Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

At midnight, candlelight was still burning in the thatched hut next to plot number seventy-three.

Chen Yuan sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, closed his eyes, and began to practice the Long Breath Technique.

The array's silvery-white light seeped in through the cracks in the window, casting several distorted spots of light on the ground.

Those probing spirit patterns, like invisible spider webs, silently enveloped the entire room, recording the rhythm of his every breath and every flow of spiritual energy.

He's used to it.

Suddenly, the candle flame shot up.

It wasn't the wind—the windows were tightly shut. The flame, which had been a steady, bean-sized flame, suddenly elongated and twisted, turning into an eerie bluish-white.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes.

In the shadows of the corner of the thatched hut, someone had appeared out of nowhere.

He wore a gray robe, had disheveled hair, and a sickly pale face. His eyes shone frighteningly bright in the dim light.

It is the ancient river.

Chen Yuan didn't move or even make a sound. He just stared in that direction, his right palm pressed against the bed board, the earth vein imprint on his palm slightly warm.

"Don't be nervous," Gu He said, his voice hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time. "If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead before you even opened your eyes."

"Uncle-Master Gu," Chen Yuan said slowly, "You've come so late at night, is there something you need?"

"I've come to see if you're dead yet." Guhe emerged from the shadows, the candlelight illuminating his face. He looked more haggard than when he was at the entrance of Yuancao Hall, his eyes sunken and his cheekbones prominent, but the light in his eyes was as sharp as a knife.

He paced around the room a couple of times, his boots making no sound as they trod on the wooden planks.

"This formation," he suddenly stopped, pointed out the window, "was it Zhang Junbu's?"

"Yes."

"Trash." Gu He scoffed. "The Spirit-Gazing runes are mixed in like pepper, as if afraid others won't notice. They can only fool a junior like you."

Chen Yuan did not respond.

Gu He walked to the window and made a fleeting gesture on the window frame. Where his fingertip passed, the silvery-white array of light seemed to be cut off by something invisible, leaving a palm-sized hole.

"See that?" He turned to look at Chen Yuan. "Full of flaws."

"Did Uncle Gu come here specifically to give you pointers on formations?" Chen Yuan asked.

"I've brought you something." Guhe pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it casually.

The object traced an arc and landed on Chen Yuan's bed. It was a jade slip, grayish in color, with a chipped edge, as if someone had forcibly broken off a corner.

Chen Yuan didn't touch it.

"What is it?"

"See for yourself." Guhe walked back into the shadows, leaning against the wall. "We'll talk after you've seen it."

Chen Yuan stared at the jade slip for a few moments before finally reaching out and picking it up. It was icy cold to the touch, and the jade was rough; clearly, it wasn't high-quality. He probed it with a wisp of his divine sense—

boom!

Countless fragmented images, words, and insights flooded my mind.

The "Yi Wood Longevity Technique"... Plants and trees share the same origin... It draws upon the life force of heaven and earth to nourish oneself...

wrong.

It is not about "seizing the life force of heaven and earth".

It means "to take away someone's chance at life".

The records in the jade slip were incomplete, but the core meaning was terrifyingly clear: this was a plundering method disguised as a wood-attribute cultivation technique. The practitioner must use themselves as a guide to attract and cultivate a vibrant "source"—which could be a spiritual plant or a person.

When the "source" is at its peak of vitality, it will be plundered to replenish itself and break through the bottleneck.

Chen Yuan abruptly withdrew his consciousness.

The jade slip slipped from his hand and fell onto the bed board with a dull thud.

"Finished watching?" Furukawa's voice came from the shadows.

"What is this?" Chen Yuan heard his voice sound a little dry.

"The cultivation technique that Mu Shoujing mainly practices," Gu He said, "is, of course, an incomplete version. The true complete version, apart from himself, is probably something no one else has ever seen."

Chen Yuan stared at the jade slip on the ground.

"What does Uncle Gu mean?"

"The meaning is quite clear." Gu He stepped out of the shadows, the candlelight casting a long shadow on the opposite wall, like a menacing monster. "Your master doesn't cultivate any proper path to immortality. He cultivates the path of cannibalism."

"Where's the evidence?"

"Evidence?" Gu He laughed, his laughter dry and forced. "His seven previous disciples are the evidence."

Chen Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

"Have you checked?" he asked.

"I've checked." Gu He sat down on the only broken chair in the room, its legs creaking under its weight. "Liu Muyun, early Foundation Establishment stage, last seen before disappearing was in seclusion in Mu Shoujing's 'Eternal Spring Realm.' Zhao Hongyu, Qi Refining Perfection stage, went into seclusion to break through to Foundation Establishment and never came out again. Sun Hai..."

He rattled off seven names in one breath.

Behind every name lies the same ending: seclusion, wandering, descending the mountain—and then disappearing.

"Coincidence?" Gu He raised his eyelids and looked at Chen Yuan. "One or two could be coincidences, but all seven are?"

"It could also be them..."

"What do you mean, 'courting death'? Chen Yuan, you're a smart man, don't play dumb." Gu He interrupted him, "Looking for death? Chen Yuan, you're a smart man, don't play dumb."

Chen Yuan fell silent.

The sound of wind came from outside, making the paper windows rustle.

The light from the array flowed across the window frame, and the hole carved out by the ancient river had not yet fully healed, resembling a black wound.

"Why did Uncle Gu tell me all this?" Chen Yuan asked slowly.

