity of these spiritual plants—although he had never actually seen them before—but because of Su Wanqing's way of explaining them.

She didn't tell you how to plant it or how to care for it; she only said, "What is suitable to plant in this land?", "What is the use of this spiritual plant?", and "What will happen if you fail to plant it?"

When they reached a plot of land shrouded in purple mist, Su Wanqing suddenly stopped.

"Do you know the difference between a plant practitioner and a spiritual farmer?" she asked.

Chen Yuan thought for a moment: "Spirit farmers cultivate the land, while spirit plant masters... cultivate it with even greater precision?"

"Wrong." Su Wanqing shook her head. "Spirit farmers 'adapt to the environment'—they plant whatever is suitable for a particular piece of land. Spirit plant masters 'create the environment'—if a piece of land is unsuitable, they modify it until it is."

She pointed to the purple mist:

"For example, this 'Poisonous Miasma Land' was originally a wasteland with soil containing deadly toxins, where anything planted there would die. But three hundred years ago, a senior spirit plant master in the sect discovered that although this poisonous soil was not suitable for most spirit plants, it was particularly suitable for the growth of 'Bone-Rotting Flowers'."

"The Bone-Rotting Flower?" Chen Yuan asked subconsciously.

"It's a second-grade poisonous flower. Its petals, when ground into powder, are the main ingredient for refining the Bone-Corroding Pill," Su Wanqing said. "But the Bone-Corroding Flower needs a lot of poisonous gas to grow, and it can't survive in normal soil. So that senior spent ten years setting up a 'poison-gathering array' around this land, drawing in all the poisonous gas from within a ten-mile radius, and forcibly transforming this wasteland into a 'paradise' for the Bone-Corroding Flower."

She turned and looked at Chen Yuan:

"This is what a spiritual plant master is. It's not just about 'knowing how to farm,' it's about 'knowing how to create land.'"

Chen Yuan remained silent.

He recalled his eight acres of abandoned land in the shantytown—using fire ore powder mixed with spiritual rain to cleanse impurities, using saplings with inscribed symbols to absorb evil spirits, and using blood to fertilize and promote growth…

Does that count as "land reclamation"?

he does not know.

But a certain string in his heart was gently plucked.

---

When they reached the middle of the valley, Su Wanqing stopped in front of a stone platform.

The stone platform is three feet square, with a complex array carved on its surface. In the center of the array is a jade divination tube containing dozens of bamboo sticks.

"Draw lots," Su Wanqing said. "Whichever plot of land you draw, you'll be responsible for taking care of it for the next three months. After three months, you'll be assessed. If you pass, you'll stay; if you fail, you'll be expelled from Medicine Valley—to the outer sect's menial work area, sweeping mountain paths, carrying manure, or... just get out of here."

She spoke casually, but Chen Yuan sensed the cruelty behind it.

Medicine Valley is a sacred place, but also a purgatory.

Here, you have the opportunity to come into contact with rare spiritual plants and learn advanced skills, but failure also means certain doom.

He walked to the stone platform and looked at the divination sticks.

The bamboo skewers are very ordinary; they are made from common green bamboo, with one end stained red and the other end engraved with a number.

He stretched out his hand.

The moment the finger touched the bamboo skewer, the seedling of the word in the sea of ​​consciousness suddenly trembled.

It wasn't pain, it was a kind of... sensation.

Like a hungry wolf smelling blood.

Chen Yuan paused, but didn't stop. He randomly picked one out, took it out, and looked at it—

Number: Seventy-three.

The red paint on the other side exuded a faint, chilling aura.

Su Wanqing frowned almost imperceptibly when she saw the number.

"Plot number seventy-three..." She hesitated for a moment, "in the western part of the valley, in the Yin Sha District."

She looked at Chen Yuan, her gaze complex:

"You're not very lucky."

---

Plot No. 73 is located at the westernmost edge of Medicine Valley, right next to the rock wall at the edge of the valley.

The plot of land was small, about three zhang long and two zhang wide, with dark purple soil covered with a thin layer of white frost. Four stone pillars stood around the plot, with talismans for suppressing evil spirits carved on them, but the talismans had faded and the pillars were cracked.

There was only one plant growing on the plot.

A plant that is difficult to describe.

It is entirely black, with a stem as thin as a chopstick, yet half a person's height. At the top blooms a flower—also black, with petals layered upon each other like rotten silk, and a pale white stamen in the center, trembling slightly like a dead person's finger.

A light white mist floated around the flowers.

It's not water vapor, it's yin energy.

Standing at the edge of the plot, Chen Yuan could clearly feel the chilling coldness—not just low temperature, but a coldness that seemed to seep directly into his bones.

"What's this called?" he asked.

"The Yin Soul Flower." Su Wanqing stood three steps behind him, not getting closer. "It's a second-grade, low-level ingredient, used as a supplementary material for refining Yin-attribute pills. It requires a large amount of Yin energy to grow, so it's planted in Yin-attribute areas."

She paused:

"But the Yin energy array on this land has malfunctioned. Three of the four Yin energy suppressing pillars have cracked, causing the Yin energy to leak out and disrupting the growth of the Yin Soul Flower—look at the petals, the edges are already rotting. If this continues, the flower will wither and die completely in at most a month."

Chen Yuan looked at the four stone pillars.

Sure enough, of the four pillars, the three pillars in the east, south, and north had cracks, while only the one in the west was still intact.

But the runes on the pillar had dimmed as if they were about to go out at any moment.

"Why not fix it?" he asked.

