Chapter 13

(Seeking favorites, red tickets, if you pass by, don't forget to favorite and cast a red ticket!)

As the moon hung high in the sky, after practicing spear and fist techniques in the square, Chen Xun returned to his shack without resting. Instead, he took out a fish-yang grass from his medicine basket.

Chen Xun, who had not joined the Black Python Tribe, still lived as a young outsider in the stone village. Now, he had made some progress in his cultivation and dared to venture deeper into Python Tooth Ridge to gather medicinal herbs, thus naturally reaping more than before.

Apart from exchanging for food, he could also have some medicinal herbs left over. Grandpa Zong Tu had him keep these for his own cultivation.

Chen Xun chewed the fish-yang grass in his mouth, but did not swallow the slightly bitter and astringent juice immediately. He performed the Five Postures of the Great Peng, and his divine soul consciousness sea suddenly opened. A pale green human-shaped shadow also moved with his will, sequentially performing the Five Postures of the Great Peng...

Although Chen Xun could now enter a state of extreme tranquility and visualize the barbarian soul fist techniques while sitting cross-legged, he found that when performing the Five Postures of the Great Peng, the body and mind harmonized to a subtle degree, and opening the divine soul consciousness sea to spontaneously form a barbarian soul, the effects of refining pure blood and tempering the muscles and flesh were even better.

As the medicinal power of the fish-yang grass in his mouth gradually seeped into his bloodstream, a faint divine radiance began to converge on the human-shaped shadow.

Although the changes were slight, Chen Xun, with his superior spiritual awareness, could still feel the pale green human-shaped barbarian soul in his divine soul consciousness sea becoming increasingly solid and growing taller.

This was not an illusion.

When Chen Xun first formed a barbarian soul, it was only the size of a cocoon. After these days, the barbarian soul had grown by a full half, reaching about two inches in height.

Once he felt that the medicinal power in his mouth had been fully absorbed, Chen Xun stopped and sat cross-legged, allowing the barbarian soul in his divine soul consciousness sea to disperse into countless fine rays of light, spreading into his limbs and bones.

Seeing that only a little lamp oil had burned in the earthen bowl, Chen Xun realized that his cultivation was just beginning, and one fish-yang grass could only sustain his practice for this short time. It seemed he needed to venture deeper into Python Tooth Ridge to find more spiritual herbs.

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Chen Xun dared not overexert himself as he still needed to go into the mountains to gather herbs the next day. Before he had enough spiritual herbs, he also dared not visualize the powerful Nine Abyss Barbarian Soul.

He did not want to be paralyzed in his shack for several days after one cultivation session; that was not a sustainable method.

He still had one Black Python Pill and six fish-yang grasses left, but since he had decided to venture deeper into Python Tooth Ridge, he needed to keep some spiritual herbs on him for emergencies.

As the morning light seeped through the cracks in the wall, Chen Xun put the medicine basket on his shoulder and walked out of his shack.

In the square, nearly a hundred barbarian warriors were divided into seven or eight hunting teams, preparing to enter the mountains to hunt.

Recently, everyone had been training more diligently, but the consumption had also increased.

The growth of birds and beasts in the mountains was limited. To obtain more prey, they had to venture deeper into Python Tooth Ridge.

Seeing Chen Xun with his medicine basket, everyone greeted him: "What, Chen Xun, are you going into the mountains alone again today? Why don't you go with us? We can look out for each other."

Hunting required searching for the tracks of wild animals across the mountains and valleys. It was easy to spot if there were large beasts hiding in the mountain hollows, and the search was quick. Gathering medicinal herbs, however, required a keen eye to search through the crevices and corners of rocks, inch by inch.

Usually, as long as one searched for herbs within the safe zones cleared by the hunting teams, there was no need to worry about encountering fierce beasts.

However, some elders in the village would also enter these "safe zones" to gather herbs. Since Chen Xun had not joined the Black Python Tribe, the herbs he gathered, apart from exchanging for food, were all for his own cultivation. He could not take advantage of this.

"Thank you, Uncle Song. I want to go to North Cliff today. I might not be back tonight. If anyone sees Grandpa, please tell him for me..." Chen Xun waved, thanking everyone for their kindness.

"North Cliff is too far. The hunting teams haven't searched that area in a while. Staying out at night is even more dangerous. What will you do if you encounter a fierce beast?" someone worriedly said.

"Why do you need to worry about Chen Xun? Look at his strength and agility. Even if he encounters a mountain leopard, it would be a good addition to his meal," someone said confidently, thinking that this young man, who went into the mountains alone, always gathered several times more herbs than the experienced gatherers in the village, and often found spiritual herbs like fish-yang grass. He really couldn't understand why the shaman was so stubborn and wouldn't let Chen Xun join the Black Python Tribe.

In the past, the hunting teams rarely spent the night in the mountains. Now, with increased consumption, they were forced to hunt deeper into the mountains.

After the soul sacrifice feast, the strength of the barbarian warriors in the village had greatly increased. Including Zong Ling and Nan Xi, four people had awakened their barbarian souls during this period, increasing the number of mid-level and above barbarian warriors in the village to twenty. This allowed them to organize one or two elite hunting teams to enter the deep mountains and spend the night hunting.

Everyone knew that Chen Xun was always bold and meticulous. Hearing that he planned to spend the night outside, they were not overly surprised.

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Wild beasts in the mountains could give birth several times a year, but spiritual herbs like fish-yang grass, if found in a certain mountain valley, might not grow again in that area for ten or twenty years.

Ordinary herbs were easy to find, but spiritual herbs relied on luck.

Fish-yang grass, among spiritual herbs, was considered the lowest grade. Even so, Chen Xun could gather three to five plants a month, which was quite fortunate.

