Chapter 12: The Origin of Martial Spirit_1

Martial Spirit!

Lu Yan furrowed his brow, another term he had never heard before, and one that was absent in the original host's memories.

"Yan, what did the head of the Red-clad Guard say to you?"

Lu Qingshan asked as he walked over.

Lu Yan hesitated slightly, looking at Wang Cui.

The Liu Family had imposed a gag order not even the Red-clad Guard dared to violate. He did not dare to let Wang Cui know.

If Wang Cui carelessly let it slip during a casual chat with other women in the village, it would cause a big problem.

Seeing Lu Yan's expression, Lu Qingshan knew what he was thinking. He walked into the living room and said, "Mother, Yan and I have something to discuss, you should go to sleep first."

"You two shouldn't stay up too late."

Wang Cui nodded, and walked into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Father and son sat down in the living room.

"Dad, the head of the Red-clad Guard only said one word, Martial Spirit."

Lu Yan muttered under his breath.

"Martial Spirit!"

Lu Qingshan's face changed dramatically, he exclaimed, "So it's the Martial Spirit."

"Dad, you know about it?"

"I've heard of it, but not much."

Lu Qingshan's face was grave, as if recalling something, and after a moment he said, "When I was practicing martial arts in the martial arts hall, I once heard an old master mention that the Martial Spirit in the Da Chu Dynasty is taboo."

"Why?"

"It's related to the method of cultivating Martial Spirit. It is referred to as the Spirit of Martial Arts, residing in obscurity. Ordinary people or martial artists can communicate with the Martial Spirit and acquire its legacy through a certain special sacrificial method."

"It is said that those who gain the legacy of the Martial Spirit not only obtain profound and mystical martial arts, making their cultivation as if aided by gods and advancing at incredible speed, but also greatly increase their lifespan. The most important thing is, they can acquire an undying body."

Lu Qingshan remarked.

Lu Yan sucked in a cold breath.

Acquiring martial arts legacy was one thing, but to actually prolong one's lifespan and obtain an undying body was a defiance of the heavens.

"With such astounding power, why would it become a taboo in the Da Chu Dynasty? Could it be that the royal family fears other people would become too powerful and destabilize their reign?"

Lu Yan speculated.

Lu Qingshan shook his head, "No, it's rather due to the extremely dangerous process of cultivating the Martial Spirit. It can lead to all sorts of violent changes. At best, one goes mad, at worst, one turns into various kinds of monsters, losing their humanity and becoming exceptionally brutal. Even drinking blood and consuming humans becomes a common occurrence. Wherever they pass, it's as if the world has turned into hell."

"Just imagine how horrifying it would be to have a monster with a prolonged lifespan, powerful strength, yet an undying body. If not forbidden, there would be no peace in the world."

"Dad, does the Martial Spirit truly possess an undying body?"

Lu Yan asked again.

Honestly, he had doubts about this.

An undying body basically implies it can't be killed. If that were true, why did the previous monster have to flee from the attack of the Liu Family? Was it afraid of being captured?

"This, I'm not entirely sure about myself. These are all hearsay. At the time of the founding of the Da Chu Dynasty, the Martial Spirit was made taboo, and all the sacrifices and methods that could communicate with the Martial Spirit were burnt to ashes. The order was given that anyone found communicating with the Martial Spirit would be put to death without exception, and their nine familial connections would be exterminated."\p>

"I never expected that someone would still take the risk. It has reappeared in the small Changfeng City, indeed monsters emerge in troubled times. The world is becoming more and more chaotic."

Lu Qingshan sighed.

Lu Yan was silent.

It's entirely normal for people to take the risk.

After all, the temptation is too great.

Everyone possesses a gambling mentality. Others might undergo violent changes, but perhaps they might be fine.

The two of them chatted a bit more before each returned to their rooms with their own thoughts and went to sleep.

...

Early the next morning, the Liu Family sent people to reassure the villagers.

The messengers explained that the events of the previous night were caused by a dangerous bandit who had lost control of his martial arts training. He had been seriously injured by the Liu Family's martial army and had fled into the mountains. The military was in the process of tracking him down and it wouldn't be long before they killed him. The villagers had no need to worry.

Even if Lu Yan hadn't witnessed the events and knew about the Martial Spirit, he would not have believed such nonsense.

He even suspected that the Liu Family was using them as bait to lure out the Martial Spirit.

Because if you capture a Martial Spirit and turn it in, you're eligible for a considerable reward.

When they first entered the village, Lu Yan found the attitude of the feudal lords strange. Not only did they offer them shelter, they provided them with accommodation, allocated fields, and even rented them food. It didn't seem characteristic of the feudal lords' style.

If they were indeed using them as bait, everything would make sense.

The Liu Family had a good enough reason to do so.

"We really can't stay here any longer, we must move into the city as soon as possible."

Lu Yan felt that the Martial Spirit was mostly unharmed and he didn't know when it might return. Not to mention the bandits, this small village was filled with danger at every turn.

Fortunately, the Martial Spirit was currently under pursuit by the Liu Family's martial army. It shouldn't come back to their village for a short while. They had to make good use of this time and save up enough silver to buy a house in the city.

"I currently have about 160 mark silver. I need another 150. As long as I hunt down a tiger, selling its skin, meat, and bones should be about enough."

Lu Yan speculated.

Immediately, he instructed Lu Qingshan and Wang Cui to stay at home and not to go out. He then went towards Changfeng City.

His previous iron bow had become crooked and distorted, he needed to buy a new one.

Moreover, he could not go back to Woniu Mountain, as that was where the monster had fled to the previous day.

