Chapter 1551: To Be Human Is to Contribute to This World
“Speaking of which, I must thank you, fellow daoist,” Song Wen said with a smile, his voice slow and deliberate.
“If not for your sacrifice of blood and flesh into the Yin Spring and the deployment of the Yin Condensing Array, even the two oldest Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushrooms would have required another one or two centuries to reach ten-thousand-year maturity. And in a hundred years, the Fallen Demon Valley will reopen, inevitably drawing members of the Divine Blood Gate. If they were to discover everything here, it would indeed be quite troublesome.”
“You…” Lu Ling’s eyes widened in fury, endless rage blazing within them. “You were willing to wait here for twenty or thirty years?”
“Oh?” Song Wen’s smile deepened. “So… it only takes another twenty or thirty years for those two Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushrooms to mature into ten-thousand-year spirit medicine.”
“You’re trying to trick me into revealing information?” Lu Ling gritted his teeth.
“And what if I am?”
Song Wen raised his hand and slapped Lu Ling across the face, again and again, the sound echoing sharply.
“You’re nothing but a prisoner now, fish on the chopping block, at my mercy. Who gave you the audacity to question me?”
The slaps stung, but the pain was secondary to the utter humiliation. Lu Ling’s remaining dignity lay shattered on the ground.
“If you have the guts, kill me now!” Lu Ling snarled, his voice filled with hatred.
“I won’t kill you until the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom matures into a ten-thousand-year spirit medicine. But I will torment you slowly.”
With that, Song Wen turned to Rong Shao, who stood beside him.
“Fellow Daoist Rong Shao, is the Shadow Rat still here?”
“Yes, it is,” Rong Shao replied, producing a Soul Bottle.
After lifting the bottle’s restriction, the Shadow Rat, in its ghostly form, darted out.
“Shadow Rat, I offer you a chance for vengeance. Slowly devour the flesh of Tu You and Lu Ling, but do not take their lives.”
A crimson glint flashed in the Shadow Rat’s eyes as it scurried to Song Wen’s side.
“Thank you for your grace, Immortal. This little demon will ensure their lives are worse than death.”
Song Wen nodded in satisfaction, then turned back to Lu Ling.
“Watch this beast slowly devour your flesh, piece by piece, so you can experience the agony of being eaten alive before you die. Such an experience is beyond the reach of ordinary mortals. You should both thank me for this privilege. Rest assured, I won’t let your bodies die easily. Whenever your injuries become too severe, I’ll administer Healing Pills… top-tier Healing Pills that will absolutely preserve your lives.”
Song Wen flipped his hand, and two medicinal pills appeared in his palm.
The pills floated gently down and landed on Tu You’s mangled chest.
Upon contact with the blood, the pills instantly dissolved into pure medicinal energy, which seeped into Tu You’s body.
From Tu You’s blood-soaked wounds, tiny tendrils of flesh began to sprout, gradually repairing his ravaged body.
The Shadow Rat darted forward and landed beside Tu You.
“Master, this little demon will serve you well to repay your ‘betrayal’ of trust.”
The Shadow Rat extended its long, barbed tongue and licked across Tu You’s flayed face.
“Ah—!”
A piercing scream tore from Tu You’s throat.
When the tongue withdrew, the onlookers realized Tu You’s left eye was gone, leaving only a bloody socket.
“Master’s eye… it really does taste quite delicious,” the Shadow Rat smacked its cavernous jaws.
“Fellow Daoist, spare me! You promised you wouldn’t torture me if I answered your questions!” Tu You shrieked.
“Shadow Rat, eat his tongue too. He talks too much—it’s annoying,” Song Wen said softly.
“Yes, Immortal.”
“Ugh—!”
As the Shadow Rat’s tongue plunged into his throat, Tu You let out a muffled roar.
“What do you want?” Lu Ling glared at Song Wen.
He knew they had no personal grudge, yet Song Wen had resorted to threats and torture. There had to be something he wanted.
“Tell me how to further accelerate the maturation of the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom, and I’ll make the Shadow Rat stop,” Song Wen said.
Lu Ling stared intently at Song Wen, his eyes bloodshot, but he clenched his jaw and remained silent.
“It seems you haven’t truly experienced this pain yourself, fellow daoist. Without that firsthand experience, you’re still unwilling to speak,” Song Wen said calmly, beckoning the Shadow Rat with a flick of his finger.
The Shadow Rat understood instantly, leaping to Lu Ling’s side.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Lu Ling shouted. “Besides feeding flesh and blood into the Yin Spring to purify and concentrate the Yin Energy, you can also directly irrigate the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom with fresh flesh and blood from powerful beings. This will also accelerate its maturation.”
“Direct irrigation with flesh and blood from powerful beings?” Song Wen asked, puzzled.
“Exactly. The stronger the being, the more effective the acceleration. And it’s best to use flesh and blood from human cultivators; flesh and blood from demon beasts of the same rank is far less effective. The flesh and blood we’ve been feeding into the Yin Spring so far has all come from weaklings—even mortals and unranked beasts.”
Song Wen glanced sideways at Tu You, a flicker of understanding in his eyes.
“You kept Tu You here to assist you, didn’t you? Were you planning to use his flesh and blood to nourish the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom all along?”
“Yes!” Lu Ling admitted readily, then explained, “I feared something might go wrong, so I tricked Tu You into staying as a precaution.”
“Lu Ling, you’re truly vile!” Tu You roared, his voice raw with fury.
The Shadow Rat had already torn out Tu You’s tongue, forcing him to communicate directly through his divine soul.
“Shadow Rat, stand back,” Song Wen commanded.
Nourishing it with the flesh and blood of a high-tier cultivator?
Aren’t Tu You and Lu Ling both high-tier cultivators?
We can’t let the Shadow Rat devour their flesh and blood any further.
“As you command, little demon,” the Shadow Rat replied, then darted behind Rong Shao.
Song Wen summoned the Soul Cleaving Blade and plunged it into Lu Ling’s thigh. With a swift stroke, he sliced off a palm-sized piece of flesh. He ground the flesh into a bloody paste and poured it at the base of one of the nine-thousand-year-old Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushrooms.
Immediately, white mycelia sprouted from the ground near the base of the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom, burrowing into the blood and flesh.
Simultaneously, the nine apertures on the mushroom cap dilated, emitting faint hissing sounds, as if greedily sucking in the nutrients.
“You broke your word!” Lu Ling roared. “You promised you wouldn’t torture me if I answered your questions truthfully!”
“This isn’t torture,” Song Wen replied calmly. “I’m merely allowing your flesh to serve a purpose. As humans born into this world, we must contribute something, don’t you agree? You were going to die sooner or later anyway. Once you’re gone, your body becomes useless. Why waste it?”
With that, Song Wen slowly rose to his feet and approached Rong Shao.
“The rest is up to you. Accelerate the maturation of the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom as quickly as possible, but ensure neither of them dies.”
“Understood, Fellow Daoist. Rest assured, I won’t fail you,” Rong Shao said confidently, slowly approaching the two figures on the ground.
Meanwhile, Song Wen walked over to a nearby stalagmite, casually selected one, and leaned back against it.
(End of the Chapter)