Shiliang Town, east entrance of Dengshi Street.

A small tiled house.

The steam from the rice, mixed with the aroma of home-cooked dishes, filled the room.

"Brother Ye Sheng, now that you’ve become an Immortal, do you still need to eat?"

Sheng Yun ate in small bites, asking with a face full of curiosity.

"What Immortal? You listen to their nonsense."

"Besides, even if I truly achieve Immortal Ascension in the future, A Yun’s cooking would still satisfy an Immortal’s palate."

"Hehe." Facing Song Yan’s praise, Sheng Yun smiled sweetly.

Before Foundation Establishment, it was impossible to completely abstain from food.

Therefore, in the Cultivation World, there were also Spiritual Grains and Spiritual Wines, special spiritual foods cultivated and produced through unique methods. Cultivators who consumed them could even increase a little Qi.

However, those were not things Song Yan, with his scavenger-level living standard in the Cultivation World, could afford. Xu Darong asked, "Ye Sheng, how long will you stay this time?"

"I won’t be staying for many days, at most three days."

Sheng Nian remained silent, simply eating his meal.

After finishing their meal, the four of them cleared the dishes together. Xu Darong had matters at home, so he left early.

The three of them sat on the heated brick bed, chatting.

"Where did those people come from?"

Song Yan asked. Sheng Nian, beside him, shook his head, indicating he didn’t know: "However ever since Tong Chuping died in our town that year, more and more people have been coming to Shiliang Town."

At the mention of that name, the two exchanged glances, tacitly saying no more.

Sheng Yun naturally didn’t detect anything unusual.

Song Yan continued, "A single step to heaven... no one would let go of such an opportunity."

"My three Spiritual Roots of gold, wood, and fire, in the Cave Abyss Sect, only make me an average talent. If I don’t have Cultivation resources, it’s uncertain if I can even enter the inner Sect in this lifetime."

"If I can obtain a Sheyang Sect Disciple token, I can directly enter the inner Sect."

"For ordinary people, it truly is a single step to heaven."

Who doesn’t want to achieve Immortal Ascension?

Long life, riding clouds and mist.

No matter how extraordinary one was in the mortal world, even a grandfather like a living Immortal could not escape the five declines of heaven and man.

After chatting until late into the night, Song Yan got up and bid farewell.

He walked out of Shiliang Town market and headed back to Qing Shi Mountain.

Green Mountain Thatched Cottage.

Grandfather loved peace and quiet, so both this Green Mountain and this thatched cottage were at the very edge of this small town.

The evening wind in the mountains made Song Yan shiver slightly.

Three sticks of incense were placed in the censer in front of the grave.

"Grandfather, everything is well with me."

An orphan by the Wuxi River, without father or mother, he was picked up by his grandfather and raised from a young age.

Abandoned infants were not uncommon in that era.

Twenty years ago, the Chu Kingdom had just emerged from the chaos of war, and the lives of ordinary people had not yet improved. There were countless families who could give birth but couldn’t afford to raise their children.

Grandfather never thought this child would achieve great things in the future; he only wished for him to be safe, happy, and at ease, so he named him Song Yan.

He was originally an itinerant doctor. He built a thatched cottage on Green Mountain and settled in Shiliang Town.

The old man’s medical skills were superb; it seemed that any difficult and complicated illness could be easily cured in his hands. Moreover, he was extremely kind-hearted, often going down the mountain to provide free consultations in the town, refusing medical fees. Coupled with his miraculous medical skills, his reputation naturally spread far and wide.

Of course, at that time, the grandfather and grandson lived frugally on the mountain, which was also closely related to his frequent free consultations.

Later, after grandfather passed away, Song Yan had to go to the Sect for Cultivation. The thatched cottage and medicinal garden left by grandfather on Green Stone Mountain were difficult to sell in a short time, and grandfather was buried beside the thatched cottage.

So, he simply entrusted everything to Uncle Meng to manage.

Song Yan sat at his grandfather’s grave, recounting everything about his entry into the Sect for Cultivation.

"Sometimes I wonder, how could such a powerful person like you, like an Immortal descended to the mortal world, die of illness."

"Now it seems that even those so-called ’Cultivators,’ if they cannot achieve Immortal Ascension and attain eternal life, will ultimately become a handful of yellow earth."

Song Yan sighed softly.

He had diligently studied medicine for ten years with his grandfather, and then watched him die before his eyes.

In the mortal world, can ordinary mortals truly attain eternal life?

...

To the north of Green Mountain, connected are the two high mountains of Greater and Lesser Xiao Gu Mountain.

But Song Yan wasn’t suddenly in the mood for mountain climbing in the middle of the night.

Walking a short distance down the mountain, one could hear the faint sound of the stream flowing through the mountains in the distance; this was already close to the source of the Wuxi River.

