Chapter 3: Awakening

Lu Ye didn't rest for long. A sword was still lodged in his leg, and the intense pain stimulated his nerves. Furthermore, the injury wasn't in a good spot; if it had struck a vital area, he would have been finished. So, after catching his breath for a moment, he began to examine his wound. He tore open the clothing around the injured area, checked it carefully, and finally felt his anxious heart settle. The injury looked gruesome but was, in fact, only a flesh wound.

He didn't blindly pull out the sword, as doing so would lead to significant blood loss. Without proper treatment, he could quickly pass out. First, he tore strips from his own clothes and tightly bound them around his upper thigh. Then, he completely ripped open the clothing at the wound site, exposing the injury.

Next, his gaze fell upon the waist of Steward Yang's corpse, where a palm-sized cloth pouch was located. Lu Ye recognized it; cultivators called it a storage pouch. The healing pills Steward Yang had given him earlier, and the long sword now in his leg, had all come from this storage pouch. A cultivator's storage pouch typically contained all of their belongings.

Lu Ye dragged Steward Yang's corpse closer, took the storage pouch from his waist, and examined it closely, filled with surprise. This small bag seemed to have a considerable internal space, capable of holding many items. Having been in Kyushu for over a year, Lu Ye didn't know much about cultivation itself, but he had heard a lot about items in the cultivation world. Apparently, every cultivator's storage pouch had a mysterious, invisible lock that only the cultivator themselves could open. Even if others obtained it, they couldn't easily open the pouch unless they possessed special means to break the lock. Cultivators referred to such a lock as a "restriction"!

The storage pouch in his hand looked like a cloth bag, but it was actually made from an unknown beast hide. Lu Ye silently prayed that it wouldn't be locked. He opened the mouth of the pouch, extended a hand, his heart pounding with anticipation.

Soon, a look of joy spread across his face; the pouch wasn't locked. His hand had already touched some items inside. It made sense. When Lu Ye had suddenly launched his attack, Steward Yang had hastily pulled out a long sword from the storage pouch to counter him. At that moment, under the interference of the magnetic field, he wouldn't have had the energy to re-lock his storage pouch.

This meant he was saved! Lu Ye's mind settled, and he began to pull items out of the storage pouch continuously. He was looking for Blood Replenishing Pills and the healing pills Steward Yang had given him earlier. After pulling out the sword, he was sure to lose blood. Blood Replenishing Pills would reduce the danger by replenishing his vital energy, and the healing pills were undoubtedly excellent for his current situation.

Soon, a chaotic pile of items accumulated around Lu Ye. There were bottles and jars, lots of food, several large water skins, and even a few books and some toilet paper. Lu Ye was speechless. However, considering Steward Yang was fleeing for refuge, it was understandable that he would carry many items.

He rummaged through the various bottles and jars and quickly found the Blood Replenishing Pills and healing pills he needed. There was a large quantity of Blood Replenishing Pills, ten bottles in total, each containing twenty to thirty pills. There was only one bottle of healing pills, with seven or eight left. Steward Yang was in charge of the miners exchanging for Blood Replenishing Pills, so it was natural for him to carry many. This made Lu Ye incredibly happy. Previously, he had to accumulate ten contribution points to exchange for Blood Replenishing Pills, getting only thirty pills in a year. Now, by killing one Steward Yang, he had obtained two to three hundred pills at once. Instant wealth!

He took out one Blood Replenishing Pill, preparing to swallow it. After a moment's thought, he added two more and put them into his mouth. It wasn't that he didn't want to take more, but consuming too many at once wouldn't be effective. He then took out a healing pill and swallowed one.

Next, he grabbed a large water skin, untied its opening, and first drank two mouthfuls. Then, he used the clean water to clean his wound. A cool sensation came from the wound, pulling at the injury while also providing a slight coolness. Sweat beaded on Lu Ye's forehead. Once the wound was cleaned, he took out another healing pill and set it aside as a reserve.

Having done all he could, he took a deep breath, grasped the hilt of the long sword with one hand, and yanked it out. In that instant, Lu Ye's entire body trembled, but he gritted his teeth, not uttering a single sound. With no time to waste, he quickly picked up the reserve healing pill he had set aside, crushed it with his hand, ground it into powder, and sprinkled it onto the wound. Healing pills could be taken internally, but he didn't know if they were effective for external application; he would try it anyway. He untied the cloth binding his upper thigh and bandaged the wound properly.

After all the exertion, Lu Ye was almost soaked with sweat. He lay directly on the ground, unwilling to move, and gradually drifted into unconsciousness. When he woke up again, he didn't know how much time had passed. He struggled to sit up, leaning against the rock wall, and raised a hand to press around the wound on his thigh. Pain was present, but there was no sensation of inflammation.

