Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

On the morning of the seventh day in Medicine Valley, when Mu Shoujing appeared at the edge of plot number seventy-three, Chen Yuan was watering the Yin Soul Flower for the last time.

The purplish-black fruit was ripe, its surface shimmering with silver veins, like a miniature crescent moon hanging at the top of the flower stem.

"It's time to pick them." Mu Shoujing's voice came from behind.

Today, the Golden Core elder was dressed in a plain blue robe, his hair was casually tied up with a wooden hairpin, and he was looking down at the Yin Soul Flower and Fruit that had already ripened to a purplish-black color.

The sunlight fell on him, giving him an unreal, ethereal quality.

Chen Yuan put down the water ladle, turned around and bowed: "Master."

"Hmm." Mu Shoujing walked to the flowers, bent down to examine them closely for a moment, and nodded. "The bet has been settled. I've already had the fruit sent to Su Wanqing."

He straightened up, patted his robes, and said, "Get ready, come with me somewhere."

"Now?"

"Right now."

Chen Yuan went back to the thatched hut to get an outer robe and put it on. When he went out, Mu Shoujing was already waiting by the edge of the field, his hands behind his back, gazing at the morning mist in the distance.

"Master, where are we going?" Chen Yuan followed.

"A good place." Mu Shoujing strode deeper into the Medicine Valley. "It will be helpful for your cultivation."

The two walked one after the other through a large expanse of spiritual fields.

When the Lingnong disciples saw Mu Shoujing from afar, they all stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully, their eyes filled with awe—and a hint of barely perceptible fear.

We arrived at a sheer cliff, its dark blue rock face covered with withered vines.

Mu Shoujing stopped three feet in front of the rock wall, raised his finger and pointed: "Look."

Chen Yuan looked over. The rock face was rough, covered with mottled moss, just like the other cliffs in Medicine Valley.

"Let's look again." Mu Shoujing's fingertips twitched slightly.

The rock wall suddenly "came to life".

The moss and stone patterns began to wriggle and recombine, like ripples spreading across the water. In a few breaths, the outline of a door appeared on the rock wall—two zhang high and one zhang wide, with a faint bluish glow at the edges.

The door slid open silently.

Behind the door is a wooden staircase leading upwards. The walls on both sides are inlaid with luminescent minerals, their milky white light illuminating the passageway as bright as day.

"Follow me." Mu Shoujing stepped inside.

Chen Yuan followed. Behind him, the rock wall door closed silently, sealing perfectly.

The stairs were long and spiraled upwards. After about half an incense stick's time, a second door appeared ahead.

The wooden door was heavy, its panels carved with intricate vine patterns. Mu Shoujing pushed the door open—

Light poured in.

Chen Yuan squinted, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light so he could see the scene before him clearly.

Beneath my feet lay soft, black soil, its texture so fine it seemed otherworldly. Above me, there was no sky, only a pale blue curtain of light, like an inverted bowl covering the entire space. Clouds flowed and slowly swirled across this curtain of light.

But the most amazing thing is the spiritual plants.

Ten feet to the left, a fireweed had grown into a tree—a real tree, as thick as three or four people could hug, seven or eight feet tall, with crimson leaves as large as palm fans, and a red light like lava flowing in the veins of the leaves.

On the right, a clump of perilla grass spreads into a forest, its deep purple stems intertwining and climbing to form a continuous purple curtain, covered with tiny silvery-white flowers.

Further away, the Qingyang rice stands tall like a bamboo forest, with heavy ears of rice hanging down, each grain the size of a walnut, its surface gleaming like jade.

Everything here is abnormally large.

But Chen Yuan soon noticed another problem—

It's too quiet.

There were no insects chirping, no birds singing, not even the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Those majestic plants stood silently, their leaves motionless and their branches unmoving, like solidified sculptures.

"This is the 'Eternal Spring Realm'." Mu Shoujing's voice was exceptionally clear in the silence. "It's a blessed land I built over three hundred years."

He walked to the edelweiss tree and patted the rough trunk.

"The spiritual plants here are all cultivated using the finest spiritual soil, the purest spiritual spring water, and the most meticulous techniques. Any one of them would be a grand finale item at an auction."

Chen Yuan walked up to a stalk of Qingyang rice and touched the rice leaves.

It feels cool to the touch, and the leaf surface is as smooth as glass. But... it lacks the warm, supple elasticity of life; it's hard and stiff.

