Chapter 1

On a small hillock overgrown with shrubs, Yi Tian stood, his gaze fixed intently on a group of blood deer at the foot of a small mountain in the distance. His mind was intensely focused, and in his hand, he held a small-armed iron bow. With his other hand, he drew a fine iron arrow, which emitted a cold, sharp gleam, from the quiver tied to his back.

Suddenly, he pulled the bowstring, slowly and powerfully, causing the iron bow to vibrate slightly.

Yi Tian gathered all his strength, gradually pulling the iron bow. The arrow pointed at the group of blood deer, which were about seventy paces away, ready to unleash a devastating strike at any moment.

About thirty paces away, fifteen blood deer were grazing on the grassland. They were nearly eight to nine feet tall, and in this group, only three were fawns, each over six feet tall.

The blood deer were not eating grass but were feeding on medicinal herbs growing in the grassland.

Therefore, the flesh of the blood deer contained a great deal of energy, capable of strengthening blood and enhancing physical prowess. Especially when a blood deer died, most of its blood and qi would surge to its antlers, forming even more precious blood deer antlers. These could be ground into powder and used to make pills or medicinal soups, which were invaluable for martial artists to refine their bodies and strengthen their blood and qi.

As the information about the blood deer flashed through Yi Tian's mind, his large bow did not waver in the slightest.

His body remained motionless, wearing clothes made of leaves and vines, blending seamlessly with the shrubbery. No ordinary fierce beast could detect him.

However, Yi Tian was not the least bit careless.

He knew how rare blood deer were, and it was difficult to encounter them even once in several years. Moreover, blood deer were extremely alert and would flee at the slightest sign of danger.

The blood deer were very fast, moving like the wind, leaping two or three paces at a time, and walking as if on flat ground even on mountain ridges and cliffs. Even the most skilled hunters found it extremely difficult to capture a blood deer, let alone ordinary martial artists.

The shrubbery where Yi Tian was located was about thirty paces from the grassland, a hunting spot he often squatted at. This time, encountering this group of blood deer filled him with great joy.

"Must hit!"

Yi Tian kept praying in his heart.

Suddenly, the bowstring in Yi Tian's hand snapped with a loud sound, and an arrow shot out from the shrubbery, shattering many branches and leaves, and flying into the sky.

The group of blood deer, which were feeding and playing, immediately became alert the moment the arrow was released, but they had not yet had time to react.

The arrow pierced the hind leg of an adult blood deer like a bolt of lightning, instantly embedding itself into its hard leg bone, as if hitting a piece of iron, producing a series of clanging sounds.

In an instant, the sudden change caused the dozen or so blood deer to panic and flee, leaping more than three paces at a time, racing into the depths of the mountains and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

However, the blood deer that Yi Tian had shot was bleeding profusely from its hind leg, which was injured to the bone, causing it to limp and significantly slowing its speed.

This was Yi Tian's calculation. Only by shooting the blood deer's leg and preventing it from escaping quickly could he ensure success. Otherwise, if he shot other parts, the damage to the blood deer, with its tough skin, would be minimal, and the arrow's power would be greatly reduced over such a distance, making it even harder to capture.

Seeing the blood deer limping, Yi Tian immediately rushed out of the shrubbery and fired another arrow.

As soon as he shot one arrow, he immediately drew the next, and a series of black lightning-like arrows pierced the air, creating more and more blood holes in the fleeing blood deer.

Gradually, Yi Tian caught up with the blood deer.

His arrows became even more terrifying, with most of the fine iron arrows embedding themselves deep into the blood deer's body.

Roar!

The blood deer, now covered in arrows, finally let out a mournful cry and fell to the ground, unable to escape.

The other dozen blood deer had long since vanished, which was good news for Yi Tian.

Blood deer were naturally timid and would immediately flee at the slightest sign of danger. If they fought back, Yi Tian would not be able to withstand any of them.

Yi Tian walked up to the blood deer, the soreness in his arm muscles causing him to frown.

