Cultivating Immortality Begins with Acting as a Girl Chapter 016

Ink Fragrance Bookstore, second floor.

Sunlight filtered through the exquisite window lattices, dappling the floor.

The air was filled with a faint scent of ink, and rows of neatly arranged bookshelves were densely packed with various books.

“Found it!”

Song Ling stood in front of a bookshelf, holding an ancient-looking book with the words “Records of Spirits and Monsters” written on its cover.

The page he opened depicted a spirit monster, whose appearance was identical to the silver-furred spirit monster he encountered last night. It even showed the human who bore the damage in its stead.

Song Ling carefully read the description in the book, a look of understanding dawning on him.

It turned out that the spirit monster from last night was called a “Maohu Worm,” a rare and special spirit monster similar to a parasite. Before it fully matured, it would lurk within a human body, absorbing nutrients. The host would often emit a strange fragrance, and once it fully developed, it would burst out of the stomach, killing and feeding.

This was its second form. In this stage, any attacks on the Maohu Worm’s main body would be transferred to the host.

And once it had fed to a certain extent, it would detach from the host and become an independent ultimate form.

In this stage, the Maohu Worm’s strength was comparable to the cream of the crop among second-rate martial artists, and its speed was incredibly fast, making it very troublesome to kill.

As for the white flesh ball left by the Maohu Worm, it was a short transitional product of its second stage, condensing all its blood and flesh essence. The author referred to it as “flesh essence.” If all went well, the Maohu Worm would rely on this “flesh essence” to transform into its ultimate form.

“Flesh essence, martial artists who consume it can increase their internal energy…”

A faint light flickered in Song Ling’s eyes. His current weakness was his lack of internal energy. Aside from the ultimate skill, Wind Splitting Moon Slash, he lacked intermediate means.

This flesh ball could just make up for this deficiency.

“Are you also interested in these spirit monsters?”

A voice suddenly came from beside him. Song Ling turned his head and saw a young man dressed in yellow cloth.

The young man seemed a bit shy and pointed at the “Records of Spirits and Monsters” in Song Ling’s hand.

Song Ling glanced at the other person’s clothes, which were the apprentice uniform of the Hundred Herbs Gang.

His eyes flickered, and he spoke:

“Yes, these spirit monsters look a bit scary, but they are also very interesting.”

His voice was pleasant and gentle, perfectly matching his appearance.

The young man scratched his head and said:

“My name is Lin Yu. I’m an apprentice in the Alchemy Hall of the Hundred Herbs Gang. I usually come here to read in my spare time. I’ve read this ‘Records of Spirits and Monsters’ in your hand many times, but because it’s so old, some of the information on it is outdated, such as the ‘flesh essence’ of the Maohu Worm.”

“Outdated information?”

Song Ling’s voice showed a hint of confusion.

Although he wore a veil, the pair of bright eyes that were exposed still made Lin Yu’s heart race.

“Yes, it says here that martial artists who consume flesh essence can increase their internal energy, which is not wrong. But according to the latest pharmacological research, only when combined with ‘Tuowan Flower’ can the effect of this flesh essence be maximized, increasing its efficacy by at least double compared to simply consuming flesh essence!”

“Tuowan Flower?”

Song Ling placed a finger on his chin, deep in thought. After a moment, he shook his head and said, “I haven’t heard of it.”

Lin Yu saw Song Ling’s innocent and pure demeanor and couldn’t help but feel his heart flutter. He never expected to meet such a cute girl in the bookstore…

He composed himself and said:

“This ‘Tuowan Flower’ grows in extremely secluded swampy areas, often hidden among water plants, making it very difficult to discover. Its petals resemble crocodile scales, emitting a green luminescence during the day and a red luminescence at night. Moreover, this flower only blooms on the night of the full moon, and the harvesting window is fleeting, making it very precious.”

Song Ling exclaimed, “There’s actually such a magical flower?”

“Of course, the wonders of creation in this world far exceed our imagination. Even this ‘Tuowan Flower’ is just an ordinary kind. It is said that some flowers and plants can even absorb the essence of the sun and moon and transform into human forms, wandering between heaven and earth,” Lin Yu sighed.

“Wouldn’t that be like the legendary ‘demons’?” Song Ling gasped.

Lin Yu: “Exactly!”

Song Ling blinked and said:

“I probably won’t have the chance to see such beings in my lifetime, but you know so much about that ‘Tuowan Flower.’ Have you seen it with your own eyes?”

Lin Yu’s face showed a hint of pride: “That’s right, my master’s medicine pond has a ‘Tuowan Flower’ that was brought back from the Southern Border at a great cost. I can see it every day.”

“Wow, that’s amazing! Can you take me to see it?”

Song Ling’s expression was excited, and his eyes sparkled as he looked at Lin Yu.

“This…”

Lin Yu’s face showed a troubled expression. “The Alchemy Hall is an important place for the gang, and outsiders are forbidden from entering.”

“Oh, I see…”

Song Ling’s face was full of disappointment, and he turned his gaze back to the book in his hand, no longer looking at Lin Yu.

Lin Yu felt a hollow feeling in his heart. Just a moment ago, the other person was looking at him with admiration, but now…

He gritted his teeth and said:

“If you really want to see it, it’s not impossible. I’m responsible for guarding my master’s medicine pond myself. I can secretly bring out the ‘Tuowan Flower’ and put it back after you’ve seen it.”

Song Ling gasped and covered his mouth: “Wouldn’t that be embezzlement?”

Lin Yu was annoyed:

“How is this embezzlement? I’m just temporarily taking it out for a moment; I’ll put it back. Just tell me if you want to see it or not!”

“Of course I want to see it! Don’t be angry, I said the wrong thing.”

Song Ling said obediently.

“That’s more like it…”

Lin Yu mumbled, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Song Ling’s slender jade neck and fair wrists. He couldn’t help but swallow.

Taking such a big risk, wouldn’t it be too much of a loss if there were no benefits…

Thinking this, Lin Yu cleared his throat and said:

“Tomorrow at this time, I’ll wait for you at the Tongfu Inn. Oh, I still don’t know your name?”

“My name is Su Qinghe,” Song Ling replied with a smile.

After they chatted for a while, Song Ling excused himself, saying he had important matters to attend to.

How could he not see through Lin Yu’s intentions? But since the other party was eagerly offering him a treasure, he would not decline.

Leaving the Ink Fragrance Bookstore, Song Ling went to the Benevolent Heart Grand Pharmacy and chose a suitable task to accept.

As the saying goes, to do a good job, one must first sharpen one’s tools.

Song Ling spent an entire day conducting thorough investigations before finally finding an opportunity to act.

In the evening, Song Ling returned to the Benevolent Heart Grand Pharmacy with the target’s head.

Leizhu was astonished by Song Ling’s efficiency. Others who received tasks would try to delay for several days, as assassination was a highly risky matter, and one could lose their life with a single mistake.

But with Song Ling, not only did he continuously accept tasks, but he also completed them so quickly every time, making him a benchmark in the assassin world.

After a night’s rest, Song Ling arrived at the Tongfu Inn as scheduled the next day.

…