I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 1 Demonic Calamity
It was midwinter.

The weather was freezing cold, the north wind was howling, and the earth seemed to be covered with a layer of silvery-white raincoat.

Scattered low houses dotted the snow, forming a village with about a hundred households. Some of the houses were dilapidated, with broken roofs and holes that were haphazardly plugged with stones and pieces of wood.

A ray of morning light shone through the crack in the door into the dark room.

Wu Ming, wrapped in a tattered thick quilt, curled up on a small bed. Although it was already dawn, the weather was freezing cold at this time of year, and despite the constant hunger pangs in his stomach, he had no desire to get out of his warm bed.

At times like this, Wu Ming couldn't help but reminisce about his past life. Although he was just an ordinary ox or horse in his previous life, at least he could eat his fill and stay warm after working hard, which was much better than his current life.

Let me sleep a little longer.

As Wu Ming pondered this, he turned over and, in a daze, dreamt of many scenes from his past life.

But soon, a noisy sound broke his sleep.

"...Who's in trouble?!"

"Ah, it's Fourth Master. Before the New Year, Fourth Master went into the mountains to chop firewood and broke his leg. He's been bedridden for a month. The family has long since run out of food. In order to prevent Sixth Master from starving to death, he secretly went to the distant river yesterday, hoping to catch some fish to exchange for rice. But he ran into a fish demon..."

Listening to the murmurs and discussions coming from outside.

Wu Ming quickly regained consciousness, his expression turning somewhat grim. He got out of bed, pushed open the door, and went outside, where he could see many figures walking towards the village entrance.

He mingled in the crowd and quickly arrived at the village entrance, where he immediately witnessed a horrifying scene.

There was a person... or perhaps he could still be called a person, lying in the snow at the entrance of the village. The person's temples were half white, and he was an old man in the village. His name was Wu Sijiu. The reason why he could still be called a person was that, apart from still retaining a human form, the inside of his body had been almost completely hollowed out!
Almost all the flesh and internal organs had vanished, leaving only a skin and skeleton lying in the snow!

"It's another calamity caused by demons."

Wu Ming's face turned very ugly as he watched this scene.

Similar things have happened to almost every family. These poor people are not qualified to settle down in Jingye City, which is more than ten miles away. They can only live in remote villages and it is basically impossible for them to avoid demonic calamities.

During the worst period of demonic rampage, those monsters would even enter villages and devour people!

Ordinary people are not qualified to resist demons. Only martial artists can fight against demons. In the entire Wu Village, among more than a hundred households, there are only a handful of people who can nurture their blood energy and can be called true martial artists.

Demons and monsters were rampant, and this was happening right around him.

Seventeen years have passed since Wu Ming was born in this world, but only a little over a year has passed since he regained all his memories of his past life and completely deciphered the mystery of his birth.

After his past and present lives merged and his personality was redefined, he was filled with many troubles. Based on his memories of this life, he knew that this world was not an ordinary ancient dynasty, but a place fraught with danger, where demons roamed and ravaged the human world!

"grandfather!!"

Wu Sijiu's only grandson, Wu Liu, collapsed in the snow, weeping bitterly.

The crowd watching this scene felt a pang of sympathy and sighed in unison.

Wu Sijiu worked hard all his life and finally found a wife for his son. However, less than three years later, both his son and daughter-in-law were killed by a demon, leaving behind only a little grandson, Wu Liu. Now, Wu Liu is just eight years old, and Wu Sijiu has also passed away.

Wu Ming stood to the side, also remaining silent for a while.

Although he sympathized with their plight, he was powerless to help them.

In truth, he is not entirely without anything now. Ever since he awakened to the mystery of his birth and understood his past and present lives, he often dreams of a being resembling a god or Buddha subduing demons and monsters, with each stroke vividly depicting the scene.

This picture is called the Black Emperor Subduing Demons Picture.

Wu Ming didn't know where the picture came from, but it definitely existed in his mind. However, he had tried to explore it countless times over the past year, but to no avail. He didn't know what the picture was for.

In essence, this painting may have the function of subduing demons, but the problem is that he is just a mortal with a physical body. He has been practicing martial arts for more than a year and a half, but he has not yet truly stepped into the realm of a martial artist. It is impossible for him to actively seek out demons.

Moreover, let's not even talk about subduing demons and monsters.

In fact, Wu Ming is now facing a more fundamental problem: survival.

In his previous life, even the laziest person could easily maintain the most basic survival, but it is not possible here. Just look at Wu Sijiu, who went to the distant river to fish for rice, encountered a demonic disaster, and was left with only a shell.
"Little Liu, don't cry."

Just then, a burly, resolute middle-aged man walked over. His temples were graying, and he looked to be in his forties or fifties, but his vitality was very strong. He was Wu Qu, the clan chief of Wu Village.

Wu Qu looked at Wu Sijiu's corpse with a solemn expression, then shook his head and said, "Fourth brother, go help bury him. Sixth brother, from today onwards, come to my house for dinner."

