A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Senior Brother Wang's voice echoed intermittently in the wooden house, his expression forlorn yet remarkably calm, as if he were telling a story unrelated to him.

Finally, after he finished speaking, Zhou Ping recovered from the dramatic story and looked at Senior Brother Wang with a complicated expression.

"That's about it for Wang's story. I wonder if Junior Brother Zhou would be willing to share his own experiences?"

Wang Mian pulled his thoughts back from his memories, turned his slightly weary gaze to Zhou Ping beside him, and asked.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping naturally wouldn't refuse. He had come specifically for this matter, and even if Wang Mian hadn't asked, he would have told him anyway.

After organizing his thoughts briefly, he recounted his entire experience, from accepting the sect's mission to being rescued by Qin Changqing from the Three Flowers Gang. He also raised some of his questions and doubts, hoping to find the answers he sought from Wang Mian.

Half an hour later, Wang Mian sat up slightly, and a simple porcelain bottle appeared in his hand with a flash of light. He handed it to Zhou Ping.

"Look, this is the root of all evil."

Zhou Ping took the small bottle handed to him with a puzzled look, examined it for a few moments, and then gently pried open the stopper and peered inside.

A strange medicinal fragrance, mixed with a faint fishy smell, wafted over, causing Zhou Ping's expression to change immediately. The familiar scent made him hastily pour out a pill from the porcelain bottle, placing it in his palm to examine it carefully.

"Blood Coagulation Pill!? I didn't expect it to actually be this medicine!"

After careful examination, Zhou Ping finally confirmed his suspicions. The bottle of pills that Senior Brother Wang had taken out was indeed the sect's material he had met once half a year ago, the Blood Coagulation Pill from the Pill Spirit Workshop.

"Hmph! Blood Coagulation Pill is just a fancy name. Its real name is Blood Spirit Pill, an evil pill that uses the essence and blood of cultivators as its main ingredient and can enhance the cultivation level of Qi Refining stage cultivators."

Upon hearing the words "Blood Coagulation Pill," Senior Brother Wang's aged face revealed a hint of sarcasm. He snorted coldly and then explained to Zhou Ping.

"So that's how it is... No wonder I felt a strange sense of familiarity when I first came into contact with this pill. It really is the 'Blood Spirit Pill' that wicked woman from the Three Flowers Gang spoke of!"

Recalling the past, Zhou Ping finally connected the dark red pill in front of him with the Blood Spirit Pill mentioned by the Third Sister, thus completely solving the mystery in his heart.

The other party coveted my essence and blood in order to refine this pill; no wonder their eyes were filled with greed and desire when they looked at me.

"May I ask, senior brother, why has such an evil alchemy method appeared in the cultivation world of the Great Liang? Isn't this the method of those demonic sects and evil cultivators?"

Halfway through his speech, Zhou Ping suddenly realized something and slowly fell silent.

He thought of the Five Great Mystic Sects, and of his own Azure Lotus Mystic Sect. Hadn't he collected a batch of Blood Coagulation Pills for his sect just half a year ago? This meant that even the Five Great Mystic Sects were secretly acquiring and consuming this medicine. With such behavior, how could he have the face to condemn the demonic cultivators?

Seeing Zhou Ping's expression change several times, Wang Mian revealed a cold smile and said in a low voice.

"Where is there any distinction between the righteous path and the demonic path... In the face of opportunity and immortality, all cultivators are the same, just a group of selfish people who pursue profit and fear death."

Faced with Wang Mian's sigh, Zhou Ping frowned slightly, unsure of how to respond.

Seeing this, Wang Mian sighed and continued,

"The law of the jungle in the cultivation world is no different from that in the secular world. Sometimes, it's just that evil cultivators are more blatant in their actions, while so-called righteous people are more discreet in their actions for the sake of their reputation."

"In today's cultivation world, resources are scarce and spiritual objects are rare. Only in some blessed lands or independent realms can one find various legendary spiritual treasures. Apart from that, they have almost all disappeared from this world."

"Without enough herbs and spiritual plants, cultivators will naturally turn their attention to other things. The Blood Spirit Pill was developed under such circumstances, except that the ones suffering are no longer the spiritual plants of heaven and earth, but the cultivators themselves who have spiritual roots."

"What we have experienced is just one of countless tragedies. As long as there are cultivators in the cultivation world who want to use this pill to improve their cultivation level, this evil pill will never truly disappear from the cultivation world, and the same tragedy will inevitably continue to unfold. Junior Brother Zhou, there is no need to disturb your mind. It is enough to understand this."

Zhou Ping strongly agreed with this, as evidenced by the value of spiritual plants in the cultivation world.

Those rare spiritual plants, once they appear in the eyes of cultivators, will inevitably attract countless covetous gazes, and some people may even lose their lives because of them.

"I will keep my senior brother's words in mind."

Seeing the lingering gloom in Zhou Ping's eyes, Wang Mian knew he couldn't shake off the harsh truth anytime soon, so he said no more and changed the subject, asking about something else.

"Junior Brother Zhou, did you come here today because of some guidance from Senior Uncle Yun?"

Zhou Ping, who had been somewhat absent-minded, immediately snapped back to reality upon hearing this, raised his hand in a gesture of respect, and said...

"Senior brother has a keen eye; Zhou Ping admires him."

"There's no such thing as having discerning eyes or not. In this sect, besides Uncle Yun, there are very few people who still care about my crippled body. And he is the one who understands this matter the most. The fact that you came to me first after suffering all this means that you must have received his guidance."

Wang Mian chuckled self-deprecatingly, and when he mentioned Uncle Yun, a look of reverence and nostalgia seemed to appear in his eyes.

"Since Senior Brother already knows Junior Brother's purpose, then Zhou Ping will no longer have any reservations. May I ask, is there truly a way to break and repair this wound to the Great Dao?"

Zhou Ping stood up again, bowed solemnly to Wang Mian, and asked with slight trepidation, looking somewhat anxious, as if afraid of hearing that despairing result again.

"Hehe, junior brother, please sit down. Since Uncle Yun has sent you here, how could I disappoint you? There is a solution, and I have already hinted at it in my previous words. Does junior brother remember anything?"

Wang Mian looked at Zhou Ping with a half-smile and raised his hand to signal him to relax.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping was slightly taken aback, but then his face lit up with joy, revealing a mixture of surprise and delight. However, Wang Mian's ambiguous words caused him to frown slightly again. He raised his hand to his forehead and carefully recalled what the other party had just said.

A short while later, Zhou Ping slapped his forehead, excitedly looked at Wang Mian, and tentatively asked,

"Senior brother, are you referring to those blessed lands and independent realms?!"