Volume 1 Chapter 3

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Recruitment of Editors: https://gravitytales.com/recruitment-of-editors/

Volume 1 Chapter 3: Mystic Encounter

The Mountain Spirit Wood Monster noticed that the mysterious old man was observing it for a while, then suddenly showed clear hostility, making it more nervous. As the pressure from the old man grew stronger, the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster could no longer bear it and roared, lunging at the old man.

While leaping into the air, "Xu Fan," whose body was occupied by the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster, opened his blood-stained mouth, seemingly wanting to bite the old man. White teeth were stained with strands of flesh, making his face look even more ferocious. Perhaps in the simple mind of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster, it always thought that when facing a strong enemy, it should strike first.

Unfortunately, the old man in front of him was far too powerful. Seeing "Xu Fan" charging at him, the old man merely snorted coldly. With a calm and leisurely wave of his right hand, a thick green rope filled with Spirit Qi suddenly appeared in mid-air and shot towards "Xu Fan" at great speed. Before "Xu Fan" could even react, he was tightly bound by this green rope.

Once "Xu Fan" was bound in mid-air by the green rope, he suddenly felt as if his body was being crushed with immense force and had no chance to resist as he fell heavily to the ground. No matter how he roared and struggled, he could not escape the green rope at all.

The mysterious old man had a rough face that showed no emotions at all, and he ignored Xu Fan’s furious shouts. He simply looked at Xu Fan and coldly said, "Since you dare to take over a human body, you should be ready for your soul to be destroyed if you fail. Do not blame me for being heartless! The universe has its own rules, act quickly!"

Suddenly, the old man shouted loudly, pointing his finger sharply at Xu Fan’s head. Then a wave of blue light surged from his fingertip into Xu Fan’s body. The Mountain Spirit Wood Monster inside Xu Fan seemed very afraid of the blue light and screamed even louder, but the old man remained unmoved. As time passed, the screams slowly turned into hopeless wails, growing weaker and more despairing.

Finally, smoke began to rise from the top of Xu Fan’s head, looking like a small version of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster. The smoke appeared terrified upon seeing the old man and tried to escape, but with a gentle wave of the old man’s hand, it scattered away.

Just like that, the Original Soul of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster was easily destroyed by the old man.

After destroying the Original Soul of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster, the old man’s expression seemed as if he had just done something very trivial. With a light gesture, the blue ropes binding Xu Fan returned to the old man’s sleeve. After completing all this, the old man was about to leave but noticed Xu Fan lying unconscious on the ground. After a moment of hesitation, seeming worried that Xu Fan might face danger after he left, he sighed and stood still, admiring the scenery around him while waiting for Xu Fan to wake up.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but when Xu Fan opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was an old man with a head full of white hair and a dignified appearance. Remembering the loud noise before he fainted, Xu Fan wanted to ask something, but then he suddenly tasted a strong smell of blood in his mouth. His stomach started to churn uncontrollably, and he couldn’t hold back anymore, vomiting right in front of the old man.

After Xu Fan finally stopped vomiting, he noticed that the old man was still watching him. Although the old man’s expression was calm and showed no sign of disgust, Xu Fan felt his face turn red. He quickly bowed respectfully to the old man and said, "I suddenly felt unwell in front of you, senior, and I apologize for such a disgraceful act. Please forgive me."

The old man, seeing Xu Fan speak politely, nodded slightly in satisfaction. His cold expression softened a bit as he said gently, "You just consumed a large amount of blood and flesh from the Green Snake Dragon. Though it is beneficial to the body, it is very pungent. It is normal that you couldn’t handle it; you need not blame yourself."

"What do you mean, senior? Consuming the blood and flesh of the Green Snake Dragon? What is a Green Snake Dragon? Not to make you laugh, but I haven’t eaten anything for over a day." Hearing the old man’s words, Xu Fan asked curiously.

The old man saw that Xu Fan looked confused and didn’t understand anything, so he slightly furrowed his brow but patiently explained, "Last night, while I was meditating, I suddenly felt a strong wave of energy from the Wood Spirit essence here. I was in a critical part of my practice, so I didn’t pay much attention. After finishing my training today, I came to check and found that you, young man, had your body taken over by the Original Soul of a Mountain Spirit Wood Monster, and you were devouring the flesh and blood of the Green Snake Dragon."

As he spoke, the old man pointed to the green giant python that had perished along with the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster yesterday.

When Xu Fan first heard the old man’s words, he thought it was too absurd and was a bit skeptical, but the old man’s demeanor seemed completely honest. Realizing that the old man had no reason to lie to him, he gradually started to believe.

When he saw the bloody giant python, which even had his own bite marks on it, Xu Fan’s stomach, which had calmed down a bit, began to churn again as he remembered that he had just bitten it.

