You hear the voices of several men and women in the distance, calling out this little girl's name.

You furrow your brows slightly, your eyes scrutinizing the little girl.

You cover the little girl's mouth and swiftly slip into the bushes.

Soon, four men and one woman, five adults in total, arrive near the riverbank.

All five have dark skin, lean builds, and wear short-sleeved shirts and shorts suitable for movement.

They are all ordinary people, not martial artists.

They anxiously search around the area for a while.

From their conversation, you learn that two of them are Xiaoxuan's parents.

These five live not far from here and came out to the river today to fetch water.

Xiaoxuan, being curious, ran off on her own and ended up near you.

She was secretly watching you when you noticed her.

The five have been calling and searching for Xiaoxuan around you.

You confirm they pose no threat to you, so you leave with Xiaoxuan.

“Are you looking for her?” you ask, holding the child in your arms.

“Xiaoxuan!!” a woman immediately rushes over and hugs her tightly.

Tearful Xiaoxuan buries her head in her mother's arms, clearly very frightened.

Her mother hurriedly checks Xiaoxuan and, finding no injuries, breathes a sigh of relief.

The others look at you with curiosity.

One of the leaders asks, “Are you alone?”

You nod.

“You can't survive alone in the Black Serpent Woods. Come back to our village with us,” the leader says.

You feel puzzled because the leader's tone is sincere and straightforward, as if accepting a stranger like you is completely normal.

You ask carefully and learn that they all come from a nearby village called Taoyuan Village.

Taoyuan Village is the only human settlement deep within the Black Serpent Woods.

The initial founders, about a dozen people, also came from Daqian.

They were all ordinary farmers who fled deep into the Black Serpent Woods to escape heavy and oppressive taxes, settling there to survive.

Taoyuan Village has existed for more than two hundred years and now has over five hundred people.

They are isolated from the outside world and have completely integrated into the Black Serpent Woods.

Taoyuan Village has always maintained the tradition of accepting outsiders.

So it is natural for them to invite you to join the village.

In the primitive forest of Black Serpent Woods, surrounded by fierce beasts, ordinary people cannot survive alone.

You go along with it, pretending to be an ordinary person who accidentally entered the Black Serpent Woods, and follow them back to the village, intending to learn more about their situation.

Upon arriving at Taoyuan Village, you find that what the leader said is true.

You nod and praise, “Good, good, Daqian people don’t deceive each other.”

The current grand elder of Taoyuan Village, Yan Hongde, also happily invites you to stay.

The white-haired Yan Hongde is seventy-two years old, and coincidentally, he is the same age as your delicate young self.

Yan Hongde tells you that the surrounding area belongs to giant gorillas, and you must never act alone.

Otherwise, you will easily be torn apart by the gorillas.

Only by staying in Taoyuan Village and gathering together can they survive in the dangerous Black Serpent Woods.

You decline Yan Hongde's invitation and return to your small courtyard.

You confirm that they are all ordinary people without cultivation, posing no threat to you.

Seeing your insistence on leaving, Yan Hongde does not stop you anymore.

He only tells you that if you cannot survive, you can come to Taoyuan Village.

Two days later, several people from Taoyuan Village come to your courtyard.

The little girl Xiaoxuan is also with them.

They bring you some food and daily necessities.

But when they see your courtyard, they are deeply shocked.

They rarely use “magnificent” to describe a farmer’s courtyard.

But this courtyard, occupying more than ten acres and surrounded by two-zhang-high stone walls, leaves them all speechless with their mouths agape.

Their village, housing hundreds of people, compared to your courtyard, looks like a child's toy house.

Seeing the diverse melons, fruits, vegetables, and various poultry in your courtyard, they silently hide the few pieces of wild boar meat they brought behind their backs.

They really have nothing worthy to offer.

Xiaoxuan curiously runs around your courtyard.

She looks at the piglets now and then, teases the chickens and ducks, and is very happy.

Growing up in the Black Serpent Woods, Xiaoxuan has never seen so many kinds of cute little food.

You keep a few of them and have a sumptuous lunch together.

After the group leaves, Yan Hongde arrives in a hurry that very afternoon.

Seeing your courtyard that looks like a small town, he is also deeply shocked.

On the way back, he keeps muttering that it would be great if Taoyuan Village had such high walls, so they would no longer worry about beast attacks.

You pay them no mind and continue cultivating.

Half a year later, in the fifty-eighth year,

you have advanced the Wild Heaven Saber Technique to the mid-stage Bone Tempering.

True qi surges inside your body like a tidal wave, and the liquid true qi increases more than fivefold again.

Your strength skyrockets as you wield the Cry of the Swan Goose, swinging it throughout the courtyard.

The surging true qi causes the Cry of the Swan Goose to gradually be unable to withstand your true qi infusion.

The sword blade goes limp, twitching uncontrollably on the ground.

You plan to find time to reforge the Cry of the Swan Goose.

Your Blood Qi Pill refining technique has finally reached perfection.

Out of ten Blood Qi Pills, you can refine at least nine, and when in good condition, all ten succeed.

One day, you are in the midst of your fourth true qi condensation.

Yan Hongde comes to find you.

He asks where you found so many giant stones used for building the walls.

In the past six months, he gathered the young and strong men of Taoyuan Village to collect all the stones they could find nearby.

But the giant stones for reinforcing the village walls are still far from enough.

You say nothing, just point to the half-vanished mountain not far away.

Yan Hongde looks at you incredulously: “You collected all of those by yourself?!”

You nod.

The mountain in the distance has been hollowed out by you.

The giant stones were all mined from inside the mountain.

Yan Hongde understands that you are a very powerful martial artist.

He does not come to you anymore.

Your life returns to peace.

You continue condensing your true qi.

In the fifty-ninth year, you successfully condense your true qi for the fourth time.

Your true qi can now be emitted externally.

The emission range is about one zhang, and the damage is not great, only enough to harm ordinary people.

But you are still very excited. External true qi emission is the hallmark of the pinnacle of Essence Refining.

At the pinnacle of Essence Refining, true qi condenses so solidly that it becomes almost tangible, allowing external emission to attack enemies.

Even at mid-stage Bone Tempering, your true qi condensation has already reached the required solidity.

Suddenly, you flick your fingertips, and a stream of liquid true qi shoots out.

A roasted suckling pig not far away instantly falls to the ground.

A fist-sized blood hole appears on the pig's head.

“This is like wielding a little handgun!”

You are very satisfied with the attack's power.

Moreover, you know that as the number of condensations increases, the external emission's power will become even greater.

You eagerly begin your fifth true qi condensation.

On this day, you are condensing true qi in your courtyard.

Suddenly, the gate of your courtyard is being pounded frantically.

At the same time, Yan Hongde's anxious cry for help comes from outside the door: “Young Master He! Please save us!!”