"Chen Changsheng, you use a spear. You’ll receive one Iron Spear, a set of Cotton Armor, and thirty catties of horse meat. For your compensation, how about twenty catties of horse meat, a set of padded winter clothes, and two taels of silver?"
The distribution proceeded quickly. In less than half an Hour, it was Chen Changsheng’s turn. He didn’t take the items immediately. Instead, he asked softly, "Clan Leader, can I get a Bow and Arrow instead?"
Chen Xuan was a bit surprised. "I recall you don’t know Archery. Are you planning to hunt?"
Chen Changsheng nodded. This was something he had been pondering for a long time on his way here. His family was simply too poor. They couldn’t even get enough to eat just by farming. The matter of achieving immortality could wait; right now, his priority was filling their stomachs, improving his relationship with his four children, and letting them grow up happily.
To the North, Northwest, and Northeast of Chen Family Village lay hundreds of miles of deep, uninhabited old forests. If he had a Bow and Arrow as well as a Long Spear, he could follow the village’s Hunter teams to hunt in the future, thus improving his family’s living conditions first.
Chen Xuan pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright then, this bow will offset the compensation for your injuries!"
"Thank you, Clan Leader! Fellow clansmen, I’ll head back first to cook for my children. I won’t be joining the grand banquet later!" Chen Changsheng cupped his hands in thanks, took his things, smiled and nodded at the other clansmen, then left with large strides.
The conditions at Heifeng Stronghold were limited. Chen Changsheng’s family of five squeezed into a stone house merely twenty feet across. As soon as he entered the courtyard, his four children’s eyes glued themselves to the bloody horse meat in his hands.
"Dad! I’ll cook!" His eldest daughter, Chen Yuyao, dashed out of the main room. The resistance in her eyes completely vanished as she called out in a crisp voice, making a beeline for the meat.
"Dad! I’ll tend the fire!" His second child, the ten-year-old Chen Hanwen, had initially frowned upon seeing his father enter. However, his brow smoothed out instantly, and his eyes gleamed with hunger. Dropping the book in his hands, he hurried toward the kitchen.
The eight-year-old third child, Chen Tongwu, didn’t say a word. He simply set his little sister Chen Yuxi down gently and sprinted into the kitchen after his brother.
"Dad... hug... lift high... I’m so hungry..." The youngest daughter took her fingers out of her mouth and began to babble.
In the blink of an eye, the horse meat had been snatched from Chen Changsheng’s hands. Only his youngest daughter remained in the main room, toddling toward him on her short legs while babbling continuously.
The actions of his newly inherited children left him a bit stunned. Then, his youngest daughter threw herself at him, hugging his leg and swaying back and forth. Chen Changsheng, who hadn’t yet mentally prepared himself for fatherhood and had been an orphan in his past life, instantly felt a kind of familial warmth he had never experienced before.
"This feeling actually seems pretty good!" he thought. "The original owner’s wife didn’t look too bad either, but unfortunately, she passed away giving birth to Yuxi when the Barbarians attacked three years ago."
Horse meat didn’t taste very good, but in Chen Family Village, where having a full stomach was considered a blessing, it smelled better than anything else.
Chen Yuyao was quite sensible. Despite her craving, she only used one catty of horse meat for the meal, stewing a large pot of it with mushrooms and radishes. Paired with coarse grain rice, the family ate until their stomachs were round and their mouths gleamed with grease.
After making sure everyone was settled, Chen Changsheng impatiently returned to his room. Back in the familiar space, he sensed the deep red glow inside the Celestial Essence Cauldron. He imagined how he would soon become a Martial Artist and embark on the path to immortality. Unable to suppress the excitement in his heart any longer, Chen Changsheng fiercely pumped his fist and let out a low roar.
"YES!"
As a result, hurried footsteps sounded outside his door, followed by a chorus of frantic voices.
"Dad! What’s wrong?"
"Dad! Are you okay?"
"Dad, did your injuries from last night flare up?"
"Daddy! Waaah!"
The four children—the oldest being twelve and the youngest not even three—anxiously called out from outside his door. Realizing that his sudden burst of joy had caused too much of a commotion, Chen Changsheng quickly spoke up.
"I’m fine, I’m fine! You all go to sleep!"
His eldest daughter, Chen Yuyao, seemed slightly suspicious and spoke hesitantly. "Dad, are you really okay?"
Helpless, Chen Changsheng could only make up an excuse. "Go to sleep. I was just missing your mother a bit!"
Hearing this, the four children outside sighed in unison and soon walked away. Having learned his lesson, Chen Changsheng didn’t dare make any more noise. He returned to his bed and silently comprehended the Cultivation Technique and the methods to use the Celestial Essence Cauldron.
The Cultivation Technique was the First Segment of the mortal initiation guide for the world-renowned Eight-Nine Profound Skill. It could be practiced without Spiritual Qi, relying entirely on a pure martial path. As for the Second Segment of the guide, Chen Changsheng would need to save up and sacrifice two thousand drops of Blood Essence to obtain it. The third segment would also require Blood Essence.