"They..." he paused, "...don't bear fruit?"

"The result?" Mu Shoujing smiled, a somewhat strange smile. "Flowering and bearing fruit is reproduction, the transmission of life. I don't need that here."

He walked over to Chen Yuan and touched the Qingyang rice plant as well.

"Look how well it's growing. The leaves are full, the stems are thick, and it's full of spiritual energy. That's enough."

Chen Yuan withdrew his hand.

He felt the Chaos Divine Crystal in his palm slightly warm—not the scorching heat of a warning, but more like a kind of… resonance.

"My master brought me here because..."

"This will accelerate your cultivation." Mu Shoujing walked deeper into the space. "The spiritual energy in the Medicine Valley is as thin as water. Here, one breath is equivalent to half a day of cultivation outside."

Chen Yuan followed.

The further you go, the taller and more bizarre the spiritual plants become. A golden thread grass has grown into a vine, twining around a boulder that resembles a rockery. The golden threads on its leaves are as thick as fingers, and their light is dazzling.

A patch of ghostly flowers—not just one plant, but a patch. Hundreds of them crowded together, their blossoms as large as washbasins, their purplish-black petals layered upon each other, yet there was no fruit in the center, only swirling black mist.

"Sit down." Mu Shoujing sat down on the flat bluestone and pointed to the opposite side. "Try circulating the Long Breath Technique here."

Chen Yuan sat down cross-legged as instructed, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

The moment he began to circulate the cultivation technique, he knew Mu Shoujing wasn't exaggerating—the surrounding spiritual energy was so dense it was almost impenetrable, like falling into a spiritual spring. With each breath, a massive amount of spiritual energy surged into his meridians, increasing the speed of his internal energy circulation by more than three times.

But something's not right.

These spiritual energies... are too "docile".

Even the most concentrated spiritual energy in the world will carry a natural "activity," and its absorption and refinement require careful guidance and taming.

However, the spiritual energy in Changchun Realm seemed to have been purified and tamed. After entering the meridians, it automatically lined up and obediently circulated along the Zhou Tian route.

It's like... being chewed up and fed to you.

Chen Yuan suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and continued to circulate his cultivation technique. After three cycles, he opened his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Mu Shoujing asked.

"The spiritual energy is very strong," Chen Yuan said carefully, "but... it's been a little too smooth."

"Isn't this a good thing?" Mu Shoujing laughed. "Many people would kill for an environment like this. A year of seclusion here is equivalent to ten years of arduous training outside."

He stood up and looked around at the majestic spiritual plants.

"Chen Yuan, do you know why it's becoming increasingly difficult for high-level cultivators to emerge in the cultivation world?"

Chen Yuan shook his head.

"Because the world is decaying," Mu Shoujing said calmly. "Spiritual energy is thinning, the Great Dao is receding, and bottlenecks are becoming increasingly difficult to break through. At this rate, in a few hundred years, even Golden Core cultivators will become regional overlords."

He turned to look at Chen Yuan.

"Therefore, we need to find another way. A grotto-heaven like Changchun Realm is one such way—concentrating limited spiritual energy to cultivate the most suitable environment for cultivation. Although small, it is exquisite."

Chen Yuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Master, I've been practicing the Long Breath Technique lately, and something's not right with me."

"Oh?" Mu Shoujing raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"When spiritual energy circulates through certain meridians, it will accelerate on its own, abnormally fast." Chen Yuan paused, "And... the bones will get hot."

He was telling the truth—as his cultivation of the "Blood and Bone Chapter" deepened, the burning sensation became increasingly intense each time spiritual energy flowed through his tempered bones.

Mu Shoujing stared at him for a few moments, then suddenly reached out.

"hand."

Chen Yuan extended his right hand.

Mu Shoujing placed three fingers on Chen Yuan's wrist. This time, her spiritual energy probed deeper and more subtly. Chen Yuan could feel that gentle yet irresistible force coursing through his meridians, probing inch by inch.

When spiritual energy touches the tempered bones—

hum.

Chen Yuan was startled.

It wasn't the vibration from Mu Shoujing's spiritual energy impact, but a kind of resonance deep within the bones. Like two pieces of iron of the same origin, gently trembling when they met.

Mu Shoujing frowned almost imperceptibly.

"Have you practiced body tempering?" he asked, withdrawing his hand.

