Immortality begins with exchanging talent attributes.

Qingzhou County, West Gate.

More and more refugees were arriving on the official road outside the gate, and the government's soup kitchens had long since ceased operations. Even the bark on the trees in the woods on both sides of the road had been almost completely stripped off.

Zhou Yan walked in the middle of the road, looking at this scene, and frowned.

After dealing with the assassin, he went home, changed his clothes, and then went out to Qingmang Village.

He had always felt a sense of urgency, and now it had become even more urgent.

This time, the other side was unaware of his strength, so they directly sent a second-level cultivator.

What if the next time they send the third company? Or the fourth?

strength!

We must improve our strength as soon as possible.

Touching his forehead, where a shallow scar had been left from the pressure of the skin and flesh, Zhou Yan hurried along.

He bypassed several refugees who rushed up to him to beg.

Just as Zhou Yan was about to pass through the refugee camp, he suddenly stopped.

In his eyes, amidst a sea of ​​gray and white entries, a flash of red suddenly appeared.

red!

Zhou Yan subconsciously looked in the direction of the red light.

Near the edge of the woods close to the refugee camp, a gaunt man with chapped lips, sunken eyes, and occasional coughs leaned against a large tree.

Above its head, a red glow slowly rose.

【Fragrant Flesh and Blood (Red)】

[Target status is abnormal; terms cannot be swapped.]

red?

"Fragrant flesh and blood"—what the hell is that?

Curious, Zhou Yan took two steps closer and was hit by a sour, foul smell, but he seemed to detect a very faint fishy-sweet odor.

Is this poisoning or plague?

Thinking of the plague, Zhou Yan couldn't help but take two steps back. Without lingering any longer, he quickly passed through the refugee camp.

If it really is a plague, then that's bad. With so many refugees here, given the medical conditions in this world, it would probably spread throughout the city in just a few days.

Thinking of Zhu Asan's family, he pondered for a moment and decided to ask the girl who sold medicine later, since she also knew medicine.

In less than half an hour, Zhou Yan arrived at Qingmang Village and stood in the market, looking around.

  

A moment later, his eyes lit up as he spotted Mo Qingyan, a young girl arranging goods in a corner of the market.

"Miss Mo."

Upon hearing the sound, the girl looked up, and her bright eyes immediately curved into crescent moons.

"Young Master Zhou, it's you! Long time no see. Has your injury healed?"

Zhou Yan also smiled and said:

"My injury is almost healed. Didn't I promise you I would come over to sell medicinal herbs?"

"I was just joking, you actually took it seriously?"

The girl said with a smile.

For some reason, whenever the ordinary-looking girl in front of him smiled, coupled with her bright and lively eyes, Zhou Yan always felt a flutter in his heart.

This can't be right? Has my aesthetic sense deteriorated?

Suppressing his wandering thoughts, Zhou Yan said seriously:

"I keep my word. Help me get some medicinal herbs. I need all the kind that replenish qi and blood, like the Codonopsis pilosula from last time. The more, the better."

The girl gave Zhou Yan a strange look, but didn't ask why he needed so many qi-tonifying herbs. She simply chose her words carefully:

"I have plenty of medicinal herbs here, but this time I'm not offering a discount."

"Name your price."

Zhou Yan's heroic spirit was truly authentic.

He had a large sum of money in his pocket, and that morning he found a few taels of silver on the assassin.

It weighs a total of eighteen and a half taels.

He's never been this rich before!

Looking at his generous manner, the girl said:

"Okay, I'll calculate it for you."

After speaking, the girl picked and chose seven or eight kinds of medicinal herbs and put them together.

"These are all the similar products to Codonopsis pilosula. If you want more, come back tomorrow. These will cost about ten taels of silver in total."

Ten taels? Zhou Yan's lips twitched. Although his heart was bleeding, he didn't show it on his face.

"Okay, wrap it up."

Subconsciously touching the money pouch in his arms, Zhou Yan gritted his teeth, took out ten taels, and stuffed them directly into the girl's hand.

Then he turned his head away without even looking.

Mo Qingyan glanced down at the silver in her hand and a smile appeared on her lips.

"Alright, sir, is there anything else you need?"

"No...that's all."

With his savings dwindling back to single digits, Zhou Yan was on the verge of tears.

I don't know if these medicinal herbs will be enough for him to cultivate to the peak of the second level; I doubt it will be.

Ugh, I have to find a way to make money again.

Wu Sheng sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

"By the way, Miss Mo, do you know of any disease that can make a person's body emit a sweet, fishy smell?"

Seemingly recalling what had just happened, Zhou Yan suddenly asked.

"Splash!"

The half-wrapped medicinal herbs suddenly scattered all over the ground. Mo Qingyan looked up abruptly, her bright eyes filled with intense emotions.

