Days passed.
Lin Wei was still following the stream, hoping to find a sign of civilization. But nothing—no people, no settlements. He had been on this journey for so long, he had lost all sense of time. It had likely been a month already.
His wounds were gone, healed by the precious herbs he gathered and the reserved meat of a Qi Condensing Wolf he hunted earlier. Nearly half of that meat was gone now. His appetite had grown—he was now eating the equivalent of four meals a day.
His body was changing. He was getting taller, his muscles becoming more defined yet still slim. His face looked sharper, more mature, almost chiseled. He was becoming more handsome, but the scars on his body remained. One glance at him, and you'd know he was a survivor—of what, no one could tell. But the wildness in his eyes, in his aura, screamed savagery.
Though not a cultivator, his body was evolving—faster, stronger, sharper. Was it due to the bloodline he acquired? Or was it simply the result of pushing himself beyond human limits? Every time he pushed himself to the edge, he returned stronger, faster, and smarter. The forest had forced him to learn how to survive.
His diet was raw—precious herbs, wolf meat, and even fish from the stream, which he ate uncooked. He had grown used to it... even enjoyed it. The forest was changing him, molding him into something else—something more.
With a spear in his hand, a serpent coil at his waist, and nothing but an animal-skin cloth covering his body lower body, Lin Wei pressed on. That skin came from one of his earlier visits to a city, long before his current isolation, his upper body shirtless.
But something strange stood out: ever since he began following the stream, it had shown no signs of ending. Even more puzzling, he hadn't encountered a single beast—just fish and the occasional birdsong. It was unnaturally quiet.
"Am I heading in the right direction... or walking straight into death?" he wondered. A nervous energy crept into him. "Maybe this silence is the calm before the storm. Either way, I need to be extra careful."
As night fell, the towering trees with their thick leaves blocked out the moonlight—but Lin Wei had grown fond of traveling at night. Thanks to his night cloak, he could move almost invisibly, and his vision had adapted, becoming sharper in the dark. He decided to run all night, determined to find the stream's end or at least a sign of what lay ahead.
He ran for hours. Eventually, he reached a thick, untamed part of the forest. The stream disappeared into the dense greenery. He couldn't even see what was on the other side—the vegetation was too thick. All he could hear was the sound of flowing water. Still, it felt better to act while the forest was dark and calm. In daylight, things might not be so forgiving.
He pulled out his spear and began hacking through tall grasses and small trees blocking his path. The deeper he went, the wilder it became. Strange sounds echoed through the trees—some of them menacing. Lin Wei's instincts screamed caution, but also... excitement.
Through his eyes, he picked up something. A glimmer. A signal. His vision capable of detecting treasure spotted a red glow tinged with silver. It was a dangerous sign, a signal of something rare, powerful and risky.
He wasn't sure what it was yet, but whatever it was, it was worth checking out.
He moved quietly, slowly advancing as dawn began to break. Realizing it was safer to observe first, he searched for cover. The towering trees offered perfect concealment, so he climbed the tallest one nearby using the serpent coil at his waist for assistance.
Within thirty minutes, he reached the top and discovered a massive nest, ten times bigger than his own body.
"Whatever bird built this... it's no joke," he muttered.
Peering inside, he found three massive eggs, each the size of a grown man's head. Judging by the warmth and absence of the mother, the creature had just left and wouldn't return until evening.
Perfect timing.
He licked his lips. "A new delicacy," he whispered, his eyes gleaming.
Without hesitation, he pierced one egg with his spear, lifted it with both hands, and drank from it like a starving child. Thick liquid gushed down his throat—warm, rich, and strangely delicious. He devoured it hungrily.
Then the second... and the third. He sucked each egg dry.
Satisfied, he stood atop the tree, scanning the forest. But he saw nothing—just an endless sea of trees in every direction. Whatever his eyes had sensed was still ahead.
He climbed down and continued on.
Sometimes he passed beasts locked in deadly battles. Other times he saw them feasting. He avoided them all, His mission lay beyond distractions.
By afternoon, he had ventured even deeper. His eyes kept signaling—something powerful was ahead.
Finally, thirty minutes later, he found it.
A cave, hidden behind a thick curtain of grass. So well concealed, it was invisible until he slashed away the greenery.
The cave entrance was wide, but dark—so dark, it seemed to swallow all light. The opening was big enough for him to enter, though not comfortably. His eyes tingled—the red-silver signal grew stronger. Something valuable was inside but also comes with risk.
He hesitated.
"What could be in there...?" he muttered. But he wasn't about to back down.
He took out his black cloak, the one that allowed him to blend into darkness, and wrapped himself in it. This place was darker than any night he'd ever seen. No sunlight reached here.
With spear in hand and serpent coil at his waist, he stepped inside.
The deeper he went, the colder it became. The cave walls were moist and the silence was deafening. Still, he pushed on. After what felt like an hour or two, something shimmered ahead.
Not light—no. Embedded into the walls were faintly glowing stones.
Lin Wei's eyes widened. Spirit Stones.
Raw, unprocessed, millions of them. Each one worth tens of thousands of gold coins. In cultivation, they were priceless—they enhanced divine sense, powered techniques, and were used as currency across kingdoms.
"I can't leave all this behind," he whispered.
But his eyes hadn't stopped glowing—the treasure signal still pulsed. That meant... there was something even greater deeper within.
His eye color shifted again—silver, then pale gold, then crimson-gold.
"A rare opportunity," he muttered.
But first, the stones.
He took out the special hammer he'd bought in Baishi City and began mining the Spirit Stones. Some were massive, others smaller. He packed them into his storage ring, clearing space as needed.
Days passed. He mined nonstop for a week.
As he went deeper, the Spirit Stones grew more refined, more powerful. He was sweating from the effort, but the cold of the cave kept him from overheating. He was gathering more wealth than he could ever have imagined.
Even though he wasn't a cultivator, just staying here was tempering his body. If a real cultivator discovered this cave, their spiritual sense would evolve rapidly—what Lin Wei gained in a week, they could gain in an hour.
But Lin Wei kept moving forward.
This wasn't just a cave.
It was a mine, untapped, yet to be discovered, now he discovered it first.