[Swallowed inferior essence food, Skill Level +31]

Only with the ability to digest essence food, does one have the qualification to pursue "Rebirth".

Li Xian sat cross-legged on the spot, Qi Circulation operating, Blood Solidification and Aperture Closure. Although the blood flow was slow, the pores were hard to fully close.

He barely touched the mystery of "Closed Pores", difficult to retract and release at will.

But he felt the Essence of Heaven and Earth like a clear stream, thin as a hair, delicate as a cicada's wings, beginning to spread within his body. Far inferior to the last "Essence Soup" and "Essence Meat".

Starting from the abdomen, it traveled through the flesh, bones, and muscles. As it passed through major acupoints, it was obstructed by the circulating Qi, slowing its speed.

But it couldn't last long; the Essence of Heaven and Earth crossed through the Qi, dispersing to the skin's surface, escaping through the pores, returning to the heavens and the earth.

"Last time when I consumed the Essence Treasure, I couldn't achieve Qi Circulation. The Essence of Heaven and Earth felt like a gust of wind, disappearing in the blink of an eye."

"Now I can not only achieve Qi Circulation, but also almost accomplish Blood Solidification and Aperture Closure, allowing the Essence of Heaven and Earth to linger in my body a moment longer."

Considering changes before and after, the progress is obvious.

"However… the Essence of Heaven and Earth is still difficult to absorb. Commander Pang said, to absorb it, the Essence of Heaven and Earth must repeatedly wash over this clay embryo."

"Unknowingly, a small portion can be absorbed, and gradually, I can touch the threshold of essence food."

"But before that, I better ensure complete Closure of the Pores, or else would it not be wasted?"

"Heaven and Earth Treasures, how precious they are. Although I have no connections, my luck is excellent. The more so, the more I must cherish them."

"Commander Pang has no idea how long it took to help the Madame to achieve today's accomplishments. I must also maintain a stable mindset, moving forward step by step."

When consuming the mountain crabs' roe, the Essence of Heaven and Earth was initially undetectable. But once it entered the stomach, the Skill [Consumption] took effect, invisibly increasing it by more than thirty percent.

This caused the essence to gather into threads, giving a tangible sensation.

At that moment, two mountain crabs remained, both already cooked, not eating them would be wasteful, so Li Xian laid open the crab shells, devouring the roe one by one.

Qi Circulation, Blood Solidification… endeavoring to close the pores. Ensuring the Essence of Heaven and Earth stayed longer, every extra second counted.

Finally, he drank up the soup. Its milky texture, sweet upon entry, once in the stomach, also contained Essence of Heaven and Earth as thick as a strand of hair.

"Could these mountain crabs be minor demons?"

Li Xian, feeling full and hydrated, extinguished the fire and buried the crab shells into the earth. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him:

"If that's true, wouldn't there be larger demons in the mountains?"

"Once I completely 'Close the Pores', even if there are demons, I must venture once more, climb up the mountain to catch more."

"Relying on others is never as good as relying on oneself!"

By this time, the sky was fully alight.

Li Xian carried a large pot, hurried towards the wooden cabin. The creek was not far from the wooden cabin, after walking five or six miles, and crossing a hill, the outline of the wooden cabin could be seen.

A woman was pacing anxiously in front of the cabin.

"Aunt Zhang, are you looking for me?" Li Xian asked.

This woman was Zhang Tiezhi's wife, whom Li Xian recognized.

"Sir, sir, you're finally back." Aunt Zhang was overjoyed upon seeing Li Xian, but then her expression tightened, returning to an anxious look.

"What happened?" Li Xian asked, frowning.

Aunt Zhang said, "This matter, it all started last night, sir, please come with me."

She led the way ahead, heading towards the village entrance.

Li Xian looked and noticed something unusual. Normally at this time, there would have been conversations in the village, but today it was eerily quiet.

Aunt Zhang said, "Yesterday morning, I took two or three sisters and several men to the city to sell some fruits and wild vegetables to help support the household."

"When we returned, it was already dark. I saw, at the village chief's house, there were one, two, three… I couldn't keep track, several sturdy horses. I looked closer, weren't these horses from the Mountain Wind Stronghold's people? Why have they come again?"

"My husband was so scared that his legs started shaking. I was still relatively calm, knowing that behind the village chief's house there's a back mountain, where the vegetation is dense but you can see the situation inside the house. At that time, I also had the courage and thought to hide up there and see what's going on."

"Fortunately it was so, allowing me to escape a disaster."

