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

He rolled out of bed and walked behind the door, grasped the latch, but still didn't pull it open immediately.

"Who?" Song You asked.

"Junior Brother Song, it's me." Jiang Yangge's low voice came from outside the door.

Song You immediately opened the door, and Jiang Yangge stood in front of the door, looking even worse.

Song You's gaze quickly swept over the other man's entire body. Jiang Yangge's face was even paler than during the day, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his left arm was still in a sling, which was normal.

But what caught Song You's attention was Jiang Yangge's right hand. His right hand was wrapped in thick coarse cloth, which was soaked with blood, and blood was still dripping down his wrist.

Song You's gaze narrowed slightly. During the day at the pharmacy, Jiang Yangge only had his left arm broken, while his right hand was intact. It had only been a few hours since they parted ways at the pharmacy, so how did he end up like this?

"What happened to your injury, Senior Brother?" Song You stared at Jiang Yangge's right hand. "Could someone have sabotaged you on the way back?"

Jiang Yangge looked at his injured right hand and forced a bitter smile.

"Junior brother, you're overthinking it." Jiang Yangge's voice was weak. "No one is messing with us now. Although I'm mainly in charge of bookkeeping, as one of the most skilled disciples in the pharmacy, I still have to personally handle the preparation of some special medicinal herbs while keeping it a secret."

He paused, then sighed and said, "Before I came back, I was boiling a pot of highly toxic medicine. I didn't control the heat well, and the cauldron exploded. I got splashed by shards of porcelain and the poison; it was an accident, nothing serious."

Song You looked into Jiang Yangge's eyes. He was lying, and it might involve some kind of secret.

However, everyone in this Soul Treasury Temple has their own trump cards and secrets. As long as the other party's schemes do not affect him, Song You is too lazy to expose them.

"I see." Song You didn't press further and stepped aside to clear the way to the doorway.

"Senior brother, you're injured, so don't stand outside." Song You pointed to the wooden table inside the room. "Come in and talk."

Jiang Yangge nodded and dragged his heavy steps across the threshold.

Song You closed the door behind him, poured a glass of cold water, and pushed the glass across the table: "Senior brother, sit down and have some water."

Jiang Yangge pulled out a wooden stool and sat down. Without hesitation, he picked up his water glass and drank the cold water in one gulp. He then put down the glass and let out a long sigh.

"Junior Brother Song," Jiang Yangge looked at Song You, "You did the right thing at the pharmacy during the day. But here at Po Cang Temple, you kept all your cards hidden, so people thought you were easy to bully. If you stood out too much, they would see you as a threat and try to suppress you in various ways."

Song You pulled out another wooden stool and sat down: "Thank you for the compliment, Senior Brother. If it weren't for you stopping Mei Chong during the day, I wouldn't have had a chance to back down. I will remember this favor."

Jiang Yangge waved his hand: "Junior brother, you're too kind. I stepped in to uphold the pharmacy's bottom line. I originally planned that if Mei Chong and the others caused trouble, you should just bear with it and let it pass."

"I never expected them to dare to kill me right here in the pharmacy. If they had killed you, I wouldn't have survived when Elder Jia returned. We're all just trying to survive."

Listening to Jiang Yangge's words, Song You realized that there was no such thing as unearned goodwill in the Po Cang Temple; a bond of shared interests was the most solid defense.

"Senior brother is right." Song You continued the conversation, "I saw you fight Mei Chong during the day, and you were able to withstand his attacks. I wonder what level you've reached now?"

Upon hearing this question, Jiang Yangge straightened his back a bit and raised his chin slightly, revealing a hint of self-satisfaction.

"I've been waiting for this moment for years. My outer flame and lung qi have accumulated enough, and I'll be able to break through to the mid-stage of the Firewood realm soon." Jiang Yangge tapped his fingers on the table. "If it weren't for the fact that the temple has been distributing fewer and fewer resources lately, I would have broken through long ago. Mei Chong is at the mid-stage of the Firewood realm, and his cultivation level is higher than mine. But if I were to fight him, I could guarantee that I would not be defeated."

To be able to remain undefeated despite transcending realms, Song You's mind raced. This senior brother was no ordinary person.

"How did you do that, senior brother?" Song You tried to ask.

Jiang Yangge looked down at his right hand and sighed.

"My body is a bit special," Jiang Yangge said in a lower voice. "My skin and flesh are different from others, and can withstand the burning of lung fire and the impact of lesions to a very small extent. When Mei Chong's lung fire hits me, its power is reduced by 30%. It is because of this that I can keep going against him."

At this point, Brother Jiang shook his head: "However, this kind of physique does not help with cultivation speed at all. As everyone's cultivation level increases in the future, the power of lung fire will increase exponentially, and the use of my little bit of defense will become less and less useful."

Song You noticed the word "physical constitution" and decided to ask about the matter of body leakage.

"Senior Brother," Song You leaned forward, "Since we're talking about constitution, I'd like to ask you something. When you were practicing the Lung Fire Technique, did you notice any gaps in your body through which lung energy would leak out?"

Jiang Yangge was stunned, staring at Song You for a few seconds before speaking: "Isn't this how cultivation is supposed to be? We feed our illnesses with our bodies, which will inevitably cause leaks in our bodies. If there are enough resources, the leaks will appear more slowly."

Song You didn't reply. It seemed that being exposed to the Soul Treasury Temple was the norm, and all the lower-level disciples were enduring this torment, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Seeing that Song You was not speaking, Jiang Yangge assumed that Song You was worried about his body leaking.

"Junior brother, don't worry too much," Jiang Yangge lowered his voice. "I can't solve this, but others might know the ropes. In three days, there will be a private gathering of outer disciples. I'm going there to exchange some resources for breaking through to the mid-stage of the Firewood Realm. If you're free, you can come with me. There are many people there, and it'll be easier to find out about Shen Lou's affairs."

Song You's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked directly, "What's the deal with this gathering?"

"The disciples in the temple have too few Daqian copper coins to make any trades," Jiang Yangge explained. "In order to cultivate, everyone takes out their spare items and exchanges them privately. This gathering already existed when I came to Po Cang Temple."

As Jiang Yangge recalled the past, his speech quickened: "Back then, gatherings were frequent, about once a week. The temple had plenty of supplies but few disciples, so even if you took on a task, the distributed medicinal herbs and rations were enough to support your cultivation. Everyone had surplus resources, and we were generous in exchanging them."

"And now?" Song You asked.

"It's not possible now." Brother Jiang shook his head. "In the past two years, the supplies distributed by the temple have been decreasing, and the pharmacy's stock has only been replenished in a long time. The disciples don't even have enough for their own cultivation, so where would they find extra things to exchange? The gatherings have been postponed again and again, and now they are only held once a month. Fewer people are going, and the things they bring are not as good as before."

Song You traced his finger across the table. The decreasing supplies indicated a problem with the external environment or resource sources of the Po Cang Temple.

I've just been born at a bad time.