Cultivation: I Forge Immortality with My Spiritual Eyes

Chapter 91 Secret Talk

Qingluo Peak soars into the clouds, its summit hidden in the swirling mist.

The wind howled, and my robes fluttered.

The surrounding sea of ​​clouds gathered and dispersed intermittently, seemingly within reach.

It's a pity that no one is in the mood to appreciate such a magnificent view at this moment.

Feng Yuanshan's disciples stood solemnly outside the cave, each with a different expression.

Time passed slowly.

I don't know how much time passed.

A deep hum resounded, and the spiritual light enveloping the cave slowly receded like a tide.

Everyone perked up, straightened their clothes, bowed deeply, and said in unison, "Disciples pay respects to our Master."

"stand up."

Feng Yuanshan's voice came from inside the cave.

His tone was calm, as usual.

However, his disciples, who were familiar with him, could still detect a trace of weakness that he was trying hard to suppress.

Tell me about the situation on the island these days.

The disciples looked at each other in bewilderment.

Before long, a middle-aged Taoist priest with a square face and an imposing presence stepped forward, cupped his hands, and answered.

This person's cultivation level is at the ninth level of Qi Refining; he is none other than Lu Qiuping, the eldest disciple of Feng Yuanshan.

He was always meticulous and thorough in his actions, and was highly respected among his disciples.

"Reporting back to Master."

Lu Qiuping said in a deep voice, "The people on the island are restless now, and those scoundrels are becoming more and more rampant. They are bribing people and spreading rumors, trying to cause chaos. We are doing our best to maintain order and try to stabilize the situation."

There was a moment of silence in the cave.

After a long silence, Feng Yuanshan's voice slowly rang out: "They have been coveting Qingluo Island, this second-tier spiritual vein, for quite some time now. Decades ago, I suppressed them so that they dared not make the slightest move."

This calamity was due to my own greed; I fell into their trap and have no one else to blame. But for them to think they can succeed this way is wishful thinking!

His voice suddenly turned cold and icy: "Although I suffered some injuries, I am now fully recovered and have no further problems. I will be able to leave seclusion in a few days, and at that time I will make them pay double, and collect this debt with interest!"

Upon hearing this, the disciples breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts finally at ease.

Their faces lit up with joy, and they bowed again, cupping their hands in salute, saying in unison, "We wish our Master a speedy recovery so that he may deter the villains!"

"Alright."

Feng Yuanshan's voice softened slightly: "You don't all need to stay here. Go down and do your jobs, keep people calm, and we'll talk about everything after I come out of seclusion. Qiu Ping, stay for now, everyone else, you may leave."

"Yes."

The disciples dared not disobey, and after bowing, they glanced at Lu Qiuping, whose face remained calm.

He then turned and left, quickly disappearing at the end of the mountain path.

After everyone left.

Lu Qiuping respectfully cupped his hands towards the cave dwelling: "Master, what are your instructions?"

With a buzzing sound, the cave wall slowly slid open, revealing the deep and mysterious interior.

Feng Yuanshan's voice came from inside: "Qiuping, come in."

"Yes."

Lu Qiuping, meticulous in his work, stepped inside as instructed.

The furnishings inside the cave were extremely simple, consisting of only a couch and a small table.

But the inspiration was exceptionally pure and abundant, transforming into wisps of spiritual mist that flowed slowly.

On the stone couch, Feng Yuanshan sat cross-legged, his body hunched over.

The moment he saw what it looked like, Lu Qiuping's pupils shrank, utterly shocked.

The person before me no longer possessed the youthful appearance and rosy complexion of a true cultivator.

His skin was dull, and his cheeks were covered with deep wrinkles, giving him an air of decay that he couldn't shake off.

The body's vital energy is weak and intermittent, showing signs of dissipation.

There's absolutely no sign that the injury is about to heal.

It was clearly already extremely weak, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

"Master—you—"

Lu Qiuping couldn't help but cry out.

Feng Yuanshan's eyes were cloudy, but his expression remained calm.

He waved his hand, interrupting his disciple: "No need to say more. I have been cultivating for over two hundred years and am nearing the end of my lifespan. This time, I was unfortunately attacked and my essence was damaged, making it difficult to recover. I can only suppress it with difficulty."

