When it comes to cultivating immortality, it naturally starts with upgrading the herb garden.

The spiritual energy in his dantian was completely depleted.

Song Chen collapsed to the ground, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

This trip turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

If the spiritual energy of heaven and earth hadn't been depleted, Song Chen really wouldn't have been able to move freely within the Golden Core inheritance.

However, this inheritance is obviously less than the actual Golden Core inheritance, which is probably also affected by the depletion of spiritual energy.

Once his breathing had stabilized, Song Chen would try to leave this place.

"The spiritual energy is depleted, and the magical artifacts are unusable. It would be best to get a ship and leave this place."

Having made his plans, Song Chen headed towards Huanbei City.

......

The market was deserted. The once bustling alley was now lifeless, with broken walls and ruins everywhere.

Spiritual energy is the source of all things in this world.

Without spiritual energy, there would be no cultivators or other living beings; without cultivators, even mortals would not survive in this place.

Huanbei City is already a dead city.

The spiritual energy is gone, but the cultivation level remains, as does the strong physique that came with it.

Song Chen soon passed through the woods and entered the old alleyway of Huanbei, turning into a boat shop that still had some semblance of its original shape.

Shops whose buildings have all collapsed are unlikely to have any civilian vessels left for going out to sea.

On this voyage, it is forbidden to use the seagoing vessels commonly used by monks.

Without the activation of spiritual energy, the sea vessel, as a magical artifact, appears extremely cumbersome and is far less suitable than an ordinary civilian wooden boat.

The shopkeeper's office was empty; a thick layer of dust settled on the table when touched.

Fortunately, there were still quite a few boats on both sides. Although most of them were broken and damaged, they could still be repaired and used.

Otherwise, Song Chen would have to build the ship manually, which would only waste more time.

A small wooden boat, entirely blue, hangs in the corner of the wall, standing out starkly against the gray-black background.

Song Chen noticed it carefully.

The small boat was sturdy and flat, with a fairly intact base, though the bow was somewhat worn. Among a group of dilapidated boats, it was considered quite good.

"There's no better choice, this is it!"

Song Chen looked around again, then rummaged through the shop, finding a few hammers and nails. He took out a few wooden boats that were usable but not as good as the small wooden boat, preparing to "complement the parts".

pat!

Song Chen stopped what he was doing. He hadn't heard clearly, so he could only look in the general direction of the sound.

A few small water droplets hung from the eaves' grooves, dripping down and making a crisp, echoing sound as they fell to the ground.

He breathed a sigh of relief and continued with his work.

The sudden movement in the quiet, dead city was more terrifying than encountering a cultivator in broad daylight.

Moreover, he was now completely powerless, with not a drop of spiritual energy left in his dantian. Any accident could be fatal, so he dared not let his guard down.

pat!

A second time.

Song Chen was on edge, and this time his voice was louder and clearer.

It wasn't water droplets! It was the sound of shoes squeezing against a wooden board!

The sound came from the inner room; it seemed someone was there.

Song Chen stared intently at the dark door frame of the inner room, his grip on the hammer tightening. If anyone appeared, he would throw the hammer and immediately grab the boat and run away.

Without spiritual energy, the restrictions on the storage bag cannot be broken, so it can only be used by hand.

"Is he an immortal?"

That was a child's voice; the tone was very immature, and the child was only twelve or thirteen years old.

A head peeked out from the door frame; it was indeed a thin, weak child with no cultivation.

Song Chen put down the hammer he was holding and continued repairing the boat. In a little while, it would be ready to set sail and leave this godforsaken place with his spoils.

With this in mind, he moved a little faster and with a bit more strength.

"A celestial being! Big brother, you must be a celestial being, right?!"

The little boy was quite excited to see Song Chen's otherworldly demeanor:

"Imperial being, please take me away from here! There's nothing here, I have nothing to eat or wear, I'm starving to death!"

Song Chen ignored him and didn't say anything, continuing with his work.

Feng Sancai had put in a lot of effort to build his foundation and had a certain understanding of the land after foundation building.

The principles of nature are mutually complementary.

Since all things have a spirit, there must also be a very small number of non-spiritual things that exist in the world.

These spiritless things only appear in bustling cities that were once extremely popular after the Foundation Establishment stage, when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has greatly depleted.

Things without spirit are naturally superior to things with spirit; they can easily plunder the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and devour all the spirits in the world to strengthen themselves.

Therefore, entering a place devoid of spiritual energy, where heaven and earth draw upon the cultivator's spiritual energy, might be a way of protecting the cultivator.

It is said that a cultivator was once bewitched and brought out a spiritless creature that could seize the essence of heaven and earth, devour the spiritual energy of all things, and was extremely evil. Moreover, it was so powerful that it could defeat a Golden Core cultivator as soon as it reached the Foundation Establishment stage, causing great harm to the region.

Things without spirits cannot leave a place without spirits on their own; they can only do so with the help of things with spirits.

Before leaving the land of spirits, spiritless beings are not aggressive and cannot be harmed.

Now that Song Chen has completely stripped away all his spiritual energy, he is essentially a half-spiritual being and cannot be absorbed or attacked by the other party.

As long as you are not misled by the other party and do not take them away, you can escape safely.

Moreover, inanimate objects lack intelligence, possess only minimal cognitive abilities, and pose virtually no threat.

Song Chen wasn't sure whether the child was a spiritless being or an ordinary mortal.

Since we can't determine the cause, the safest approach is to give the little brat the silent treatment and not take him away.

Inaction is also a form of action.

This wasn't heartless; it was Song Chen's way of ensuring his own safety!

......

One hour later.

Song Chen roughly repaired the boat, making it safe to put into the water without sinking.

That's enough. We don't expect the ship to last long anyway; we just need to get it out of the area without spiritual energy.

Once you leave this area, your spiritual energy will be restored, and you will regain your ability to fly. If you can fly then, why would you need to travel by water?

"Big brother immortal, you've repaired the boat, can you take me with you?"

The boy stood pitifully at my feet, his eyes brimming with tears.

Song Chen remained unmoved and steered the boat toward the sea.

The boy watched his departing figure with a fierce expression.

......

Song Chen glanced behind him and saw that no one was there. He felt much more at ease and his steps became much steadyer.

Huanbei Middle Alley is not far from the sea, only about a kilometer away, and can be reached in a quarter of an hour at the current pace.

There was no wind, the woods were deathly silent, the leaves drooped, and the branches were bent, creating an eerie yet somewhat reasonable scene.

Trees also need spiritual energy to survive. Without spiritual energy, they are like trees in their previous lives without soil. It is only a matter of time before they lose their vitality. Moreover, in places without spiritual energy, they are nourished by heaven and earth, which accelerates their withering.

A figure swayed hazily behind a tree, wearing a white dress and with gray-black hair, matching the color scheme of the surrounding world.

If you continue in this direction, you will definitely encounter it.

Song Chen saw it from afar and took the initiative to go around it.

Unexpectedly, the white dress reappeared behind a tree, seemingly determined to capture his heart, which was indescribably terrifying.

"Unavoidable? Caught in the middle?"

Song Chen was terrified, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He glanced at the rock wall beside him, feeling a little helpless.

We can't take any more detours; otherwise, we'll get too far from the coast.

As long as you don't speak, everything should be fine!

Encouraged, Song Chen continued forward without changing his expression.

This time, without changing direction, I unexpectedly ran into that white dress.