Chapter 2: The Hardships of Survival and the Art of Regurgitation

  Yang Le stayed in the cave for nearly an hour, and the distant area of ice and snow gradually became clear. The terrain there had undergone severe changes, with deep trenches crisscrossing each other, and the entire area was covered with shattered ice. Occasionally, scattered scales of flesh and blood flickered with a dazzling brilliance under the icy surface.

  Since mysteriously arriving here, Yang Le hasn't eaten a single thing, his stomach is growling with hunger. After observing the surroundings for some time, it seems that there's nothing to fill his belly around here. The edge of the dense forest over there doesn't seem to have any fruit trees either, and even if there were, they're out of reach!

  After half a time, Yang Le arrived at the area where the horned lion and giant python had fought, and couldn't help but shiver. Enduring the biting cold, he saw that the largest piece of meat was as big as a house, and the smaller ones were as large as millstones. The scales covered the ground, with complete scales reaching four or five zhang in width. The scattered scales emitted a dark glow, making it easy to imagine their sharpness. "It seems that the horned lion was unlucky, not even leaving any bones behind, it must have been swallowed into the python's belly. Fortunately, there is still so much python meat, otherwise, I wouldn't know how to survive," Yang Le said to himself as he searched for suitable python meat. The larger pieces were too heavy to move, so he picked and chose, selecting a piece of python meat that was just the right size, along with a shard of scale shaped like a knife. Holding the icy-cold python meat, he sprinted towards the mountain cave...

  After running a few laps, Yang Le was already out of breath and panting heavily. Looking at the pile of meat in the combat area, he couldn't help but sigh. Today, I'm exhausted, need to rest well. Don't know if those python meats will still be there tomorrow, if they're all moved into the cave for storage, won't have to worry about food for a year.

  However, looking back at the thousand jin of python meat piled up in the corner of the cave, Yang Le couldn't help but smile proudly. At least for the next three months, he wouldn't have to worry about starving.

  But the next moment, Yang Le was struck by a cruel reality - the python meat needed to be preserved through roasting or smoking, otherwise it would rot in just a few days. And eating it was also a problem - no fire starter, and he certainly wasn't going to eat it raw...

  Drilling wood for fire? You must be joking! Did you think this is some kind of survival challenge? As a 21st-century young man, I've never tried that before.

  After being threatened by his growling stomach, Yang Le couldn't bear the hunger anymore. He took out a small knife-like scale and cut into a piece of python meat about the size of a millstone. With no effort at all, just like cutting tofu with a divine blade that could cut hair, a two-jin-heavy piece of python meat fell off, its surface smooth as a mirror. Yang Le took a deep breath: "So sharp." Immediately, he made a slash on the mountain wall, quietly and soundlessly, leaving a deep gash about one finger wide in front of him. The cut was smooth, and holding the small knife tightly, a sense of security arose. He took the two-jin-heavy piece of python meat to the edge of the pool to wash it clean, only to discover that this was an icy pool, with water as clear and cold as ice. Cutting off a thin slice of python meat, looking at its crystal-like color, which was even more appetizing than raw fish slices, it stirred up one's appetite. Yang Le tilted his head and stuffed the meat into his mouth. Before he could even start chewing, the python meat began to dissolve slowly, a chill spreading through his five internal organs, his hunger vanishing in an instant. A slight tingling sensation arose, making Yang Le feel a long-forgotten sense of satisfaction: "Indeed, it's a divine medicine. That giant python was too powerful, its flesh and blood as effective as ginseng and deer antler."

  Actually, Yang Le didn't know that the giant python was a famous and powerful creature in this vast and chaotic world - the Biyan Hanbing Scales Python. It was the overlord of the Qinze Lake, which had a radius of millions of miles. From the time it started cultivating its spiritual intelligence to now, it had been 1.3 billion years, and since this world took shape, it had only been a little over 100 million years. The Biyan Hanbing Scales Python was also an elder among the chaotic beasts, occupying Qinze Lake alone. In the ancient days when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was still dense, it absorbed the essence of the sun and moon, and due to its aquatic nature, after millions of years of cultivation, it finally cultivated its unique divine ability - Jiutian Hanjie. With this ability, it could freeze everything within a thousand miles into ice sculptures. If Yang Le hadn't been outside the combat zone, and if the Biyan Hanbing Scales Python hadn't been severely injured, affecting its divine ability and greatly reducing its power, Yang Le would have become an ice sculpture. The monster that Yang Le called the "Jiaoshou Beast" was also extraordinary. The mountain peak where Yang Le was located was filled with Tiankeng Jin mines, which were perfect for the metal-eating beast to cultivate. As a creature that cultivated by swallowing metals, it had been wandering around the chaotic world, eating metals everywhere, for over 800 million years. It wasn't until millions of years ago that it found this Tiankeng Jin mine to cultivate. The result was as described above - the Biyan Hanbing Scales Python successfully ambushed the metal-eating beast while it was drinking water and taking a bath. And the flesh and blood of the Biyan Hanbing Scales Python, which had been cultivated for millions of years, were absolutely stronger than any thousand-year-old lingzhi or hundred-year-old ginseng. In this chaotic world where spiritual energy filled the air, it could be said that its body would not rot for thousands of years.

