Stepping onto the path to immortality, it all begins with buying the daughter of a disgraced officia

scoff!

The longsword spun in mid-air for a moment before precisely piercing the hind leg of the mountain wolf that lunged at Ye Qingyan.

At the same time, Su Mu leaped into the wolf pack, wielding his torch, and charged straight towards Ye Qingyan's location!

"Husband!?"

At first, Ye Qingyan thought she was hallucinating before she died, until Su Mu held her in his arms and she realized that this was not a hallucination, and Su Mu had really come to save her!

She never expected that after just one night of marriage, Su Mu would actually risk his life to come looking for her!

"Don't be afraid, your husband is here, you'll be alright!"

Su Mu shielded Ye Qingyan behind him, standing ramrod straight, his imposing presence belying his sixty-year-old age.

"Awoo!"

Among the wolves, the alpha wolf stared intently at Su Mu, let out a howl, and signaled the pack to attack!

Seeing the wolf pack attacking, Ye Qingyan's heart leaped into her throat. "Watch out!"

"Awoo!"

A mountain wolf lunged straight at Su Mu, its jaws wide open and its sharp claws gleaming coldly. It was about to slash Su Mu's neck when Su Mu suddenly bent down, picked up the sword from the ground, and plunged it into the wolf's belly!

"Awoo!"

The wolf that launched the first attack had its abdomen pierced, its internal organs and flesh gushing out. After a few mournful howls, it breathed its last.

thump!

Su Mu flung the wolf's corpse to the ground like trash, and scalding blood gushed from its abdomen, staining the thick pool of blood on the ground.

Upon seeing this, the alpha wolf was clearly wary. The surrounding wolves stopped in their tracks, still circling the two, but hesitant to attack, obviously somewhat afraid of Su Mu's strength.

Taking advantage of the break, Su Mu took off his coat and covered Ye Qingyan with it. "Don't worry, your husband will take you out!"

He changed the subject and faced the wolf pack again. This time, Su Mu stopped defending and took the initiative to attack!

And so, Su Mu protected Ye Qingyan while approaching the wolf pack. From that moment on, Su Mu was completely imprinted in her heart!

With the blessing of the immortal bones, Su Mu's power seemed inexhaustible, and he became more and more courageous in battle. Every time he swung his sword, it was accompanied by a wolf howl.

But soon, the alpha wolf gave the order again, and this time, the pack changed formation and stopped attacking blindly.

Instead, they formed groups of two or three, creating an encirclement to trap the two people, forcing them to lie prone in place and wait for an opportunity!

"Damn it! These beasts are really troublesome!"

Su Mu's expression changed slightly, his eyes constantly alert to his surroundings, to prevent a wolf pack from launching a sneak attack.

Ultimately, it's because his cultivation level is too weak!

If he were to break through to the Qi Condensation Realm, absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and condense his magical power, dealing with a mere few mountain wolves would be no different than killing chickens!

Su Mu's desire to become stronger grew stronger!

The wolves trapped the two of them. As time passed, the surrounding temperature grew colder and colder, and light snow began to fall from the sky. Ye Qingyan's expression grew increasingly grim.

With the blessing of immortal bones, Su Mu was unaffected by this chill.

But Ye Qingyan is only human, and if this continues, she will inevitably lose her body temperature and eventually freeze to death on the mountain.

As the situation remained deadlocked, the Chiyang Manghu cub, nestled in a cloth bag on the cart, was awakened by the noise. It tilted its head back, as if yawning, and let out a heart-shaking roar!

"Aww—"

Although the tiger's roar is still immature, as the king of all beasts, its voice is naturally capable of suppressing all other beasts!

The moment the tiger's roar echoed, the wolf pack scattered in fright. Even the alpha wolf abandoned its prey and turned to run away, which shows how much they feared the Crimson Sun Tiger!

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Mu picked up Ye Qingyan, ran straight to the donkey cart, raised his hand, and slapped the donkey's rump.

Ugh—

The donkey, looking resentful, dragged the cart at breakneck speed. After about half an hour, it finally made it back to the village and escaped danger!

In the dead of night, the village was pitch black, every household had their doors tightly shut, and there was no sign of smoke or fire.

"Thankfully, everyone's alright now."

Su Mu let out a long sigh, pushed open the railing, and carried the already unconscious Ye Qingyan into the house. After placing her on the bed, Su Mu took out a few Red Sun Flowers and Blood Clotting Grass from his package, crushed them, and applied them to Ye Qingyan's wounds.

After finishing everything, it was already past midnight. Su Mu was not sleepy, so he went out of the yard, laid out some dry hay for the donkey, settled the little red tiger, and then returned to the house. He found a place to sit cross-legged and practiced the Five Animal Frolics internal energy cultivation method.

Immediately, Su Mu put the six Body Tempering Pills he bought from Wanbaozhai into his mouth. Then, with a thought, he circulated his Qi cultivation method, guiding the medicinal power of the Body Tempering Pills into his body. It then surged to his limbs and bones, and even to his internal organs, spreading throughout his entire body!

