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

Li Changxing dug for half an incense stick's time with both hands, then reached deep into the pit and pulled upwards with force, pulling out a section of root covered in black mud.

Song You saw the thing clearly from behind the boulder; its rootstock was dark purple, and a few withered yellow leaves hung from its tip.

Song You recalled the record in the "Illustrated Compendium of Herbs" that this wild herb was called the root of the tomb-worshiping orchid. It grew exclusively under tombs with extremely heavy yin energy, hiding underground all year round. It would only emerge for three days when it bloomed and was unearthed. After the flowers withered, it had no medicinal properties.

This stuff can be used to brew medicinal cuisine that can help cultivators break through to the mid-stage of the Firewood realm, and it is extremely valuable to cultivators in the early-stage of the Firewood realm.

Jiang Yangge mentioned that Li Changxing was suppressed by Mei Chong and Liu Chengquan under Elder Zhongzao. His monthly cultivation resources were all taken away, and he could only rely on himself to obtain cultivation resources, which was the same as having no master.

Song You thought that Li Changxing had probably just happened to see the 'Grave Worship Orchid' root that was about to break through the soil at the gathering in the back mountain a few days ago. At that time, there were too many people around, so he didn't dare to do anything. He only came to dig it up secretly after the gathering ended today.

"Good luck," Song You thought to himself, "but now this thing belongs to me."

Li Changxing hastily wiped the soil off the roots of the orchid at the grave with his sleeve, stuffed it into his bosom, placed it close to his undergarment, and turned to prepare to descend the mountain along the path he had come from.

Song You pressed his palms against the edge of the boulder, his leg muscles tensed, ready to leap out.

The sound of a branch snapping came from the dead trees on the right. Song You withdrew his strength and shrank back behind the boulder.

Li Changxing also heard the noise. He crouched down and hid behind the wordless stele, staring intently at the direction from which the sound came.

Two figures emerged from the withered trees.

These were two male disciples dressed in outer blue robes. They were both hunched over, pale and thin, and walked with unsteady steps, occasionally clutching their chests and coughing.

Judging from his condition, the lesions in his body had almost drained his vital energy, and his cultivation level was even lower than Li Changxing's.

When Li Changxing saw who it was, his tense shoulders relaxed. He stepped out from behind the stone tablet and stood in the middle of the path with his back straight.

The two outer disciples were hurrying along with their heads down when they suddenly saw someone appear in front of them, and they took two steps back in fright. After seeing Li Changxing's face covered in mud, the fear in their eyes lessened a bit, but they still kept their distance.

"What are you two doing in the back mountain?" Li Changxing asked, raising his chin with a strong voice.

The slightly taller disciple on the left cupped his hands in greeting: "Senior brother, we've come to the back mountain to gather some wild herbs and materials to exchange for Lung-Clearing Powder."

Li Changxing sneered twice and took a step forward: "Everything on the back mountain belongs to the temple. Did you pay the required fees before harvesting it?"

The two disciples exchanged a glance, their faces turning pale.

"Senior brother is joking," the tall disciple replied, forcing a smile. "It's perfectly acceptable for outer disciples to come to the back mountain to collect wild herbs; there are no rules or fees involved."

"I said it's the rule, and it's the rule." Li Changxing crossed his arms. "Hand over all your valuables, or don't expect to leave this mountain unscathed today."

Upon hearing this, the two disciples retreated to a withered tree. The taller disciple reached down and pulled off the wooden plaque from his waist, holding it in front of him.

"Senior brother, we have the wooden tokens of outer disciples on us." The tall disciple's voice trembled. "There's a rule in the temple that disciples are forbidden from killing each other. If you steal the tokens or kill us, they will shatter. The tokens contain the aura of the Soul Treasury Temple. Once they shatter, the aura will lock onto you. If the temple investigates, you won't be able to escape."

After hearing this, Li Changxing threw his head back and burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the mountain valley.

"Kill you?" Li Changxing stopped laughing, pointed at the two men, "Why would I kill you? I'll break your arms and legs, burn your internal organs with lung fire. As long as you have a breath left, the wooden plaque won't break."

He took two steps closer: "If you wait here in this ravine to die, and the wooden sign breaks, that's because you died from the onset of your illness. What does that have to do with me?"

The two disciples were deathly pale, and the wooden plaques in their hands were trembling.

Li Changxing patted his chest: "Besides, I'm Elder Zhongzao's personal disciple. Even if something really happens, as long as my master doesn't blame me, what can anyone do to me?"

The words "elder's disciple" weighed heavily on them, and the two outer disciples completely lost any will to resist. They were just lowly expendable resources; what did they have to fight against an elder's disciple?

The tall disciple sighed, hung the wooden plaque back on his waist, reached into his robe, and pulled out two withered yellow grasses and half a piece of gray ore, placing them on the ground. Another disciple also pulled out a few pieces of dry tree bark and threw them aside.

"Senior brother, we just entered the mountain today, and we found these earlier." The tall disciple lowered his head. "We've given them all to you, senior brother."

Li Changxing stepped forward, kicked the rubbish on the ground with his toe with a look of disgust, but he still squatted down, picked up all the things, and stuffed them into his pocket.

"Get lost." Li Changxing waved his hand.

The two disciples, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, bypassed Li Changxing and quickly fled along the path, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Song You crouched behind the boulder and heard everything clearly.

