In a state of drowsy confusion, Yu Ci had no idea how much time had passed. A 'thud' echoed in his skull, as if the 'little hammer' had started to knock again, catapulting him out of his trance. Upon opening his eyes, he found the day was already bright. The scenario of wandering under the moon and observing the vast Star Sea seemed to linger before his eyes. However, the more he recalled, the more hazy and confusing it became, almost as if it were a dream.
Closing his eyes and introspecting, he found his body's blood and bones to be pure and flawless, his organs flexible and robust. With a slight shift in thought, True Qi surged like a tide, swaying and rising. With another shift in intention, it transformed into a gentle stream, strand by strand, like a spring breeze.
Without a doubt, Yu Ci's Cultivation Level had improved, his physical condition was better than ever before, and his control over True Qi was unprecedented, bending to his will.
However, had he overlooked something?
In Yu Ci's view, leaping to the Nature-Connecting Realm should be a crucial step in the path of cultivation. It should represent an unparalleled evolution from within to outside, from the physical body to the spirit. Otherwise, how could one distinguish between a Cultivator and a common person?
Yet up to this moment, aside from the Divine Soul differentiating into divine intentions, Yu Ci had not discovered the earth-shattering changes he had anticipated. Perhaps last night's moonlit divine journey counted as one, but it was too mystical and made him feel unreal.
Moreover, there was an even more severe problem awaiting him.
The cultivation of the Nature-Connecting Realm was quite different from that during the "Three Barriers of the Mundane". He remembered Red Yin Immortal once saying that all cultivation methods below the Nature-Connecting Realm were Postnatal Methods. To continue progressing in the Nature-Connecting Realm, one must possess a unique mystical incantation for transforming postnatal into prenatal or abandon previous methods and directly practice Innate Methods.
The so-called Innate Methods referred precisely to the "Longevity Methods" controlled by the Cultivator community. However, Yu Ci could not find the legendary "Longevity Methods", nor did he know the secret of transforming postnatal into prenatal for the "Nine Houses & Moon Method". He was still clueless about his path ahead.
Of course, he was not disheartened. During his twelve years of independent cultivation, he had encountered countless similar situations. Such was the life of a Lone Cultivator; without a Master's impartation or sage advice, without theoretical concepts, all he could do was grope his way forward until he hit a dead-end and realized there was no way forward but to turn back...
But he got used to it. Such is the path of cultivation.
Yu Ci was deep in thought, wanting to continue pondering, but sounds from the surrounding pine forest began to reach him, growing louder and louder.
Annoyed, he looked up, only for the ground beneath him to suddenly shake as if the whole mountain was trembling. From his position, he could see birds bursting into flight from within the forest. It wasn't just a small corner, but half of the entire forest seemed to be erupting with avian life. The sky above the pine forest seemed to darken as a cloud of birds filled it, their buzzing chatter threatening to burst his eardrums.
What could cause such a phenomenon?
Yu Ci reined in his thoughts and cautiously lowered his body to peer down from the edge of a depression in the ground.
From this angle, he couldn't make out the details within the forest, but a gust of mountain wind carried a strange, pungent smell to him. The scent was foreign because it clashed with the usual smells of plants and animals in the forest. It was highly stimulating, and as soon as it entered his nostrils, Yu Ci felt an inexplicable unease. He had a feeling that whatever was emitting this scent was far from benign.
The birds circling above the forest seemed to confirm this.
Just as he was thinking this, a scream echoed from below. The sound was so shrill that it reverberated around the mountain, momentarily drowning out the noise of the birds. Yu Ci could sense the intense fear and deathly aura within the scream and knew that someone down there had met their end.
Perhaps because the scream was so piercing, an unnatural silence fell over the forest after it faded. Of course, it could also be Yu Ci's misperception. However, he did notice that although the noise from the birds had not ceased, it seemed like the life in the forest had vanished. The creature emitting the pungent smell was moving away.
It wasn't until half a moment later that the cloud of birds in the sky above the forest descended. Without wasting any time, Yu Ci jumped out from his hiding spot and leaped down.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
The mountain wind carried a faint smell of blood and a strong scent of burnt flesh. Guided by these smells, Yu Ci navigated through branches and leaves, soon arriving near the scene of the incident. To his surprise, there were already people there, seven or eight of them.
However, they all seemed to be lost in thought.
Yu Ci walked straight towards them, intentionally making his footsteps louder. Yet it wasn't until he cleared his throat that someone finally turned around and adopted a defensive posture. The rest followed suit, turning around and preparing for a fight. Their reaction was somewhat excessive.
However, judging by their speed in mobilizing their vital energy, these people were at most at Qi Breathing Cultivation Level. They weren't particularly dangerous and seemed to be ordinary Herb Gatherers.
