Chapter 48: When the Pine Cones Mature
Chapter 48: When the Pine Cones Mature
In the heart of Linyangfang, a dimly lit room held a disturbing scene. Seven or eight infants, their skin an unnatural shade of dark blue-green, crawled about chaotically. Dark mist seeped from their tiny bodies, their limbs were slender, their teeth sharp, and their eyes protruded, giving them a sinister appearance.
Despite their small stature, these infants possessed an unnerving agility. On occasion, they would clash and viciously tear at each other, their pained and venomous cries causing a throbbing headache.
In a corner of the room, two stunningly beautiful young women sat silently, a faint smile on their lips, and an aura of maternal warmth in their eyes. Their swollen abdomens resembled large balls, and a huge fissure marked the belly of one, from which a pale gray eyeball peered, fixated on the outside world, as if it could crawl out at any moment.
"Who? Who dared to destroy one of my beloved Sha infants?"
On a bed made of ice, a cultivator sat up, his body enveloped in a thick aura of resentment. From time to time, a vague face would emerge from the swirling mist, silently wailing in agony.
The seven or eight infants, who had been rambunctiously biting each other, instantly fell silent, as if frozen by fear.
The two young women in the corner maintained their serene smiles, unmoving, as the pale eye in the abdominal fissure slowly retreated back into the depths.
"This further reduces my chances of successfully refining the Sha Infant Pill. Damn it!"
The cultivator's body trembled with rage, his resentment palpable in the air.
He had been at the peak of the Qi Refining stage for a long time, and his two attempts at breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage had ended in failure.
By chance, he had obtained a sinister technique from a secret realm, which detailed the process of refining the Sha Infant Pill. According to the technique, consuming this pill would increase his chances of breaking through the Foundation Establishment stage by a significant margin.
Following the instructions, he had collected hundreds of vengeful spirits, condensing them into Sha infant fetuses. He then captured over ten young women and, using a secret art, implanted the Sha infant fetuses into their bodies.
These women would then be sold through various means on the black market, targeting cultivators. During moments of intimacy, the Sha infant fetuses would silently merge with the cultivators' bodies.
Due to the fetuses' inherently sinister nature, their integration would enhance the cultivator's spiritual energy, creating the illusion of rapid progress. This would naturally encourage the cultivator to focus more on dual cultivation.
Once the Sha infant fetus completely merged with the cultivator, it would, given the right opportunity, absorb the cultivator's spiritual energy, flesh, and essence, transforming into a Sha infant.
The Sha infant would suck the cultivator dry, leaving behind a mummified corpse, before bursting out and returning to one of the young women, hiding within her body to conceal its sinister presence. From there, it would secretly make its way back to its master.
The entire process was shrouded in secrecy. When the Sha infant fetus merged with a cultivator, it was extremely difficult to detect any abnormalities with conventional talismans, charms, or spiritual tools designed to expel evil. Only during the brief moment when the Sha infant burst out of the cultivator's body would a trace of its presence be detectable.
However, unless one was vigilant at all times, this brief anomaly would typically go unnoticed.
Despite all these precautions, one of the Sha infants had been destroyed, reducing his chances of successfully refining the Sha Infant Pill and making the prospect of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage even more challenging.
To him, this was akin to a deep-seated grudge.
"I'll have to find a few more young female cultivators at the Qi Refining stage and implant the Sha infant fetuses into them. Then, I'll sell them on the black market, targeting cultivators."
"But with one Sha infant already discovered, it's unlikely that things will go as smoothly as the first time."
The thought infuriated him, and his body practically vibrated with resentment, frightening the seven or eight Sha infants, who dared not move.
...
In the courtyard, free from the sinister presence of Wang Shan, Lu Chen felt much more relaxed. He devoted himself entirely to nurturing the various spiritual herbs in his spirit fields.
He casually observed the Enforcement Hall cultivators who came for inspections, and among the dozen or so mid-level Qi Cultivators, he didn't spot Tan Xiaodong. Lu Chen guessed that his previous report, along with the additional information, had likely caused some trouble for Tan.
This thought brought a smile to his face, and he felt even more at peace as he worked in his spirit fields.
In the early morning, a faint mist still lingered.
A three-foot-tall grass puppet emerged from the mist, having patrolled the spirit fields tirelessly throughout the night. Its body was damp from the moisture in the air, and the dry gray grass that covered it was now soaked.
"What a diligent worker," Lu Chen mused as he held a white jade-necked bottle and strolled into the spirit fields, making his way to the edge of the spirit spring.
The three plump Red-whiskered Carps, expecting a treat, swam over eagerly when they saw him. Their whiskers trailed behind them like red ribbons rippling in the spring water.
Lu Chen scattered a handful of spirit rice for them and then turned his attention to filling his bottle with the pure spring water.
A dark shadow flashed by.
The Cloud-stepping Lynx cub leaped, its cloud-like paws landing gracefully on the water's surface. It seized one of the carp by its whiskers and pulled it out of the water.
The cub skimmed the surface, leaving the carp floundering in mid-air before it tumbled back into the spring, creating ripples that disturbed the delicate leaves of the Snow Lotus at the spring's center.
Startled by the commotion, the remaining two carps quickly dove to the bottom of the spring, causing even larger waves that made the lotus shake.
"You rascal, you're being too unruly. Catching fish is one thing, but now you're disturbing my Snow Lotus as well. I'll deduct a strip of Spiked Pork Jerky from your lunch today," Lu Chen said, stroking the cub's pointed ears affectionately.
"Roooarrrr!"
The usually aloof cub couldn't contain a low growl at the mention of its favorite treat being withheld.
Lu Chen had been considering letting it off with a warning, but the whiny tone of its roar only strengthened his resolve to carry out the punishment.
After filling his bottle with spring water, he made his way over to the three Clearwonder Spirit Tea trees and used his spiritual energy to guide the water into the saplings, nourishing them with delicate streams.
Once he finished tending to the tea trees, he continued his inspection of the spirit fields.
He carefully separated the twenty Heartless Flowers that were trying to entwine with each other.
As the Blood Jade Ginseng grew, their tendency to gravitate towards each other intensified. If not for Lu Chen's intervention, they might have ended up as a tangled mess.
It could have been the start of a massive herbal revolt.
After untangling the ginseng, he turned his attention to the Sword Grass, infusing it with two strokes of the Metal-gold Sword Technique, allowing it to absorb the sharp and fierce sword intent.
Under the wooden shed, the Dark Marrow Mushroom was adjusted to better absorb the decaying spiritual energy from the rotten spirit wood.
He also managed to catch the Mirage Smoke Fruit, which had been hiding amidst the thick white mist. Over the past few days, the mist surrounding it had expanded even further.
Finally, he approached the nearly mature Red Cloud Pine and focused his attention on its branches and needles.
"Huh? One of the pine cones has matured already?" Lu Chen exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
(End of Chapter)
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