Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

When Su Wanqing arrived, Chen Yuan was changing the dressing on his back wound.

The door to the thatched hut was ajar, and the morning light slanted in, illuminating the dust floating in the air. He sat on a low stool with his back to the door, holding a blood-stained cloth in his hand, about to apply freshly ground herbs to his back.

How did you get this injury?

The voice came from the doorway; it was cold, flat, and not a question.

Chen Yuan paused, without turning around: "I tripped and fell last night, hitting a pile of rubble."

"A fall can cause two penetrating wounds?" Su Wanqing walked in, her steps very light, but Chen Yuan could feel her gaze like fine needles, scraping inch by inch across the bandages on his back. "The left wound has green edges, it's poison. The right one is jagged, it's earth spikes."

She stopped three steps behind him.

"You got into a fight last night."

Chen Yuan remained silent for a few seconds, put down the herbs, and slowly turned around.

Today, Su Wanqing wasn't wearing her usual plain white dress, but rather a light blue short outfit with cinched cuffs and a row of small cloth bags hanging from her waist.

She held a palm-sized jade box in her hand, the lid half open, revealing countless tiny black dots inside—spirit bees, their wings gleaming metallic in the morning light.

"Senior Sister Su," Chen Yuan stood up, "the Yin Soul Flower has six days left."

"I know." Su Wanqing walked to the table and put down the jade box. "That's why I came. But before that—" She looked up at him, "who touched you?"

"I don't know him."

"to be honest."

Chen Yuan and she made eye contact.

Su Wanqing's eyes were calm, like a still pond in late autumn, revealing no emotion, but you knew she understood everything.

"People from the court," he finally said. "They came to destroy the flowers at midnight last night."

"name?"

"He's dead."

There was a moment of silence in the thatched hut.

Su Wanqing didn't ask how she died, nor did she ask where the body was.

She simply nodded, as if she were hearing something as ordinary as "it's raining today." Then she opened the jade box and gently poked at the spirit bees inside with a jade stick.

"The Yin Soul Flower is of the Yin attribute, and ordinary bees dare not approach it. This is the 'Ink Jade Bee,' which I have cultivated for three years specifically to pollinate Yin attribute spiritual plants."

She took a small porcelain bottle from her cloth bag and dripped a drop of clear liquid into the box.

"The nectar attractant mimics the scent of the ghost flower's pollen. When the ghosts enter to collect nectar, they will mistake the flower for an open one, thus naturally completing the pollination."

The bees stirred, their wings vibrating and buzzing.

"Success rate?" Chen Yuan asked.

"Seventy percent." Su Wanqing closed the box. "Sixty percent higher than your artificial pollination. But there's a problem."

"What?"

"When the Jade Bees collect nectar, they absorb a small amount of the flower's yin energy. If the Yin Soul Flower itself isn't strong enough, pollination might succeed, but the flower will wither three days earlier." She looked at Chen Yuan, "Can your flower withstand it?"

Chen Yuan walked to the window and looked at plot number 73.

The morning mist had dissipated, and the dark flower stood quietly in the middle of the field, its petals still damp with morning dew.

Five days left. If it doesn't get pollinated within five days, even if this flower blooms like a magic pill, it'll be useless.

Entry view emerges:

【Soul Flower (Peak Bloom, Day 6)】

[Status: Flower body has 82% yin energy saturation, capable of withstanding one nectar collection]

[Warning: If the Yin energy level is below 70%, the success rate will drop to 30%]

"We can hold on," he said.

"Alright." Su Wanqing picked up the jade box. "Come with me."

The two walked to the edge of plot number seventy-three.

Su Wanqing opened the box, tapped the jade stick lightly, and a dozen black jade bees flew out in succession, circled twice in the air, and then accurately pounced on the Yin Soul Flower.

The bees landed on the petals, their slender mouthparts probing into the flower's stamen.

Chen Yuan saw that the flower's stamen trembled slightly, and a wisp of extremely faint black energy was sucked away by the swarm of bees. The petals of the Yin Soul Flower dimmed slightly at a speed visible to the naked eye, but quickly returned to normal—the Yin veins underground were continuously supplying it.

"How long will it take?" he asked.

"A quarter of an hour." Su Wanqing stood by the edge of the field, her hands forming a simple hand seal to maintain control of the bee swarm. "They must not be disturbed during this time. Any fluctuation of spiritual energy may scare them away."

Chen Yuan nodded, took a few steps back, but his gaze involuntarily drifted toward plot number seventy-five.

Beneath the pile of rubble, the dark blue sprout had already grown to two inches tall. Its body was covered with fine blood vessels, gleaming eerily in the morning light.

The entry's view will automatically pop up:

【Bloodthirsty Spirit Vine (Budding Stage)】

[Status: Absorbing the essence of flesh and blood, growth accelerated by 300%]

[Estimated ripening time: Nine hours later]

[Warning: Upon maturity, it will produce 1-3 'Blood Spirit Fruits,' each of which can temporarily increase the power of wood-type spells by 50%, lasting for thirty breaths. Side effects: The user will develop a 'bloodlust' and gradually lose their natural perception of wood-elemental energy.]

