Chapter 106: Becoming Mortal

The white lotus said she didn’t know. After asking around, the locals claimed their families had lived here for generations. According to the age-old legend, they carried a certain illness that would kill them if they ever left; only the barrier surrounding this place could protect them.

“Has no one ever tried to leave?”

“Someone did, but the moment they stepped outside, they died.”

With such an immediate and fatal consequence, it’s no wonder no one dared venture out.

The white lotus smiled at Xuanyuan Tunhan and said, “Senior, look how happy their lives are here. Honestly, not going out might be a blessing. The outside world is chaotic and frequently torn by war; this place is like a paradise untouched by the world.”

Xuanyuan Tunhan didn’t reply, merely sitting on the nearby couch, quietly circulating his spiritual energy.

He had noticed from the moment he arrived that the flow of spiritual energy in this space was sluggish.

He instructed Ning Xianyu to try circulating her spiritual energy as well.

She tried but found it as if something was blocking her energy; it flowed slowly and with great difficulty.

“Does this place affect the circulation of spiritual energy?”

The white lotus hadn’t mentioned this.

She looked innocently apologetic. “I forgot to say, the spiritual energy here is very thin. It’s better if you two don’t use your energy casually.”

Ning Xianyu asked, “Last time you came here, how long did you stay?”

The white lotus held up a hand. “One day. I came on the fourteenth and left the next day, so my knowledge of this place is only superficial.”

That was truly fortunate.

Suddenly, Ning Xianyu wondered if the reason they had to stay for a full month after coming here on the sixteenth was because they were with the Great Demon Lord, a powerful being.

They rested for a while, but early the next morning, something felt off.

Ning Xianyu realized she didn’t know when she had fallen asleep.

She turned to look for the Great Demon Lord, who sat inside the room with a dark expression.

“Ancestor, did you fall asleep too?”

Xuanyuan Tunhan’s face remained stern, but his expression revealed he had also fallen asleep last night—though he was unaware of when exactly.

Ning Xianyu, being a lazybones, found it normal to have dozed off, but for the Great Demon Lord to have fallen asleep was strange.

Clearly, Xuanyuan Tunhan was aware of this oddity, hence his sullen demeanor.

Suddenly, rumbling sounds came from Ning Xianyu’s stomach—she was hungry.

Then there was another rumble, this time from the Great Demon Lord’s stomach.

Ning Xianyu looked at him in horror. “Ancestor, your stomach…”

Was he having digestive issues?

Xuanyuan Tunhan touched his belly in shock and confusion, as if seeing a ghost.

“I haven’t eaten anything in tens of thousands of years.”

Wow, his digestive system must have atrophied.

Ning Xianyu pulled out some food from her storage pouch and kindly asked, “Want to eat?”

Xuanyuan Tunhan took a fruit hesitantly and ate it, surprisingly feeling satiated.

So the hunger was real after all.

Ning Xianyu realized a problem: although she loved food, she had reached Nascent Soul cultivation and had long since ceased eating. She shouldn’t be feeling hunger.

She stopped and, horrified, asked, “Ancestor, are we turning into mortals?”

Xuanyuan Tunhan also noticed the issue and stood up. “Let’s go.”

Just then, the white lotus came in carrying a basket.

Seeing them about to leave, she smiled quickly. “You’re hungry too, right? I felt starving, so I went out and found some food. The people here are very kind and gave me plenty.”

She laid out the food and invited them to eat together.

They initially wanted to refuse, but inexplicably, upon seeing the food, their hunger returned, as if the fruit they had just eaten had done nothing.

They exchanged glances. Xuanyuan Tunhan sat down first and picked up a steamed bun.

Ning Xianyu followed suit and took a bun as well.

The buns were delicious; after eating, she felt deeply satisfied, as if she hadn’t eaten properly for a long time and had suddenly been filled.

She didn’t understand why, but she simply wanted to eat.

They ate several buns until full. The white lotus, having eaten her fill as well, frowned and said, “Last time I stayed only a day, so I didn’t notice. Could it be that staying here too long turns one mortal?”

Because of the lack of spiritual energy, one becomes a mortal?

Judging by the current situation, that seemed to be the case.

Ning Xianyu didn’t mind; she was originally mortal and accustomed to eating.

But Xuanyuan Tunhan and the white lotus were uncomfortable—they had not eaten in many years, and suddenly eating made them feel uneasy despite their fullness.

Xuanyuan Tunhan stood and said he wanted to explore. They followed him immediately.

They spent the entire morning wandering the town and found nothing unusual.

Yet sometimes, excessive calm is a sign of something wrong.

Xuanyuan Tunhan sent Ning Xianyu out. “Go gather information.”

Ning Xianyu hesitated, afraid. “What should I inquire about?”

He said anything would do, just casual conversation.

With the spiritual energy so sparse, even the golden ring was useless, and Ning Xianyu left the Great Demon Lord’s protective range.

As she strolled through town, she overheard people chatting—helping an elderly woman home, listening to complaints about disobedient grandchildren, unfilial daughters-in-law, sons who forget their mothers after marrying, and how little the old man left behind when he died.

Entering the old woman’s house, she helped put away the vegetables and, seeing no one else there, curiously asked about the place.

The old woman spoke slowly and gave her a cucumber. The two sat beneath a tree, talking at length.

“It all began at the dawn of creation…”

My goodness, starting from the creation of heaven and earth? How long is this going to take?

Ning Xianyu couldn’t interrupt and had to listen patiently.

According to the old woman, at first, there were no people—only trees and such. Back then, trees were gods.

One day, other life appeared—animals and humans—and they ruled the world, cutting down trees for tools.

The trees rebelled to overthrow humans and animals but were defeated.

The leading trees and plants were imprisoned in a separate space and sent here.

When the old woman finished, Ning Xianyu was utterly confused.

“But you’re all human. If only trees were imprisoned here, how did you get in?”

For some reason, she thought of the vines that wrapped around her upon waking and shivered.

The old woman smiled and was about to explain when her daughter-in-law returned with a child.

The daughter-in-law eyed Ning Xianyu cautiously and said it was time to cook.

No matter how thick-skinned Ning Xianyu was, she couldn’t stay any longer and hurriedly left.

After walking some distance, the sky darkened, and the streets emptied—the shops closed.

Suddenly, Ning Xianyu’s vision went black, and she collapsed.

As she fainted, many vines emerged from the ground. They stood erect like people, staring down at her lying on the ground.