"When I was in the shantytown, I learned some rudimentary bone-forging techniques from an old blacksmith," Chen Yuan said, half-truthfully. "Later, after I entered the Medicine Valley, I stopped practicing them."

"A rudimentary method of bone forging..." Mu Shoujing repeated, his eyes deepening. "To achieve bone resonance on its own, it's not something that can be described as 'rudimentary'."

He paced half a step around the stone table.

"Chen Yuan," he stopped, "just how much more are you hiding?"

Chen Yuan's heart tightened, but he remained calm on the surface: "This disciple dares not keep anything to himself. It was just something I obtained by chance, and I only have a superficial understanding of it. I dare not show it off in front of Master."

"It was a coincidence." Mu Shoujing smiled and sat down again. "Very well. Everyone has their own destiny. The bone-forging technique you've been practicing, although domineering, doesn't conflict with the Long Breath Technique; in fact... it complements it somewhat."

He paused, as if carefully choosing his words.

"Wood governs growth and nourishes all things. Bones are the framework of the body, bearing vital energy and blood. If you can combine the two, you may be able to forge a different path."

"Please enlighten me, Master." Chen Yuan lowered his eyes.

"I have no experience in body tempering, so I can't give you specific guidance." Mu Shoujing shook his head. "I can only tell you that your bone-forging technique might have unexpected reactions when you cultivate in the Changchun Realm. The spiritual energy here is too dense, and it carries the unique 'withering and flourishing' meaning of the secret realm. If you feel uncomfortable, stop your cultivation immediately."

"The meaning of 'withering and flourishing'..."

"Hmm." Mu Shoujing gazed at the majestic yet silent spiritual plants in the distance. "When life reaches its extreme, it withers. The spiritual energy here has both a 'life' and a 'wither' aspect. Ordinary cultivators cannot sense it, but since you have achieved success in body refinement, your bones are more sensitive to changes in spiritual energy, so you might be able to detect it."

He turned his gaze away and looked at Chen Yuan.

"This is both a risk and an opportunity. Whether you can seize it or not depends on you."

Chen Yuan was silent for a moment, then nodded: "This disciple understands."

"From now on, you will come here to cultivate for three hours every day." Mu Shoujing stood up. "I will set up a barrier at the entrance so that no one but you can enter."

"Where is Junior Sister Bai?"

"She doesn't need it for now." Mu Shoujing walked back the way she came. "She cultivates the Way of affinity with plants and trees, and practicing in the Medicine Valley is better than working in isolation here. You are different—you need to improve your cultivation as soon as possible."

He stopped in front of the wooden door and looked back at Chen Yuan.

"By the way, that thing in your hand."

Chen Yuan's heart tightened.

"It's quite unique." Mu Shoujing's gaze fell on his right palm. "Although I can't tell exactly what it is, I can sense that... it needs a lot of spiritual energy to nourish it. In the Changchun Realm, it can grow even faster."

He pushed open the door and stepped into the stairwell.

"Remember, three hours each day. No more, no less."

The sound echoed in the passageway.

Chen Yuan took one last look at the desolate forest of spiritual plants and followed them out.

The wooden door closed behind us.

The stairs spiraled downwards. Halfway down, Chen Yuan suddenly spoke.

"Master."

"Um?"

"The spiritual plants in Changchun Realm... will they die?"

Mu Shoujing paused in her steps.

"No." He continued walking down, "As long as Changchun Realm exists, they will keep growing."

"Will it keep growing?"

"Yes, it keeps growing."

At the end of the stairs, the rock wall door slid open, letting in the morning light of the Medicine Valley.

Chen Yuan stepped out the door and glanced back—the rock wall had been restored to its original state, mottled with moss and entwined with withered vines.

It was as if nothing had happened.

"Go back to your cultivation." Mu Shoujing waved his hand. "Come back at this time tomorrow."

He turned and walked deeper into the valley of medicine, his gray robe gradually blurring in the morning mist.

Chen Yuan stood still for a long time.

He raised his right hand, looking at the Chaos Divine Crystal half-embedded in his flesh in his palm. On the surface of the crystal, the chaotic patterns flowed slowly, slightly faster than usual.

Like breathing.

Like eating.

Deep within the bones, in the places tempered by the "Blood and Bone Chapter," a subtle, continuous burning sensation emanated.

Like a starving beast that has caught the scent of blood.