This time, he had truly exerted all his strength. The iron bow in his hand required three stones of strength to fully draw, and even with his full effort, he could only muster one and a half stones of power. After firing eight arrows in succession, his right arm was almost numb.

Although the blood deer had been hit by seven or eight arrows and was severely injured, its strong vitality kept it from dying. It continued to struggle, and its antlers were changing, becoming dark red as if filled with blood.

Yi Tian waited for a long time, and the blood deer finally died.

He then pulled out the fine iron arrows from the blood deer's body and put them back into the quiver.

Although a few arrows were damaged, they could still be used after some polishing. After all, each of these fine iron arrows was quite expensive, equivalent to several days' worth of expenses for an ordinary family.

Next, Yi Tian lifted the dead blood deer, which weighed several hundred pounds, causing his somewhat young body to wobble under the weight.

It took Yi Tian two hours to return to the Yi tribe, and by then, it was nearly dusk.

In front of Yi Tian, a primitive and wild tribe was situated on a hill several hundred feet high. Stone houses were scattered up and down the hill, becoming more rugged, solid, and large as they went higher. At the top of the hill, there was a fifteen-foot-high, twenty-acre ancestral temple, resembling a giant beast lying there.

As dusk approached, Yi Tian quickened his pace, heading towards the Yi tribe. He soon arrived at the black stone wall at the foot of the hill, which was over forty feet high.

"Little Tian, why are you back so late this time?"

"That's actually a blood deer. Little Tian's luck is really good this time."

At the forty-five-foot-high gate of the tribe, several tall and strong men, who had been bored, immediately became alert and were surprised by Yi Tian's successful hunt of an adult blood deer.

Although blood deer were not fierce beasts and were not particularly powerful to them, hunting one required luck, and it was rare to encounter one, let alone hunt it.

"Hong Uncle, Qing Uncle, I've kept you waiting for a long time this time."

Yi Tian thanked Yi Hong and the others.

If he hadn't delayed, the tribe's gate would have been closed half an hour ago.

"It's fine!"

Yi Hong and Yi Qing were not concerned but were very interested in the blood deer Yi Tian was carrying.

"Pity, the blood deer's skin is ruined."

Seeing the state of the blood deer, they couldn't help but feel regretful. If they had hunted it, they could have killed it with one arrow, causing minimal damage to the skin. A complete blood deer skin was worth at least fifty silver coins, but the numerous arrow holes reduced its value by at least ten times.

Amid their regret, Yi Tian walked towards a stone house on the hillside.

A sturdy boy and a cute little girl playing in front of the stone house saw Yi Tian and immediately ran over, shouting, "Brother, brother is back!"

"Xiao Long, Xiao Ting!"

Yi Tian smiled.

At that moment, a kind woman, who looked to be in her thirties, walked out of the stone house. She was Yi Tian's mother, Su Yue'e.

"Little Tian, why are you back so late? Don't you know it's dangerous in the mountains at night? I was so worried."

Her words, though somewhat scolding, were filled with deep concern.

"Mother, don't worry. I was just wandering around the edge of the mountains, not even entering the outer area. I just happened to catch a blood deer and was delayed a bit."

Yi Tian put down the blood deer, which hit the ground with a thud, raising a cloud of dust.

Seeing the prey, Su Yue'e was pleasantly surprised and immediately told Yi Xiao Long, who was touching the blood deer, "Xiao Long, go call Aunt Tian and Aunt Hua to help."

"Got it."

Yi Xiao Long immediately ran off.

Soon, two robust women arrived, Aunt Tian and Aunt Hua, who were close to Yi Tian's family and had taken care of him over the years.

Seeing the blood deer Yi Tian had hunted, Aunt Tian and Aunt Hua immediately got to work.

They moved the blood deer to a flat stone in front of the stone house. With their skilled hands, they used various knives to cut the blood deer into pieces, remove the internal organs, clean it, and slice the meat into neat pieces, revealing the blood deer's skeleton.

