Chapter 48

Watching Chen Xun pat his buttocks and walk out of the stone hall, Nanliao's heart was stirred with waves of emotion. Looking at the bottle of Yuan Gathering Ointment, a bottle of Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill, which was ten to a hundred times more precious than the Yuan Gathering Ointment, and an improved formula that could significantly increase the production of the Black Python Pill, he felt an unusual weight just by looking at them.

"Xun really has good fortune! Father, do you think Xun is the kind of person with deep blessings?" Zong Sang, with his straightforward nature, hugged his neck and sighed.

"Xun has deep blessings, but that is also his destiny. The Black Python has received a reward without merit this time..." Wugong Zongtu said.

"Indeed, Xun helped the Black Python resolve the siege by Heishan and Shan Tong, which was a great achievement. For the Black Python to claim these treasures for itself is truly a matter of unwarranted reward," Nanliao also sighed, sitting upright and asking Wugong Zongtu, "He has been practicing the Great Peng Secret Momentum since childhood, and his cultivation has advanced at an astonishing rate. I don't think he would value the Black Python's brute strength. Wugong, what can the Black Python offer him in return?"

"The Black Python is just a shallow pond; Xun will eventually leave and soar high," Wugong Zongtu sighed, "Speaking of rewards, do you also think Xun has extremely deep blessings and a gentle nature?"

"Are you talking about the secret map, Wugong?" Nanliao asked.

"Although the Python Map is the Black Python's greatest secret, hidden in this fragment of the secret map, no one has been able to understand the secret of the fragment for hundreds of years. I think Xun might have this opportunity..." Wugong Zongtu said.

"Should we call everyone to discuss it?" Nanliao asked.

This matter was no small affair. Revealing the Black Python's greatest secret of a thousand years to Chen Xun, Nanliao was also quite hesitant.

"Alright, we three will make the decision; this matter must not be known by a fourth person," Wugong Zongtu said.

Nanliao also understood Wugong's meaning. A single giant wolf's corpse had already provoked Heishan and Shan Tong to besiege the village. If the news of the fifteen Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pills leaked, it would surely cause the fifty or so tribes in the northern mountains to unite and completely destroy the Black Python.

After a moment of contemplation, Nanliao said, "It should be. If Xun can ultimately find the location of the Python Map, it will also be the Black Python's opportunity."

******

Chen Xun returned to his hut and saw Zong Ya, Zong Ling, Nan Xi, and others crowded inside waiting for him.

Chen Xun smiled bitterly. He had wanted to return to the hut and sleep comfortably, but seeing this situation, he knew it would be difficult to easily drive Zong Ya and the others away. However, there were some things he couldn't let them know, so he threw the sleeping cub onto the animal skin mattress and told a few stories about his encounter with danger on the wilderness, leaving Zong Ya and the others hanging.

After sending Zong Ya and the others away, Chen Xun buried his head and slept.

In the deep wilderness, he hadn't dared to sleep soundly for a single day. The Black Python was the only place where he felt at ease.

Chen Xun slept for a day and a night before waking up. Looking through the cracks in the wall, he saw that it was still night outside, with a blazing bonfire casting light into the hut. The tribal warriors were sitting by the fire, holding their knives and spears, and children were running around the village.

These children seemed to have been pent up all winter, with no way to release their energy. They were still excited late into the night, making Chen Xun feel the vitality of the village.

After a harsh winter, the village had suffered heavy losses, but for the tribal people who were indifferent to life and death, they would not be overwhelmed by grief.

Compared to being overwhelmed by grief, it was more important to prepare for the spring fishing and fruit gathering after being delayed for over ten days by the siege of Heishan and Shan Tong.

The village's food reserves were almost depleted.

Moreover, with so many children unharmed, it represented a greater hope for the Black Python's future. After spring, even more infants would be born, ensuring the continuation of the Black Python for generations.

Everyone knew that Chen Xun had made a great contribution by resolving the siege by Heishan and Shan Tong, and his cultivation had greatly advanced after months of hard training on the wilderness. He had even easily killed the core tribal warrior Shichuan of Shan Tong. Seeing him sleep for a day and a night, the villagers all called out to him loudly as he left the hut.

"Xun, you've slept for a day and a night. Grandfather is looking for you."

Zong Sang was supervising Zong Ling, Nan Xi, and others practicing archery and spear skills on the sacrificial altar. Chen Xun walked into the stone hall and saw Grandfather Zongtu discussing matters with several village elders.

Their faces were not immersed in the sorrow of the past, but they were discussing the future of the village.

Although the casualties were heavy this time, they had moved to the northern mountains of Python Tooth Ridge and experienced four cold waves. This was the least severe loss they had suffered. More importantly, over three hundred children were alive and well, with no limbs missing.