Li Changxing's words and actions served as a wake-up call for him. Po Cang Temple was in a period of decline, with scarce resources. The only protection the outer disciples had was a wooden plaque. The mechanism of this plaque was very mechanical; as long as one did not die on the spot or try to steal the plaque, the aura lock would not be triggered.

Moreover, the lung fire in Song You's body is the most basic grayish-white color. In the entire Soul Treasury Temple, eight out of ten outer disciples who practice lung fire cultivation have this color. As long as he doesn't reveal his identity or deliberately target anyone, no one will be able to find out that he did it. Besides, he is also an elder's disciple, and he still has a role to play with Jia Chunfang.

Li Changxing had been hostile to him before. This kid was petty and would be a menace if kept alive. Song You had long planned to kill him, but he couldn't find a suitable opportunity due to the rules of the temple.

Now, the opportunity has arrived.

Li Changxing stood there, head down, counting the junk he had just stolen, cursing under his breath.

Song You took out a piece of coarse cloth from his clothes, covered his face with it, tied it in a tight knot behind his head, leaving only his eyes exposed.

He slowed his breathing, gathering his strength, and emerged from behind the boulder. His toes touched the ground, landing silently in the gaps between the mud and fallen leaves.

Ten zhang, five zhang, three zhang, Song You was getting closer and closer to Li Changxing.

Just as Song You was about to launch an attack, Li Changxing made a move. Having been bullied by Mei Chong and Liu Chengquan for a long time, he had an almost instinctive alertness to the movement behind him, and his body reflexively rolled to the right to avoid it.

He reacted quickly, but Song You reacted even faster.

Song You pushed off the ground with his right foot, sending dirt flying. He leaped forward, forcefully twisting his waist and abdomen in mid-air to change his attack trajectory.

When dealing with these newly initiated disciples, if both sides lack sufficient lung fire, Song You's physical advantage is enormous. Li Changxing had only rolled halfway when Song You's knee slammed heavily into his lower back.

With a muffled thud, Li Changxing let out a half-scream before being slammed to the ground.

Song You didn't stop moving. He stepped on the back of Li Changxing's head with his left foot and pressed down hard. Li Changxing's face sank directly into the mud, and his mouth and nasal cavity were filled with black mud. His screams were suppressed.

At the same time, Song You reached out with both hands, tightly gripped Li Changxing's wrists and twisted them behind his back, pressing his knees down on his spine, pinning him to the ground and rendering him unable to move.

The movements were clean and crisp, without the slightest hesitation.

Li Changxing struggled desperately, kicking his legs wildly on the ground, but the weight on his back was as heavy as Mount Tai, and he couldn't turn over at all, nor could he see who was attacking him.

Song You mobilized the lung energy within his chest, and grayish-white flames surged out along the meridians of his arms, covering the surface of his hands. The high temperature penetrated the fabric, scorching Li Changxing's wrists, and the flesh emitted a burnt smell.

"Don't move." Song You lowered his voice, his tone becoming hoarse and rough, completely unrecognizable as his original voice. "If you move again, I'll burn you to death."

Li Changxing felt a burning pain in his wrist and stopped struggling, but he still shook his head frantically, rubbing his face in the mud, forcing a gap that could let him breathe.

"Cough cough, senior brother, spare me!" Li Changxing spat out the mud in his mouth, his voice muffled. "I really have nothing left. The junk I just stole is all in my pockets, take it all. Don't kill me!"

The speed and power Song You had just displayed far surpassed that of a newly initiated early-stage cultivator, Li Changxing hadn't even connected the masked man with Song You. In his eyes, this was definitely a seasoned veteran roaming the back mountains, or some ruthless character hiding his true strength.

Song You remained vigilant, his left foot still on Li Changxing's head. He freed his right hand and reached directly into Li Changxing's arms, roughly tearing open his outer garment.

Li Changxing felt the hand groping his body and realized that the masked man had seen everything he had done while he was digging for herbs. The man wasn't after the junk; he was after Bai Mulangen.

He stopped begging for mercy and lay on the ground pretending to be dead.

Song You's fingers found a hard object hidden in the lining of Li Changxing's inner garment. He pulled hard and pulled out a piece of the mud-covered root of the *Baimu Lan*. He then emptied the dried grass and ore he had stolen from Li Changxing's pockets.

With the item in hand, Song You's chest heaved, and a thick, grayish-white flame gathered at the back of his tongue. He prepared to spit fire onto Li Changxing's back to test whether he, like Li Bin, had a trump card to save his life.

Li Changxing's back was pressed against Song You's knee, and he could feel the heat emanating from him. The threat of death completely threw him into a panic.

"Senior brother, don't do it!" Li Changxing shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm trading an opportunity for my life, an incredible opportunity!"

Song You, still seething with anger, ground his left foot on Li Changxing's head and said, "Speak."

Li Changxing winced in pain, speaking rapidly: "That Song You who entered the sect with me, he has a great opportunity. After he planted the stove, he was in excellent condition and was even taken in as a personal disciple by the elder of the pharmacy. He must have swallowed some rare treasure or been hiding some kind of treasure before entering the sect!"

"I have nothing under Elder Zhongzao's tutelage. Senior brother, go find him and spare my life."

Upon hearing this, Song You's face twitched beneath his mask; he was almost laughing in anger.

That beast is about to die himself, yet he's still trying to shift the blame onto him.