In front of the stone weight, Zhang Chu wrapped his arms around the three-hundred-jin block. Heaving with his core, he hoisted it straight up!
It was a struggle, but he was far stronger than before.
One had to remember, Zhang Chu previously couldn't even move a one-hundred-and-fifty-jin stone weight!
Zhang Chu was ecstatic. "I get it! Eating a Demon Core allows the Shanhai Map to undergo some kind of evolution, and in return, the map grants me some of its power!"
Of course, a strength of three hundred jin was by no means his limit.
The Shanhai Map was, at that very moment, continuously emitting that mysterious power, nourishing his physical body.
Zhang Chu felt that, given time, his strength might even rival Tong Qingshan's!
Immediately after, Zhang Chu thought about the origin of the Shanhai Map.
Back then, while reading under the old jujube tree at his home, he had been reading an ancient copy of the *Shanhai Jing*. After he transmigrated, however, the book had vanished.
It seemed it had been hidden inside his body all along.
Still, getting benefits only by eating Demon Cores was a bit too extravagant.
How could demons be so easy to kill?
If not for the Old Jujube Tree, everyone in the small village would have likely perished.
But soon, Zhang Chu reconciled himself to the idea.
"It makes sense when you think about it. The *Shanhai Jing* is basically a foodie atlas. No matter what it describes, it always adds a line about 'the effects of eating it.' So, for this Shanhai Map to be inside me, encouraging me to eat demons, I suppose it's not so far-fetched."
Zhang Chu was happy to have the Shanhai Map, but he didn't let it show.
Having been respectfully called "Teacher" by the villagers for three years, Zhang Chu had naturally cultivated an impassive and steady demeanor, never letting his joy or anger show on his face.
Quickly, Zhang Chu turned his attention away from the Shanhai Map and began directing the villagers to process the carcasses of the rabbit and fox demons.
The children and villagers couldn't consume the Demon Core of a Great Demon, but its flesh was also a rare medicinal treasure.
The Great Demon's pelt could also be made into protective gear, making the hunting party safer on their expeditions.
"Aunt Yun, you're skilled with your hands. I'll leave the rabbit and fox pelts to you. Tan them carefully and make a few good sets of leather armor for Qing Shan and the others."
"You got it, don't you worry!" Aunt Yun promised.
As for the meat…
Zhang Chu glanced not far away and saw a few young men had started a fire. They had skewered some rabbit meat and were grilling it.
Seeing this, Zhang Chu immediately warned, "Qinglei, be careful. This demon meat isn't so simple."
Tong Qinglei was only sixteen. Though just a young lad, he had already joined the hunting party.
He grinned. "Don't worry, Teacher. We can't beat a living demon, but surely we can manage to eat its meat."
The words had barely left his mouth when the skewered rabbit demon meat suddenly exploded.
Boom!
The massive sound temporarily deafened everyone.
The fire itself was blown apart, sending sparks flying everywhere.
"What happened?" someone cried out in alarm.
"Whoa!"
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Tong Qinglei and the other young men cried out in pain. They had been standing close, and their faces were now pitch-black with soot, as if they had just been pulled out of a charcoal fire.
Seeing this, a few children doubled over with laughter. "Hahaha, black monkeys, black monkeys!"
"Uncle Qinglei turned into a piece of charcoal! Hahaha…"
A few of the mischievous children even started dancing in circles around Tong Qinglei.
Covered in dust and grime, Tong Qinglei and the other lads looked utterly dejected. "Go on, get out of here! You have no sympathy at all!"
The Old Village Chief asked with some concern, "Qinglei, are you all right?"
Tong Qinglei quickly replied, "We're fine, just our heads are buzzing nonstop."
Aunt Jiu immediately scolded them, "This is what you get for not listening to the Teacher! Now you're paying the price!"
"That's right! We told you to be careful, but you all just monkeyed around and didn't listen. Now you've been blown up!" another woman shouted as she prepared firewood.
The atmosphere in the small village was cheerful. Everyone was talking and laughing, not letting the small accident get them down.
But Zhang Chu's next words sobered them. "It's a good thing it exploded while cooking. What if it had exploded after someone ate it..."
As Zhang Chu finished speaking, the villagers all looked at each other in dismay, a chill running down their spines.
The image of a stomach bursting open was too horrifying to contemplate.
The Old Village Chief frowned and sighed. "I've heard the elders mention it before. They said that even if we were given the meat of a truly Great Demon, we wouldn't have the good fortune to enjoy it. It turns out they were right."
At that moment, a woman who refused to believe it set up a pot and tossed in half a jin of meat to boil. "If grilling doesn't work, we'll boil it into a soup! I refuse to believe it. The demon is dead, yet we can't even handle a piece of its meat?"
Boom…
The pot exploded. Hot water scattered, but most people were prepared and dodged in time!
"Ouch!"
"Hahaha, that's what you get for not believing! You almost got scalded!"
"How demonic!"
The villagers were utterly astonished.
But soon, some began to feel dejected. "Does this mean we really can't eat it?"
"Yeah, if we can't eat it, it's such a waste."
"The bodies of this rabbit demon and fox demon are so big. If we could eat them, it would be enough to feed us for more than ten days."
At this point, many began to feel the sting of the loss.
"The fox and rabbit demon meat must contain endless medicinal properties. It would be a terrible shame to waste it," Tong Qingshan said with a look of regret.
The Old Village Chief looked helpless. "Alas, we are still too weak. A mountain of treasure is right in front of us, yet we can't grasp it."
