Small River Village

The next day.

The sky had cleared completely. Warm sunlight rose from the distant mountains, and all things revived.

"Small River Village is just ahead."

Chen Xuan rode the Bronze Horse, flying swiftly several meters above the ground. Pointing toward the direction preserved in his memories, he said, "We'll arrive in about an hour."

Chu Huo Gun poked his head out to look. The view was still utterly desolate, with barely any wild beasts, let alone signs of human habitation. "Oh, you really can't tell..."

"..."

Chen Xuan thought, The desolation stretching hundreds of li around Peach Town, with people so hard to find—isn't that all thanks to you Qi Refiners making trouble?

The legendary Peach Blossom Garden descended into the world once every twenty years.

When that time came, not only would Qi Refiners gather in droves, desperate to fight for a lifetime of glory, but the Mountain God would also open the gates of the Southern Wilderness. Countless mountain and marsh spirits, Demons and Monsters, would surge out in one great rush.

"Demons dancing wildly."

The corner of Chen Xuan's mouth twitched.

This was the grand feast of the Qi Refining World. Spells were fought day after day, calamity spread to innocent bystanders, and ordinary people on the ground had no room to survive.

Wherever they passed, not a blade of grass remained.

Within a hundred li of Peach Town, there were now few human settlements left.

Small River Village was one of them, and the southernmost.

It was not that the people were unwilling to leave. It was simply that the village lay at the very southern edge of Peach Town, and the road of exile was too long.

Small River Village was also the birthplace of this body Chen Xuan inhabited.

Back then, the village elders had told him that while he was still young and strong, with no family burdens weighing him down, he should go out and make his way in the world. The outside world was better. He need not return.

Later, Chen Xuan had crossed hundreds of li of wilderness alone, walking for more than half a month before entering Willow Town to learn martial arts.

In the end, he spent three years practicing martial arts, laying a solid foundation while awaiting his opportunity.

"Old Mr. Chu, I saw that the Qi Refining Trick you used in yesterday's battle was quite extraordinary."

Chen Xuan asked Chu Huo Gun what a trick was.

Chu Huo Gun explained that once the human body gave birth to Immortal Qi, one could cultivate tricks, causing one's origin qi to evolve into twelve kinds of Immortal Qi, each with different mystical properties.

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

Chu Huo Gun told Chen Xuan that Red Qi could preserve his three thoughts from dissipating. Even if only a head remained, he would not die immediately, and in the future, he might have a chance at "nirvana in the flames."

But tricks were exceedingly precious. Even his Chu Family had exhausted themselves in Red Crow City and struggled for several generations before they had luckily obtained this trick, treating it as the clan's treasure and never passing it on lightly.

"If you have no trick to cultivate, once we return to Red Crow City, I'll help you."

Chu Huo Gun knew that Chen Xuan was a rogue cultivator of the mountains and marshes, and that cultivation was not easy for him. He offered an idea: "Your aptitude isn't low. If the true Aristocratic Clan maidens of Red Crow City were to take a husband into their family... I could put in a good word for you. The chances would be quite high."

"Become a live-in son-in-law?"

"That's right. Other than that, you have no better path. Tricks are far too precious, and they're practically never circulated on the market."

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

"You're not bad-looking. You have a well-proportioned build and handsome features, with some of the bearing and charm I had in my youth... If you were an ugly monstrosity, I wouldn't suggest it. After all, those Aristocratic Clan maidens have extremely high standards. Even when taking a husband into their family, they won't simply settle..."

"..."

Chen Xuan scratched the back of his head and cast a sidelong glance at Chu Huo Gun, who was earnestly trying to persuade him. What a rotten idea. I haven't fallen so far that I need to take such a shortcut!

Then he thought of Wang Chan, that Yellow Millet Dream: "He certainly won't lack such things."

"I was born humble and have no family or sect to support me. My foundation for establishing myself still lies in Heartfast."

Chen Xuan murmured inwardly. He remembered the Mystic Cat Goddess in that Small Underworld.

He had obtained the Qi Refining breathing method from her.

Perhaps the Immortal Qi Trick he needed next would also have to come from her.

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

"The Small Underworld? It's ethereal and elusive, said to be far more mysterious than the Peach Blossom Garden. But in truth, it doesn't exist." Chu Huo Gun spoke with absolute certainty.

According to legend,

when a Qi Refiner died, a Small Underworld would descend, taking away the Qi Refiner's past, deeds, fortune, and destiny.

But this was not absolute.

When a Small Underworld descended, it certainly meant that a Qi Refiner had died.

Yet when a Qi Refiner died, it did not necessarily attract the descent of a Small Underworld. There were even deeper explanations involved.

Chen Xuan continued questioning him, but Old Man Chu could no longer explain clearly.

Although he was experienced and widely learned, information of such a high level was clearly beyond his qualifications to encounter.

I need to find a way to see the Small Underworld again... A Qi Refiner has to die first.

Chen Xuan pondered this, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Chu Huo Gun's head as he rode the Bronze Horse toward the distant land.

