Chronicles of the Green Vine: A Mortal’s Path to Immortality

"Zhang Ling, with a three spiritual roots aptitude, is able to cultivate to the tenth level of Qi Refining before the age of thirty, which is considered average within the sect. Boy, tell me how you were parasitized by the Ghost Vine."

The silver-haired old man glanced at him, then narrowed his eyes and closed them again to meditate.

Zhang Ling's mind raced, he clenched his hands and began to speak.

"This disciple was originally an ordinary farmer's child. The village was invaded by bandits, and I managed to escape. Afterwards, I got lost in the mountains and forests. One night, I was dragged by strange vines into an underground cave..."

Zhang Ling recounted his encounter with the strange vines expressionlessly, only concealing the matter of the mysterious yellow bead.

"Oh, I see. However, the Ghost Vine is only a low-grade spiritual plant and does not inherently have parasitic characteristics. That's strange. But since you have had this strange encounter and were still able to become a rogue cultivator, you can be considered to have some good fortune."

"Presumably, you have learned of my name during this time. You are also clear about my strength. Two years ago, I had already cultivated to the completion of Foundation Establishment, and my current realm is what cultivators often call the Pseudo-Core Formation stage. I am only one step away from forming the Core."

"Keeping you alive is also because of the special nature of your body, which can help me obtain a treasure for this old man. As long as I have that treasure, I will be confident in breaking through to the Golden Core stage, and the great path will be within reach."

"I won't deceive you. As long as you sincerely work for me, I will never break my promise, remove the Soul-Devouring Insect in your spiritual consciousness, and sincerely accept you as a disciple." The silver-haired old man, Wei Shen, spoke with a gentler tone, and his gaze towards him also became kind.

A look of joy appeared on Zhang Ling's face, but his heart sank. This person had actually reached the Pseudo-Core Formation stage and was plotting to form the Core.

However, what could a small Qi Refining cultivator like him do for this person? He was puzzled. However, with his life in the hands of others, there was nothing he could say.

"Since this disciple is valued by Master and can become a disciple, naturally I will have no other thoughts. I wonder what Master wants this disciple to retrieve."

Zhang Ling respectfully bowed to this master and asked.

"That item is in a dangerous place, and now is not the right time. You must first break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."

"With Master's strength, can't you obtain the treasure? Could it be that there are powerful demon beasts guarding it?" Zhang Ling suddenly changed his tone and asked.

"Hmph, demon beasts, this old man naturally does not care about them, it's just that the time has not yet come. Counting the time, there are still a few years left. What you need to do now is to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible."

As Wei Shen spoke, he raised his hand, and a silver light shot out, reaching Zhang Ling in the blink of an eye.

This was a silver token, and its style was the same as his identity token, but it was entirely silver-white.

"This is"

"An inner disciple identity token. You are now Wei's disciple, and your identity will naturally change."

"Thank you, Master."

A look of joy flashed across his face, and Zhang Ling took the silver token and, in front of Wei Shen, directly applied a drop of blood and spiritual power to it.

Immediately, the information on the silver token flashed through his mind. Wei Shen looked at his actions and seemed very satisfied. With a wave of his sleeve, two jade bottles flew to Zhang Ling.

"This is Qi Nourishing Pill, which is perfect for your current cultivation level. I'll give you three years to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage. If you can't do it..."

"Master, this disciple's aptitude..." Zhang Ling's heart tightened, and he wanted to say something. Wei Shen, however, looked at him coldly, interrupting his words.

"Pills, I will naturally prepare them for you. As for the Foundation Establishment Pill for breaking through, you brought back quite a few spiritual herbs from the Burning Flame Valley, including a hundred-year-old Flame Yang Flower, which is enough to exchange for two Foundation Establishment Pills."

"Originally, I could have taken 20% of the spiritual herbs you handed in as a disciple acceptance gift. But now, I will not embezzle these spiritual herbs. Two Foundation Establishment Pills will be distributed to you in two months. If, after three years, you have not broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, I will not keep you."

Zhang Ling saw the old man's expression and knew that there was no room for negotiation.

"South of the valley, there are a few acres of spiritual herb fields. You can cultivate there. The spiritual energy there is rich, and I think you can cultivate better."

Wei Shen said, waving his hand again, throwing out a red, round jade token.

"I hope you won't disappoint my expectations. This is the valley's restriction token. Go."

"Yes, this disciple will definitely concentrate on cultivation."

After receiving the red jade token, Zhang Ling exited Wei Shen's cave and headed towards the south of the valley.

Soon, he arrived at the spiritual herb field that Wei Shen had mentioned.

This was a small hill, with a small stream flowing towards the distance beside it. The surrounding vegetation was sparse, and it didn't look like there was a spiritual vein, but he could vaguely see a few acres of spiritual fields and a few wooden houses.

Zhang Ling did not hesitate and walked for a while. When he was twenty or thirty zhang away from the spiritual field, he touched the nearby restriction and was blocked by a piece of blue light.

He took two steps back, and the blue light curtain in front of him disappeared again. He scanned the front with his spiritual sense and did not find a light shield.

It seemed that the restrictions here were also not ordinary, which made him realize the power of his master even more.

He took out the red jade token and applied a spiritual force to it. Immediately, the spiritual light in the red jade token flashed a few times and turned blue. Zhang Ling then walked forward with the jade token, and there were no more obstacles this time.

Under the guidance of the jade token, he walked a distance in front and arrived at the front of the small courtyard. The courtyard was large and occupied a considerable area, with five or six wooden houses of varying sizes.

Before he entered the courtyard, a strong medicinal fragrance came from the side. Zhang Ling's spirits lifted, and he circled the courtyard.

Around the courtyard were spiritual herb fields of various sizes, totaling two or three acres in size.

Many spiritual herbs were growing in them. Zhang Ling checked them with great interest and recognized all the spiritual herbs. They were all low-grade spiritual herbs. The most precious was a thirty-year-old Purple Cloud Flower.

The value of these spiritual herbs was not great, but there were quite a few of them. However, the growth of the spiritual herbs was not very good. Some spiritual herbs were already withered and yellow, and some weeds were growing among them. It seemed that his master did not care much about these herbs.

Zhang Ling walked into the small courtyard, and there were some weeds and fallen leaves on the ground. It seemed that no one had taken care of it for a long time. Fortunately, the wooden houses were intact, and there was no problem living in them.

He randomly selected a wooden house and went inside to tidy it up. In the largest wooden house, he found a few spiritual herb atlases and records of spiritual herb cultivation experiences.

Zhang Ling flipped through them for a while and then put the books back down. Afterwards, in the main house, he also found a small spirit gathering array. This was a five-cornered array disk. As long as you put spirit stones of five different attributes on it, you could activate the array and enhance the spiritual energy in the room.

This place was originally built on a spiritual vein, and the surrounding spiritual energy was already not weak. With the addition of the spirit gathering array, cultivating here would be much faster than outside. With the addition of pills, he was confident that he could cultivate to the twelfth level of Qi Refining in two years.

Zhang Ling was in the main house, considering Wei Shen's previous words. From his master's words, he naturally heard some information.

This person placed the Soul-Devouring Insect on him because of the special nature of his body, so that he could retrieve a treasure for him. However, it seemed that his cultivation was too weak and he had to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage first.

Regardless of whether what this person said was true or false, he also planned to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible. The Qi Refining stage was too weak, and he did not have a trace of resistance against this person.

At the same time, he also had to prepare for cultivating the Soul Division Technique, after all, there was still the most direct threat of the Soul-Devouring Insect in his sea of consciousness.