Crossing into Immortal Cultivation

  The clouds are cold and silent.

  Xu Ziqing said, "Having eyes but no pupils, mistakenly believing in evil types. Thinking carefully, I was actually so naive and foolish, without any intention of guarding against others. What's even more hateful is that those three people were clearly deserving of death, yet after the demon vine devoured them, I didn't feel any sense of relief or satisfaction, but instead felt a sense of disgust and nausea." He paused for a moment, also lowering his eyes, "The demon vine's nature, I had already known about it long ago. But looking at it now, it seems that I was still self-righteous after all. I..."

  Taking a deep breath, he continued: "But I feel that the demonic vine inside my dantian... it's eating people... just like I'm eating people."

  Silence.

  Yun Liao said: "With a heart full of benevolence and reverence for all living things in the world, it is not wrong."

  Xu Ziqing and Yun Liao had been 'acquainted' for many years, so he could naturally hear the unspoken meaning in his words. He then smiled wryly and said: "It's just that I didn't know to guard against it, which was a big mistake."

  "Since you already know it's wrong, you should change it."

  Xu Ziqing composed his emotions and sat up straight: "Please teach me, Brother Yun."

  Yun Liao did not instruct him as she had in the past, but instead said: "Yan Hong and Zhi have been harboring evil intentions, I've known for a long time."

  Xu Ziqing was taken aback.

  Yun's brother had long known, but did not speak to remind him... He just knew more clearly that Yun Liao had no malice towards him. Since his rebirth, only this good friend had the deepest '交' with him and took care of him the most. If even Yun Liao was not trustworthy, who else should he trust?

  He suddenly realized: "Brother Yun wants me to experience it personally and learn a lesson?"

  It's true that Xu Ziqing has never been a stubborn person. He deeply knows that he was confined to the sickroom in his previous life and often isolated from the world in this life, which made him narrow-minded and soft-hearted. Such a personality is hard to change.

  If Yun Liao were to instruct him, he would certainly be able to avoid disaster this time and would definitely follow Yun Liao's teachings. However, knowing in the heart is different from knowing in action; if he were to encounter a similar situation again, he would likely fall for it once more. And at that time, if there was even a slight mistake, he might lose his life.

  Xu Ziqing, although having received many favors from Hui Yun, would not take advantage of them and try to rely on him for everything. Otherwise, the path to immortality would be long and arduous, and he would eventually fall prey to his own heart demon!

  Thinking of this, Xu Ziqing felt a little helpless again.

  This move is indeed useful.

  Although the method is no different, Xu Ziqing's thoughts in his heart are now quite different from usual.

  It's like those two ghostly sisters, Yin and Yang.

  Xu Ziqing would not have let his sisters accompany him to fight against the giant ape, and he must have thought that they should not be a burden. Whether or not there was such kindness, it was all like this.

  And now Xu Ziqing, although also having thoughts of not wanting to drag down her two sisters, has also come up with other ideas.

  Nian Hongzhi and three others also lent a hand to help him several times, but it was in order to make it easier to plot against him.

  How would this ghost know whether it's like that or not?

  Xu Ziqing sighed.

  He clearly knew that the ghostly 'Yin' and 'Yang' sisters, who could hold back Nian Hongzhi's three people when he was confused, were mostly kind to him, and were extremely different from those three people in nature.

  It's understandable, but still can't help feeling suspicious.

  Such malicious conjecture, even if it is unconscious, would make Xu Ziqing feel somewhat ashamed.

  But it will not change because of guilt.

  The things that happened to Nian Hongzhi were a huge blow to him, making him feel three points distant from others when meeting people, and he feared that he could never regain his former state of mind.

  In Xuzi Qing's heart, now he can only deeply trust Yun Liao and Chong Hua.

  Xu Ziqing sighed lightly: "Yun brother has a heart."

  "The path of cultivation is fraught with thorns, and the heart demon is the most severe. Your heart's nature is pure and harmonious, which can help you avoid deviating from the path, but you must not overcorrect, or else the heart demon will entwine around your body, and there will be worries about losing your life."

