"A herb? What kind of herb?" Zhang Chu asked.
The Old Village Chief shook his head, "How would I know? I just heard from the elders that there might be a terrifying large tomb nearby."
Then, the Old Village Chief shared all the information he knew with Zhang Chu:
"I heard that every sixty years, a special herb grows from that large tomb."
"And those outsiders and Great Demons are here to seize that herb."
"As for what the herb is, what it's used for, or how powerful it is, that's not something us simple villagers would know."
Zhang Chu suddenly realized, "So that's why so many outsiders and Great Demons have come to Yaoxu recently!"
The Old Village Chief quickly warned, "Don't tell anyone else about this. I'm afraid someone might overestimate their abilities and try to go after that herb, which would bring disaster to our small village."
Zhang Chu nodded immediately, "Don't worry, I trust our villagers aren't that reckless."
At this moment, Zhang Chu began to connect all the clues.
The night of Yaoxu, the Corruption, the terrifying large tomb, the mysterious herb, and the possibility that one day the Corruption might vanish overnight...
Zhang Chu felt that there seemed to be a big secret hidden within all of this.
The Old Village Chief sighed, "Sir, it's useless to think about those things. We can't control the matters of Yaoxu. We're just ordinary villagers. We should store enough food and stay safely in the village."
Saying this, the Old Village Chief's gaze became distant, "Actually, the real chaos hasn't even begun..."
Zhang Chu's heart skipped a beat, "What does the real chaos look like?"
The Old Village Chief said:
"I remember sixty years ago, a large tribe came to our village and took away many young men, and they never returned."
"I also remember a demon as big as a hill, bleeding at the entrance of our village!"
"Unfortunately, the villagers were too weak back then to even approach its corpse, let alone eat its meat."
"There were also swordsmen who split a mountain peak in half with one strike, and the huge rolling stones almost buried our village."
"And some wicked outsiders would force their way into the village and make the women sleep with them..."
"But our Jujube Tree God would protect us and help us get through safely."
Zhang Chu listened with his heart pounding. He took a deep breath, "If we don't become stronger ourselves, we'll always be at the mercy of fate."
The Old Village Chief sighed, "Alas, in Yaoxu, human life is inherently cheap."
But then, the Old Village Chief brightened up, "But things are better now. Ever since you came to Zaoye Village, we haven't gone hungry for a long time. And the children and the Hunting Team are much stronger than before."
Zhang Chu, however, felt that it still wasn't enough.
To live peacefully in Yaoxu, one must have the strength to protect oneself.
Now, Tong Qingshan had already embarked on the path of cultivation, obtained a precious herb, and entered seclusion.
Moreover, a Shanhai Map had appeared within Zhang Chu, and his strength was also increasing. The idea of hiding in the small village and eking out a living for a lifetime was gradually fading.
Now, Zhang Chu also hoped to become stronger, and one day perhaps leave Yaoxu to taste what other places' demons were like.
"Step by step, become stronger!" Zhang Chu thought to himself.
In the following period, the outside world began to grow chaotic again.
There were constant battles among the outsiders, but they seemed to have some special agreement not to disturb the peace of the small village easily.
In Zaoye Village, everyone was desperately trying to improve themselves, and the consumption of Yaoning Paste was increasing.
Everyone was driven by a desire to be like Tong Qingshan and form a Demon Core.
Tong Qingshan, meanwhile, had entered a special state, enveloped in a thick cocoon of light, his aura completely concealed.
"Sir, will Father be hungry? He hasn't eaten meat for six days," Little Grapes asked with wide eyes, full of concern.
Zhang Chu patted Little Grapes on the head, "He won't be. Qingshan is making a breakthrough, don't worry."
"How long will it take for Father to come out?" Little Grapes asked.
Zhang Chu pondered, "Generally, it takes at least half a month, at most, it could be three months."
Not all cultivators form a cocoon during their practice.
According to The Great Demon Technique, only a few beings might form a cocoon during seclusion practice.
