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

Song You pressed the door latch and stopped in his tracks.

"What were their exact words?" Song You asked.

Shen Lu took a half step forward and lowered her voice: "The disciples who were adding firewood in the outer courtyard said in private that those troublemakers who were planted in the pharmacy by other rooms are all Elder Zhongzao's people. Elder Zhongzao's cultivation needs have increased a lot recently, and the resources in this room can't meet them, so he has started to plant spies in other areas."

Song You figured out the underlying reasons: the mountain of flesh in the Transmission Hall had been insatiably greedy when it devoured the essence of the wild beasts.

Now that they've reached into the pharmacy, their aim is nothing more than medicinal herbs and poisons. Jia Chunfang is protecting her own, and a conflict may break out between the two sides.

"Keep inquiring in the outer courtyard and report back when you have any news." Song You pushed open the wooden door. "You don't need to worry about me here."

The door hinges made a scraping sound. Song You stepped across the threshold, preparing to turn around and close the door. Shen Lu stood at the bottom of the steps, her feet rooted to the spot.

"Is there anything else?" Song You asked.

Shen Lu bit her lower lip, her teeth sinking into the dry, cracked flesh, drawing a little blood. She looked up at Song You and said, "Something's wrong."

Song You stepped back half a step to make way, and Shen Lu stepped into the house, closing the door behind her and bolting it shut.

There were no lights on inside; moonlight streamed through the window, casting pale, square shadows on the muddy floor.

Shen Lu stood in the moonlight, her chest heaving. She recalled working in the outer courtyard during the day and overhearing several female disciples gossiping behind the wall.

They said that if unqualified people want to survive in the temple, they have to find someone with a promising future to rely on.

Shen Lu raised her hand, grabbed the collar of the coarse cloth shirt, and pulled it down forcefully with her fingers.

The sound of tearing fabric was particularly jarring in the room. The hem of the garment slipped down, revealing half of a withered shoulder. The collarbone was prominently displayed, the ribs were clearly visible, and there was no fat under the skin—all traces of long-term hunger.

Song You stood by the bed without saying anything to stop it, observing the situation quietly.

Shen Lu tore off half of her clothes, then stopped. She didn't continue taking them off; her hands were clasped together, her head was down, and her shoulders were trembling slightly.

"What are you doing?" Song You asked.

Shen Lu raised her head and met Song You's gaze: "My father would come back empty-handed from hunting, or he wouldn't be able to pay the village taxes, so he was under a lot of pressure. My mother would close the door and take off her clothes, and I peeked through the crack in the door."

Song You let out a long breath.

"Aren't you afraid I'll be killed by those people in a few days?" Song You asked.

Shen Lu shook her head: "You're stronger than me. If you're not afraid, neither am I."

Song You scrutinized Shen Lu. Her words were somewhat blunt and laughable, yet they revealed her dependence on him.

In Po Cang Guan, loyalty is a rare commodity. Shen Lu unreservedly tied herself to his chariot, so that she could have an informant running errands in the outer courtyard, which would save her a lot of trouble.

By the moonlight, Song You examined Shen Lu's face. Her features were delicate, but hunger and sickness obscured her true appearance.

His body is too weak; a gust of wind could blow him over. If he were to be really subjected to any kind of hardship, this body wouldn't last a moment.

Tonight, he will forcefully draw qi into his body, triggering a near-death state to enter the world of light. This will require a great deal of energy and physical strength, and he cannot afford to be distracted in the slightest.

"What I lack most right now is time." Song You pointed to Shen Lu's clothes. "You're too weak. Don't let your mind wander. Focus on your cultivation."

After hearing this, Shen Lu hurriedly pulled up her collar, tied a knot haphazardly, and turned around to open the door and leave.

"Wait a minute," Song You called out to her. "If you've encountered any difficulties in your cultivation, feel free to tell me."

Although I am also a beginner, I am still much better than her.

Shen Lu stopped and turned around, a light shining in her eyes.