  Xu Ziqing silently listened to his friend's advice.

  Yun Liao continued: "Just like Yan Hui, Zengzi and Shao Hu, when evil thoughts arise, the heart's demon is born, causing their minds to become confused and deluded. That's why they pursued you relentlessly, resulting in this outcome."

  Xu Ziqing sighed again.

  Yun Liao's insight into his mind was like 'observing fire', he had just been disappointed with Yan Hui, Zengzi and three others, and his heart had changed, this good friend had already noticed it, and once again warned him.

  Xu Ziqing fell silent and waited for what came next.

  "Wait for you to lay the foundation, and then enter the great world through the 'Dragon Gate' of self-cultivation. After entering the Five Ling Xianmen, everything you see, hear, and experience will be vastly different from this world. If your mind is not upright, it's easy to be blinded by vanity. You must constantly reflect on yourself, so that you can cultivate yourself and avoid being tainted by the noise and pollution."

  This is a loyal word, Xu Ziqing's face was solemn and his expression was serious, he replied earnestly: "Yes."

  The vast world is so vast, I don't know how many times more than the small world. Xu Ziqing knew that with his current identity as an ant, he was already hindered everywhere in this small world. If he were to go to the big world, he would probably encounter even more hardships and difficulties, making it difficult for him to take a single step. Therefore, taking advantage of this opportunity, his good friend did not lend a helping hand this time, but instead gave him a heavy blow, so that he could personally experience and understand the truth that "the world is full of hardships".

  He also knew that his good friends were not letting him be on guard against everyone from now on, without a trace of trust. If so, he would suspect people and easily give rise to evil thoughts, deviating from the path of righteousness, and straying further and further away from his own way. At that time, what happened to Yan Hui and others today would be his future.

  It's easy to know but hard to do, Xuzi Qing only remembered Yun Lue's warning and carefully pondered it.

  One day he will rise above, and be able to "do good with caution, eliminate evil without slackening", both able to conduct himself with integrity, and have a thunderous grasp.

  Just like Yun Ge's brother, although he has a killer instinct, he doesn't have any evil intentions.

  Yun Liao spoke a lot today, and also gave Xu Ziqing a loud wake-up call, making him suddenly come to his senses.

  In the future, there will be many things that will make people waver and even feel lost. However, Xu Ziqing will correct his words and deeds, listen to his heart, and find the most important thread among the many thoughts, polish his Taoist heart, and remain firm and unwavering.

  Xu Ziqing looked as if he was deep in thought, and Yun Liao didn't say much either. The two sat opposite each other, and for a moment the atmosphere seemed to be just like it was when they were in the secret realm, quiet and tacitly understanding.

  Xu Ziqing didn't stay in thought for too long, the wound in his dantian that hadn't healed due to forcibly suppressing his spiritual energy suddenly hurt, and he woke up from his reverie.

  Recalling that the mysterious giant ape was still lurking outside, Xu Ziqing came to his senses. It wasn't time to relax yet; he needed to quickly recover his spiritual energy, which was the right thing to do.

  He had an idea, and with a flicker of his mind, a pale green spiritual grass appeared in his palm.

  This spiritual grass had just appeared when a very dense and rich wood energy began to spread throughout the 'cave' and 'hole'.

  This herb is called Yuanmu Grass, because the 'cave' at the bottom of the lake has condensed the essence of the wood element over the years and months, so the surrounding spiritual grasses have also absorbed a large amount of the wood element's energy, giving birth to this spiritual herb.

  Later, Xu Zi Qing was about to enter the secret realm and, being a wood-attribute cultivator, he picked some mature ones and stored them in his storage ring. Also, because this yuan mu cao was very useful to him, Xu Zi Qing usually needed to 'spend' it when using it, and had never sold it out before; now it would come in handy.

