Pig Raising Plan

At this point, the old man paused, then continued with a meaningful tone, "Thus, only one method remained for Military Advisor Ji—to find a mortal with a spirit root himself, raise them to the peak of the first layer of Qi Condensation, and then freely drain their physical strength and Mana at will. In plain terms, it's like a farmer fattening a pig in a pen, only to slaughter and feast on it when the time comes."

Li Yan looked at the old man with a bitter smile. After hearing so much, he now fully understood his own plight and that of his long-dead senior apprentice brother. The Gray-Robed Old Man's words were not false—weren't he and that senior brother just two pigs raised in a pen? As he thought deeper, a chill ran down his spine, a bone-deep cold spreading through his entire body. He had truly walked the edge of death's door. But how had that senior brother died?

His mind raced with speculation. A little over a month—on the forty-ninth day, when refining the medicinal power to break through to the first layer of Qi Condensation, something must have gone wrong. At that time, that senior brother could not possibly have cultivated to the peak of the first layer's mana, so draining his power was out of the question. Then why had he exploded upon attempting the breakthrough? And what about his own situation now? Had he successfully broken through to the first layer of Qi Condensation, or was he still in the Qi Guidance stage?

The Gray-Robed Old Man saw Li Yan's expression and knew he had guessed part of the truth. He smiled and said, "Don't waste your thoughts. I'll explain it to you. You've likely guessed that the person he found before you died from something related to cultivation, but the exact cause is a bit different."

Since Military Advisor Ji had set his plan, the next step was finding someone with a spirit root. The Fire Poison in his body could only be suppressed for a few more years, so he had to find a suitable candidate quickly. But where to find a mortal with a spirit root? He lacked the mana of the Foundation Establishment stage or above, unable to sweep large areas with powerful Divine Thought to detect spirit roots. He also had no access to the immortals' 'Spirit Testing Stone' or 'Spirit Testing Pillar,' which could sense spirit roots within a range or upon light contact. All he had was the lowest-grade silver needle method for testing spirit roots—a crude, primitive technique given to him by that Foundation Establishment cultivator out of pity when he begged pitifully. This method required direct physical contact, inserting a silver needle into an acupoint, injecting mana, and using the needle as a conduit to test for the presence of a spirit root.

This made things difficult. Who would let a stranger jab them with silver needles all over, especially when the procedure either yielded no reaction or caused great pain? Even if he claimed to be an immortal recruiting disciples, he'd need to be believed—and he'd be lucky not to get beaten up. Though his current mana made him fearless against mortals, this was hardly an ideal method.

After much thought, he finally hit upon the idea of the military camp. The soldiers there were all strong and numerous. If he could join the army, rise to a high position, display his martial arts, establish supreme authority, and then announce he was recruiting disciples, he could pick and choose at will. This seemed a feasible plan.

So he disguised himself as a martial artist and went to the Marshal's Residence. Using the martial arts he had learned in the 'Seeker Lineage,' combined with his mana, his techniques far surpassed any mortal martial arts. Even ordinary moves, when powered by mana, carried a hint of immortal might. Posing as a peerless martial arts master was more than enough. Only another cultivator could see through the trick; ordinary mortals could never discern the mystery.

Then, under cover of night, he used his movement techniques to sneak into the enemy camp and gather intelligence, returning to report to Hong Linying. With his mana, these tasks were trivial. After two or three such instances, the truth of his information became clear, and he smoothly secured a position in the army. Finally, when a large enemy force pressed in, he deliberately withheld the news from Hong Linying, left on some pretext, and then returned at the most critical moment, displaying his might to rescue Hong Linying and his men. This established his unmatched prestige in this border region. Recruiting disciples became even easier—he no longer needed to search; wherever he went, countless people eagerly awaited his test, hoping to become his disciple. Thus, over several years, he finally found the first unlucky soul among hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Hearing this, Li Yan understood the origin of Military Advisor Ji's official position and why his own test had been so painful. He thought, This teacher of mine is truly deep and scheming, weaving plan after plan. He turned a dead end into a glimmer of hope over several years. But the pain I suffered during the spirit root test was a sheer misfortune—running into such a weak cultivator in both mana and Divine Thought made me endure real agony. Yet this Gray-Robed Old Man before me can probe a hundred li radius with just a wisp of Divine Thought, and his main Divine Thought can scan thousands of li—terrifyingly powerful. He opened his mouth to speak but ultimately said nothing.

Though just a wisp of Divine Thought, the Gray-Robed Old Man had existed for over two million years. Seeing Li Yan's expression, he immediately understood his thoughts and said, "You're wondering why, with all my power, I didn't save that first person with a spirit root?"

Li Yan thought, This old monster—how does he know what I'm thinking? But indeed, that was his thought. He was just a teenager; how could he bear to see an innocent person die so easily? He nodded and replied, "Yes, Elder. With your great abilities, saving my senior brother would have been a trivial matter. Why let an innocent person die in vain?"

The Gray-Robed Old Man sighed and said, "Though I am just a wisp of Divine Thought separated from the main body, a million years ago, I might have killed your teacher on a whim if I found him displeasing—killing such a lowly trash of a cultivator would have taken but a thought. But after two million years of consumption, this wisp of Divine Thought is nearly spent. If I had used mana to kill him back then, I would have dissipated within a few years, let alone been able to seek a disciple.

Moreover, for the last several hundred thousand years, only a strand of Divine Sense has been outside; the main Divine Thought has long been asleep. Now, each time that strand wakes me, it grows harder. Each awakening takes about two months and accelerates mana consumption. I can only quickly absorb the experiences that strand has gathered over the years, then split off another strand of Divine Sense and immediately return to slumber.

