Small River Village

The next day.

The sky completely cleared, and warm sunlight rose from the distant mountains, bringing everything back to life.

"Small River Village is ahead."

Chen Xuan, riding the Bronze Horse, flew rapidly several meters above the ground, pointing in the direction he remembered. "We'll be there in about an hour."

Chu Huo Gun leaned out to look, only to see a desolate landscape in his view. Even wild beasts were scarce, let alone signs of human life. "Oh, I can't tell..."

"..."

Chen Xuan thought to himself, This desolation for hundreds of miles around Peach Town, where human habitation is hard to find, isn't it all thanks to you Qi Refiners?

The legendary Peach Blossom Garden descends once every twenty years.

At that time, not only do Qi Refiners gather, hoping to secure their future, but even mountain gods open the gates of the Southern Wilderness, and countless mountain and marsh ghosts, demons and monsters, pour out all at once.

"A chaotic dance of demons."

Chen Xuan twitched his mouth.

This was a gluttonous feast for the Qi Refining world, with daily duels that affected innocent bystanders. Ordinary people on the ground had no space to survive.

Wherever they went, not a blade of grass grew.

Within a hundred-mile radius of Peach Town, there were now not many human settlements left.

Small River Village was the southernmost one.

It wasn't that they didn't want to move, but being at the southernmost edge of Peach Town, the journey to relocate was too far.

Small River Village was also the birthplace of Chen Xuan's current body.

Back then, the elders in the village told him that since he was young and strong, and had no family burdens, he should go out and explore. The outside world was better, and he didn't need to come back.

Later, Chen Xuan, alone, traversed hundreds of miles of wilderness, walking for over half a month, and entered Willow Town to learn martial arts.

Finally, after three years of practicing martial arts, he laid a solid foundation, waiting for the right opportunity.

"Old Mr. Chu, I saw that the Qi Refining trick you used during the fight yesterday was quite impressive."

Chen Xuan asked Chu Huo Gun about what a trick was.

Chu Huo Gun explained that once a person gives birth to Immortal Qi, they can cultivate tricks, allowing the original Qi to evolve into twelve different types of Immortal Qi with various divine abilities.

"The [Little Firebird Trick] I cultivate can evolve into Fire Virtue Red Qi."

Chu Huo Gun told Chen Xuan that Red Qi could preserve his three thoughts from dissipating. Even if only his head remained, he wouldn't die immediately and would have a chance for "Nirvana in Fire" in the future.

However, tricks were extremely precious. Even his Chu family, after exhausting their efforts and struggling for generations in Red Crow City, only managed to obtain this one trick by chance. They treated it as a family treasure and would not easily pass it on.

"If you don't have a trick to cultivate, when we return to Red Crow City, I can help you."

Chu Huo Gun knew that Chen Xuan was a wild cultivator from the mountains and marshes, and cultivation was difficult for him. He suggested, "Your aptitude is not low. If those true noble families in Red Crow City are looking for a son-in-law... I can speak for you. The chances are high."

"A live-in son-in-law?"

"Yes, besides that, you don't have a better path. Tricks are too precious and basically don't circulate on the market."

"That doesn't sound very good..."

"You're not bad-looking. You have a well-proportioned physique and a handsome appearance, with some of my demeanor and looks from when I was young... If you were a crooked melon or a cracked date, I wouldn't suggest this idea. After all, those noble young ladies have extremely high standards. Even if they take a son-in-law, they won't settle for just anyone..."

"..."

Chen Xuan scratched the back of his head, glancing sideways at the serious Chu Huo Gun who was trying to persuade him. He thought, What a terrible idea! I haven't fallen to the point where I need to take such a shortcut!

Then, he thought of Wang Chan and his [Yellow Millet Dream]: He certainly wouldn't lack these things.

I come from a humble background and have no family or sect to rely on. My foundation still lies in [Mind Fast], Chen Xuan muttered to himself. He remembered the Mystic Cat Goddess in the Small Underworld.

The Qi Refining breathing technique was obtained from her.

The subsequent Immortal Qi tricks might also depend on her.

Chen Xuan immediately asked Chu Huo Gun for information about the Small Underworld.

"The Small Underworld? It's ethereal and elusive. Legends say it's much more mysterious than the Peach Blossom Garden, but in reality, it doesn't exist," Chu Huo Gun said with certainty.

According to legend.

After a Qi Refiner dies, the Small Underworld will descend, taking away the Qi Refiner's past and their destiny and luck.

But this was not absolute.

The descent of the Small Underworld definitely meant that a Qi Refiner had died.

However, after a Qi Refiner died, it didn't necessarily attract the descent of the Small Underworld. There were more profound explanations for this.

Chen Xuan continued to ask in detail, but Old Man Chu couldn't explain clearly.

Although he was experienced and knowledgeable, he clearly wasn't qualified to access information that was too advanced.

I need to find a way to see the Small Underworld again... A Qi Refiner needs to die, Chen Xuan pondered in his heart, his gaze fixed on Chu Huo Gun's head without moving, riding the Bronze Horse towards the distant land.