But just then, an idea struck Zhang Chu. He had thought of a recipe.
"Everyone, don't be discouraged," Zhang Chu said.
The crowd immediately turned to look at him, and hope was rekindled in their eyes.
In the past three years, Zhang Chu, with his literacy, had brought them too many wonderful surprises.
Zhang Chu now looked at Aunt Jiu. "Aunt Jiu, first, cut the rabbit demon meat into three-liang chunks. Don't put them in the pot. I'm going to brew a medicinal paste."
"Brew a medicinal paste?" The faces of the crowd lit up with surprise.
Of course, some were worried. "I've heard that only apothecaries from the big cities can brew medicine. Can we really do it?"
"Nonsense! The Teacher is a divine person sent by the heavens to our Zaoye Village! If the Teacher says he can brew medicine, then he can definitely brew medicine!" someone declared with blind faith in Zhang Chu.
Zhang Chu, however, remained calm and steady, showing neither joy nor worry.
Most of the villagers immediately grew excited. "Teacher, give us our tasks!"
The Old Village Chief realized this medicinal soup must be something extraordinary. Overcome with excitement, he spoke to Zhang Chu with great respect. "Teacher, is this medicinal soup for the children?"
Zhang Chu smiled. "It's not just for the children. Adults can use it too."
"That formula uses demon flesh as a catalyst to temper the physical body and greatly increase one's physical strength. Once the medicine is complete, it might be even more potent than the pig treasure from before."
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up with anticipation.
Zhang Chu then turned to Tong Qingshan. "Qing Shan, I had you go into the mountains to collect a number of herbs before. Now they will be useful."
Tong Qingshan immediately stood up straight, awaiting Zhang Chu's orders.
"Go home and fetch two liang and two qian of Bai Cangliang Fruit, nine liang of Five-Directional Sunflower, three qian of Summer Toad Froth..."
Tong Qingshan carefully committed the list to memory, his admiration for Zhang Chu growing even deeper. He had all these things at home, all collected at Zhang Chu's behest.
In fact, Zhang Chu had noticed long ago that many of the herbs recorded in *The Great Wilderness Scripture* could be found in the Yaoxu.
Therefore, he had been teaching the hunting party to identify various medicinal herbs and had instructed Tong Qingshan to remember to pick them whenever he encountered them, as they might be useful.
Now, their time had finally come.
Yaoning Paste, a medicine recorded in *The Great Wilderness Scripture* specifically for tempering the physical body.
Soon, a large pot was set up.
This time, the Old Village Chief, Tong Qingshan, and Zhang Chu all gathered around the pot with great caution.
This was a rare sight. In the Yaoxu, the villagers had clear roles: men hunted, while women cooked and sewed. Men generally did not touch the cooking pots.
But today was exceptionally solemn.
Adults and children alike watched the three figures before the great pot with reverent looks, praying in their hearts for the brewing to succeed.
"When the water is simmering, add the Bai Cangliang Fruit!"
"When the Bai Cangliang Fruit turns red, add the Five-Directional Sunflower!"
Under Zhang Chu's guidance, Tong Qingshan carefully added the herbs to the pot one by one. There were thirteen types in total, all accumulated by the hunting party over the past two or three years.
All the surrounding villagers watched, tense and excited, their eyes wide, afraid to miss the slightest detail.
Though no one had said anything, everyone instinctively felt that this was a momentous occasion.
Zhang Chu, however, felt a pang of regret. "It's a pity the village is too poor. We don't have a proper medicinal cauldron for brewing potions. In that recipe, the cauldron is a key component. It says a good cauldron can double the medicinal properties, or even cause them to evolve to a higher level."
Of course, even in an ordinary pot, these herbs brewed together would still create a rare medicinal treasure.
The fire roared, and the medicinal soup began to boil, releasing waves of a foul smell.
"It stinks!" Hu Zi pinched his nose and tried to back away.
But in the next second, a large hand grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. "Don't run, kid. This is good stuff. If you smell it, you might get stronger and won't get sick!"
It was Hu Zi's father, Tong Qingyun, the second-strongest man in Zaoye Village after Tong Qingshan.
At that moment, many other children also wanted to run, but they were all caught by their parents. They stood there with long, miserable faces.
The adults chuckled. They were just children, after all. Sometimes, a little force was necessary.
Zhang Chu noticed that Tong Qingshan's daughter, Little grapes, was very quiet. Her eyes were bright, and she wasn't the least bit afraid of the smell.
In fact, Little grapes was crinkling her nose, sniffing the smell with all her might. She was curious about everything.
"What an interesting child," Zhang Chu thought. He was very fond of Little grapes and always felt she had some sort of special talent.
The Old Village Chief smiled. "Good medicine tastes bitter. What's a little smell? As long as it's good for you, you have to swallow it, no matter how bitter or foul it is."
After the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, Zhang Chu finally said, "Add the demon meat!"
Beside him, Tong Qingshan didn't dare to delay, dropping the three-liang piece of rabbit demon meat into the pot.
Many of the more timid women hastily retreated, afraid of being scalded after the pot had exploded earlier.
This time, however, the pot did not explode. Instead, amidst the billowing steam, wisps of colorful mist began to appear, looking incredibly mystical.
"It's so pretty!" Little grapes whispered in awe, her big eyes blinking.
The foul smell gradually dissipated, replaced by a rich medicinal aroma, so thick it was almost tangible, that wafted into everyone's nostrils.
"This is the good stuff!" Everyone's eyes shone, filled with anticipation.
Proofreader: Peter Pan