8: Chapter 8 Eyes on the Mountain Path and Miasma at the Valley Entrance

An hour later, the morning mist was gradually dispersed by the rising sun, and the light in the forest became clear.

Lin Chen stopped beside a murmuring stream, crouched down, cupped the cool, clear stream water in his hands, and took a few large gulps.

The icy liquid slid down his throat into his stomach, taking away some of the heat from his journey.

He unscrewed the waterskin at his waist and was just about to fill it when his ears twitched almost imperceptibly.

Splash... An extremely faint, deliberately suppressed sound of footsteps came from the bushes about fifty zhang behind him, accompanied by the crisp sound of a dry branch being stepped on.

The sound was very light, almost masked by the sound of the stream, but it was exceptionally clear to his highly concentrated senses.

It was not the footsteps of a beast.

The movements of beasts are either silent or heavy and chaotic; they would never have this kind of probing movement that carries the rhythm unique to humans.

Someone was tracking him.

Lin Chen's movements did not pause in the slightest, as if he had heard nothing.

He leisurely filled the waterskin, put the wooden stopper back in, and hung it back on his waist.

Then, he stood up, patted the dirt off his pant legs, identified the direction, and continued walking deeper into the forest.

But this time, the direction he was heading was no longer straight towards the Wild Boar Valley to the west.

He took a turn and headed towards a rocky slope where the terrain was steeper and the trees were increasingly dense.

The path there was harder to walk; there was almost no ready-made trail, and one needed to climb and maneuver between the tangled tree roots and slippery mossy rocks.

This consumed a great deal of physical strength, but at the same time, it could also test the patience and strength of the tracker to the greatest extent.

The faint presence behind him was indeed starting to struggle to keep up.

At first, the other party could barely maintain a distance of about fifty zhang, but as the terrain became increasingly perilous, the footsteps became more chaotic, and the distance was quickly stretched to nearly a hundred zhang.

Under a giant tree that required two people to embrace, Lin Chen used the gaps in its gnarled, protruding roots as cover, turned his head, and glanced backward with eyes like knives.

Just in the gap between two large trees in the distance, a figure flashed by.

Although it was only for a split second, the reflection from the worn leather armor on that person clearly fell into his eyes.

It was someone from the Patrol Squad.

Lin Chen's gaze turned cold.

Patrol Squad Captain Liu Wu was indeed uneasy and had sent someone to watch his movements.

Was he trying to see what good things he could gather, or was he looking for an opportunity to attack him directly in the mountains?

Whichever it was, it was not good news.

He did not hesitate any longer, took a deep breath, and quickened his climbing speed.

Another half an hour passed, and the rugged rocky slope had almost exhausted most of Lin Chen's physical strength.

He was soaked in sweat, and his heavy panting was clearly audible in the silent forest.

But he had succeeded. The annoying presence behind him had been completely shaken off.

He found a shaded rock crevice, leaned into it, pressed his back against the cold, damp rock wall, and gasped for air, recovering his strength.

Just as his breathing began to stabilize, the rough stone ring on his right thumb suddenly emitted a clear and lasting warmth, much stronger than when he had sensed medicinal herbs before.

There is something!

Lin Chen's spirits lifted, and his gaze immediately began searching within the narrow rock crevice.

His gaze finally fell on a corner at the edge of the rock crevice covered in thick moss.

The warmth was coming from right there.

He reached out and carefully pushed aside the slippery, sticky moss.

Beneath the moss, a few small clusters growing tightly against the rock were revealed.

They were grayish-black throughout, only the size of a fingernail, and their surfaces were covered with irregular wrinkles. When grouped together, they looked like twisted, painful human faces.

Ghost Face Mushrooms!

Lin Chen's heart jumped, and the line of pale golden text on the System panel immediately appeared before his eyes: [Ghost Face Mushroom (5 years old, weak Yin-attribute Spiritual Qi)].

There were not many, only seven or eight, clustered tightly together.

