The Immortal of Plague begins by establishing the root of lung fire.

Ignoring Qing San's suggestion, Song You, relying on his instincts as a medical student from his previous life, also leaned towards the pharmacy.

The pharmacy contains various substances and provides access to the temple's core formula. He needs to understand the components of the root cause of the illness and find ways to suppress or even resolve the backlash from his Daoist roots. Mastering pharmacology will give him a better chance of survival in this morbid world.

"I choose to decoct the medicine," Song You said calmly.

Shen Lu stood to the side, looked up at Song You, and her chapped lips moved slightly: "I also choose to brew medicine."

She wanted to go on external missions, but Song You seemed smarter than her. Now, whatever Song You chose, she would choose too; this was her only remaining survival instinct.

The elder in the outer chamber forced out two dry laughs.

"Alright." The elder from the outer chamber stepped forward and approached Song You. "My name is Jia Chunfang, and I am the elder in charge of the pharmacy."

Jia Chunfang's withered fingers touched Song You's chest: "Your aptitude is only mediocre, barely enough to catch my eye. From now on, you'll work for me in the pharmacy."

Song You took a half step back, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed: "Master."

The two words were shouted crisply and decisively, without the slightest hesitation. In this cannibalistic place, being able to latch onto a powerful figure is like having an extra layer of protection.

Upon seeing this, Shen Lu hurriedly stepped forward, bent her knees, and was about to kneel down, calling out, "Master..."

"Stop." Jia Chunfang raised her hand to interrupt her, her eyelids drooping and her eyes filled with disdain. "Your fire, the size of a fingernail, can't even ignite the ashes at the bottom of the medicine furnace. You're not worthy to call me master."

Shen Lu stood frozen in place, her knees dangling in mid-air, her face flushed red before quickly turning deathly pale.

"From now on, you'll work at the pharmacy as Song You's assistant; you'll handle all the heavy lifting," Jia Chunfang said curtly, leaving no room for negotiation.

Shen Lu swallowed hard, then buried her head deeply to hide the emotions in her eyes.

She turned around and bowed to Song You, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother."

"Mm," Song You replied, "Junior sisters, let's take care of each other from now on."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a terrifying roar of a beast erupted from the depths of the temple without warning.

"roar--!"

The sound was so loud that it made the wooden beams of the side hall vibrate and dust fell from the roof in large clumps.

Upon hearing this roar, Jia Chunfang's face twitched violently, her eyes bulged out, and a terrifying, wild joy erupted from them.

"It's done! It's finally done!" Jia Chunfang waved her hands wildly in front of her, letting out a sharp, strange cry.

In the next instant, Jia Chunfang took a step forward and appeared in front of Song You. She grabbed Song You's shoulder with great force, her five fingers digging into his flesh, making his shoulder blade crack.

"Come on, let's go take a look!"

Before Song You could react, his feet were lifted off the ground.

The wind whistled in his ears, and the surrounding scenery blurred into indistinct lines. Jia Chunfang carried him, flying over the many rooftops of Pozang Temple. The feeling of weightlessness made Song You's stomach churn. He endured the discomfort and opened his eyes wide to observe the terrain below.

After a few rises and falls, the wind stopped.

With his feet firmly planted on the solid ground, Song You steadied himself and looked around.

Before me lay ruins. A once magnificent palace had completely collapsed, its thick nanmu beams and pillars broken into pieces, and its blue tiles scattered all over the ground.

In the center of the ruins, a huge monster lay sprawled.

The monster resembled neither a deer nor a dog, and was a full five zhang long. It was frantically rolling and scratching in the ruins, continuously emitting that deafening roar from its throat.

Song You's gaze swept over the monster.

The monster's physical structure was completely deformed, with abnormal growth of both scapulae, sharp bone spurs piercing the skin on its back and exposing it to the air, an extremely elongated mandible, protruding canines, and necrotic purplish-black gums.

It has no fur, and large areas of muscle tissue are directly exposed, with blue and red blood vessels pulsating on the surface of the muscles.

What terrified Song You the most was that there were several tattered, bluish-gray strips of cloth hanging around the monster's neck.

The fabric and color were exactly the same as the Taoist robe Jia Chunfang was wearing.

Song You's gaze moved downwards, landing on the monster's thick forelimb. On that toe, which had mutated sharp claws, was a fine emerald green jade thumb ring.

Those are human ornaments.

"Master," Song You swallowed hard, his voice low, "has this been a wild beast tamed in the temple gone mad and started eating people?"

Jia Chunfang stood to the side, rubbing her hands together excitedly, her withered lips parting to reveal her yellowish-black teeth.

"A wild beast?" Jia Chunfang turned her head and stared straight at Song You, her eyes almost overflowing with fanaticism. "That's not some wild beast. That's your inner senior brother, Li Chang, only now he's become a wild beast."

Song You's breathing stopped and his pupils contracted sharply.

Humans transformed?

How did a living person turn into this hairless monster with deformed bones and protruding muscles?

"What's going on?" Song You clenched his sleeves to keep calm, staring at the monster that was still roaring in the ruins.

Jia Chunfang turned around, her gaze returning to the monster, her tone revealing a strange satisfaction and mockery.

"What's going on?" Jia Chunfang smiled at Song You. "Refining Qi."

Refining Qi.

The moment those two words were uttered, a cold sweat broke out on his back.

The book "Refining Qi and Transforming Spirit" is buried underground.

When drawing qi into the body, one experiences the terrifying sensation of muscles being forcibly stripped away and bones being torn apart by external forces.

The facts were clear: if he hadn't forcibly interrupted his spiritual energy through a final burst of energy before death, the great terror awakening within him would have turned him into this monster.

There's definitely something wrong with this world.

Moreover, the higher-ups at Po Cang Temple had long known that someone was secretly practicing orthodox Qi-refining methods.

They did not stop it; in fact, they tacitly allowed that kind of practice to spread.

The booklet on Jiang Yangjiao's body was probably not some kind of extraordinary encounter at all.

Anyone unaware of the inside story would choose the Qi Refining Method over the Lung Fire Technique if given the choice; it's just a mystery how she obtained the booklet.

In this world rife with lesions and alienation, the infusion of orthodox spiritual energy into the body not only fails to grant ascension but also triggers extreme rejection and physical decay, ultimately transforming a person into this mindless, deformed monster.

When I took the Qi Refining Technique from the Transmission Hall, the two elders probably already knew.

They didn't expose them on the spot, but waited.

When he, like his mistress, couldn't resist practicing the Qi Refining Method, he completely lost control of the great terror within him, causing a mutation.

No wonder Qing San and the elders looked so surprised when they saw that he had cultivated the Lung Fire Technique while still alive.

Song You's palms were covered in cold sweat. He looked at Jia Chunfang's profile, his chest pounding with anxiety.

If it weren't for the fact that I became an apprentice and it would be useful...

Jia Chunfang may keep it a secret until the day she transforms into a wild beast through her cultivation of Qi Refining Technique.