  Yang Le ate a slice of python meat and was already full, with the fragrance lingering between his teeth, his stomach warm and cozy, his body filled with energy, his spirit very vigorous. The pain from some scratches on his hands and feet reduced greatly. He immediately realized the preciousness of this python meat. After sweeping away his physical fatigue, he grasped the scale-armor dagger and rushed out of the cave, dashing down the mountain...

  After running for four or five hours, during which he also ate three pieces of python meat, he continuously cut and carried back the piled-up python meat to the cave, picked up a few broken scales, and returned to the cave at dusk.

  Yang Le is now sighing, although a few months ago when he crossed over and swept the battlefield, he got nearly a third of the mountain cave filled with food, solving the problem of provisions. Moreover, due to eating the meat of the Ice Scale Python every day, his physical strength has been increasing rapidly, and his power has become greater and greater. He can lift massive boulders weighing thousands of kilograms, and his running speed is getting faster and faster. It can be said that on Earth, he is at least a Superman, and dozens of special agents are like children fighting, and in ancient times, he would be a heroic young master...

  Since that thrilling battle, Yang Le has been living in this 3,000-4,000-meter-high mountain cave, eating python meat, and feeling his physical strength increasing every day. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep at night. One night, he saw a golden eagle with wings spanning 90,000 meters soaring through the endless starry sky, crossing over mountains tens of thousands of meters high, and disappearing into the boundless forest. Then came the sound of thunderous eagle cries, as well as the roars of unknown monsters. A gale swept across, causing countless giant trees to snap in its fury. Next, Yang Le saw a group of white behemoths with lion-like bodies, cow-like heads, and twin horns on their foreheads, each about 100 meters tall, charging out of the forest. The ancient trees along the way were knocked down like dominoes as the beasts passed by. Thousands of giant bees, each the size of a cow's head, flew out of the forest at supersonic speeds, vanishing into the mountains. Then came dozens of three-tailed civet cats, birds with three heads and nine tails that resembled ravens, and horse-like creatures with white bodies, black tails, single horns, sharp teeth, and four clawed feet that made drumming sounds... This was simply a test for Yang Le's sensitive nerves! Normally, he would be lucky to see one of these creatures, but now it seemed like an animal kingdom had broken out, with the difference being that this was on a much grander scale, with creatures flying through the skies and traversing the land in extreme ways.

  That earth-shattering and heaven-destroying battle was in full swing, with dazzling white light flashing at the edge of the ancient forest, illuminating half the sky. Even inside the cave, one could feel the ground trembling, the mountains shaking, and Yang Le was frightened for half the night. The momentum of the battle gradually subsided, finally returning to calmness.

  Since the great escape, every ten days or half a month, Yang Le has witnessed or heard some of the brutal killings between the beasts of the vast wilderness. The shocking battle scenes, with their inhuman abilities that could move mountains and seas, deeply stimulated him. He never left the mountain surroundings again. In the past, those Taoist classics and Buddhist scriptures were seen by Yang Le as feudal superstitions, not even one book was read. No way, I have occasionally looked at some fantasy novels, out of curiosity also looked at some online breathing exercises, Yang Le took an attitude of trying it out and started his cultivation for several months.

  "No, no, it's too slow", after these few months of practicing the breathing technique, Yang Le felt that there was still a flow of energy circulating in his body. At that time, Yang Le was overjoyed, finally finding a way to improve his strength. Unexpectedly, the breathing technique had some effect, but on Earth at that time it didn't work. After some speculation, Yang Le thought: If those ancient myths were true and existed, after the Great War of the Sorcerers and the Goddess Nuwa's repair of the sky, as well as the Four Saints' battle to reach the heavens, the primordial world was shattered, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth continued to dissipate. Except for the Daoist ancestor Hongjun who integrated the Immortal Realm, some great practitioners used their treasures to suppress the spiritual energy in their caves, making it possible for the spiritual energy to be self-sustaining. It can be said that on each fragment of the shattered primordial world, the remaining cultivators could only seek to ascend to the Immortal Realm as soon as possible under the condition of gradually dissipating spiritual energy. Some fragments with dense spiritual energy gradually evolved into star balls that could support life, while others became meteorites or dead planets in the infinite space... As for Earth, its environment was deteriorating day by day, and only some deep mountains and forests still retained some spiritual energy, making it impossible to cultivate.

  Yang Le had been practicing qigong for several months, and at first, he felt a slight flow of energy inside his body. However, soon after that, the flow of energy disappeared, leaving him with only a small increase in physical strength compared to before. Yang Le was disappointed, as the energy gained from qigong practice couldn't be retained and was consumed by his body. Although it could increase his strength, it wasn't enough to match the rapid growth in power he experienced after eating python meat.