Yi Xiao Long and Yi Xiao Ting watched curiously, their eyes wide open.

The size of the prey their brother had hunted filled them with excitement.

Yi Tian's mother had already set up a fire to smoke the blood deer meat overnight, so it could be preserved longer.

Soon, Aunt Tian and Aunt Hua had completely disassembled the blood deer and carefully cut off the blood deer antlers.

As they left, Yi Tian's mother gave each of them fifty pounds of blood deer meat.

They happily accepted it.

Yi Tian also had Yi Xiao Long send thirty pounds each to Yi Hong, Yi Qing, and two others.

That night, the smell of meat filled Yi Tian's home, and Yi Xiao Long and Yi Xiao Ting laughed and ate bowl after bowl of the delicious blood deer meat, like hungry wolves.

Later, Yi Tian's mother and Yi Tian quickly stopped the two children from overeating.

After all, this was blood deer meat, rich in energy and highly nourishing. Eating too much could lead to over-nourishment, even causing nosebleeds.

Sure enough, that night, Yi Xiao Long and Yi Xiao Ting couldn't sleep, feeling warm and energetic, with no sign of drowsiness, and they kept making noises.

In the bedroom, Yi Tian could feel the energy in the blood deer meat strengthening his cells, dispelling his fatigue, and slowly enhancing his physique in the warm current.

The blood deer meat contained a lot of energy, which could strengthen the body and refine the tendons and bones, but the effect was not very noticeable and required long-term consumption to be effective.

"If I had cultivated a cultivation technique, the refinement speed would be different."

Yi Tian felt a bit regretful.

If he had cultivated a cultivation technique, the speed of refining the essence of the blood deer meat would increase several times, and the speed of strengthening his body and tendons would also greatly accelerate. Otherwise, he could only passively absorb it, and the remaining blood deer meat would take two to three months, or even longer, for his family to fully digest.

However, Yi Tian was also quite helpless.

Despite appearing like a little adult, he was only thirteen years old.

The Yi tribe had a rule that only at the age of fourteen could one enter the ancestral temple to choose a cultivation technique. Before that, one could only study culture at the ancestral temple on the hilltop.

"There are only five months until the ancestral sacrifice. After the sacrifice, I can choose a cultivation technique to practice."

Yi Tian was very curious and eager about the legendary cultivation techniques.

For Yi Tian, who had memories from another world, these legendary cultivation techniques were extremely attractive. In the Yi tribe, some strong warriors could lift thousands of pounds with one hand, and even the weakest first-stage warriors had the strength of a thousand pounds, capable of fighting fierce beasts.

While Yi Tian was deep in thought, a clump of mud, emitting a white glow and resembling flowing mercury with the luster of countless stars, was slowly crawling up from the edge of his stone bed, which was covered with animal skins.

Yi Tian glanced at it but showed no surprise, almost ignoring it.

This clump of mud was very mysterious, possessing a hint of spirituality and an innate ability to transform into plants, flowers, and stones. Yi Tian had discovered it during a hunting trip when he was waiting for prey. He had noticed it changing shape and caught it.

During that encounter, Yi Tian almost got infected by it, and a large amount of his blood was absorbed, unexpectedly making it a part of him. Yi Tian's consciousness could transfer to this clump of mud at any time.

At first, Yi Tian thought it was a treasure, but after a long period of digging and research, he confirmed that it was indeed just mud, with no apparent use for him at the moment.

With a thought, the clump of mud, which Yi Tian called Star Mud, transformed into a fist-sized stone. He picked it up, feeling the cold, hard sensation in his palm, just like any ordinary stone.

In the next moment, the stone transformed again, instantly becoming a vibrant plant, emitting a lively aura.

Under Yi Tian's will, the Star Mud continuously transformed into various objects, both living and non-living, but ordinary things.

However, the Star Mud had some limitations. Through his exploration, he found that it could only transform into things it had touched.

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**End of Chapter**