Ancient People

"Whoosh!"

The fishing net woven from ramie spun and scattered onto the water. The stream crowded and splashed out from the gaps in the ropes, the green waves rippling. Chen Xuan's shadow had long since disappeared.

"A slippery later generation..."

The old fisherman sneered, holding a fish fork. He leaned his upper body out from the small black-awning boat. His gloomy eyes under the straw hat scanned the deep, emerald-green stream, seeing nothing.

The small black-awning boat gently swayed.

Chen Xuan's hands clung to the side of the boat. His movements were light and silent as he climbed aboard from the other side.

"Hmph!"

The old fisherman snorted coldly, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He held the sharp fish fork reversed in his hands and thrust it fiercely behind him.

"Swish!"

Chen Xuan quickly turned his head. The sharp fish fork grazed past his cheek, cutting a line of blood. A drop of blood dripped down the wound. In an instant, he grabbed the fish fork handle, used the leverage to climb onto the small boat, and lunged forward.

"Did you really think I couldn't hear you climbing aboard!"

The old fisherman turned around, his face like a raging Mighty Lion. The fish fork in his hand swept out like black lightning. The whistling sound of it cutting through the air exploded in Chen Xuan's ears, instantly making his hair stand on end.

The speed was too fast.

The force was too fierce!

"Bang bang!"

Chen Xuan gritted his teeth. He only had time to let White Qi wrap around his arm. He blocked with his arm, but his body was struck by the fish fork handle, sweeping away the upper black awning of the wooden boat. Wood chips flew everywhere, and blood splattered.

"Three Ascensions..."

Chen Xuan's body fell to the stern of the boat. He knelt on one knee to steady himself. The arm wrapped in White Qi was broken and hung limply. His waist and abdomen, which had been squeezed by the immense force, were also in unbearable pain.

The force that erupted from the fish fork just now was a vast power of nearly thirty thousand jin!

One must know that Chen Xuan's bone structure and aptitude were rarely seen in Red Crow City for a hundred years, but a single Ascension only yielded eight thousand jin. Even if he reached the peak limit of the Ascension realm in the future, he would only have twenty-four thousand jin of strength.

But at this moment, an ordinary old fisherman he encountered in the Peach Blossom Garden had nearly thirty thousand jin of immense power.

Such talent, let alone in the Red Crow City region, was hard to find even in the entire Ancient Chu Kingdom!

"Ascension? Heh, a minor path only taken by inferior humans."

The old fisherman sneered, his words revealing disdain and contempt for Qi Refiners.

He stood leaning on the fish fork, wearing ancient hemp clothes and straw sandals. He was clearly old and withered, even his spine was bent with age, but within him surged a turbulent and powerful vital energy, like a continuously burning furnace.

"Ancient person, you are an ancient person!"

In the chaotic boat cabin, a sharp cry came from a fiery red fox tied up with hemp rope.

The fiery red fox was over a meter long, its fur smooth and shiny like flames. At this moment, it was tied up like a zongzi, its pointed head raised, its eyes filled with terror. It was the same one Chen Xuan had seen before coming to the Peach Blossom Garden.

"In the ancient Mountain and Sea era, a portion of strong ancient people parted ways with the ancient Qi Refiners and took a completely opposite path. They didn't practice Qi, relying solely on their physique. Upon reaching adulthood, they had thirty thousand jin of strength."

The fiery red fox, a chimei, shouted, kindly reminding Chen Xuan that he was not the ancient person's opponent and should escape quickly. Once caught, the consequences would be severe, and he would be permanently trapped in the Peach Blossom Garden.

"Ancient Qi Refiners? Back then, they were just weak and inferior people we kept in pens, treated like cattle and horses."

The old fisherman laughed mockingly, then fiercely kicked the chattering fiery fox. "Shut up, you little demon! You've forgotten your roots! Have you forgotten that the blood of the Ancient Mountain God flows within you?"

"Cough cough!"

The fiery red fox bent over, coughing up blood from the fierce blow. "The Ancient Mountain God is long dead. Times have changed..."

The old fisherman angrily said, "It's good that it's changed. Qi Refiners have more strength for plowing and grinding, and can do more work."

"Old fisherman, you've said so much. I see hatred in your heart?"

Chen Xuan stood up from the ground, shook his arm. Green Qi had already straightened the broken bone and reshaped the tendons and bones.

"What hatred?"

The old fisherman's eyes were sinister. He gripped the fish fork and spat out a few cold words.

"Hatred for being unable to practice Qi!"

Before his words finished, Chen Xuan's figure had already lunged out. The wooden planks where he landed all broke. His two large sleeves fluttered and billowed behind him. His scattered long hair danced in the strong wind, and water droplets flowed backward along his hair tips.

