Chapter 26 --- Gains and Shadows
Morning came slowly.
Not with birdsong or warmth, but with pain.
Hao Tian opened his eyes and lay still for a long moment, listening to the faint rustle of leaves above and the distant, muted sounds of the forest waking. His body felt like it had been taken apart and put back together incorrectly. Every breath pulled at bruised ribs. His shoulders and back throbbed with a deep, dull ache, and when he tried to flex his fingers, a sharp soreness ran up his arms.
He did not get up immediately.
He had learned better than that.
Instead, he closed his eyes again and carefully checked himself.
No broken bones. No punctured organs. His meridians felt strained and irritated, but not damaged. The worst of it was internal shock and muscle trauma—exactly what he had expected after trading blows with a monster that could smash trees apart.
"Still alive," he murmured.
That alone was worth something.
He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, hissing quietly as pain flared in his side. His camp was well hidden in a narrow hollow between rocks and tangled roots. The forest looked peaceful, almost innocent, as if it had not tried to kill him repeatedly just yesterday.
He took out some of the low-grade medicinal herbs he had gathered earlier and chewed them slowly, enduring the bitter taste. Then he carefully rewrapped the cloth around his ribs and shoulder, tightening it just enough to support the injured muscles without restricting his movement too much.
Only after nearly half an hour did he finally stand.
He tested his weight. Took a step. Then another.
Pain, yes. But manageable.
He nodded to himself.
Today would not be a day of reckless fighting.
After a simple, quiet meal, Hao Tian sat on a flat stone and spread out his rough mental map of the area.
Six dangerous territories.
Two were already behind him.
The Crimson Flame Serpent.
And the battlefield where the Stonehide Boar and Night-Veil Panther had nearly sent him to an early grave.
His pack was heavier now, filled with materials that could fetch a small fortune. And more importantly—he had seen with his own eyes what waited deeper in this forest.
He was still weak.
Still very much killable.
He looked toward the deeper woods, then back toward the areas he had already scouted.
"I won't be greedy," he said quietly.
Today, he would explore. Fight only if the situation was perfect.
By late morning, he found the first set of new tracks.
They were easy to spot.
Broken branches high above the ground. Crushed fruit scattered everywhere. And deep, hand-shaped impressions in the soft earth.
An ape.
A big one.
Hao Tian followed the trail slowly, carefully masking his presence, always keeping to higher ground and using the wind to his advantage. After nearly an hour, he confirmed what he had hoped to see.
It was alone.
A Red-Furred Ape.
Its body was nearly three meters tall when it stood upright, covered in coarse, dark red hair. Its arms were long and thick with muscle, and even from a distance, Hao Tian could see the dense, powerful build beneath its fur.
8th-stage Body Refining.
A dangerous opponent.
But not an impossible one.
Unlike the boar, it had no natural armor. Unlike the panther, it had no terrifying speed.
And most importantly—
It was solitary.
Hao Tian did not rush.
He circled the area, memorizing the terrain. The ape's den was located among a cluster of large rocks and old trees, with plenty of broken stone and fallen trunks scattered around.
Which meant…
Plenty of things to throw.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Not head-on," he decided.
He waited.
When the ape finally moved away from its den to forage, Hao Tian slipped closer, climbing silently onto a slanted rock formation that overlooked the area.
He took a slow breath.
And then he moved.
The first strike was not meant to kill.
He threw a fist-sized stone with all his strength.
It smashed into the ape's head with a dull crack.
The beast roared in fury, spinning around, eyes blazing. It spotted him instantly and let out an enraged bellow, ripping a chunk of stone from the ground and hurling it back.
Hao Tian had already moved.
The battle that followed was fierce, but controlled.
The ape was strong—terrifyingly so. Its fists could shatter rock, and every thrown object was a potential killing blow. But it was also predictable. It relied on power, on rage, on crushing its enemy outright.
Hao Tian did not give it that chance.
He kept moving. Circling. Forcing it to turn. Forcing it to waste strength.
When it charged, he sidestepped and slashed at its leg.
When it paused to tear something from the ground, he struck its arm or shoulder.
Bit by bit, blood began to soak into its red fur.
The ape grew more and more furious. Its movements became heavier. Slower.
Finally, when it raised both arms to smash down in a reckless, all-out blow, Hao Tian darted in instead of retreating.
His sword flashed.
A clean, precise cut across the throat.
The massive body staggered.
Then collapsed.
The forest grew quiet again.
Hao Tian stood there for a long moment, breathing hard, sweat dripping down his back. His injuries throbbed in protest, but he had avoided making them worse.
"This is more like it," he muttered.
He harvested the ape carefully.
The hide.
The bones.
The thick tendons.
And then, he approached the den.
Inside, among old bones and scattered fruit pits, he found it.
A single plant growing in a crack between two stones.
Its leaves were thick, dark green with faint silver veins. The stem was sturdy, and the entire plant seemed to radiate a dense, heavy vitality.
The moment Hao Tian saw it, his heart skipped a beat.
A high-grade Body Refining herb.
He crouched and examined it carefully.
He recognized it.
If combined with two specific subsidiary herbs…
It could push his body straight toward the peak.
At minimum: low 9th stage.
At best…
Mid 9th stage.
His breathing grew a little faster.
"This is… a real chance."
He carefully dug it out and stored it like a priceless treasure.
