Zhao Lintao showed up early in the morning. He came with his son, who helped him carry a few sacks.
I was surprised to see him that early. He arrived so early that he was the one who woke me up.
"Good morning, my friend," Zhao said. "Here in the village, we wake up early to work."
"I can see that," I said. "What did you bring?"
Zhao had sacks filled with potatoes, rice, various vegetables, and not much meat—just a few pieces. But there were plenty of eggs, which was nice.
"The only problem is that we can't keep the food fresh," Zhao explained. "For that, we need a cultivator who can help."
I could tell he was saying that because he needed my help. During winter, the village could store food properly thanks to the cold. But it wasn't winter, so food spoiled quickly. The only way to counter that was through the use of Qi—either through abilities or artifacts.
"I'll try my best to help you deal with that problem in the future," I said.
Zhao laughed. "Don't work too hard, my friend."
Zhao Bei, his son, seemed excited to be there. He kept staring at me, like he had a question on his mind.
"Sir," he said, "are you really a cultivator? An immortal?"
I was a cultivator—a weak one at the moment—but I was far from being an immortal. That required a high level of power. According to legends, only those in the highest realms of cultivation could be considered that.
"I am. Why?"
"Can you teach me?" Bei asked. "Please?"
He had both hands together in a pleading gesture. I couldn't refuse him, but I couldn't teach him yet.
To even consider helping someone with cultivation, I needed to be at least in the Foundation Establishment realm.
A teacher who wasn't wise or powerful wasn't the ideal teacher. I wanted to be someone Zhao Bei could look up to—a master of the art.
"I can," I said with a smile. "In the future. Can you wait a little while? I need to adjust before taking any disciples."
"Of course! I can wait, sir!"
Bei was an educated young man. Zhao Lintao had done a good job teaching him manners—that much was clear.
After giving me the supplies, Zhao also shared the location of a nearby river where I could get water. The river crossed the entire mountain, so I didn't need to go down to the village for it.
Then, he returned to the village with his son. They needed him there.
I was alone.
Before venturing into the forest, I used my antique oven to prepare some eggs. I also cooked some potatoes.
The cabin had the necessary utensils, including a pot where I could boil the potatoes.
It was a lot of food to eat right after waking up, but my hunger was intense. I needed it.
The smell filled the cabin. My hunger grew even stronger. It reminded me of my grandmother's house. I kind of lost myself in thought, almost burning the eggs…
After eating my reinforced breakfast, I left the cabin and headed into the woods. What I needed was a piece—anything that belonged to a spiritual beast.
With it, I could restart my beast farm.
According to Zhao, the area I was living in had more spiritual beasts than the area around the village.
But how many beasts was he talking about? Was it a lot, or just a few? I had no idea.
I also hoped the beasts weren't stronger than me. Or if they were, that I'd at least find their remains. Fighting a powerful spiritual beast wasn't ideal.
The forest wasn't that dense. It was easy to walk through, which made things better. I didn't need to cut through anything, and I could see clearly.
It was silent, though. Because of the high altitude, there weren't many birds living there. So the usual singing of birds was almost non-existent. And due to the colder weather, there weren't many bugs either.
I liked the silence—but only when I was inside my cabin. Outside, it wasn't a good sign.
I used my heightened senses to search for beasts. My vision was much sharper now.
It didn't take long for me to spot a few marks.
Footprints.
Judging by their shape and size, they didn't belong to a normal creature—that much I was sure of.
But the footprints vanished after a while. I looked up at the trees. The creature must have climbed up eventually.
I was lost again, with no path to follow.
However, there was a cave nearby. I spotted it from afar.
Caves were certainly good places for spiritual beasts of various types. But this cave was different.
It was covered in moss—both inside and outside. That wasn't common at all. My curiosity spiked.
So, I walked over and entered the cave.
When I entered the cave, my senses felt… confused. I could hear a strange, faint sound that was messing with my hearing.
That was unusual. According to my knowledge, the animals of that world didn't differ much from Earth. So if something was causing that effect, it had to be a spiritual beast.
My knowledge of spiritual beasts was limited, though. The old Mo Zhen wasn't the type of person who was curious about them. Not just him—most cultivators weren't that curious either.
But I was. They were the key to my power, so I had to understand them well.
Anyway, I walked through the cave for a while, observing the only thing inside: moss.
The moss looked normal at first, but as I went deeper into the cave, I spotted something.
Attached to the wall, nestled in the moss, was a creature. It was a moth. Its body was small, but its translucent wings stretched at least fifty centimeters.
I could tell the strange vibrating sound I'd been hearing came from that creature.
It was unique—and beautiful. Honestly, I felt bad about killing it. I considered taking just a piece of it, something that would keep the creature alive while still allowing me to cultivate the beast.
But before I could get close to the moth, I started hearing footsteps coming my way.
Not just footsteps—growling sounds too.
It had to be other spiritual beasts.
I panicked.