"What did you say?!"

Looking at the somewhat inexplicably panicked girl in front of him, Zhou Yan couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows.

Such a big reaction?

"I said, someone's body is emitting a sweet, fishy smell. Could this be a plague?"

Mo Qingyan did not answer his question, but instead asked him in return:

Where did you see that person?

"Could it really be a plague in the refugee camp outside the city?"

Zhou Yan replied.

Mo Qingyan shook her head slightly and said solemnly:

"Not necessarily. Help me pack up and then take me to see that person so I can confirm."

Zhou Yan was taken aback, and said uncertainly:

"Now?"

"right!"

After saying that, he didn't treat Zhou Yan as an outsider. He packed up the scattered medicinal herbs and stuffed them directly into Zhou Yan's arms. Then he grabbed a basket from the side and dumped all the medicinal herbs on the stall into it.

The movements were hasty and violent, making Zhou Yan feel a little sorry for the medicinal herbs.

After filling the basket, he handed it back to Zhou Yan and said:

"You carry this to the village entrance and wait for me while I ride my horse."

Having said that, seemingly unafraid that Zhou Yan would run away with the medicinal herbs, he hurriedly ran towards the village.

Zhou Yan stared dumbfounded at the basket in his arms, then at the girl who was running away, and shook his head and chuckled.

After a while.

Ta-da...

A sound of hooves rang out, and Zhou Yan, who was waiting at the village entrance, turned his head to look. He saw the girl still riding that skinny horse, stopping in front of him and extending a hand.

"Mount up!"

Seeing Mo Qingyan's anxious expression, Zhou Yan didn't say anything, grabbed her small hand, and mounted his horse.

They galloped at breakneck speed; the skinny horse didn't look very meaty, but it ran faster than a regular horse.

Mo Qingyan didn't speak to Zhou Yan the whole way, but just frowned, seemingly lost in thought.

Fifteen minutes later, the two dismounted near the refugee area.

Mo Qingyan turned to look at Zhou Yan and said urgently.

"Where is he? Is he still there?"

Zhou Yan looked around, and after confirming the red color, he nodded to the girl.

"It's still there. Come on, I'll take you there."

After saying that, he led the girl to the person he had seen with the red tag.

The man seemed to be in even worse condition. When Zhou Yan saw him in the morning, he was still able to sit up, but now he was lying on the ground and didn't even react when someone came to him.

As soon as she got close to the refugees, Mo Qingyan's expression became noticeably serious.

She took a silver needle from the satchel at her waist.

Upon seeing the silver needles, Zhou Yan couldn't help but shudder and took a small step back.

His reaction was keenly noticed by the girl, who turned her head and looked at him with a strange expression.

Why are you backing up so far?

Zhou Yan coughed awkwardly and replied:

"Cough... It's nothing, you go about your business."

The girl glanced at Zhou Yan again, then said nothing more, inserting the silver needle three inches below his collarbone with steady and precise movements.

With a gentle twist of the silver needle's end, a strong, sweet, and pungent odor suddenly emanated from the semi-conscious refugee.

The fishy, ​​sweet smell spread extremely quickly. Before long, even the refugees who were looking over from afar could smell it and, like starving wolves, instinctively moved closer.

Zhou Yan also smelled the odor. He frowned and noticed that some refugees were approaching. His eyes sharpened, and his martial arts aura suddenly spread out.

The surrounding refugees stopped in their tracks when Zhou Yan glanced at them, but this probably wouldn't last long, as more refugees, drawn by the scent, flocked towards them.

Seeing that something was wrong, Zhou Yan took two steps forward and called out:

"Miss Mo, we should go now."

After waiting for a while, they found that the other party did not respond.

Zhou Yan patted the other person's shoulder in confusion.

"Mo Gu..."

"what!"

A gasp rang out, startling Zhou Yan.

The girl turned around in a panic, her face deathly pale. Seeing it was Zhou Yan, she seemed to realize what was happening, and said in a trembling voice:

"Young Master Zhou... hurry, hurry, we must find my grandfather."

It was still that same skinny horse, its hooves flying, moving at an extremely fast speed.

Zhou Yan sat behind the girl, carrying a basket on his back.

Zhou Yan also asked the girl about the fishy-sweet smell, but Mo Qingyan just shook her head, saying that she wasn't very sure either and that she had to find her grandfather first.

Although he had many questions in his mind, seeing that the girl looked extremely shocked, he couldn't bear to ask any more questions and could only continue to follow her.

They sped along, and as they approached Qingmang Village, the girl showed no sign of stopping.

Zhou Yan couldn't hold back any longer. Braving the gust of wind, he leaned close to the girl's ear and said:

"Miss Mo, where are we going?"

The girl's voice came on the wind.

"Qingmang Mountain".

"what?"

……