The wilderness was vast.

After fleeing for an entire day, it wasn't until sunset that the group gradually slowed down.

Near the banks of the River of Fate where the wind couldn't quite reach, they found a patch of dried grass behind a cluster of rocks.

Shroud examined the golden Book of Prophesized Destinies shortly before informing everyone: "We're safe"

Everyone sighed in relief.

Atley said: "It's been a long time since I've ran this much and this far"

Reneedol coldly replied: "The Law Behemoths have sealed away both teleportation and flying techniques, so you need to get used to our current fleeing method now, or else the first person to die when a battle breaks out will be you"

Gu Qing Shan glanced at everyone without paying too much attention before finally focusing on Scarlet.

Scarlet is now a covenant bearer of the Overlord of Death, so she would be able to play a huge role in combat.

Allowing her to quickly mature would fit both Reneedol's goal as well as my own.

At this point, Atley shook his head and sighed: "Alright then, can we eat? Do we even have anything we can eat?"

When he asked that, everyone suddenly realized how hungry they were and couldn't help but turn towards Gu Qing Shan.

"Let me rest up for a bit, then I'll go out hunting"

Gu Qing Shan breathed heavily and leaned onto a nearby rock.

As a Star River Saint realm cultivator, running for an entire day didn't really affect him, but Gu Qing Shan had to keep up an act and appear to be in the same state as everyone else.

This was the natural thing to do.

Everyone began to rest.

Scarlet laid completely flat on the dry grass.

She was still affected by her hangover and felt a bit uncomfortable.

Gu Qing Shan thought for a bit before approaching her and asked: "How are you feeling?"

Scarlet's complexion was a bit pale as she replied: "I'm still a bit dizzy---- and really thirsty too"

Gu Qing Shan took out his flask and handed it to her.

Scarlet emptied the entire thing before letting out a small burp.

"What about now?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

"I'm much better now, thank you, Rhode" Scarlet replied.

Her face was a bit flushed when she handed the flask back to Gu Qing Shan.

"No need to thank me, just take this"

Gu Qing Shan handed her another bottle of alcohol.

Scarlet's expression became stiff.

-------during this repeat, Gu Qing Shan had already asked Epta for the remaining alcohol that she carried.

"Don't worry, this one is very light, it'll taste almost like normal water. Drink it slowly, but try to finish it before tonight" Gu Qing Shan smiled.

Scarlet couldn't help but ask again: "Will this really help me grow stronger?"

Gu Qing Shan pointed to her side with his chin.

Scarlet followed his gaze towards her other hand.

She was still hanging on to the black flames scythe.

This weapon of Death had remained in Scarlet's hand this entire time.

Scarlet hurriedly said: "I'm sorry, this is a weapon you manifested and I-----"

Gu Qing Shan cut her off and said: "Finish that bottle, I'll give that weapon to you"

"You won't need it?" Scarlet doubtfully asked.

"I'm not very accustomed to using scythes" Gu Qing Shan replied.

Scarlet looked at the bottle in her left hand, then at the black flames scythe in her right hand, clenching her teeth:

"Ok, I'll drink"

"Wait!"

Another voice called out.

Atley.

He was staring at the bottle in Scarlet's hand, his throat visibly gulping as he looked like he wanted it no matter what.

"Rhode, give me a bottle of alcohol the same as Scarlet, I want to drink as well" Atley said.

"No" Gu Qing Shan resolutely refused: "I left this specifically for Scarlet, you can just drink water, don't touch the alcohol"

"I just want a little bit" Atley begged.

Gu Qing Shan glanced at him briefly before saying: "Then how about this? Come with me when I head out to go hunting and help me carry the prey, then I'll give you a bottle"

"Deal. Hunting is nothing but a small matter" Atley licked his lips.

His gaze was still focused on the bottle of alcohol in Scarlet's hand.

Gu Qing Shan stood up and said: "We're going to head out hunting, everyone rest up"

Shroud asked: "Need me to come with you?"

"It's fine, Atley will come with me" Gu Qing Shan replied.

Reneedol looked at Atley and said: "Don't cause too much commotion and draw attention to yourselves, that'll only cause trouble"

Atley wasn't too concerned: "We're heading out to hunt, not to kill people, don't worry"

Reneedol turned to Shroud.

Shroud flipped open the Book of Prophesized Destinies and said: "The good news is that it's very barren around here, so there aren't any large lifeforms, the bad news is that you'll most likely not be able to catch any prey"

Reneedol felt assured and said: "There aren't any Law Behemoths in the vicinity, it should be fine for you to leave"

Atley and Gu Qing Shan both headed out.

They followed the curve of the river upstream and quickly left the temporary camp behind.

While observing the water flow, Gu Qing Shan abruptly manifested a small bit of black flames on his hand and tossed it into the middle of the river.

The water exploded.

Some tattered flesh fell out of the water, then swiftly sunk back down.

Gu Qing Shan scowled: "Tch, the flames of Death is powerful, but it doesn't seem suitable for catching fish"

"We're going to eat fish tonight?" Atley asked, intrigued.

"There's nothing but barren land around us and this river, what are we going to eat except fish?" Gu Qing Shan shrugged.

