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

Song You sat at the table, pulled out the cloth bundle from under the bed, untied it, and took stock of the miscellaneous items at hand. Apart from a few classic books distributed by the pharmacy that could not be touched, the rest were all odds and ends that had been looted from Li Bin.

Ultimately, he had only been a disciple for a few days and hadn't accumulated any knowledge or skills. These things might be valuable to ordinary people, but in the world of cultivators, they were worth very little.

Song You pulled out ten large Qian Dynasty copper coins from a hidden compartment in the corner of the wall and put them in his pocket. Copper coins are hard currency; these ten coins could come in handy if something truly useful came up.

As for those junk and rubbish, he'd exchange them for whatever wild herbs he could get. He wouldn't spend money unless he found something worthwhile, to avoid attracting attention. He stood up, brushed the dust off his hands, and opened the wooden door.

Jiang Yangge stood outside the door, his left arm hanging straight down, his right hand wrapped in thick coarse cloth, with dark red bloodstains showing through the cloth strips.

"Sorry, senior brother, I packed some things that can be exchanged, which took up a little time," Song You said.

Jiang Yangge stepped aside to lead the way: "It's alright, let's go, the gathering is on the back hill."

The two walked along the path from the outer courtyard toward the back mountain. The wind stung their faces, and the stench in the air was even stronger than in the outer courtyard.

"Junior brother, when we get there, observe more and say less," Jiang Yangge said in a low voice as he walked ahead. "Although the gathering is organized privately by the outer disciples, the monks from the temple occasionally go to visit as well."

Song You followed behind: "Do they also lack cultivation resources?"

"They can't cultivate immortality." Brother Jiang shook his head. "These children have no Dao roots, but you must never provoke them."

Song You knew about this and wanted to clarify the details: "If they can't cultivate immortality, why do they seem quite powerful and still act so arrogantly in the temple?"

"I don't know the details of how they became stronger either." Jiang Yangge glanced around. "But I heard that they were all chosen by the elders from their own blood relatives and raised in the temple from a young age. Some of them are even the elders' own grandchildren, much closer than their disciples. Others, although not blood relatives of the elders, also grew up in the temple from a young age."

Song You nodded. The immortal techniques of the Soul Treasury Temple were heretical. Only a few disciples, after cultivating to the end, would remember their master's goodness. Many, like Jia Chunfang, would suffer a backlash at any time. The elders' acceptance of disciples was essentially cultivating waste material.

In contrast, these blood-related children, who lack Dao roots and are unable to cultivate, pose no threat to the elders and have the advantage of kinship, making them more trustworthy.

The image of Qing San flashed into Song You's mind. That day, Qing San reminded him to go to the pharmacy, which was indeed a way out at first. Jia Chunfang was protective of her own and treated her disciples even better. However, all of her disciples eventually went to participate in the trials and all of them died.

This matter can be said to have both advantages and disadvantages. At that time, Qing San only saw his inferior aptitude. It was already a stroke of luck that he was able to come to the pharmacy. If he had enough strength, it wouldn't have been a hopeless situation. There's no need to be too harsh on him.

But Elder Zhongzao and Jia Chunfang don't get along. As Elder Zhongzao's attendant, what is Qing San's intention in sending people to his mortal enemy?

I need to find an opportunity to investigate Qing San later.

"Senior brother, you're in charge of the pharmacy's accounts. Do you deal with these young boys often?" Song You asked. "Like that one called Qing San."

Jiang Yangge changed his tone: "I usually only handle the handover of medicinal cuisine. They come to pick up things, and I give them the things. We can't really be considered friends. That Qing San seems to be a favorite of Elder Zhongzao. He has a strange temper, and I usually avoid him like the plague."

Song You didn't press the matter further and kept it to himself.

The road became increasingly secluded, and a small canyon nestled between two slopes appeared ahead. At the canyon entrance stood two outer disciples dressed in blue Taoist robes. They checked Jiang Yangge's waist token and let the two of them in.

The canyon was dimly lit, with a dozen or so stalls scattered along the rock walls on both sides. Most of the stall owners sat cross-legged on the ground, with a tattered cloth spread out in front of them, displaying herbs, ores, or broken weapons.

There were no hawkers' cries, only the incessant coughing, accompanied by a strong smell of medicine and blood. Song You glanced around; this place was practically a gathering of tuberculosis patients.

"There are really few people," Song You commented.

"You can understand, with that kind of selection method, there couldn't possibly be many disciples in the temple to begin with." Brother Jiang lowered his voice, "In addition, with the shortage of supplies in the past two years, everyone is short of food, and fewer and fewer people can offer things to exchange, which has led to this situation."

Song You observed the stall owners; most of them had ashen faces and weak breaths, indicating they were all low-level disciples struggling in the early stages of the firewood-making process. The items on their stalls were mostly weeds covered in mud and other odds and ends, making it difficult to find anything worthwhile.

"Don't the inner disciples come here?" Song You asked.

"Most of the inner disciples have reached the late stage of the Firewood Realm, so they look down on the things from the outer disciples." Brother Jiang pointed to the deepest part of the canyon. "However, there are a few inner disciples who like to join in the fun and will bring people to organize gatherings and collect some stall fees. The one over there today should be Senior Brother Zhao from the inner disciples, so be careful not to cause trouble here."

"If we're lucky, the inner disciples might organize some small trade fairs, and maybe even give us some missions."

Song You looked in that direction and saw a small house deep in the canyon. Several thin outer disciples stood outside, and a faint light shone from inside.

The inner disciples mostly come here to amass wealth and expand their power, which has nothing to do with him. Song You withdrew his gaze. He came here to exchange wild herbs for practice and had no interest in provoking the inner disciples. It's good that someone is watching over him; as long as he avoids that area, this canyon is safe.

"Where can I exchange the wild herbs you mentioned last time?" Song You asked.

"Those stalls over there all have them," Jiang Yangge said, pointing to a few stalls on the left. "Those are all disciples who go to the back mountain to collect wild herbs; they have a lot of different kinds of herbs with them."

Song You walked over and stopped in front of a stall. The stall owner was a thin male disciple, with a pile of muddy roots and a few withered grass leaves on his tattered cloth. He looked up at Song You, then lowered his head and continued coughing.

Song You squatted down and turned over the grass leaves. These were wild snake-eating grasses, with mixed medicinal properties and many impurities. They were not as good as the herbs in the temple's vegetable garden and would not be considered by the pharmacy at all. However, they were perfect for practicing controlling the heat.

"Senior brother spends a lot of time in the pharmacy," Song You said, turning to look at Jiang Yangge. "If you want to practice, what basic herbal decoction would be most suitable for your first brew?"

Jiang Yangge glanced at the items on the stall: "The best way to brew this is to decoct the Lung-Clearing Powder. The recipe for this medicine is simple, requiring only snake-eating grass, dried wood bark, and half an ounce of yellow clay. It's mainly used to warm and nourish the lung qi and relieve the burning pain from the internal flames. It's very popular among the outer disciples."

Song You nodded. This medicinal soup could not only be used for practice, but the finished product could also be exchanged for other resources.

"How much for this pile of snake-eating grass?" Song You asked the stall owner.