"Those people are blinded by greed and are willing to cooperate with the enemy. They are trying to use Bloodsail Island to get rid of me. Hmph, do they really think that they can own Green Snail Island after they succeed?"

Those ruthless killers are no saints; they're just going with the flow, watching us fight amongst ourselves.

Lu Qiuping's eyes reddened slightly, and he said urgently, "Master, how can we alleviate your injuries? What kind of spiritual medicine do you need? This disciple will go and find it right away—"

Feng Yuanshan shook his head and said, "Don't waste your energy. If you damage your source, ordinary spiritual medicines will be useless."

He paused, his gaze falling on Lu Qiuping, and said slowly, "Among all my disciples, you are the most composed and wise, and your cultivation is the most solid. I have already prepared a Foundation Establishment item for you, but to ensure that everything goes smoothly, you will need a Foundation Establishment Pill."

As he spoke, he took out a token from his sleeve and tossed it over.

Lu Qiuping subconsciously reached out and caught it, then looked down.

The token felt warm and smooth to the touch, its surface a lustrous white. A blooming peony was carved on the front, and the ancient character "苏" (Su) was engraved on the back.

"Years ago, I did a small favor for Fairy Su of Hundred Flowers Island. She owes me a favor and promised to sell me a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Feng Yuanshan slowly explained, "Take this token to Hundred Flowers Island to find her, and say that Feng Yuanshan sent you. She will understand."

Holding the token, Lu Qiuping was overwhelmed with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy, his lips trembling slightly: "Master—"

"Don't act like a spoiled girl."

Feng Yuanshan said calmly, "If you can successfully establish your foundation this time, Qingluo Island will still be the same Qingluo Island as before. Even if those villains still have evil intentions, they will not dare to have any crooked thoughts again."

At this point, his expression suddenly became serious: "This matter must be kept secret. Not even your junior brothers should reveal a word of it. Since those three families have gone this far, they will definitely not just stand by and watch you successfully establish your foundation."

When to set off, how to get there, which route to take—all these must be carefully considered, without letting anyone suspect anything, or all will be for naught.

Lu Qiuping took a deep breath, gripped the token tightly in his palm, and bowed deeply to the ground: "Disciple obeys the order, will think things through carefully, purchase the elixir, and live up to Master's kindness in nurturing me."

Feng Yuanshan nodded, a hint of weariness on his face, and waved his hand, saying, "Go. I can hold out here for another year or two. As long as I don't show myself, those people won't dare to make any rash moves; they'll just try to probe from the outside."

"Take this time to complete your Foundation Establishment. Qiu Ping, whether or not Qingluo Island can be saved depends on your own fate."

Lu Qiuping straightened up, his throat slightly choked, but he forced himself not to say anything more.

He glanced deeply at his master, then bowed deeply once more: "Disciple is going now. Master, please take good care of yourself. My fellow disciples are looking after you on the island, so you don't need to worry too much."

After saying that, he gripped the token tightly, turned around, and strode away.

"Buzz—!"

The stone door closed again, and spiritual light enveloped the cave.

Feng Yuanshan then let out a muffled groan, a strange flush rising to his face, and veins bulging on his forehead.

He dared not delay and quickly formed hand seals, channeling his magical power to forcefully suppress the rampant blood poison within his body.

The cave was deathly silent, save for the silent churning of white mist formed from spiritual energy...

'

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the other side.

Jiang Yi led Xiao Li out of the cave area and hurried along the pebble path toward the market.

The cultivators traveling along the way were all in a hurry, many with bitter expressions and dazed, lost souls.

They walked for a short while.

After turning a corner, the view suddenly opened up before me.

Vast stretches of spiritual fields came into view, a sight that was somewhat shocking.

The once lush and full-bodied Lingdao rice fields are now scarred and devastated.

The rice stalks were gnawed into pieces, lying bare and sprawling in the mud and water, their leaves covered with serrated bite marks.

Some of the spiritual fields were located on the inner side and were relatively lucky, losing only 20% or 30%.