Li Xian already had suspicions; as they walked into the village entrance, it was devoid of people and in disarray, clearly a turmoil had occurred.

Li Xian asked, "What exactly happened? Tell me in detail."

Aunt Zhang, with lingering fear, recounted the scene at that time…

It turned out, last night, the third leader of Mountain Wind Stronghold, Master of Wisdom, Peng Fox, personally led men down the mountain to Black River Village.

At that time, the young and old in the village were all in the house.

That Peng Fox wore a fur coat, playing with walnuts in his hand, with a long face and thin eyebrows, thin lips, and a low nose, he said: "Today is the village chief's grand birthday, you are under the village chief's protection, shouldn't you express your gratitude?"

Uncle Fu said, "Black River Village wishes the village chief longevity like the southern mountain, eternal as the seas, fortunes like the eastern ocean…"

Peng Fox said: "Such empty words, what use are they, when I said expression, I meant silver, rice, and if not, any beautiful daughters from families will do."

Then he added: "Today is a joyful day, I won't make it difficult for you. If your village can hand over some silver, I will leave immediately. Perhaps I can even say a few good words on your behalf, making fewer visits. Of course, it depends on your sincerity."

Uncle Fu said, "Ah! If that's the case, I will give my entire fortune to wish the village chief a long life." He then handed over one tael of silver.

"One tael of silver?" Peng Fox laughed: "Though not little, it is not auspicious. How about this, the village chief is fifty-three this year, if you can offer three taels of silver, I guarantee four years of peace for you all."

At this point, murderous intentions were evident.

Coincidentally, Fang Yaozi had recently performed a meritorious act, receiving several taels of silver from the village chief as a reward.

Peng Fox, on this trip down the mountain, had been to each surrounding village one by one. With the same rhetoric, he demanded silver to test them.

If you could produce three taels of silver, you were certainly guilty. Even if not, you would be treated as guilty.

Rustic villagers with short sight, lacking wisdom and strategy, only knowing immediate benefits, naturally fell for the trap.

"Really?" Uncle Fu was feeling guilty, eager to send the bandits away;

And held on to a glimmer of hope, thinking that with three taels of silver, he could guarantee peace for several years. Even if they suffered from cold or hunger this year, as long as they endured it, they could enjoy fortune next year.

As for the source of the silver, he had a prepared excuse, saying it was from selling cattle.

So he took out the remaining two pieces of silver.

Unbeknownst to him, as soon as Peng Fox received the silver, there was no need for further explanations.

He smiled meaningfully, "Truly the sea cannot be measured with a ladle, you have opened my eyes."

Then he turned sharply: "Black River Village attacked and killed members of the Mountain Wind Stronghold, arrest everyone from the village and take them back to the stronghold!"

Uncle Fu was shocked, kneeling to plead but his excuses were full of loopholes, which Peng Fox easily saw through.

And Aunt Zhang, hiding in the back mountain, barely escaped the calamity.

...

Aunt Zhang, being a rural farmwife, surely had discrepancies in her retelling. However, Li Xian, being privy to the situation, quickly gleaned the general outline.

"According to Aunt Zhang's account, the bandits intentionally tricked Uncle Fu and others. Uncle Fu fell for the scheme, exposing the truth."

"It's hard to blame Uncle Fu; though old with experience, he lacks insight. Being deceived is to be expected."

"It seems that the Mountain Wind Stronghold has someone particularly cunning, and I must be cautious."

Li Xian felt deeply troubled.

"Sir, what… what should we do now? They were all taken back to the stronghold last night; could… could they all have been killed?" Aunt Zhang cried.

"Stay calm." Li Xian pondered for a moment, then asked: "How far is the Mountain Wind Stronghold from here?"

"About fifty to sixty miles, on that Golden Wind Mountain." Aunt Zhang pointed to the east.

"They probably haven't reached the stronghold yet." Li Xian calmly analyzed. The snowy mountain paths are hard to traverse; fifty to sixty miles are indeed very far.

Rushing there now, there might be a chance for rescue.

"If I allow them to be killed, firstly, the Madame will blame me."

"Secondly, the bandits were actually killed by me, and if this affair is exposed, they will come looking for revenge… I can no longer stay in this mountain village. The crab Essence Treasures, tiger beast paws will be beyond my reach."

"Instead of being passive, I might as well take the initiative, rescue the villagers, and build my forces, increasing my strength."

"For the sake of myself, my interests, and my conscience, I must give it a try."

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