Chapter 8

Today is the first update, another one at noon!

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His face was pale, and he gritted his teeth as he stood up, surveying his surroundings. He found himself in a small natural cave, with sunlight streaming in through the cave entrance, and the ground was littered with the bones of birds and beasts.

On the wall behind him, there was a small, fist-sized black hole, dark and deep, making it impossible to gauge its depth. After a brief analysis, he vaguely deduced that the sudden suction force he had experienced must have come from this small hole. The bird and beast bones on the ground were likely the remains of creatures that, like him, had been sucked in and died from the fall.

The suction force seemed to appear at irregular intervals. It had just emerged at the moment he fell, saving his life. Wang Lin endured the pain in his right arm and was about to leave the cave when the bones on the ground suddenly began to move, flowing backward. Without hesitation, Wang Lin quickly rolled to a corner.

In that instant, an unimaginable force of suction emerged from the small hole in the wall. The bones of birds and beasts rattled as they were continuously sucked into the hole. Some of the larger bones seemed to stick to the wall, blocking the hole.

Despite this, the suction force remained intense. A bird was suddenly sucked in from outside the cave entrance, crashing into the wall with a loud thud, splattering blood everywhere.

After about an hour, the suction force disappeared. Wang Lin, shocked, stared at the dead bird on the ground but did not move. Instead, he sat still, calculating the time.

Half an hour later, the suction force reappeared. This cycle repeated several times, and Wang Lin discerned a pattern: the strange suction force lasted for about an hour, and it reappeared half an hour after it stopped each time.

Taking advantage of a moment when the suction force had disappeared, Wang Lin hurriedly endured the pain and made his way to the cave entrance. Looking down, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. Below was a dense forest, with jagged rocks visible on the ground. The cliff was extremely steep, and with his injured arm, he could not climb down. The distance to the bottom of the cliff was about several dozen feet, and if he jumped, he would surely die.

The bag containing his food was left on the mountain top and not brought down. Food was now the only thing he needed to solve. After a moment's thought, Wang Lin calculated the timing of the suction force and quickly retreated to the cave, sitting in a corner against the wall.

The day passed quickly, and the sky grew dark. Wang Lin felt his body gradually weakening, and his arm had become completely numb and devoid of sensation. After much deliberation, he smiled bitterly to himself, "Being trapped here is a dead end, but jumping off the cliff is even more certain death. Sigh."

He looked at the mangled bird carcass not far from the wall, hesitated for a moment, then bit his lip and walked over to pick it up. Bringing it to his mouth, a pungent smell hit him. Wang Lin sighed lightly and, without further ado, began to chew and swallow the raw meat.

He almost swallowed it without chewing, and his stomach contracted, sending waves of warmth through his body. He quickly devoured half of the bird, but the urge to vomit kept rising. Wang Lin hurriedly stood up and took deep breaths to suppress the feeling.

He casually threw the remaining bird carcass to the side and leaned against the wall, his mind filled with countless thoughts. He thought of his parents, his uncle, the mocking faces of his relatives, and the cold gaze of the middle-aged man in black from the Hengyue Sect.

In a daze, he suddenly stared intently at the half-eaten bird carcass, not blinking as he examined it closely. He noticed a red bead, about the size of a baby's fist, inside the bird. Wang Lin extracted the bead, feeling greatly surprised.

How could there be a bead inside the bird? His heart raced as he recalled a mythological text called the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" that he had seen at the village school. It described how many animals, if they lived long enough, would form a precious substance called an "inner core" inside their bodies.

If a person consumed this inner core, they would gain immense strength, longevity, and even the ability to regenerate lost limbs.

At the time, he had found this description hard to believe and had secretly mocked it. But now that he had seen immortals, he was more inclined to believe some of the myths and legends in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas."

Wang Lin's heart pounded. If this bead was indeed the inner core described in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas," then consuming it would surely heal his injuries, making it easy to leave this place. It might even help him join an immortal sect, at least passing the endurance test.

However, the bead felt hard and did not seem edible. He frowned, wiped it clean with a strip of cloth from his clothes, and restored its original color.

It was a gray stone bead, engraved with five white clouds, looking quite old. Wang Lin felt disappointed but couldn't help but bite it with his teeth. Finally, he touched the stone bead and smiled bitterly to himself, "Wang Lin, you're being too hopeful. How could a random bird that fell in front of you have an inner core?"

He sighed. It was already dark outside, and he felt deeply weary. He huddled in a corner and gradually fell asleep, placing the stone bead casually beside the animal bones.

It was already autumn, and the ground cooled quickly, especially in the mountains. A chill seeped into Wang Lin's body as he slept, hugging himself tightly. The night passed quickly.

The next morning, the sunlight from the rising sun streamed into the cave, and tiny, sparkling dewdrops began to form on the stone bead beside Wang Lin. As the dew accumulated, it slowly dripped onto the animal bones.

After a short while, Wang Lin awoke, his arm still swollen and showing no signs of improvement. He sat on the ground, feeling despondent.

"Am I doomed to be trapped here for the rest of my life?" he murmured to himself. His gaze shifted, and he suddenly noticed dew on the animal bones. Feeling thirsty, he carefully picked up the bones and licked the accumulated dewdrops clean.

The dew was sweet and refreshing, and he wondered if it was just his imagination, but after drinking it, he felt a warm, comfortable sensation throughout his body.

Especially at the site of his arm injury, he felt a tingling sensation, and the swelling slightly subsided. Wang Lin rubbed his eyes and examined his arm closely, immediately noticing with joy that the swelling had indeed decreased. He thought for a moment and searched for other animal bones nearby, but none had any dew.

Just as he was puzzled, his gaze fell on the stone bead. He focused intently and saw tiny droplets of dew on it. He recalled that the bones with dew had been right next to the stone bead. He gently picked up the stone bead, his heart racing, and without hesitation, rolled it over his swollen arm, evenly spreading the dew.

A cool sensation spread through his arm, and Wang Lin stared at it without blinking. After a while, his eyes lit up with joy as the swelling on his arm magically disappeared. He moved his arm slightly, and although it still hurt a little, it was no longer a major issue.

"This stone bead must be a treasure!" Wang Lin was overjoyed.