Walking along the mountain path towards the summit, to his left was a silent, deep mountain forest; bird calls were sparse, and the chirping of insects gradually slowed, giving Li Jing an inexplicable chill down his spine.
Li Jing quickly drew his red sun bow, nocking an arrow, and vigilantly looked towards the mountain forest. A moment later, the sounds of birds and insects gradually rose, and there was no danger.
He dared not be careless; there might be Yao Beasts lurking in this mountain forest. If he wasn't careful, a Yao Beast might suddenly attack.
He quickly followed the mountain path to the summit, where a dilapidated wooden house stood. The walls were covered with terrifying claw marks, and faint bloodstains remained on them, sending shivers down one's spine.
Li Jing's heart tightened. These were probably the traces left by the previous Utility Disciple's struggle with a Yao Beast.
Kicking open the wooden house, Li Jing hurriedly retreated backward, fearing that if a Yao Beast was lurking inside, he would surely not escape death.
After a long while, no movement came from the wooden house. Li Jing breathed a sigh of relief and then cautiously entered with his red sun bow.
The wooden house was already covered in dust. As he stepped in, dust flew up, and the air was filled with a faint, decaying, musty smell, making Li Jing cough.
He glanced around. The wooden house was simply furnished: a wooden bed, a few tables and chairs, nothing else.
The roof had a large hole, through which dust motes danced in the light, and Immortal Qi gently brushed the accumulated dust.
To the right of the entrance was a small door. Pushing it open, he found the kitchen. A small pile of firewood was stacked in the corner, and on the other side were some rusty beast traps.
Li Jing looked around. The iron pot in the kitchen was already rusted. Fortunately, the Storage Pouch given by Deacon Chen contained daily necessities, so he wouldn't need to buy anything.
Returning to the main room, Li Jing took advantage of the remaining daylight to clean up. Dust flew everywhere, so he quickly opened the windows, letting the dust drift away with the wind.
After an hour of tidying, the wooden house was sparkling clean and felt a bit more lively.
Done with these tasks, Li Jing returned to the kitchen and examined the pile of beast traps. Although Cuiwei Mountain had been cleared of Yao Beasts, there might still be some stragglers.
Night was approaching. If a Yao Beast visited during the night, he, a small Cultivator at Qi Refining First Level, would surely be annihilated on the spot.
After cleaning them, he found there were ten beast traps, two of which were already broken.
Li Jing took out the remaining eight intact beast traps, carefully inspected them, and, after confirming they could be used normally, he began to set them up around the wooden house.
He hid the beast traps in the grass and behind trees, leaving only a small part of the mechanism exposed. Once a Yao Beast stepped on it, it would be caught. By the time he finished setting up the beast traps, night had completely fallen.
He hurriedly bolted the wooden door and then checked the walls of the wooden house. Although the wooden planks were full of grooves and severely decayed, they could at least hold off a Yao Beast for a moment.
Li Jing made up his mind to start repairing the wooden house first thing in the morning. Otherwise, if a Yao Beast truly attacked, he would be like a blade of grass, destined for an early demise.
He had just undergone the Awakening of such a powerful Physique; he couldn't possibly perish prematurely.
Lighting a candle, Li Jing opened the Storage Pouch given by Deacon Chen to inspect its contents.
Sickle, hoe, kindling axe, iron pot, bedding, and a large quantity of spirit rice seeds.
These spirit rice seeds were golden, with a flowing radiance within them. Li Jing recognized what kind of spirit rice this was: gold spirit rice, a low-grade first-order spirit plant, yielding about four hundred catties per mu. Consuming it could boost Cultivation and also improve one's Physique.
Of course, this gold spirit rice required long-term consumption; a small amount would naturally not have much effect.
Gold spirit rice was priced at one Spirit Stone for thirty catties. One mu of spirit rice would only earn about thirteen Spirit Stones.
Li Jing was quite satisfied with this. With his Physique's talent, he could increase production by twenty percent, meaning he could harvest an additional eighty catties of spirit rice, bringing in two more Spirit Stones.
There were still many items in the Storage Pouch. Li Jing looked and found there was even a curved-shaft plow, which made his mouth twitch slightly.
Where would he find an ox in this godforsaken place? Even if there were nearby markets, he couldn't afford one. For no other reason than that all the Spirit Stones he had accumulated over the years had already been used to purchase Medicinal Pills to improve his Cultivation, and to bribe Deacon Chen. He truly had not a single copper left.