In the afternoon, he moved on to scout one more territory.
And this time, he did not even need to get close.
He saw the tracks.
Five sets.
Large.
Organized.
He climbed a tree and observed from far away.
A pack of wolves.
Five of them.
And at the center—
An 8th-stage alpha.
He watched them hunt.
Watched their coordination.
Watched the way they covered each other.
And immediately, he felt a chill.
"This is suicide," he said softly.
He left without hesitation.
By the time the sun began to sink, Hao Tian stopped.
He sat on a rock and looked at the forest.
Today, he had gained more than enough.
Materials.
And more importantly—
Hope.
He turned toward the direction of the town.
That night, as he rested, his mind refused to calm down.
Peak of Body Refining.
It was finally within reach.
And for the first time in a long while…
He was too excited to sleep.
.......
Hao Tian left the deeper forest at dawn.
The morning mist still clung to the trees, and the air was cool and damp, carrying the faint scent of wet leaves and soil. His body still ached from the battles of the past days, but his steps were steady, his breathing controlled. The heavy pack on his back was a constant reminder of just how much he had gained—and how much risk he had taken to earn it.
He did not relax.
Not for a moment.
The forest was most dangerous when one started thinking they were already safe.
He moved cautiously, always keeping to paths that allowed him to see far ahead, always listening, always watching.
Around midday, while passing through a shallow, rocky ravine, something caught his eye.
A patch of strange vegetation growing in the shade of an overhanging cliff.
Hao Tian stopped.
Slowly, he approached and crouched.
Among the dull green weeds and moss was a plant with long, narrow leaves, faintly blue in color, with tiny white specks along the veins. The stem was thin but resilient, and a subtle, refreshing scent lingered around it.
His eyes sharpened.
"…Cloud-Marrow Grass."
One of the subsidiary herbs.
His heart beat a little faster.
On its own, it was not particularly valuable. But combined with the main herb from the Red-Furred Ape's den and one more supporting ingredient, it became a crucial stabilizer—something that would protect his body and meridians during the violent surge of energy required to break into the 9th stage of Body Refining.
"This forest really is dangerous… but generous," he murmured.
He carefully harvested it, wrapping it separately and storing it with more care than most of his other finds.
One step closer.
By late afternoon, the forest began to thin.
The familiar, safer outer regions were not far now.
And that was when he heard footsteps.
Three of them.
Not beasts.
People.
Hao Tian slowed and shifted slightly off the main path, his senses fully alert.
Soon, three figures emerged from between the trees.
Hunters.
Their clothes were worn but serviceable, their weapons simple but maintained. Their auras were weak.
5th-stage Body Refining.
All three.
They spotted him almost immediately.
And then they saw his pack.
Their eyes changed.
The first to speak was a thin man with narrow eyes and a forced smile.
"Brother, you came from deep inside, didn't you? That pack looks… heavy."
Hao Tian smiled faintly.
"Got lucky."
The second man, broader and carrying a heavy blade, laughed.
"Lucky? That's not luck. That's skill. How about we walk together? The forest's dangerous, after all."
Hao Tian nodded politely.
But inside, he was already cold.
Too friendly.
Too quick.
Too focused on his pack.
He agreed.
And stayed ten steps away.
They talked as they walked.
Mostly, the three of them talking, and Hao Tian listening.
He learned quickly that they were short on money. That they had failed to find anything valuable for days. That they were frustrated.
And he noticed something else.
They were slowly, subtly, changing positions.
One drifting to his left.
One falling behind.
One staying ahead.
He kept walking.
And let his hand drift closer to his sword.
The attack came suddenly.
The man behind him lunged.
At the same time, the one on the left swung his blade.
The one in front turned and charged.
Hao Tian had already moved.
He stepped forward instead of back.
The first attacker's blade cut only air.
Hao Tian's sword flashed.
One clean line across the man's throat.
Blood sprayed.
He did not stop.
He turned.
Blocked the second blade.
Twisted.
Stabbed.
The second man fell, choking.
The third froze for a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
Hao Tian closed the distance and drove his sword straight through his chest.
It was over in seconds.
He stood there, breathing slowly, listening to the forest.
Nothing else moved.
"…Idiots," he said quietly.
He looted them quickly.
Some silver.
A few low-grade herbs.
A couple of decent pills.
Nothing special.
But still profit.
By the time Hao Tian reached town, the sky was already darkening.
The gates were still open.
The guards glanced at his heavy pack and raised their brows, but said nothing.
Inside, he went straight to the hunter's market.
And caused a small stir.
When he began unloading:
Panther hide.
Boar tusks.
Boar hide.
Ape bones.
Ape hide.
Scales.
Fangs.
Even the merchant's eyes widened.
"This…" the man said slowly, "You went deep."
Hao Tian only smiled.
The negotiations took time.
But in the end—
He walked away with a heavy pouch of silver.
Far more than he had ever had before.
Still within reason.
Still believable.
But a huge step forward.
He did not linger.
He bought:
Medicinal supplies.
Food.
Basic necessities.
And then—
The last subsidiary herb.
Expensive.
Painfully so.
But necessary.
When he finally returned to his small residence, the night was deep.
He closed the door.
Sat down.
And placed the three herbs in front of him.
The main one.
And the two subsidiary ones.
His heart beat slowly.
Steadily.
"…It's time."
He took a deep breath.
And began to prepare.