First Hunt

Feng Chao didn't feel that reaching the first layer of Body Tempering stage was worthy of praise. Any mortal would be able to reach it without any form of training as long as they didn't waste away their life. The first layer merely implied that the individual had a fit body, capable of doing physical labor.

To change a weak, untrained kid's physique in just five days, however, was the scary part.

Even the strictest sects wouldn't push their disciples that far. Relying on shortcuts like elixirs or the geezer's method was, of course, acceptable, but it was done after contemplating the risks that would follow at later date. That was why sects regulated the amount of elixirs that a disciple could take.

Feng Chao understood it well. The geezer's method wasn't without any demerit. It would be fine for now, but who knows what kind of aftereffects would follow from diffusing unrefined qi directly into his flesh? There hadn't been any clinical trials for this method, so it was all in the realm of speculation. He could only rely on his experience to detect when it was too dangerous to continue.

Either way, he didn't have much time. If he had to choose between dying sooner and dying later, then the second option would be many times better. As long as one was still alive, they could always find a solution.

As for what he had gained from entering the first layer…

The most noticeable change was his sudden mastery of this new body's movement. The original body was that of a kid's. He might be the owner now, but what Feng Chao wanted to do and what the body could accomplish was drastically different. He would always feel the body's movements as stiff and sluggish. But now, he could control his body way better than before. His limbs could better match the images in his head, allowing him to do precise maneuvers essentials in performing martial techniques later on.

This was the most basic of the basics, the foundation of all cultivation stages: having a body that moved in perfect harmony with one's mind.

Of course, he was still far from achieving that state. That would have to wait until he reached the peak layer of Body Tempering stage, the utmost limit of how far a mortal's body could go!

"If I'm forced to fight now, I wouldn't be at a disadvantage. At the very least, I'm confident that these legs could escape properly."

Since that was the case… how about trying to hunt?

Eating bug larvae was awful. Really. Feng Chao had to stress it again and again to himself. Eating bug larvae was really, really awful!

No, he definitely wasn't getting so accustomed to the taste until he genuinely thought that they were starting to get better, alright? He wasn't having the food version of stockholm syndrome, alright?? He truly, without a doubt, abhorred those bug larvae!

"More like, if I have to keep eating them, I might lose something important…"

Just because an immortal has no need to eat earthly sustenance, doesn't mean that they wouldn't care about the taste. If Feng Chao abandoned that aspect of himself, he felt that he would forget how it was to be human, turning into those aloof spirits who would ultimately lose their sense of self and perished into nothing.

That's why he had to find something good to eat, something worthy of human consumption!

But charging blindly into the darkness wasn't a good idea. Moreover, with how strange the plants and insects in this place were, there was no guarantee that the bigger animals would be "normal" all of a sudden. Some of them might not even be edible. Gathering information was imperative.

"For today, let's do a different kind of training."

With stronger arms and legs after his extensive training, Feng Chao could finally climb up the trees. The farther he went up, the thinner the branches become, and he could only reach halfway before he was forced to stop. The texture of the bark turned smooth, making the climb really slippery. Up above, the impenetrable layers of foliage loom over as if smiling at him in mockery.

It was definitely strange. Usually, no matter how thick the foliage was, at least stray columns of sunlight would be able to pierce through. For these past five days he had frequently glanced up during breaks, but not a single dot of light could be seen.

Was it really because of the trees? Or…

"…I can check it out later."

When he got further into Body Tempering stage, let's see if he still couldn't climb until the top!

"For now, let's focus on making traps."

He traveled along the riverside by hopping over the branches like a monkey, being extra careful by enhancing his hearing before making a leap. Only when he sensed that the area was quiet enough that he would continue. His sight had also adapted to the darkness. Thanks to that, he no longer needed the help of a torch to move around. As long as there were glowing mosses around, he could make out the outlines of the area surrounding him.

Soon, he reached the part of the stream where he had taken his first drink a few days ago.

Animals liked to gather near the river to drink. That was the reason why he left this place, and that was also the reason why he returned. Rather than roaming around the forest without direction, it would be better to wait for the prey to come themselves.

Problem was, he didn't know what kind of 'prey' would appear here.

It would be ideal if there were small animals like rabbits or squirrels living in this godforsaken place. Something bigger like deer or boars would be fine too. What worried him were carnivorous beasts like tigers or bears. His current condition didn't allow him to fight such creatures.

