Chapter 1

In the valley, the roars of wild beasts and the cries of strange birds echoed, making one's scalp tingle.

Fan Yi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and couldn't help but grip the wooden stick in his hand tightly.

This wooden stick still had a few thin branches and green leaves, clearly just broken off from a tree.

Still somewhat uneasy, he bent down to search the ground for a while, picked up a few fist-sized stones, and tucked them into his chest. Only then did he muster the courage to step into the valley.

This valley was known among the villagers as a place where monsters roamed, and even the bravest hunters dared not easily set foot in it.

This was because in the past, many woodcutters, herbalists, hunters, and even cowherds who entered the valley had disappeared.

If he hadn't tied the old ox to the tree and run to the village school to listen to the teacher's lecture, the ox wouldn't have been lost.

It was strange, though. Usually, nothing happened when he tied the ox to the tree, but it was lost today!

However, it was no use regretting now. The most important thing was to find the ox before dark, or else the landlord Zhang would beat him to death!

Thinking of the landlord Zhang's grotesque, fat, and greasy face, Fan Yi couldn't help but shudder.

*

*

After entering the valley, Fan Yi used the wooden stick to push aside the wild grass that was half a person's height, carefully looking for any hoof prints on the ground, and walked cautiously.

Suddenly, a frightened wild rabbit jumped out of the grass and quickly ran away.

Fan Yi was startled, cursed under his breath, calmed himself, and continued walking forward.

After about an hour, the mountain wind suddenly rose, and the wild grass swayed like waves. Fan Yi looked up and saw a sparse forest ahead, with some red spots on the trees.

Curiosity piqued, he quickened his pace and walked toward the forest.

As he got closer, Fan Yi realized that the red spots were ripe peaches.

"After walking for more than an hour, I'm exhausted. I'll eat a couple of peaches first!" Fan Yi walked to the peach tree, threw away the stick, picked two peaches, sat on the ground, leaned against the peach tree, and started eating greedily.

The peaches were thick and sweet, and before he knew it, he had eaten four or five.

Looking up at the sun, he realized that it would set in another hour or so.

Fan Yi couldn't help but feel anxious, quickly got up, patted the dust off his clothes, picked two more peaches, put them in his chest, picked up the stick, and continued walking deeper into the valley.

After passing through the small peach grove, there was a large slope, and several peaks below it.

"Maybe the old ox ran here." Fan Yi thought to himself, leaned on the stick, and walked down the slope.

When he reached the bottom of the slope, he saw only wild grass and sparse trees, with no sign of the old ox.

"Finished, finished. If I lose the ox, the landlord Zhang will surely beat me to death tonight."

Fan Yi was almost in tears.

"Kid, kid!" A voice came from ahead.

In the quiet valley, hearing a human voice made Fan Yi jump. He gripped the stick tightly and looked alertly in the direction of the voice.

"Kid, come here, come here!" the voice continued.

"Who are you!?" Fan Yi shouted in the direction of the voice.

"Hehe, you'll know who I am when you come over! Come on, come on!" The voice seemed excited and kept urging Fan Yi.

Fan Yi thought, "It's good to ask this person, to see if he has seen my ox."

So he walked while asking, "Have you seen my ox? An old yellow ox!"

"An old yellow ox? Hehe, I'll tell you if you come over!"

Walking to the foot of the mountain, Fan Yi looked around but saw no one.

"Where are you?" Fan Yi shouted, "Come out quickly."

The voice laughed, "I can't come out! Hahaha!"

Following the voice, Fan Yi saw a head and two arms sticking out from the foot of the mountain, waving at him with a smile.

"Ah!" Fan Yi was startled and almost fell backward.

The head and arms were covered with brown fur and stuck with dry grass and leaves, smiling at him.

The head said, "Kid! Kid! Don't be afraid, hahaha."

Fan Yi held the stick and walked a few steps closer, examining the head. He saw that the opening was very small, just enough for the head to come out, but the neck was stuck, and the body was trapped under the mountain.

"You, how did you get into the mountain?" Fan Yi asked.

The head didn't answer but asked, "You're really brave, a little kid, to dare to come into the deep forest alone? Not afraid of being eaten by wild beasts?"

Fan Yi replied, "I'm a cowherd. My old yellow ox is lost. If I can't find it, the landlord Zhang will beat me to death. I'm not afraid of wild beasts; I have a stick and some stones in my chest. Have you seen my ox?"

The head looked at Fan Yi's stick and showed a faint, almost imperceptible sneer, as if he had heard something extremely funny.

After a closer look, Fan Yi suddenly realized that the "head" was more like a monkey's head.

Yes, it was a monkey's head, with a sharp mouth and a long face. How could a human face have such long fur?

