The morning dew still hung in the air. I was walking on an unmarked path through the forest. I did not go the usual route that my mother would take because I did not want to get spotted by others. From what I understand, no one would dare enter the mountains unless they had no choice, but I could not risk it.

“Hmm?” I heard a rustling in the nearby bushes. A brown-horned rabbit exited and stopped dead in its tracks as soon as it saw me.

I slowly bent down, careful not to scare it away, picked up a rock, and with a flick of my wrist, the rock shot out, smashing into the rabbit’s head and knocking it out. “This is much better than I thought.”

I did not think my strength had shot up so much. I was only five and my strength was already at rank 2 of body fortification. Body fortification was all about strengthening your muscles, bones, organs, skin, and meridians. Only by forcing qi into your body through rigorous means could you mold your body to be ready to take in spiritual qi through cultivation.

The ironback leaf I added to my bath had actually pushed me to rank 2 of the body fortification realm. “Not bad. Maybe tonight I will try adding two leaves.” If I could break through once or twice more tonight that would be great. Although I do believe the only reason I was able to break through as I did was because it was my first time doing it. Out of all the realms, only by evaluating your strength will you know that you have broken through during the body fortification realm. The other realms, starting from the qi gathering realm, all had a kind of wave of power that would surge through you when you broke through.

Someone in the body fortification realm could never compare to a rank 1 qi gathering cultivator. There would be no way for them to do so. The power difference was just too great. This was a fact, but even still, a cultivator who had broken through to qi gathering was still only on the first step of cultivation, and until you broke through to the immortal realm, you were still considered a mortal.

I broke the rabbit’s neck and tied it up with some vines. I slung it up over my shoulder before moving deeper into the forest with my basket. I had to find some herbs to go with this that would nourish both my body and my mothers, as well as some herbs for my mother to use as tea.

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In order to make sure my foundation is solid before I break through to the qi gathering stage I will need to really work hard and eat well. Eating well really sounds good. If only I could get a rank one demonic beast, then I could strengthen my body even more. Demonic beast meat was very good for cultivators. Depending on the rank, it would help strengthen your bones and muscles.

I spent almost an hour in the forest before returning. I dropped off the herbs and rabbit before I began moving buckets of water to fill up the vats we had at home. My mother watched with a pained expression. She wanted to help, but I kept telling her to rest. It must be funny watching a small child lugging buckets of water that were almost half her height. Luckily, with my current strength, these buckets were not heavy at all.

After I finished, breakfast was done and it smelt really good. A fat rabbit it was indeed. “Mother, make sure you eat a lot of meat today. You need more nutrition than I do.” I sat down next to my mother, scoped up a big spoon full of meat, and placed it in her bowl.

“Rou’er….” Seeing my mother almost brought me to tears, I smiled brightly and said, “Mother, from now on, we will live well. I will handle everything. You just need to work hard on getting better so you can start cultivating again.” My mother was actually still in the body fortification realm. She never got the chance to cultivate, but I do hope she can continue soon.

“Rou’er, I am too old….” I placed my finger on her lips and smiled. “I will make it so you can cultivate. You only need to worry about taking things at your own pace. Since I was born, you have been doing everything you could to feed me and keep a roof over my head. Everything you have done has not gone unnoticed. I couldn’t ask for a better mother than you.”

I pulled my finger away and began eating once more. The herbs I put in were made to heal the insides. Just one sip of the rich broth soothed my entire being. I also pretended not to notice the soft sobbing coming from my side. My mother was a strong woman. She was someone who worked hard and cared for me. I will make sure to give her the best life possible.

Once I enter the qi gathering realm, I can finally try making some pills, although it will be rough around the edges. I should still be able to sell a pill or two, but then again, I would first need to get my mother and me out of this backwater village.

Why I call this a backwater village is beyond me. I have never left this place, so I can’t really be sure. But deep in the back of my mind, I know there are much grander places out there. A place where I can bring my mother to live a much better life. I just know it.

I want to take her away from this mud hut that is freezing cold during the winter to a place where she can relax and have maids waiting on her. With my knowledge of cultivation, herbs, and pill refinement, I should be able to do it. I just have to work harder than anyone else. Much harder!