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

Without hesitation, Song You walked to the wooden couch and sat down cross-legged. Jia Chunfang leaned forward, her emaciated body and cloudy eyes staring at Song You's face.

"Are you hiding something from me?" Jia Chunfang asked, her voice hoarse.

Before she finished speaking, Jia Chunfang reached out her right hand and grabbed Song You's left wrist. His hand was extremely withered and felt icy cold to the touch.

Song You remained seated without resistance. The disparity in strength between them was too great; forcibly breaking free would only lead to his death. Moreover, he sensed no killing intent from Jia Chunfang. If this old monster wanted to kill, he wouldn't need to waste any words.

Song You relaxed his arm muscles, letting the other person grab them. He lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the edge of the wooden bed, showing just the right amount of timidity, waiting for the other person's next move.

With a flick of his fingertips, Jia Chunfang unleashed a wisp of eerie green lung fire from his palm, which traveled directly along the meridians of Song You's wrist.

It was cold and damp.

As the lung fire entered his body, Song You felt a sharp, needle-like pain in his meridians. The eerie green flame traveled up his arm, heading straight for his chest. Song You slowed his breathing, and the grayish-white outer flame in his chest cavity obediently shrank into a corner, showing no sign of rejection.

The eerie green flame circled Song You's internal organs, finally settling on his lungs. It probed the core of his Dao for a moment before returning along its original path, exiting from his wrist.

Jia Chunfang released her grip, her withered face scrunched up, and she let out a hoarse laugh.

"Good lad, your root is not the size of a copper coin at all." Jia Chunfang pointed at Song You with her finger. "A ball of fire the size of an infant's fist. This level is already of medium quality, and it is only a step away from the upper-middle quality. You have kept this from me for a long time."

Song You's face was full of fear: "This disciple is new here and does not understand the intricacies of the temple. I dare not be arrogant and have no intention of concealing anything from Master. Please punish me, Master."

Even he didn't know why he could go to the World of Returning Light, and no one else knew either. As long as this biggest secret was not exposed, everything else was a minor matter.

Jia Chunfang waved her hand to interrupt him: "These are all minor matters. How do you think I got this elder position? Although there are few geniuses in this temple each year, over the years, quite a few geniuses have been accumulated. In the end, those who survive are all those who know how to hide their talents."

Jia Chunfang pointed to her chest: "What kind of qualifications do you think I have?"

Song You looked up and responded at the opportune moment: "Master previously said that he was of below-average talent, could it be that he is?"

"That's right." Jia Chunfang's eyelids drooped. "Your cautious attitude is correct. Even to me, your master, you don't need to reveal everything. If you show all your cards, your death is imminent."

Song You replied, "This disciple is ashamed, but I thank you for your teachings, Master."

Jia Chunfang looked at Song You, her tone softening: "No wonder you've made such rapid progress these past two days. Your Dao foundation is quite good, plus you were lucky enough to get a share of the ash essence of that wild beast the day before yesterday. This rate of growth is quite reasonable."

Song You breathed a sigh of relief. Jia Chunfang had closed the logical loop herself, saving him a lot of trouble explaining.

"Thanks to Master for taking me there that day, I was able to get a share of the benefits." Song You seized the opportunity and pushed the credit back.

Upon hearing this, Jia Chunfang's withered lips parted into a wide, unexpected smile: "You're quick-witted and efficient. You've done so well, I don't want to give up on you."

A layer of fine sweat broke out on Song You's back. This old monster had indeed intended to kill him before. He straightened up and said sincerely, "This disciple will definitely cultivate with all his might, serve Master, and take care of Master in his old age until his death."

"We don't follow the mortal way of caring for the elderly and seeing them off in their final days here." He stopped laughing and leaned forward. "How much do you know about the mid-year trials?"

Why bring this up all of a sudden? But Song You had originally wanted to know about the trial anyway.

Song You recounted the key points Jiang Yangge had told him, mentioning the role of copper coins and the qualifications for going out.

Jia Chunfang nodded: "He knows a little bit about it. Yes, it's true. Every year, the elders of the temple send their disciples to a certain place to undergo trials on behalf of the temple. That place isn't dangerous, and there are many benefits."

Jia Chunfang paused for a moment, a cold glint flashing in her cloudy eyes: "I didn't pay much attention to this matter in previous years. Every year I would just take in an outer disciple to make up the numbers, but none of them came back."

After a few seconds of thought, Song You replied, "Does Master mean that someone is secretly sabotaging us?"

"Don't even think about it." Jia Chunfang patted the edge of the wooden bed. "It was that beast Liu Xiang who had his disciple do it. He has many disciples, and he specifically chose to kill my disciples."

Despite his unchanged expression, Song You was filled with lingering fear. It turned out that he was just a waste, sent to the trial to make up the numbers and die. If he had rashly gone to the trial, his fate would probably have been no different from that of Jia Chunfang's previous apprentices.

Jia Chunfang stared at Song You: "I originally only took you in this year to make up the numbers, so that I could relax for another year if you died. But Liu Xiang has been pushing his luck these past few days, sticking his hands into my pharmacy. He doesn't care about the brotherhood between us, so I have to teach him a lesson and cut off his henchmen."

Song You immediately clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Disciple understands. Once we get to the trial, disciple will definitely find an opportunity to kill Elder Zhongzao's disciples and restore Master's honor."

Jia Chunfang looked Song You up and down, then mocked him, "You? You've only been cultivating for a few days. The ones Liu Xiang sent were mostly mid-stage Chai Xin cultivators. Crushing you would be easier than crushing a bug."

Song You did not refute, but listened quietly.

"You don't need to kill anyone." Jia Chunfang held up a withered finger. "You just need to survive the trial. As long as you come back alive, Liu Xiang's plan will fail. He's a petty person and can't stand to see me doing well. If you appear before him alive and well, he'll definitely be furious and his mind will be in chaos."

"He is currently at the critical juncture of breaking through to a higher realm. If his mind gets distracted, the breakthrough will be delayed, giving me more time to prepare."

Song You figured out the situation: Jia Chunfang wanted to use him to disgust Elder Zhongzao and disrupt his cultivation rhythm.

This was good news for him; he no longer had to fight desperately against disciples of higher realms, greatly increasing his chances of survival.

"I obey your orders and will definitely return alive," Song You replied.

Jia Chunfang frowned and looked at him: "If I want to participate in the trial, I need a skill. How much of those books have you actually read?"

Song You felt a sense of unease; Jia Chunfang was testing his worth, and he hesitated whether to fully reveal his learning achievements.

Jia Chunfang continued, "If you learn slowly, I have a method that will allow you to memorize all the pharmacology within three days. You'll become a bit dull and lose some memory, but it will still be usable."

Looking at Jia Chunfang's face, Song You knew without a doubt that this would do him no good.

"Reporting to Master, I have been studying diligently day and night, without daring to slack off," Song You quickly reported. "I have already learned one-sixth of that 'Illustrated Compendium of Herbs'."

He actually memorized a quarter of the content, as he was used to holding back some information.

After hearing this, Jia Chunfang lifted her eyelids, her eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"One-sixth?" Jia Chunfang clearly didn't believe it. "You just got the book. It took Brother Jiang Yang half a month to memorize one-sixth of it back then."

Do you know the consequences of deceiving your teacher?