The cyan-gold Immortal Qi spread out along his body surface, outlining a rapidly moving golden silhouette. His clothes fluttered, and light flowed.

Yellow Millet Qi!

"You, you're seeking death!"

The old fisherman was furious. He also stepped forward and thrust out the fish fork. Suddenly, his eyes lost focus, and he stumbled forward.

He seemed to smell the fragrance of grain ears in his nose and mouth. Boundless golden rice seedlings were full and ripe. The autumn wind blew, and it was a good time to sleep.

In a trance, the old fisherman saw himself running in the fields as a child, sitting alone in front of his ancestors listening to scriptures, fishing in the river as a young man, catching and raising later generations who trespassed into the Peach Blossom Garden, treating men as livestock and female cultivators for reproduction, in his old age...

The past rolled by, half a lifetime's experiences surged into his heart...

"Buzz!"

Chen Xuan grabbed the old fisherman's face and pulled it down. A fierce knee strike sent the entire steel-like tough body into the air. He raised his other hand. The Immortal Qi flowing around his body, like thousands of cyan-gold threads, converged into his fist print, forming a huge vortex.

"Bang! Bang!"

Several consecutive punches shattered the old fisherman's chest, breaking his bones. He flew backward, landing near the edge of the boat.

"Cough, cough!"

He was jolted awake by the intense pain, spitting up large amounts of blood. He cried out in terror, "What kind of Immortal Qi is this? I've never seen it before!"

Over the decades, the Peach Blossom Garden had opened more than once. He was extremely familiar with the Immortal Qi of the Qi Refiners who entered and had taken precautions. But the special Immortal Qi appearing before him now was something he had never encountered. It was impossible to guard against, and its strangeness was horrifying.

The old fisherman had only briefly touched it, and his soul immediately sank into the mire of past memories, unable to pull itself out!

"Swish!"

Chen Xuan didn't answer at all. Tapping his toe, he picked up the fish fork that had fallen to the ground, twirled it into a sharp flourish, and threw it with force. It pierced through layers of the deck, firmly pinning the dying old fisherman to the boat.

"What kind of Immortal Qi it is, what does it matter to a dead man like you?"

Chen Xuan snorted coldly. Immediately, he quickly searched the entire dilapidated small boat and the old fisherman's body.

The old fisherman had gone out fishing and carried no treasures on him. Only the fish fork didn't seem to be made of ordinary iron. It was heavy to the touch, dozens of times tougher than the weapons of the Ancient Chu Kingdom. Chen Xuan thought it could be used as a handy weapon for now, so he kept it.

"The fish fork is an ancient artifact. Once taken out of the Peach Blossom Garden, it will shed its dust and become an unparalleled good fork."

The fiery red fox darted out from the boat cabin, having already bitten through the hemp rope herself. She was very polite, like a scholar among humans, cupping her paws and bowing twice to Chen Xuan. She said,

"Thank you, Qi Refiner, for saving me. My name is Bai Zi. I will repay the Qi Refiner for saving my life..."

Chen Xuan lowered his head and examined the fiery red fox. This fox was very agile, with a wet little nose that was quite prominent. Her reddish-black eyes were full of spirit, and she had blush on both sides of her face. Her fur was smooth and well-groomed, clearly indicating she was a clean little fox.

The fiery red fox ran to the side of the boat, used her two small paws to scoop up the fishing net, carefully folded it, and presented it to Chen Xuan's feet like a treasure, saying excitedly,

"Qi Refiner, this is also a precious ancient artifact! Little fox has put it away for you!"

Chen Xuan stared at the little fox who was trying to please him, finding it both funny and exasperating. He knew this little fox was scared in her heart, afraid that he would kill her on a whim, which was why she kept showing such a docile and obedient attitude.

"Can you row a boat?"

"Ah, this, that, little fox is very smart, I can learn it in no time."

The fiery red fox quickly picked up the oar from the ground. The oar was half a head taller than her. She wobbled to the stern of the boat and began to row, her fox face filled with serious joy.

The water rippled, and the small boat moved forward slowly.

In the wilderness on both sides of the stream, fields crisscrossed.

"Bang!"

An ancient farmer with a ferocious expression swung his hoe, smashing a Qi Refiner to the ground. A large hole was caved into his head, and red and white flowed onto the ground.

"Men and women, form two lines and follow me... Men will be livestock, women will be brides. The ancestor will definitely give birth to a Qi Refiner seed this year!"

A goshawk soared in the sky. An ancient hunter blew a whistle, then drew his bowstring taut into a full moon. An arrow filled with Qi flew towards the distant crowd.

"The ancestor's gaze has watched over this ancient land for thousands of years..."

"..."

Countless ant-like figures, either voluntarily or forced, were moving forward.

On the distant mountains, the pink peach blossoms stretched endlessly. Smoke curled up from the village chimneys, like a scene from a painting.