"Are you a human or a monkey?" Fan Yi asked, wide-eyed.

"I? Hehehe, I'm neither a human nor a monkey. I'm an ape, an old ape." The "head" said with a smile.

"How can an ape speak human language? You're a monster!" Fan Yi was startled and shouted, quickly stepping back and raising the stick at the old ape.

The old ape laughed loudly, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"To you humans, I am indeed a monster. But don't be afraid. Look, I'm trapped under the mountain and can't come out, so I can't eat you, hahaha." The old ape said with a smile.

Hearing this, Fan Yi felt a bit more at ease. The old ape was trapped under the mountain, with only his head and arms exposed, so he couldn't harm him as long as he didn't get too close.

The old ape sniffed Fan Yi and asked, "Do you have peaches?"

Fan Yi nodded, "Yes, I picked them from that forest just now."

The old ape's eyes lit up, and his mouth watered. He said eagerly, "Quick, quick, give me a peach! I'm so hungry!"

Seeing his hungry look, Fan Yi laughed and took a peach from his chest, throwing it to the old ape.

The peach rolled to the old ape, who grabbed it and started eating greedily.

The old ape must not have eaten peaches for hundreds of years. Fan Yi watched in amazement with his mouth open.

"Any more? Give me another one!" The old ape said, wiping his mouth after finishing the peach, still craving more.

Fan Yi, both amused and exasperated, took another peach from his chest and threw it to the old ape.

The old ape caught the peach and devoured it.

After he finished, Fan Yi asked, "Have you seen my ox?"

The old ape wiped his mouth and said, "No!"

Fan Yi pouted, "You stay here, I'm going to find my ox." He turned and walked away.

"Wait!" The old ape called out.

"What? I don't have any more peaches." Fan Yi stopped and turned to him.

"Hehe, I always repay kindness. After eating your two peaches, I'll help you find your ox!" The old ape said with a smile.

"You!?" Fan Yi stared at the old ape, as if he had heard the strangest thing in the world.

"You're trapped under the mountain, how can you help me find my ox!? Don't play with me, I'm leaving!" Fan Yi said, somewhat angry.

"Hehe, this valley is vast. You might not find your ox before it's eaten by wolves or tigers!" The old ape sneered.

Fan Yi stopped, frowned, and thought the old ape had a point.

"I never thought that with my great powers, I would end up helping a cowherd find his ox. Hehe, it's really..." The old ape looked melancholy, muttered to himself, and then suddenly opened his eyes, which glowed like flames, looking far into the valley.

Seeing the old ape's appearance, Fan Yi was startled and even more convinced that he was a monster.

After a while, the glow in the old ape's eyes faded. He nodded and said to Fan Yi, "Go southeast for five miles, and you'll find your ox! There are no wild beasts around now, so go quickly."

Fan Yi was overjoyed, thanked the old ape loudly, and ran off...

*

*

A few days later, Fan Yi came to the valley again, picked many peaches, and gave them to the old ape to thank him for helping him find his ox.

Over time, the man and the ape became close friends, talking about everything.

One day, Fan Yi tied the old ox to a big tree in the peach grove, picked a few peaches, and came to visit the old ape.

While eating peaches, Fan Yi asked, "Why are you trapped under this mountain? Who did this to you?"

The old ape smiled bitterly, "It's a long story, I'll tell you later. Do you know about immortals?"

Fan Yi said excitedly, "Of course! When the landlord Zhang turned sixty, he invited many theater troupes, acrobats, and storytellers. The storyteller told us stories about immortals flying and catching monsters for three days and nights."

The old ape laughed.

Fan Yi asked curiously, "Are you an immortal?"

The old ape shook his head, "No."

Fan Yi remembered what the old ape had said before, "Oh, right, I remember. You're not an immortal, you said you're a monster."

The old ape threw away the peach pit, eyes glowing fiercely, and bared his sharp teeth, trying to scare him, "Scared?"

Fan Yi shook his head, chewing on a peach, "Not scared."

The old ape asked, "Why not?"

Fan Yi said, "Because you're trapped under the mountain, just like a tiger in a cage. What's there to be afraid of?"

The old ape's eyes lost their glow, and he sighed, "In my prime, I was invincible, and countless cultivators trembled at my name. Now, even a little cowherd isn't afraid of me. Truly, a tiger in the plains is bullied by dogs, and a dragon in shallow waters is teased by shrimp. Sigh."

Turning his face, he asked Fan Yi with a smile, "Do you want to become an immortal?"

Fan Yi opened his eyes wide, "Of course! Being an immortal is great, you can live forever! You can ride clouds and go anywhere. And, I won't have to herd cows anymore!"

The old ape laughed, "Alright, I'll teach you the way of immortality. How about that?"

