In the outer area of the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts, a young man was hiding within a bush. His breath was completely held, and in his hand, he gripped a wooden stick. On his waist, there was a realistic rabbit puppet.
His eyes, peering through the greenery, were fixed on a red-eyed snake with completely black fur. The creature looked around with a bloodthirsty expression, searching for flesh. This type was extremely violent, driven almost purely by instinct.
Slowly approaching, the young man placed his hand on his waist and, once closer, positioned the rabbit on the ground. Then, he reached into his pocket and took out a small blue stone, placing it in the puppet's mouth. The puppet then darted off and, a bit ahead, let out screeches.
Those buzzing sounds alerted the snake, which turned toward the furry, white creature. Upon seeing it, its mouth began to water. One of its favorite meals was small animals. Wasting no time, it slithered with its two-meter-long body until it reached the rabbit.
Which remained there, moving toward the snake. Further behind, there was another prey that also approached, crawling.
Soon, three figures stood out in the area. The largest of them was the reptile, which opened its mouth, wanting to devour everything in a single bite. The puppet went straight inside. Seeing that, the beast didn't hesitate and struck, swallowing everything at once.
The next instant, the puppet burst into lightning inside the creature, shocking its flesh. Outside, the reptile began to writhe from the digestion.
From a distance, the third observer, seeing the weakened state of the beast, rose from the bush, holding a piece of wood. He approached the creature and, without mercy, struck its neck.
The snake, even then, opened its mouth. Its instincts still told it to devour that human. But before it could strike, its neck was crushed. The brown stick came down, destroying everything, piercing its scales and embedding into the ground.
The young man, named Lie Yun, upon seeing the dead monster, sighed in relief.
'It all worked out in the end.'
From the start, he hadn't been sure he could win. The creature before him was a level one beast. And he was just a mortal, without cultivation. He only won because the beast was dumb, eating anything it found.
This puppet was something he had bought for ten spirit stones, also activated with one. Its function was self-destruction, but instead of fire, it used lightning. That neutralized the monster and prevented any Qi usage.
"Now that I've won! It's time to test the altar."
Lie Yun, who had risked his life in those last seconds, was eager to test an object he had found some time ago in the shrouds. But to activate it, it required beast blood.
Since it was expensive, he couldn't afford to buy one. The only way he found was to resort to tricks to hunt his own offering.
Pulling a small mansion from his pocket, about ten centimeters wide and five tall, with a reddish surface, Lie Yun placed it on the corpse and stepped back.
Two meters away, he looked ahead, rubbing his fingers with a slightly racing heart.
The tiny mansion glowed red. Soon, a circle appeared beneath it, starting to absorb the reptile's blood. Shortly after, only the black skin remained, slightly charred from the lightning.
Lie Yun, seeing that, immediately approached the altar and squatted, staying still.
"This is real!... But what is this? Why does it need blood? Is it an evil item?"
He had doubts. His rational mind told him to refuse.
But his heart told a different story. He wanted to take it. To cling to this one chance to walk the path of Immortality.
Lie Yun wanted to be immortal.
He was afraid of death.
Even if sometimes he risked his own life, it was all for his goal.
'Yes... I came here because I trusted this to begin cultivating... Why did I hesitate? Is it fear of the unknown? Yes, that's it... But I have no choice... I don't want to live as a mortal!'
He decided to follow his heart. He raised his hand toward the altar. With each inch forward, his nerves grew more tense. Ignoring the anxiety, he touched it.
In the next instant...
From the altar, a drop of red blood was shot into his palm, emerging from within the structure. After receiving it...
He gained an ability etched into his being:
Crawl.
He could use his belly to crawl like a snake.
"..."
'Shit! If I knew this, I would've chosen another animal! Crawl? Well... maybe it can be useful, to get through this grass... Maybe it's not that bad.'
Lie Yun accepted it and stored the altar back in his pocket.
'An altar that can grant abilities... that's interesting. But how am I going to use this to start cultivating?'
He had no idea. He lay on the grass again and began to crawl. It was a strange sensation, yet familiar—and fun at the same time.
Grabbing the snake's skin, he quickly left. His speed was three times faster than running on legs. Even better, he didn't tire.
That left him ecstatic. Without wasting time, he began looking for more animals, all small ones, to test.
But when he killed a small worm for testing, he discovered it didn't work.
'Ordinary animals are useless... This sucks! How am I supposed to kill a level one beast with my bare hands?'
Lie Yun gave up trying and returned to his small town, determined to make a plan.
After half an hour, he saw a twenty-meter wall made of stone. By then, he had stopped crawling. He walked on his legs as usual.
"Finally made it to the city!"
He was happy to have returned alive. He still carried the snake's skin. With immense satisfaction, he headed toward the city. Guards were posted at the entrance. Even in a weak area, one should never be careless with the Forest. The unexpected can always happen.
The guards, upon seeing him, didn't hinder his entry. Lie Yun was known to them.
Upon entering the city, he saw several wooden houses and some buildings of red wood. The atmosphere was calm. Occasionally, people—usually children—appeared but didn't approach.
At that moment, Lie Yun looked terrifying. He carried the skin of a dead animal and was covered in dirt. The only visible thing was his black-blue hair, which reached down to his waist. His identity was unmistakable—he was the only one with that color.
Ignoring the brats, he entered the Sales Pavilion. The women wrinkled their noses. Besides being filthy, he also reeked.
Lie Yun rolled his eyes and headed straight to the second floor. Upon arrival, a smile crept onto his lips, his voice puffed up, and in the next moment, he said:
"Madam Gongsun, I've got something interesting here!"