The abandoned cannon fodder girl's path to immortality

Chapter 240 Neighbors
Soon after, the last hum of the alchemy furnace completely ceased, leaving only the scorching heat of the furnace walls baking Chen Jinshu's tired face.

She leaned against the cold stone wall and slowly slid down to sit on the ground.

After several days and nights of tireless work controlling the fire, tending the furnace, and harmonizing the medicinal properties, two faint bluish shadows appeared on her delicate face, indicating she was quite exhausted.

Yet, those calm eyes still sparkled with joy.

At this moment, the spiritual energy in her dantian was almost exhausted, and her sea of ​​consciousness was also throbbing with pain from five days and five nights of relentless deduction and control.

The lotus birthmark on his forehead dimmed, as if it had also exhausted its power.

She gazed at the three perfectly round pills, swirling and glowing with purple light, inside the Mysterious Female Furnace, and finally managed a weak, relieved smile.

"Purple Mansion Spirit Nourishing Pill, Grade 3, Upper Rank".

This is the highest achievement she has made under such harsh conditions since she embarked on the path of alchemy.

With a wave of her hand, three pills fell into the pill bottle she had prepared beforehand.

She carefully put it away.

The tung bird on my shoulder, unable to contain itself since the furnace glowed with rosy light, let out a clear "clang" and flew outside.

A moment later, a faint, bright yellow halo was skillfully sent in through the crack in the door, hovering steadily in the air about a foot in front of Chen Jinshu.

It is a visiting card formed from spiritual energy.

The post is shaped like an enlarged bamboo leaf, its entire surface as smooth and warm as jade, with fine silver threads flowing around its edges, giving it a low-key and elegant appearance.

The central inscription, written in a simple, archaic seal script, reads: "My neighbor, Mr. Zhou, having heard of the arrival of our new neighbor, pays his respects. If you would be so kind as to visit, I would like to prepare some tea for our meeting."

At the end of the signature, a small, tortoise-shell-shaped rune mark flickered slightly.

Chen Jinshu raised an eyebrow slightly and frowned.

She has been in seclusion here refining elixirs for nearly five days, focusing her mind entirely on the small space of the cauldron, almost completely isolating herself from all external sounds and visitors.

The location of Pan Shi Ju was already remote, and the surrounding neighbors were mostly ascetic and self-disciplined cultivators, or independent cultivators who spent their days tending to their spiritual fields and being self-sufficient. Nodding to each other was the limit for them, and this formal etiquette of sending a visiting card was indeed a first.

"Pan Shi Ju is right next to an abandoned medicinal waste dump, and it even has neighbors?" Chen Jinshu had a slight doubt in his heart. This invitation card was concise and pure, and the spiritual power was controlled in a minute way. It was definitely not the work of an ordinary cultivator.

She struggled to raise her hand, sending out a wisp of spiritual energy from her fingertips to gently gather the spiritual invitation into her palm. The cool touch cleared her muddled mind for a moment.

The Yinshan Sparrow had completely slipped out the door and was hopping around on the branches of the newly sprouted jade bamboo in the yard, making short, sharp "clanging" sounds.

After being cooped up indoors for so long, one should feel extremely happy and free at this moment.

Chen Jinshu put it aside for the time being, then closed his eyes and silently circulated the "Azure Wood Transformation Technique".

The parched meridians struggled to draw upon the thin, stagnant spiritual energy, while the lotus mark on the forehead glowed faintly once more, refining the impure energy that had invaded the body.

She regulated her breathing for a good half hour, until the sky outside the window completely sank into twilight and the evening glow inside the room dissipated, before she felt that her limbs and bones had regained some strength.

She got up and walked to the window.

He gazed at the visiting card in his hand and pondered for a moment.

The art of alchemy emphasizes a clear and tranquil mind, free from external distractions.

Although social interactions were not her forte, and she was even somewhat detached from them, the friendships with neighbors provided a rare touch of human warmth on her long and desolate journey of cultivation.

Without further thought, Chen Jinshu used his fingers as a brush and rapidly sketched in the void with his spiritual power.

A stream of cyan light, reminiscent of the visiting card but simpler in design, took shape at her fingertips, bearing the inscription:
"Chen Jinshu of Xuanming Sect thanks Fellow Daoist Zhou for his hospitality. After a short while, I will pay him a visit immediately."

With a flick of his fingers, a stream of azure light shot out like an arrow, silently piercing through the simple isolation array of the Rock Dwelling and flying towards the source of the letter.

……

In the afternoon, the thick fog that had lingered in the mountain valley was finally mostly dispelled by the rising sun.

Chen Jinshu changed into a slightly neater indigo Taoist robe and walked leisurely along the slippery stone path soaked by the mountain stream moisture, heading towards the alleyway Zhou had mentioned.

Panshiju was located on the edge of this scattered settlement of cultivators. Further down the mountain, the houses built along the mountainside became noticeably denser, but still remained spacious and well-organized.

Most of them are small courtyards built with local bluestone or bamboo and wood, hidden under dense shade of trees and vines, with only the mottled corners of the walls and traces of cooking smoke showing.

