Chapter 7: Discovering the Source of the Poison

"Wuu... ya..."

Just as Xu Chen stopped circulating his Qi to inspect his meridians and dantian, a faint sound suddenly arose from his chest, accompanied by a slight squirming. Xu Chen immediately remembered he had brought back a small fox, and hurriedly fished it out from his robes.

The small fox's breath was extremely weak; it looked limp and soft, almost as if it were dead. It couldn't even open its eyes, and its whimpering was barely audible.

Xu Chen couldn't help but frown. Cultivators all liked to keep Spirit Beasts, but very few raised Spirit Foxes because Spirit Foxes were highly intelligent, lived in family groups, and were extremely vigilant. Firstly, they were not easy to capture, and secondly, they were not very useful.

This little creature he had picked up on a whim didn't seem to be even a month old. Even if he wanted to raise it, he seemed to have the heart but not the means—the main issue being that he had no milk.

However, watching it starve to death was something Xu Chen couldn't bear.

It seemed he would have to find someone with milk to help.

The first thing that popped into his mind was the proud, upright chest of his Seventh Senior Sister, Qu Mei; she seemed quite suitable, but Seventh Senior Sister had gone down the mountain.

Besides her, the only other woman on the mountain was Thirteenth Senior Sister, Zhao Xuan.

But thinking of her flat figure, he feared that even nursing a child in the future would be a problem.

Aside from the two senior sisters, the rest were a bunch of unreliable senior brothers. Not to mention nursing a small fox, they themselves lived from one hungry meal to the next, and just like Xu Chen, they were a breed that could endure hunger very well.

What to do?

Xu Chen was at a loss. After thinking for a moment, he got up, went to the side to scoop up half a bowl of spring water, pried open the small fox's mouth to force some down, and then left it on a stone slab to bask in the sun.

What remained was to deal with the pile of strange feces he had just brought back.

This thing was likely highly poisonous; otherwise, it wouldn't have poisoned an entire den of foxes to death. Therefore, Xu Chen didn't dare to use his Divine Sense to touch it again. He could only dump it on the ground and use a wooden stick to pry it open for a careful inspection.

There were many poisonous things among Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure; even ordinary Spirit Material or Spirit Medicine could be deadly poison if used on a mortal.

But this was the first time Xu Chen had encountered poisonous feces.

This pile of feces was likely not in its complete form; rather, it looked like a lump that had been flung from somewhere, landing just right on the cliffside rock crevice above the Spirit Fox Cave, then contaminating the spring water that dripped into the Spirit Fox Nest, ultimately causing the whole litter of foxes to be poisoned to death. And this had not happened long ago.

However, the origin of such a terrifying pile of dung was beyond his ability to fathom.

Within a thousand miles of this Taiyuan Sect, he knew every Spirit Beast and Demon Beast clearly. The strongest was that Third-Tier Demon Wolf to the southeast. Aside from that, there were only breeds like this litter of Spirit Foxes, which were only First Stage or Second-Tier. They were a threat, but not a significant one, and each had its own fixed territory; they didn't visit each other.

Therefore, this strange pile of feces was definitely not left by a local beast.

Then... could it have fallen from the sky?

Xu Chen couldn't help but look up at the sky.

High, deep blue, clear, and cloudless for ten thousand miles; it was as clean as if it had been licked by a dog.

If such a terrifying Demon Beast or Spirit Beast had truly passed by the vicinity of the Taiyuan Sect, it stood to reason that the two Elders with profound cultivation could not have failed to notice it.

The more he thought, the more confused he became. In the end, Xu Chen simply stopped thinking about it.

His urgent concern now was how to dispose of this pile of feces.

Should he bury it directly in the Medicine Garden, or what?

The composition of the feces was very complex, mixed with undigested grass roots, bone fragments, shells, fruit pits, and even grain-like things. It was clearly from an omnivorous gluttonous Demon Beast, and it seemed to have some indigestion; the feces were sticky, and one look told him the digestive system was not very healthy.

