Worryfree Ancient Village

Huo Yu answered first, "This is Brother Lu Feng. I met him outside the village, and he helped me tremendously. He even got hurt because of it."

Bai Ji followed her gaze. When she saw the claw marks on Lu Feng's arm, her expression changed slightly, and she hurriedly urged Huo Gen to bandage him.

Although Lu Feng's wound had already received simple treatment and was much better, Huo Gen still pulled him toward another wooden house out of caution.

"Come on, let's go find Village Chief Mu Tong too. Have him clean and bandage it for you."

Mu Tong was the only elderly man in the village who knew some medicine, and he was also the village chief of Worryfree Village. Nearly every ailment, big or small, in the village was brought to him for treatment.

Huo Niu sat on a small stool outside Mu Tong's door, washing snake gallbladders. When he saw Lu Feng and Huo Gen approaching, he happily called out, "Uncle Huo Gen, you're here too!"

Huo Gen walked over and affectionately ruffled Huo Niu's head, then called into the wooden house, "Uncle Mu Tong~" His voice carried a measure of respect. Mu Tong deserved everyone's respect.

After all, everyone here had been treated by Mu Tong at one time or another, and Huo Gen was no exception.

The rattan chair by the entrance was still swaying. Apparently, the old man named Mu Tong had most likely been lying there resting just moments ago.

Lu Feng craned his head to look inside the wooden house and found an old man selecting various medicinal herbs and preparing a prescription. This must have been the Mu Tong Huo Gen had mentioned.

Since Huo Gen did not go inside, Lu Feng waited with him at the door and chatted idly.

From Huo Gen, Lu Feng learned quite a bit. This was an ancient village called Worryfree Village, and everyone in it was named after medicinal herbs. For instance, Huo Yu was a medicinal herb that healed wounds and stopped bleeding; Huo Gen was the root of a tree called the Flame Vine Tree, its roots red as fire. There were also names such as Valerian, Weeping Fig, Hibiscus, and Semiaquilegia Adoxoides in the village.

Lu Feng also learned much about the relationships among the villagers. Huo Yu and Huo Niu were the two youngest children in the village. They were not biological siblings, but they had grown accustomed to calling each other brother and sister. Bai Ji, whom he had met earlier, was Huo Yu's mother.

What surprised Lu Feng was that Huo Niu was not from this village. He had been an abandoned infant Mu Tong found at the village entrance when he was little.

"It's been a long time since the village had a new face," Mu Tong sighed as he emerged from the wooden house, his body stooped.

"Yes, Uncle Mu Tong. Please hurry and bandage him," Huo Gen replied.

"Bandage what? The wound is already healing. Just wash it, apply some herbs yourself, and it'll be fine in two or three days." After examining Lu Feng's arm, Mu Tong said, "Young people really do recover quickly."

Lu Feng froze for a moment, then checked it himself. The wound had truly healed considerably. Though the injury was not serious, it should have taken at least seven or eight days to heal.

Could it be that my recovery ability also became stronger after the Seven Souls were reforged? Lu Feng secretly guessed.

"Your recovery ability is pretty good," Huo Gen praised, patting Lu Feng on the shoulder.

"You rest here for a while. I'm going to deal with today's prey. We'll have a feast tonight." Seeing that Lu Feng was all right, Huo Gen left after tossing out those words.

After Huo Gen had gone far away, Huo Niu poked his head over and asked softly, "Brother Lu Feng, do you know cultivation methods? Could you teach me?"

Lu Feng looked at the bewildered Huo Niu and was not surprised. It was only natural for a secluded village like this not to know the path of Soul Cultivation. Yet Lu Feng did not answer Huo Niu right away. He did not dare make the decision on his own, so he looked toward Mu Tong, who was spreading herbs out to dry, to see his attitude.

However, Mu Tong seemed not to have heard him and continued laying out the herbs by himself. Still, Lu Feng caught that faint, kind smile and understood that it meant tacit approval.

Lu Feng turned to Huo Niu and said, "You don't even know what cultivation is, so why do you want to learn it?"

"I heard some of the village elders mention it. After cultivating my soul, I'll become stronger. In situations like today's, I'll be able to protect Xiao Yu," Huo Niu answered earnestly.

Had it been for some other reason, Lu Feng might not have seriously taught him much. But hearing that Huo Niu wanted to learn in order to protect someone, Lu Feng suddenly felt that Huo Niu resembled his former self.

After simply tending to his wound, Lu Feng found an open patch of ground and began teaching him slowly.

"Huo Niu, do you know which three souls and seven souls people possess?" Lu Feng asked.

"The three souls are the Life Soul, Earth Soul, and Heaven Soul. The seven souls are Heavenly Rush, Spirit Wisdom, Qi, Strength, Center, Essence, and Heroic," Huo Niu answered while counting on his fingers. Though he did not understand cultivation, Mu Tong had still told him about these basic things.

"Then do you know where each soul lies within the Life Soul? And what aspect of Soul Cultivation each one governs?" Lu Feng continued asking, wearing the air of a patient teacher.

Huo Niu shook his head.

"To cultivate the soul, the first thing you need is the awakening of the Life Soul. Aside from those who awaken innately or gain awakening through cultivation, ordinary people generally awaken automatically after their souls mature at the age of eighteen."

Looking at this young man two or three years younger than himself, Lu Feng vaguely seemed to see himself three years ago. The difference was that he had already possessed considerable strength back then.

"What is the Life Soul?" Huo Niu asked curiously.

Lu Feng smiled gently and patiently explained, "Simply put, the Life Soul is a miniature image of yourself that appears in your mind after you close your eyes and calm your heart."

