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

Song You pressed down on the back of Li Changxing's head, forcing Li Changxing's lips to press against the black mud.

"Kill you, and all those opportunities will be mine."

Li Changxing stopped struggling, his mind still reeling. Why wasn't this person playing by the rules? Li Changxing opened his mouth, spitting out words mixed with mud and sand: "My senior brother has already planned to deal with Song You during the trial! As long as you release me, I'll act as an intermediary and help you contact them. We'll definitely be able to take down Song You!"

Song You ignored his nonsense, carefully mobilized his chest and lung energy, and pressed the gray-white flames into Li Changxing's back from a distance, the flames burning through the fabric.

Song You stared at the exposed skin, but there was no counterattack of black lung fire or any unusual phenomena.

Li Bin, as the chief physician of the Seedling Stove, carries the trump card left by the elder, while Li Changxing has nothing. In the eyes of the Seedling Stove Elder, he is not even comparable to Li Bin.

Li Changxing cried out in pain from the injury to his back. He knew the other party was truly there to kill him, and couldn't help but curse, "If you dare touch me, my master will not let you get away with this!"

The curses had no effect; instead, his anger intensified, forcing him to change the subject and beg for mercy: "Senior brother, spare my life! Do you have a grudge against my master? Don't let your misfortune affect me!"

Song You snorted coldly. The other party was an elder's disciple, and there was no guarantee that he had some special methods. He had to test him further.

Song You, with his keen senses, heard the rustling of fallen leaves coming from the distant, withered forest behind the mountain. The two outer disciples who had left earlier had returned. Song You had a plan. He withdrew his outer flames and clenched his right fist, aiming it heavily at the back of Li Changxing's neck.

A dull thud came from his neck, and Li Changxing's eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness. Song You noticed the wooden plaque at his waist. The plaque was intact and had not triggered the aura lock.

Song You stood up, smoothed out the marks he had left, grabbed a dry twig and swept it across the mud to cover the traces. He retreated to behind a blue stone about three zhang away, held his breath, and squatted down.

After a short while, Li Changxing, who was lying on the muddy ground, twitched his fingers and let out a weak groan, showing signs of waking up. Song You emerged from behind the bluestone, took two steps to Li Changxing's side, and kicked him in the temple with his right foot.

Li Changxing collapsed to the ground again before he could even utter a sound. Song You retreated to his original position, picked up a piece of gravel at his feet, and threw it forcefully toward the edge of the dead forest. The gravel hit the tree trunk with a crisp sound.

The footsteps quickened, and the two men who had been there earlier peeked out from the woods. They looked in the direction of the sound and immediately spotted Li Changxing lying on the ground. The taller man's eyes widened as he quickly walked forward. He circled around Li Changxing, looking at his mud-covered appearance.

"Hu Zhen, this is truly a blessing from heaven." The tall man spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "This kid has finally met his end. Without him blocking our way, let's hurry down the mountain."

"He's seriously injured, wait a minute." Hu Zhen stared at Li Changxing. "He's been beaten like this and is unconscious. Why don't we take his things?"

"Yeah, anyway, nobody knows it was us."

After listening, Gao Shang walked back to Li Changxing's side. The two squatted down, turned Li Changxing over, and searched through his clothes, turning the pockets inside out and tearing open the linings, but there was nothing there.

Gao Shang pounded on Li Changxing's chest and cursed, "They robbed us way too cleanly. They didn't even leave behind the junk we just handed over."

Song You secretly memorized the names of the two men; they were quite bold.

Hu Zhen tugged at Li Changxing's tattered coat: "These clothes are so torn, they can't be exchanged for anything. But his pants are made of good material, so we can wash them and exchange them for something."

Hu Zhen grabbed Li Changxing's waistband with both hands and pulled it down forcefully. The movement was so violent that Li Changxing's body was flipped over. Stimulated by the pain, Li Changxing's eyelids twitched, and his mouth opened as if he was about to make a sound.