The Cultivation Technique was perfectly suited to the conditions of the Celestial Essence Continent, and it was extremely suitable for the current Chen Changsheng. It was also profoundly mysterious. Fortunately, the Celestial Essence Cauldron had transmitted it to him through fluctuations of Divine Thought, bringing with it the comprehensions of countless predecessors.
Inner Power Heart Methods were extremely rare on the Celestial Essence Continent. According to his predecessor’s memories, in the entire Great Fog County, only Chen Family Village and a few other clans with long heritages were known to possess inheritances for Inner Power Heart Methods. Otherwise, only the officials sent by the Court or the generals among the government troops had access to them.
Everyone in Chen Family Village practiced martial arts, and the original owner of this body was naturally no exception. The Inner Power Heart Method of Chen Family Village was quite good. However, Chen Changsheng knew without a second thought that it definitely paled in comparison to the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, even if it was just the mortal initiation guide.
Additionally, because the mountain village was poor, few people ever achieved great things. Yet, everyone possessed common knowledge of martial arts.
Chen Changsheng quickly mastered the First Segment of the guide’s Heart Method, which was all he needed at the moment. By the time the bright moon hung high in the sky, he had already sat cross-legged and circulated a Great Cycle.
After silently comprehending for a moment, he knew that to practice the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, he absolutely needed the help of the Celestial Essence Cauldron. Cultivating the Eight-Nine Profound Skill in a place with extremely thin Spiritual Qi required a massive amount of vital energy essence or the aid of expensive Spiritual Medicines. Otherwise, progress would be excruciatingly slow.
Meanwhile, at its current stage, the Celestial Essence Cauldron could automatically absorb the essence of newly deceased humans, newly deceased beasts, and fresh herbs. A common Human Corpse could contribute a wisp of vital energy essence, which the Celestial Essence Cauldron could Refine into a drop of Blood Essence in just a hundred breaths. The more abundant the vital energy contained within a creature’s Corpse, the higher the amount of Blood Essence it would provide.
For every one hundred drops of Blood Essence gathered, a piece of Spiritual Fertilizer would be produced. Spiritual Fertilizer had the ability to accelerate the growth of Spiritual Medicines. For example, a single piece of Spiritual Fertilizer could add twenty years to the age of a ginseng plant.
In other words, looting Corpses would not only grant him Blood Essence to aid in cultivating the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, but it would also allow him to accumulate Spiritual Fertilizer to plant Spiritual Medicines, which in turn could further assist his Cultivation of the Eight-Nine Profound Skill.
Currently, there were already sixty-three drops of Blood Essence inside the Celestial Essence Cauldron. Having figured everything out, how could Chen Changsheng hold himself back?
One had to know that in this world, Martial Art flourished, and the Hundred Races vied for supremacy. And through Martial Art, one could achieve immortality! Immortality! Across his past and present lives, Chen Changsheng desired it more than anything else!
Reining in his thoughts, Chen Changsheng shifted his mind. One drop after another of glowing red Blood Essence flew out of the Celestial Essence Cauldron, transforming into Essence Qi that dropped down his throat and rolled into his stomach.
His Cultivation Technique began to circulate.
BOOM!
Guided by his Cultivation Technique, the massive amount of Essence Qi formed from the first drop of Blood Essence flowed through his limbs and bones. It turned into waves of warmth that rapidly surged into his Dantian.
The second drop, the third drop, the fourth drop...
Soon, the first batch of Blood Essence extracted by Chen Changsheng was completely consumed. Throwing caution to the wind, he continued to use his consciousness to extract more from the Celestial Essence Cauldron, circulating his technique to Refine them.
The fiftieth drop.
The chaotic warm currents scrambled all over his Dantian, showing no sign whatsoever of truly converting into True Qi. Steeling his resolve, Chen Changsheng’s consciousness forcefully dragged all the warm currents toward the core of his Dantian.
"HSS... HAA..."
An inexplicable, piercing pain erupted in his Dantian. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans dripped down Chen Changsheng’s forehead as he let out meaningless groans of agony.
Then, the pain vanished. Within his consciousness and inside his Dantian, a dense, ethereal cluster of light bobbed up and down.
Overjoyed, Chen Changsheng slowly stopped circulating his technique. Once his breathing steadied, he leaped out of bed and threw a rapid flurry of punches.
BANG!
RUMBLE!
The sound of the air tearing rang out. The violent air currents sent the trash on the floor flying into the air and flipped his bedsheets up.
At the same time, within a radius of a hundred feet, snoring sounds became distinctly audible to him. The sound of mice gnawing on rice was equally clear, and even the noise of someone getting out of bed seven or eight walls away couldn’t escape his ears. He could even faintly hear exasperated arguing and the sound of a porcelain bowl shattering coming from the Clan Leader’s direction.
Sensing his surging strength, he realized that when infused with True Qi, a single punch carried at least a thousand catties of force.
He was certain of it!
The True Qi Realm!
He, Chen Changsheng, had arrived! The first realm of Martial Art, the most difficult first step of the martial path—he had finally taken it!
The door to immortality had opened for him.