"break!"

After an unknown amount of time, Su Mu suddenly opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and his originally cloudy eyes became clearer.

Clearly, his cultivation level has broken through once again!

Three layers of body tempering!

"Could it be because the elixir is of too low a grade?"

Su Mu muttered to himself, clearly dissatisfied with his current results. Six Body Tempering Pills only allowed him to break through to the next realm, which was truly unacceptable.

His innate talent is beyond question; he can absorb the medicinal power of pills 100%, and his cultivation speed far exceeds that of ordinary cultivators.

If we rule out the issue of innate talent, then there's only one explanation left: the quality of the elixir is too low!

Su Mu suddenly remembered something and immediately checked the "Alchemy Manual" he had previously obtained, preparing to see if there were any pills that he could refine at this stage!

【The Secret Manual of Alchemy: Body Tempering Chapter】

[Current Elixir Recipes: Body Tempering Pill, Qi Gathering Pill, Spirit Ascension Pill...]

[Note: Alchemy requires a furnace, and the process demands a calm and focused mind; do not rush it!]

After a while.

Su Mu's gaze was fixed on the formulas for the Body Tempering Pill and the Qi Gathering Pill.

Both of these are easy to refine and the medicinal materials are inexpensive, making them his only choice at the moment!

"Looks like we'll have to go into town again tomorrow!"

Su Mu murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. He figured the Green Serpent Society must already know about the deaths of those martial artists, but he wondered if they would discover his identity.

Of course, it wasn't that he was afraid of trouble. Su Mu just wanted to develop in a low-key manner and avoid unnecessary trouble as much as possible. If the Green Snake really came knocking on his door, he also knew a little bit of martial arts!

...

The next day.

giggle-

The rooster crows.

The sky is bright.

Taking advantage of the early hour, Su Mu stepped out of the courtyard and, as usual, practiced the Five Animal Frolics.

The Five Animal Frolics rewarded by the Longevity Scroll was completely different from the Five Animal Frolics he remembered!

There are two cultivation methods: internal and external.

The external training focuses on tempering the body, drawing upon the strength of tigers, deer, bears, monkeys, and birds to refine the physical form.

In addition, the external martial arts section contains five kinds of spells and combat techniques, but unfortunately they require spiritual power to activate. With his current cultivation level, he can only use them to enhance his physical strength and cannot use them for the time being.

As for the internal cultivation part, it is the Qi Refining Method, which draws the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body. Through the Qi Refining Method, the spiritual energy is continuously purified, maximizing the absorption of spiritual energy!

However, before he could condense his Qi Sea, he could only cultivate his Qi and blood power. Although he could absorb and store a small amount of spiritual energy, the effect was negligible and far from sufficient to cast spells...

While practicing the Five Animal Frolics, Su Mu did not forget to practice the Azure Origin Sword Technique, as it was his primary means of attack and could not be neglected!

After these two days of experience, he deeply understood the importance of strength. Whether one is a cultivator or a martial artist, only strength determines everything!

brush brush --

Su Mu held a long sword, practiced the sword technique, and swung the sword one move after another!

Chop, flick, stab, cut...

Not long after!

He channeled his inner energy and suddenly unleashed a sword strike: "Azure Origin Sword Technique, First Form - Breaking Illusion!"

boom!

A cyan sword aura shot out and landed on a huge millstone in the distance.

The millstone, weighing several hundred kilograms, was actually cleaved with a deep sword mark. If more force were applied, it could probably be cut in half with a single sword strike!

hiss--

Su Mu couldn't help but gasp, "This power... even a third-realm martial artist might not be able to withstand it..."

At this moment, he finally understood the true meaning of the saying, "With the hang of the sword, one is invincible!"

After decades of feeling stifled, I have to say, having a cheat code feels fucking awesome!

The sky gradually brightened.

As usual, Su Mu boiled water, cooked, and waited for Ye Qingyan to wake up before serving the meal...

soon.

The two finished their meal.

Snow stopped.

In the neighboring yard.

As soon as Zhang Cuifang stepped outside, she saw Su Mu practicing boxing in the yard, her face showing an expression as if she had seen a ghost. "How is this possible? How could they have come back alive!"

Crunch, crunch—

Just then, the sound of footsteps in the snow came from afar. Chen Changhe, the village head of Qingshan Village, rushed over and went straight into Su Mu's courtyard, his words full of anxiety.

"Grandpa Su! Grandpa Su!"

Su Mu frowned slightly, but quickly recovered. He then turned around, forced a smile, and pretended to be puzzled.

"Oh? It's Muramasa. What happened to you?"

Chen Changhe swallowed hard, panting heavily. It took him a while to catch his breath before he leaned closer to Su Mu and whispered:

"Something's happened to the old man! Several martial artists from the Green Snake Society in the county have died on the only road from our village to the county town!"

This morning I received news that the Green Snake Society was sending people to the village to investigate; they're probably already at the village entrance..."