Gao Shang and Hu Zhen exchanged a glance. Gao Shang raised his knee and slammed it hard into Li Changxing's chest, the sound of breaking ribs echoing. Hu Zhen tightened his grip on Li Changxing's neck with both hands. Li Changxing kicked his legs twice and then fell completely still, only his faint breathing persisting.

Gao Shang loosened his grip, his face pale: "What if he heard our voices just now? He definitely won't let us off the hook when he wakes up."

Hu Zhen gritted his teeth, a fierce look in his eyes: "If we're going to do it, we might as well go all the way."

Song You could see clearly from behind the bluestone and thought to himself, "Just as I suspected."

The two found a natural pit nearby. Gao Shang dragged Li Changxing by the arm, while Hu Zhen lifted his leg, and threw the naked Li Changxing into the pit. The two scooped up the surrounding black mud and filled the pit, covering Li Changxing's entire body, and then added some more mud.

Gao Shang stopped what he was doing and smacked his lips: "What a pity."

Hu Zhen kicked a clod of dirt into the pit: "Those who mess with us deserve to die."

Gao Shang shook his head: "That's not what I meant. This kid has such delicate skin, it would be nice to have some fun with him first."

Hu Zhen paused for a moment, then sped up the filling process, but no longer turned his back to Gao Shang. Song You squatted behind the stone, feeling a chill in his buttocks.

The soil was filled in, and the two tamped it down with their feet. They stirred around in the pit a couple of times, then fell completely silent. The wooden sign's mechanism had been triggered. Song You's gaze fell on the surface of the pit; from the cracks in the soil, two extremely thin wisps of black flame were seeping out.

The flames traveled along the ground, silently wrapping around Gao Shang and Hu Zhen's ankles and seeping into their fabric. The two, with their low cultivation levels and dulled senses, were completely unaware and turned to descend the mountain along the path.

Song You watched the two walk away, and realized that keeping their distance was indeed the right thing to do.

Po Cang Guan is not good at protecting its outer disciples, but Li Changxing is an elder's disciple. He may not have any trump cards to protect himself, but he may have a way to track him down after his death.

It wasn't me who killed Li Changxing. It's common for disciples to be seriously injured in fights. What Po Cang Guan just wants are people who don't die, so they can keep them to work.

Song You stood up and returned to the cabin along another fork in the road. With one potential hazard eliminated, he felt much more relaxed and at ease. He sat on the bed to rest for a while.

At the same time, in the innermost room of Elder Zhongzao, a plump ball of flesh sat on a large soft couch, making indistinct snoring sounds. Mei Chong, standing in front of the couch, listened intently. Years of service had made him understand what his master was saying: his junior brother had died.

Mei Chong was shocked and immediately knelt down: "Master, please understand, this disciple did not do it!"

The fleshy ball made a hoarse sound in its throat: "He is, after all, my disciple. I hid a lung fire in his wooden plaque, which can track down to the person who made the final move."

The fleshy ball pointed out a general location, and Mei Chong kowtowed to accept the order: "This disciple will go and investigate immediately, without delay."

Mei Chong left the room and hurried towards the back mountain. He felt a pang of regret that he had lost a blood bag to exploit, and resources would be scarce again. His master clearly didn't care much about outer disciples like them. He sighed, thinking that once he advanced to the late stage of the Firewood Realm and became an inner disciple after the trial, the temple would offer stronger protection, giving him a sense of security.

When he arrived at the ravine, there was no one around. Mei Chong followed the faint feeling he had before the wooden sign broke to find the location. He found a patch of ground with signs of being turned over and trampled. Mei Chong squatted down and used his hands to remove the surface soil. He dug a foot deep and revealed a pale arm.

He quickened his pace, digging away all the surrounding soil, and a body appeared at the bottom of the pit. Mei Chong's eyes widened when he saw Li Changxing's miserable state.

"Where are this guy's pants?"