Chen Lin pushed open the creaking, dilapidated wooden door, and the cold morning air rushed in, carrying the scent of earth and dew.
He stood at the doorway, taking a deep breath.
It was different now.
The faint but real warm current in his Dantian slowly settled, like a newborn spark, continuously emitting a gentle heat that dispelled the morning chill.
His five senses became sharper than ever before—he could clearly hear the soft cooing of the old hen in the chicken coop in the corner of the yard, distinguish the chirping of different birds in the distant forest, and even smell the faint musky scent of insects burrowing deep in the soil.
He clenched his fist, and a strength far surpassing yesterday's surged beneath his skin; his muscles and bones felt as if they had been re-tempered, full of resilience and vitality.
Is this the difference between Immortal and mortal?
A leap in the level of life?
No wonder everyone yearns for the Dao of Immortals; this feeling... it truly is intoxicating.
He suppressed the excitement in his heart, his face returning to calmness, and stepped out of the house.
In the courtyard, Chen Dashan, Chen Shisheng, and Chen Qingfeng's gazes were fixed on him, filled with a burning anticipation that almost seemed to scorch him.
Especially Chen Qingfeng, his eyes like a hungry wolf spotting meat, he darted forward, almost crashing into Chen Lin.
"Third Brother! How was it? Did you succeed? Is it... is it that Immortal art..."
His voice was fast and urgent, spittle almost spraying onto Chen Lin's face.
Chen Lin subtly shifted to avoid him, his gaze passing over his anxious second brother and landing on his father's weather-beaten face: "Father, I succeeded."
Three words, like sparks falling into boiling oil.
Chen Dashan's back, taut as a bowstring, visibly relaxed.
His calloused hand slapped his thigh with a crisp "pop," followed by a booming laugh:
"Hahahaha! Good! Good lad! You really did it!
My old Chen family... our ancestral graves are smoking with good fortune! Hahahaha!"
The laughter was hearty and unrestrained, filled with the wild joy of having a thousand-pound burden lifted.
Chen Shisheng also grinned, slapping Chen Lin's shoulder heavily, his smile full of relieved excitement:
"Good! Third Brother! Well done!"
Chen Qingfeng was even more excited, scratching his ears and cheeks, circling Chen Lin:
"He succeeded! He really succeeded! Our family has an Immortal now! Hahahaha!"
The relief of surviving a disaster and the wild joy of embarking on the Immortal Path permeated the small courtyard.
After a long while, Chen Dashan finally stopped laughing, his face resuming its usual gravity, his eyes sharp as knives as he scanned his three sons.
"Succeeding is a good thing, but you must keep your tails tucked in!"
His voice dropped, carrying an undeniable warning,
"Trouble is still hanging over our heads!
The matter of the Immortal, only Heaven, Earth, and us four know!
Whoever dares to leak even a hint of it, I'll personally chop them up and feed them to the wolves!"
The chilling Killing Intent made Chen Qingfeng shiver, and his excitement instantly dissipated by more than half.
Chen Shisheng also nodded solemnly.
Chen Dashan's gaze fell on Chen Lin, his tone grave:
"Third son, you are now our family's only hope, and also the greatest source of trouble!
You must be extremely careful in your actions!"
"Father, I understand."
Chen Lin nodded, his eyes calm,
"Now that I've stepped onto the Immortal Path, Cultivating requires the nourishment of fierce beast blood.
Home... is not suitable anymore."
Chen Dashan's eyes narrowed: "You want to go into the mountains?"
"Yes."
Chen Lin's tone was firm,
"Firstly, there are many fierce beasts in the mountains, making the supply of their blood convenient.
Secondly, frequently dragging large beasts back to the village is too conspicuous and will arouse suspicion.
Thirdly..." He paused, lowering his voice,
"In case... in case that Immortal's fellow disciples really come looking, the mountains will also provide a place to hide and retreat."
Chen Dashan fell silent.
His rough fingers unconsciously twisted the leather cord of the woodcutting knife at his waist, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Chen Lin's face and the vast, verdant mountains in the distance.
The mountains were a hunter's livelihood, but also a hunter's graveyard.
Inside, there were not only tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves, but also the mythical Yao Beasts that could summon clouds and mist and breathe fire!
Didn't the Immortal from the Spirit Beast Sect fall into their hands precisely because he was trying to catch a Yao Beast?
To let his third son, who had just embarked on the Immortal Path and whose Foundation was unstable, go into the mountains alone... the risk was too great.
"Father,"
Chen Shisheng spoke, his voice steady,
"Third Brother is right. Home is indeed not a place for Cultivation.
The mountains... although dangerous, Third Brother now has abilities, and being careful is better than being restricted in the village.