Huo Niu listened intently.

"I'll be eighteen the day after tomorrow. That's great! Then I can cultivate!" Huo Niu happily jumped up.

Lu Feng smiled knowingly and continued, "Next, let's talk about the locations and functions of the seven souls within the Life Soul." As he spoke, Lu Feng drew in the dirt with a tree branch, making it easier for Huo Niu to understand.

"The Heavenly Rush Soul is located at the center above the Life Soul's head. It governs a person's Soul Strength and the solidity of the three souls; the Spirit Wisdom Soul is located in the center of the Life Soul's forehead and governs spiritual awareness. The stronger a person's spiritual awareness, the stronger their resistance to seduction; the Qi Soul is located at the Life Soul's throat and governs the spiritual energy, soul qi, and so on used in cultivation; the Strength Soul is located at the Life Soul's heart. As they say, strength arises from the heart. The Strength Soul governs not only the magnitude of one's strength, but also one's control over it; the Center Soul is located above the Life Soul's navel, at the lower end of the sternum. It governs one's vitality—that is, the strength of one's recovery ability and life force; the Essence Soul is located above the Life Soul's pubic bone and below its navel. It governs one's disposition. Those with abundant Essence Souls generally have excellent aptitude for Sudden Enlightenment; the final soul is the Heroic Soul, located at the base of the Life Soul's spine. It governs the coordination of one's limbs. The fuller a person's Heroic Soul, the easier it is for them to master cultivation techniques and martial arts."

As Lu Feng spoke, a flash of realization suddenly crossed his mind. That's right. Since every soul has a different function, then although my Seven Souls are reinforced and stabilized by formations, all changes remain rooted in the same source. These seven formations must also be related to a person's soul, spirituality, disposition, vitality, and so on!

Recalling the scene when he had comprehended the Heavenly Rush Soul Formation, it had indeed come from an insight into his soul. With that in mind, Lu Feng became even more certain of his future direction: he would seek comprehension of the remaining formations through the functions governed by the Seven Souls.

Huo Niu listened attentively, thought flickering in his eyes as he listened to Lu Feng continue.

"The Seven Souls are present from birth. Aside from a rare few born with them naturally opened, most ordinary people have them in a closed state. Only after the Life Soul awakens can one draw spiritual energy into the souls. Once all Seven Souls are opened, one has truly embarked on the path of Soul Cultivation." After speaking, Lu Feng took a cultivation manual from the Kirin Ring and handed it to Huo Niu.

On the Profound Heaven Continent, throughout the Boundless Lush Domain, the cultivation methods practiced by Soul Cultivators were all the same. There was no distinction between strong or weak, good or bad. This gave ordinary people the chance to surpass the children of wealthy families and sect disciples.

"What comes after the Seven Souls are opened?" Huo Niu asked eagerly, as if he had already committed everything Lu Feng had said to heart.

"After the Seven Souls are opened, you must stabilize and connect them. Once they are stable, you can begin the next step: gathering spiritual energy. Each soul can form a seven-star spiritual gathering state, where spiritual energy condenses into seven stars that rotate around the soul, allowing it to flow without end, inexhaustible as a spring," Lu Feng explained, recalling his past cultivation experience.

"Once all seven souls have successfully gathered spiritual energy, you forge those stars into chakras and begin a new stage of cultivation." Lu Feng paused. Seeing that Huo Niu was nearly eighteen and had yet to awaken his Life Soul, he knew Huo Niu would likely only ever reach the Chakra Realm in this lifetime. But he could not bear to tell him outright.

"The path of cultivation is vast and profound. If I tell you too much now, you'll only aim too high and grow impatient. Once you reach the Chakra Realm, I'll explain and discuss it with you in detail." Lu Feng changed his wording to fill him with hope.

"Open the Seven Souls, gather spiritual energy in the Seven Souls, the Chakra Realm..." Huo Niu muttered, carefully flipping through the cultivation book Lu Feng had given him as though it were a priceless treasure.

After a long while.

Huo Niu looked up and asked, "Brother Lu Feng, what realm are you in now?"

Lu Feng smiled awkwardly. "Something unexpected happened. I'm only in the One Soul Realm now."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Huo Niu said with wholehearted admiration, as if it were something truly remarkable. If he had known Lu Feng's former realm, he would probably have been frightened unconscious.

Time passed quickly. One taught earnestly while the other listened with full attention, and before they knew it, night had fallen.

A fire rack had already been set up in the open space at the village entrance, with all kinds of beast meat placed around it. The villagers had gathered together, laughing and chatting merrily.

"Come over, eat some meat!" Huo Gen called toward Lu Feng.

This was the village custom. Whenever night fell, the villagers gathered around the bonfire and ate roasted meat together.

"Brother Lu Feng, here. This worm meat is delicious," Huo Yu said happily, handing Lu Feng a piece of leg-shaped meat. Her little face was flushed red in the firelight.

"Eat as much as you want. After we finish, we'll go hunting again tomorrow," Huo Gen called to Lu Feng, his manner bold and hearty.

The moment he heard the word hunting, Lu Feng became interested. He had seen Huo Gen's archery before and had long wanted to see it again. Now that he was a formation master, his physical strength was far inferior to that of a Martial Master, but perhaps a bow and arrow could make up for that gap.

The flames on the fire rack leaped high, raising the temperature all around. That night, Lu Feng ate happily and spent the evening happily. He even had the thought of staying here for the rest of his life. Worryfree Village truly lived up to its name; it really could make people forget their sorrows.