Chapter 47 Mother Nature Is Calling

Snow melted and the cool spring visited the Carson Kingdom. Birds were chirping while animals started to wake up from their hibernation. Streams started to flow with fresh water from the mountains while fishes swam and jumped as they welcome the new season. Flowers started to grow from the ground and trees were starting to grow fresh green leaves.

Eznho was riding his horse while he deeply inhaled fresh air as he headed for the Stallone Mountains where he would search for the Star Orchid. His mood was affected by his environment, it has been a while since he savored the flavor of mother nature. He followed the road and reached a small village by noon, villages like this were common throughout the kingdom. Most of them were occupied by mortals who lived by hunting or farming.

This particular village was a common stop for travelers so a small restaurant and a couple of living quarters were made by the locals. He stopped by and ate lunch then continued on his way. The journey was uneventful but he occasionally came across caravans and travelers like himself. The sun had already set when he reached the next village which was his destination, the village was located in the outer part of the Stallone Mountains. He spent the night there and the next day he woke up early and paid one of the villagers to take care of his horse.

He needed to travel by foot now because the horse would just be a hindrance and it would not be of much help due to the terrain. Judging by the map he had, the nearest location where Star Orchids commonly grew was ten kilometers from the village. Taking a deep breath, he made sure to be on top of his game and started his journey.

Here we go!

The terrain was filled with towering trees, rocks, bushes and boulders. He occasionally saw some wild animals but none of them had turned into beasts. (Note: Think of wild animals as the counterpart of mortals, they are animals who are not able to absorb heavenly energy.)

It only took him an hour to reach his destination, he was now faced with a gray rocky cliff with a height of about ninety meters. He looked up and could see some plants protruding from the cracks but none of them were what he was looking for. Due to his cultivation, his eyesight was far better than an average person and could clearly see everything within a hundred meters. He furrowed his brows and started to walked around to look for the plant. He spent half an hour but was met with disappointment,

“Obviously, this would be the first place people would look into, sigh,”

He muttered to himself but was still optimistic, after all, this was just the first stop. Reading his map, he headed to the next spot which he reached after a quarter of an hour. This cliff was lower than the other one which is approximately fifty meters high. He looked around and his eyes lit up fifteen minutes later but dimmed after five seconds. Turns out, it was just a stem and it did not even have a bud yet.

“This is a good sign at least,” Eznho spoke with a positive mind. What he needed was a nearly blooming Star Orchid or better yet a fully bloomed one.

Continuing to search for the places marked on the map, he was constantly met with disappointment. Evening came and he already checked seven locations with no result. He set up camp at the top of one of the cliffs and roasted a rabbit for dinner. After a round of cultivation, he lied on his back and looked at the night sky that was filled with countless stars. He was filled with awe,

“How beautiful, is it possible be to travel across the stars?” he reached out his hand and made a grasping motion.

One day,

He thought to himself and closed his eyes.

.....

The sun had not yet peeped but Eznho got up early to practice cultivation. Now that he finished cleansing his marrow, the last step was to cleanse and strengthen his internal organs. Upon reviewing the information on his brain, he had a vague understanding of what to do.

Dragon-Tiger Roar

This was the final technique he needs to master in order to reach the peak of the Cleansing Stage. He only needed to chant a mantra to do this, but of course, it is easier said than done. After a round of breathing technique, he stood on the ground with his left foot forward. His left knee was slightly bent forward while his right leg was stretched towards the back, his right hand raised in front of him forming a seal.

He chanted the mantra in his mind and took a deep breath but nothing happened, he was not disappointed and continued this a few times. Luckily, he was alone and no one could see this awkward moment. It was already his tenth try and he felt something move, it was only a little movement but this made him happy.

Gaining his momentum he continued until the movement become stronger, his intestines felt like they were snakes moving inside his body which was a little creepy. Nonetheless, this did not bother him much and continued until his twenty-fifth try. His innards started to tremble uncontrollably which became stronger and stronger until,

“Blerrgghh!”

