Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 227 Adventure in the Mountains
As the sun set, Chen Xu stroked the book "Tales of Mountains and Seas".

As he told the story, he said to Wei Yuan:
"Human sacrifice was just the beginning. Later, people discovered that burying the dead directly in the fields was more effective in fertilizing the land than praying to the heavens."

Clearing land was tough, but not having food was even tougher. Every day, people would freeze, starve, or die of disease in this area, so in the beginning, the village was not short of corpses.

Later, the village shaman discovered a method for creating human fertilizer using talismans, which made land clearing much faster…

The faster reclamation resulted in a shortage of corpses for the people of Xiaopo Village.

Chen Xu briefly recounted how, a hundred years ago, the villagers went from going out to steal corpses in groups, to going out to kidnap living people, and then to successfully reclaiming land and reaping a bountiful harvest for several years. However, the Suiyu River flooded several times, causing the villagers' homes to be destroyed again and again.

The little hedgehog listened intently, and then pondered:
“That place is not good. I see that the river is winding and the water flows very fast. If the water rises, there is nowhere to release the floodwaters. So this place is not suitable for building a village at all.”

But those people wouldn't leave... They couldn't bear to part with the land they had nurtured.

Chen Xu nodded. From the villagers' perspective, the flooding of the Broken Jade River was indeed very cruel.

After all the hard work and sacrifices they made to clear the wasteland, and the harvest was only a few years old, floods keep coming.

Who wouldn't be devastated by this?

The villagers of Xiaopo Village, in their despair, resorted to worshipping the river god.

Chen Xu told Wei Yuan: "Initially, the villagers would take turns offering up their young boys and girls to worship the river god, but despite this sacrifice, the flooding of the Suiyu River did not stop."

On the contrary, the village shaman discovered that if he used young boys and girls to refine human sacrifices, not only could his cultivation level increase greatly, but he could also control the flow of the Broken Jade River to a certain extent.

In this way, the shaman became a disguised river god.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuan exclaimed in surprise, "Fellow Daoist Wei, was that Zhu Xianpo actually a witch doctor from a hundred years ago?"
"Could she really live that many years?"

Chen Xu shook his head, then revealed another layer of truth:

"No, the shaman practiced evil magic. Although his cultivation progressed rapidly, he accumulated too much resentment. In just over ten years, he suffered a backlash during a ritual and committed suicide."

For decades afterward, there were no more shamans in the village.

However, the villagers of Xiaopo Village have become accustomed to taking turns offering up their young boys and girls as sacrifices to the river god.

Until forty years ago, the Yuancang River breached its banks...

At this point, Chen Xu realized that the world is truly a strange circle.

It was another massive breach of the Yuancang River forty years ago. The impact of this breach was so widespread and profound that it seemed to be everywhere.

Just like the great drought a century ago—

Feng Yuanbo once said that another drought is about to begin in northern Xinjiang.

Floods, droughts, earthquakes, cold waves... there are only so many kinds of natural disasters, but the creatures living on this land have to face the blows of disasters countless times.

Whether human, demon, or even just mountains, rivers, plants, trees, birds and beasts that have not yet developed intelligence, all those who live in this world seem to be fighting against fate.

As Chen Xu and Wei Yuan recounted stories of the village, a sense of self-realization gradually dawned on him.

He had previously looked at the cover of "The Record of Strange Things in the Mountains and Seas" and felt that he had grasped something, but he had not fully grasped it.

But looking at it now with a clear understanding in my heart, the feeling is different.

Is the dragon hidden among the clouds and cliffs a real dragon, or is it merely an image created by all living beings in the world as they struggle against fate?
The moment this thought arose, Chen Xu felt an indescribable surge of exhilaration welling up within him.

Fight against fate!

Who isn't?

Looking ahead, I see the vastness of the sky.

One day, when I see the heavens, I will see the great road beneath my feet.

Chen Xu's emotions surged, and suddenly his hand moved, opening the previously closed book, *The Record of Strange Things in Mountains and Seas*. Whoosh!
At the same time, the innate Qi in his dantian circulated and surged, and in a short while, it had already circulated throughout his body.

[Cultivation Level: Late Stage of Meridian Opening Realm 72%]

A vigorous power arises from every part of the body, unknowingly flowing into the torrent of primordial energy.

Chen Xu's cultivation level improved significantly in an instant, rising from the original 50% to 72% of the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm!

So this is what spiritual practice is all about.

As Chen Xu carefully sensed the changes in the primordial Qi within his meridians, he looked at the world before him, and indeed it seemed to have become clearer.

He slowly exhaled. Wei Yuan seemed to subtly sense this, and looked at Chen Xu curiously, asking:

"Fellow Daoist Chen, is something good happening to you?"

Chen Xu smiled and said, "There are some good things. After reading your book, my cultivation has increased a little."

"Huh?" Wei Yuan was stunned.

It looked at Chen Xu, then at the book beside him that had only been turned to one page. It couldn't understand how someone could improve their cultivation without even seeing a single page of the book.

But Wei Yuan was still happy for Chen Xu. He said happily, "Fellow Daoist Chen, I'll leave this book to you for safekeeping. You can return it to me when you're tired of it."

After saying that, she said somewhat shyly, "Actually, I could give you the books, but the teacher said before he left that these books cannot be given away. Once they are given away, they will lose some of their magic when they are no longer stored in the box."

Fellow Daoist Chen, I have truly failed you.

This little hedgehog actually felt apologetic for not being able to give the book to Chen Xu.

How could there be such a silly little guy?
Chen Xu felt a pang of tenderness in his heart, and he couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke the soft quills on the little hedgehog's head.

The soft thorns now lay back, looking exceptionally docile. Chen Xu gently stroked them, and they didn't prick him at all.

Wei Yuan looked at him with sparkling eyes.

Chen Xu said, "A-Yuan, never feel ashamed for not being able to give. A benevolent person loves others, but also loves himself first."

Wei Yuan understood some of it, but not all of it.

However, this did not stop it from nodding and then urging Chen Xu, "Fellow Daoist Chen, since the shaman of that time is long dead, how did the heretical sects in Xiaopo Village come about?"

The little hedgehog wanted to hear the whole story.

Chen Xu then said, "Forty years ago, the Yuancang River breached its banks, which once again affected the Suiyu River, and Xiaopo Village suffered another flood."

The villagers then decided to draw lots to select a fifteen-year-old girl to marry the fictitious river god.

The girl chosen back then is now the Fairy Zhu.

After the flood receded, the fields were submerged again, and Zhu Xianpo, who was only fifteen years old at the time, was drowned in the Suiyu River by the villagers.

But she did not die. Instead, she absorbed the resentment and demonic energy that had been dormant in the Broken Jade River for many years at the bottom of the river and cultivated a set of demonic skills.

She emerged from the waves, claiming to be the river god's consort and the river god walking among mortals.

He ordered the villagers to kowtow and make offerings to him, thus carrying out his spiritual practice and seeking revenge.

The little hedgehog heard this and let out another "Ah!"

No, it wasn't just the little hedgehog that made a sound; similar sounds seemed to come from the dense forest beside it as well.

Wei Yuan was immediately startled and demanded, "Who's there?"

(End of this chapter)