Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

The most obvious sign of his progress was that Li Chang’an’s Divine Soul could now briefly leave his body, float out to a range of thirty to fifty meters, and unleash a Soul Fire attack.

As a result, his originally rough and crude stone body had become harder and smoother, its texture now comparable to the toughest granite.

Since collecting tolls was no longer enough to satisfy his appetite,

Li Chang’an decided to start hunting for himself. And so, in his twenty-first year, any creature that drew near was devoured by his Soul Fire, becoming part of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Unfortunately, the beasts of this mountain range seemed to be smarter than Li Chang’an had anticipated.

Li Chang’an himself didn’t know how it happened. All he knew was that after a year or two of bloody hunts, the beasts of the entire mountain seemed to have learned of his malevolence. Even if they had to pass nearby, they would make a wide detour, refusing to come within fifty meters of him under any circumstances.

’Damn it, this stupid stone starting point is so damn boring!’ Having successfully made himself so repellent that not a single living creature would come near, Li Chang’an was about to lose his mind.

After all, though he was a stone, he had once been a man.

If he didn’t find something to do with all this time, the boundless loneliness would surely drive him mad long before he could ever become human again.

Just as he was wondering how to pass the time,

Li Chang’an saw a man in his thirties, carrying a Horn Bow on his back, leading a youth of fifteen or sixteen up a mountain path.

The older man looked like he was on his last legs.

He was gasping for breath as he walked, forced to stop and rest every few steps.

As they drew near Li Chang’an, the old man seemed unable to go on.

He found a relatively flat rock to sit on, took the Horn Bow from his back, and laid it across his lap. He caressed it for a moment, a look of reluctance on his face, then sighed. “Da Niu, this is the last time I’ll be coming up the mountain to hunt. From now on, this bow is yours. You have to take good care of it. It’s the only way you’ll be able to feed your younger siblings, and one day, your own wife and children…”

The young man named Da Niu felt his eyes redden.

He wiped his nose with the back of his hand, scrubbed it on his clothes, and then took the Horn Bow with a solemn expression.

Seeing him accept the Horn Bow, a look of relief appeared on the old man’s face.

With trembling hands, he pulled a yellowed leather map from his pocket and continued, “These are the hunting grounds on Floating Hill. They’ve been passed down from our ancestors. If you find any new hunting spots, you can mark them on the map to pass down to your own children and grandchildren.”

“Also… there are also a few areas haunted by Demons. You must never go near them… Those Demons kill without a second thought. Many of them are too powerful even for the Chief Priest. Angering even one would mean immense trouble…”

Listening to his father’s rambling instructions, Da Niu’s eyes grew even redder.

He glanced at their surroundings and asked, his voice choked with emotion, “But Father, Second Uncle and Third Uncle are already taking another path up the mountain. Should I change routes too?”

Hearing this, the old man’s voice turned grave. “You will take this path up the mountain. Our ancestors walked this path for three or four hundred years without any major incidents. Now, just because they’ve lost a bit of their kill along the way, they can’t stand it. They insist on forging a new trail up the mountain, but a new trail isn’t so easily made. There’s no telling how many men will die for it!”

“Losing a little game doesn’t matter. Just consider it an offering to the Mountain God. As long as it lets you enter the mountains safely and make a living to feed yourself, you stick to this path. Don’t you ever change it, no matter what!”

Hearing this, Da Niu nodded solemnly again, showing he understood.

The old man coughed a few times and rested a while longer. Once he felt a bit better, he had Da Niu help him to his feet, and they continued up the mountain.

Li Chang’an had been floating above their heads the entire time.

He watched from a distance as the pair vanished deep into the forest.

「Three days later.」 Da Niu returned from the dense forest, but the old man who had accompanied him up the mountain was gone.

With a resolute expression, Da Niu headed back down the mountain path alone, carrying several kills on his back.

Li Chang’an collected his usual toll and silently watched him go.

「For the next two years.」

Most of the hunters avoided the path Li Chang’an controlled, but Da Niu and a few other veteran hunters from old families persisted.

Li Chang’an took a toll each time, but never an excessive amount, and the hunters seemed to accept this.

Just when Li Chang’an thought his monotonous life would continue indefinitely, Da Niu came stumbling out of the dense forest, covered in blood.

In hot pursuit behind him was a giant tiger, three to four meters long.

Just as Da Niu thought he was about to be devoured, he realized the tiger, after chasing him a few steps out of the forest, had suddenly stopped. It was staring warily at a massive stone not far away.

Da Niu didn’t dare to waste a second, stumbling onward down the path.

The giant tiger let out a few low growls at the massive stone but didn’t dare to chase any further. After giving the blood-soaked Da Niu one last resentful look from its intimidating eyes, it finally turned and retreated into the dense forest.

Da Niu was pale and gasping for breath.

He was stunned for a moment to see the giant tiger actually turn and leave. A wave of exhaustion that came with surviving a brush with death washed over him instantly.

He looked up at the giant tiger in the distance, which kept glancing back as it retreated.

Then he looked back at the massive stone, a stone that countless hunters and Herbalists had long since learned to ignore.

After a moment of stunned silence, understanding seemed to dawn on him. Da Niu pushed his bleeding body upright, faced the massive stone, and kowtowed several times, his forehead thudding against the ground.

…