Eznho became pale and vomited a sticky yellow-greenish fluid from his mouth which tasted bitter. But this was not the worst part,

“Gluurrgghh!”

His stomach started to growl which made Eznho panic,

“What the heck is this cultivation technique!?”

He grumbled and gathered all his strength to go beside a nearby bush. Ten minutes later, Eznho came out with a relieved pale face and flies started to buzz around the bush where he came from.

“Am I suppose to suffer like this every day?”

He did not feel well, luckily, once he practiced the breathing technique, he felt much better. Although, every hour or so, he had to find a bush to hide into to relieve himself. He even had to refill his water container often because he was thirsty all the time.

“What kind of torture is this!?” he cursed inwardly when night came because even during sleep, he had to answer the call of mother nature.

The next few days were hell for Eznho, the area around his eyes was dark and he started lost weight due to this events. He badly wanted to stop but he was positive this would lead to something good. Of course, Eznho knew he could use pills, herbs and medicines to pass this stage but they cost too much and from his point of view, it was a waste of money.

.....

A group of hunters was passing through the area where Eznho stayed and were aghast when their noses were assaulted by a nauseous smell.

“What the hell? Who made this place their shithole?”

The muscular leader shouted with anger and humiliation, this was their hunting ground and somebody made it their personal toilet.

“Leader, look,” one of his subordinates pointed where a campfire was made.

Everyone pinched their nose while closing in on the burnt woods.

“This was place was used at least two days ago,” the leader spoke while examining the charcoal but veins were already popping on his forehead.

He scanned the area and saw another bush not far away from the camp that was surrounded by flies.

“This way,” he ordered his men and followed the trail of smelly bushes.

Just you wait,

The leader was furious, he was the strongest man in his village and was worshipped by everyone and yet he was tracking a person by following his self-made breadcrumbs. This was a matter of pride, this place was their territory so they had to catch the perpetrator to recover their dignity.

“Boss, what if it is one of those cultivators?” one of the younger ones asked.

“Hmph! You think they would have no pride and do a thing like this? Besides, even if he is a cultivator, I doubt he is that strong, a strong cultivator would not waste his time in the outer area. Most of them are hunting in the middle and inner area of the mountains. Just you wait, if I find him, I will sew his butthole and make sure he will never be able to do his business again,”

The leader answered with pride, he was confident in his own strength. A long time ago, their late village chief came across a body cultivation technique when he was adventuring in the inner area of the Stallone Mountains and he was the only one in their village who made a progress with it.

....

“Achoo!”

Eznho who was refilling his water container when he suddenly sneezed,

Aunt Minchin and the others might be talking about me,

He thought to himself and took a bath because he felt filthy after his hellish experience. Although his agony continued, the frequency slowed down and would only happen every six hours and he felt his innards had somewhat evolved. He only consoled himself by thinking about the result that he would gain after mastering the technique.

According to the information, after completely mastering it, his innards would become sturdy and would not be easily hurt when absorbing damage. Besides that, he can unleash a powerful roar and could be used to attack opponents.

Another two days passed and his body had already adjusted, he no longer suffered like before. He was now brimming with vigor and was ready to focus his attention on his mission. He posed again like before and concentrated to the extreme, after a while, his insides started to vibrate which was slowly increasing in intensity,

“Haa- blerggh!”

He shouted and attempted to unleash a roar but he actually vomited black blood which was a sign of purification.

“Come on! This technique is so gross,” he grumbled to himself but had no choice but to endure. He was about to continue with another round when his ears twitched, he could vaguely hear something out in the woods.

“Who’s there? Can I help you with something?”

He furrowed his brows and became cautious then started to grip his daggers which hang on both sides of his waist.

Rustle

The only thing that answered him was the howl of the wind and the rustling of leaves.

“I know you are there, come out on the count of three or don't blame me for attacking,”

He started to get nervous and tightened his grip on his weapons. A while later, the sound of footsteps could be heard heading his way. Five men who only wore beast skin to cover their groin and held spears came out of the woods with a ferocious look on their faces.

“Hey kid, how long have you been here?”