He didn't dare to risk his life by going there, he would have to find a new hunting ground.

Changfeng Mountain spanned several hundred kilometers. It was the largest mountain range near Changfeng City.

Changfeng City was thus named after this mountain.

Lu Yan swapped for an iron bow within the city, made some preparations, and set off towards Changfeng Mountain.

As he approached the base of the mountain, he occasionally spotted bands of three to five figures barreling their way into the vast forest.

Some were robust with overpowering auras — it was instantaneously clear that they were martial artists.

"There are a lot of people entering Changfeng Mountain. Could they all be here to pick 'Red Knife Leaves'? Autumn is the season when Red Knife Leaves mature."

Lu Yan pondered.

Red Knife Leaf, a kind of martial food seasoning.

The main ingredient of martial food was, without a doubt, the meat of alien beasts.

The supplements, on the other hand, were various kinds of spirit grass.

After a series of complicated cooking and simmering procedures, the gamey taste and harmful substances within the beast meat are removed. However, to stimulate their powerful medicinal properties — to transform them into the indispensable treasure for a martial artist's cultivation — an introduction element is required, which comes in the form of martial food seasoning.

Martial food seasoning, it harmonizes the alien beast meat and the spirit medicine, causing them to perfectly blend, and stimulate potent medicinal properties.

Additionally, it greatly enhances the taste and flavor of the martial food.

Therefore, it comes at a hefty price.

These ingredients are artificially cultivated by the major feudal lords, but the price is nowhere near that of the wild variety.

The Red Knife Leaves of the Changfeng Mountain serve as a broadly used martial food seasoning. When it matures every autumn, a multitude of people traverse into Changfeng Mountain to search for the Red Knife Leaves.

There are ordinary people as well as limit-breaking warriors.

These people are referred to as Leaf Seekers.

Lu Yan furrowed his brows. This flood of people into Changfeng Mountain was unfavorable for hunting; the game would either have been hunted or startled away.

However, he did not have a better option at the moment.

The leaf-seeking period continued for several months; he couldn't possibly wait for it to end.

Clutching the iron bow, Lu Yan rushed into the depths of Changfeng Mountain.

Sure enough, for several hours, Lu Yan encountered no game. Forget about large predatory beasts, he didn't even spot a single wild rabbit.

Instead, he frequently bumped into the Leaf Seekers.

Lu Yan could only venture deeper into Changfeng Mountain, where the people gradually began to thin out.

Suddenly, a purple figure flash by from within the grove of trees ahead.

"Is that...a purple marten?"

Lu Yan was elated.

Purple marten skins were extremely valuable, greatly esteemed by the affluent families.

A single complete purple marten skin could be sold for hundreds of mark silver, equivalent to a tiger's skin.

The number of the purple martens, however, was minuscule. Lu Yan had never seen one in all his hunting expeditions; he had only heard about them.

Even Lu Qingshan, who had been hunting for over a decade, only caught sight of it twice but never managed to capture it.

Lu Yan instantly gave chase to the purple marten.

But the marten was incredibly swift and nimble, weaving its way through the grove of trees like a shot of purple lightning. It dodged all three arrows Lu Yan shot, one after the other.

The chase was fast, covering many miles in just a few moments.

The marten charged into a dense and verdant valley. Without any hesitation, Lu Yan immediately pursued it.

The valley was long but narrow, overgrown with shrubbery, which significantly hampered Lu Yan's speed. He watched as the purple marten put more and more distance between them.

Lu Yan was relentless and grit his teeth, charging forward.

The further he went into the valley, the narrower it became.

When Lu Yan reached the end of the valley, he halted; there was no path ahead except for a small crevice in the rocks.

He had seen the purple marten squeeze through this crevice just a while ago.

"Am I expected to squeeze through this crack? Is that where I'll be checking out in this life?"

Lu Yan muttered.

Without any other options, for the sake of hundreds of silver, Lu Yan decided to give it a try.

However, the crack was too narrow, just the size of a man's calf, Lu Yan attempted for quite a while but wasn't able to fit through.

He had no choice but to give up.

It was too tight!

"Damn it!"

Lu Yan spit into the crevice and sulkily began his return journey.

When Lu Yan returned to the mouth of the valley, he suddenly froze.

"That's not right, just now that was..."

Lu Yan quickly retraced his steps, and when he was about midway through the valley, he paused, staring at a clump of bright red plants on the side of the valley.

This plant was roughly a meter tall, its leaves the size of a palm, but of a narrower shape, similar to a knife's.

"Bright red like blood, the shape of a knife, these are the Red Knife Leaves."

Lu Yan was ecstatic.

Truly a case of losing the east corner, but gaining at the west.

He may not have caught the purple marten, but he unexpectedly stumbled upon a clump of Red Knife Leaves.

Earlier when he entered the valley, he had been so focused on hunting the purple marten that he had only glanced at a clump of bright red plants and didn't pay it much mind.

Very nearly overlooked the Red Knife Leaves.

Dried Red Knife Leaves were worth their weight in gold. Even though fresh Red Knife Leaves could be sold for three hundred silver per pound.

This clump of Red Knife Leaves consisted of around a dozen plants, amounting to at least one pound of leaves.

Lu Yan walked up to them, picked a Red Knife Leaf, and held it subtended under his nose. It bore a unique fragrance, confirming its identity as the Red Knife Leaf beyond any doubt.

As Lu Yan was about to pick the leaves, he suddenly heard a rustling sound. The next moment, a gaunt middle-aged man emerged from the thicket and appeared before Lu Yan's eyes.