Eight-year-old Wu Liu has no ability to survive and will surely starve to death if left unattended. Although most of the more than one hundred households in Wu Village are surnamed Wu and are related to each other to some extent, at this time of year, it is difficult for any family to have enough food to help Wu Liu. As the most capable clan leader in Wu Village, he still has to take care of the Wu children who have no ability to survive.

Wu Ming mingled in the crowd, watched for a while, then turned and quietly left.

"Ming'er, what happened outside?"

When Wu Ming returned home, he saw a young woman supporting another woman standing in the yard, looking out.

The young woman was his older sister, Wu Yu, and the woman was his mother, Liu.

Wu Ming's family consists of four people. Both his parents are still alive. His father has some house-building skills and recently took on a job for a wealthy family in the city. Only Wu Ming, his sister, and his mother live at home.

"Something has happened to Master Sijiu."

Wu Ming solemnly recounted what had just happened, omitting the gruesome state of Wu Sijiu's corpse.

After hearing this, Liu sighed deeply and said, "They are all unfortunate people. Xiao Liu'er is the only son left in his family. Fortunately, the clan chief is willing to help him..."

After all,

Liu looked at Wu Ming again and whispered, "Ming'er, things are not peaceful outside right now, you can't go out. Although there isn't much food left at home, your sister and I will tighten our belts and it will still be enough for you. Just hold on until your father comes back."

The family's remaining food supplies are dwindling, and with Wu's father not returning for a long time, Liu was worried that Wu Ming might be like Wu Sijiu, searching for food in dangerous places outside the village, so her tone became somewhat stern.

"Don't worry, Mother, I won't leave the village rashly."

Wu Ming shook his head in response.

Actually, the mountains and rivers outside the village aren't very dangerous because they're close to Jingye City. But precisely because of this, all the mountains and rivers in the vicinity belong to someone, and you can't just go up the mountain to hunt or go down the river to fish.

As for those unclaimed distant mountains and rivers, far from Jingye City, the dangers are multiplied. Not to mention ordinary people, even orthodox martial artists who have cultivated their blood qi dare not say that they can travel back and forth safely.

"Big sister, help Mom to rest, I'll go cook some porridge."

Wu Ming gave Wu Yu a few instructions, then turned and went into the house. He pulled out a cloth bag from under the kang (a heated brick bed). The bag contained half a bag of brown rice and some mixed grains.

Wu Ming weighed the cloth bag in his hand, his expression somewhat grave.

"Not much left."

According to his calculations, even if the family reduced their consumption, this small half-bag of mixed grains would only last for six or seven days at most.

In the height of summer, there are many jobs available. Liu also knows how to weave straw sandals and mats. With Wu Yu weaving mats and selling shoes, they are quite well-off. But now that winter is approaching, straw sandals and mats are not selling, and it is difficult to find other jobs. The family is struggling to make ends meet as they rely solely on Wu's father's work outside.

of course,

The biggest problem is that he consumes too much energy.

It wasn't that he had a large appetite and couldn't endure hunger, but rather that he couldn't endure it.

He didn't know how to use the Black Emperor's Demon-Subduing Diagram in his mind, so he couldn't rely on it for the time being. All he could rely on was practical and down-to-earth martial arts cultivation.

He is seventeen years old this year, and sixteen to eighteen years old is the best stage in martial arts to condense one's first blood energy.

During this period, even without precious medicinal herbs or rich, nutritious meats, ordinary people still had a chance to condense a stream of blood energy and step into the threshold of martial arts cultivation.

This,

It is also almost the only chance for the poor at the bottom of society to turn their lives around.

If one cannot condense one's blood and qi by the age of eighteen, the resources required to condense it in the future will increase exponentially... For the common people at the bottom of society, if they cannot even do it in the easiest two years, then they will naturally be even less able to do it in the future.

"If one can cultivate blood qi, then things will be completely different."

Wu Ming was well aware of this.

In this world where martial arts reign supreme, the ability to cultivate a wisp of pure yang blood energy is a huge dividing line between ordinary people and orthodox martial artists. It's not as different as heaven and earth, but it's a completely different level.

Ordinary people, if they cannot condense their blood and qi to become a blood-condensing martial artist, will only be able to help wealthy families by farming, repairing houses, or even feeding horses and shoveling manure, living a life of hardship and hunger at the bottom of society.

But if one becomes a Blood Coagulation Warrior, then there are countless other paths to take.

Blood-coagulating martial artists can be exempted from taxes for three generations. If they go to the city, they can serve as guards and thugs for wealthy families. They can also become minor leaders in gangs. No matter what they do, they can eat and drink their fill and easily support their families. If they want to get married and have children, as soon as the news spreads, families with eligible daughters from all around will take the initiative to inquire and choose from them.

Become a martial artist
It can be said to be the hope of all ordinary people.

(End of this chapter)