Seeing Yu Ci alone and bearing signs of being scorched by fire, looking somewhat disheveled, the Herb Gatherers' guard dropped a bit. Only then did Yu Ci approach them and introduce himself as a Wandering Cultivator who had come to gather herbs and had come to investigate upon hearing the noise.
"It was a Demon!"
That was the Herb Gatherers' response. As they spoke, they were still visibly shaken, their eyes instinctively glancing towards the depths of the forest as they tried to put as much distance between them and it as possible.
"Demon?" The thought of that provocative, pungent smell made Yu Ci, a man, somewhat convinced.
Having spent four months around Sky Rift Valley, he had come to realize that what the charlatan Xuanqing had told him that night was not entirely unreliable. He often heard rumors that in the depths of the layers of mist in Sky Rift Valley, there lived some ferocious creatures that were beyond ordinary human imagination. They lived in their own world, each one cruel and bloodthirsty, yet seldom ventured to the upper region of Sky Rift Valley. However, once provoked, these beasts would pursue relentlessly, vowing not to stop until they had killed their offenders.
Nevertheless, compared to calling them "Demons", Yu Ci preferred to refer to them as ferocious beasts, a term more in line with his understanding and fitting the Talisman's knowledge.
Yu Ci also inquired about the appearance of these beasts, but the Herb Gatherers were vague in their descriptions. They all said that the beasts moved too fast to get a clear look. All they knew was that they were huge in size, capable of riding the clouds and commanding thunder and lightning, which was quite bizarre.
Riding clouds and commanding lightning? Yu Ci found it hard to comprehend such matters. However, he had already seen the corpse lying behind the Herb Gatherers. Looking past the human wall at a glance, he could tell that the man had died a gruesome death, probably at the hands of this so-called "Demon".
"Was he one of you?"
At his sudden question, some nodded while others shook their heads.
Yu Ci laughed. He had noticed earlier that two of the Herb Gatherers had just stood up from beside the corpse, stuffing something into their clothes. Perhaps this was the reason.
He had no intention of looting from the dead, but he didn't care what these Herb Gatherers thought either. He said "excuse me" and intended to step forward for a closer look. Among the Herb Gatherers,
This man was the very one who had just harbored malicious intentions. He was rather short and stout, but fierce and aggressive. He had just seized some advantages, but feared that the pale-faced Taoist would spread the word after leaving, bringing trouble to his own doorstep. Thus, he secretly drew his knife, preparing to signal his brothers to finish him off.
Before he could make a move, the pale-faced Taoist suddenly turned around, his gaze piercing him like a knife, stabbing his heart. His chest felt hollowed out! He almost passed out from lack of breath.
His companion collapsed, causing a stir among the remaining Herb Gatherers. Their reactions revealed their true intentions. Some immediately drew their swords, while others backed away. Seven or eight of them each showed different responses, making the atmosphere in the forest tense and chaotic. Of course, this was only for the Herb Gatherers.
Yu Ci couldn't help but laugh at the reactions of this motley crew.
His mood was good. That look wasn't intentional, but a spontaneous reaction from his Divine Soul. The "fire" that had just ignited was something he hadn't experienced during his previous cultivation. It was closely related to the Divine Soul and was likely a unique change after connecting with nature. It would need further research.
He was cautious, but he still needed to solve the problem at hand. Without further ado, he walked towards the direction of the corpse, wielding the intimidating aura that had stunned one of them. He arrived at the corpse, squatted down to examine it.
None of the Herb Gatherers dared to act rashly.
Seeing the state of the corpse with his own eyes, even Yu Ci, who considered himself brave, felt a chill down his spine. The man's face was beaten to a pulp, not just his face, his entire upper body didn't have many intact bones. Even a slight touch made his skin and flesh feel numb, clearly beaten into this state by an overwhelming force.
From the position of the corpse, he deduced that this man must have been blown away by a tremendous force and quickly found the direction from which he had flown.
From his perspective, there was indeed a pine tree broken at waist height over there. It was propped up by nearby trees and hadn't completely fallen down. Looking through the gap in the broken tree into the depths of the forest, he could vaguely imagine how this man was brutally thrown by a monstrous beast, hitting and breaking the pine tree, and finally falling here and dying.
This also solved his previous doubts. No wonder he hadn't found traces of a fierce battle and felt that the beast's scent was too faint here. It turned out that this wasn't the first battlefield; the real battlefield was deeper in the forest.
Yu Ci noted down that location and looked down at the corpse again. What caught his attention was that although this man's clothes were extremely disheveled after the fight and being searched by these Herb Gatherers, they still felt soft and resilient when he pinched them lightly. They must be quite valuable.
Such a person didn't seem like someone who came to gather herbs!
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The curtain of the great era lifts a corner, and brother fish bone finally enters the Cultivation World. Call for favorites!
I have also posted the following more chapters [All free] on: https://www.readgates.com/article/74a39e