Feng Chao chose to prepare traps instead. They were simple pitfall traps consisting of dug holes covered by bundles of grass. He also stuck sharpened branches at the bottom to make quick work of any poor creatures that would fell in.

Since he didn't know what he was actually hunting, Feng Chao prepared different-sized holes. Smaller ones could fit a common rabbit, while bigger ones would be enough for something as big as a wild boar.

During his digging session, he scattered a few leaves on the ground and kept his divine sense activated in order to enhance his hearing. Intruders would step on the leaves and alerted him, allowing for a clean getaway before they could get near.

Despite his precautions, nothing had happened for the entire day.

He finally rested his divine sense after finishing the tenth pitfall. It was greatly taxing for his mental state, but the throbbing pain was better than getting ambushed by some unknown beasts.

"That should do it… let's get back and wait for the result."

Unfortunately, that meant it was still another day of roasted grubs for dinner…

Waking up after a good night's sleep, Feng Chao was rather excited with the prospect of catching an actual game. After doing some light exercises, he hopped off to check on the traps.

It didn't go well.

All ten of them were failures. The grass coverings were scattered away, revealing the dug-out pit below, but not a single animal had been caught inside.

After making sure that the coast was clear, Feng Chao jumped down to have a closer look. From what he could feel with his touch and limited sight, the traps didn't just merely fail. Someone, or something, had intentionally wrecked them. The ground around the openings had seemingly been dug out, thrown into the pit to take down the sharpened branches inside.

Only one pit was a bit different. The trap inside was broken into pieces. Something heavy had fallen inside and flattened them.

"It's the bigger one. Hmm…"

Feng Chao used the grass around the pits to cover the openings, so the surface was left with a layer of soft dirt. As such, whatever had messed up with his traps had left some footprints. The mark was quite clear near that one pit, perhaps because the mysterious creature had struggled to climb back up.

"…!"

The footprint was shaped like cloven hooves. Was it a deer? A goat? Or perhaps, a boar?

It seemed that he had hit a jackpot.

If it was a tiger or a jackal, he might have to think thrice, but he most certainly could handle some wild boars. Problem was, the creature managed to escape from the trap, even though he had sized them for a typical boar.

Either the creature was smarter, or it was bigger than those of the old world's…

There wasn't enough information. Should he try digging out a bigger trap this time?

…No. There wasn't any guarantee that the same creature would appear again. If anything, it might have gotten wary and avoided this place. There was no point if he would just repeat the same failure.

Perhaps he needed to do direct observation after all.

The next day, Feng Chao went a bit farther downstream and perched himself high up on a branch overlooking the riverside. He sat still, trying to erase his presence as much as he could. He mentally prepared himself for a long wait. After all, there was no guarantee that he would catch something today.

To pass the time, he ventured inside his mental library, thinking about some interesting researches that he and the Mad Geezer were discussing before the calamity wrecked his old world.

Within the eternal night, minutes felt like hours, and it was easy to lose track of time. Feng Chao didn't remember how long he had been sitting there like a statue. He was about to get an idea regarding the problem of fusing elements into one's golden core when a faint noise caught his attention.

He quickly returned his focus to reality. His divine sense activated, concentrating around his ears. The faint noise was more noticeable now.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

It was the sound of a solid object stepping on fallen leaves.

The owner of the sound was quite careful in their steps. If Feng Chao didn't have his divine sense to help him, he might dismiss the faint noise and just move on with his day.

The sound originated from the area farther away from the riverside. As time passed by, it gradually got closer to where Feng Chao was hiding.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

It stopped right below Feng Chao. For a moment he'd thought that the creature had noticed him, but it turned out that it was a baseless worry. The creature returned to its normal gait, rather enthusiastically creeping close to the edge of the river.

The glowing moss allowed Feng Chao to inspect the creature's form to some extent.

The shadow was bulky, its shape rather round. Its height was one and a half times taller than Feng Chao's current body, and there were protruding parts near what Feng Chao surmised as its head.

It stopped near the water edge, and then started to bob periodically. Every time it drooped down, a rough splashing noise could be heard.

There was no mistake, it was taking a sip at the moment. Greedily, at that.

Feng Chao clutched the stone dagger in his hand. Should he do it? Was he strong enough to take it down now? Should he train a bit more? Maybe after he reached the second or third layer…

No.

The creature had lowered its guard. That means there wasn't any predator around. It had lived in this forest its entire life, so its judgment should be quite accurate. Feng Chao was the only wild card here since the local wildlife hadn't been accustomed to his presence yet.

