Earthly Treasure

The mountain mist was as dark as ink, and the morning light had yet to break through. Chu Ning tread over dew-soaked dead branches, his figure weaving through the jagged boulders.

The cold wind skimmed past his ears, lifting a few stray strands of hair, but he seemed not to notice, his eyes sweeping the surroundings like an eagle's.

When he returned home yesterday, he had pushed open the dilapidated wooden door with a basket of medicinal herbs on his back.

Chu Yun was curled up in the corner of the heated brick bed, coughing, a sickly flush floating over her waxen face.

The newly hired physician stroked his goatee and shook his head with a sigh. "The cold has entered the marrow. You'll need ginseng and antler to warm and nourish the body, supplemented by acupuncture to dispel the evil influence."

Chu Ning said nothing. He piled every silver ingot from selling the furs onto the table. Seeing this, the physician hurriedly prescribed medicine and administered the needles, even stuffing a packet of mugwort to ward off the cold into Chu Ning's hands before leaving.

"Brother Ning, how much silver will this cost?" Chu Yun clutched the quilt's edge, her voice faint as a mosquito's hum.

"Sis, just drink your medicine." He chopped firewood and lit the fire, setting the medicine pot over the stove. The firelight illuminated the newly repaired window lattice. Yesterday, he had bought tung oil paper and sealed the drafty holes tightly.

The villagers clung to the fence and peered in, pointing and whispering.

"What a wastrel! He just earned a little money and he's already squandering it!"

"He must have gotten in with some black-hearted merchant. Look at those herbs—they're worth enough to buy three mu of land!"

Chu Ning hefted his axe and split the log. As splinters flew, several nosy villagers hurriedly ducked their heads back.

Jealousy and curses buzzed like flies, but he did not even lift an eyelid. In this world, even breathing was a mistake for the weak. Only by becoming stronger could he crush all that clamoring noise.

At that moment, he tightened his grip on the longbow, his fingertip rubbing the frost that had formed along the bowstring.

When he had hunted the snow fox the day before yesterday, he had glimpsed a scarlet shadow flash across the cliff face. It had moved like lightning—certainly no ordinary wild beast.

After trading with Shen Yan, he understood this more and more clearly: wealth was easy to obtain, but strength was hard to come by.

The Wang family coiled through the county like a venomous snake, and a Ranked Martial Artist could crush his throat at any moment. Only by staking his life could he fight for that sliver of hope.

The mountain ravines deeper within concealed danger, but they also concealed opportunity.

Chu Ning licked his cracked lips. The hidden force of the Rough Stone Hardening Technique circulated through his muscles, and his skin took on a layer of cold, stony radiance.

The advance from the Chaos Divine Order had granted him a physique beyond that of ordinary people, but the martial academy's ten taels of silver for three months' tuition still weighed on his heart like a boulder.

"Ordinary prey is nothing but a drop in the bucket. Only by hunting spirit-awakened demon beasts and taking their bones, blood, hide, and fur can I scrape together enough silver." He lightly tapped the ground with his toes and leaped onto a dead tree jutting sideways.

A beast's roar came from the distance, booming like muffled thunder and shaking the snow from the branches.

Following the scent of blood, he suddenly saw several charred claw marks embedded in the rock wall.

The claw marks were more than three inches deep, their edges glowing with a lava-like scarlet hue. Every plant around them had withered.

Chu Ning's pupils contracted slightly. He drew an arrow with his reverse hand and nocked it, the bow bent taut as a full moon.

The farther in he went, the hotter and drier the air became. The deadwood was black as charcoal, and wisps of sulfurous air seeped from the cracks splitting the ground.

Chu Ning held his breath and focused, his ear twitching faintly.

A hundred zhang away, a low beast's roar could be heard, mixed with the ringing clang of metal striking stone.

He touched the ground with his toes, his figure darting toward the source like a ghost.

Before a rocky cavern, a scarlet vine coiled around the cliff face. Nine vermilion fruits hung from its branches, golden patterns flowing across their surfaces as if they had been cast from molten rock.

The fruit's fragrance refreshed the heart and invigorated the mind. With only one sniff, Chu Ning felt his blood and qi roil, and even the hidden injuries from the Rough Stone Hardening Technique seemed to begin healing.

"The Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit!" His heart pounded wildly.

This was an earthly treasure recorded in ancient texts. It was said that consuming it could cleanse the marrow and reshape the bones, and might even help a martial artist break through and become a Ranked Martial Artist.

Yet in the next instant, a fetid wind rushed into his face.

"Roar—"

A gigantic beast leaped from the shadows. It was three zhang long, its fur scarlet as flame, a sinister single horn jutting from its brow, its Golden Eyes blazing like torches.

Its claw slammed into the ground, sending shattered stones flying as a wave of heat carrying the stench of sulfur surged toward him.

