Immortality Cultivation: Fellow Daoists, please live for two more episodes!

The Immortal Sect of Creation, the Pure Heart Water Pavilion.

Chen Wendao's soul lamp fragment passed through layers of restrictions, turning into a ray of light that fell deep into the cave, where it knelt on the ground, no longer daring to move.

Inside the cave, mist filled the air and a subtle fragrance wafted through the air. A jade pool could be vaguely seen embedded in the stone wall. Looking further in, the palace door was half-closed, and the sound of water could be heard from inside, as if someone was taking a bath.

"Ask away, I'm soaking in the water right now, you certainly know how to pick your time."

The sound of rustling water came from behind the curtain, as if someone had changed their position.

Then a snow-white leg emerged from the gap in the curtain, a string of turquoise anklets hanging from the ankle. Water droplets slid down the arch of the foot and dripped onto the floor tiles with a soft plop.

"Speak."

Chen Wendao's remnant soul trembled on the ground, recounting everything that had happened to Shuiyue...

The story revolves around Zhou Youyuan's impersonation of Sun Yunqi, the disappearance of his innate Yin-Yang Dao foundation, and their eventual mutual destruction with the final chime...

There was a moment of silence behind the curtain, broken only by the sound of fingertips splashing water, as if someone were fiddling with something.

"Xin Yuantong's Ferryman's Chime?"

"Yes."

"Since you recognize it, why would you let the other person use that thing to take you down with them?"

"This disciple deserves to die."

"You're such a polite kid, it's ridiculous, haha..."

The curtain stirred, and a damp, slender hand emerged, its fingers long and delicate, nails painted with a thin layer of red nail polish. It picked up a pill from the stone platform by the pool and brought it to its lips.

"Where's Daoji? Did you check if he's on that kid?"

"This disciple is incompetent; my consciousness shattered after the chime rang, and I didn't even have time to investigate."

The fingers holding the pill tightened slightly, and Chen Wendao's illusory figure distorted slightly, letting out a muffled groan...

"I spent a century painstakingly searching for you, and this is all you give me in return?"

"disciple……"

"Alright."

"Your remnant soul still has 30% left. It would be a pity if you died, but keeping you alive still has some use."

A pill sprang out from behind the curtain and struck Chen Wendao's remnant soul. The moment the shattered soul touched the pill, it trembled violently, and the gray-black cracks began to heal.

"The Soul Gathering Pill has restored your health. I still have some matters for you to attend to."

With a surge of spiritual power, the remnant soul let out a low groan, and the cracks healed at a visible speed. In less than ten breaths, it returned to human form and knelt before the curtain.

"Disciple thanks Master for the reward!"

Chen Wendao's soul solidified again, and he knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

A soft laugh came from behind the curtain, followed by a rustling sound, like someone putting on clothes.

A moment later, Yu Miaoxian emerged from behind the curtain. The thin gauze was half-wet and clung to her body, outlining the contours of her waist. Her wet hair was draped over her shoulders. She walked barefoot on the floor tiles and bent down to take two items from a brocade box under the jade table.

A palm-sized bronze plaque, its surface covered with inscriptions, faintly shimmering with a spiritual light.

A jet-black talisman the size of a fingernail, with a faint layer of blood-red light floating on its surface.

"The Heaven-Covering Bronze Plaque, something I've been refining for three years."

Yu Miaoxian threw the bronze plaque in front of Chen Wendao: "Wear this, and no one below the Foundation Establishment stage will be able to see through your whereabouts."

Chen Wendao accepted the bronze plaque with both hands and put it into his pocket.

"And this too."

Yu Miaoxian placed the jet-black talisman in his palm, and the moment the talisman touched his hand, Chen Wendao shuddered...

A spiritual pressure far exceeding his cultivation level surged out from the talisman, circled his meridians, and then retreated. The whole process took only a breath, but cold sweat had already seeped from his forehead.

"Master, this is..."

"This is a mark of my Gu Yu Dao Ji. Gu Yu is best at nourishing and storing, and this mark still has some effect even when it is separated from my body."

Yu Miaoxian picked up the jade comb from the jade table and slowly combed her wet hair, speaking as if it were something insignificant: "If you encounter something you can't beat, crush it. Below the Foundation Establishment stage, no one is your match."

"It's only available once, and then it's gone."

The comb paused briefly at the ends of the hair:

"Don't waste it on things that shouldn't be used."

