The moon was dark and the wind was high, the village silent.
Zhang Yuan crawled out of bed again, quietly leaving the room and heading to the small courtyard outside.
He took a deep breath, activating the Divine Nest Host of the Black Giant Ant.
Fourfold Power Enhancement!
Crash!
The next moment, the coarse cloth clothes Zhang Yuan was wearing were suddenly ripped apart by the abruptly expanding muscles.
His stature suddenly grew taller, and two hundred and six bones resonated in unison.
Zhang Yuan's face instantly changed dramatically.
His whole body felt like a shrimp thrown into boiling water, his skin surface scorching red, and his Qi Blood ran wild inside.
The sensation was extremely bad; Zhang Yuan's internal organs seemed to be burning, and all his bones were groaning under unbearable weight, the situation completely out of control.
Thud!
He opened his mouth and sprayed out a cloud of blood mist.
At the same time, Zhang Yuan forcibly terminated the enhancement of the Power of the Black Giant Ant!
"Cough cough!"
He involuntarily half-kneeled on the ground, coughing up two mouthfuls of bloody phlegm from his throat, drenched in sweat.
Sweat mixed with fresh blood!
After a while, Zhang Yuan finally slowly caught his breath.
It proved that, with his current physique, he couldn't withstand the enhancement and outbreak of fourfold strength.
If he hadn't noticed things turning bad and stopped in time, he might have exploded and died.
Getting yourself killed would absolutely be the biggest joke ever!
This painful lesson reminded Zhang Yuan again that reality is different from games; he couldn't forcibly apply his past gaming experience to the current situation, or he'd suffer greatly.
Zhang Yuan opened the panel of the Divine Nest for a look.
He found his Qi and Blood Value had dropped to single digits.
Only 5 points left!
This again startled him with cold sweat.
"Yuanwa'Er?"
From the straw hut came Mother Zhang's startled and suspicious voice: "Is that you outside?"
Apparently it was the noise Zhang Yuan made that woke her up.
Zhang Yuan quickly replied, "It's me, nothing's wrong, go back to sleep."
Mother Zhang didn't doubt him.
Once his mother went back to sleep, Zhang Yuan quietly took off his torn clothes, opted for a quick cold shower.
Then he returned to his room to rest.
Due to significant physical loss, he rested at home for two days.
Until his Qi and Blood Value fully recovered.
Although self-inflicted wounds brought painful losses, Zhang Yuan also gained plenty of important experiences and lessons.
Firstly, the power of the Divine Nest Host is subject to the limitations of one's physical condition.
He could withstand the eruption of double strength.
But fourfold strength was completely impossible.
Secondly, Qi and Blood Value must be kept above 10 points.
Once it drops to single digits, the recovery time would be greatly prolonged!
Luckily, this failure didn't cause any damage to his foundation; two days later, Zhang Yuan was still full of vitality.
Early in the morning, he carried a bow and a knife, heading to Qianfeng Mountain again.
At the mountain path entrance, Zhang Yuan met two villagers going into the mountain to gather herbs together.
One of them hailed, "Yuanwa'Er, going hunting again?"
"Yes,"
Zhang Yuan bitterly smiled, "If I don't bring some game back soon, my family won't even have a pot to cook from."
The villager sighed, "We're all having a hard time."
Despite the strange events resulting in two deadly outcomes, the villagers of Chen Family Village were afraid, but not to the point of stopping their labor and hiding at home.
Or else the whole family would truly starve to death!
Things were not peaceful in the village these days, either.
It was said that Landlord Chen, Chen Deping, was still in the county, although his family had already moved to the ancestral house of the Chen Clan.
Steward Zhang continued to flaunt his power with household servants, forcing several families unable to pay the service silver to sell their fields to cover it.
The Chen Family was planning to renovate the ancestral shrine next.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before all Chen Family Villagers became tenants or even slaves of Landlord Chen.
But what could they do?
Previously, a guard from the Chen Family and a local hoodlum died, and many rejoiced in secret.
But how much could this really harm Landlord Chen?
Faced with the Chen Family's force and power, everyone was resentful yet unable to speak out.
The villager kindly reminded, "Be careful in the mountain, don't go too far."
"Got it, you be careful too."
After saying goodbye to the two villagers, Zhang Yuan quickened his pace and moved forward.
He went all the way up the mountain and into the woods, skillfully reaching the stream's side.
Just as Zhang Yuan was about to call Brother Ya, a rustling sound echoed in his ears.
The Black Crow appeared on the branch.
Looked at him with indifferent eyes.
Yet somehow, Zhang Yuan discerned a hint of dissatisfaction in its gaze.
He quickly bowed, "Thank you, Brother Ya, for saving my life."
Zhang Yuan was referring, of course, to the incident a few days ago, where the Black Crow's guiding black feather had alarmed Chen San at the mountain path.
The situation back then, if not for the warning of the black feather, Zhang Yuan might have fallen into the trap.
And even if he fought Chen San to death, he might not have been capable of defeating Nurse Sun, who'd be acting as a waiting predator!
Hence, Zhang Yuan's gratitude to Brother Ya was heartfelt.
The Black Crow nodded without saying a word, spreading its wings and flying towards the right.
Zhang Yuan understood and followed closely behind.
He traversed the forest maze once more and arrived at the small valley.
Right away, Zhang Yuan spotted a large wild boar and several little piglets foraging close by!
Damn!
Zhang Yuan seriously suspected that this small valley was the Black Crow's pig farm.
And this large wild boar was the sow.
She lived a paradise-like life with the boar, but now turned into a widow.
Even losing her mate, the sow hadn't taken the piglets to flee far away, instead, she continued dwelling here, living leisurely, which was truly surprising.
Zhang Yuan didn't bother much, wielded his Firewood Knife, and charged straight forward.
This time, Zhang Yuan also activated the Black Giant Ant but only bestowed himself double the strength.
He was the host of the Divine Nest, naturally holding absolute control over the host.
With no suspense and surprise, after a brief skirmish, Zhang Yuan managed to knock down the sow.
The sow's size and strength were inferior to the boar.
Thus, even without Brother Ya's assistance, he secured a complete victory.
As for the piglets, Zhang Yuan opted to let them go.
As the hunt mustn't be exhaustive, a hunter's rule is not to kill cubs and pregnant beasts.
This ensures a continuous source of game to hunt.
After slaying the sow, Zhang cut open its belly with his Firewood Knife, scooping out all its innards.
He clasped his fists at Brother Ya, observing on the tree nearby, "Brother Ya, today's intestines and meat are yours!"
In response, Brother Ya gave a dismissive look, "You eat the meat, I'll have the intestines!"
Apparently, it only fancied consuming the innards, showing no interest in wild boar meat.
Alright then...
Zhang Yuan didn't insist, cautiously inquiring, "Brother Ya, since it's still early, can I explore nearby?"
The Level 1 Divine Nest had three nest rooms, currently housing only one host.
The other two were still vacant.
Thus Zhang Yuan hoped to seek out, potentially locating a second genetic body worth hosting.
In the past, for safety reasons, his movement range in the mountains was quite limited.
Hence, he never encountered a particular life form to activate the Divine Nest.
Now understanding the issue's cause, Zhang Yuan naturally aimed to seize every opportunity possible!
Brother Ya descended onto the wild boar's innards, flapping its wings.
A black feather shot towards Zhang Yuan rapidly.