Cultivating Immortality Through a Hundred Lifetimes: I Possess the Heavenly Book of Merit

Yu Yan saw his skin begin to turn red, and the redness spread from his heart to his limbs. Wherever it passed, the flesh seemed to have been licked by a raging fire, quickly drying and shrinking.

"No—I don't want to. I just want to go home, why, why!!"

Yin Huan shook his head frantically, waving his hands wildly in the air. His eyes were wide open, bloodshot, and tears mixed with snot covered his face.

The red color spread to his fingertips.

My fingertips started to turn black, like paper that had been burned, and the blackening started from the edges.

Black lines crawled up the fingers, up the palms, and up the wrists. Wherever they went, the skin and flesh shrank at a visible speed.

"He's beyond saving."

Zhou Yan's expression changed several times; he touched his heart, still shaken.

"There's something wrong with the food the temple gives us."

"Luckily, I'm clever and quick-witted, and I didn't eat it."

He looked at Yu Yan, whose face was gradually turning ashen.

"Hey, Fellow Daoist Yu, what's wrong? You didn't eat it, did you?"

Heh, Yu Yan actually kind of hopes he can eat it himself.

He didn't eat any himself, but he gave those things to the little mute boy.

Good intentions gone wrong.

"Fellow Daoist, is there any way to break this?"

Zhou Yan glanced at Yu Yan thoughtfully, then habitually stroked his chin.

"In my opinion, the only thing we can do now is to find that abbot and have him get rid of this thing."

"You've been watching this place for so long, do you even know the Abbot's true strength? Do you think the two of us have a chance of winning?"

Yu Yan's words startled Zhou Yan.

He looked at the gruesome-looking Taoist boy, shuddered slightly, and shook his head, saying:

"I'm just here to find someone, there's no need for me to get involved in this mess."

…………

After a brief silence, Silver Ring's body came to a complete stop in the pile of dead leaves.

Those once bright eyes are still open, gazing at the night sky, their pupils completely dilated.

His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he could no longer utter a sound.

Yu Yan squatted down and reached out to close those eyes.

He remained silent for a moment, then stood up and looked at Zhou Yan.

"Fellow Daoist, you have been here for quite some time. Even if the two of us join forces, do we have no chance of victory?"

Zhou Yan's eyes flickered uncertainly, and he turned his head away, not wanting to see Yin Huan's miserable state any longer.

"Three months,"

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"I've been here for three months, looking for my friend, and now it seems he's clearly been poisoned by that abbot."

Yu Yan immediately interjected,

"Yes, even if we don't care about the ordinary people in the temple, we should at least avenge your friend's life."

Zhou Yan felt a little guilty under Yu Yan's gaze and turned his face away, only to see Yin Huan again. At some point, Yin Huan lowered her head slightly and stared intently at him.

Zhou Yan couldn't turn back, nor could he just stare at it, so he could only look up at the sky.

"Seriously, we've only just met. Is it really worth risking your life for some ordinary people? I can't even control my own friend."

"My good friend is at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and he's not far from Foundation Establishment."

"Eighth level of Qi Refining?"

Yu Yan frowned slightly. This level was much higher than he had expected.

Zhou Yan smiled wryly:

"Yes. My friend is quite talented. He's almost at the Foundation Establishment stage in his early forties. His family has already prepared Foundation Establishment pills for him, just waiting for him to go back so he can go into seclusion to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining and then establish his Foundation."

"But after hearing about what happened here, he found it interesting and wanted to come and see for himself, but then..."

He took a deep breath and lowered his voice:

"Even someone with such high cultivation level like him failed here, so what am I? I've only just broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining. Even if your cultivation level isn't worse than my friend's, even if the two of us combined, I'm afraid we'd still..."

Yu Yan did not deny it. What the other party said made sense. Judging from the current situation, the abbot probably had at least the strength of the ninth level of Qi Refining. There was indeed little chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.

Moreover, there's really no need to risk your life for a few strangers you've just met.

If I don't accumulate enough merit for my next life, and I die now, there will be no next life.

Seeing his silence, Zhou Yan assumed he had listened and softened his tone:

"Fellow Daoist Yu, take my advice. We can't afford to get involved in this mess. That Zhang Silin you're looking for, and my friend, are probably already..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already clear.

Yu Yan looked up at him: "So you're just planning to leave like this?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Zhou Yan's face, but he quickly regained his composure:

"What else can I do but leave? Go to my death? I admit I'm a coward, but this is my own life, and I don't want to die here like this. My friend is my friend, but the dead can't be brought back to life, and the living must keep living."

As he spoke, he took out several talismans and a small packet of cinnabar from his pocket and handed them to Yu Yan:

"If you really want to go and die, I won't stop you. Here, take this. I smuggled it from the temple. The talisman paper is genuine yellow paper, and the cinnabar is top-quality cinnabar, much better than what I use. Consider it... consider it a small token of my appreciation."

Yu Yan took it and looked down at it.

The talisman paper was of fine texture and had even patterns; it was indeed a good product. The cinnabar was as fine as powder, with a dark red luster, far superior to the impurities found in those bought from independent cultivators.

Thank you.

He packed his things and looked at Zhou Yan:

"You don't owe me anything, nor do you owe anyone else. Saving your life is the most important thing, there's nothing wrong with that."

Zhou Yan was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Yu Yan to say that.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just nodded and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Then... farewell. Fellow Daoist Yu, take care of yourself."

After saying that, he turned around and walked down the mountain without looking back.

In the moonlight, the figure was quickly swallowed by the mist and disappeared into the shadows of the woods.

Yu Yan stood still, looking in that direction, without moving for a long time.

There's nothing to criticize.

Anyone facing an opponent who could potentially kill someone at the eighth level of Qi Refining would understandably choose to retreat. Living is more important than anything else, a principle Yu Yan understood better than anyone.

He just can't let go.

The boy nicknamed "Little Mute".

That child should still be in the temple, right?

Huddled in a corner, hugging my knees, I quietly waited for dawn.

He was unaware that his fate had been sealed, unaware that the mark in his body could take his life at any moment, and unaware that those who offered him a path to immortality were actually digging his grave.

When Yu Yan fed him the spirit fruit, the child's eyes shone as if he had obtained some incredible treasure.

He must have been very happy then, right?

Yu Yan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"They're just a few people I've known for less than two days, what does it have to do with me?"

Of all things under heaven, life is the most important.

That's right.

No, that's not the case.

If you make a mistake, you have to make amends for it.

"Qi Refining Level 4..."

Even at the fourth level of Qi Refining, it's not like you can't do anything.