And where Song Yan was currently, theoretically, he had already left Stone Ridge.

Normally, no one would come here.

After about a quarter of an hour, Song Yan slowly walked into Wuxi Valley along a faint path.

The cold mountain wind made Song Yan tighten his robes.

The valley was perennially shrouded in mist, damp and cold, and as night fell, the chill became even more biting.

Originally, he could see far in the dim moonlight, but once he entered the valley, he could only rely on the lantern in his hand to discern the nearby terrain.

Snap.

Song Yan forcefully pushed aside the damp vines and withered leaves in front of him. These plants were covered with a thin layer of cold frost, making him shiver.

A hidden mountain cave entrance appeared.

Song Yan stepped inside.

With only the light of the small lantern, Song Yan’s vision was very narrow, but he was not afraid; he just kept walking forward.

Upon entering the mountain cave, the sounds of the mountain suddenly vanished, leaving only some subtle dripping sounds.

Drip.

Thump.

Occasionally, water droplets fell, landing in Song Yan’s hair.

He stopped.

Suddenly, a cold wind came from nowhere. The flame of Song Yan’s lantern flickered for a moment, then abruptly went out.

"..."

Everything around him instantly melted into darkness.

"..."

Rustle, rustle.

At a certain moment, Song Yan felt a cold touch, starting from his left foot and gradually spreading upwards.

Ankle... knee... This cold, damp, sticky, and smooth sensation coiled around Song Yan’s waist from below, then climbed onto his shoulders.

Song Yan clearly felt something pressing against his neck, gently resting on his shoulder.

Damp, cold.

"Hiss."

A pair of green-gold vertical pupils slowly opened beside his ear, with a strange green light flowing around the eyes, becoming the only light in this darkness.

"Xiao He..."

Song Yan spoke.

"Hiss."

The owner of these eyes did not speak, only emitted the hissing sound that only cold-blooded animals would make.

Song Yan felt something was off.

The creature wrapped around him seemed to be changing.

The cold, wet feeling on his neck was receding, replaced by the touch of human skin.

A pair of small hands embraced him from behind.

In the darkness, a childish yet feigned cold voice came.

"Why are you still here?"

Song Yan chuckled.

He took out a fire starter from his embrace and relit the wick in the lantern. Now, the mountain cave was barely visible.

A small wooden bed, a few small bamboo stools, that was all.

Song Yan reached back and, grabbing the messy, almost balled-up clothing on the little girl’s neck, lifted her up.

"Hey, you..."

"Let go of me. I... I’m a monster. I believe it or not, I’ll eat you in one bite."

A pair of small fists waved, using both hands and feet, fierce and strong.

But not terrifying.

Song Yan placed her on the small wooden bed, while he sat on the small bamboo stool.

"I’ve been Cultivating in the Cave Abyss Sect for a year and a half. Only today could I come down the mountain and return home for a temporary visit."

"..."

Hearing Song Yan speak, the little girl was quiet for a while.

But soon, she puffed up again, crossing her arms and turning her head away.

"Hmph, what does that have to do with me."

She angrily opened her bloody maw of a small mouth, revealing a pair of rather sharp little fangs.

"Go away. Go away. If you leave, this will be my territory. It’ll be so much fun."

"..."

Song Yan paused.

"Hmm, in a couple of days. I’ll return to the Sect."

The candle flame in the small lantern flickered, as if it could go out at any moment.

"..."

"..."

"Good. Good. That’s really good."

"Anyway, no one controls me. I’m going to eat all those people who come up the mountain, one by one, and send them to see grandfather." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"That way, grandfather won’t be so lonely in the underworld. Right?"

Song Yan, however, ignored the little girl’s shocking threats.

"This time I go... I won’t be back for a while."

Xiao He turned her head away, not speaking.

But tears were already welling up in her eyes, and her small mouth pouted for a long time, ultimately unable to hold back.

"..."

"Wah."

Tears and snot of grievance flew across her chubby face.

"I’m never going to talk to you again! You’re always like this."

"Wuwuwu."

"Why... wah."

Snake Babe’s wailing filled the cave.

"I haven’t finished speaking yet, what are you so anxious about?"

A sly smile suddenly appeared on Song Yan’s silent face. "What do you mean ’always like this’? This time is different."

"Xiao He."

"Huh?"

The little girl’s wailing stopped.

Only her small nose was still sniffling.

"..."

"Come with me."

"..."

Snake Babe’s small eyes looked at him with a hint of suspicion.

"Really?"

Song Yan nodded.

Sniffle.

"Then okay."

Xiao He, with a thump, buried her chubby face in Song Yan’s clothes, smearing him with tears and snot.

"Hehe."