"It can't be repaired." Su Wanqing shook her head. "The Yin Sha Formation was set up by a Foundation Establishment stage elder, and it requires at least the pure spiritual power of the eighth level of Qi Refining to maintain. All the Qi Refining stage and above plant masters in the Medicine Valley have gone to take care of more important plots of land—no one is willing to waste their time on a second-grade low-level Yin Soul Flower."

She looked at Chen Yuan:

"So your test is very simple: make this ghost flower live for three months and bloom and bear fruit—even if it only produces one seed, you will pass."

Chen Yuan remained silent.

He looked at the black flower trembling in the gloomy air, at the four cracked stone pillars, and at this piece of land abandoned by everyone.

Then he laughed.

"Professor Su," he said, "did you intend for me to get this plot of land from the very beginning?"

Su Wanqing did not deny it.

"Each stick in the divination box corresponds to a different plot of land," she said softly. "But plot number 73 is one I specifically put in last night—I put in ten sticks. Your chance of drawing it is one in five."

She paused:

"I want to see if someone who knows how to use 'fate grafting' can save a dying flower."

Chen Yuan remained silent.

He simply walked to the edge of the plot, squatted down, and reached out to touch the soil—

"Don't touch it."

Su Wanqing's voice suddenly turned cold.

Chen Yuan's finger stopped in mid-air.

"Yin Sha Soil, if a living person touches it, the Yin energy will enter their body, causing at best a serious illness, and at worst shortening their lifespan." Su Wanqing walked over and took out a pair of gloves as thin as cicada wings from her sleeve. "Wear these. They are made of ice silkworm silk and can isolate Yin energy."

Chen Yuan took the gloves and put them on.

It feels cool to the touch, but it's very flexible, like a second skin.

He then reached out and gently brushed away the surface frost to reveal the dark purple soil underneath.

The soil was very wet and sticky, like silt from a swamp.

The moment my fingertips touched it, a bone-chilling cold pierced through the glove and seeped into my skin.

At the same time, within the sea of ​​consciousness, the seedling of the word tree trembled violently!

It wasn't fear, it was...excitement.

Like a wild animal that has been starving for three days, suddenly seeing meat.

Chen Yuan could clearly feel that the roots of the sapling were growing and extending wildly, penetrating his body, his gloves, and his fingertips, and sinking into that Yin Sha soil!

Then start "inhaling".

It's not absorbing spiritual energy, it's absorbing... yin energy.

The Yin energy that ordinary cultivators would avoid at all costs is excellent nourishment for the sapling!

Chen Yuan abruptly withdrew his hand.

But it was too late.

He could clearly see that the small patch of soil his fingertips had touched had changed color from dark purple to ordinary brownish-black—although it was only the size of a fingernail, it had indeed changed.

Meanwhile, within the sea of ​​consciousness, the seedling of the word entry conveyed a satisfying sense of "fullness."

A few drops of emerald green sap seeped from the severed root.

The repair progress jumped from 47% to 47.1%.

Although it only jumped by 0.1%, it is indeed being fixed.

Chen Yuan's heart pounded.

He looked up at Su Wanqing.

Su Wanqing was also looking at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"No...it's nothing." Chen Yuan suppressed his shock, stood up, and said, "I can farm this land."

Su Wanqing stared at him for three breaths, then nodded:

"Alright. From today onwards, plot number seventy-three is yours. You shall arrive at 3:45 AM and depart at 3:45 PM daily, with a one-hour rest in between. The tools are in the shed over there; take them yourself."

She turned to leave, then stopped:

"By the way. Medicine Valley has a rule—we don't ask about origins or methods, we only care about results. I don't care what method you use to save this flower. But I want to see the results in three months."

Chen Yuan nodded: "Understood."

Su Wanqing is gone.

Chen Yuan stood alone in front of plot number seventy-three, looking at the Yin Soul Flower, the four cracked stone pillars, and the plot of land shrouded in Yin energy.

Then he squatted down, reached out again, and pressed his hand onto the soil.

This time, he wasn't wearing gloves.

The yin energy, sharp as a needle, pierced my fingertip in an instant!

But the seedlings of the word tree were operating wildly, devouring and transforming that yin energy into nutrients for self-repair.

Repair progress: 47.1%...47.2%...47.3%...

Although slow, it is moving.

Chen Yuan grinned.

He was laughing so hard he was almost crazy.

He recalled Su Wanqing's words:

"A spiritual plant master is not someone who 'knows how to farm,' but someone who 'knows how to create land.'"

What if...

He can not only create land, but also "eat" it?

---

Meanwhile, deep within the Medicine Valley, in a bamboo building.

Su Wanqing stood by the window, holding a jade slip in her hand. The jade slip shimmered with a faint light, reflecting a real-time image of plot number seventy-three—Chen Yuan was squatting in the ground, his hands pressed against the soil, motionless.

She stared at it for a long time.

Then he whispered to himself:

"Yin Sha Earth, it's so harmful that even a living person would be injured if they touched it... Why is he unharmed?"

Outside the window, a pure white messenger bird landed on the windowsill, carrying a secret letter in its beak.

Su Wanqing took down the secret letter and unfolded it.

The letter contained only one line:

"The anomaly in the Qingyang Mountains has been confirmed, the Well of Rebirth has been awakened, two members of the Yellow Springs Sect have gone missing, and the Demonic Path's Red Maiden has been ignited."

She crushed the secret letter, and the scraps of paper turned to ashes.

Their gaze returned to the direction of plot number seventy-three.

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