’After all, by quickening my thought process, the speed at which I can deduce Cultivation Techniques using Heaven-defying Comprehension will double.’
[Ding! You have successfully Defied Fate!]
[At ten years of age, you have successfully transformed from an unenlightened, commonplace rock into a Spirit Stone with nascent intelligence, capable of clearly perceiving the outside world. This small step for you is a great leap that millions of Spirit Monsters have only dreamed of achieving.]
[Your Rebirth evaluation has increased! You have been awarded an additional 10,000 Rebirth Points!]
The Rebirth Mark’s first message about his success in Defying Fate came through, and it had been much simpler than Li Chang’an had anticipated. Of course, it was only simple for him.
In reality, had it been anyone else, they likely would have struggled to escape their helpless predicament—a state where cries to heaven and earth went unanswered, and they could rely on no one but themselves.
...
With sufficient intelligence, he could now proceed with his evolution step-by-step.
As was his habit, Li Chang’an pushed his Heaven-defying Comprehension talent to its limits and began amplifying his ability to perceive the Heaven and Earth Energy.
Only by perceiving and absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power could he finally escape his awkward predicament of being unable to speak or move.
However, as an ordinary rock not particularly favored by heaven and earth, Li Chang’an’s journey to perceive and absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power was destined to be anything but simple.
Before that, however, he had to make himself as strong as possible to face the dangers and crises that could appear at any moment.
...
Soon enough, Li Chang’an found his opportunity to grow stronger.
Li Chang’an was situated on a craggy mountainside. To his right lay a narrow, winding path, clearly worn down by foot traffic.
Every ten to fifteen days, herbalists and hunters would follow the path up into the mountains.
The Herbalists usually traveled in groups of three to five. They carried bone daggers, wore clothes made from animal hides, and had cloud-like totems tattooed on their chests and arms.
The hunters, meanwhile, tended to ascend in pairs. They carried wooden hunting bows and crude, bone-tipped arrows, and wore makeshift Armor crafted from vines and sticks.
Each time they entered the mountains, they would stay for anywhere from three to five days to as long as half a month. Most of them would return down the mountain with large baskets filled with herbs and game.
This presented Li Chang’an with an opportunity to grow strong, and quickly.
Whenever hunters or Herbalists descended the mountain with their game and herbs, Li Chang’an would use his newly cultivated Soul Fire to silently steal a few items from the baskets on their backs.
He would ignite the stolen game and herbs, and the flames would convert them into Energy to nourish his vitality, spirit, and soul, which he used to replenish his own deficiencies.
After descending the mountain, the Herbalists and hunters would find it odd that their haul had shrunk. However, because Li Chang’an was so discreet and only ever stole a small amount, they chalked it up to accidental losses, assuming things had simply fallen out during the journey down.
...
Suns rose and set; autumns came and went.
In the blink of an eye, another ten years had passed.
This marked Li Chang’an’s twentieth year as a stone.
Over the years, by continuously pilfering the haul of the hunters and Herbalists, Li Chang’an had successfully expanded his perception range to thirty meters.
Even his stone body—once coarse and unremarkable aside from its large size—had become a little smoother and more refined.
However, as the old saying goes—it’s not a single theft you fear, but being constantly targeted.
At first, Li Chang’an’s persistent thievery along the narrow path didn’t attract much notice. But over time, it naturally aroused the suspicion of the Herbalists and hunters.
At first, the Herbalists and hunters simply changed where they kept their haul, moving it from their back baskets, where it was casually stored, to their chests, where it was tied down carefully.
This was done, naturally, to prevent their herbs and game from being lost or dropped.
But such a precaution was clearly no match for Li Chang’an’s methods.
The Soul Fire was formless and intangible. If he wished, Li Chang’an could still take a cut of their harvest without anyone being the wiser.
However, for things to still go missing defied common sense.
After all, their haul was now secured so tightly; it should have been impossible for anything to go missing under normal circumstances.
The herbs and game that vanished without a trace began to cause panic among the hunters and Herbalists.
At first, they suspected a Demon was at work. But when they realized that none of the groups entering the mountain had suffered any casualties, they dismissed the thought. Next, they began to think the Mountain God was angry and trying to keep them out. From then on, they performed a small ritual to worship the Mountain God before every trip into the mountains.
But no matter what they did, Li Chang’an continued to collect his "toll" along the path.
As a result, in recent years, fewer and fewer Mountain Herders took this path into the mountains.
This year especially, most of the Herbalists had switched to a different mountain path. Only a handful of elderly folk with mobility issues, having no other choice, still used this one.
The sharp decline in the number of Herbalists and hunters noticeably slowed Li Chang’an’s development.
After all, he was only trying to secretly speed up his own growth; he never meant to drive anyone into a corner. With so few people left, the impact on him was naturally quite large.
But it couldn’t be helped. If you fleece the same few sheep day after day, even the most docile flock can’t withstand being drained year in and year out.
For Li Chang’an, the only silver lining was that all these years of consumption and nourishment had considerably strengthened both his Divine Soul and his physical form.