A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

At this moment, the view outside the window was mostly obscured by dense bamboo, with branches of varying thickness growing crowded together on a small patch of land.

Are these still the same bamboo trees as before? Zhou Ping rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Seeing the astonishing changes in the small bamboo grove outside, he was completely stunned.

Because he stared at the agarwood all night, Zhou Ping overslept a little this morning.

He still had to go to Jin Jingtian's place to report for duty. He was in a hurry when he left in the morning and didn't notice this amazing scene.

"These dead bamboo stalks are unusually thick, while these others are fresh and green, as if they were newly grown, which is clearly different from the bamboo stalks in other parts of the forest."

Zhou Ping quickly walked up to the bamboo and began to examine it carefully.

"These bamboos look like they're at different stages of growth... Those few unusually thick ones look like they've matured and then naturally withered and died, while these tender green bamboo shoots look like they just sprouted not long ago."

Zhou Ping rummaged through the densely packed bamboo poles, analyzing them to himself.

Bamboo has a growth cycle that can take several years or even more than ten years. What causes these bamboos to go through the entire process from birth to death overnight?

Just like a young child who rapidly ages, falls ill, and dies overnight, this terrifying discovery gave Zhou Ping goosebumps.

He stared intently at the area covered by bamboo roots, when something suddenly occurred to him, and he shivered violently.

No way...

For the past three years, Zhou Ping has poured his dirty water from washing up here every day, without ever doing anything strange.

Only yesterday, when he was studying the mysterious agarwood, he immersed it in a basin of water, causing the smoke on it to disappear completely.

He didn't notice the dirty water in the basin at the time, and after washing his hands, he casually poured it into the bamboo forest outside.

Looking at it now, this pile of abnormally growing and dead bamboo is exactly where I poured water yesterday.

Zhou Ping seemed to have grasped the key point immediately. He hurriedly returned to the house and pulled the agarwood out of the porcelain bottle.

He held the agarwood with extreme care, and the strange phenomenon of the bamboo made him very cautious.

The bizarre change was beyond reason, but fortunately, Zhou Ping had a strong mentality and quickly realized the key to the problem.

The mysterious agarwood in my hand must be the culprit behind this phenomenon!

Zhou Ping slowly immersed it in the basin, which still contained the water he hadn't had time to pour out after washing up that morning.

After soaking for a while, Zhou Ping inserted the agarwood back into the porcelain bottle, then fixed his gaze on the clear water in the basin.

If his guess is correct, this pot of water infused with agarwood should be able to make the bamboo grow wildly again.

At this moment, Zhou Ping's mind had already calmed down. Now that he had found the key to the problem, he was no longer in a hurry to verify his guess.

Although Cuifeng Villa is remote, people inevitably pass by during the day.

The changes in the bamboo were too incredible, so to be on the safe side, he decided to wait until late at night to verify his idea.

There was nothing unusual about the water in the basin, so Zhou Ping looked away, got up, and walked out of the house.

He glanced at the bamboo grove that had grown unusually tall and dense, pondered for a moment, then closed the doors and windows and headed toward the cafeteria.

The unusual changes in these bamboos were too obvious; if someone discovered them, he wouldn't know how to explain it.

In order to prevent others from discovering this strange change, Zhou Ping decided to borrow a wood-chopping knife from the canteen and chop them up as soon as possible, lest things get complicated.

.......

Zhou Ping let out a long sigh and plopped down on the open ground by the door.

Looking at the ground that had been hacked bare, he threw the machete aside and rested, supporting himself with his hands.

These bamboos were so hard to cut, especially the few that had withered after they matured. They were so thick and hard that his hands hurt when he cut them.

Zhou Ping looked up at the sky, then carried the bamboo poles from the yard to the foot of the mountain behind the house. The area was overgrown with weeds and no one ventured there, so no one would notice if he threw the bamboo poles in.

He then found a secluded spot and brought out the water that had previously soaked the agarwood.

After observing the surroundings again and making sure no one was around, he carefully poured the water into the bamboo grove next to him.

To make it easier to observe, Zhou Ping only poured water on a small patch of land where only three bamboo stalks were growing.

After doing all this, he observed the bamboo for a while and, finding that it hadn't changed much, cautiously returned to the house.

To be on the safe side, Zhou Ping decided to observe more carefully later that night.

........

Zhou Ping waited quietly in the house for the night to fall, imagining what was happening outside. His heart felt restless and itchy, as if ants were crawling all over it.

Left with no other choice, he had to meditate and cultivate on his bed, using the Qingyuan Gong to distract himself.

The Azure Origin True Qi circulated through the major acupoints in his body again and again, bringing a cool sensation and calming his slightly agitated state of mind.

Zhou Ping internally observed the azure energy flow within his body, noting that it became more solid with each major cycle.

Although the change was almost imperceptible, he still felt it clearly.

This cyan true energy is full of spirituality. It often runs on its own when Zhou Ping encounters special situations, and it has the effect of calming his mind and spirit, which he finds amazing.

Recalling his encounter with Jin Yan, Zhou Ping still felt lingering fear.

This woman must have cultivated some unique and alluring techniques, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to so easily destabilize her mind.

Zhou Ping's meridians have undergone tremendous changes since then, becoming more spacious and resilient.

Besides the benefits of practicing Qingyuan Gong, most of the credit goes to the nourishment from the medicine accumulated over time.

The many precious medicinal herbs that Jin Jingtian prepared for Zhou Ping, apart from most of them being used to improve the speed of cultivating Qingyuan Gong, were all major medicines for strengthening the body's foundation and nourishing the vital energy.

These medicines have the miraculous effect of cleansing the marrow and strengthening the bones for everyone, and are the body-refining treasures that martial arts practitioners dream of.

These rare and precious medicines have now all benefited Zhou Ping, an ordinary man with neither outstanding physical constitution nor exceptional talent.

Feeling the tingling and swelling sensation in his meridians, Zhou Ping decisively stopped practicing the Qingyuan Technique.

He finally made up for the progress in his cultivation that was delayed today due to cutting down bamboo.

"We can go take a look..."

Looking out at the pitch-black sky, Zhou Ping rubbed his slightly numb calves and sat up in bed.

It was nearly midnight, the night was dark and windy, and all was quiet. Zhou Ping quietly left the house.

He dared not make a fuss, and did not even turn on the fire extinguisher. Relying on his familiarity with the surrounding environment, he slowly made his way to the place where he watered the bamboo during the day.

This pitch-black environment might make it difficult for others to move around, but it had little effect on Zhou Ping, who had cultivated the Qingyuan Gong.

The Qingyuan Gong greatly enhanced his five senses, allowing him to thrive in this environment.

Zhou Ping's eyes shone brightly; the courtyard, which had been pitch black, was now clear enough for him to see every blade of grass and every tree within several feet.

"It's already this late, why hasn't anything changed?"