Fan Yi was overjoyed, threw away the half-eaten peach, and bowed, shouting, "Please, Master Old Ape, teach me the way of immortality!"

"First, I'll teach you breathing and absorbing spiritual energy. Sit cross-legged, with your five points facing the sky, ears focused on your nose, nose focused on your heart..." The old ape looked at the bowing Fan Yi, nodded in satisfaction, and began to guide him in the way of immortality.

Fan Yi followed the old ape's instructions, sat cross-legged in front of him, and began to practice...

From then on, Fan Yi came to the old ape every few days to practice the way of immortality, and a cowherd unknowingly embarked on the path of cultivation.

Three years passed, and Fan Yi grew into a sixteen-year-old boy, making some progress in his cultivation.

One day, the old ape said to Fan Yi, "In three years, you have reached the third level of the Qi Condensation stage. You're now at the bottleneck of the initial stage of the Qi Condensation. This progress is slow, but for someone with mixed spiritual roots, it's not bad. I'm a monster, or what you humans call a monster, and my cultivation method is quite different from yours. Although all paths lead to the same destination, there are many pitfalls on the path of cultivation. One wrong step can lead to disaster. So I can't teach you anymore. But today, I'll give you a direction."

Over the past three years, Fan Yi had learned a lot about the cultivation world from the old ape. Although he felt a bit disappointed, he knew the old ape was doing this for his own good, so he asked, "Old Ape, where should I go?"

"Five hundred miles from here, there's a cultivation sect called Chao Dao Men. It's a small, insignificant sect. Your talent is average, so join it first. Once you master the basic cultivation techniques of humans, find a larger sect to further your cultivation. Then, you can save me from the mountain!"

Fan Yi knelt and said, "Thank you, Old Ape, for showing me the way."

The old ape accepted his bow and continued, "When I was trapped under this mountain, all my treasures were taken away, leaving me naked. Not only that, but my琵琶骨 (pipa bone) was pierced with iron chains, and my legs were nailed to the ground with iron rings, making me immobile. However, those thieves made a mistake. Hehe. I still have a Lu Duan Pearl in my stomach, a treasure of a monster. It probably matched my monster's aura, so they mistook it for my golden core and didn't take it. Now, I'll give it to you."

Fan Yi asked curiously, "What can this Lu Duan Pearl do?"

The old ape smiled, "If you say it has great power, it does. If you say it's useless, it is."

Fan Yi, confused, scratched his head, "What do you mean?"

The old ape explained patiently, "I obtained this Lu Duan Pearl when I was young, killing a Lu Duan and taking its core. I found it interesting and swallowed it. The Lu Duan is a divine beast that can understand the language of all birds, beasts, and humans. If you swallow it, you can communicate with birds and beasts."

Fan Yi was delighted, "Interesting, interesting!"

The old ape, seeing his childlike playfulness, was both amused and exasperated, "What's so interesting!? Before I give you the pearl, I have a few words to say. Remember them well, or you'll be in grave danger!"

Fan Yi shuddered, quickly put away his playful attitude, and listened attentively.

"Remember, this Lu Duan Pearl allows you to understand the language of birds and beasts. It's a rare treasure in the world, and you must never tell anyone about it, or you'll be in grave danger. Even your closest friends must not know. Human hearts are unpredictable, and in the cultivation world, there are many cases of masters and disciples, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and brothers turning against each other over treasures. You can't trust anyone completely. Also, never show this ability to others. If someone discovers your secret, you must eliminate them at all costs to avoid future trouble. Remember, if you don't kill them, they will kill you!"

Fan Yi took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Old Ape, I will remember your words!"

The old ape nodded, with a serious expression, and said, "When I saw you, a little kid, dare to come into this valley alone to find your ox, I knew you had courage. Upon closer inspection, I found you had the potential for cultivation, so I befriended you and taught you the way of immortality. Now, I've said what I needed to say. The rest of your cultivation journey is up to you! You're an orphan who herds cows for a landlord, with no attachments. You have nothing to lose, so go!"

He opened his mouth, spat out a pearl, caught it in his palm, and handed it to Fan Yi.

The pearl was the size of a lychee, crystal clear, and emitted a rainbow of light, blinding Fan Yi.

Fan Yi took the pearl and swallowed it. It slid down his throat and settled in his dantian.

"I'm leaving now, Old Ape. Take care. When I learn the immortal arts, I'll come to save you from the mountain. Until then, farewell!" Fan Yi knelt, bowed three times, stood up, and walked away.

At the peach grove, Fan Yi untied the rope, patted the old ox, and said with a smile, "Old ox, you're free from now on!" Then he turned and left.

The old ox looked at Fan Yi's departing back, confused, and mooed.

Watching Fan Yi leave, the old ape squinted his eyes and showed a strange expression...