Chapter Thirteen: Cultivation in the Remote Mountains

Standing before the mountain range, Li Xingyu realized that although it was not particularly tall, it was vast beyond imagination. Looking to either side, he could not see where the range ended, and the whole formation curved outward, its depth revealed by numerous peaks rising far from the foothills, suggesting the mountains stretched at least five hundred kilometers inward. Thick, dense forests covered the entire range, making any attempt to cross it exceedingly difficult. Perhaps the only way out was to follow the foothills, hoping to find an end to the mountains. The range’s length surely far exceeded its depth, yet traveling along the foothills would not require traversing the entire expanse, and walking on flat ground was much easier than cutting through the pathless wilderness.

But escaping was not his immediate goal. Instead, he hoped to find a secluded, safe, and tranquil place to cultivate the technique the elder had bestowed upon him. He had carefully analyzed the portions of the method he could understand, and found it divided into three parts; he had already reached the peak of the second, and now wished to master the final section, strengthening himself before further exploring this planet. The other two items the elder had left him also warranted further study, in hopes of gaining something useful. The ring appeared ordinary, but he knew it was far from simple. He had tried adjusting the laser gun to its lowest setting and firing at the base of the ring, yet it caused no damage. Raising the gun’s power step by step, the ring remained unaffected, as if the laser beam were nothing more than a flashlight’s ray.

As for the beast hide and the strange writing upon it, repeated scrutiny yielded nothing. He could not determine what animal it had come from, and aside from guessing the script might record another cultivation technique, he gained no further insight, for he could not recognize a single character or symbol. He had even entered the script into his MVP5, comparing it against every known language, ancient and modern, in the Earth database, but found no match. He resolved to study these two items carefully after his cultivation. By now, he believed meeting the elder before his mission was a stroke of tremendous fortune, for even the simplest item left to him had already saved his life on more than one occasion. He hoped one of the other two would offer a way out of his current predicament. Once he made up his mind, he acted, as was his custom.

Venturing into the mountains, he discovered that apart from plants, there were no animals—not even a common insect or a bird. The realization sent a chill down his spine; was this forest a land of death? He had penetrated nearly five kilometers into the woods yet found nothing. He stopped by a stream to observe the water, hoping to understand the absence of animal life. He knew that some places on Earth were similarly barren of animals, usually due to natural radioactivity or poisonous heavy metals in the water—plants would absorb the toxins, rendering both water and vegetation unsafe, or other unknown reasons.

After noticing the anomaly, he used his survival kit’s detection equipment to check for invisible dangers: environmental radiation, contaminants in the water, soil, and plants. All results showed normal levels. Of course, the device could only detect substances harmful to Earth’s animals; whether it could identify threats to creatures on other planets was uncertain. Yet, given the similarity in the composition of life forms, and since Earth’s ordinary creatures likely held no extraordinary abilities, he could reasonably rule out toxic substances as the cause of the absence. This was also why he did not immediately leave—the environment posed no harm to himself. As for other dangers, on an alien world, threats could lurk anywhere. If they came from other creatures, he believed his laser gun would protect him, unless his adversary possessed supernatural powers.

Unable to determine the cause of this strange phenomenon, he deliberated for a long time but did not abandon his plan to cultivate here. The silence was too alluring; tranquility was the best guarantee for cultivation. When he found a cave set into a cliff, about ten meters above the ground, he resolved to use it for his training, provided it was safe inside. For caution’s sake, he waited outside the cave for two full days, watching for signs of animal activity. Finding none, he took from his pack an object resembling a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it into the cave. A muffled explosion sent thick, acrid smoke billowing from the entrance, even reaching him below. It was a powerful tear gas bomb, designed to disperse beasts during wild attacks. He aimed his gun at the cave, prepared for anything that might emerge.

When the smoke cleared and nothing stirred, he was fairly certain the cave held no creatures. He retrieved his climbing gear and scaled up to the entrance. Upon entering, he fixed a flashlight to his shoulder and gripped his laser gun tightly, his greatest safeguard. Sometimes he wondered if he was overly cautious, but his inherent prudence and thoroughness made him careful, though this caution did not contradict his love of adventure. He simply preferred to plan meticulously and verify every detail, even at the expense of time, rather than act out of recklessness. He recalled a great adventurer once said true adventurous spirit was not the ignorant bravado of fearing nothing, but the courage to explore the unknown after sufficient preparation.

Inside the cave, he found the entrance narrow and winding, only allowing a person to squeeze through. Beyond the bend, the cave was not deep but opened into a space of about twenty square meters. The inner wall, shaped by human hands, was smooth enough to reflect sunlight into the chamber, providing just enough light. The floor was covered with a thick layer of dust, and apart from his own footprints, there were no other traces, proving no creature had entered for a long time.

He judged the cave’s structure ideal. Once he set an alarm device at the entrance, he could safely train inside; even if something intruded, the warning would give him time to defend the narrow bend with his laser gun. Moreover, since he had found no animals in the mountains, and none in the cave, his precautions were justified. After a simple cleaning and installing the alarm, with the solar panel at the entrance ensuring power, he began his first true period of secluded cultivation. Sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, he guided the energy within his dantian to circulate along the prescribed route.

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