He then began to list: "We can make grilled fish, braised fish, boiled fish, fish soup, fish fillet------ wait, let me check how much spice we have left since yesterday"

Gu Qing Shan opened his bag and checked: "There's plenty of spices left, we can make grilled fish. This one is my specialty, I can guarantee that each one is grilled just right, then just add a bit of spice and it'll smell really good! After that, I'll make a pot of fresh fish soup for everyone to drink, that'll keep us warm for the night"

Atley felt hungrier just listening to him.

"Alright, let me give it a try and see how many fishes I can catch" he mumbled.

He put his hand over the river and slowly released a green glow from his palm.

He continuously infused the power of the Law of Wind into the water before suddenly----

Boom!

A column of water abruptly shot up.

An intense gust of wind then blew towards them.

Splash splash splash!

Over a dozen fishes landed on the ground.

"Ahaha, well done Atley, we got our dinner" Gu Qing Shan happily smiled.

"Ahaha, that's nothing but a walk in the park" Atley replied.

"Oh really? The Law of Wind is really impressive, it seems like I'll have to get you to go hunting with me a lot more from now on" Gu Qing Shan said.

He put all the fishes away, then picked out the fattest one and began to cut it open on the spot.

"Why are you cutting it open already?" Atley doubtfully asked.

Gu Qing Shan appeared nervous and said: "It's been a long time since I cooked fish, so I wanted to make one first as a test"

He skillfully made a fire, skewered the fish using a tree branch, then grilled it while occasionally sprinkling a bit of spice.

Not too long later.

The fish was grilled golden brown, exuding an alluring fragrance.

"Rhode, you were too humble, your cooking skills are definitely second to none" Atley praised.

"I think it's about good enough" Gu Qing Shan smiled.

He stood up with the skewer and said: "I'll give this fish to Epta, she's been taking care of Scarlet for the entire day, so she's definitely a bit hungry"

"What for? It's going to be cold by the time we make it back, it'll be better to give it to me now"

Atley took the skewer from Gu Qing Shan and bit into the fish without hesitation.

"How does it taste?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

Atley was eating like he'd been starving for days; he didn't even have the time to answer Gu Qing Shan and simply raised a thumbs-up at him.

"Oh right, I still owe you a bottle of alcohol" Gu Qing Shan face-palmed.

He then took out a bottle and handed it to Atley.

Atley finally let go of the fish to receive the bottle and chugged it down.

"Good alcohol! I had almost forgotten-------"

He paused for a split second before continuing: "--------that you promised me a bottle of alcohol, phew!"

Gu Qing Shan said: "Hurry up and finish it, we have to head back"

Atley nodded and continued to eat it in large bites.

Gu Qing Shan looked at how starved he looked and just smiled.

During their previous rest, Reneedol cautioned Atley a lot more than usual, almost like she was paying close attention to him.

It wasn't worth taking notice of; since they were all friends, speaking one or two more words to one another wasn't enough grounds to draw any conclusions.

Other than that insignificant small detail, when Atley formed a covenant with the Law Behemoth of Wind the previous time, he was only able to release a few wind blades when he fought against Gu Qing Shan.

So how could Atley, who had only just grasped the Law of Wind this time around, control it intricately enough to use it for catching fish?

Perhaps he was truly considerably talented when it came to the Law of Wind.

This was also an insignificant small detail, not to mention that Gu Qing Shan didn't really understand the Law of Wind very well.

If it was anyone else, they wouldn't find those details worth taking note of.

But Gu Qing Shan took note of them.

------he had always been an overly cautious person who never let even the smallest detail escape his eyes, even if these details were insignificantly small, he would still attempt to investigate and confirm them.

This attitude was his greatest asset in surviving through the numerous Apocalypses that he had faced.

And so, he noticed how Atley was eating in a different manner compared to before.

------it was as if Atley had been starving for so long that he had forgotten the taste of food.

The previous Atley wasn't like this.

More importantly, Atley was a considerate individual.

When Shroud was wounded, he took meticulous care of Shroud, even before his death, he cried out that he considered them his brothers.

Would such a young man take Epta's grilled fish for himself?

I've specifically said that Epta had worked the hardest among us, so I wanted to leave the first fish for her.

If this was the real Atley, he would only urge me to quickly head back so that the fish wouldn't get cold for Epta.

Indeed, this was only a grilled fish, another insignificant small detail.

Epta wouldn't care about being the first or second one to eat, and Gu Qing Shan wouldn't care about who ate his food first.

After all, they did catch a lot of fish, and it didn't take long to grill just one.

They were all insignificant small details.

But within these insignificant small details, a person's true personality and thoughts would be exposed.

"That tastes so good, Rhode, can you make me another one? I can't feel satisfied with just one"

Atley was still not filled.

"Alright" Gu Qing Shan smiled, "As a cook, we always hope that our food is welcomed by others"

Hearing that, Atley patted his shoulder: "Rhode, you're a good person"

Gu Qing Shan crouched down and began cutting open another fish.

------ignoring his companions and only paying attention to his own appetite.

Another wrong detail.

This individual...

Is no longer Atley.

Gu Qing Shan put the prepared fish onto another tree branch and began grilling it over the open flame.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled the Tomb of Myriad Beasts and the great tomb.

Something had occurred there that left a deep impression on him, something that almost took his life.

-----the Samsara War Shaman's soul substitution.