Chapter 9: Escaping the Cage Today

When Li Qiuchen woke up, he found himself lying by the river, soaked through, his bundle scattered, and his gold and silver valuables strewn across the ground.

The few Medicinal Pills he had stolen from Great-Uncle’s house had all dissolved into a medicinal soup, and even that Cultivation Technique book was completely drenched.

“Pathetic” was the only way to describe his current state.

But Li Qiuchen didn’t complain; he sat down on a rock by the river and laughed out loud.

He had finally escaped!

From the moment he could remember, he had lived in the village—or rather, in that pigpen.

The more he knew, the more oppressed he felt.

Now that he had finally escaped the cage and regained his freedom, no matter the price, it felt worth it to him.

Boss Guan and Hong Yang were nowhere to be found, presumably washed away to some other place by the river.

This was already the best possible outcome; at least the Crayfish Spirit had not broken its promise. Being separated at the end was a matter of its ability, not its monster integrity.

It was only a pity for Cherry Grass, who had failed to escape.

Li Qiuchen had not expected Great-Uncle to be so frantic and devoid of conscience as to strike at his own direct Bloodline. By the time he realized the problem, it was already too late.

The deep mountains and old forests were certainly full of dangers, but regardless, it was still better than the environment of the pigpen in Songlin Village.

At least now he could finally Cultivate in peace without worrying about strange things growing out of his body… After recovering his state, Li Qiuchen began to pack his belongings.

Aside from the items he had snatched from Great-Uncle’s house, he didn’t have a single hair on him, and he hadn’t eaten for a long time.

Wilderness survival was a major problem for a child.

Fortunately, Heaven never seals off all exits.

While drying his books, Li Qiuchen noticed that the few Medicinal Pills ruined by the water had attracted the fish in the river. Some fish even leaped onto the shore, scrambling to gulp down the medicinal liquid flowing out.

With almost no effort, he caught seven or eight fat fish, each over a foot long, with his bare hands, and then carefully gathered the Medicinal Pill residues.

Although it seemed they were no longer fit for human consumption, their effect for fishing was quite good; for his remaining time in the mountains, he would likely have to rely on them to solve his food problem.

He started a fire, roasting the fish while drying his clothes—after this ordeal, the clothes on his body were also in tatters. If the weather hadn’t been warm, he might have frozen to death in the mountains at night.

Li Qiuchen sat by the fire, organizing his gains.

Great-Uncle’s house had plenty of gold and silver jewelry, but he had only taken a few silver ingots and nothing else.

Firstly, it was to reduce weight for an easier escape. Secondly, it was out of caution.

There is an old saying, “A child carrying gold in a busy market,” which is mainly used to describe a fool.

Gold was certainly valuable, but he currently had no power to protect himself; not only could he not spend it, but it would also easily bring about a fatal disaster.

Some of the silver in the bundle had been lost in the river, leaving only twenty taels of broken silver—not much, but not little either.

What was truly most valuable was the Tree Core he had snatched from the old peach tree.

This was a complete gamble, like plucking a tooth from a tiger’s mouth, but if not for this item, Li Qiuchen could never have pulled Boss Guan and the Crayfish Spirit onto his pirate ship.

The piece of Tree Core he had obtained weighed about two or three pounds; it was white and tender like a fresh bamboo shoot, faintly emitting a strange peach blossom fragrance. Just smelling it made him feel the accumulated pain and fatigue in his body vanish.

This was a top-grade medicinal ingredient that could be gnawed raw like the Crayfish Spirit did, or taken back to be used in medicine like Boss Guan. Or perhaps if he met someone who knew its value in the future, he might even sell it for a good price.

All in all, the benefits were many.

With his stomach full, Li Qiuchen picked up the half-dry classic of scenic clouds and flipped through its wrinkled pages.

The book had been soaked in water and could no longer be preserved for long.

Fortunately, it contained the unique Pupil Technique Legacy of the Li Family; after training, one could at least obtain a photographic memory Divine Ability, allowing one to memorize all the contents of the book.

Having undergone Transmigration and Rebirth into this world for many years, finally shaking off the shackles to formally step onto the path of Cultivation, Li Qiuchen’s mood was also very excited.

The classic of scenic clouds was not a simple Cultivation Technique; it was actually an autobiography written by the Li Family ancestor, Li Jingyun.

Li Jingyun’s Family had fallen into decline during his youth, but he was clever from childhood and, through talent and hard work, was admitted to Beihai Academy, one of the four great academies of the Northern Border. Afterward, he traveled everywhere and guarded the Shilong River for a hundred years, yet he still failed to Breakthrough the Golden Core Realm to nurture a Nascent Soul.

During this period, however, he occasionally encountered a Medicine Master manifesting a miracle and gained insight into the Great Dao of Longevity.

Medicine Master… Li Qiuchen was now a bit sensitive to this term.

In the book, Li Jingyun gave a very long explanation of the “Medicine Master.”

The so-called Medicine Master was essentially the Great Dao of Longevity.

Cultivating immortality also involves Cultivating longevity, but it differs from the longevity of a Medicine Master.

Cultivating longevity is a means, with the ultimate goal being to be carefree and free. The focus of a Medicine Master’s longevity, however, lies solely in the longevity itself.

In the eyes of a Medicine Master, “life” is above all else; they believe the root of all suffering for all living beings lies in death, and only longevity can bring liberation.

This “life” can be one’s own life or the life of others.

The Great Dao of the Medicine Master originally had no distinction between good and evil; you could mind your own business or universally deliver all people.