This chance might not come the second time.

It's now or never!

Like a bolt of lightning, Feng Chao swooped down from his hiding spot. The sharpened edge of his stone dagger flashed within the darkness, its tip homing in at the creature's neck with pinpoint accuracy.

Spilch.

The creature was covered in long fur, and its flesh was especially thick and covered in fat. However, Feng Chao added his entire weight into the attack, boring his dagger deep until he finally drew blood.

His prey only felt a sudden sting of pain before realizing that death was creeping in. It flailed wildly to shake off Feng Chao, but the cultivator grabbed its fur and hung on for dear life, all the while stabbing the dagger even further into the wound.

Finally, Feng Chao pulled the dagger out, making a deep incision that tore the creature's neck apart on the way out. Even so, it still wouldn't stop struggling.

"Just go down already!"

He turned around and this time stabbed at the other side of its neck, creating another shower of fresh blood.

The air was filled with the stench of iron.

Feng Chao was about to make a third strike when he felt that the creature was rapidly growing weaker. Finally, it buckled down on its knees, crashing on the ground with a loud thud.

"…Phew."

When he gave the thing a kick by the side, it didn't react at all.

He did it!

"Hehehe… Hahaha!"

Meat! He finally caught meat! After suffering for so long, he could finally eat meat! Mea-

Ahem.

"…Well, that was embarrassing…"

For an immortal to be so ecstatic because of meat… apparently, he still lacked training.

"Still, this is not a normal boar, huh…"

For starter, the fur was dyed in dark purple, similar to the color of grass around the vicinity. They blended really well within this darkness, even around glowing moss. The body itself was rather normal aside from its bigger size, but the head was quite unique.

It had long, floppy ears that drooped over the sides, like that of a rabbit. Its eyes, on the other hand, were almost nonexistent. Feng Chao only found the pair of small dots when he felt over its face with his fingers. It seemed that the beast relied mostly on hearings. He also found that the hooves were covered in thin hair, perhaps giving it a better sense of touch while walking.

What did it imply?

"It had adapted to the darkness."

If one boar did, then there was a high chance that other animals would do the same. The usual method of hunting might not work. Rather than keeping out of sight, ensuring that he wouldn't give off any sound or smell might be more effective.

A brand new species that he had never seen before… if the Mad Geezer knew about this, he would have been hopping with joy.

"This creature… hmm, for now, let's temporarily call this creature the Night-born Boar."

And now, let's get some meat!

Feng Chao flipped the boar to its back. The first order of business was to take its entrails out. He skillfully cut the boar from bottom to top, careful enough not to puncture its internal organs. After that, he took them out one by one until the inside was cleaned out.

He thought that the inside would be different, but it turned out that there wasn't much difference with a common boar. If anything, the heart seemed to be bigger, maybe due to its size.

Finished, he flipped the boar again, this time to let excess blood seep out from the carcass.

While waiting, he gathered the entrails and brought them a few distances away from his previous spot. Just in case some beasts came over due to the smell of blood, these entrails could serve as a distraction until he managed to get off with his prize. He might also need to clean the carcass with water to ensure that the smell wouldn't attract unwanted visitors.

"Now, to bring this back to the cave…"

He tied the feet with a rope he'd fashioned from long grass. There was no way that his current physique could carry the entire boar with his flimsy arms, so he had no choice but to drag it all the way up. At least it could serve as good training.

Back at the cave, he continued to process the meat: skinning the hide, stripping the meat and fat off the bones… in the end, he was left with boar skin, a pile of boar meat, and the intact bones with head and hooves still attached.

The stone dagger regrettably wasn't strong enough to cut through bones, so he had to leave it at that for now. He might need to make another one with a serrated edge to saw them off.

The meat might rot soon if he didn't preserve them. He would turn them into jerky later.

"But for now, it's time to eat!"

Today's menu was roasted pork!

With the pitiful gaze only someone who had been forced to eat larvae for seven days straight could understand, Feng Chao prepared the bonfire and began roasting. With some layer of fat added, the smell was heavenly compared to those filthy grubs.

The taste… hmm! Let's not compare between disgusting bugs and proper human food, alright? It would be unfair to the food!

"Meat is the best! Meat! Is! The! Best!"

Losing himself for the moment, Feng Chao fist-pumped like an excited child while enjoying the bounty of his first hunt.