A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

Sheng He stared at Jiang Xuanli for a long time before turning her gaze to the map.

On the map, Dragon Island's terrain resembles a coiled dragon. Most of the island is covered by dense forests, with occasional streams flowing through them. Several streams meander upwards and converge at the heart of the dragon.

There is a sacred spring there.

Almost everyone's gaze eventually fell upon this sacred spring.

A spiritual spring is a spring that gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The surrounding spiritual energy is rich and has excellent healing and calming effects, making cultivation twice as effective. More importantly, extremely rare spiritual plants usually grow around spiritual springs.

Spiritual herbs like the Valley Orchid and the Resurrection Grass require extremely rich spiritual energy to take root and sprout, so they only grow near spiritual springs.

Jiang Xuanli took in everyone's reactions. He glanced at Sheng He and saw that she was also staring at the spiritual spring. His smile widened.

"Fellow Daoists, Dragon Island is right before us. Two months from now, this ship will still be here waiting for you."

"I, Jiang, would like to extend my congratulations in advance to all fellow Daoists on your fruitful journey on the island."

The large ship slowly docked, and after the disciples thanked Jiang Xuanli one by one, they couldn't wait to enter Dragon Island.

Sheng He stood on the sword, watching the countless young disciples rushing into the dense forest, then turned back to look at Jiang Xuanli.

In just half a day, he aged considerably, his face deeply lined with wrinkles, and the skin on his chin drooped weakly. He no longer had the strength to walk and was carried off the boat by two strong guards in a sedan chair.

Is there really a technique that can make a person age several times over in such a short period of time?

Sheng He cast an invisibility spell and took out a concealment bead. Only after seeing Jiang Xuanli walk away did she tiptoe back to the large ship.

The ship was empty. Most of the people Jiang Xuanli brought had gone with him, and several helmsmen had also disembarked and were lying on the beach drinking.

Sheng He went straight to the top-level cabin. She remembered that Jiang Xuanli's room should be...

Sheng He kicked open the door. The room was extremely luxurious. Sheng He walked around the screen that was blocking the door. Behind the screen was a huge parchment scroll.

The parchment scroll clearly depicts a map of Dragon Island, with two locations highlighted on the map.

One place is a sacred spring, and the other is a magnificent palace.

Sheng He looked at the palace located on the west side of Dragon Island. She remembered that on the map Jiang Xuanli had given her, this place seemed to be a barren mountain.

Sheng He scoffed. The map Jiang Xuanli gave him was indeed fake.

If nothing unexpected happens, the real treasure of Dragon Island should all be in that palace.

Sheng He walked around the room again and finally found Wang Tong in a hidden door. Besides Wang Tong, there were also more than a dozen young girls who were tied up.

Hearing the noise, Wang Tong hurriedly hid something behind his back. He bowed deeply, his face full of obsequiousness: "Young Master, I... I came to check on these goods..."

Only when he sensed that the person in front of him was a bit unusual in size did he slowly raise his head.

"Sheng... Sheng He... what are you doing here? You're not..."

Wang Tong's eyes narrowed suddenly. He took a few steps back and stared at Sheng He in astonishment.

"What's wrong with me? I just wanted to talk to you about a business deal."

As Sheng He spoke, she laughed and snatched the thing that Wang Tong had hidden behind his back.

It was a bowl containing half a bowl of raw rice. A red rope lay quietly on the rice. As if sensing the unfamiliar presence, the rice gradually turned black, and a ghostly aura emerged from the rim of the bowl.

"Ya Jun!"

"Ya Jun? Is that the name of that demon?"

Sheng He casually tossed the bowl to Wang Tong, who immediately examined it carefully. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there was nothing wrong with the rice bowl.

"Miss Sheng, you have broken into the young master's room without permission. If he finds out, you will not have a good ending!"

Sheng He sat with his legs crossed on a soft couch next to him. The couch was covered with a layer of extremely soft white fox fur, making it very comfortable to sit on.

Sheng He squinted comfortably and said slowly, "Lord Wang, don't be in such a hurry. I've already said I'm here to discuss business with you."

"I have no business to discuss with you. You'd better leave now! Otherwise, I'll immediately tell the young master what's going on here!"

Sheng He raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you going to talk about this Ya Jun either?"

Wang Tong's expression changed repeatedly as he looked at Sheng He, his expression shifting between light and dark.

"What do you know?"

“I don’t know anything,” Sheng He laughed, pointing to the rice bowl that had calmed down in Wang Tong’s hand again. “But I guess she’s your daughter, right?”

"And the reason you sneaked into Jiang Xuanli's room like me was also for her sake."

In his previous life, after Jiang Xuanli died suddenly, the first thing his only son did after taking over the Jiang family was to kill Wang Tong, a trusted confidant of the Jiang family for many years.

Considering Wang Tong's actions today, it's not hard to guess the underlying reasons.

"Her soul has been transformed into a demon, trapped in this bowl of rice for eternity. You want to release her, don't you?"

"I can help you."

Wang Tong raised his head. Having served Jiang Xuanli for many years, he was used to keeping his head down when doing things. But now, he looked directly at Sheng He and after a long while, he said, "What business does Miss Sheng want to discuss with me?"

Sheng He laughed: "I want to know, what exactly is Jiang Xuanli's purpose in coming to Dragon Island?"

"In order to... become an immortal."

"Immortal?"

"The young master said that there is a fleshy spirit mushroom on Dragon Island, which is formed from the heart of a giant dragon. Once the fleshy spirit mushroom matures, one can become an immortal after consuming it."

"Mature?"

Sheng He spoke in a low voice, then suddenly realized: "So all the cultivators on the ship are..."

"Yes, they are all nutrients for the fleshy Ganoderma lucidum."

"What about them?"

Sheng He pointed to the dozen or so girls who were tied up in the dark room.

"They are... the young master's food."

There is a heretical practice circulating among unorthodox practitioners that involves feeding on the blood and heart of young girls to prolong life and maintain eternal youth.

If she wasn't mistaken, Jiang Xuanli wanted the mermaid for this very reason.

Sheng He's chest heaved violently, and after a long while, she finally let out a soft laugh.

"So, your daughter was also captured and turned into a demon in the same way? And now, you're still helping Jiang Xuanli do this kind of thing?"

Wang Tong's lips moved slightly, and he stammered, "It's my fault for being useless. I... I just wanted to release Ya Jun."

Sheng He scoffed and turned to leave, but Wang Tong quickly grabbed her, saying, "Miss Sheng, you said you would help me."

"She was turned into a demon, and Jiang Xuanli burned one of her souls and spirits, so her soul cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation. I can only help you to end her completely, so that she will no longer be driven by others."

Wang Tong released Sheng He, and after a long while, he responded softly.

"Alright."

Sheng He paused for a moment, then immediately left the large ship and sped towards Lingquan.

Behind a tree not far from the Spirit Spring, Jiang Xuanli lay in the sedan chair, greedily gazing at the inconspicuous, small, gray mushroom beside the spring.