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

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

It seemed as if a massacre had just taken place here; the stench of blood had not yet completely dissipated from the hall.

On the jade couch in the center of the hall, Yu Miaoxian lay on her side between the plain curtains. Her plain robe had been half-pulled down to her waist, and her black hair cascaded down in front of her collarbone, half-concealing the snow-white skin on her chest.

"Su".

With a gentle wave of her slender hand, Yu Miaoxian played with a ghostly green soul lamp between her fingers, the soul fire within flickering as her fingers moved.

"Master, Master, spare my life! I have investigated and found out that none of the thirteen members of the Chen family know the specific details after the soul search."

It was Chen Wendao, this young master who was always confident in everything, who was now only a wisp of soul, and was being tormented by the backlash of the lamplight to the point of wishing he were dead.

Yu Miaoxian picked up a strand of hair that had fallen down her face, her beautiful face and voice carrying a rare hint of annoyance:

"Oh? So you know nothing at all? What use are you to me then? You might as well just enter the cycle of reincarnation."

"No, no, no, there's more... According to the Chen family's martial arts instructor, there's another person who's quite suspicious. Before Chen Changsheng joined the sect, he bribed him and obtained a drop of Chen Changsheng's blood."

"A drop of blood? It requires bribing a mortal to obtain? What's that person's name? And where are they now?"

"It seems his surname is Zhou, but the instructor doesn't know his exact name. However, I've inquired around and it seems he's heading towards the far west. As for his destination, it seems to be... Shuiyue."

"Shuiyue? Heh, to be able to ignore my protective array from this distance and steal a century's worth of hard-earned cultivation..."

"Fine, you did find something after all. Do you have any objections to me taking my anger out on you just now?"

"No, no, this disciple wouldn't dare."

Yu Miaoxian's eyes flickered as she stared at the wisp of a soul that was only half alive in her palm, as if she were pondering something. After a long while, she raised her hand and blew, and the yin wind that had tormented Chen Wendao for so long suddenly dissipated.

"Fine, I've vented my anger. I'll let you off this time. I've ruined your body, which you've cultivated for so many years. You can find a new body outside later."

"Thank you for the reward, Master."

She casually tossed the soul lamp back onto the jade table, and a wisp of gray-black soul within the lamp whooshed away outside the hall.

"I wonder which deity picked the fruit and left, but bypassed my companion lotus. Is it out of fear of Master, or something else?"

"Forget it, no matter who it is, if Master comes out of seclusion in ten years and finds that the great medicine he has painstakingly prepared for many years has been stolen halfway... hehe."

After talking to herself for a moment, Yu Miaoxian turned and leaned back against the pillow.

Her Taoist robe, held together by only a single silk ribbon, fell away, revealing a large expanse of her smooth, alabaster shoulders. She slightly bent her knees and beckoned to Chen Wendao, who had just found his new body outside the hall, her breath sweet and fragrant.

"Ah, you look quite handsome in your new body. I'm tired, come up and give me a shoulder massage."

Chen Wendao's face was ashen.

His original Qi Refining Perfection cultivation level was reduced to a mere eighth level after he took on a new body, not even reaching the Heavenly Official level. If he were to be drained of his vital energy again...

But his master had given the order, so he could only tremble as he untied his belt and crawl on his knees into that crimson space. With the crisp sound of the jade hairpin hitting the ground, the plain curtains slowly fell.

There was not a single word spoken inside the hall, only the sound of silk being rubbed, which became the most absurd spring scene in this fairy grotto.

"After the 'Ask the Way' event, go to Shuiyue for me and see what kind of person this Zhou is."

"Yes, sir!"

……

The moon hangs high in the sky, and before we know it, more than three months have passed.

Shuiyue Branch, Jiazi Lingyao Garden.

Zhou Youyuan had no idea that the Yu Miaoxian he had been terrified of for so long had imagined him as some kind of old monster who was proficient in divination and cause and effect.

He was currently wearing a coarse linen garment covered in mud, squatting beside several piles of foul-smelling spirit beast dung, working hard.

For the past three months, he has outwardly been dutifully tending to the herb garden, but inwardly he has been using his first-level Qi Refining cultivation to secretly gather information.

Although they were just servants, they were still servants of the immortals. These servants, chatting amongst themselves, managed to glean quite a bit of information from him.

Based on what I already knew, I have made some inferences about my own situation.

Cause and effect are not things that can be easily traced. There have indeed been rumors of high-level cultivators who lost things and then found the thief by following the cause and effect.

In that story, however, it took the Foundation Establishment cultivator nearly three years to find the thief who stole his things.

Of course, rumors are just rumors, and it's hard to say how much is true and how much is false. It's also impossible to say whether Yu Miaoxian or the rumored Foundation Establishment cultivator is stronger.

However, considering that he has safely passed three months, he is more inclined to believe that Lei should not have any problems in the short term.