Occasionally, a cultivator would walk by or brush past, mostly in a hurry, carrying a bamboo basket full of fresh herbs or a spirit hoe covered in wet mud. When their eyes met, they would simply nod slightly as a greeting.

A moment later, she followed the light from the visiting card and arrived at the front of a courtyard.

The courtyard was nearly twice as spacious as her rock-bottomed dwelling, yet it felt even more cramped.

Seeing that the visiting card had already been sent into the courtyard, Chen Jinshu waited outside the door.

Before long, the door opened, and a female cultivator walked out.

The newcomer was an elderly woman with gray hair, wearing a faded dark brown robe. She was slender, with a strong profile, and her wrinkled hands hung quietly at her sides as she looked at her with a gentle expression.

"Fellow Daoist Chen?" the newcomer called softly.

"It is indeed I. I apologize for disturbing Fellow Daoist Zhou's cultivation." Chen Jinshu cupped his hands in greeting, his gaze sweeping over the scene inside the room. The arrangement was tasteful and elegant, and he immediately understood.

This is no ordinary neighbor; he seems more like a highly accomplished cultivator who lives in seclusion here, immersed in the Dao of Array Formations.

"What inconvenience! I am Zhou Wanning, living in a humble abode, and rarely have guests." Zhou Wanning forced a stiff smile.

She led Chen Jinshu around the stone table and towards the only relatively tidy corner in the room.

There was a small stone table, two rough pottery teacups, and a pottery teapot sitting on a small stove beside the table, bubbling with heat and emitting the unique herbal and astringent aroma of cheap spiritual tea.

"My humble abode is cluttered, please forgive me, fellow Daoist. Please sit." Zhou Wanning tapped a polished tree stump stool next to the stone table with her cane.

Chen Jinshu sat down as instructed, his gaze sweeping once more over the mountain of array-related texts and unfinished products, and said sincerely:

"Fellow Daoist Zhou is too modest. Judging from the atmosphere here, your mastery of formations is profound and admirable. The spiritual energy here is mixed, yet you have been able to set up such a stable isolation formation, which is truly remarkable."

She keenly sensed that the isolation power of this stone house far exceeded that of her temporary magic array in the Rock Dwelling, almost completely shielding her from the foul air of the outside world. The price to pay would inevitably be a huge consumption of spirit stones to maintain the operation of the array.

Zhou Wanning picked up the earthenware pot and poured the murky tea into the rough earthenware cup. Upon hearing this, she only smiled slightly. "It's just a few skills to make a living."

"In my early years, I was too competitive and damaged my foundation, which cut off my path to enlightenment. Fortunately, my meager array skills can still be exchanged for some spirit stones in Medicine King Valley, which can support my frail body and prolong my life. I'll just stay here and wait to die in this peaceful place."

Chen Jinshu remained silent. For cultivators, the severing of their path to immortality is far more cruel than the natural death of an ordinary person.

She picked up the rough earthenware cup, and the warm tea went down her throat. It was slightly bitter and astringent, and its spiritual energy was faint, but strangely, it made her tense mind relax a little.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou has managed to create a tranquil place here, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. I admire you greatly."

"Peace and quiet?" Zhou Wanning sneered.

"It's just a forgotten corner, no one covets it! The 'tranquility' here was forcibly snatched from the rotten soil and poisonous miasma using spirit stones and arrays!"

Her withered fingers suddenly pointed to the scorched wasteland outside the window, which looked even more eerie in the night.

"Do you see those things? Behind the glamorous and fragrant Medicine King Valley, there are mountains of waste! So many resentful poisons from failed alchemy, remnants of spirits forcibly stripped of their medicinal properties, and the unspeakable experimental residues are all buried there."

Year after year, generation after generation, it has permeated this land! Even ordinary cultivators who stay here for several months will have their Golden Cores tarnished!

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her chest heaving slightly, her eyes burning with a long-suppressed resentment and helplessness.

"I set up this array to isolate myself because I'm afraid of dying, and I can't bear to have my spiritual foundation tainted so early with the array skills that I can barely exchange for spirit stones! Fellow Daoist Chen."

She changed the subject, her gaze softening as she looked at Chen Jinshu again, and said calmly:

"You were able to refine such high-quality pills at Rock Retreat, with their radiant glow reaching the sky, which I could faintly sense even through my array. You are truly a formidable young man. But do you know that the pure spiritual energy you used to refine the pills will not only accelerate the backlash from the filthy energy that has settled deep in the wasteland, but will also attract unwanted attention?"

She spoke unusually slowly and heavily, with a chilling warning in her voice.

Chen Jinshu felt a slight tremor in his heart.

The commotion caused by her refining the Purple Mansion Spirit Nourishing Pill was indeed quite significant. The rosy clouds penetrated her simple isolation array, and unexpectedly, even the Zhou family next door sensed it.

Chen Jinshu put down his teacup, his expression solemn, and asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, do you have any advice for me?"