"Disciple understands!"

Chen Wendao carefully put the talisman close to his body and knelt down to kowtow.

"Let's go to Shuiyue again."

"Don't rush into action. First, find out if there's anyone behind that Zhou guy, and if so, who they are, what their cultivation level is, and what their methods are."

"What if there isn't one?"

Yu Miaoxian didn't turn around. She pulled the comb out of her wet hair, which still had a few drops of water on it. "If you don't have it... just bring the Spring Equinox Dao Foundation back to me."

Chen Wendao accepted the order and transformed into a streak of light, darting out of Qingxin Water Pavilion.

Silence returned to the cave. Yu Miaoxian broke off a leaf from the orchid, held it to her nose, and smelled it, a slight smile curving her lips.

…………

Sunset Peak, Library.

He Qing was marking up the roster when she saw Zhou Youyuan come in. Her pen paused for a moment, and she glanced at him.

"Junior Brother Sun is here again?"

"Senior Brother He."

As per custom, Zhou Youyuan took out two spirit marrows and placed them on the table: "This time I want to inquire about a cultivation technique."

"What kind of technique?"

He Qing tucked the spiritual essence into his sleeve and tucked the pen behind his ear.

"An avatar outside the body".

He Qing's eyebrows twitched, and she looked him up and down: "An avatar? What would a disciple at the eighth level of Qi Refining need an avatar for?"

"Senior brother, just explain. I have my own plans for how to use it."

Zhou Youyuan then took out another spirit marrow and placed it on top.

He Qing tucked the third spirit marrow into his sleeve, pulled out a booklet from the shelf behind him, flipped through it, and his fingertip stopped on a certain page.

"There are three kinds of methods for creating an external incarnation in the library."

He Qing turned the booklet towards Zhou Youyuan:

"The first method, the Blood Gu Doppelganger Technique, involves feeding a corpse puppet with your own blood essence. After forty-nine days of this blood essence feeding, the corpse puppet can act in your place, just like a real person."

"And the price?"

"The price is this lifeblood."

He Qing pointed to a line of small print on the booklet with his pen:

"For forty-nine days, three bowls of essence blood will be extracted and poured into it every day. If you lose one bowl, the corpse puppet will be ruined; if you lose one bowl, you will be ruined yourself. After the extraction, you will need to recuperate for at least half a year. During these six months, you will be deficient in qi and blood, and you will be out of breath when you walk, let alone fight with others."

Zhou Youyuan did some mental calculations...

He couldn't move for forty-nine days, and couldn't fight for half a year. In total, he lay in the water like a cripple for more than half a year, at the mercy of others. Given the nature of this place, he probably wouldn't last more than a month.

The ____ does not work.

"What about the second one?"

"The Heavenly Silkworm Soul-Sealing Technique".

He Qing turned to the next page:

"This method doesn't require cutting blood or feeding corpses. It directly uses a live worm called the Heavenly Silkworm Gu to burrow into the target's sea of ​​consciousness, devouring their soul completely. Then, your consciousness takes over, wearing their shell, and can even take over their memories. No one else can tell at all."

"That sounds good."

"It's good, but the Heavenly Silkworm Gu is very precious."

He Qing held up two fingers: "Twenty thousand points for one insect, and there's no guarantee of finding one. You have to wait in line for Master Qi of Luoxia Peak to personally hunt insects in the outer realms. If he can hunt back three to five a year, that's considered a bumper year."

Twenty thousand.

Zhou Youyuan mentally reviewed the points he had. After deducting monthly fees and miscellaneous charges, he had a little over 10,000 points, which was less than half of what he had accumulated.

"and,"

He Qing added another sentence:

"After the Heavenly Silkworm Gu finishes eating the other party's soul, it also needs to eat... eat yours."

"It will take a bite out of your sea of ​​consciousness every month. If it takes too little, the Gu worms will starve to death and your clone will dissipate. If it takes too much, your sea of ​​consciousness will be eaten through and you will die."

Not at all.

"The third type."

He Qing turned to the last page, her expression somewhat subtle:

"The 'Soul-Guiding Technique' does not involve cutting blood or using poison. It uses one's own spiritual power as a guide to refine an unclaimed soul into an artifact and make it one's own."

"This method has the lowest barrier to entry, so low that anyone who passes the Yellow Court examination can use it, and the points are cheap, only 2,400."

He Qing closed the booklet:

"but……"