Mortal Transformation into Immortal

"A strange child moved into a dilapidated alley at the east end of town."

"I know, he came the day before yesterday, but he won't eat the food we give him."

"They're really brave. So many people burned to death in that alley. It's always eerie to pass by, yet they still dared to live there."

"That kid must have something wrong with his head. I saw him on the cemetery when I went to pay respects to my husband. He seemed to be rummaging through something, but he wouldn't answer when I asked him what he was doing."

Early in the morning, by the well in Baizhu Town, several women were washing clothes and chatting as usual.

No one noticed that three figures flew like birds overhead and quietly landed in the town.

A young man, a boy, and a woman in green.

"Strange, why has the spiritual energy fluctuation disappeared?"

The young man at the front frowned as he stared at the magic disc in his hand, whose light was gradually dimming.

"Senior Brother Chen, could it be that we disturbed that spirit?" the woman asked.

The young man nodded: "That should be it."

The three originally intended to return to their sect, but as they passed through this town, the magical artifacts that sensed spiritual energy on their bodies suddenly reacted, which greatly surprised them, so they followed the guidance and came here.

However, as soon as they arrived, they lost contact with the spiritual energy.

"It should be in this town." The boy glanced around.

"Hmm, I'll examine it carefully." The young man nodded, and spiritual energy flowed into the magic disc, which then burst into light again, and the pointer on it swayed slightly.

"The senses are very weak. Such a powerful ability to conceal itself suggests that this is a spiritual object of considerable quality," the young man said with a smile.

"I never expected to have such an unexpected gain in this ordinary little town." A glint flashed in the eyes of the two people beside him.

"Junior Brother Qian, Junior Sister Shui, both of you must conceal your auras and not let that spirit creature detect you again," the young man instructed.

"Yes, Senior Brother Chen."

The three of them moved around like ordinary mortals, carefully searching the town's alleyways.

After a while, they came to an alley full of broken walls and ruins.

"It's nearby," the young man said, staring at the magic disc.

"Senior Brother Chen, look over there."

The woman stopped and looked at a pile of ruins.

The other two followed suit.

Amidst the broken bricks and rubble, a child was frantically searching for something in the ruins with his hands.

The child was about twelve years old, covered in dirt, barefoot, like a wildcat, and would sometimes crouch down and sniff around with his nose.

"What is he doing?"

Seeing this strange scene, the three of them were very puzzled.

"Found it!"

On the ruins, the child smelled what he wanted in a corner and excitedly dug through the rubble with his hands.

Soon, he pulled out a large worm.

The child looked at the thing struggling in his hand and stuck out his tongue to lick his lips.

"He...he's not going to eat it, is he?" The female disciple's expression changed instantly.

Just as she expected, the child stuffed the whole worm into his mouth and continued searching while chewing.

"Um?"

The child noticed someone watching him from a distance, his expression changed, and he immediately ran into another dilapidated house to hide.

"This... they actually ate it?"

The two disciples standing behind him wore expressions of disbelief.

"So that's it, so that's it. No wonder there was such a strong insect smell on him." The young man surnamed Chen muttered to himself.

"Senior Brother Chen, what's wrong?"

The two asked, puzzled.

The young man turned to look at the two of them and said solemnly, "Junior Brother Qian, Junior Sister Shui, it seems that the spiritual object is not meant for us."

"Why?" The two were completely bewildered.

"Seeking immortality."

The young man smiled and uttered two words.

The two looked at each other, puzzled.

"Senior Brother Chen, what does this mean?"

The young man turned and walked forward, smiling as he said, "Those with spiritual bones are called celestial embryos, possessing the aptitude for cultivation. Those without spiritual bones are called mortal embryos. Because mortal embryos lack the 'spirituality' of spiritual bones, they cannot sense spiritual energy. To cultivate into immortality, they must rely on the spirituality of spiritual objects. The resulting innate bones are commonly known as pseudo-spiritual bones."

"The spirit we're tracking belongs to this child..."

The young man nodded: "That's right, but the spiritual object isn't with him yet. Let's leave first and not disturb his transformation. Destroying such an opportunity would be against all reason and would bring bad consequences. Once it's complete, we'll bring it back to the sect to see, as a way of forming a good connection."

"Um."

The three figures gradually walked away and eventually disappeared into the alley.

In the shadows, a pair of small eyes watched them leave.

"They're finally gone. I hope they weren't scared."

After everyone had left, Yu Ling sat down on the ground, holding a small pottery jar, and breathed a sigh of relief.

However, I was still worried that they would think I was a monster and would send someone to drive me away.

He didn't want to leave; these past few days here had been the time he'd eaten his fill the most.

This alley was once ravaged by fire, which destroyed many houses. It has been uninhabited for many years and is now teeming with snakes and insects.

After hiding for a while and seeing that nothing of the sort happened, Yu Ling went out and continued to forage for food in the ruins. His sense of smell was very keen, and he could smell the scent of insects.

If someone happens to be passing by, be careful to avoid them.

......

at night.

Yu Ling sat on the wall, holding a pottery jar, gazing up at the moon.

The cold moonlight shone on his face.

"That's about enough."

He pulled out a sharp tile and cut his palm, causing bright red blood to seep out.

