Chapter Six: My Deep Mourning—Can You Truly Comprehend?

The old man seemed puzzled. “Boy, are you sure about this? You look to be about eighteen or nineteen, right? At your age, with such meager cultivation, it’ll be harder for you to advance than to climb to the heavens!”

Chen Xiang chuckled inwardly. I’ve got a system! All I have to do is casually slay a monster and I level up—why would I need your cultivation techniques?

“Heh, old man, how do you know my cultivation is so low?” Chen Xiang smiled mysteriously.

“Pah, I’m not blind or senile. You think I can’t see through your cultivation?” the old man scoffed.

“Alright then, watch closely!” Chen Xiang said, then strode toward the unconscious beasts lying on the ground.

The old man, unsure of what Chen Xiang was up to, grew curious. He found a rock and sat down, savoring his food while watching Chen Xiang’s movements.

Chen Xiang approached the beasts, who glared at him with bloodthirsty eyes. He sneered back, “What are you staring at? Think I won’t scare you to death?”

Using his hand like a blade, he stepped up to a wolf-shaped beast and, with a swift motion, slit its throat with ease.

A system notification sounded in Chen Xiang’s mind.

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for slaying a Level One Qi Refining Forest Shadow Wolf. You have gained one hundred experience points.”

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for leveling up. Current realm: Qi Refining Level Three.”

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for instilling fear in a group of beasts. You have gained one hundred and eighty reputation points.”

“Heh, leveled up again. This is almost too easy!” Chen Xiang mused, stroking his chin.

He addressed the remaining beasts, “Well? Scared now? Too bad—I’m not letting any of you off!”

Earlier, between his experiments in the forest and the experience from slaying those witless wild beasts, he’d accumulated just over a hundred experience points. With this fresh kill, he had enough to level up.

The old man, gourd in hand, was enjoying his food and drink, but kept an eye on Chen Xiang. He’d only knocked the beasts unconscious because he needed them alive; once they awoke, they’d still have some fight left. So when he saw Chen Xiang kill one, he was baffled—what was the boy up to?

But then he watched in shock as Chen Xiang’s cultivation soared instantly from Qi Refining Level Two to Level Three. With a splutter, he spat out a mouthful of wine several meters.

“You—boy! You just broke through?” the old man exclaimed.

Chen Xiang looked back with a smug grin. “How about that, old man? It’s a breeze for me to level up. You can keep your cultivation methods to fool someone else.”

Though their acquaintance was brief, Chen Xiang could tell the old man was a righteous sort, so he didn’t mind leveling up in front of him. Besides, he wasn’t afraid the old man would attack—he had the system, after all. Just now, he’d used the last twenty reputation points to redeem an Escape Talisman; if he needed to run, he’d be gone in a flash.

“But how did you break through so suddenly? Just a moment ago, you weren’t even at the peak of Level Two Qi Refining. It wasn’t time for a breakthrough yet…” the old man muttered, frowning deeply as he pondered.

“Tch, how could you possibly understand my greatness?” Chen Xiang scoffed, then ignored him and went back to dealing with the rest of the beasts.

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for slaying a Level Three Qi Refining Wind Tiger. You have gained one hundred experience points.”

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for slaying a Level Four Qi Refining Wood-Devouring Fox. You have gained two hundred experience points.”

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for slaying a Level Two Qi Refining Blood Leopard. You have gained one hundred experience points.”

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for slaying a Level Five Qi Refining Flame Lion. You have gained two hundred experience points.”

…

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for leveling up. Current realm: Qi Refining Level Three.”

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for leveling up. Current realm: Qi Refining Level Four.”

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for leveling up. Current realm: Qi Refining Level Five.”

…

“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for leveling up. Current realm: Qi Refining Level Seven.”

The system notifications rang in Chen Xiang’s mind for a good while before finally quieting down.

Chen Xiang’s face was nearly split with joy. This was a huge windfall—not only did he gain a hundred and eighty reputation points, but his cultivation shot up from Level Three to Level Seven Qi Refining, plus a bounty of various beast materials.

Excited, Chen Xiang pulled up his personal stats panel.

“Host: Chen Xiang
Realm: Qi Refining Level Seven (Initiate)
Experience: 507/800
Reputation: 183
Cultivation Method: ‘Primal Chaos Codex’ (Volume One)
Profession: Forest Wanderer
…”

The first thing that caught his eye was the profession—he twitched at the sight, but decided not to bother complaining anymore. The realm indicator had changed from “barely enough to tie up a chicken” to “initiate,” apparently updating as his cultivation increased. Experience requirements rose by one hundred per level during Qi Refining; he wondered how it would be later on.

But the real prize was all those reputation points—he could exchange them for so many things! He was in excellent spirits.

He did a quick tally: slaying beasts from Qi Refining Levels One to Three each yielded a hundred experience points; Levels Four and Five, two hundred each.

