Ye Ling felt as if he had a very long dream.
In this dream, he wandered alone through the boundless expanse of the starry sky.
That world was vast, with countless stars. No matter which direction Ye Ling went, he could not find an end.
He felt as if he were lost in this starry expanse.
After an unknown duration of floating in the starry sky, he finally saw the shattered Seed of Origin, and Tian Xing, with a golden giant sword plunged into his chest, enveloped by sword qi.
And outside the Seed of Origin, the white-bearded old man was condensing myriad sword rains, shooting them towards the shattered Seed of Origin and Tian Xing!
"Tian Xing!"
Ye Ling suddenly sat up from the bed, only to find himself in a simple wooden hut.
"What is this... a nightmare?"
Ye Ling held his forehead and shook his head, trying to clear his mind.
Since stepping into cultivation, Ye Ling had rarely slept, let alone dreamed...
Recalling the incredibly realistic scenes from his dream, Ye Ling still found it unbelievable.
Putting the events of the dream behind him, Ye Ling began to meditate on the bed, attempting to heal his injuries.
After a moment, Ye Ling opened his eyes and sighed, "No, the power of creation is still insufficient. I can't reconnect the meridians. I might have to stay in this village for a while longer."
With that, Ye Ling rolled off the bed, pushed open the door, and walked out.
The gentle afternoon sunlight shone on Ye Ling's face, and he immediately felt a not-weak spiritual energy seep into his body, nourishing him.
Sensing the spiritual energy contained within the sunlight, Ye Ling couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect that even the sunlight in this Origin Upper Realm possesses such dense spiritual energy. Cultivating in this world will likely be a thousand times easier than in the Origin Lower Realm!"
Ye Ling felt that in this Origin Upper Realm, even this village full of ordinary people had a spiritual energy density that surpassed the blessed lands and heavenly caves in the Nine Heavens Realm.
Even the wild grass by the roadside contained a considerable amount of spiritual energy, which could be used in medicine.
"It seems my recovery time will be shortened," Ye Ling said, feeling his mood improve as he sensed the gentle spiritual energy of the world.
Once his strength was restored, he could roam the Origin Upper Realm.
And...
Revenge.
"Brother, you're awake! I was wrong yesterday, I wronged you."
At this moment, a hearty voice came from a distance. Ye Ling looked over and saw the farmer, Da Zhuang, who had tied him up yesterday, walking towards him with a grin.
Ye Ling scanned Da Zhuang from head to toe and noticed that the wound on Da Zhuang's forehead, inflicted by the village chief's cane, had already disappeared.
If Da Zhuang were an ordinary person from the Origin Lower Realm, given the village chief's force yesterday, even if he didn't suffer a concussion, his forehead would have a permanent scar.
But now, after just one night, there wasn't even a scar on Da Zhuang's forehead, and he was as lively as ever.
From this alone, Ye Ling could infer that even ordinary people in the Origin Upper Realm, without spiritual energy, were not weaker than fourth-rank cultivators on Earth.
Ye Ling pondered, gaining a rough understanding of the basic strength in the Origin Upper Realm, and then smiled at Da Zhuang, "It's alright. It was my fault for suddenly falling into your fields and causing you to misunderstand."
"Let bygones be bygones. By the way, little brother, what's your name?"
"Haha! You're straightforward, brother!" Da Zhuang laughed. "Just call me Da Zhuang. What's your name, brother?"
Towards these simple villagers, Ye Ling didn't bother using his alias and replied frankly, "Ye Ling."
"Then I'll call you Brother Ye... You must be hungry now. The village chief has prepared lunch, and I'm here to call you to eat."
"Thank you, Brother Da Zhuang."
"By the way, Brother Ye, looking at your attire, you don't seem like a farmer or a traveler. Are you a disciple of the Immortal Martial Sect?"
"Immortal Martial Sect? Is that the sect to the west of the village?"
"Yes, about five hundred li to the west is the gate of the Immortal Martial Sect. It's the only sect in our region, and our village is protected by the Immortal Martial Sect. Hearing you say that, Brother Ye, you're not a disciple of the Immortal Martial Sect, are you?"
"No, I come from a much farther place."
"That's strange. In a small place like ours, even disciples from the Immortal Martial Sect don't come often. I didn't expect there to be cultivators from afar. If the village chief knew, he'd definitely be happy! He's the most hospitable!"
Along the way, Da Zhuang shared many things about the village and its surroundings with Ye Ling, giving Ye Ling a better understanding of the customs and traditions of the Origin Upper Realm.
Ye Ling, being new to the Origin Upper Realm, was also full of curiosity about everything in this world and was happy to chat with Da Zhuang.
Moreover, Ye Ling's knowledge and perspective far surpassed Da Zhuang's, and his conversations greatly benefited Da Zhuang. As they chatted, Da Zhuang's good impression of Ye Ling soared, and he even felt an urge to become sworn brothers with Ye Ling.
"Brother Da Zhuang, hurry up! Grandpa is waiting for you!"