Suddenly, a finger-sized object that looked like a Blue Jade Bead was turned up.

"Eh, what is this?"

Xu Chen was very curious. He used the wooden stick to pick out this Jade Bead, rubbed it back and forth on the grass with his foot a few times, and then clamped it with two wooden sticks to observe it carefully.

The more he looked, the more amazed he was. This thing was crystal clear, with deep blue spots inside that looked like stars, releasing a brilliant and dazzling blue halo under the sunlight.

He couldn't help but release his Divine Sense to make contact with it. Immediately, a mass of blue light appeared in his Sea of Consciousness like a sun, radiating scorching energy. His Soul felt a terrifying stabbing pain, as if it had been branded by a red-hot iron. He let out a muffled groan and fell backward, and the Jade Bead dropped onto the grass.

This thing was poisonous.

Xu Chen made a judgment instantly. He sat up, clutching his forehead with lingering fear, stared at the Jade Bead for a long while, and then carefully clamped it with the wooden sticks again to rinse it clean with spring water by the pool.

This time it looked even clearer. The blue spots inside really were like stars, constantly releasing light. The entire Jade Bead was dazzling, making one's Soul throb.

This was definitely a treasure.

Xu Chen immediately made an accurate judgment.

In the Immortal World, all kinds of Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure were strange and varied. Even a Great Cultivator of the Shenling Realm, who could destroy heaven and earth, could never know everything. Although he had only seen low-level Spirit Material of the First Stage and Second-Tier, this thing was definitely extraordinary.

Wealth should not be flaunted.

Xu Chen hurriedly tucked it into his waist pouch, then squatted down, full of excitement, to continue digging through the feces, but he didn't find anything else.

Perhaps this was the source of the poison in the feces. Xu Chen's courage grew a bit; he put the feces back into his basket and soon carried it to the Medicine Garden.

It was a case of treating a dead horse as if it were alive; the Soul Returning Wood was already dying, so he didn't care much whether it was poisonous or not. He decided to bury this special manure. If it really saved the tree, it would be a great contribution to the Taiyuan Sect. If it died, then it died; it had nothing much to do with a lowly disciple like him who had just entered the Qi Refining stage. At most, he would be punished, and the worst case would be being kicked off the mountain.

In fact, after several years of cultivation, he had already begun to develop a "let it rot" mentality.

Because his trash Spirit Root destined him to reach only the Kaiyuan Realm at most in this lifetime. Without a massive stroke of luck, his lifespan would only be a few decades to a hundred years, no different from an ordinary mortal.

Furthermore, picking up dung in the mortal world and picking up dung in the Immortal Sect—the meaning of life didn't seem to be any different.

Come to think of it, since coming up the mountain, he hadn't even eaten a decent hot meal. It would have been better to be a servant for a wealthy family down the mountain with a bunch of other poor, lonely orphans; he could tease the maidservants, and if he were lucky, he could start a family and have children.

In this desolate mountain wilderness, he couldn't even find a companion to talk to.

He was lonely all day, no different from the grass and trees all over the mountain.

If this was what it meant to cultivate, then what was the point of growing old in solitude?

Although his mind was a mess, Xu Chen still very seriously dug a pit and buried the feces around the Soul Returning Wood. Finally, seeing there was some left, he simply mixed it with a large amount of humus and sprinkled it evenly across the medicine field.

The other Spirit Grass in the Medicine Garden was also not growing as well as hoped, and the quality was getting worse and worse.

If this Spirit Beast Feces was truly effective, perhaps there could be unexpected changes.

After finishing, he walked to the small pool under the waterfall to take off his clothes and prepare to bathe. Just as he stripped naked, he saw a streak of green Escape Light coming from afar, quickly landing by the pool. It was Thirteenth Senior Sister, Zhao Xuan.

Xu Chen hurriedly used his clothes to cover his lower body in a panic, his face full of embarrassment as he said, "Why is Senior Sister here?"

Zhao Xuan looked at Xu Chen's awkward appearance, covered her mouth, and giggled, "What are you nervous about? Senior Sister won't eat you."