But there was no doubt, this was exactly the obscure medicinal material that Pharmacist Wang had mentioned.

He suppressed the excitement in his heart, recalling Su Qingyao's instructions—this thing has Yin poison, do not touch it directly.

He dug out a spare piece of oil paper from his herb basket, carefully used the oil paper as a barrier, and used his sharpened short knife to pry them off, along with a small piece of rock at the roots of the Ghost Face Mushrooms.

The moment they were pried off, a faint, cold Aura similar to rotten soil rushed towards his face.

Lin Chen held his breath and quickly wrapped the seven or eight Ghost Face Mushrooms along with the rock fragments layer by layer with the oil paper. After confirming there were no gaps, he placed them at the very bottom of his herb basket and weighed them down with some miscellaneous items.

The slight excitement brought by the harvest was quickly replaced by a deeper vigilance.

Although the tracker had been temporarily shaken off, since the other party had sent someone, they would definitely not give up easily.

Patrol Squad Captain Liu Wu's patience was likely even more limited than he had imagined.

He had to find more valuable things as soon as possible to exchange for Spirit Stones and reach a Breakthrough to Qi Refining Stage 4.

In the afternoon, Lin Chen finally circled back to his original route and saw the silhouette of Wild Boar Valley from afar.

At the entrance of the valley, a layer of light gray miasma shrouded it like a thin veil, emitting a damp Aura of decaying vegetation mixed with soil, which even sunlight could barely penetrate.

Standing outside the valley, visibility was less than three zhang, and it was impossible to see the specific situation inside.

He was standing behind a large tree, hesitating whether to risk entering the area at the edge of the miasma to search, when a heavy running sound accompanied by "crack" noises and heavy panting suddenly came from the woods on the right.

Lin Chen's pupils constricted, and he instantly lowered his body even further.

A huge wild boar, the size of a calf, suddenly rushed out of the woods!

Its body was covered in black bristles like iron needles, and two half-foot-long pale tusks curled outwards, flashing with a chilling light.

A pair of crimson eyes, like two red-hot charcoal balls, stared fixedly at Lin Chen, who was hiding behind the tree.

Its front hooves scraped the ground forcefully, sending dirt flying, and a low "grunting" roar emanated from its throat.

It was a Low Grade Tier 1 Yao Beast—an Iron-Bristled Boar.

Records of this kind of Yao Beast from the Sect's manual for chore disciples flashed through Lin Chen's mind: thick-skinned and fleshy, infinitely strong, violent in nature, with strength roughly equivalent to a Cultivator at Qi Refining Stage 3 or 4.

He had been discovered!

Lin Chen's heart sank. Without time to think, he instantly drew the short knife from his waist and swung the herb basket on his back to a safe place behind him.

He bent his legs slightly, lowered his body, and assumed a standard defensive stance.

The Iron-Bristled Boar let out a deafening roar, its thick hooves exerted force, and its massive body turned into a black afterimage, charging fiercely towards Lin Chen!

That stench of blood and musk rushed towards his face.

Lin Chen did not choose to fight head-on.

He knew well that with his meager Spiritual Qi, resisting head-on was no different from a mantis trying to block a chariot.

Just at the moment the tusks were about to touch his body, he exerted force with his feet, and his body suddenly dodged to the left.

At the same time, he flipped his wrist, and the short knife, infused with a bit of Spiritual Qi, followed the momentum to carve a fierce trajectory along the boar's flank as it sped past.

"Screech—" A teeth-gritting friction sound rang out, and sparks flew everywhere.

The blade merely broke the Iron-Bristled Boar's hard, thick skin, leaving a shallow mark less than half an inch deep. The bright red blood beads had just seeped out when they were flung away by its violent movements.

"Roar!" The boar felt pain. After rushing out more than ten zhang, its massive body made a sudden stop and turned around abruptly.

In those crimson eyes, the fierce light grew even stronger, and the violent Aura almost solidified.

