About half a cup of tea's time later, a wolf's head slowly poked out from behind the bushes, its eyes glowing with a green light as it stared viciously at Chu Qinghuang. Chu Qinghuang drew her sword and gripped it tightly in her hand, watching as several more wolves slowly emerged from the bushes behind the first one. She tightened her grip on her sword in a wave of tension. There were five wolves in total, and with only the strength of Innate Stage 3, it seemed impossible that she would be able to leave this place unscathed today.
Chu Qinghuang bent down and picked up the thickest piece of firewood from the campfire, holding it in her hand. Everyone knew that wolves were afraid of fire; although this piece of firewood wouldn't do much, it could at least delay some of them from attacking her all at once.
"Arooo..."
Seeing Chu Qinghuang holding a piece of burning firewood, one of the wolves let out an angry roar and took a fearful step back. Yet, unwilling to leave just like that, it roared again and inched forward toward Chu Qinghuang.
The moment the first wolf lunged, Chu Qinghuang swung her torch with her left hand. Taking advantage of the wolf turning its head to dodge, she flashed forward and slashed her sword across its neck. Blood trickled down the wound as the first wolf collapsed to the ground, whimpering. The scent of its companion's blood stimulated the remaining wolves, and they all lunged at Chu Qinghuang recklessly.
Chu Qinghuang used the torch in one hand to fend them off while taking the opportunity to strike with her sword in the other. But two fists could not match four hands; no matter how she parried, there were always gaps in her defense. Her back was mauled into a bloody mess by wolf claws, her arm was bitten, and her legs were stained with fresh blood. Yet, one wolf still remained unvanquished, while Chu Qinghuang's Spiritual Power was nearly exhausted, and her physical strength had reached its limit.
The remaining wolf still glared at Chu Qinghuang menacingly. Although it bore some injuries of its own, they clearly had no major impact on its agility.
Just as Chu Qinghuang racked her brains trying to figure out how to deal with the last wolf, it suddenly attacked. Chu Qinghuang rolled out of the way, making the wolf lunge into empty air.
"Arooo..."
The wolf turned its head and let out a low growl at Chu Qinghuang, looking thoroughly dissatisfied that she had dodged. Chu Qinghuang knelt on one knee, supporting her body with her sword as she watched the wolf in front of her with vigilance. Just as the wolf prepared to launch another attack at her, a man dressed in white descended from the skies and killed the wolf with a single sword stroke.
Chu Qinghuang stared in astonishment at the fallen wolf. Was this the gap between people? Surely one day, she would become just as powerful.
Chu Qinghuang looked up at the man standing on a tree branch. His white robes were immaculate, and his long black hair was secured atop his head by a hair crown. With a face like jade, starry brows, sword-like eyes, a high-bridged nose, and ruddy lips, he was extraordinarily handsome—so breathtakingly good-looking that he looked less like a mortal and more like an immortal from mythology.
The man cast a look of disdain at Chu Qinghuang, clearly unimpressed by someone so weak yet so starry-eyed. He pulled a bottle of medicine from his sleeve, tossed it beside Chu Qinghuang, and flew away.
Once the man had gone, Chu Qinghuang snapped back to her senses and looked at the medicine beside her. The two characters for "wound medicine" marked on the bottle let her know this was a remedy for injuries.
After resting for a little while, Chu Qinghuang used her sword to support herself as she left the spot. The scent of blood there was too strong and would easily attract other beasts.
Walking with great difficulty through the dim forest environment, with the sky fast approaching dusk, Chu Qinghuang spotted a cave ahead. After testing the entrance with a stone a few times and finding no movement, she pushed aside the weeds at the mouth of the cave and walked inside.
There was nothing inside the cave except for a few stones leaning against the wall, likely left behind by previous travelers who had rested here. Grimacing in pain, Chu Qinghuang removed her outer and middle garments, washed her wounds with her water pouch, and applied the medicine. She took a clean middle garment, tore it into strips of cloth to bandage her wounds, and finally put on a fresh set of clothes.
After finishing all this, Chu Qinghuang had no strength left. She leaned against the wall to rest for a moment, only to unexpectedly fall fast asleep, drifting into a hazy dream.
"Little girl, little girl?"
Chu Qinghuang opened her eyes. Huh? Who was calling her?
"Little girl, come here."
Chu Qinghuang looked toward the source of the voice and saw the face of an old man miraculously materializing on the opposite wall. She stared blankly at the old man for a moment before asking, "Are you calling me? Who are you?"
"Little girl, come over here. This old man has finally waited for you."
"Waited for me?" Chu Qinghuang asked the old man with curiosity. She was complete strangers with him; why would he say he had finally waited for her?
"Yes. Before I died, I had someone cast a fortune-telling hex to see to whom I should pass down my legacy. The divination said I should leave my inheritance in this dilapidated forest and wait until someone eventually arrived. At first, I disdained this place for being too shabby and didn't believe it—but look, I really have waited for you."
Chu Qinghuang smiled amusedly at the old man. "Quite a few people must have come to this cave. How can you be so sure it's me?"
"Because you wear the Holy Spirit Fallen Ring on your hand. The master of the Holy Spirit Fallen Ring is the successor I'm looking for."
Chu Qinghuang glanced at the Holy Spirit Fallen Ring on her hand, then looked at the old man with vigilance. "You recognize this ring?"
"Hahaha... You needn't be so guarded. This old man means you no harm; the ring is merely a marker for me to recognize you. Little girl, walk deeper into the cave. At the bend, there is a protruding stone. Press that stone down, and it will bring you directly before me."
"Hey, don't leave yet! I never said I wanted to be your successor—hey, hey!" The old man on the wall vanished right after speaking, tossing a small stone down beside Chu Qinghuang's hand just before disappearing. Chu Qinghuang said anxiously, growing so flustered that she suddenly snapped her eyes open. She looked around, but there was no face of an old man on the opposite wall. Letting out a sigh of relief, she said, "Turns out it was just a dream. It scared me to death."
Chu Qinghuang looked down at the Holy Spirit Fallen Ring on her hand. On the surface, this ring looked so battered that surely no one would be able to recognize it. Shifting her gaze, she noticed a small stone that hadn't been there before, resting right beside her hand. She immediately recalled that right before disappearing in her dream, the old man seemed to have tossed a small stone beside her hand—and she clearly remembered that previously there had only been the large boulder she was sitting on, with no other small stones around.
Chu Qinghuang broke out in a cold sweat. Could the dream she just had actually be real, meant to guide her into becoming his successor? To verify whether the dream was real or not, she steadied herself against the wall and walked deeper into the cave. Reaching the bend, she looked up ahead, and sure enough, there was a protruding stone on the wall. While the surrounding rock face was uneven, this particular stone stuck out conspicuously.
The protruding stone was located just a fraction higher than Chu Qinghuang's reach. She walked up beneath it, hesitated for a moment, and reached out to press the stone down.