In the distance, an ancient village with rising smoke appeared at the edge of the land.

Small River Village wasn't large, with only a few dozen households. A small river flowed by the entrance, giving it its name.

A little further south were the Southern Wilderness Mountains.

Back then, Chen Xuan had heard stories circulating in the village and tried heading south to find the lost Peach Blossom Garden.

He found no trace and had to give up, so he went north instead.

These past few days, the twenty years of tranquility in Small River Village had been shattered by Qi Refiners arriving from all directions and routes, with a direct and condescending attitude.

Some wealthy families with elderly members had already proactively opened their doors to accommodate the seemingly benevolent Qi Refiners.

But there were also some who were not so sensible, whose doors were forcibly smashed open by ill-tempered Qi Refiners. Afterward, the suppressed sobbing of female family members could be heard from inside the houses...

Chen Xuan let the Bronze Horse graze on a nearby small mountain and walked into Small River Village carrying the Chu Huo Gun.

At the village entrance, Qi Refiners gathered in twos and threes, exchanging information.

"The Qi Refiners from the Li family of Red Crow City have entered the Southern Wilderness Mountains again."

"They didn't find the Peach Blossom Garden on Green Deer Mountain, but last night, they fought fiercely in the mountains, seizing the opportunity early and taking half a Land Treasure Medicine... I heard they took in a new disciple on the way, who is very powerful."

"Old Man Chu was carried off by a Mèi. The two little ones are crying everywhere, begging people for help..."

"In the east of the village, a family of mortals died. That group of Zheng Tu... foolish, they killed everyone. Who will boil water and cook for us?"

"..."

The villagers kept their doors shut, their eyes peering through the window lattices, watching the outsiders in fear.

"Today, a new Qi Refiner has arrived. Huh? What is he carrying? A human head!"

Some Qi Refiners saw the Chu Huo Gun in Chen Xuan's hand and were greatly startled, not daring to approach him rashly.

This scene was too bizarre. Even they, upon suddenly seeing a young man carrying a bloody human head and walking openly on the main road, couldn't help but look sideways and feel their scalps tingle.

"Let's help you find your family first."

Chen Xuan said to Old Man Chu. He had just heard the Qi Refiners talking, and Old Man Chu's two younger relatives were in Small River Village.

Soon, in a wealthy family's house in the village, he found the rather unlucky brother and sister.

"Grandpa Huo Gun..."

The girl named Chu Qing Ling, with a pair of peach blossom eyes, saw her elder in such a tragic state and immediately burst into tears, her eyes red and swollen, her voice hoarse from crying.

The other sickly young man from the Chu family was calmer and recounted the tragic experiences of the past two days:

"My cousin and I desperately fled and came here according to the map... The senior from the Li family kept making excuses and was unwilling to help."

The Li family, like the Chu family, was a Qi Refining family from Red Crow City and had a long-standing relationship.

Although the two families couldn't be considered Qi Refining aristocratic families, they had both produced Qi Refiners for several generations and had considerable foundation.

"That old man from the Li family had some gains in the Southern Wilderness when he was young, and the Li family rose because of it. Now he dreams of going further, attempting a second Ascension."

Old Man Chu comforted the two children, telling them that it was kindness if others were willing to help, and there was nothing to fault if they didn't. Moreover, once they reached the Southern Wilderness, everyone was a competitor, and they shouldn't harbor resentment because of this.

Then, he extended an invitation to Chen Xuan:

"Little Wang, why don't you stay with us? We can look out for each other."

He thought highly of Chen Xuan's talent, believing that he would surely achieve something in the future, enough to rival those whose strength approached six thousand jin after Ascension. Such a genius should be befriended more before they made their mark.

"I have my own arrangements."

Chen Xuan shook his head and refused. He had his own courtyard in Small River Village and didn't need to stay at someone else's house.

Afterward, he learned some recent news from the Chu siblings and took his leave.

Chen Xuan didn't go directly to the small courtyard in his memory but began to walk slowly through the small village, looking around.

During this time, he met some Qi Refiners, who exchanged glances and nodded in greeting.

He also met some ordinary villagers. Two of them seemed to find his appearance familiar and couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

Three years ago, there was a young man in the village whose personality changed greatly after falling into the water, and he plunged into the hundreds of miles of wilderness... Everyone said the young man didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth and had died in the vast, boundless wilderness.

But they quickly realized that Chen Xuan could interact with Qi Refiners and immediately dismissed the absurd idea in their minds, kneeling on the ground with fearful expressions from a distance.

Fearing immortals was even worse than fearing tigers.

Many things had happened here in recent days.

"Things are different now."

Chen Xuan also felt that the villagers had changed a lot. Some of the elderly were unrecognizable, giving him a sense of the merciless passage of time... This year, he was eighteen years old.

No villagers truly recognized him.

In fifteen minutes, he had walked through the entire Small River Village.

Chen Xuan observed the dozen or so Qi Refiners from a distance. Later, he also saw several Qi Refiners, suspected to be from the Li family of Red Crow City, returning from the south with bloodstains and looking dejected.

In his heart.

He weighed the caliber of everyone.