"The Crimson Flame Tiger has actually awakened its intelligence!" Chu Ning retreated half a step. The bowstring trembled as he fired three arrows in rapid succession.

"Boom!"

The arrowheads tore through the air, but the Crimson Flame Tiger opened its jaws and spat out a blazing flame. The pillar of fire swept across, turning the arrows into molten iron before they could even reach it.

Chu Ning rolled aside, but the hem of his clothes instantly charred black, and the heat seared his face with pain. A trace of mockery flashed through the demon beast's Golden Eyes. Its claws swept horizontally, forcing him to crash into the rock wall.

"Bang!"

Chu Ning used the Rough Stone Hardening Technique to withstand the blow head-on. Amid flying stone fragments, his fist collided with the beast's claw, sparks bursting in all directions.

The collision between his fist and the beast's body actually rang out like metal striking metal.

The Crimson Flame Tiger roared in pain and swept its claws across. Chu Ning borrowed the force to vault into the air and fired three arrows in succession.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The arrows cleaved through the wind, aimed straight at the demon beast's two eyes, throat, and heart.

The Crimson Flame Tiger's Golden Eyes shrank sharply, and the scarlet fur across its body bristled. At the instant the arrows arrived, it tilted its head aside. All three arrows grazed its body and nailed themselves into the rock wall, their fletching trembling without end.

"What a beast." Chu Ning landed and hurriedly retreated, cold sweat already seeping from his palms. This demon beast possessed not only immense strength but also reactions far beyond those of an ordinary martial artist.

The Crimson Flame Tiger gave him no chance to catch his breath. Its body charged forward like a cannonball.

Chu Ning gritted his teeth and met it head-on, his fists and feet trading blows with its claws as sparks flew everywhere. Every collision churned his internal organs, and the webbing between his thumb and forefinger split open.

After thirty exchanges, the cavern floor was covered in scorch marks. Chu Ning panted like an ox, blood staining the tatters of his clothes, while the Crimson Flame Tiger was likewise covered in wounds. Its Golden Eyes, however, shone ever brighter—it was enjoying the slaughter!

"I can't drag this out." Chu Ning glanced at the Mysterious Sun Fruit, his thoughts racing. The demon beast had awakened its intelligence. Perhaps...

He suddenly retreated three steps, slung his bow onto his back, and raised both hands. "Wait!"

The Crimson Flame Tiger bared its fangs, a threatening growl rolling from its throat, yet it actually halted its attack.

"You're guarding this fruit so you can devour it all once it ripens?" Chu Ning stared straight into its Golden Eyes, his voice cold as iron. "But all nine fruits grow on the same branch. When they ripen, they need to be watered with essence blood for three days. You may be strong, but when the phenomenon reaches the heavens, I'm afraid I won't be the only one drawn here!"

The demon beast's Golden Eyes narrowed slightly, and its foreclaw irritably scraped at the ground.

Chu Ning took a step forward and dragged his fingertip across the wound on his chest, blood droplets falling to the ground. "I'll help you guard the fruit, and take one as payment. How about it?"

The Crimson Flame Tiger snorted fire through its nose, its fangs nearly touching Chu Ning's throat. After a moment of deadlock, it suddenly retreated and swept the tip of its tail toward a spot on the rock wall.

Rumble!

The stone wall collapsed, revealing a mass of gleaming white bones.

There were broken swords belonging to human martial artists, as well as the remains of a giant python. All were the souls of those who had coveted the earthly treasure!

"I know you don't trust humans." Chu Ning wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered. "But on the night of the full moon three days from now, the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox will appear on North Mountain. By then, every martial artist in the county will pour out in force. Who will still have time to care about your cave?"

The Crimson Flame Tiger's Golden Eyes contracted sharply.

"Work with me. You keep eight, and I get one." Chu Ning picked up a charred piece of bone from the ground and exerted force with his palm, grinding it into powder inch by inch. "If you refuse, I'll destroy this vine right now. You can kill me if you wish, but the earthly treasure—no one will get it!"

As the final word fell, the cavern sank into deathly silence.

The Crimson Flame Tiger's Golden Eyes flickered. In the end, it threw back its head and roared furiously, its voice shaking the mountains and forests. Its claw slammed heavily into the ground, cracking the rock fissures, and an unripe Mysterious Sun Fruit fell into Chu Ning's palm.

"Deal." Chu Ning tucked the fruit into his clothes, then suddenly looked back before leaving. "Oh, right. My name is Chu Ning. If you need help in the future, come find me at the foot of the mountain."

The demon beast's Golden Eyes gazed deeply at him for a moment before it turned and vanished into the cavern's shadows.

Chu Ning fingered the Mysterious Sun Fruit, a trace of a cold smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

A demon beast was still a demon beast. No matter how humanly perceptive it became, it would still struggle to fathom the human heart.

The vine's roots had long since been corroded by sulfur and could hold out for half a month at most. Nine fruits? It would be lucky if three of them ripened!