In a dense and overgrown mountain ridge, a young man was struggling to make his way through the forest. The thorny shrubs and brambles were everywhere, and his green robe had been torn open in many places, with several bloodstains on his face.

  "Going further ahead, there will be demonic beasts roaming around, but today not a single spiritual herb was picked." Li Hui stopped in his tracks, gazing at the dense and profound mountain forest ahead, letting out a sigh. It had already been three consecutive days without any harvest. This place was on the west side of Ling Xiao City, the outer perimeter of Bi Xiao Mountain. Who knew how many low-level cultivators from Ling Xiao City came into the mountains every day to pick herbs?

  It takes at least ten years for a medicinal herb to grow and be ready for use in refining elixirs. However, the number of people harvesting herbs has increased dramatically, far exceeding the natural rate of growth and replacement of these plants. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a suitable herb for refining elixirs.

  The mountains ahead were even steeper, with ancient trees blocking out the sun and dense thickets of thorns filling the gaps between them. All the plants grew wildly and disorderly, and there was hardly any sign of human activity. This was already the outer edge of the Bi Xiao Mountains, and if one went further forward, they would gradually start to encounter some low-level demonic beasts. With Li Hui's current level of cultivation, he wouldn't even be able to handle a few ferocious ordinary wild beasts, let alone demonic beasts.

  After resting for a while, Li Hui looked up and gazed ahead, his heart somewhat hesitant. "Forget it, I'll take a gamble. I'll just venture in a bit deeper, pick some spiritual herbs, and then come back. I don't believe I'd be so unlucky as to run into a demonic beast!" Li Hui let out a sigh, shook his head, and had a hint of helplessness on his face.

  He tidied up his clothes and grasped the hilt of his only weapon, a small sword about the length of a foot, in his hand. Li Hui headed towards the depths of the mountain ridge.

  This short sword is made entirely of Xuan Iron, tempered with the fire of the earth's lungs and forged through a thousand hammerings. If placed in the mortal world, it would be an extraordinary divine instrument capable of cleaving iron like mud and dominating the world. However, in the eyes of cultivators, it is the lowest level of weapon, only used by low-level Qi Refining cultivators. To Foundation Establishment cultivators, such a weapon is no different from scrap metal.

  But this was already Li Hui's most precious family heirloom, the most valuable property left to him by his parents. One was that small house in the city, and the other was this short sword.

  At this time, the sun had already passed its zenith, and the mountains seemed even darker. The tall and deep mountains were like a giant monster, and Li Hui's figure looked somewhat small and lonely, slowly disappearing into the dense forest.

  "This deep mountain indeed has more spiritual herbs than the outer areas, probably because very few people dare to come here to pick them." Li Hui wiped the sweat from his forehead, a satisfied expression on his face. In less than an hour, Li Hui's medicine basket already had seven or eight stalks of spiritual herbs, more than he would normally gather in two or three days. With one more effort, picking a few more spiritual herbs, it would be enough for a month's worth of living expenses, and maybe even exchange for two Gathering Qi Pills to use for his own cultivation.

  Li Hui took a short rest and continued walking forward, unknowingly going deeper into the mountains.

  "Golden Lotus!" Li Hui's breathing almost came to a halt! Today was truly a lucky day! He had actually stumbled upon a Golden Lotus! This Golden Lotus was the main ingredient for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill! Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be moved by it. Li Hui had only seen it in the Spirit Medicine shops before, but he had never picked one himself!

  "With this Golden Lotus, not to mention that I won't have to go into the mountains to gather herbs for half a year, I can also exchange it for enough Gathering Qi Pills for three months of cultivation!" Li Hui felt his throat getting a bit dry. He took out a jade box from his bosom and carefully dug up the Golden Lotus along with its roots and the mud attached to them, putting everything into the jade box.

  This jade box was left by Father to prevent some precious spiritual medicine from leaking out. The method of digging it back together with the soil on the roots was also taught by Father himself.

  Li Hui carefully tucked the jade box back into his bosom, indulging in the joy of having picked a golden lotus, but failed to notice a pair of eyes emitting green light staring at him greedily from the shrubs behind.

  It was as if a gust of wind had blown past from behind, and Li Hui's heart suddenly tightened for no reason. Before he could think further, a horse fell to the ground with a thud.

  "Whoosh!" A gust of wind, a gray shadow flashed across Li Hui's back, landing in front of him. The shadow quickly turned around, a pair of eyes emitting green light stared at Li Hui.

  "Steel-backed wolf!" Li Hui exclaimed in shock, beads of cold sweat breaking out on his back as he tightly gripped the dark blue short sword.

  "Calm down, calm down!" Li Hui's hand grasping the short sword was slightly trembling, but he didn't turn around to escape, because he knew that Ironback Wolf loved to launch a sneak attack from behind. If he turned around to run away, it would be suicidal! In this mountain forest, competing with Ironback Wolf in speed was not something a sensible person would do.

  At this time, Li Hui had some regrets in his heart. If he hadn't been greedy, he would have picked those seven or eight medicinal herbs and headed back, at least he could have lived comfortably for a month! But now, although he got a Golden Lotus, if things didn't go well, his life might be lost here!

  But regret is useless, Li Hui was not a confused teenager entering the mountain for the first time. Although it was his first encounter with a demon beast, and it was an iron-backed wolf known for its speed and ferocity, he had imagined this scenario countless times before. At this moment, he slowly calmed down, holding his short sword horizontally in front of his chest, his eyes wide open, staring at the iron-backed wolf!