As Ye Ling reached the village chief's doorstep, he saw the young girl who had been with the village chief yesterday waving at Da Zhuang.
Da Zhuang, who just moments ago was about to become sworn brothers with Ye Ling, completely forgot about Ye Ling upon seeing the girl and ran excitedly towards her, "Xiao Zhu, were you waiting for me specifically?"
Bang!
Before Da Zhuang could reach Xiao Zhu, a cane flew out from the house and hit Da Zhuang squarely on the head, knocking him unconscious!
"Brother Da Zhuang!"
Seeing Da Zhuang knocked out again, Xiao Zhu wanted to help him up. The village chief's voice then came from inside the house, "Xiao Zhu, don't bother with that brat. Help Grandpa invite the guest in!"
"Yes..."
Xiao Zhu picked up the village chief's cane, cast a pained glance at the sprawled Da Zhuang, and then walked up to Ye Ling, "Guest, please come in..."
Ye Ling looked at Da Zhuang's bloody head and couldn't help but ask Xiao Zhu, "Are you just going to leave Da Zhuang lying here?"
Xiao Zhu replied, "Brother Da Zhuang has a tough physique. He'll be fine in a while."
"Alright," Ye Ling replied with a wry smile and followed Xiao Zhu into the house.
As soon as he entered, Ye Ling smelled a rich medicinal fragrance. The village chief had prepared a table of medicinal cuisine.
The village chief, sitting at the dining table, beamed with joy upon seeing Ye Ling enter. "Little brother, please sit down quickly. We were negligent yesterday, and it was my fault."
"Thank you for your kindness, Village Chief."
Ye Ling sat down, scanned the table of dishes, and said to the village chief, "I haven't done anything, how can I let the Village Chief go to such expense?"
Although Ye Ling had never seen medicinal herbs from the Origin Upper Realm, the medicinal cuisine on this table was all potent tonics, which would undoubtedly be expensive even in the Origin Upper Realm.
Moreover, Ye Ling felt that these medicinal dishes were somewhat peculiar, not something ordinary people could prepare.
The village chief chuckled, "Little brother, you are too polite! Anyone who comes to our Yue Village is a distinguished guest. Besides, that brat Da Zhuang treated you so poorly yesterday, I truly feel bad about it!"
"Xiao Zhu, you sit down too, let's all eat together!"
Xiao Zhu glanced outside again and said to the village chief, "Grandpa, why don't we ask Brother Da Zhuang to eat with us?"
"Don't mention that brat!" The village chief's face immediately turned stern. "He annoys me just by looking at him!"
Seeing that the village chief was about to get angry again, Xiao Zhu dared not mention inviting Da Zhuang in for a meal and obediently sat down.
The village chief's smile returned, and he asked Ye Ling, "Little brother, what is your name?"
"Ye Ling."
"Haha! A good name! Old man, looking at your attire, you must be a cultivator. Are you a disciple of the Immortal Martial Sect?"
"I am merely a rogue cultivator, without any sect or affiliation."
"Rogue cultivator is good. You don't have to be bound by the rules and regulations of a sect. You can live freely and leisurely."
The village chief smiled and kept putting food into Ye Ling's bowl, appearing to be extremely fond of him.
Seeing the village chief's overly enthusiastic attitude, Ye Ling knew that the village chief must have something he needed. He couldn't help but ask, "Village Chief, are you facing some difficulties?"
Suddenly asked by Ye Ling, the village chief paused for a moment before saying, "To be honest, little brother, we are indeed facing some difficulties, and we might need your help."
Ye Ling replied, "Please speak freely. If I can help, I will certainly do so."
The village chief said, "Little brother, you are truly a straightforward person. In fact, this matter is very simple for a cultivator like you."
"As you probably know from yesterday, our village has been plagued by a certain demonic beast stealing our grain. If it were just eating the grain, it would be fine; our village wouldn't lack that little bit. The key is that the demonic beast destroys a large area of crops every time it steals grain. If this continues... our village might not have enough grain for the winter."
Ye Ling chuckled, "So it's about this. Village Chief, please rest assured... I will help you catch the demon."
At this moment, the World Annihilation Spirit Fire interjected, "Kid, you don't have a single bit of spiritual energy now. How are you going to catch a demon?"
Ye Ling smiled, "Don't I still have you? You must have calmed down by now, right? Lend me some spiritual energy."
The World Annihilation Spirit Fire replied, "Lending you spiritual energy is not impossible, but I'm curious. Why are you suddenly so enthusiastic? You're even willing to do something as trivial as catching a grain thief? Are you that idle?"
Ye Ling said, "I promised the village chief, and it's certainly not out of pure enthusiasm to help."
The World Annihilation Spirit Fire was taken aback, "Then what are you doing it for?"
Ye Ling looked at the medicinal cuisine in his bowl and whispered, "This village chief is not as simple as we imagine."
The World Annihilation Spirit Fire exclaimed, "Ah?"