The leader asked without any politeness, after all, Eznho was only a kid who was not even fifteen years old yet.

“Uhmmm, a week maybe,”

Eznho answered but his body was alert and was ready to take action anytime, he could feel that the one who spoke was not an ordinary person.

“I’ll cut to the chase and save us both the time, were you the one who made our hunting ground a shithole?”

The leader was also cautious because he did not want to jump to any conclusions yet, there were many kinds of cultivators and he might accidentally provoke someone who would bring calamity to their village.

“Uhmmm,”

Eznho’s cheek was a little flushed and did not know how to answer. He was pretty embarrassed.

“It’s you isn’t it?” the leader spoke and his eyes became sharp producing an intimidating aura.

“Look, mister, it was an accident, I ate a fruit and it made my stomach upset, I am really sorry,”

Eznho tried to find an excuse like a child who was caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. He was really embarrassed but there was nothing he could do, what’s done is done.

“Hmph! You think you can just come in our territory and do whatever you like?”

The leader sneered and the group formed a semi-circle. Of course, he did not want to kill, he just wanted to intimidate this kid who looked like an easy prey for them. After all, nobody was hurt, it was just a matter of pride. He could not even see any trace of arrogance from this kid which was common for young cultivators who had a significant background.

“Mister, I don’t want any trouble, I just came here to do a mission, I really am sorry for what I did. What do you want?”

Eznho’s face grimaced, he really did not want to fight, he could tell that these people were locals and did not want to hurt them. Besides, he did not feel any killing intent and had a vague idea of what they were trying to do.

“Kid, if you want to go out of this place unharmed, you better compensate us with something,”

“With what?” Eznho asked.

“Ten gold coins,” The leader answered with a stern voice.

“Fine, here you go,” Eznho immediately produced ten gold coins from his chest pocket and laid it on the ground which made the other group flabbergasted.

He really paid?

“I’m really sorry mister,” He bowed and started to back up. Ten gold coins were nothing compared to risking his life. Add to the fact that he was really embarrassed by what he did.

“Wait!” the leader shouted which made Eznho furrow his brows.

“Kid, are you looking for Star Orchids?” The leader asked which greatly surprised Eznho.

“How did you know?” He asked with caution.

“We followed you for a few days and you always passed by some of the cliffs. The only thing that interests outsiders that involves cliffs is the Star Orchid,”

The leader spoke with pride and confidence, he was the lead hunter and was knowledgeable about the area.

“Let me see your map, most of the cliffs here had been emptied out. I can show you places where the plant might not still have been harvested.”

He stretched his hand which made Eznho skeptical. Eznho was unsure but he was tempted, after all, he did not want to go running around like a headless chicken. He slowly walked towards the group and brought out his map then handed it to the leader. The leader did not speak and brought out a penlike object and marked the map.

“Here you go, although these places are dangerous, there is a high chance they still have what you are looking for,”

Eznho looked at the map and saw six locations that were marked,

“Thank you, mister,”

Eznho bowed with sincerity, he was still cautious but could not sense any ill intent from the man.

“Treat it like a compensation for the gold, by the way, you can call me Nando,” the leader introduced himself.

“Okay, my name is Eznho, again, thank you Senior Nando,” Eznho also introduced himself and left the area.

“Boss, I think that kid is loaded, why don’t-“ the youngest one spoke but was interrupted by Nando.

“Tsk, you know nothing Jon, that kid did not even felt intimidated and was ready to fight us. Besides, he did not reek of blood unlike the others, he might be a beginner but I could feel that he is strong for someone his age, even stronger than you,”

“Then why don’t we collect this plants and sell it to them?” Jon asked again.

“Kid, you really know nothing, don’t you? Collecting these plants will only bring us calamity, the human heart is full of greed. Despite our good intentions, it is hard to predict someone else’s,”

Nando spoke with a grave tone, this was due to his accumulated experiences. He had witnessed many times how cultivators fought because of small things that even ended up in a bloodbath.

“Let’s go,” He picked up the gold and went on their way to trade it for weapons and other necessary items for their village.