"Because I'm bored," Gu He said. "Because I can't stand people treating the last glimmer of hope in the cultivation world like pigsties."

"hope?"

"You," Gu He pointed at him, "and that little girl Bai Zhi. Both of you are 'different origins'."

He paused, his tone becoming strange.

"Do you know what 'different origin' means? It's not as simple as being born with extraordinary talent. It's that your life force... is different from that of ordinary people."

Chen Yuan clenched his fists tightly.

"Mu Shoujing took you in not because of your talent," Gu He continued, "but because of your 'source'. Once you grow to a certain level and your vitality is strong enough, you will be the best 'medicinal materials' for him to break through to the Golden Core stage and advance to the Nascent Soul stage."

"Medicinal herbs..."

"Yes, medicinal herbs." Gu He leaned forward, the candlelight flickering on his face. "The plundering method of the 'Yi Wood Longevity Technique' has limited effect on ordinary cultivators. But for 'alien sources'... it's twice as effective. The more diligently you cultivate, the stronger your vitality, the more nourishing it will be for him."

Chen Yuan recalled Mu Shoujing's gentle smile and his words, "Cultivate well and don't think too much."

"Why did you help me?" He looked at Gu He, "At the entrance of Yuancao Hall, you clearly..."

"You clearly wanted to capture you and take you back for research?" Gu He continued, "That's right. I do want to study the 'Other Source.' But not for plunder, but to understand—why the spiritual energy in the world is becoming increasingly scarce, and why it's becoming increasingly difficult for cultivators to break through."

He stood up and paced around the room.

"Three hundred years ago, Nascent Soul cultivators were rare, but every major sect had a few. Now? In the entire Southern Wilderness, the number of Nascent Soul cultivators on the surface can be counted on one hand. Golden Core cultivators have become the pillars of their sects."

He stopped, turned around, and stared at Chen Yuan.

"Why do you think that is?"

Chen Yuan shook his head.

"Because heaven and earth are decaying," Gu He said, enunciating each word clearly. "Spiritual energy is dissipating, and the Great Dao is receding. At this rate, it's questionable whether the cultivation world will even exist in another five hundred years."

"What does this have to do with 'alien origin'?"

"Because you are the variable," Gu He said. "Under the general trend of declining spiritual energy, the origin of normal cultivators is slowly shrinking. But you are different—your origin is not shrinking, but rather 'growing.' Although it is weak, it is definitely growing."

He walked up to Chen Yuan and bent down.

"Do you understand what this means?"

Chen Yuan looked at him.

"This means... you might be the key to breaking this deadlock." Gu He straightened up. "So Mu Shoujing will raise you, and pick you when you're ripe. As for me..."

He paused.

"I want you to live. Live strong enough to change something."

The sound of the night watchman's clapper could be heard outside.

It's past midnight.

Gu He turned and walked to the window. The void in the array was almost completely closed. He raised his hand and drew a few strokes in the air with his fingertips, and the silver-white array patterns returned to normal.

"Keep the jade slip safe." He didn't turn around. "Although the cultivation method inside is incomplete, the core techniques are recorded quite clearly. You'll understand whether what I said is true or false once you take a look."

"If Mu Shoujing finds out you came to see me..." Chen Yuan began.

"He won't find out," Gu He interrupted him. "Before I came, I did some tampering around the perimeter of Changchun. He should be busy patching the three security loopholes I exposed right now, and won't have time to deal with this."

He pushed open the window, and the night wind rushed in, causing the candlelight to flicker violently.

"Let me give you one last piece of advice." Gu He stepped one foot out of the window, glanced back at Chen Yuan, and said, "Too much vitality can turn you into a furnace. In his eyes, you are now a fruit that is ripening."

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared into the night.

The windows closed silently.

The candle flame stabilized and returned to the size of a bean.

Chen Yuan sat on the bed, motionless for a long time. He looked down at the jade slip, which lay on the bed board, dusty and gray, like a charred bone.

He reached out and picked it up again.

The divine sense probed in for the second time.

This time, he observed more closely. He examined the cultivation methods of the *Yi Wood Longevity Technique*, its principles of plunder, the requirements for nurturing the "source," and the timing of harvesting...

The jade slip is indeed incomplete, missing key parts. But Guhe's core statement is absolutely correct.

This is a cannibalistic technique.

Chen Yuan withdrew his consciousness and gripped the jade slip tightly in his palm. The rough edges of the jade hurt his hand.

He remembered Mu Shoujing's gentle smile and his words, "Cultivate diligently."

I think of those seven senior brothers and sisters who disappeared.

I recall Bai Zhi's clear eyes.

The array light outside the window was still flowing, silently recording everything about him. But now, the five-colored star power within his body was slowly contracting, like a hibernating snake, locking its true power and true vitality deep within his dantian.

All that remains is the thin, stagnant illusion of the "Long Breath Technique," which has been "tainted" by Yin energy.

The candlelight flickered.

Chen Yuan released his grip, and the jade slip fell back onto the bed. He got out of bed, walked to the corner of the room, pried open a floor tile, placed the jade slip into the hidden compartment, and closed it again.

Then I went back to bed, closed my eyes, and continued to practice the Long Breath Technique.

Breathing was steady, rhythm was rigid.

It's like a stagnant pool.

Outside the window, in the distance from the direction of Changchun, a very faint popping sound could be heard.