  Yuánmù cǎo is different from ordinary líng cǎo, its quality is far inferior to the "精" of yǐ mù, but it is a kind of excellent líng cǎo that can supplement the spiritual power of wood-attribute cultivators. If used for alchemy, under the condition that both the cauldron and the alchemist are in good shape, it can easily produce extremely high-quality líng dān. Especially its temperament is gentle and harmonious, with no conflict with most alchemical materials, making it one of the most sought-after materials by alchemists.

  It's indeed extraordinary in its effects, but simply using it to replenish spiritual energy is a bit of a waste. At this time, there isn't an alchemist or even an alchemical furnace and flames, so it can only be used by people "chewing on peonies".

  Xu Ziqing took a deep breath and swallowed the spiritual grass.

  Mugwort just entered the mouth, and in an instant it transformed into a very strong scent of schisandra chinensis that rushed straight into the throat, filling the lips and teeth with sweetness and fragrance. As the spiritual liquid entered the body, it immediately flowed through the four limbs and hundred bones, and the hidden injuries and damaged parts on the meridians also healed instantly as it flowed through.

  After repairing the meridians, the remaining energy of the secondary wood element rushed into the elixir field, bringing with it a powerful vital energy.

  Before long, the dull pain in the lower abdomen completely disappeared, and a pleasant feeling of joy and happiness rushed over quickly!

  Xu Ziqing was shocked, this is... the consciousness of the demon vine?

  It was a very fine emotion, different from the vague and scattered ones of the past, and it actually allowed him to hear a clear meaning.

  The demon vine is calling.

  "Mother!"

  After hearing it clearly, Xu Ziqing was stunned.

  Without Xu Ziqing's response, a subtle sense of grievance arose within the consciousness that Youfeng had transmitted once again.

  "Mother..."

  Xu Ziqing reacted and remembered the second tendril that Yougui had transformed into during their previous battle. Had it also advanced? No wonder it was able to easily suppress his consciousness, it turned out that its strength had greatly increased.

  After careful consideration, Youko's advancement is indeed necessary.

  In the Xuanhuang country, the Blood Demon had spread out a large array with hundreds of people's 'essence' blood. The demon vine absorbed all the bloody mist and was already full after one meal. Later in the Shanren Ridge, it sucked the 'essence' blood of three-stage demon beasts again, as well as the blood of cultivators at the 7th or 8th layer of Qi Refining... Or maybe it had also spent several years absorbing the blood of many demon beasts in a secret realm. Calculating this way, even if another vine was split out, it would be reasonable.

  Fortunately, Xu Zi Qing has made progress this time despite encountering difficulties. Otherwise, he would have been suppressed by the demon vine all the time, just as Yun Liao had warned him before. But thinking again, if there were no difficulties, the demon vine wouldn't have progressed either and wouldn't have become uncontrollable... Thinking about it this way, I find the relationship between cause and effect quite interesting.

  Xu Ziqing felt a sense of relief in his heart. But immediately afterwards, he couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

  After You Tong advanced, his expression became even more distinct and convenient compared to before, but that title of his was really hard for people to accept.

  "Mother..."

  Continuous calls with no response, this time there was a faint anxiety in the call.

  Xu Ziqing immediately came back to his senses and conveyed a comforting intention.

  Actually, the demon vine was quite obedient and had never had any thoughts of counterattacking since it entered his dantian. However, when Xu Ziqing's consciousness suppressed it, he realized that although the demon vine did not counterattack, its nature was actually very sinister. Once its consciousness took control, it would act without any scruples and was extremely bloodthirsty.

  Just because of this, Xu Ziqing also had to suppress it well.

  The demon vine was comforted and its joyful emotions became even more intense.

  Xu Ziqing knew its 'nature', and his mood improved a bit.

  This bloodthirsty vine is still young, with a simple consciousness, like that of an innocent child, pure and without malice...

  The little demon felt his mother's joy and jumped up again: "Mother, name, name!"

  Xu Ziqing was taken aback. First, he conveyed his thoughts: "Don't call me 'mother dear'." Then he asked, "Are you asking me to give you a name?"