  Iron-backed wolf, a second-level demon beast, equivalent to a cultivator in the Qi Refining stage from layer four to six. But Li Hui is only a Qi Refining stage three-layer cultivator! However, demon beasts are born with strong bodies but low intelligence and single-minded attacks, which is also why Li Hui can remain calm.

  That iron-backed wolf failed in its sneak attack, and now it was face to face with Li Hui, drooling greedily, the black fur on its back standing on end. Suddenly, it pounced, tracing an arc as it sprang towards Li Hui.

  The iron-backed wolf was extremely fast, and Li Hui could only see a residual shadow flying towards himself. Li Hui held the short sword in reverse grip, as if holding a dagger, and suddenly slashed forward.

  "Clang!" Li Hui's short sword struck the Ironback Wolf's two front paws, like a metallic collision. The wolf was unscathed, and its body twisted to fall aside.

  Li Hui hastily turned his body, facing the Iron-backed Wolf again. It seemed that he had underestimated the Iron-backed Wolf after all. With the sharpness of the short sword in his hand, he couldn't even break through the wolf's defense. Was he really going to die here?

  Li Hui's face grew increasingly stern, with a hint of determination: "Can't run, then let's fight!" The internal crack method began to operate, and spiritual energy was injected into the short sword, which had a faint blue glow on its surface.

  Iron-backed wolf's pair of slanted, long eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly disdainful of Li Hui. Its hind legs slightly crouched down, its front paws slightly curved, and suddenly it sprang up again and pounced once more.

  "Come on!" Li Hui steeled himself, pouring spiritual energy into his short sword and slashing forward with force. This time, if he hit the mark, even if it was Iron Claw, they would definitely be injured!

  Unexpectedly, this iron-backed wolf was extremely cunning. Just as its front paws were about to touch the short sword, it suddenly retracted its body and rapidly fell towards the ground. Li Hui swung at empty air, realizing something was off. Without time to think, he rolled his body to one side.

  "Hiss!" The left arm dodged too late, and was torn open by the wolf's claws, revealing a half-foot long gash. Flesh and blood spilled out, and fresh blood flowed profusely.

  Without time to bandage, Li Hui quickly stood up and saw a grey shadow pounce again. This time Li Hui didn't dare to take it head-on, his body leapt backward with effort, while his short sword was held horizontally in front of his chest to protect his vitals.

  Unexpectedly, the Ironback Wolf's speed was too fast, and it suddenly caught up with Li Hui, who was retreating in mid-air. With a "clang", the short sword and wolf claw clashed, and Li Hui felt his right arm go numb from holding the sword. The wolf claw deflected the sword to one side, and its paw grasped Li Hui's chest, causing blood to gush out instantly. The Ironback Wolf's momentum was far from over, and its entire body crashed into Li Hui, making him feel a massive force wash over him. His internal organs seemed to be shifting, and his body felt like a kite with a broken string, plummeting downwards towards a nearby thicket.

  "Am I going to die?" Li Hui thought with a wry smile in his heart. As he fell, Li Hui felt time suddenly slow down, and scenes from the past flashed through his mind one by one. "Let it end like this, these years have been too exhausting anyway. Dad, Mom, I'm coming to join you." A faint smile appeared on Li Hui's lips, a smile as innocent and radiant as a child's, as if he had returned to his childhood days when his parents were still by his side.

  There wasn't the expected loud "thud". Li Hui's body, after sweeping through a small arc in mid-air, landed on a small thicket. His body didn't stop there, but continued to fall downwards. Several snapping sounds of broken branches and leaves came from below, and it was only after two or three breaths that the muffled "thud" finally came up.

  What was originally a thicket of shrubs now reveals an irregular black hole, which was previously obscured by the dense shrubs at the entrance and looked no different from ordinary thickets. Li Hui's fall broke through the shrubs, revealing the entrance to the cave.

  That iron-backed wolf had already pounced again, waiting for Li Hui to fall down before going forward to tear him into pieces. Seeing Li Hui suddenly drop into a black hole, he forcibly stopped his body at the entrance of the cave and paused for a moment, seemingly also somewhat unexpected. After reacting, he circled around the entrance several times, sniffing his nose hard, and then circled again before reluctantly leaving, disappearing into the mountain forest like the wind.

  This black hole is over ten zhang deep, vertically sinking from the ground, as if something had been smashed down from high altitude, smashing out such a deep pit. The four walls near the mouth of the cave are covered with disorderly plants.

  The bottom of the cave was pitch black, with only a faint white light visible from the entrance, looking so distant. Li Hui lay motionless, still wearing a hint of a smile on his face, his chest covered in blood and flesh, fresh blood flowing out non-stop. The wound on his left arm also continued to bleed profusely. Slowly, it accumulated into a river of blood under Li Hui's body, flowing outwards in all directions.

  Near Li Hui, a dull grayish-white stone was slowly absorbing the blood that flowed to this place. At first, it only absorbed the unintentionally spilled blood, but later the entire river of blood seemed to be pulled by something and began to flow over on its own. No matter how much blood there was, it was all absorbed cleanly by the stone, just like a drop of clear water dripping onto a sponge, not a single drop remained.

  After half a time, the stone absorbed fresh blood more and more slowly, and finally stopped absorbing it. Suddenly, this stone emitted white light all over its body, illuminating the entire cave floor. The light enveloped Li Hui's whole person, and then the light slowly disappeared. The cave floor returned to darkness, and Li Hui on the ground also disappeared strangely!