He dumped the remaining contents of the Storage Pouch out in one go: a hundred-catty bag of rice, just ordinary mortal rice, not spirit rice.
Then, several yellowed booklets fell out. Li Jing picked them up and looked.
Longevity Art, a Cultivation Technique popular among low-level Cultivators. This Cultivation Technique allowed for long-lasting spiritual energy and sustained vitality, enabling Cultivation to Qi Refining Perfection. Its practitioners lived longer than Cultivators of the same Realm, approximately up to one hundred and fifty years.
[Cultivation Realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, Mahayana, Loose Immortal]
The Cultivation Technique Li Jing practiced was also the Longevity Art. This method was balanced and harmonious, an excellent technique with twelve levels; he had only cultivated to the first level.
Looking at the other booklets, the rest were Spells, and one was a spirit plant Cultivation handbook.
Sound Wave Technique: The caster can emit a sound wave. Its offensive power is not strong; it is mainly used to clear pests that harm spirit rice.
Golden Thread Technique: The caster can conjure a slender Golden Silk. The Golden Silk is as fine as a thread, the color of molten gold, and as tough as refined steel. This Spell has terrifying offensive power and is an excellent method for dealing with pests, Yao Beasts, or Cultivators.
Spirit Shield Spell: Uses magical power to create a shield in front of the body. Its defensive power is relatively average.
The last booklet was titled Beast Heart Spiritual Connection Record, a Beast Taming method, and the Beast Taming Sect's foundational technique.
Of course, such a method could not possibly be given to a Utility Disciple. Li Jing flipped through it for a while; it was just an incomplete fragment, only capable of enslaving some low-level Yao Beasts.
On the first night on Cuiwei Mountain, Li Jing had no sleepiness at all. He picked up the Golden Thread Technique and began to comprehend it. With the enhancement of his Comprehension Ability, even if not by much, it made learning much simpler than before.
Li Jing imitated a tiger drawing a cat, forming a Spell incantation, and a wisp of Golden Silk flowed from his fingertip, like a fine Golden Silk thread used for embroidering golden robes and jade garments, dazzling brightly.
The Golden Silk flashed with golden light, struck the wall, and actually pierced straight through it. When the Golden Silk was retracted, there was no sign on the wood that it had been attacked.
Li Jing was quite satisfied with this; the penetrating power of this Golden Thread Technique was so terrifying. If he could cultivate it to Perfection, he could probably kill people invisibly.
As night deepened, the chirping of insects was pleasant to the ear. Li Jing listened to the sounds outside, found nothing unusual, then extinguished the candle and went to sleep.
The broken eaves allowed the silver moonlight to fall, congealing into a light, gauzy Immortal curtain, gently brushing the accumulated dust on the broken beams, carrying a hint of cool Immortal Qi.
The next morning
Li Jing woke up early. He had slept in fear last night, afraid that a Yao Beast would rush in, so he had been in a semi-sleep, semi-awake state.
Arriving at the kitchen, Li Jing used the firewood there to cook a pot of rice porridge. After a simple meal, he took out his kindling axe from his Storage Pouch, intending to cut some trees to repair the wooden house.
Standing on the hilltop, he looked around. Some spirit fields had been cultivated directly in front of Cuiwei Mountain, but they were now overgrown. To the west was a stretch of mountain forest, deep and dense with leaves, and he didn't know what might be lurking within.
To the east of Cuiwei Mountain, shrubs grew thickly, and vines were intertwined, with dense leaves hiding shadows. There should be many rats and snakes hidden there.
To the north was the back mountain, a bamboo forest. Clouds and mist swirled among the mountains, and the bamboo sea swayed, a scene of surging green waves, as if an Immortal had waved a sleeve, incredibly vibrant.
Li Jing was quite pleased about this; this bamboo forest was a treasure trove. He could dig bamboo shoots to sell and also use the bamboo to build houses.
Of course, if one or two spirit bamboos were nurtured among these bamboos, he would strike it rich, as they could be used for Artifact Refining to create Magical Artifacts.
The Cloud Mist Mountain Li Family started with Artifact Refining. As a Disciple of the clan, he had also learned Artifact Refining techniques and even copied some books, but previously, his Comprehension Ability was average, and he had never been able to get started.
Now that his Immortal Physique had undergone Awakening and his Comprehension Ability had improved, getting started with Artifact Refining should be no problem at all.