This is a self-protection mechanism to prevent the leakage of aura and being taken advantage of by formidable enemies.
Now, Tong Qingshan's cocoon of light sat there like a pile of dry grass, and if you weren't familiar with it, you wouldn't even know there was a person sitting there.
That evening, after their training, the children gathered under the Old Jujube Tree to listen to Zhang Chu's lesson:
"To the east of the East Sea, there is a giant tree named Qiu Mulberry..."
Just then, two unusual people arrived outside the small village.
An old man with white hair and a white beard, accompanied by a girl of about twelve or thirteen, stood at the entrance of Zaoye Village.
"Hmm... the children in this small village are quite extraordinary!" The old man looked at the children of Zaoye Village with surprise.
But then, the old man shook his head, "What a pity, being born in Yaoxu is destined to be a tragedy."
The girl carefully observed the Old Jujube Tree and soon exclaimed, "The Guardian Deity of this village is different from those in other villages, very peaceful, but not to be underestimated."
...
"Outsiders!" Hu Zi, not paying attention in class, was the first to notice them.
Zhang Chu and the children looked toward the village entrance.
Many of the children became nervous. The last time, three women had come, who turned out to be Great Demons wanting to cut down the Old Jujube Tree, leaving a bad impression on the children. The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
Now, the children instinctively held a sense of vigilance toward outsiders.
Zhang Chu reassured the children slightly, "Don't worry, I'll go see what's going on."
Soon, Zhang Chu arrived at the village entrance.
"Can we stay here for the night?" the girl asked politely, her voice sweet.
She wore a fiery red fox fur coat, and her boots were also made of red fox fur, giving her a lively and energetic appearance.
The old man, with a kind and gentle demeanor, stroked his beard and looked at Zhang Chu with some approval, "I never expected someone in this small mountain village to be literate. It's an interesting little village."
Zhang Chu asked, "May I know what brings you here?"
The old man replied, "The nights in Yaoxu are hard to endure, so we would like to stay for a night if it's convenient."
Zhang Chu felt that the grandfather and granddaughter bore no ill intentions, so he invited them into the village.
When the villagers learned there were outsiders, many of them came out immediately.
The Old Village Chief, being hospitable, asked everyone to bring out the preserved pork to treat the grandfather and granddaughter.
During the conversation, it was revealed that the grandfather and granddaughter's surname was Mo, and the girl's name was Mo Xi. They said they were traveling through Yaoxu.
Zhang Chu thus referred to the old man as Old Mo and addressed the girl as Mo Xi by name.
Soon, the dried pork was roasted, and the rich aroma filled the air. The golden roasted meat, paired with various spices collected from the mountains, made Old Mo and Mo Xi's mouths water.
"Wow, it smells so good!" Mo Xi couldn't help but exclaim.
Old Mo chuckled, "I never expected the food in your small village to be so exquisite. It's hard to find such roasted meat even in the outside world. Hmm, these spices are quite special!"
Little Grapes happily shouted, "That's because Sir can read. He taught us to use those herbs as spices, and that's called cumin!"
Soon, Old Mo and Mo Xi began eating the village's roasted meat, praising it endlessly.
After a while, Mo Xi finally spoke, "Your small village is amazing. I see many of your children have physical strength that rivals the geniuses from sects in the outside world!"
Hu Zi immediately shouted, "Of course, it won't be long before we can form Demon Cores and start cultivating too!"
"Yes, we'll soon be able to form Demon Cores!" another child shouted.
Zhang Chu's expression changed slightly. The children were still too young to understand the importance of keeping secrets.
The village's desire to cultivate shouldn't be known to these outsiders.
However, Mo Xi and Old Mo were momentarily stunned.
Soon, Mo Xi tilted her head back and laughed heartily, "Hahaha... you don't mean to learn from the mountain demons and form Demon Cores, do you? Hahaha..."
She seemed to have heard an unbelievable joke, laughing uncontrollably.
Old Mo also shook his head with a smile, "You can't form Demon Cores! Humans aren't demons, how can you form Demon Cores?"