Just when Xu Fan couldn’t help but feel like he was going to vomit again, the old man let out a gentle sigh and lightly placed his right hand on Xu Fan’s forehead. Then, Xu Fan felt a peaceful and vibrant energy quickly spread from his head throughout his entire body, and his churning stomach immediately calmed down.

This peaceful energy felt like the inner strength a warrior would cultivate, but the power and wonder it held were countless times stronger than mere inner strength.

"Senior, your inner strength is amazing!" Xu Fan exclaimed. At that moment, he didn’t even think of the mysterious old man as a cultivator. After all, to ordinary people, cultivators were just beings of legend.

The old man, however, did not deny Xu Fan’s misunderstanding at all. He had no intention of explaining; he merely nodded slightly to show he acknowledged it.

Looking at the expressionless and seemingly difficult-to-get-along-with mysterious old man, Xu Fan hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Just now, you said that my body was taken over by the Original Soul of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster. May I ask how you knew that, esteemed elder?"

"Looking at the scene in the arena and remembering the strong energy wave yesterday, it seems that the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster encountered its natural enemy, the Green Snake Dragon. After losing, it self-destructed to take the Green Snake Dragon down with it. However, while self-destructing, it suddenly noticed you nearby, and you were knocked out by the blast. So, it took the chance to occupy your body. The reason I say it is the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster in your body and not the Green Snake Dragon is because of how you acted, feasting on flesh and blood. The Green Snake Dragon typically feeds on plants. Plus, the abundant energy of wood in you is very similar to that of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster, so it’s easy to guess."

Hearing the old man’s explanation, although Xu Fan didn’t understand most of it, he felt admiration because the old man was able to describe the situation almost correctly just by guessing. Suddenly, Xu Fan remembered what the old man just said, his face turned pale, and he asked in panic, "Elder, you said my body is occupied by the Original Soul of the Mountain Spirit Wood Monster, so does that mean I now…"

"The Mountain Spirit Wood Monster dared to violate the greatest taboo of seizing a human body. The Original Soul has already been scattered by me, so you will not be in danger anymore, don’t worry," the old man said calmly.

"Scattered the Original Soul?" Xu Fan stuttered in response, finding the old man’s words hard to believe. The Original Soul is formless and intangible, a culmination of a being’s enlightenment after many years of cultivation. How could it be scattered? That should be beyond human ability.

"To be precise, I am a cultivator. The energy I just used to help you feel better is not the inner strength used by ordinary people, but Spirit Qi cultivated by cultivators," the old man explained, although his impatience was becoming more apparent, clearly wanting to avoid lingering too long.

Xu Fan was stunned by the old man’s words and suddenly thought of something, trembling he asked, "Are you… a god?"

"I am a cultivator; ‘god’ is just what you ordinary people call it." The old man frowned slightly at Xu Fan’s words and said, "Young man, since this matter is settled, I have things to do, so I must take my leave. Perhaps we will meet again."

As he spoke, the old man waved his right hand, and suddenly a blue mist rose at his feet, lifting him slowly into the air.

Witnessing such a mysterious ability to fly, Xu Fan was momentarily dumbfounded. Suddenly remembering his destroyed home, he reacted quickly and knelt on the ground, loudly calling out to the old man, "Please take me as your disciple, Master. I will respect and serve you well."

As he spoke, Xu Fan bowed deeply to the old man with great sincerity.

Xu Fan suddenly remembered the Blue-eyed Cloud-hoofed Beast that had destroyed his home. He realized that if he only trained in his family’s martial arts, he would never be able to get revenge. The "immortal" in front of him seemed very powerful, even though his face was always cold and unfriendly. Yet, to avenge his family, Xu Fan gathered his courage and asked the "immortal" to accept him as a student.

When the old man heard Xu Fan’s sudden shout, he was slightly taken aback. Upon seeing Xu Fan’s forehead was almost bruised from bowing, he lowered back to the ground, and the blue mist turned into a blue silk scarf in the old man’s hand.

"Disciple Xu Fan, please, Master, take me as your student." Seeing the old man return to the ground, Xu Fan believed his wish to be taught by the immortal had greatly increased, and he once again bowed deeply and said loudly.

After looking closely at Xu Fan for a moment, the old man gently shook his head but raised his hand slightly and said, "Please rise, young man."

Xu Fan was about to bow again when he felt a gentle force lifting him off the ground. This force, though gentle, was something he could not resist.

"Senior…"

Xu Fan wanted to say more, but the old man waved his hand and interrupted him, coldly saying, "I see that you are of average talent, so even if I take you as a student, your achievements in this life will be limited. So let us not speak of being a disciple anymore."