Once Feng cleared his thoughts and emotions, he forced himself to calm down and stop thinking about those things.
He knew that at his current level, even if he learned the truth, he didn’t have the power to change anything.
It was better to focus on getting stronger before worrying about such matters.
Feng watched as the Blackwood Ruler slowly cald down and nodded its head. Before he could ask, the system responded.
[The Blackwood Ruler wishes you luck on your journey.]
Feng felt a lump in his throat, his eyes stinging as he looked at the Blackwood Ruler.
Even though it was a bit risky, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around it in a tight hug, pressing his head into its thick fur.
He knew it would be a long ti before they t again—if they ever did.
But one thing was certain—he would miss the peaceful days they had spent together in this place.
"Thank you for treating like your own senior. Once I get strong enough, I’ll co back, and this ti, I’ll be the one to hunt a al for you!" Feng said with a bright smile.
The Blackwood Ruler seed pleased, wagging its tail in response.
But just before Feng could leave, it gave him one final gift.
Lowering its head, the ruler gently touched its forehead to Feng’s.
WHOOSH!
A massive surge of energy rushed through Feng’s body, but he couldn’t absorb it.
Instead, it felt like it was cleansing him, washing away impurities and allowing spiritual energy to flow more freely.
More importantly, he sensed a strange change—it felt much easier to absorb spiritual energy from his surroundings.
[The Blackwood Ruler is cleansing the Host’s body of impurities. This will make it easier to absorb spiritual energy in the future and increase your chances of reaching the Foundation Establishnt stage.]
[The Blackwood Ruler can only perform this once every 100 years. Spiritual beasts do this to increase the potential of their offspring.]
Suddenly, a thick layer of gri and filth seeped out from Feng’s body.
The unbearable stench filled the air, making him feel like he was covered in mud—only ten tis worse!
"Ugh, what the hell is this?!" Feng shouted as the cleansing sensation faded from his body.
[These are the impurities that were inside the Host’s body. The system recomnds taking a bath in the river.]
The Blackwood Ruler quickly raised its head and nudged Feng toward the river, its actions making it clear—it could sll just how bad he stunk.
With a wolf’s sense of sll being nearly a hundred tis stronger than a human’s, Feng could only imagine how unbearable it was.
"I know..." Feng muttered, looking depressed as he hurried toward the river.
Without hesitation, he jumped in, scrubbing himself clean.
anwhile, the Blackwood Ruler pointed at him with its claws, then gestured toward his makeshift fireplace, as if trying to tell him sothing.
[The Blackwood Ruler is requesting that you stay a while and cook for him before you leave.]
"Of course!" Feng nodded without hesitation. The Blackwood Ruler wagged its tail happily before quickly dashing off to hunt for food.
As the ruler disappeared into the forest, Feng continued bathing, using the mont to plan his next steps.
The most important thing is to leave the Blackwood Forest as soon as possible and get to the open road.
As long as I’m within the forest, I doubt I’ll run into any trouble with the Ruler’s presence keeping safe. But once I leave...
Once I reach the open road, I should head to the nearest town and hitch a ride with a rchant caravan heading to Brightshore City.
If I rember correctly, the closest human settlent is Silverpine City.
They’re known for their massive pine trees that bear a special kind of fruit called Silverpine Cones.
These fruits are edible and can actually strengthen a cultivator’s physique.
Silverpine City mainly trades these cones with nearby towns and cities.
If I can hitch a ride there, I’ll reach Brightshore City in no ti!
Feng finished his bath, found a dry piece of cloth to wipe himself clean, and changed into a fresh set of clothes—ones he had taken from Ren’s bag of holding.
"Silverpine City, here I co!" he thought excitedly as he packed up his supplies.
Just as he began wondering where the Blackwood Ruler had gone, it finally returned, dragging back a massive brown boar.
The beast was nearly the sa size as the Blackwood Ruler itself, stretching about 30 ters in length!
"What the hell? Can we even cook this thing?" Feng thought, staring at the massive boar.
Isn’t this one of the strongest spiritual beasts in the Blackwood Forest? The Red Tipped Brown Boar—known to be at the top of the food chain here, just below the Ruler.
It was rumored to be at half a step to Foundation Establishnt!
Well, now that it’s here, I wonder what it tastes like... Feng’s mouth watered as he eyed the enormous beast before him.
The thought of tasting such a formidable creature was enough to stir both excitent and hunger in him.
He could already imagine the rich, savory flavors that would co from the at of such a powerful beast.
He quickly shook off any lingering hesitation and focused on the task at hand. Ti to cook!
First, he examined the boar more closely.
The fur was thick, almost like a pelt of tough hide, and the beast’s muscular fra was formidable.
Feng quickly realized that cooking such a beast wouldn’t be as simple as throwing it over the fire. He needed to break it down carefully.
With a deep breath, Feng summoned his strength and started by using his claws to carefully slice into the boar’s tough hide.
It was a bit difficult, but it was all he had, and he worked steadily, carving through the layers of fat and muscle.
The boar’s blood, a deep crimson, began to pool on the ground, and Feng grimaced at the ss.
This is definitely not sothing I can cook quickly...
Once he had managed to strip away enough of the hide, Feng set about separating the at from the bones, his hands working with precision despite the beast’s sheer size.
The boar’s at was thick and dense, its scent filling the air with a rich, almost smoky aroma. Feng’s mouth watered, but he focused, knowing he had to work fast to prepare a al.
He used his fire-making skills to quickly gather dry wood from around the area and built a large, steady fla.
As the fire grew, Feng carefully placed the first cut of the boar’s at on the spit, turning it slowly to cook evenly.
The sll of roasting at mingled with the forest air, and Feng could already imagine how rich and tender the at would taste.
But that wasn’t enough.
Feng had learned the art of slow cooking through years of practice in the wild, and he knew this boar deserved a bit more care.
Without hesitation, he decided to roast the larger cuts over the fire while using the smaller pieces to create a stew.
As he prepared the stew, he gathered fresh herbs from the nearby forest—so that would help season the at and others that had healing properties.
He mixed them into a pot of water, adding the smaller cuts of the boar and letting it simr gently over a smaller fla.
The aroma of the stew filled the air, and Feng couldn’t help but smile as he realized this would be a al like no other.
The large cuts of the boar cooked slowly over the fire, becoming tender and juicy, while the stew continued to simr with rich flavors.
Feng’s excitent grew with every minute as the slls intensified.
By the ti the al was ready, the once-raw boar had transford into a feast.
The at was perfectly roasted, tender and flavorful, while the stew had absorbed the herbs and spices, creating a rich, savory broth.
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