"Once a lowly wretch, feeding on moon-cloth and mud; Now shedding mortal bone, treading the immortal path with corpse and bug."
He was finally a man with capital for self-preservation. That fleeting pride urged him to squeeze out a few more lines of doggerel, but after racking his brain, he couldn't produce a single fart's worth of poetry.
This reminded him of someone else—the Insect Demon who had traded his life to give Gensheng a sliver of hope. Since that debt could never be repaid, he decided not to bother. When a man dies, everything is gone. Only the living have the right to count gains and losses.
Gensheng pulled out the booklet he had looted from Bai Jingzi: 《The Five-Element Root Dao-Body Foundation Manual》.
A few days later. The Abode of Ten Thousand Pills.
Revisiting the demon-head gateway, his mindset was worlds apart from his first visit. Fate was a funny thing. At a corner where no goods were displayed, a semi-worn banner hung. A maple leaf was drawn in cinnabar, with four crooked characters beside it:
"Red Maple Valley: Recruiting."
Gensheng leaned back into the shadows and let out a dry, silent laugh. Truly, life is full of unexpected reunions.
Behind the stall sat a withered Elder in red robes. His cultivation was around Level 8 Qi Condensation, looking half-dead as he listlessly dealt with a few ragged youths. In their eyes burned an infinite yearning for the Immortal Path.
Li Simin’s Void-Watching Eyes instantly pierced through them. Without exception, all five were Pseudo-Roots—the lowest grade of talent.
A Nascent Soul Sect like Red Maple Valley had fallen so far they were recruiting in a filthy black market. It seemed the damage Jiang Guixian had dealt them was even greater than he had imagined.
I searched high and low for them, only to find them right here.
Gensheng looked at the five hopeful youths like a starving diner eyeing a perfectly prepared five-course meal. He could already imagine them being cast into the furnace, their screams echoing as their flesh and souls dissolved into a round, gleaming pill.
It would be the most beautiful sight in the world. He hadn't "eaten" in a long time; hunger began to gnaw at his heart.
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The Red-Robed Elder, lacking patience, finished his perfunctory check and waved them off. "Fine, you five. Follow me."
He led them toward a tunnel on the outskirts. Gensheng followed, keeping a steady distance. In the chaotic flow of the Abode, one more man with a coffin drew zero attention. The Elder didn't even bother to check his tail; to him, it was likely just another pathetic dreamer too shy to speak up.
They exited the demon's mouth and circled to a flat slope on the side of the rift. A few crooked shacks made of dry grass and mud stood there.
"This is our temporary station in Qingzhou," the Elder announced. "Whoever reaches Level 5 Qi Condensation within two years earns the right to return to the Main Sect as an outer disciple. As for those who fail..."
He didn't finish. He walked into the largest shack and slammed the door. The five new "disciples" crowded into a relatively sturdy hut, their excitement over a bright future drowning out the reality of their squalid surroundings.
Night fell. The chatter in the hut died down, replaced by rhythmic snoring.
One tall, thin youth quietly opened his eyes. Looking at his sleeping companions, a flash of greed and ruthlessness crossed his gaze. Cultivation required resources. If he had money, he could buy pills in the Abode and reach Level 5 in a year—maybe six months. Why should these "trash" compete with him for the Immortal Chance?
He pulled out a dagger and crept toward a girl’s throat. But then, through the moonlight, he saw a face outside the window. A face smooth as bone-china, yet terrifyingly ugly.
CRASH!
The fragile wall exploded. Li Simin’s fist slammed into the youth’s temple. The other four woke up, too stunned to even scream.
Gensheng stepped out from the shadows, dragging the still-warm corpse into the darkness like a dead dog. A moment later, he stepped back in, his six arms hanging naturally at his sides.
"Don't... don't kill me..." The most cowardly boy slumped to the floor, his crotch quickly turning wet.
Gensheng frowned. "Which of you are not virgins?"
"I... I am..." the girl answered, her voice breaking into a sob.
"And you?" Gensheng looked at the two shivering boys.
"We are too! Immortal, spare us! We are all pure!" they shouted, as if proving their innocence was their only ticket to survival.
"I see." Gensheng nodded.
It ended quickly. Gensheng stored the five warm corpses into his storage ring. He had the "primary ingredients": Five Pseudo-Roots, all pure. As for the requirement of "heavier resentment," he had purposefully let them soak in terror and despair for a few moments. The resentment was more than sufficient.
He flipped through the manual again. "Supplement with five toxic herbs... simmer on a low flame..."
The cinnabar notes listed the names:
-
Ghost-Bone Flower
-
Rotting Corpse Vine
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Hundred-Ghost Mushroom
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Soul-Devouring Grass
-
Blood-Crying Willow Heart
He would need to head back into the Abode to scavenge for these.
A faint whistling sound came from the distance. Gensheng looked up to see Li Simin flickering toward him like a ghost. She moved over the jagged rocks without touching the ground, making no sound.
But she was dragging something. It was the Red Maple Valley Elder.
Gensheng blinked. He hadn't given that order.
Li Simin landed gracefully, tossing the half-dead Elder at his feet. She then stood there silently, watching him with those hollow, empty Void-Watching Eyes.