Zhou Wanning did not answer immediately. She silently sipped the coarse tea in her cup, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

After a while, she suddenly put down the cup, her withered hand fumbled in the wide sleeves of her robe for a moment, and took out a jade bottle the size of a thumb.

The bottle has a warm, smooth feel, with a faint, refreshing mist emanating from it.

She pushed the jade bottle in front of Chen Jinshu.

“A drop of ‘Cold Pool Dew’ is taken from a small, unpolluted spring deep within a waste dump, yielding only a few drops every hundred years. It has a slight effect on cleansing the mind of impurities and calming restless spiritual energy. Since you are expending energy refining pills, this item may help you recover faster.”

Chen Jinshu was slightly taken aback, but under his expectant gaze, he solemnly accepted the gift: "This item is precious, and I am unworthy to accept it. Thank you, Fellow Daoist Zhou."

"No need to thank me. I'm staying here all this time, so there's not much use for these things."

Zhou Wanning waved her hand, her cloudy gaze turning to Chen Jinshu again, filled with complex and unfathomable emotions, like an elder looking at a junior about to step into danger.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, you are young, your cultivation is remarkable, and your talent in alchemy is astonishing. I shouldn’t be so nosy. But since we are neighbors, there are some things I have to say.”

She leaned forward slightly, her voice lowered to almost a whisper, carrying a solemn weight:
"You are new here and unfamiliar with the people and things in this place. There is one person you must stay away from."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jinshu immediately held his breath and focused his attention.

"Living on the edge of this wasteland, besides you and me, there is another person living in that lonely 'cold dwelling' further west."

"His surname is Lin, and his given name is Xiao. He is also a Golden Core cultivator, and he calls himself a third-grade alchemist. He also practices array formations and often invites cultivators, especially female cultivators who live alone, under the guise of exchanging ideas and exchanging skills."

"Lin Xiao?" Chen Jinshu searched his memory quickly but had no recollection of him.

"This person is good-looking, good at acting, speaks and acts in a gentle and refined manner, and seems generous in his spending."

Zhou Wanning's lips curled downwards, revealing a deep sense of disgust.

"At first, they were extremely attentive, discussing difficult questions about alchemy, inviting each other to study ancient formations, and even generously giving away some rare spiritual plant seeds and incomplete ancient formulas as bait."

“Once a female cultivator is deceived by his appearance and accepts his invitation to enter his ‘cold dwelling’.”

"That place is like the Spider Cave! Inside, there is a bewitching array he has carefully set up, supplemented by a colorless and odorless aphrodisiac incense. Once the female cultivator is under his spell, her mind becomes confused and her spiritual power sluggish, that is when this fiend will unleash his bestial lust!"

Chen Jinshu's pupils suddenly contracted, his back tensed instantly, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

"Afterwards, to prevent future troubles."

Zhou Wanning's voice trembled slightly, whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell.

"For those with decent cultivation but unclear backgrounds, he would use evil methods to drain their life force, destroy their bodies and throw them into that endless pit of waste, without anyone knowing. As for those with a little bit of background, or those he felt he couldn't afford to offend, he would record their shameful behavior with a jade slip, and use it to blackmail them, forcing them to swallow their humiliation and become playthings, or to extract resources from them."

"Last month! Just last month! A female alchemist from a small sect, who came here alone to purchase spiritual herbs, was lured away by him under the pretense of exchanging ancient alchemy formulas! I personally heard her enter that cold room."

To this day, there has been no news of them! Neither alive nor dead have they been found!

"Fellow Daoist Chen, your alchemy is soaring to the heavens, but Lin Xiao's nose is sharper than a rotting vulture in the wasteland! He must have already smelled it. I predict that within three days, you will receive his invitation, or he himself will arrive, carrying his repulsive and elegant exterior, and knock on the door of your Rock Retreat!"

Zhou Wanning's cloudy eyes churned with an unquenchable anger and a deep sense of powerlessness.

"I am powerless, my foundation for cultivation is destroyed, and my lifespan is nearing its end. I am unable to eliminate this fiend, nor do I dare to openly confront him. I can only guard this small piece of land."

My words today come from the bottom of my heart, and are also a way of repaying you for the fleeting 'pure fragrance' you unintentionally bestowed upon me while you were refining elixirs. Whether you listen or not is entirely up to you. I only hope you cherish your path and do not repeat my mistakes!

The heavy warning weighed on Chen Jinshu's mind, adding another layer of mystery to her understanding of the Medicine King Market.

"Thank you for your frank advice, Fellow Daoist Zhou!" Chen Jinshu stood up and bowed deeply to the withered old woman, his tone filled with unprecedented respect.

"I appreciate this favor, Secretary Chen. I am already aware of Lin Xiao's name, and I will certainly keep it in mind and avoid him at all costs."

Zhou Wanning nodded with satisfaction and waved casually.

"Go. This place is filled with turbid air and is not a place to stay for long. It would be best to leave as soon as possible after the elixir is completed."

After saying that, she picked up the black jade array plate and the small carving knife again and slowly began to carve.

Chen Jinshu said no more, cupped his hands in greeting again, and turned to leave with mixed feelings.