Setting Off, Target: Martial Path

Chen Xuan quickly moved away. Even after traveling over a thousand meters, he could still hear the huge commotion coming from the distance.

This caused cold sweat to break out on his forehead.

"Damn it!"

He couldn't help but curse under his breath, and his figure immediately sped up a bit.

At this moment, he didn't dare to look back, let alone go forward to investigate.

An hour later, Chen Xuan's figure returned to the foot of the mountain. Only then did Chen Xuan plop down onto the ground, panting heavily.

There was still a lingering sense of fear on his face.

However, when he looked at his basket, a smile couldn't help but appear on Chen Xuan's face.

This one Bamboo Rat weighed almost as much as the Mountain Chickens he had shot in two days.

And that was just in terms of weight. The quality of Bamboo Rat meat was incomparable to that of Mountain Chicken.

This one Bamboo Rat was basically enough to feed his family of three for several days. Coupled with the Mountain Chickens he had shot in the past few days, they wouldn't need to worry about food for the next half a month.

Taking another look at the Back Mountain, Chen Xuan got up, slung the basket over his back, and returned home.

Since he had set off relatively late today, and had spent more time on the mountain this time, the sky had already gradually darkened.

As Chen Xuan walked through the village, many homes had already lit their fires.

"Er Gou is cutting grass again."

"Yes, my mother said autumn is coming soon, so we need to cut more grass."

"Hey, Er Gou, don't go near the river or into the mountains recently."

"What's wrong, Second Grandpa?"

"No, nothing?"

"Just don't go!"

Chen Xuan entered the village, greeting the villagers.

However, this time the village seemed noticeably more desolate, and the villagers' usual smiles were much fewer.

Just now, Second Grandpa at the entrance of the village had even reminded him not to go near the river or into the mountains.

Thinking of this reminder, Chen Xuan couldn't help but recall the scene he had experienced by the river three months ago, as well as the scene in the mountains just now.

He had witnessed the terror by the river with his own eyes, and even though he hadn't witnessed what happened in the mountains, the huge commotion, even without seeing it, made his scalp tingle.

"This world!"

Chen Xuan muttered to himself, his expression involuntarily becoming somewhat gloomy.

He wasn't stupid; he could naturally feel the sense of an impending storm.

The feeling of danger made him realize that this village was becoming increasingly unsafe.

He didn't know why.

But he knew he had to get stronger as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the situation would only get worse.

Thinking about this, his steps quickened.

A moment later, his figure arrived at his doorstep.

However, just as he reached the door, his expression froze.

"Second Uncle!"

A slightly surprised voice rang out as he looked at Chen Er Shan who had arrived, feeling a bit confused.

"Er Gou is back."

Chen Er Shan looked at Chen Xuan and couldn't help but smile.

"Second Uncle!"

Chen Xuan called out again.

"Er Gou, it's best if you don't go up the mountain for now these past few days."

"Don't go to the riverside either."

Listening to Chen Xuan's call, Chen Er Shan was silent for a moment before speaking softly.

"What's wrong, Second Uncle?"

Chen Xuan's heart stirred, and he spoke first.

"There might be a Big Bug on the Back Mountain. Several people who went into the mountain these past few days have disappeared."

"At the riverside, a child from the village also disappeared today. Adding the one from yesterday, that makes two. There might be Water Monkeys there too."

Chen Er Shan spoke with a worried expression, recounting the events of the past few days to Chen Xuan.

As Chen Xuan's uncle, Chen Er Shan knew that Chen Xuan could fish in the water and hunt on the mountain. He was afraid something might happen to his nephew, so he hurried over to give him a warning.

"I understand, Second Uncle!"

Listening to Chen Er Shan's words, Chen Xuan's heart sank. He had been hunting every day these past few days. To avoid trouble, he usually returned during the village's busy farming hours, so he really didn't know about this kind of thing.

When Second Grandpa at the village entrance warned him today, he was still a bit confused.

Now he understood.

As for the Water Monkeys and Big Bug that Second Uncle mentioned, Chen Xuan felt suspicious.

What was in the river clearly couldn't be explained by Water Monkeys, and as for the mountain, that huge commotion didn't look like a Big Bug at all.

With his Proficient Archery now, as long as he wasn't ambushed by a tiger, he wasn't afraid.

But the question was, was it really a Big Bug?

"Alright, your Second Aunt is waiting for me to go back for dinner, so I'll be going now. Stay at home these next few days. If you don't have food, just let me know."

Chen Er Shan spoke, and his figure immediately left.

Chen Xuan watched his Second Uncle leave, then walked back into the house and began preparing the bamboo rat.

Just as he was finishing up with the bamboo rat, his mother, Zhang Chunhua, returned.

"Er Gou, we have enough food at home now, don't go up the mountain these next few days."

Looking at the bamboo rat, Zhang Chunhua was a little shocked, but she still spoke with a measured tone.

"Mother, I'll hunt one more bamboo rat tomorrow, and then I won't go anymore. I heard that people in the city really like to eat this kind of thing. When we sell it, we can buy a lot of rice."

Chen Xuan smiled and spoke softly.

Zhang Chunhua hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't say anything further.

Clearly, as someone who was relatively reclusive, Zhang Chunhua didn't know the situation in the village yet; she was just instinctively unwilling to let her son take risks.

Seeing that his mother had no other reaction, Chen Xuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He was deeply afraid that his mother also knew. If his mother knew, it would be basically impossible for him to go up the mountain again.

And he couldn't not go up the mountain; that was the only way he could currently obtain the path to the extraordinary.

In this dangerous world, he had to possess strength to protect himself and ensure his family's survival.

Night gradually passed.

When the morning sun shone down, his mother, Zhang Chunhua, went out again early in the morning.

Chen Xuan, on the other hand, meticulously checked everything several times.

This time, to ensure no accidents, he brought a full twenty arrows and also had two spare bows in case of any mishaps.

After everything was ready.

His gaze turned towards his Conceptual Ability.

Target: There is a cold pool four thousand meters to the right of the Old Poplar Tree. In the cold pool is a lotus flower. Safely obtain the lotus flower and return.

As the text appeared, he activated his Conceptual Ability again at this moment.

Although he had the basic information, Chen Xuan knew with certainty how great the risks involved were.

So, at this moment, the most important thing for him was to avoid risks.

The Conceptual Ability was undoubtedly the best way to avoid risks.

As long as he set "safety," the Conceptual Ability would definitely provide him with a safe method.

And that was indeed the case.

The text in front of Chen Xuan quickly began to flash.