This gave Zhou Youyuan a great deal of room to maneuver.

But he dared not let his guard down, after all, no one would tolerate their hard-earned treasure being stolen by someone else without cause, and this thunderbolt would explode sooner or later.

One year? Two years? He wasn't sure, but all he could do was try to flip the thing as many times as possible before it went wrong.

"Chang Sheng, have you finished watering the manure today? If you have, let's go back together. The rumors about the handyman assassin have been spreading so much lately, the brothers are all very worried."

"Alright, almost there, coming right away."

With a flick of his ladle, Zhou Youyuan precisely poured the last half-bucket of spirit beast dung water onto the spirit grains planted in the field.

Turning around, I saw a group of old men waiting behind me, all with hunched backs and white hair.

Old Wang, who was in charge, spoke first: "Alright, now that Changsheng is done, let's call it a day. Come on, everyone, put your hands up here."

Having said that, he skillfully led the way to the center of the herb garden, where a black stone array plate was quietly embedded.

Zhou Youyuan walked forward with a normal expression, sat down with everyone, and placed his palm on the array plate.

"Buzz—"

The next second, the Black Stone Array disc emitted a bright, eerie light.

A chilling suction force came from his palm, and the dozen or so servants around him all let out a muffled groan.

A faint reddish aura was visibly drawn from their arms by the array plate and poured into the spiritual field underground.

In the short span of half an incense stick's time, several young servants had a few more glaring strands of silver hair growing at their temples.

Once you enter the gates of immortality, it's like entering a deep sea; how can mortal bones be worthy of smelling the fragrance of immortals?

When they were recruiting laborers for the Spirit Herb Garden at the Shuiyue Branch Academy, they made it sound so nice, saying it was all about carrying manure and planting crops. But in reality, what kind of manure did those precious spiritual plants eat? It was these strong young men who were doing all the work.

Before finishing work each day, all the servants on duty must work together to activate the array's core, using their own essence and blood to nourish the medicinal herbs throughout the garden.

This is why all these young people in their early twenties were treated like sixty-year-old men.

As the eerie light from the array plate faded, the accumulation of funds ended.

A dozen or so servants lay limp on the ground like mud, panting heavily.

Zhou Youyuan also shakily got up, circulating his spiritual power to create the illusion of being drained, and his originally rosy complexion turned sallow.

Seeing that everyone had breathed a sigh of relief, Old Wang wiped his sweat and spoke again:

"Alright, alright, catch your breath. I heard that the handyman assassin has been targeting groups lately, and he might even be skilled in martial arts. Let's head back."

Seeing that everyone agreed, Old Wang turned to look at a timid young man in the corner:

"Xiao Yu, although you originally came from the C-class herb garden, now that you've switched places with Fei Yu, you're now a member of our A-class herb garden. Don't panic, we don't have any bullying traditions here. Let's go back together."

Li Xiaoyu nodded timidly in agreement, and amidst the horrified whispers around them, the group returned to their dormitory in a line.

……

Late at night, in the commoners' dormitory.

Hearing the snoring all around him, Zhou Youyuan turned over, faced the wall, and summoned the "Record of Sending Off the Dead" from his mind.

The first page of the record, which was originally empty, now has a new seat.

[Talent No. 2: Li Xiaoyu]

[Talent: Mid-grade Fire and Earth Dual Spiritual Roots]

[Cultivation Level: Qi Refining Level 2]

[Technique: The Spirit Absorption Technique]

[Assets: 2 low-grade herbs, incomplete innate Yin-Yang Dao foundation (tainted by the karma of Jade Immortal)]

[Remaining lifespan: 73 years]

Below the panel, the screen reflects the scene of the Bingzi medicinal field.

The timid and hesitant Li Xiaoyu of the daytime was now standing beside a burly man who was nearly dead, his eyes bloodshot.

Those of the same origin devour each other; the yang fire burns the meridians, robbing them of their vitality, replenishing my mysterious gate, using life to fill life, and igniting all the meridians...

Using the brutal method of swallowing turbid fire from the "Spirit Absorption Technique," strands of mottled essence blood were forcibly extracted from the half-dead body and poured into Li Xiaoyu's seven orifices.

A moment later, Li Xiaoyu in the light screen shuddered and broke through the bottleneck, entering the second level of Qi Refining.

"Don't you guys like to fight over gold beans?"

Upon clearing the level again, Li Xiaoyu trembled with excitement: "Come on, keep taking it from me! Come on!!!"

In bed, Zhou Youyuan turned off the light screen with satisfaction.

The plan went smoothly: a bullied seed plus a quick-start guide to absorbing human essence, "The Art of Spirit Absorption."

Even tiny seeds can bloom into big flowers.

In any case, the bait has been laid, and the fish will take the bait sooner or later.

Thinking of this, Zhou Youyuan couldn't help but smile slightly. He pulled the drafty blanket over himself and closed his eyes.