Far away, an ancient village with cooking smoke curling upward rose at the edge of the earth.

Small River Village was not large, with only several dozen households. A small river flowed past the village entrance, hence its name.

A little farther south lay the mountains of the Southern Wilderness.

Back then, after hearing the stories passed down in the village, Chen Xuan had tried heading south to find the lost Peach Blossom Garden.

He had found no trace of it and could only give up, then traveled north.

During these days, Small River Village's twenty years of peace had been shattered by Qi Refiners who came from every direction along every route, using a direct and condescending manner.

Some wealthy households with elderly people at home had already opened their doors of their own accord, accepting Qi Refiners who appeared kindhearted.

But some households that failed to read the situation had once had their doors smashed open by ill-tempered Qi Refiners. Then came the stifled sobs of the womenfolk inside...

Chen Xuan let the Bronze Horse roam in a nearby hill, then carried Chu Huo Gun into Small River Village.

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 in Green Deer Mountain, but last night, they fought fiercely in the mountains, seized the initiative ahead of time, and took half a Land Treasure Medicine... I heard they accepted a new disciple along the way. He's very formidable."

"The old master of the Chu Family was carried away by a demon. Two little ones are running around crying and begging people for help..."

"A mortal household died at the eastern end of the village. Zheng Tu's group... Idiots, they played until everyone was dead. Who's going to boil water, cook, and wait on us now?"

"..."

The villagers kept their doors tightly shut, staring in terror through the window lattices at those outsiders.

"New Qi Refiners have arrived today. Huh? What's he carrying? A human head!"

Some Qi Refiner saw Chu Huo Gun in Chen Xuan's hand and was startled, making no move to approach him.

The scene was too bizarre. Even they had to look askance and feel their scalps prickle when they suddenly saw a young man openly walking along the main road with a blood-and-flesh-smeared human head in his hand.

"I'll help you find your family first."

Chen Xuan spoke to Old Man Chu. He had just overheard the Qi Refiners talking; Old Man Chu's two junior relatives were in Small River Village.

Soon, he found the rather unfortunate brother and sister in a wealthy household in the village.

"Grandpa Huo Gun..."

The girl named Chu Qing Ling had a pair of peach-blossom eyes. When she saw the miserable state of her elder, tears immediately streamed down her face. Her eyes swelled red, and she cried until her voice was hoarse.

The other Chu Family youth, a sickly-looking boy, was somewhat calmer. He recounted their tragic experiences over the past two days:

"My cousin and I fled for our lives and followed the map here... The senior members of the Li Family kept making excuses and refused to help."

The Li Family and Chu Family were both Qi Refining families from Red Crow City and had long been on friendly terms.

Although neither family could be called an Qi Refining Aristocratic Clan, both had produced Qi Refiners for several successive generations and possessed considerable foundations.

"That old man from the Li Family gained something in the Southern Wilderness when he was young. The Li Family rose because of it. Now he dreams of advancing even further and is attempting Second Ascension."

After comforting the two children, Old Man Chu told them that whether others were willing to help was a matter of sentiment; if they refused, there was nothing to fault them for. Besides, once they entered the Southern Wilderness, everyone would be competitors. They should not grow resentful over this.

Then he extended an invitation to Chen Xuan:

"Xiao Wang, why not stay with us? That way, we can look after each other."

He thought highly of Chen Xuan's talent and believed Chen Xuan would accomplish great things in the future, enough to rival figures whose strength approached six thousand jin after Feather Transformation. A genius like this ought to be befriended often before he rose to prominence.

"I have my own arrangements."

Chen Xuan shook his head and refused. He had his own courtyard in Small River Village and had no need to stay in someone else's home.

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

Chen Xuan did not go directly to the small courtyard preserved in his memories. Instead, he began walking slowly through the village, looking around.

Along the way, he encountered several Qi Refiners. They sized each other up, then nodded in greeting.

He also met some ordinary villagers. Two of them seemed to find his appearance familiar and could not help taking a couple of extra looks.

Three years ago, there had been a youth in the village whose personality had changed drastically after falling into the water. He had plunged headfirst into the hundreds of li of wilderness... Everyone had said the boy did not know the immensity of heaven and earth and must have died in the boundless wilderness.

But they soon discovered that Chen Xuan could actually interact with Qi Refiners. They immediately dismissed the absurd thought in their minds and, from far away, knelt on the ground in terror.

They feared immortals even more than tigers.

A great many things had happened here over the past few days.

"Things remain, but people have changed."

Chen Xuan also felt that the villagers had changed greatly. Some of the elderly had aged beyond recognition, giving him a deep sense of the merciless passage of time... That year, he was eighteen.

Not a single villager truly recognized him.

In the time it took an incense stick to burn, he had made a circuit of the entire Small River Village.

From a distance, Chen Xuan scrutinized more than a dozen Qi Refiners. Later, he also saw several Qi Refiners who appeared to belong to the Li Family of Red Crow City. They returned from the south covered in blood and looking thoroughly unlucky.

In his heart,

he weighed the mettle of everyone present.