It did not pause in the slightest and launched another charge.

This time, it was faster and its Aura was more ferocious!

Lin Chen dared not be careless. He channeled the little Spiritual Qi he had left in his body into the Meridians of his legs, following the most rudimentary "Wind-Riding Steps" technique of the Qingmu Sect that Su Qingyao had taught him.

His steps immediately became much lighter and more agile, as if a gentle breeze had sprouted under his feet.

His body twisted and moved within a square inch, narrowly dodging the Iron-Bristled Boar's tusk thrust, which was enough to split stones and crack monuments.

But this was ultimately not a long-term solution.

Every dodge was rapidly consuming his already bottoming-out Spiritual Qi.

He must kill it in one blow!

Lin Chen's gaze locked tightly onto the Iron-Bristled Boar's throat and abdomen; those were the few weak points on its body.

There was only one chance.

When the Iron-Bristled Boar charged violently for the third time, Lin Chen seized the opportunity and advanced instead of retreating!

He squeezed out every last bit of Spiritual Qi from his Dantian without reservation and poured it frantically into the short knife in his hand.

The originally unremarkable blade instantly glowed with an extremely faint, almost invisible white light.

Just a moment before crossing paths with the wild boar, he suddenly lowered his body and rolled under its foul-smelling belly in an extremely disheveled posture.

At the same time, his right hand, gripping the short knife, used all his strength to stab upwards fiercely!

"Puchi!"

This time, it was no longer a harsh friction sound.

The blade, infused with all his Spiritual Qi, finally broke through the defense and, like cutting into rotten meat, sank deeply into the relatively soft throat area of the Iron-Bristled Boar!

Warm beast blood, like a bursting spring, gushed out and instantly covered Lin Chen's head and face.

The Iron-Bristled Boar let out a shrill, miserable howl. Its massive body stumbled forward a few steps, struggled heavily a few times, and finally collapsed to the ground with a boom, twitching until it had no breath left.

Lin Chen collapsed on the ground, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for air.

The Spiritual Qi in his body was almost completely gone, and his Meridians felt a constant, empty, stinging pain.

The arm holding the knife was trembling uncontrollably due to excessive exertion, and he could barely hold onto the knife.

The smell of blood mixed with the scent of soil made him feel nauseous.

But he couldn't care about these things; he struggled to stand up, walked to the wild boar's carcass, and began to process it quickly.

Just as he was laboriously cutting off the most valuable pair of tusks with his short knife, and had opened the chest and abdomen, preparing to dig out the still-warm heart—which was an auxiliary material for several healing and Body Tempering Medicinal Pills—two figures walked out from the edge of the miasma permeating the valley entrance.

It was exactly those two Patrol Squad members under Patrol Squad Captain Liu Wu.

Their faces were pale; they had clearly been badly frightened by the thrilling battle just now, and only dared to show themselves after confirming that the wild boar was completely dead.

One of them, who was slightly bolder, mustered his courage and shouted fiercely but with a cowardly heart: "Hey! That wild boar is public property of Black Stone Mountain. You, an outsider, hunted it privately, violating the rules of the town!"

The other one immediately followed up: "That's right! Also, this is Wild Boar Valley, which belongs to the Forbidden Ground. You trespassed without permission, so you have to come back with us to see Patrol Squad Captain Liu and accept questioning!"

Lin Chen slowly stood up.

He was covered in blood, his hair was matted into strands by the beast's blood, and his face was stained with blood. Only his eyes, in the dim forest, were frighteningly bright.

He was still holding the dripping short knife in his hand. He did not speak, but just looked at the two people coldly with a gaze that was cold to the extreme.

The two were unnerved by his appearance, which looked as if he had crawled out of Hell, and by his unmasked killing intent, and they subconsciously took half a step back.

Only then did Lin Chen speak. The long escape and battle had made his voice as hoarse as a broken gong: "I killed this wild boar. I didn't enter the valley entrance. The things are right here; if you want to take them, come and take them yourselves."

