Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 24: Pig Farming Plan

“Later, Military advisor Ji thought of a method, which was to find an ordinary person with a Spirit Root, cultivate them to the peak of the first level of Qi Condensation period, and then absorb their physical and spiritual energy at will.”

“In other words, it was like raising a pig, waiting for it to grow fat and plump, and then slaughtering it when the time was right.”

Li Yan had already understood his own situation and that of his deceased senior brother. He felt a chill run down his spine, and a cold, eerie feeling spread throughout his body.

But how did that senior brother die? Military advisor Ji had found him, but was it because the senior brother’s spiritual energy was not enough for him to absorb?

“After Military advisor Ji had a direction, the next step was to find someone with a Spirit Root. He only had a low-level silver needle test to detect Spirit Roots. It was a method given to him by a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator who took pity on him.”

“However, this method required physical contact with the person being tested, and who would allow a stranger to poke them with a silver needle? Moreover, the test would either have no reaction or cause immense pain.”

“Even if you claimed to be a celestial being recruiting disciples, others would still need to believe you.”

“Military advisor Ji thought for a while and finally came up with a plan. He would enter the military, where the soldiers were strong and numerous. If he could enter the military and hold a high position, he would have the opportunity to choose.”

“Then, he would display his martial arts skills, establish his authority, and announce that he was recruiting disciples. Who wouldn’t believe him?”

“Entering the military was easy for him, given his martial arts skills learned from the ‘Seeking Immortality Lineage’ and his magical powers.”

“Even ordinary martial arts techniques, when combined with his magical powers, would be unmatched in the mortal world, making him a supreme martial artist.”

“After entering the military, he finally found someone with a Spirit Root after several years. The person had a wood attribute, which was not his strongest attribute, but still allowed for rapid cultivation.”

“However, when it came to cultivating the entry-level techniques, Military advisor Ji was unable to find the two crucial harmonizing herbs, which were essential for the process.”

“Last time, he had obtained one of the herbs by chance, but now, he didn’t have the time to search for them again. He estimated that he wouldn’t be able to find them before the poison in his body took effect and killed him.”

“He had no choice but to take a risk and use the incomplete elixir to force his way through the cultivation process. As for the outcome, you could imagine how painful the process would be.”

“Military advisor Ji had become like this because he lacked one herb, let alone two harmonizing herbs.”

“The result was not only an extremely painful absorption process but also a nearly fatal outcome when he attempted to break through to the Qi Condensation period on the 49th day. The person ultimately failed and died.”

Li Yan opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately didn’t say a word.

The old man in gray seemed to see through Li Yan’s thoughts, and a hint of helplessness appeared in his heart. If Li Yan knew how to cultivate and understood the power of the Five Immortal Sects, he wouldn’t need to waste so much time.

It would only take a few words, and the other party would easily submit to him. However, encountering someone who knew nothing, he could only explain things step by step, or else the other party wouldn’t be willing to cultivate. And his time was running out.

“You want to ask, if I’m so powerful, why didn’t I save that first person with a Spirit Root?” 

‘This old monster, how did he know what I’m thinking?’ Li Yan thought to himself.

He was, after all, just a teenager, and how could he bear to see an innocent person die so easily? He nodded and replied, “Yes, with your divine powers, you could have saved my senior brother with just a wave of your hand. Why did you let an innocent person die in vain?”

The old man in gray sighed, after all he was wasting his precious time on a naive cultivator like Li Yan. If he couldn’t force this person to join him, he would have no choice but to continue explaining.

“Although I’m just a divine thought separated from my main body, if I were to use my powers to kill that cultivator, I would have exhausted my divine thought in just a few years. And now, my divine thought is almost depleted. If I were to use my powers to kill him, I would dissipate in no time, let alone find a disciple.”

“Your temperament needs to change in the future. Cultivating is about defying the heavens, and there are many dangers involved. One misstep, and you’ll lose your life.”

“In the cultivation world, there are no good people or bad people, only those who can help you or your closest relatives. If you abuse your so-called kindness, you’ll only end up dying prematurely.”

Li Yan listened to these words, nodding his head, but thinking to himself, ‘When did I agree to cultivate? If I find an opportunity to escape from Green Mountain Pass, I’ll sneak back to bring my parents and siblings to a safe place. The world is vast, and there must be a place for me to settle down. In the end, being with my family is better than being a god.’

The old man in gray knew that it was impossible to make a ordinary teenager suddenly become ruthless and cunning in a short time.

“After your senior brother died, Military advisor Ji became even more anxious and crazily searched for someone with a Spirit Root. He was lucky and found you within a year or so.”

“My divine thought, which was wandering outside, could only sense the area within a hundred miles. It wasn’t until you entered Green Mountain Pass that I sensed your presence and was awakened.”

“However, I was too weak at the time and needed about two months to recover. You coincidentally arrived at the military camp to enlist, and Military advisor Ji discovered your existence.”

“You must have seen the strange book in his hand, which was actually a fusion of a jade slip and an illusory jade book, made possible by his magical powers.”

“After obtaining the illusory jade book, he wanted to uncover its secrets, but his magical powers were too weak to open it. The more he failed, the more he believed the book held extraordinary secrets.”

“He thought that the book might contain higher-level cultivation methods that could solve his poison problem, so he studied it day and night.”

“My divine thought was originally wandering within the illusory jade book. Seeing that you started to practice the poisonous method shortly after you became Military Advisor Ji’s disciple, I was extremely anxious.”

“However, I had limited my abilities to only scan for Spirit Roots, without any other divine powers.”

“My main divine thought was slow to awaken, so I could only disturb the surrounding spiritual energy whenever Military advisor Ji and you were together, making your cultivation more difficult and slowing down my awakening.”

Li Yan finally understood why he felt uncomfortable whenever Military advisor Ji was near him.

He had thought it was because his master’s powers were too deep and naturally brought a sense of pressure, but he never thought that someone was intentionally hindering his cultivation.

The old man in gray continued speaking, not caring about Li Yan’s thoughts.

“But I didn’t expect that, despite the disturbance from my divine thought, you still managed to complete the 49-day cultivation task with your mixed Spirit Root body.”

“However, the final result was no different from your senior brother’s. Lacking the two harmonizing herbs and medicinal plants, and with the added medicinal power today, your body’s meridians couldn’t withstand it.”

“Even if Military advisor Ji pulled you out of the water, he had no ability to revive you.”

“At that time, my divine thought sensed your impending death and immediately transmitted all of Military advisor Ji’s memories to my main divine thought, forcing me to explode my main divine thought and awaken from my slumber.”

“However, this method had the consequence of severely injuring my divine thought, making me even weaker.”

“When I awoke, I found that you were on the brink of death, with your internal organs severely damaged and your blood flowing in reverse.”

“I had to use my last bit of magical power to repair your meridians, but when I was almost done, you were stimulated by Military advisor Ji’s magical powers and temporarily regained consciousness.”

“You wanted to sit up and continue cultivating, so I had to shout to make you faint again, allowing me to complete the repair of your body.”

“Unfortunately, my remaining magical power is too weak, and although I managed to bring you back from the brink of death, the poison in your body cannot be expelled and can only be suppressed in your Dantian.”

“In the future, as long as you don’t continue cultivating this Dao technique, the poison won’t erupt. However, if you continue to cultivate, it’s certain that you will die soon.”

As he spoke, the old man in gray’s figure began to grow transparent.