In ten years, they would grow into new elite warriors.

The living conditions in the village had greatly improved last year, and more women had given birth. The cries of infants could be heard everywhere in the village, giving the elders more hope for the future.

"Xun, you're here just in time," Zongtu paused his work and called Chen Xun to sit down, saying, "We are discussing ice fishing. You've seen how the Heishan tribe does it. Tell us about it..."

The snow and ice in the mountains had not yet melted, and the fierce birds and beasts in the mountains had been hungry all winter, becoming extremely aggressive. Hunting in the mountains at this time would be more dangerous.

However, after the Heishan tribe gave up the narrow valley to the north, the Black Python could also enter the Wild Horse Creek for fishing.

The fish that had been trapped under the thick ice all winter were easier to catch. Chen Xun had personally seen the Heishan tribe members break the ice, and silver-scaled large fish gushed out like a spring.

However, the biggest problem was the water beasts under the ice, which were no easier to deal with than the fierce beasts in the mountains.

Chen Xun recounted what he had seen to Grandfather and the village elders and asked, "How can there be such fierce water beasts in the Wild Horse Creek?"

"The Heavenly Horse Lake to the east of the Heishan village connects the upper and lower reaches of the Wild Horse Creek. It looks like it spans several miles, but it is bottomless, with countless fierce water beasts lurking in it," Wugong Zongtu, who was familiar with these matters, said, "Moreover, there are deep lakes and large ponds in the mountains, connected to the Wild Horse Creek by deep ravines. These fierce water beasts may have come from the Heavenly Horse Lake or the deep mountain lakes..."

Chen Xun understood that even though they knew the dangers under the ice, for the Black Python, ice fishing was the best way for the village to survive the spring famine.

In the wilderness, where could there be no danger?

However, although ice fishing was dangerous, it also had its advantages.

The water beasts would only come from the upper and lower reaches of the river. As long as there were people on watch at both ends, the approach of a large water beast would cause a slight tremor. If they sounded the alarm in advance, the people fishing could escape to the shore in time.

Chen Xun explained this method to Grandfather, and Zongtu nodded, saying, "Yes, this method is good. How to detect abnormalities in the ice is something Zong Sang and the others need to figure out. The ice on the creek will not melt for another month. Preparing for a few more days is not a bad thing."

After the village elders left, Wugong Zongtu asked Chen Xun to follow him to the side hall. From an ancient stone box, he took out a tattered animal skin and spread it on the stone table.

Chen Xun saw that the animal skin depicted mountain and river patterns, resembling a map, and he felt a vague sense of familiarity.

"Although all methods have the same origin, the inheritance of the Black Python's brute strength is more about emulating the powerful beasts of ancient times,"

Wugong Zongtu pointed to the animal skin map and said to Chen Xun,

"After a beast forms a core, it can cultivate for a thousand years, forming a Dao Essence Sky Map within its body, becoming as powerful as gods and demons. The Black Python's Nine Abyss War Spear was inspired by the Dao Essence Sky Map of a powerful python. However, thousands of years ago, the Python Map was already lost, and only a fragment of the secret map indicating its location was passed down in the tribe. At that time, the Black Python's Nine Abyss War Spear was still intact, so the ancestors did not urgently seek to recover the lost Python Map. But after the Black Python's decline, they no longer had the ability to find it. The secret map was also split into four parts due to the division of the Black Python, and we only retained one quarter of the fragment..."

Chen Xun had long heard from Grandfather Zongtu that the Black Python's brute strength originated from the Python Map, but he had never seen the real thing, making it hard to imagine how such a treasure could inspire the powerful Nine Abyss War Spear.

The Black Python had once had a glorious history, producing a heavenly barbarian warrior who could even make the absolute strong of the Tianyuan Realm retreat. Its foundation was far beyond that of other tribes.

Perhaps this map of mountains and rivers, with its terrain, was the true treasure of the Black Python at this time!

On the fragment, in addition to the terrain of mountains and rivers, there were hundreds of small characters, an even more ancient script than the barbarian script, proving the long history of the fragment.

"Our ancestors only said that the Python Map is hidden deep in the Lake Wilderness. This is also why, after being defeated by the Gui Xi, we moved to the northern mountain stone village but did not leave the Python Tooth Ridge," Zongtu sighed softly, "Since you can venture deep into the Lake Wilderness in the cold winter, this fragment might be more useful to you..."

"The Python Map is hidden deep in the Lake Wilderness?" Chen Xun was shocked by Grandfather's words.

No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity when he saw the terrain map. During his training in the Lake Wilderness, he must have passed near the location where the Python Map was hidden, otherwise, he wouldn't have