He pointed with his chin at the massive and bloody wild boar carcass on the ground.

The two looked at each other, seeing the mess on the ground and the ferocious Yao Beast, and then looked at Lin Chen's eyes, which seemed like they could lash out and hurt someone at any moment. In the end, they didn't dare to step forward.

Just kidding, this kid could even take down an Iron-Bristled Boar alone. They were just ordinary Martial Artists who relied on the name of the Patrol Squad to throw their weight around; wouldn't going up there be like sending themselves to their deaths?

Seeing them shrink back, Lin Chen ignored them further.

He quickly dug out the wild boar's heart, and along with the pair of tusks, wrapped them roughly in a piece of rag and stuffed them into his bosom.

He didn't even take another look at the valuable wild boar skin and meat, shouldered the herb basket from not far away, turned around, and left without any hesitation.

The two members watched him disappear into the depths of the forest, and only then did they let out a sigh of relief.

One of them gritted his teeth and said to his companion: "You stay here and watch; I'm going back to report to the Captain right now!"

After speaking, he ran quickly in the direction of Black Stone Town.

When Lin Chen dragged his extremely exhausted body back to that dilapidated courtyard, the sky was already completely dark.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and saw Su Qingyao standing in the shadows inside the gate at a glance.

She didn't know how long she had been waiting there.

Seeing Lin Chen's disheveled appearance, covered in blood and with unsteady steps, Su Qingyao's usually cool and calm face instantly turned deathly pale.

She stepped forward quickly and grabbed the swaying Lin Chen.

"Are you hurt?" There was a trace of trembling in her voice that she hadn't even noticed herself.

"It's not my blood." Lin Chen leaned against her, smelling the faint, fresh scent of plants in her hair, and his nerves, which had been tense all day, finally relaxed. "I encountered an Iron-Bristled Boar and took care of it."

He put down the herb basket and the heavy package from his bosom, and simply recounted what had happened in the mountains.

Su Qingyao didn't say a word. She silently fetched clean water, dampened a cloth, and carefully helped him wipe the bloodstains off his face and clean the small wounds on his body caused by the bushes, her movements as gentle as if she were touching a fragile piece of porcelain.

Afterward, she reheated the medicinal soup left over from last time and brought it to him.

At night, Lin Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, circulating the basic breathing technique of the Qingmu Sect, guiding the thin Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth, little by little restoring the dried-up pond in his Dantian.

I don't know how long it had been, but just when he felt that his Spiritual Qi had recovered for the most part and the stinging pain in his Meridians had gradually subsided, the stone ring on his right thumb suddenly transmitted a continuous and warm flow, different from any previous time; it was no longer fleeting.

In an instant, a new line of small text quietly appeared on the pale golden panel in the bottom left corner of his vision:

[Absorbing combat experience... The host's understanding of basic Spiritual Qi usage has deepened.]

[Long-term mission "Spreading Branches and Leaves" related hint: Dao Companion "Su Qingyao"'s physical condition has recovered to the basic stage capable of bearing offspring. After the host's cultivation reaches Qi Refining Stage 4, it can be officially activated.]

Lin Chen opened his eyes abruptly.

He turned his head to look at Su Qingyao, who was curled up and asleep beside him, unable to resist the exhaustion.

Under the dim oil lamp light, her eyelashes cast shallow shadows on her face, and her sleeping face was peaceful, though her brows were still slightly furrowed.

Qi Refining Stage 4...

He subconsciously touched the small package in his bosom, which was carefully wrapped in oil paper and carried a cold Aura.

The Ghost Face Mushrooms were already in hand, but Patrol Squad Captain Liu Wu's patience was clearly also about to run out.

Going directly to Huichun Hall now would be no different from exposing his trump cards under everyone's noses.

He couldn't be hasty.

Lin Chen slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, closed his eyes, and continued to immerse himself in Cultivation.

He needed to wait, wait for a more suitable opportunity.