Also, you must change this nature of yours. Cultivation is defying heaven's will, fraught with dangers you cannot yet imagine. One misstep means death. In the Cultivation World, there are no good or bad people—only yourself and your closest kin can help you. If you waste your kindness recklessly, you will fall early, and there will be no talk of cultivation, let alone seeking the path to immortality."

Li Yan nodded at these words but thought to himself, When did I ever agree to cultivate immortality? If I can find a chance to leave this city of Green Mountain Pass, I'll slip away, take my parents, brothers, and sisters, and find a place to settle. The world is vast—surely there's room for me? Living with my family would be better than being an immortal.

The Gray-Robed Old Man knew it was impossible to make an ordinary teenager suddenly decisive and ruthless. Though Li Yan nodded in acknowledgment, his heart might not agree with these words. For now, this was all he could do. But he had no idea what was in Li Yan's young heart. The youth felt his youth was endless, didn't understand the sorrow of aging and death, and thought guarding his parents and family was his happiness, never considering the path to immortality.

"Your senior brother had decent talent—an Earth Spirit Root, a three-attribute spirit root. Among his three attributes, wood was present, though not his strongest, but his cultivation was still relatively fast. In theory, he should have reached the peak of the first layer of Qi Condensation in a little over a year. But this time, Military Advisor Ji searched for two crucial herbs to harmonize the medicinal power and found nothing. Though these herbs were low-grade for cultivation sects, they were hard to find in the mortal world. His previous acquisition of one was pure chance. The key was that he had no more time to search for these two harmonizing herbs—he would likely die from the Fire Poison before finding them. The only remaining path was to gamble: use this even more incomplete medicinal liquid to forcibly cultivate. As for the result, you can imagine. Your teacher lost one herb and ended up like this; losing two this time made it even worse. The consequences were twofold: the pain during absorption increased several times, and on the forty-ninth day, when breaking through to the first layer of Qi Condensation, survival was nearly impossible." With that, the old man fell silent and looked at Li Yan again.

Li Yan was sharp. A bitter taste filled his mouth. He realized that he and that senior brother, when attempting the breakthrough on the forty-ninth day, had their bodies unable to withstand the increasingly unbalanced medicinal power, leading to a tragic death. So what was his own situation now?

The Gray-Robed Old Man continued, "After your senior brother died, Military Advisor Ji grew even more frantic, searching wildly for someone with a spirit root. Unexpectedly, his luck was almost too good—he found you in just over a year.

My wandering strand of Divine Sense could only sense a hundred li radius. So it wasn't until you entered within a hundred li of Green Mountain Pass that day that it sensed you and came to wake me from slumber. But I'm too weak now; waking takes about two months. And you, by coincidence, came to the military camp to enlist, where Military Advisor Ji discovered you.

You must have seen that strange book in his hand. He simply used his mana to crudely bind a jade slip with an illusory Jade Book for easy carrying. Ever since he obtained this illusory Jade Book, he's been trying to uncover its secrets. But his meager mana could never open it. The more he couldn't open it, the more he believed it was extraordinary, fantasizing that it might contain profound immortal arts that could cure his Fire Poison. So he studied it day and night, hah." The old man let out a contemptuous laugh, clearly amused by Ji's overreaching.

"My strand of Divine Sense was originally wandering within the illusory Jade Book. When I saw you become Ji's disciple and soon begin cultivating the method of using poison as the path, I grew anxious. But to reduce consumption, I had only given him the ability to scan spirit roots and physiques, with no other powers. And my main Divine Thought had yet to awaken. So every time Military Advisor Ji was with you, that strand would disturb the surrounding spiritual energy, making your cultivation harder and slowing your progress, to buy time until I woke."

Li Yan's mind jolted. He remembered now. Every time Military Advisor Ji came near him, he felt his energy flow become blocked. He had always thought it was because his teacher's profound cultivation naturally exuded a oppressive aura, never imagining someone was hindering his cultivation.

By now, the old man's figure had begun to grow ethereal and faint. He gave Li Yan no time to ask questions and continued, "But I never expected that with your Mixed Spirit Root constitution, even with that strand's interference, you still completed this forty-nine-day cultivation task. Yet the final result was no different from your predecessor. Without those two harmonizing herbs to neutralize the medicine, and with today's doubled dosage, how could your meridians withstand it? Even if Military Advisor Ji later pulled you from the Water Pool, he had no way to revive you. At that point, my strand of Divine Sense sensed your impending death, immediately transmitted all its memories to the main Divine Thought, forcibly self-destructed its own body, and jolted me awake from slumber. But the consequence was that while it woke me instantly, it also damaged the main Divine Thought, weakening me further.

When I woke, I found your internal organs severely damaged, your qi and blood beginning to reverse flow, with only a few breaths left before death. So I had to use my remaining mana to sort and repair all your meridians. But when the repairs were nearly done, you were stimulated by Ji's mana entering your body, briefly regained consciousness, and tried to sit up and continue cultivating. I had to shout to knock you out so I could finish repairing your body. Unfortunately, my remaining mana is too weak now. Though I pulled you back from death's door, I couldn't expel the poison from your body. I could only suppress it in a corner of your dantian. As long as you don't continue cultivating this immortal art, it won't trigger an eruption for now. But if you do cultivate it again, given your current state and without special fortune, death is certain." As he spoke, the Gray-Robed Old Man's figure began to turn transparent.