Chapter Four: The Temptation of Food!

Chen Xiang continued walking for half a day, and even the dense foliage of the forest could not shield him from the sweltering heat. He was truly amazed by this forest; now he was absolutely certain he had crossed into another world, for there was no forest of such magnitude at the foot of Mount Tai.

His physical condition had become extraordinary after yesterday’s cleansing and marrow refinement, and his pace was certainly not slow. Yet, he had been walking nonstop since last night and still had not seen the edge of the forest.

After a while, Chen Xiang stopped. He touched his stomach, which promptly growled. Looking closely, he spotted an odd creature loitering under the shade of the trees ahead: half a meter tall, furry, resembling a deer but not quite, with no antlers but sporting a pair of long ears like a rabbit.

Chen Xiang’s eyes brightened. There was no need to ask; though he didn’t know what kind of animal this was, he already regarded it as a delicacy. He crept forward cautiously. The animal noticed him but remained innocent and unmoving, merely tilting its head to watch him.

Chen Xiang was delighted. When he was only five meters away, the animal moved slightly forward, alert and ready to bolt at any moment. Chen Xiang did not advance further; this distance was sufficient. He lay prone, hands pressed to the ground, and instantly, the earth element within him surged wildly.

With a thud, the soft earth beneath the animal’s feet turned into a flowing swamp. It failed to escape and was immediately trapped. Chen Xiang darted forward and grabbed its long ears, hauling it out of the mud with a powerful tug.

The unknown creature kicked wildly in the air, shrieking in alarm, but no matter how it struggled, it could not escape Chen Xiang’s iron grip. “Ah, don’t blame me. You just happened to appear when I’m hungry,” Chen Xiang said, gently stroking the animal as if speaking to a lover.

He then infused a stream of ice energy into the animal’s body, instantly freezing its functions. After his cleansing and refinement, the system had perfected his spiritual roots, and with the bonus from the Chaos Technique, his attributes had reached a new level.

“Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Chen Xiang’ for slaying the wild musk deer, earning two experience points,” chimed a system notification in Chen Xiang’s mind.

He smiled. He had already figured out how the system calculated experience: animals with some aggressiveness would grant experience points. Harmless creatures, like the squirrel he killed in the forest, yielded none. Yet when he killed a small, venomous rainbow spider, he gained three experience points. At first, he thought of exterminating a nest of ants to level up, but despite unknowingly trampling countless ants along the way, he hadn’t gained a single point.

Shaking his head, Chen Xiang began to gather firewood, but his gaze fell upon the musk deer in his hand. Yes, musk deer—that’s what the system had called it.

“What the heck, this is a musk deer?” Chen Xiang jumped up. Wasn’t this a national first-class protected animal? Had he just committed a crime?

Thinking of this, he quickly used his hand as a blade to open up the musk deer, searching inside. Its organs had been frozen by his ice energy, so not a drop of blood spilled.

After a moment, Chen Xiang extracted a pouch-like object from the musk deer’s body and breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, it’s intact.”

Others might not know about musk deer, but Chen Xiang did: it was also called a musk stag, and this pouch was its musk gland.

Musk had many uses—medicine, repelling insects… but what use was that now? Suddenly, he remembered he was in the world of cultivation. Medicine? Would cultivators ever fall ill? Poison? They wouldn’t need this. Mosquito repellent? Impossible—no mosquito would dare bite a cultivator unless it had become a spirit!

“Sigh, what a pity. I’ll keep it for now; could use it as perfume for charming young ladies later, maybe even as birth control,” Chen Xiang said with a mischievous grin.

With a thought, he had the system store the musk. Then he collected branches from various places and arranged them beneath a large tree.

Since cultivating, Chen Xiang’s reflexes and observation had greatly improved. With a twist of his hand, empowered by his metal attribute, his palm became as sharp as a knife, efficiently skinning the musk deer and leaving a whole piece of meat.

After everything was prepared, Chen Xiang broke off a sturdy branch from the tree and skewered the deer. Once done, he conjured a fireball in his palm, tossed it onto the arranged wood, and flames sprang to life.

With everything ready, Chen Xiang gritted his teeth and spent some reputation points, exchanging them in the system’s shop for a deluxe spice kit. Now he only had three reputation points left; in this desolate forest, every point was precious.

But for such rare meat, it would be a shame to ruin it with bland flavor. He owed it to the musk deer to make it delicious.

Chen Xiang had often gone barbecue with his friends and lived alone, so he was no stranger to cooking—his grilling skills were quite good.

As the fire grew stronger, he brushed a layer of oil on the deer and began to roast it slowly. The musk deer turned increasingly red, and a faint aroma started to fill the air.

