Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 427 How do you treat my daughter? A spirit of plants and trees!

"Yes!" Xiao Quan bowed.

Chen Fan glanced at Tian Xiangzi one last time before turning and walking out of the side hall.

The autumn wind was bleak outside the hall. He took a step out, and his figure disappeared from the spot.

Grass Valley is located three thousand miles southeast of Dayuan, hidden in a range of mountains.

Chen Fan had come here once before, many years ago when he first met Tian Xiangzi and accidentally became a disciple of Caogu.

At that time, he was still at the Qi Refining Realm. Tianxiangzi chattered away, pointing to various places in the valley and introducing them, saying that this tree was planted by her when she was a child, and that tree was one she had climbed.

Chen Fan collected his thoughts and landed at the entrance of the valley.

At the entrance of the valley still stands the same blue stone tablet, inscribed with the two characters "Caogu" (Grass Valley). The characters are vigorous, but slightly mottled due to their age. Beside the stone tablet, two thousand-year-old pine trees stand like gatekeepers, their needles verdant and full of vitality.

Chen Fanmai stepped into the valley.

The scenery inside the valley was exactly the same as I remembered.

The medicinal fields are crisscrossed with paths, and various kinds of medicinal herbs are planted in separate plots, filling the air with their fragrance. In the distance, a few thatched huts are scattered about, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys.

He had only taken a few steps when a hoarse yet powerful voice came from within the valley:

"Who's the fool who dared to trespass into the valley?"

Before the words were finished, two figures appeared at the end of the medicinal field.

On the left is a middle-aged man with a refined appearance, wearing a faded blue robe, with a lean face and sharp eyes like an eagle; this is Gu Daozi.

On the right was a chubby, red-faced old man with white hair and eyebrows, and a wine gourd hanging from his waist. He was none other than the third-grade alchemist, Old Man Long.

When the two saw Chen Fan, they were first taken aback, and then their expressions simultaneously darkened.

"It's you?" Gu Daozi narrowed his eyes, sizing Chen Fan up. "Old eunuch, what brings you here?"

Chen Fan cupped his hands and said, "Senior Gu, Senior Long, I have come here today to discuss the matter of Tian Xiangzi."

"Xiang'er?" Gu Daozi's expression changed slightly. "What happened to her?"

"To protect the Great Abyss Imperial City, Tianxiangzi used the Soul-Burning Technique, and now his soul is injured, leaving him unconscious," Chen Fan said in a deep voice. "We have already used Spirit-Nourishing Pills and spiritual water to treat him, but with little effect. We have come here to ask the two seniors for help."

"Soul Burning Technique?! ^_^" Old Man Long exclaimed, "Has that girl gone mad? Does she even know how severe the backlash from the Soul Burning Technique is?!"

Gu Daozi's face turned ashen. He strode up to Chen Fan and said sternly, "Old eunuch, my daughter went to Dayuan because of you! If anything happens to her, I will risk my life to make you pay for this!"

Chen Fan met his gaze calmly: "Senior, I will do whatever you ask of my family to repay the debt. But for now, please save Tian Xiangzi first."

"You!" Gu Daozi was so angry that his beard and hair stood on end, and he raised his hand to strike.

Old Man Long quickly grabbed him: "Valley Master! Saving her life is the priority! Curse or fight as you please, Xiang'er's life is the most important!"

Gu Daozi's chest heaved violently as he stared intently at Chen Fan. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and asked, "Where is Xiang'er now?"

"The rear hall of the Qian Yuan Palace in the Great Yuan Imperial City."

"lead the way!"

Chen Fan nodded, but did not move immediately. Instead, he looked at the two men and said, "Tian Xiangzi's soul injury is extremely severe, and ordinary methods may not be able to cure him. If you two seniors have any special methods or rare treasures, please speak frankly, and I will do my best to cooperate."

Gu Daozi and Old Man Long exchanged a glance.

"Let's check on Xiang'er's injuries first." Old Man Long sighed. "I've only ever seen records of the backlash from the Soul Burning Technique in ancient books. We'll have to see it for ourselves to make a judgment."