She took two steps forward and spoke faster: "Although my outer flames are burning, they can't burn through. I tried to guide my qi according to the technique, but the outer flames just wouldn't go out. They were all stuck in my lungs, burning my chest and causing pain."

Song You pointed out the crux of the problem: "The internal flame is too small, and the lung qi is too scattered. Don't rush to ignite the fire. First, use your lung qi to wrap the internal flame tightly. Once the lung qi is heated to a high temperature, then loosen a gap, and the fire will naturally burst out."

Shen Lu closed her eyes and her chest heaved as she tried to move her body a couple of times. When she opened her eyes, her face lit up with joy.

"Thank you, senior brother!" Shen Lu bowed.

"Go ahead," Song You waved his hand.

Shen Lu left the room and closed the wooden door behind her.

The room returned to silence. Song You walked to the table and lit the oil lamp, the dim light dispelling the darkness.

He walked to the bedside and sat down cross-legged, placing the four thick, thread-bound books he had been holding on the bedding.

"Illustrated Compendium of Herbs", "Compendium of Toxicology", "Medicinal Guides and Combinations", "Medicinal Infusion in Wrapped Packs".

These four books are the foundation of a pharmacy's business. You need to learn them as quickly as possible so that those wolves won't dare to come forward and bite you.

It must be taken to the world of light.

Song You picked up the book "Illustrated Catalogue of Herbs". The book was about an inch thick and the paper was rough.

He recalled his two previous experiences of time travel. The first time, when he first cultivated his Dao Root and traveled through his physical body, he confronted Zhang Lihong in a hospital corridor. The second time, when he guided Qi into his body, his physical body carried his Dao Root there, and he sat in a conference room being questioned.

Traveling between the two worlds, the physical body and the things inside it go hand in hand.

What if you hid the book inside your stomach?

Song You stared at the "Illustrated Compendium of Herbs." For an ordinary person, swallowing such a thick book would cause their esophagus to rupture and their stomach to burst. But he was different; he was already a cultivator at the early stage of the Firewood Realm.

Song You mobilized the external flames within his chest cavity, and the grayish-white flames surged up his throat and gathered in his mouth.

He opened his mouth, and the firelight illuminated the dim room.

He picked up the book with both hands, rolled it into a cylinder, and forced it into his mouth.

The rough book cover brushed against his throat, causing a sharp sting. Song You gritted his teeth and manipulated the outer flame to envelop the book.

The outer flame has no temperature, but it possesses extremely strong corrosive and assimilative properties. Upon contact with the outer flame, the volume of the book begins to shrink; the special fibrous material of the paper is forcibly compressed, turning into a dense mass of matter.

We have to be quick.

Song You tilted his head back, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

The mass slid down his esophagus, a tearing pain shooting straight to his head. Veins bulged on Song You's forehead, and sweat rolled down his cheeks. He didn't stop, continuing to urge the outer flames to push the mass downwards.

"Thump."

A dull thud came from inside the abdomen as the book fell into the stomach.

Stomach acid churned, attempting to digest the foreign object, while an outer layer formed a protective film, keeping the stomach acid out. A small, hard lump swelled in Song You's stomach, causing a sharp, painful heaviness.

"It's bearable," Song You gasped, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. He didn't try to devour the remaining three books; his body had its limits, and he couldn't bite off more than he could chew. One copy of "The Illustrated Compendium of Herbs" would be enough for him to study in the World of Reflection for a while.

Once ready, Song You closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing.

He cleared his mind, extended his senses outward, and tried to capture the wandering spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

Song You quickened his breathing, capturing a small amount of spiritual energy and inhaling it into his body through his nasal cavity.

Conflict broke out.

As spiritual energy entered his body, his bones creaked under the strain, signaling the arrival of great terror.

The scene before my eyes was distorted, the flame of the oil lamp stretched into eerie lines, a sense of weightlessness enveloped my whole body, and my consciousness plummeted into the abyss.

Song You did not resist, letting the force drag him into the darkness.