Airan stood before the entrance of the limestone cave, resting his weight unevenly to spare his limping leg.
Quitting his work as an herb collector had been a necessary choice, but looking into the dark cavern, he had no desire to hunt in his crippled state.
Yet, squeezed by the pressure of time, impending rent, and his lingering dreams, desperation left him no alternative.
His twenty-five-day-old puppy bounded toward the opening, sniffing the damp air.
Airan called the pup back with a stern tone and commanded it to sit and wait outside.
He refused to let the young creature step foot inside a dangerous cavern full of venomous beasts where it could easily get injured.
Passing into the dark tunnels unarmed, Airan prepared to fight.
The moment he channeled his spiritual energy, severe pain flared deep within his lower abdomen as his damaged Dantian ached from the strain.
His Dantian injury had not been caused by improper technique or flawed control, but because he had forcibly pushed the entirety of his thick Qi out at once in a single, massive surge against a beast.
The sheer load of that much dense power had overloaded his channels, tearing his foundation under the strain.
Six cave rets lunged from the shadows in swift succession, their toxic teeth clicking in aggression.
Deprived of a physical weapon, Airan relied entirely on tactical spellcraft and physical leverage.
Enduring the fierce ache radiating from his abdomen, he channeled his dense energy into precise maneuvers—blinding charging targets with Ignition, executing clean close-range strikes with Leaf Blade, creating distance with Fire Step, and slamming beasts against the jagged limestone walls with Wind Burst.
When all six rets lay still, Airan leaned against the damp cave wall, breathing heavily and sweating from the intense physical toll and Dantian pain.
Despite the agony, he was pleased with the harvest.
Six carcasses brought in three spirit stones—one spirit stone more than he could ever make from gathering herbs.
He quickly calculated his trajectory: if he hunted like this for four more days, he would secure enough funds to purchase one Dantian healing pill and ten body healing pills to achieve a full recovery. This chapter is updated first at novelping . com.
Ten days passed under this grueling rat-hunting routine.
Outside the cavern mouth, his puppy reached thirty-five days of age, growing stronger and more lively by the day.
With steady earnings from the warrens, Airan upgraded his sustenance.
He replaced his old spiritual rice—which cost half a spirit stone per half-kilogram with grains only half the size of an egg—with premium spiritual rice.
The new pack cost two spirit stones per half-kilogram, containing roughly two hundred and fifty egg-sized grains.
Eating three grains per sitting over fifteen days sustained his body through the brutal physical strain of his daily hunts.
After ten days of hunting rets, Airan counted his savings: twelve spirit stones safely accumulated in his pouch.
After weeks of pain and poverty, his dream of full recovery was finally within reach.
Author’s Note: Thanks for reading Chapter 6 !
Airan’s journey from a penniless herb collector to a spirit distiller starts here.