Chen Fan said no more and then soared into the sky!

……

An hour later, in the rear hall of Qianyuan Hall.

Gu Daozi and Old Man Long sat around the jade bed, one taking the pulse and the other probing with his divine sense.

The more they investigated, the uglier their expressions became.

"Seventy percent of her meridians are depleted, her dantian is empty, and her origin is damaged..." The old man withdrew his divine sense, his voice trembling. "This is not the most troublesome thing. The most troublesome thing is the damage to her soul. The Soul Burning Technique burned away thirty percent of her soul origin, and the remaining seventy percent is also full of cracks, which may completely collapse at any time."

Gu Daozi held his daughter's hand, his old eyes red and swollen: "Xiang'er...you silly girl..."

"Senior, is there any way to cure him?" Chen Fan asked in a deep voice.

Gu Daozi remained silent for a long time before slowly raising his head to look at Chen Fan, his expression complex: "Old eunuch, let me ask you, what exactly is your relationship with Xiang'er?"

Chen Fan was taken aback.

"She used her Soul-Burning Technique for you, risking her life to protect your disciple's kingdom." Gu Daozi's voice was hoarse. "If you only regarded her as an ordinary fellow Daoist, would she have acted like that?"

The hall was completely silent.

Emperor Jianwen, Xiao Quan, had already quietly retreated outside the hall. At this moment, only three people and the unconscious Tianxiangzi remained in the hall.

As Chen Fan looked at the pale yet still delicate face on the bed, many images flashed through his memory.

When we first met, she was as enthusiastic as a man; later, when we became fellow students, she always took good care of me!

Later, she would come to see him from time to time, sometimes to bring him medicine, sometimes just to chat...

He slowly began to speak: "Tianxiangzi is no ordinary fellow Daoist in our family."

"What is that?" Gu Daozi pressed on relentlessly.

Chen Fan was silent for a moment, then said, word by word, "They are the people our family is willing to protect with our lives."

Gu Daozi stared at him for a long time, then suddenly let out a long sigh.

"Enough, enough." He shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Xiang'er has been stubborn since she was little. Once she's made up her mind, nothing can change it. Since she's chosen you, what can I... do?"

Old Man Long sighed, "Old eunuch, it's not that we're making things difficult for you. It's just that Xiang'er... she has a special identity, and the backlash from this Soul Burning Technique really can't be cured by ordinary methods."

Chen Fan's heart stirred: "Special identity? Please enlighten me, senior."

Gu Daozi and Old Man Long exchanged a glance.

"This matter shouldn't be told to outsiders," Gu Daozi said slowly, "but since Xiang'er has risked this much for you, you have the right to know."

He paused, then lowered his voice slightly: "Xiang'er... she possesses the spirit of plants and trees."

"The spirit of plants and trees?" A look of doubt flashed in Chen Fan's eyes.

"That's a tradition only found in the main lineage of the Grass Valley in the Southern Region," the old man Long interjected. "The spirit of grass and trees can communicate with the spiritual plants of heaven and earth, nourishing itself with the vitality of the grass and trees. Those who possess this spirit are born geniuses in alchemy and planting, and their souls are different from ordinary people, more resilient, and also more... vulnerable."

Gu Daozi nodded: "The backlash from the Soul Burning Technique would cause damage to the soul and spirit in ordinary people, but for Xiang'er, it could damage the very essence of the plant spirit. If the plant spirit shatters, even if she wakes up, she will lose all her cultivation and become a mortal."

Chen Fan's expression changed slightly: "Then how should we treat him?"

"We need two things," Gu Daozi said in a deep voice. "First, the roots of the 'Soul-Nourishing Wood,' at least a thousand years old. The Soul-Nourishing Wood can nourish the soul and repair Dao injuries. Second, the 'Vitality Elixir,' preferably the essence condensed from a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual tree, to nourish the spirit of plants and trees."

"Where can we find these two items?" Chen Fan asked immediately.