Nine hours.

"What are you looking at?" Su Wanqing suddenly asked.

Chen Yuan looked away: "It's nothing. It seems like some weeds have grown on plot number 75. I'm wondering if I should clear them away."

"Weeds?" Su Wanqing didn't turn around, but there was a subtle change in her voice. "What color are they?"

"……blue."

"Is it streaked with blood?"

Chen Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

Su Wanqing finally turned her head, her gaze falling on the tender sprout. She looked at it for three breaths, then turned back to continue controlling the bee swarm.

"That's a variant of the 'Blood Fiend Vine'," she said, her tone as calm as if she were introducing an ordinary spiritual herb. "It's something that ancient demonic cultivators used to quickly increase their combat power. It grows by absorbing flesh and blood, and the fruit it produces can make a person's strength skyrocket for a short time, but if you eat too much... you'll turn into a madman who only knows how to kill."

"Don't the sects care?"

"Manage it," Su Wanqing said. "Article 7 of the 'List of Prohibited Plants' states: Anyone who privately cultivates the Blood Fiend Vine or its variants will have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the sect. If it causes injury or death, they will be killed on the spot."

Chen Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

"However," Su Wanqing paused, "yours is a bit strange. Blood Fiend Vine usually grows in places of corpses and blood, so it shouldn't appear in a quiet place like Medicine Valley. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless there's a recently deceased corpse buried there, still lingering resentment, and the deceased was a powerful cultivator with abundant blood and energy." She turned her head and glanced at Chen Yuan. "Where did you think that person from last night died?"

Chen Yuan's throat was dry.

The swarm of bees was still buzzing, and one after another, the black jade bees flew out of the flower's stamen, their abdomens swollen, carrying the "false pollen" they had collected. The petals of the ghost flower had dimmed a little more, but it still stood upright.

"Senior Sister Su," Chen Yuan heard his own voice, "if... if someone accidentally grows this thing, what should we do?"

"There are two methods," Su Wanqing said. "First, dig it up by the roots before it ripens and burn it to ashes with real fire. Second, wait until it ripens and bears fruit, pick the fruit, and then immediately destroy the vines."

"Picking fruit?" Chen Yuan frowned. "Isn't that even more dangerous?"

"It's dangerous to ordinary people, but for some people..." Su Wanqing twitched her fingertips slightly, and an unseen force pulled a stray jade bee back on track. "The Blood Spirit Fruit is a life-saving medicine."

"Help?"

"Those who practice certain extreme wood-based techniques, or who have suffered severe backlash from wood attributes, will gradually have their meridians 'wooden' and lose their vitality. The violent wood spiritual energy of the Blood Spirit Fruit can forcibly open up the wooden meridians. Although it will have endless consequences, it can at least extend one's life by a few years." She paused, "There is an elder in the Earth District of Medicine Valley who was afflicted by the 'Withered Wood Curse' thirty years ago. Now he relies on taking a Blood Spirit Fruit every three months to prolong his life."

Chen Yuan remained silent.

The swarm of bees began to fly back to the jade box. Su Wanqing closed the lid, walked to the Yin Soul Flower, and gently touched the petals.

"Pollination is complete," she said. "The next three days are crucial. I'll check on you every day. Make sure the earth's yin energy supply remains stable and doesn't drop below 60% on the flower."

"it is good."

Su Wanqing put away the jade box, turned to leave, but then stopped.

"Chen Yuan".

"Um?"

"Regarding the Blood Fiend Vine, I suggest you choose the first method." She didn't look at him, her gaze fixed on the distant mountains. "Some paths, once embarked upon, offer no turning back."

Su Wanqing turned to look at Chen Yuan, the morning light drawing a cold, hard line on her profile: "But there are only two months left on the bet. The court won't just talk the talk—last night's incident was the first time, not the last."

Chen Yuan paused for a moment: "What about the Array Court..."

"Zhang Minghai came to see me yesterday," Su Wanqing said calmly. "He said the bet was about 'blooming and bearing fruit,' and now the flower has bloomed, but the fruit hasn't appeared yet. He implied that if I voluntarily conceded, he would only let me leave Medicine Valley, but wouldn't sever my cultivation path."

"You agreed?"

"I told him to get lost."

The mark on Chen Yuan's right arm felt slightly hot.

"Disciple understands."

"Good, I understand." Su Wanqing withdrew her gaze.

"Go to the library, to the 'Tales of Spiritual Plants' section on the third floor, east side, and find a book called 'A Study of Ancient Vines.' The Blood Fiend Vine might be mentioned in that book."

After saying that, she left.

Chen Yuan stood there, watching her figure disappear at the end of the medicine valley path.