Xu Chen laughed dryly, "There's no one around in this desolate mountain wilderness; if Senior Sister wanted to eat, it wouldn't be impossible..."

"Pah, in your dreams!" Zhao Xuan spat, turned her head, and said, "I came to see how the Soul Returning Wood is growing, and also to see if you've been slacking off."

Xu Chen pointed to the Medicine Garden and said, "The Soul Returning Wood is in the Medicine Garden. Senior Sister, go see for yourself. I just finished weeding and fertilizing, and I was just about to take a bath."

"Then you go ahead and wash, I'm going to take a look!"

Zhao Xuan turned and went to the Medicine Garden; Xu Chen breathed a sigh of relief, jumped into the pool, scrubbed himself haphazardly, and got out to put on his clothes.

"Junior Brother, this is bad! Why does this Soul Returning Wood look like it's dying?"

Zhao Xuan's voice rang out in the Medicine Garden. Xu Chen unhurriedly finished dressing, walked over, and said with a bitter face, "I don't know why it's like this either. I noticed signs of it withering a few days ago."

"Then what should we do?" Zhao Xuan's expression changed drastically. She turned, grabbed Xu Chen's arm, and said anxiously, "The Third Elder told me to observe it carefully. I only stayed away for a few days, how could it have turned into this?"

Xu Chen spread his hands and said, "Who am I supposed to ask? The blooming of this Soul Returning Wood was already sudden. I suspect it felt like it was dying, so it tried to struggle to produce a fruit to pass on its lineage, but it failed."

Zhao Xuan stamped her feet in anxiety, "What time is it now, and you're still in the mood to joke?"

Xu Chen said helplessly, "Then what should we do?"

"No, I must report this matter to the Third Elder immediately, otherwise if it really dies, both of us will be punished." After saying this, Zhao Xuan threw out her Flying Sword, rose into the air, and headed toward Zhaoyang Peak.

Xu Chen shrugged and sat down to rest. A moment later, he saw an Escape Light arrive in a flash, landing before the Soul Returning Wood in the blink of an eye; it was none other than the Third Elder.

"How did it suddenly become like this?"

The Third Elder looked at the flowers that had begun to wither and fall, and the branches that were already slightly yellow and drooping; his snow-white beard and eyebrows were trembling violently.

Xu Chen stepped forward and said cautiously in a low voice, "This Disciple does not know either. It began to wither a few days ago. This Disciple went to the Pill Refining Room once, but you were at a critical moment in refining pills, so I did not dare to disturb you to report it."

The Third Elder's face turned green and white in a series of violent shifts. Finally, he let out a long sigh and said, "Forget it. It is time, it is fate. It seems the lifespan of this Soul Returning Wood has reached its end. My Taiyuan Sect has no fortune to possess this treasure. Let it be!"

After the Third Elder finished speaking, he seemed to have aged significantly all of a sudden. He looked up at the sky, let out another long sigh, and then flicked his large sleeves and stepped into the air to depart.

Watching the thin, aged back recede into the distance, Xu Chen felt a sense of pity, yet he was helpless.

The Third Elder had been at the Foundation Establishment stage for over fifty years, yet he had stopped at the True Essence Late Stage and could make no further progress. He had poured all his heart and soul into taking care of the sect and cultivating the younger generation. It was a pity that fate played tricks on people; the blooming of this Soul Returning Wood was the best news he had received in his hundred years of cultivating the Dao on the mountain, but unfortunately, his joy was thoroughly extinguished by a bucket of ice water after only a few days.

"If only this manure really worked!"

Xu Chen muttered to himself as he packed up his basket to return to his living quarters, all the while thinking that if he could go to the Spirit Fox den and bring back some dung, perhaps he could still save it.

It was just a pity that a Third-Tier Demon Wolf was currently occupying the Spirit Fox's territory, and the danger was too great. Even the Third Elder did not dare to provoke it; it was better for a small fry like him to play the turtle and hide on the mountain.