This was good; it seemed the healing pills, both internal and external, had worked. The most dangerous period was over, and Lu Ye finally felt relieved. His stomach rumbled. Before encountering Steward Yang, Lu Ye hadn't eaten for over half a day. He had originally planned to exchange some food after submitting the mined ore, but instead, he was coerced by Steward Yang into the deep parts of the mine, fought a deadly battle with him, and ended up injured. Fortunately, he had found plenty of food in Steward Yang's storage pouch. Lu Ye took out a piece of dried beast meat and ate it bit by bit with water.

As his hunger slowly faded and with the area being deserted and free from immediate danger, Lu Ye gradually grew interested in Steward Yang's belongings. While eating, he began to examine the items he had taken from Steward Yang's storage pouch earlier. He recognized the Blood Replenishing Pills and healing pills, but there were other pills he had never seen before and didn't know the purpose of. Some of these pills emitted a pungent, fishy odor, clearly indicating they weren't anything good.

Setting these pills aside, Lu Ye casually picked up a book. By the flickering firelight nearby, he opened it and instantly looked delighted. It seemed Steward Yang was a man of passion. This book was not only rich in content but also vividly illustrated. Whoever drew the pictures truly possessed an exquisite touch, bringing them to life... Being weak and physically exhausted at the moment, he deemed it unsuitable to read such a book. He tossed it aside and picked up another. This book had words on its cover, and a closer look revealed it was "Biographies of Sword Saints." Lu Ye's interest was piqued, but after flipping through a few pages, he realized it was just a fictional storybook.

He put down that book and picked up a third one. After reading the words on its cover, his heart skipped a beat. Golden Cicada Freedom Art! He hastily opened it, his expression gradually becoming excited. This was actually a cultivation technique! Like the first book, it was illustrated and easy to understand, seeming to be Steward Yang's own cultivation method.

After his initial excitement, Lu Ye realized a very practical problem. He hadn't yet opened his Spirit Aperture. Even with a cultivation technique right in front of him, it was useless. He sighed softly and put down the Golden Cicada Freedom Art. Since he couldn't cultivate, there was no benefit in reading it further. In the past year, he had tried several times to open his Spirit Aperture, but he had never had any success.

After a moment of despondency, Lu Ye picked up Steward Yang's storage pouch again; there were still some items he hadn't taken out yet. Reaching inside, he took out items one by one. He didn't find anything else valuable, but there were many rare ores, including several fist-sized pieces of elemental magnetic ore. These ores were probably Steward Yang's personal stash, and Lu Ye had no idea what they were for.

Having mined here for a year, Lu Ye had extracted many rare minerals, so he was generally familiar with these ores. Even if he didn't know their names or uses, he had seen them before. That was until he took out a head-sized, dark red ore... He had never seen such a thing before, nor did he know which miner had extracted it or how it ended up in Steward Yang's possession. This was quite strange, but rarity made something valuable. Since Lu Ye hadn't seen it before, this item was surely of extraordinary worth.

Just as Lu Ye was about to put down the ore, his mind suddenly drifted, and then a blurry shadow appeared before him, taking the form of a tree. It was the shadow tree! Lu Ye was greatly surprised. The shadow tree's appearance usually required him to focus his attention, and it didn't appear every time; sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't. This time, the shadow tree had simply appeared on its own.

As Lu Ye wondered what was happening, the fuzzy shadow tree's roots suddenly sprouted rootlets that pierced into the dark red ore in his hand. The next instant, the ore made a crackling sound and split open directly. A point of orange-yellow light entered Lu Ye's vision, startling him, because after the ore split open, a ball of fire had appeared inside! He instinctively tried to shake the fire off, but it clung tightly to his hand, impossible to dislodge. After a brief moment of panic, Lu Ye realized that the dark red stone's transformation must be related to the shadow tree. What was even stranger to Lu Ye was that he felt no burning sensation.

The orange-yellow flame rapidly shrank, as if being absorbed by something. In just a few breaths, the ball of fire vanished before Lu Ye's eyes. Just as he was filled with surprise, a scorching hot energy suddenly surged in his dantian. This energy drew his vital blood force, gathering it towards that location.

An indescribable pain spread through him. Lu Ye felt as if his lower abdomen was being churned by an immense force, as if it would tear him apart completely. He couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, his clothes instantly drenched in sweat. Just as he thought he was about to die, a faint sound came from his lower abdomen. In that instant, he felt as if something had broken.

The pain quickly subsided. In Lu Ye's eyes, the entire world underwent a miraculous change. He felt a sense of unreality. He checked the position of his dantian in his lower abdomen and clearly perceived a wondrous ball of energy coalescing there. Immense joy enveloped him... He had actually opened his Spirit Aperture!