Initial Encounter

Xia Mo and Xiao Yi Xian had already been at the Xiao Clan for three days. After reaching an agreement with the Xiao Clan on cooperation over Blood Coagulating Paste, the clan had delivered a batch of Medicinal Herbs to their small courtyard on the very first day.

For the next two days, Xia Mo and Xiao Yi Xian had been making Blood Coagulating Paste nonstop, only stopping after producing enough for two months.

Time flew by, day after day. Xia Mo's days were filled to the brim, until one day, he discovered that Xiao Yan lived nearby.

That morning, Xia Mo sat by the door reading the Third-grade Alchemist's handwritten notes he had found in the treasure. Just the opening section on the complete explanation of Medicinal Herbs and the interactions between their medicinal properties would take him at least a month or two to learn, and that was only because his soul power was strong.

Just as he was about to put away the notes and return to his room, he saw a teenager pass by their door, utterly radiating despondency.

It was Xia Mo's first time seeing someone like that, and he was rather curious. What sort of blow could leave someone so lifeless? Could his parents have died? Before he knew it, he blurted out, "Hey, don't be sad. I'll treat you to candied hawthorn." The moment the words left his mouth, he felt incredibly foolish.

Xia Mo thought, Has becoming younger lowered my intelligence too? So depressed while living in the Xiao Clan... Could he be Xiao Yan?

Hearing someone speak to him, Xiao Yan instinctively looked up. He found an unfamiliar child standing there, but ignored Xia Mo and left directly.

After that, Xiao Yan passed by their door every morning, and Xia Mo greeted him every day. Whenever Xia Mo greeted Xiao Yan, he pretended to be a child—although he really was one now.

His greetings usually went something like, "Hey, good morning," "Hey, my name is Xia Mo. What's yours?" "Hey, don't you watch where you're going? Aren't you afraid of walking into a tree?" "Hey, why aren't you talking?" "Hey, are you mute?" "Hey, are you going to the back mountain again?" and so on.

Xiao Yi Xian caught him doing this once. She came over, pinched Xia Mo's cheek, and said, "You finally look like a child."

Hearing Xiao Yi Xian's words, Xia Mo rolled his eyes and thought, If it weren't for the Pill of Poison Method, would I need to pretend to be a brat?

Perhaps because Xia Mo was only a child, and called out to him tirelessly every day, On the last day of the month, Xiao Yan passed by their door again. Seeing him, Xia Mo instinctively called out, "Hey, going to the back mountain again? Can you take me with you?"

"Sure," Xiao Yan replied, then shut down again. Xia Mo did not react at first when he heard that. Only after a while did it sink in. So Xia Mo continued pretending to be a child, running over to Xiao Yan and following him toward the back mountain. As they walked, he kept talking to Xiao Yan like an endlessly curious child. "Hey, you can talk?" "Hey, why did you stop talking again?"...

Xia Mo followed Xiao Yan to the back mountain. The Xiao Clan's back mountain was actually a stretch of cliffs. Beyond the cliffs stood perilous mountains shrouded in mist—the Monster Mountain Range. The broad ravine formed a natural barrier.

Xiao Yan leaped onto a huge boulder, sat cross-legged, and entered a cultivation state. Xia Mo also imitated him, sitting cross-legged in a rather pretentious fashion, though Xiao Yan could definitely sense Xia Mo's movements.

Xia Mo had not been wrong. Although Xiao Yan's eyes were closed, he still sensed Xia Mo's movements and thought, This little brat even knows how to cultivate. Then he began cultivating as well. Of course, Xiao Yan's cultivation was entirely futile now; it was all being absorbed by that old man, Old Yao.

Xia Mo had only been putting on an act before, but now he was truly about to begin cultivating. There had been too many things going on recently, and he had not cultivated properly. Now, he needed to work twice as hard.

Xia Mo calmed his mind and focused his breath, forming the hand seals for cultivation before swiftly entering a cultivation state. As his breathing steadied, faint streams of energy swirled around him, greedily drawn into his body like water into a bottomless pit.

While Xia Mo and Xiao Yan cultivated, neither noticed the black ancient ring on Xiao Yan's hand emit an extremely faint, eerie gleam that vanished in an instant. It seemed as though a murmur came from within the ring. "This little child has astonishing cultivation talent. I can observe him a while longer. If..."

Xia Mo knew that he would be exposed before Old Yao sooner or later. After all, he would be staying in the Xiao Clan for quite some time, and Xiao Yan and Old Yao were his goal.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Yan woke first. Seeing Xia Mo's cultivation state, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "A Dou Zhe..."

Before long, Xia Mo also awoke from his cultivation. Seeing Xiao Yan staring at him, he knew what had happened. He blinked and struck first. "Xiao Yan, are you done cultivating?"

"Y-You're a Dou Zhe? Who exactly are you?" Xiao Yan asked Xia Mo in shock.

"Yeah, I'm a Dou Zhe. And didn't I tell you already? My name is Xia Mo." Xia Mo continued playing the role of an innocent child. "Hey, I told you, but you still haven't told me your name."

"My name is Xiao Yan. Are you from the Jia Ma Empire?"

"I think so? I don't know either. But Sister Xiao Yi Xian found me, and we used to live in Qingshan Town."

"Sister Xiao Yi Xian usually won't let me reveal my cultivation. Don't tell anyone, okay? If Sister Xiao Yi Xian finds out, she'll scold me again. And if I get scolded, I'll beat you up."

"Fine, fine. I'm not that nosy," Xiao Yan replied. Yet inwardly, he thought, Even I didn't have such strong cultivation talent back then. He's actually from Qingshan Town. There really is always someone stronger, always a higher sky beyond the sky. I was truly too arrogant before. Unfortunately, now I...

No one knew what Xiao Yan had thought of, but perhaps he had been dealt another blow, because he became despondent again.

"Xiao Yan, you're the first friend I've made in the Xiao Clan. I'll treat you to a feast." Xia Mo took out a bamboo whistle. Xiao Yi Xian had given it to him to summon Xiao Lan.

Hearing Xia Mo's words, Xiao Yan watched as he raised the bamboo whistle and slowly blew it. After a while, a Blue Eagle appeared in the sky. Judging from the Blue Eagle's aura, it was comparable to a human Dou Shi. It was clearly a Second-tier Magical Beast.

Xiao Yan instinctively grabbed Xia Mo and tried to run, but Xia Mo did not move. Xiao Lan swooped down and arrived above their heads. Xia Mo called to the Blue Eagle, "Xiao Lan, go get some food. I'll make you roasted meat." Xiao Lan turned and flew away.

Xiao Yan stared at Xia Mo in shock once more. "Is that yours too?"

"No, it belongs to Sister Xiao Yi Xian. It's a Blue Eagle. She saved it before, so it has followed her ever since."

Half an hour later, Xiao Lan returned with a First-tier Magical Beast—a pine resin deer. It tossed the deer beside Xia Mo, then landed next to him and stood there, watching Xia Mo as though waiting for him to deal with it.

While in the Monster Mountain Range, Xia Mo had learned how to process animal carcasses. Skinning, deboning, bleeding, and gutting—he was already extremely proficient at all of it. Before long, he had finished preparing the deer. He took out a pile of seasonings, set up a rack, and began grilling.

Xiao Yan had already stopped finding such things surprising and simply went over to watch...

After that barbecue feast, Xia Mo hung around with Xiao Yan every day. Later, he also got to know Xiao Xun'er, since she was Xiao Yan's little tagalong. From then on, they would invite Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Xun'er to their barbecues on the back mountain as well, and the two girls became friends...

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