To gather more and more potent spiritual herbs, one had to venture into the deep, rarely visited mountains and forests, which also meant facing more and greater dangers.

Fortunately, the black-scaled fox had been struck by lightning and washed out of the mountains by a flood. Otherwise, even if Nan Liao and Zong Sang led the teams, encountering a black-scaled fox about to form a core in the deep mountains would have been a death sentence.

Chen Xun thought that each beast in the mountains had its own territory. The black-scaled fox had been struck by lightning not long ago, so its territory was likely not yet occupied by other beasts. Following the mountain stream deeper into the mountains might be safer.

After a long day of travel, Chen Xun had crossed countless rugged ridges and could no longer see the Black Python Village. He slowed his pace.

Chen Xun's legs were strong, and he had spent the whole day traveling. He estimated that he had run about a hundred miles into the depths of Python Tooth Ridge.

The *Western Wilderness Records* states that Python Tooth Ridge extends for a thousand miles north to south. If this was accurate, the Black Python Village, located at the northern edge of Python Tooth Ridge, should be about five hundred miles from the deepest part of the ridge.

Chen Xun's current position was far from the deepest part of Python Tooth Ridge, but it was sufficient.

Seeing the dusk gathering and the sky quickly darkening, Chen Xun found a cliff cave and climbed in, planning to spend the night there and search for herbs in the nearby mountains the next day.

To prevent any fierce birds or beasts from suddenly entering, he gathered some stones nearby to block the cave entrance.

A piercing cry echoed, and Chen Xun looked up to see a black shadow swooping towards the cliff top. A gust of wind rushed by, and in an instant, a giant eagle landed on a withered tree at the cliff top.

The giant eagle, with wings spread, was as large as a mountain leopard. Its feathers were as hard as iron, and its red-scaled talons emitted a cold, sharp light. Its green eyes glared fiercely, staring at Chen Xun, the uninvited guest who had intruded on its territory.

Chen Xun felt a chill in his heart, not expecting to encounter such a fierce bird so soon after arriving.

On his journey, he had only occasionally seen a few mountain deer drinking by the streams and had not seen any other fierce birds or beasts. He had thought that the territory of the black-scaled fox would not have other fierce birds or beasts, but he had not expected to stumble into the nest of a green-eyed giant eagle.

Although the green-eyed giant eagle was not a savage beast like the black-scaled fox, it was still a formidable opponent.

At the edge of the cliff, a dark cave opening was visible, with many withered branches extending out. This was clearly the nest of the white-browed giant eagle.

The green-eyed giant eagle's eyes glowed with ferocity as it spread its wings and swooped down, moving as fast as lightning. Its iron wings created a fierce wind, breaking branches and rocks. Even from a distance of over ten meters, an invisible, blade-like wind wave cut towards Chen Xun's face.

Chen Xun stepped forward and thrust his bone spear at the giant eagle's white brow.

In a narrow encounter, the brave one wins. The giant eagle, relying on its iron-hard beak, tried to peck Chen Xun into two pieces. This was the perfect moment to kill the bird.

With a "crack," the bone spear hit the giant eagle's iron forehead and broke into two pieces.

Chen Xun had no time to mourn the broken spear. A surge of pain shot from his wrist up his arm, making him suspect that his right arm had been shattered.

He never expected the bird to have such strength in its attack, nor did he expect the eagle's forehead to be so hard.

With over two thousand pounds of strength in his arms, the bone spear, made from the leg bone of a savage beast, was as hard as fine steel. He could usually pierce a half-man-sized boulder with one thrust, but the giant eagle's iron forehead shattered the spear into two pieces.

How hard was the giant eagle's iron forehead?

Chen Xun was shocked.

Fortunately, the giant eagle was also stunned by the impact and fell off the cliff. Otherwise, with his right arm nearly broken, the eagle's wings and talons would have torn him apart.

The giant eagle fell off the cliff but did not give Chen Xun a chance to pursue. It quickly recovered, shook its head to clear the dizziness, and swooped back with even more ferocity, its red-scaled talons extended towards the cliff cave.

Chen Xun still had a bronze short sword in his hand, but his right arm was still in pain, and he could not use it effectively. He held the sword in his left hand.

The short sword was tough but not as strong as the bone spear made from a savage beast's bone. He dared not use the sword to fight the giant eagle.

If he had no suitable weapon, he did not think he could win a fight with the giant eagle in the open valley.

Seeing the giant eagle swoop down, Chen Xun dodged into the cliff cave and kicked a large rock at the cave entrance.

The rock, weighing over a hundred pounds, shot out like a stone bullet, but the giant eagle caught it with its talons.

A series of sparks flew as the rock shattered and fell down the cliff. Chen Xun took the opportunity to slash at the giant eagle's green eyes with his sword, thinking that the bird's eyes would not be as hard as its iron forehead.

The giant eagle, no longer underestimating its opponent, struck the short sword with its talons, which moved as fast as lightning, not slower than Chen Xun.

Seeing the red-scaled talons that could shatter boulders, Chen Xun dared not clash with the eagle and dodged into the cliff cave.

The bird, eager for revenge, did not care about the narrow space and folded its wings to dive in, its talons scraping the cliff rocks, and its long, sharp beak aimed at Chen Xun like a spear.

Chen Xun retreated several steps but could not escape the beak, which was like a spear. He could only raise his sword to block.

The sword broke, which Chen Xun had anticipated. In that instant, his divine soul consciousness sea opened, and his barbarian soul formed, body and mind harmonizing. He punched the giant eagle's right eye with his left fist.

The punch moved like lightning, creating a strong wind that blew sand and rocks into the cave. The eagle, seeing the terrifying punch, tried to dodge, but the next moment, Chen Xun's fist hit