"Spiritual bone, come, spiritual bone, come quickly! Little cricket wants to become an immortal, little cricket wants to become an immortal..."

Yu Ling smeared the blood on the jar, murmuring her beautiful wishes as she did so.

The earthenware jar was only the size of a bowl. As long as a spiritual bone was born inside, he could go to the city to find an immortal to become his disciple and cultivate immortality.

He didn't stop until the entire pottery jar was stained red with blood.

It was late at night, and Yu Ling sat down in a corner of the dilapidated house.

"Father, Mother, I will definitely become an immortal, I definitely will." He hugged the pottery jar tightly in his arms and slowly fell asleep.

His family has been seeking immortality for three generations. His father said that when his grandfather was young, he was collecting herbs in the mountains and saw an immortal under a pine tree, from whom he learned a method for seeking immortality.

The immortal casually used the soil on the ground to make a pottery jar for him, and instructed him: "Do not touch fire, feed on a hundred insects, and for seven consecutive days every month, smear the pottery jar with your own blood, day after day, year after year. As long as your heart for seeking immortality is sincere and unwavering, you will surely gain something within five generations."

Grandpa believed it to be true and from then on he kept the words of the immortal in mind, and began to eat insects, becoming a monster in the eyes of the people.

Grandma couldn't stand his behavior, so she abandoned the two-year-old child and ran away.

Grandpa eventually died at the age of thirty-five, his body covered in pustules.

Deeply influenced by his grandfather from a young age, his father also became a monster who ate all kinds of insects after his grandfather's death, and was despised by his neighbors.

When he arrived here, his family line was about to end, but a woman with mental illness in the next village was married to his father by her family, and he was able to continue the family line when he was in his thirties.

In Yu Ling's memory, although his mother was mentally unstable and could not speak, she was very good to him. She would carry him wherever she went. Influenced by his father, she would catch insects for him to eat from a young age, and she would eat them herself.

His good fortune didn't last long. When he was six years old, his mother fell into a pond and drowned. Her body was frozen in ice, and his father had to work very hard to break through the ice and pull her out.

His father was ostracized by his neighbors, which also caused him to be bullied by other children from a young age. After his mother died, she took him around to make a living, and eventually died of a strange disease two years ago.

Yu Ling had always been puzzled as to why his family couldn't live a good life like others. It wasn't until his father handed him the pottery jar before his death and told him that it was used to seek immortality that he suddenly understood.

After his father died, he inherited the pottery jar. From then on, he stopped eating cooked food and, like his father and grandfather, ate insects instead.

"Mother...Mother..."

The child was curled up on the haystack, muttering in his sleep.

The moon hangs high in the sky.

The town was very quiet.

"The spirit has arrived."

The three of them sat on the rooftop, their presence concealed. From this angle, they could clearly see the child sleeping in the dilapidated house.

Suddenly, the previously dim Dharma disc trembled slightly.

Seeing this, they stared intently at the ruins below.

"There!"

Guided by the magic disc, the group soon saw a faint white figure appear on the wall.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a pale white centipede, about half a foot long.

The centipede was perched on the wall, carefully observing the child in the room, seemingly hesitant and unsure whether to move forward.

"It seems that the child's opportunity will come tonight. Everyone should keep a close eye on him and not let anything else disturb him," the young man instructed.

The two understood each other.

After lingering on the wall for a long time, it finally seemed to have made up its mind and swam down from the wall, weaving through the broken bricks and tiles.

Finally, it came to the child's feet, slowly climbed onto him, and crawled into the clay pot in the child's arms.

The seemingly ordinary pottery jar suddenly emitted a faint red light. The centipede inside struggled violently, but soon lay motionless at the bottom. The bloodstains that had accumulated on the surface of the jar over decades seeped into the interior and merged with the white centipede.

After a long while, the light faded.

A white aura emanated from the centipede, seeped into the child's body, and eventually penetrated into every bone.

"It's done."

Chen Dongting stood up.

"Senior Brother Chen, is this all you need?" Qian Li didn't think there was anything special about it.

"This is called the silent awakening of insects, a transformation between immortals and mortals, happening quietly," Chen Dongting replied with a smile.

The three of them leaped into the alley.

"Senior Brother Chen, what's the difference between a fake spirit bone and our spirit bones?" Shui Yao asked.

Chen Dongting said, "After all, a pseudo-spiritual bone is an external object. Its spirituality is not so easy to borrow. Most pseudo-spiritual bones cannot actually step onto the path of immortality, and may even suffer a backlash from the spirituality of the object, making their lives worse than death."

"However..." Chen Dongting smiled as he said this, "That child feeds on insects and is covered in insect scents. He is compatible with that spirit insect, so there is still a good chance."

"I think his pottery jar is quite something too," Qian Li said.

"Indeed, there is an insect spell inside that attracts spirit insects, as well as an incredibly dense spiritual power. That spiritual power is so sincere and genuine that it was able to subdue and refine the spirit insects instantly," Chen Dongting said.

"I see. I knew it. Without the help of immortals, how could a mortal possibly refine a spiritual object into his own spiritual bones?" Qian Li nodded thoughtfully.

"I never expected to meet such an interesting little guy on this trip."

The three returned to their lodgings to rest.