Besides, we know that place."
Chen Dashan looked deeply at his eldest son, then at Chen Lin's eyes, which were calm yet held a stubborn resolve.
After a long moment, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out a single word from his throat: "...Good!"
He stepped forward, placing his large hand heavily on Chen Lin's shoulder, the force so great that Chen Lin's shoulder blade subtly ached, and he stared fiercely at him:
"Remember! Live! Come back alive and whole!
Your life, now, is not just your own!
It belongs to everyone in our old Chen family! Do you understand?!"
The weight in his eyes almost suffocated Chen Lin.
He met his father's gaze and nodded forcefully: "Father, I understand!"
The next day, at dawn.
Chen Lin carried a small backpack.
Inside were a few coarse flatbreads mixed with wild vegetables, baked by Yun Niang overnight, so hard they could kill a dog.
There was also a water skin, a sharply ground hunting knife, and a few tough animal sinew ropes.
This was all he owned.
He declined his eldest brother's offer to see him off and, alone, stepped into the vast, mist-shrouded mountain forest behind the village.
The mountain wind carried a bone-chilling coldness, swirling withered leaves.
Beneath his feet was a thick layer of humus, soft to the touch.
The gnarled branches of towering ancient trees obscured most of the sky, making the light dim.
Broken branches, like bones, pointed menacingly towards the sky.
In the boundless mountains stretching for ten thousand li, Chen Dashan and his sons usually only ventured into the outermost fringes, hunting wild rabbits and roe deer.
Further inside lay dangerous, rarely visited areas.
Poisonous insects, miasma, deep ravines, and those fierce beasts lurking in the shadows, capable of easily tearing hunters apart, and even... the legendary Yao Beasts!
Chen Lin took a deep breath, his mind stirring.
The faint sensation of Qi in his Dantian was immediately activated, like a stone dropped into a calm lake, rippling out an invisible wave—Divine Sense!
This newly born "spiritual perception" was still very weak, its range only about a zhang around him, and its perception was vague.
But at this moment, it became his greatest reliance in the perilous mountains!
He could "feel" the wriggling of poisonous insects beneath withered leaves, "hear" the faint rustling of poisonous snake scales rubbing against tree bark on the treetops, and avoid those muddy traps emanating a rotten smell in advance.
Though blurry, it was like a faint lamp lit in the darkness, guiding his direction.
He moved through the dense forest like a young leopard leaving its den for the first time, cautious and agile.
Avoiding beast trails, bypassing steep slopes, choosing hidden and difficult routes.
Half a day passed, and he had crossed two steep mountain ridges, penetrating deeper than his father and the others' usual hunting limits.
Sweat soaked his back, and his breathing became heavy, but the warm current in his Dantian continuously circulated, supporting his endurance far beyond what he had previously possessed.
However, a suitable hiding place was still nowhere in sight.
Either damp, cramped rock crevices or tree hollows infested with poisonous insects—none were usable.
Just as he was growing a little anxious, he climbed over a rocky slope, and his vision suddenly opened up!
Below was a rushing stream, its waters gurgling.
On the opposite bank of the stream, a steep mountain wall rose abruptly, and about ten zhang high from the ground, a dark mountain cave was embedded!
Outside the cave entrance, a natural rock platform, several zhang square, had formed!
With its back to the mountain wall, overlooking the stream, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and water was convenient to access!
"What a great place!"
Chen Lin's eyes instantly lit up, his fatigue swept away.
It was practically a heaven-sent Immortal Cave for Cultivation!
He rushed to the stream's edge in a few steps, stepping on the stones in the water, and agilely leaped across the not-so-wide stream.
Reaching the base of the mountain wall, he looked up at the high cave entrance platform.
His heart, however, suddenly sank!
In the piles of rocks and bushes below the cave entrance, scattered white bones lay!
There were large leg bones and ribs, clearly belonging to large wild beasts, with terrible teeth marks at the breaks.
And even... a few weathered, yellowed, fearsome-shaped skulls, one of which had a broken antler, like that of some wild deer!
A strong, long-settled yet still pungent, musky and faintly putrid smell permeated the air.
This place... was the lair of a fierce beast!
And, it was its usual feeding ground!
Chen Lin's heart rate suddenly accelerated.
He narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the dark cave entrance above.
Ten zhang off the ground... what kind of fierce beast could inhabit such a steep place? A leopard? A wildcat? Or... something even more terrifying?
Thinking of his current strength, of the nascent warm current in his Dantian, and of the beast skin Immortal art scroll in his embrace, a surge of ruthlessness welled up in his heart.
Fortune favors the bold! He had set his sights on this Immortal Cave!