The low-lying fields near the outskirts were almost completely devoured by the demonic insects, leaving only bare rice stubble standing in the mud, a truly pitiful sight.

Between the ridges of the fields.

Many of the spirit farmers stood before the spirit fields, their faces ashen.

Some were distraught, cursing and screaming, while others continued to exterminate the demonic insects in the fields, with various magical lights rising and falling.

Jiang Yi frowned, turned slightly, and walked a little closer to the rice paddy.

The closer you get, the more horrifying the scene becomes.

Large swarms of dead insects were piled up densely along the edges and ridges of the fields, forming a dark, dense mass.

These monstrous insects are about the size of a thumb, brown all over, with three pairs of segmented limbs covered in spots, and their mouthparts are as fierce as pincers. They also have thin wings on their backs.

Jiang Yi glanced at it, pondered for a moment, and recognized the origin of the insect.

These are iron-winged insects.

It reproduces extremely quickly, feeding exclusively on various spiritual plants. Once it becomes a plague, it is like a locust swarm passing through, leaving nothing but barren land.

Although these insects are individually weak and die easily when squeezed, their sheer numbers are astonishing.

Moreover, the insect eggs are buried deep in the soil and are extremely difficult to eradicate. Even if the adult insects are killed, a new batch of insects will hatch in just a few days, which is the most troublesome thing.

It must have been tough for those who were up to no good behind the scenes; they had gone to great lengths to achieve their goals.

"Meow~"

Little Pear poked its head out from its chest, its big eyes curiously examining the insect corpses on the ground, its nose twitching slightly.

He then licked his beard, raised his head, looked at Jiang Yi with a questioning gaze, and nuzzled his chin.

Jiang Yi's eyes flickered slightly, and with a wave of his hand, he summoned several insect corpses from a distance, which fell into his palm.

After playing with it for a moment, he handed it to Xiao Li, frowning as he asked, "You really want to eat it?"

"Meow~"

Little Pear responded, opened her mouth, grabbed an insect, and crunched it loudly.

After chewing for a while, it swallowed the whiskers, then licked them again as if it still wanted more, seemingly finding the taste quite good, and then swallowed the remaining whiskers one by one.

Although these iron-winged insects look ferocious, they have already developed a trace of demonic power within them.

Last night, she ate a large amount of spirit rice, and the spiritual energy in her stomach had not yet dissipated, so it was quite nutritious and delicious for Xiao Li.

At this time, many spirit farmers were already collecting the insect corpses with sacks, intending to take these demonic insects to the market to sell.

Although it's not worth much money, it does contain a little bit of spiritual energy, which can at least salvage some of the loss.

Jiang Yi saw that Xiao Li was eating happily, her mouth bursting with juice.

He also took out a cloth bag from his sleeve, used magic to fill it with insect corpses, and kept it to feed the little guy when he got back, so that the little guy wouldn't keep complaining about being hungry all day long.

After putting away the cloth bag, he looked up and glanced around at the devastated spirit fields, and sighed inwardly.

He then turned around and led Xiao Li quickly toward the market.

The cultivation pills purchased on Ling'ao Island have been completely used up, not a single one left.

Although prices have risen sharply these days, elixirs are essential for spiritual progress and cannot be lacking.

The path of Qi cultivation, from the initial to the intermediate stage, is nothing more than a slow and meticulous process of honing one's magical power and accumulating inner strength.

As long as resources are plentiful and talent is not too inferior, most ordinary cultivators can cultivate step by step to achieve success.

However, the late stage of Qi Refining is a major hurdle on the path of cultivation. Countless cultivators are stuck at this stage throughout their lives, unable to make any progress until their death.

With Jiang Yi's mid-grade spiritual root aptitude, if he wants to go further on the path of cultivation, he must quickly cultivate the sixth level of Qi Refining to perfection.

Then, he repeatedly worked through the bottlenecks, striving to break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining as soon as possible.

The path of cultivation becomes increasingly difficult as one progresses.

If one lingers too long, one will not be able to cultivate to the ninth level of Qi Refining before one's Qi and blood decline.

The hope of achieving foundation building in the future will be extremely slim.