Suddenly, Chen Xiang had an idea. He took out the musk, crushed a bit into powder, and sprinkled it evenly over the meat. The aroma intensified, blending with the scent of the meat, enveloping Chen Xiang in a fragrant cloud.

He salivated at the smell. “I never imagined musk would be so potent. This unique medicinal feast is mine to savor alone!”

As the meat neared readiness, Chen Xiang sprinkled soy sauce, salt, and other spices over it, making sure to dust one section with at least half a centimeter of chili powder. He was a die-hard lover of spicy food.

At last, with the final step done, the musk deer was fully cooked. Unable to wait, Chen Xiang tore off a leg and started eating.

“Mmm! This taste is fit only for the heavens—how many times can mortals enjoy such a meal?” he sighed.

“Eh? Why is Mother Earth shaking? Is this an earthquake?” Suddenly, Chen Xiang felt the ground trembling.

Whoosh! A shadow flashed before his eyes, but Chen Xiang’s reflexes were quick, and he dodged just in time.

Looking up, he was stunned. “What the heck—a tiger? Wait, the stripes are off!” He jumped up, but something was odd: the tiger’s stripes were predominantly pale blue rather than yellow, and its size was only about half again as large as Chen Xiang.

The strange tiger roared, wind swirling at its feet, and it shot forward, charging at Chen Xiang again.

Alarmed, Chen Xiang couldn’t track the tiger’s movements, seeing only a blur. Its speed was astonishing. He also noticed it wasn’t coming for him directly, but for the musk deer meat in his hand—the previous attacks had been angled toward the meat.

“You beast! How dare you try to steal the barbecue I worked so hard to cook? Are you looking for death?” Chen Xiang shouted angrily, though his heart was uneasy—the tremors hadn’t stopped.

The tiger seemed to understand, roaring again and rushing at Chen Xiang like the wind.

As it charged, Chen Xiang’s lips curled into a slight smile.

With one palm, he slapped the musk deer meat, sending a shadow flying. The tiger’s attention was fixed on the meat; seeing the shadow, it turned toward it.

Chen Xiang saw the tiger distracted, shifted his body slightly, and gathered metal energy in his hand, punching the tiger’s head.

With a thud, the tiger was thrown sideways to the ground. It struggled but couldn’t get up—Chen Xiang’s punch was fierce, especially with the Chaos Technique’s boost.

Holding a musk deer leg, with another in his mouth, Chen Xiang walked over coldly, finishing the leg and tossing the bone behind him. “Hmph, little tiger, you want to steal my meat? Come back when you’ve become a tiger spirit!”

Using his hand as a blade, he slit the tiger’s throat as it stared in terror and unwillingness.

Just then, a series of system notifications rang in his mind.

“Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Chen Xiang’ for slaying the Wind Tiger at Qi Refining Stage Two, earning one hundred experience points.”

“Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Chen Xiang’ for leveling up—current realm: Qi Refining Stage Two.”

“Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Chen Xiang’ for instilling fear in the beast, earning ten reputation points.”

“Ding! Congratulations to host ‘Chen Xiang’ for slaying the Wind Tiger—gained two Wind Tiger fangs. Collect one hundred to earn a Yellow-grade spirit weapon: Wind Tiger Gauntlets. Specific grade to be determined.”

“Huh? It really was a spirit tiger? Making it afraid grants reputation points? Ha, I’ve struck it rich!”

Chen Xiang was surprised, then delighted—slaying a Qi Refining Stage Two beast had earned him a hundred experience points, and he finally leveled up! He wasn’t too concerned about the spirit weapon; it required a hundred fangs—where would he find forty-nine more Wind Tigers to kill?

“Ding! System detects host is in extreme danger—please evacuate immediately!”

“What the heck? Extreme danger? What does that mean?” Chen Xiang was startled.

Suddenly, the earthquake intensified. He looked back and saw a mass of dark, indistinct shapes charging toward him.

Chen Xiang stared and finally saw what they were. A beast horde! Wind Tigers, wolves, lions—all carnivores, nearly a thousand of them!

“Holy crap! This is deadly!” Chen Xiang turned and fled.

Damn it, even a fool could guess why the beasts were coming!

“I just wanted a decent meal. Did it have to be this dramatic? Hmph, you all want to steal my food? Then I’ll leave you a pile of bones!” Chen Xiang sneered.

As he ran at full speed, he tore off more musk deer meat and ate it on the go.

But then, a voice sounded beside his ear.

“Young friend, slow down. Could you spare some for an old man?”

“To be continued…”