But Cultivators naturally focus more on their own lives, using any means necessary to extend their own lifespan, the simplest and most effective method being to plunder the Pharmacists Blessing from others to prolong their own years.

Over time, these Medicine Masters Believers, who only cared for their own longevity and had no moral bottom line, became notorious demonic heretics, attracting the pursuit and killing of Righteous Path Cultivators, which could only be said to be their own doing.

Li Jingyun’s book recorded in detail the methods of receiving the Pharmacists Blessing as well as plundering the blessings of others.

The Great Dao of the Medicine Master universally aids all living beings. As long as one worships devoutly and praises the Medicine Master, one can receive a Pharmacists Blessing to prolong one’s life. This method has no side effects, but the lifespan gained is not very obvious and is difficult to quantify specifically.

For example, if you were originally meant to live to eighty, and because of your faith in the Medicine Master you lived an extra month, you wouldn’t be able to feel this small increase in lifespan yourself unless you looked at the Book of Life and Death.

To further obtain more Pharmacists Blessing, one needs the corresponding Cultivation Technique of the Great Dao of the Medicine Master.

Li Jingyang left a mantra and three Pill Formulas in the book.

By Cultivating according to the mantra and supplementing it with Medicinal Pills, one could obtain a much longer lifespan.

Li Qiuchen skipped this passage directly; he didn’t want anything more to do with the Medicine Master now.

It was not until the second half of the book that Li Jingyun began to record the Family’s Yin-Yang Dharma Eye Cultivation Technique.

The name of the technique was very plain and simple, called the “Li Family Technique,” divided into two parts: Body Tempering and Pupil Technique.

It also included several medicinal recipes for Body Tempering.

As for the medicinal recipes to accompany the Pupil Technique, they were not in this book; perhaps Li Jingyun’s talent was so extraordinary that he felt they were unnecessary.

Instead, it was the later generations of the Li Family who could not reach the talent of the Old Ancestor, so they compiled the collection of wisdom eyes texts as a supplement.

Whether this technique was Advanced or not… with no other reference for comparison, it was truly difficult for Li Qiuchen to judge.

But having something was better than nothing.

Moreover, as a dignified Transmigrator, how could I remain obscure and subservient to others for long?

At a time like this, shouldn’t the System be coming online?

After finishing the entire classic of scenic clouds, the sky had turned dark. Carrying his dreams of a beautiful future life, Li Qiuchen curled up under the tree roots, closed his eyes, and entered the world of dreams.

Whoosh… in the middle of the night, Li Qiuchen suddenly sat up, drenched in cold sweat.

He had been scared awake.

In his dream, Li Qiuchen was already living a beautiful life of eating large portions of meat, drinking from large bowls of wine, and being surrounded by a beautiful wife and concubines.

Suddenly, a pair of flawless jade-like feet appeared before his eyes.

He looked up in a daze, only to see countless emerald green buds and branches rushing toward his face.

An ethereal voice that seemed to come from an extremely distant place whispered softly in his ear.

“Thus have I heard…” Li Qiuchen’s hairs stood on end, and he woke up instantly, feeling a burst of tightness in his chest and abdomen, and he couldn’t help but start retching.

A mouthful of fresh blood mixed with undigested roasted fish was vomited from his mouth, and mixed within it were some emerald green buds and tender leaves… but I clearly didn’t eat any grass roots or tree bark!

Li Qiuchen was terrified, realizing that he had likely fallen into the same situation as Cherry Grass.

A Spiritual Root was growing out from inside his body!

But I clearly didn’t do anything… no, I finished reading the classic of scenic clouds!

The Old Ancestor has really caused a lot of harm! He actually poisoned the book!

However, unlike Cherry Grass’s situation back then, Li Qiuchen had not lost consciousness, and the Spiritual Root had not grown out of his body; instead, it looked as if it was being digested by him.

After calming down, Li Qiuchen closed his eyes and performed Internal Vision according to the Pupil Technique training method recorded in the book.

In fact, his eyes had long ago awakened the hereditary Family talent; it was just that he had never trained it. Now that he had the correct training method, he could use it directly.

Closing his eyes and silently circulating his power, he turned his gaze toward himself; every bit of skin, flesh, and bone was clearly visible, and even the Meridians through which he circulated his power could be seen perfectly.

Li Qiuchen observed carefully and found that extremely tiny, tender young sprouts were continuously growing inside his body, but before these sprouts could grow large, they were absorbed and digested by him.

Like a plant performing photosynthesis, even if he didn’t Cultivate at all now, just by relying on digesting these sprouts, he could increase his own power.

Could this be… a Pharmacists Blessing?

A flash of inspiration struck Li Qiuchen’s mind, and he became even more terrified.

What did I do to receive a Pharmacists Blessing? Just reading a book, Old Ancestor, there’s no need to screw me over like this, is there?

But on second thought, he felt it shouldn’t be a problem with that book.

If reading a book could really grant a Pharmacists Blessing, then Great-Uncle wouldn’t have to work so hard to plant Spiritual Roots; he could just stay at home every day Refining Pills and reading books.

Then where exactly did the problem lie? How did I, someone who doesn’t believe in the Medicine Master at all, get honored with such a distinction… Li Qiuchen suddenly shuddered as he thought of something.

The classic of scenic clouds recorded that devoutly worshipping and praising the divine name was only the simplest and lowest-level means.

As long as your actions conformed to the true meaning of the Great Dao of the Medicine Master, you would receive a glance from the Medicine Master and a blessing would be bestowed.

And all these years, he had only been doing one thing single-mindedly.

And that was survival!