As for his combat prowess, there was little need to elaborate. With his exceptional elemental roots and the bonus from the Primal Chaos Codex, even a Level Ten Qi Refining beast wouldn’t faze him now.

Meanwhile, the old man was lost in thought, only to glance over and see Chen Xiang’s cultivation surge from Level Three to Level Seven in the blink of an eye. He was left utterly dumbfounded.

Now he finally understood why Chen Xiang wanted those beasts. His face turned ashen, almost black as charcoal.

He spoke in a grave tone. “Boy, have you been cultivating a demonic art?”

Still immersed in his delight, Chen Xiang turned at the sound of the old man’s voice and saw his grim, severe expression.

“Demonic art? Old man, have you lost your wits? What makes you think I’m practicing a demonic art?” Chen Xiang had no fear whatsoever. So what if the old man was angry? I’ve got my own advantages!

“You killed these beasts and then jumped from Level Two to Level Seven Qi Refining. This is exactly like the Heaven-Devouring Scripture that appeared tens of thousands of years ago—a technique that advances by slaughtering and absorbing the cultivation of others. In the end, it drives the practitioner mad, turning them into a monster who knows only how to kill. Back then, when this demonic art spread among cultivators, it plunged the world into a blood-soaked chaos, breaking the chain of ancient civilization,” the old man intoned, already forming a spell in his hand. If Chen Xiang was truly cultivating the forbidden art, he would have to subdue him now, before he grew too powerful and endangered the world.

Chen Xiang was startled—he hadn’t expected this demonic technique to have wreaked such havoc, severing the flow of history in the world of cultivation. Incredible.

Still, the old man was growing on him. After all, he’d taken the time to explain instead of attacking outright. Chen Xiang relaxed, withdrawing his mental focus from the system’s Escape Talisman option.

On the surface, Chen Xiang remained scornful. The old man, thrown off by his attitude, reduced the power of his spell—he didn’t want to kill him outright, just teach him a lesson.

“Devour the heavens? What nonsense! That so-called grand technique is nothing but a cheap way to absorb someone else’s cultivation. Where’s the ‘devouring the heavens’ in that? Isn’t it just the same as that Star-Absorbing technique in those old novels? I’d sooner use it for kindling,” Chen Xiang said contemptuously.

The old man’s face darkened further. To call the Heaven-Devouring Scripture rubbish—what did that say about their own cultivation? That technique had surpassed even Heaven-ranked methods, and those were already rare beyond compare. Anything above Heaven-rank hadn’t appeared in millennia.

“Old man, stop jumping to conclusions. I’ve never practiced this Heaven-Devouring business. My cultivation was sealed, so I use special methods to unseal it. What you see—Qi Refining Level Seven—is just the tip of the iceberg,” Chen Xiang said nonchalantly.

“Oh? Then prove it. Show me your cultivation method,” the old man challenged, still suspicious. The similarity was too great to ignore.

Revealing one’s cultivation technique was taboo among cultivators—knowing an opponent’s attributes and path made them vulnerable.

But Chen Xiang had no idea. He’d barely interacted with mortals, let alone learned these rules. Without further ado, he triggered his elemental roots and displayed his technique.

In an instant, radiant light burst from Chen Xiang’s body—seven colors dazzling the old man’s eyes.

He watched as Chen Xiang seemed to merge with the world itself, yet there was no trace of bloodlust in him. The old man was convinced—this technique, though not as grand as the Heaven-Devouring Scripture, was at least a Heaven-ranked cultivation method.

But when he saw Chen Xiang’s elemental roots, his expression grew odd.

“Well? Do you believe me now? I just showed you my technique and my roots. That’s risky, you know,” Chen Xiang said, retracting his power and glancing at the old man.

The old man nodded, dispelling his spell. “I believe you. But your talent… Seven elemental roots, and so pure.”

“What about it? Is there something wrong?” Chen Xiang asked, puzzled.

“You don’t know?” the old man replied.

Chen Xiang shook his head. The old man shot him a strange look, then explained, “Generally, the fewer elemental roots one has, the greater their talent, the faster their cultivation, and the more powerful their techniques. Seven roots… I’ve never seen anyone with seven, but by all logic, seven roots would make you a hopeless case—unable to cultivate at all.”

Chen Xiang dug at his ear. “What did you say, old man? Seven roots mean what?”

“Hopeless.”

“You old fool! Look at me! Do I look like a hopeless case?” Chen Xiang protested, stepping forward and jabbing a finger at himself.

The old man eyed Chen Xiang’s cheeky, infuriating face and was sorely tempted to slap him. “How should I know? I’ve never met anyone with seven roots. Don’t ask me.”

He shoved Chen Xiang aside and sat back down to resume eating his roast.

But Chen Xiang wouldn’t let him off so easily, circling around the old man and chattering away.

“To be continued…”