Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

"Uh... don't be so stingy."

Lu Zaian smiled sheepishly and gestured with his hands as he spoke to the little guy.

"Look, I've already come in with you, I can't leave empty-handed, I have to get something."

"Ee-woo~"

The little guy kept shaking his head, his face full of reluctance.

"Really not okay? Not even one? Just one?" Lu Zaian held up one finger.

“Ee-hoo~” The little guy shook his head firmly.

"Alright, alright, let's see what kind of tricks you're up to..." Lu Zaian was speechless.

We still have to rely on this little guy's abilities, so we have to put aside our thoughts for now and see what it wants to do.

"Ugh!"

So when he passed the sacred tree, Lu Zaian had to suppress the urge to pick the amethyst fruit and continue walking forward.

Just a few steps away, Lu Zaian saw the place deep within the cold mist.

It turned out to be a cold pool.

The cold pool was about three zhang in diameter, and its depth was unknown. It was surrounded by a ring of stones.

It seemed that all the cold mist was rising from this icy pool.

Strangely, despite the extreme cold, the surface of the icy pool did not freeze!

If you ignore the chill, this place looks like a fairyland, a paradise filled with ethereal beauty...

"These are... remains?"

However, when Lu Zaian turned his gaze, he noticed that there was a pale, crystalline skeleton leaning against the stones surrounding the edge of the cold pool!

The skeleton was clearly very old, and a putrid smell emanated from it.

Even so, each bone was still as translucent as snow, exuding a faint aura of authority from those in power...

"Could this skeleton be the former master of the secret realm? That Core Formation expert?"

Lu Zaian stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Although the pressure emanating from the corpse was only a faint trace, its quality was stronger than that of any Foundation Establishment cultivator Lu Zaian had ever seen.

Only a stronger Core Formation cultivator could possess such an aura, which remained attached to the corpse even after so many years.

At the feet of the skeleton, a ring resembling a storage ring lay quietly on the ground.

It was supposed to be worn on the finger of a corpse, but it fell to the ground after the flesh melted away...

Lu Zaian's heart stirred. What good things might be inside the storage ring of a Core Formation expert?

However, Lu Zaian did not rush forward.

Does anyone know if this Core Formation expert left behind any contingency plans before he died?

It's better to be careful.

Just then, the little creature on the shoulder suddenly jumped up and plunged into the icy pool.

"Hmm? Could this little guy have been born in that icy pool?"

The moment the little creature plunged into the icy pool, the thick fog above the pool briefly dissipated, allowing Lu Zaian to see the entire pool clearly.

Previously, due to the obscuring effect of the cold fog, Lu Zaian had not noticed it.

It turns out that right in the center of this icy pool, there was actually an ice-blue lotus growing!

Lu Zaian's pupils constricted involuntarily. It was another rare and precious plant, capable of growing even in an extremely cold pool...

The ice-blue lotus blooms quietly, standing alone.

The lotus pods produce plump, crystal-clear lotus seeds, each the size of a longan, like the purest blue pearls in the world.

A strong throbbing rose in Lu Zaian's heart, as if he instinctively and desperately wanted to have it!

This feeling is even stronger than when I was under that amethyst tree!

"Another spiritual plant I don't recognize, its grade is probably no lower than the third rank..."

Lu Zaian merely inherited Elder Xiao's memories from the Spirit Medicine Valley, while Xiao Fenlin himself was only a mid-grade second-tier alchemist.

It's normal not to recognize a third-tier spiritual plant.

Lu Zaian resisted the immense temptation and dared not make any rash moves.

The more beautiful and powerful a treasure is, the more likely it is to be accompanied by extreme danger.

Just as Lu Zaian was silently pondering how to safely obtain the lotus...

Wow.

The sound of water could be heard, and the little creature from before rose again from the center of the cold pool, creating ripples that caused the lotus flowers to sway gently.

It poked its adorable little head out from under the lotus leaf, while continuing to wave to Lu Zaian.

"Ee-woo ee-woo~"

The little guy waved and pointed down into the icy pool.

"What? So it wasn't just that they brought me here, this little guy wants me to go down into this icy pool?"

Lu Zaian was startled, unable to understand what the little guy meant.

This icy pool is clearly the source of the cold mist in the entire Spirit Plant Garden, and the chill is truly terrifying.

Although I'm at the eighth level of Body Refinement, if these old bones of mine were to fall into this icy pool, I'd probably be frozen solid in an instant...

Even suicide shouldn't be done like this.

Thinking of this, Lu Zaian quickly waved his hand, "No, no, it really won't work... I'll freeze to death."

“Eee-ooh-ee-ooh-ee-ooh…”

The little guy got anxious upon hearing this and quickly patted his chest to assure them.

Meanwhile, the little guy kept gesturing with his hands in the air, sometimes pointing to himself, sometimes to Lu Zaian, and sometimes to the cold pool.

Even Lu Zaian was dumbfounded. He didn't know why this little guy wanted him to dive into this icy pool.

Is it really just so they can freeze to death and then eat an old-fashioned popsicle?

Or perhaps he wanted to become fertilizer to nourish that lotus flower?

Seeing Lu Zaian standing still and even quietly retreating, the little guy became even more anxious.

It slapped the water with both hands, puffed out its chubby little face, and leaped out of the water angrily, flying towards Lu Zaian!

"Hey, hey, what are you doing?! I'm telling you, don't mess around, or none of us will be happy!"

Lu Zaian pinched a second-tier fire-type talisman and threatened the little guy.

He only had two second-tier talismans, both obtained from the Blood Spirit Pearl space, which he had been holding onto as his trump cards.

This is the only one with a fire attribute, and Lu Zaian really couldn't bear to use it.

But if it's truly a critical moment, Lu Zaian won't care whether the little guy is cute or not...

Even if it meant destroying all the spiritual plants here, it wouldn't be as important as my own life.

The terrifying fluctuations emanating from the second-tier fire-elemental talisman truly frightened the little guy.

It stopped abruptly, less than a foot away from Lu Zaian, and a pitiful expression appeared on its cute little face.

"Waaaaah~~"

"You little whiny brat, acting cute is shameful! Even so, I won't jump into the icy pond!"

Lu Zaian was unsure of the little guy's thoughts, but he was determined not to risk his life.

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a faint, eerie light flashed across the pale, crystalline skeleton beside them.

The next instant, an ancient and ancient voice rang out, piercing through space and echoing in Lu Zaian's mind.

"Frosty maple leaves have fallen for thousands of autumns, what night is this, so long and uncertain..."

"Who?!"

Lu Zaian suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body. Without thinking too much, he immediately turned his gaze to the skeleton, his mind racing.

Is the corpse not quite dead yet?

Was all of this actually a conspiracy, luring me here for some other purpose?

Lu Zai'an immediately thought of things like possession...