Chapter 47: A Bond of Life and Death

The blockage lay at the confluence of a tributary, where a fishing village sprawled along the riverbank, home to over a hundred households.

Cao Chengyu descended from the sky, startling the fishermen into cries of “immortal!” as they fell to their knees in worship.

The village head was a seventy-year-old man with a sycophantic smile and a mud-stained cloth tied around his head.

After a brief exchange, Cao Chengyu learned the truth: the so-called river obstruction was no mere accident. A monster lurking beneath the waters was causing trouble, blocking merchant vessels and forbidding passage.

Most who tried to force their way through lost both kidneys; some lost their lives, others barely clung to a feeble existence.

Curiously, despite the village’s proximity to the site of the disturbances, none of its people had suffered disaster. According to the village head, it was the protection of the river god they worshipped that kept them safe from the monster’s predations.

Every year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the village would offer a pig’s head, a sheep’s head, incense, fruits, and other items in tribute to the river god. As for why there was never an ox head—well, in the feudal era, cattle were essential for farming, and slaughtering an ox was a crime.

Those heroes in old films who could order ten jin of braised beef at the drop of a hat were, frankly, quite ignorant. Only oxen that died of old age or illness might end up on the table, and even then, it was rare; more often, they were buried.

After clarifying the exact location of the troubled stretch of river, Cao Chengyu wasted no time setting out. He had a river monster to deal with, but his real aim was treasure—he had little mind to linger.

He traveled along the river atop a bamboo-leaf talisman, searching. At last, he found the willow grove the old village head had described—the very spot where trouble so often struck.

He waited for a passing boat, ready to catch the monster as it appeared.

The Sky-Scenting Spirit Cat curled up inside Cao Chengyu’s robe, peeking out with just its head. This was its first time outside the city, and it gazed about with wide-eyed curiosity, little head bobbing and sniffing at everything.

Suddenly, the little cat mewed at Cao Chengyu, slipped out from his robes, and beckoned him to follow with a paw.

“A discovery already?” Cao Chengyu’s eyes lit up. As expected of a naturally blessed spirit, it was truly extraordinary. They had barely set out, and already luck was smiling on him.

Following the little cat through the willow grove, he soon found a clump of Shiva grass beneath a centuries-old willow. This herb was of first-grade high rank, an essential ingredient for the Spirit Restoration Pill, and worth over a hundred spirit stones.

Their search in the willow grove complete, the Sky-Scenting Spirit Cat dove into the water, moving as smoothly as a fish. With Cao Chengyu in tow, it led him down to the riverbed, where they found a Mud Lotus.

The Mud Lotus, unstained by the silt from which it grew, was prized for its ability to purify the body—a top-grade spiritual herb for clearing heat and detoxifying. By ranking, it was a second-grade high-level spirit item, enough to complete the final step in refining the Water Spirit Pearl.

“It seems I mustn’t shut myself away in my study any longer. With this spirit cat by my side, fortune will surely favor me,” Cao Chengyu murmured as he stowed his finds.

The little cat had grown considerably, though it was still only two fingers wide. Its search radius now spanned a whole mile, and would only increase with time, making future searches for spiritual treasures much easier.

Once the two treasures were found, the Sky-Scenting Spirit Cat shook its head at Cao Chengyu—there was nothing else of value within a mile. It burrowed back into his robe, irresistibly cute.

As Cao Chengyu returned to shore, a wave of murky water surged toward him. Instantly, he raised his lightless shield for defense and, with the aid of Windstep, retreated swiftly.

A humanoid creature appeared—blue scales, a shrimp’s head, and hands like pincers—charging straight at him. This was the river monster that had plagued the tributary.

According to the “One Hundred Solutions to Immortal Cultivation,” among water-dwelling spirits, river shrimp were the tastiest; extract the flesh, stir-fry with scallions and ginger, and the result was a delicacy unmatched on earth.

Cao Chengyu’s mouth watered at the thought. As a true gourmand, nothing focused his attention like food. Monsters tended toward massive size, which made absorbing the essence of sun and moon easier—this one would last him several weeks.

To preserve the flavor, he drew his standard-issue Maple Leaf Sword and unleashed the Rain of Cold Swords technique he had practiced so long. Blue streaks of light flashed, chill biting to the bone; in just a few exchanges, the blue-scaled shrimp demon was frozen solid.

With one final strike, his sword pierced down from the sky into the creature’s skull, ending its life.

With its death, the shrimp monster’s true form emerged: a five-meter-long blue lobster. The icy chill kept it fresh. Unable to wait, Cao Chengyu split the shell, and in moments, had a plate piled high with shrimp meat.

The flesh was milky white, translucent and beautiful. He retrieved his homemade sauce from his storage pouch and prepared a dipping dish. Without a care in the world, he began to eat.

The shrimp was perfectly firm, bursting with sweetness, and the cold freshness was simply delightful.

“Delicious!”

After finishing his plate of raw shrimp slices, he stored the rest of the chilled monster in his pouch.

Little did he know, a fledgling monster with budding intelligence had witnessed everything from afar. From that day forward, humanity left a shadow on its young heart. It learned that not only did monsters eat humans, but humans enjoyed eating raw monster flesh as well—truly terrifying.

For monsters, cultivation was not so different from humans. Before formal cultivation, there was the Spirit Awakening stage, corresponding to the human Qi Nurturing stage—one opened the mind, the other nurtured the vital energy.

Afterward came body refinement, drawing in spiritual energy, tempering bloodlines, recalling ancestral memories, and eventually becoming a great monster.

Beyond Awakening was the Blood Guiding stage. Some monsters, lacking innate bloodline strength, needed to absorb the blood of others (not necessarily of their own kind) to fortify themselves, or even seize dragon blood to evolve into a dragon—a fate-changing, heaven-defying stage.

This shrimp monster was just at the beginning of the Blood Guiding stage, equivalent to the early Spirit Refinement stage for humans. For Cao Chengyu, it was little more than a simple exercise.

With the river cleared, Cao Chengyu returned to the fishing village, only to find it abandoned and covered in dust, as though deserted for a month or more.

Bones and soul mounds littered the streets, a chilling aura pervading the ruins.

Frightened, he took to the air at once, not noticing the multitudes of spirits bowing in his direction as he left.

“Thank you, Immortal, for avenging us mortals.”

“May your immortal path prosper!”

Hundreds of villagers sent up their prayers, and, unseen, a stream of pure fortune seemed to descend from the heavens, suffusing Cao Chengyu with a subtle increase in luck.

As the saying goes, good deeds are rewarded, evil is punished.

The harrowing brush with life and death that day left Cao Chengyu deeply shaken. He knew he would have to keep a low profile for some time to come.