Chen Shi offered the Feng Xi's hind leg and turned back towards the mountain stream.
"He saw that I was staring at him and thought I wanted his food, so he offered me the roasted hind leg."
Great Snake Xuan Shan silently thought.
He had a clear understanding of Chen Shi's psyche.
However, he had given up eating meat, abstaining from flesh for three thousand years, living off the long winds and drinking dew.
His ambitions were lofty, desiring to be like the Outer Heaven True God, eternally unchanging, neither eating nor sleeping, merely observing the world's transformations.
It smelled delicious.
Great Snake Xuan Shan couldn't deny, as he stared at the Feng Xi hind leg, that this little fellow had some skills in roasting, which tempted his appetite.
"I must have been controlled by my cravings."
Great Snake Xuan Shan hesitated for a moment, then tasted the Feng Xi hind leg.
Indeed, I was controlled by my cravings, he thought.
After finishing the roasted Feng Xi leg, Great Snake Xuan Shan's mind followed Chen Shi as he left.
"I wish to be like the Outer Heaven True God, witnessing all of the mortal world. I thought a god's heart was as steadfast as a rock, unyielding and unchanging. But a month ago, the night fell a quarter hour early."
Great Snake Xuan Shan's gaze grew deeper as he silently said, "True Gods also change, only their changes take an immensely long time. One change for them might span dozens of generations of mortal life and death. This change in the True God might seem insignificant to the world, but how could it possibly not matter? Perhaps, I too need to change..."
This consumption of meat had caused slight ripples in his unwavering heart, but to him, who was ancient beyond measure, Chen Shi was merely a brief visitor in his long life, a visitor who could offer only a single spark of enlightenment.
At night, he visited the young man in dreams, guiding Chen Shi on how to breathe properly and how to circulate his true blood, allowing it to flow throughout his body as he willed.
At night, Chen Shi would practice these lessons as he slept, forgetting them during the day only to recall and continue them the next night.
After five or six days, his true blood was finally transformed.
Great Snake Xuan Shan did not continue visiting in dreams.
In his view, he had repaid Chen Shi for the Feng Xi hind leg.
Chen Shi closed his eyes, and in that moment, he could feel his blood circulating powerfully from his heart to every part of his body.
With each heartbeat, true blood traveled to the extremities of his limbs, and every blood vessel, every organ, and even the surface of his skin became distinctly clear in his mind!
He could precisely sense scars on his skin, remnants of past injuries.
He could feel the breeze brushing against his skin, each tiny hair moving subtly.
He could even control his Qi-Blood to heal his wounds and scars.
This was the marvelous use brought by transforming true blood!
Furthermore, as he cultivated true blood, his organs were constantly nourished, circulating Qi-Blood, making them stronger.
Any weaknesses or deficiencies in his organs were gradually remedied!
This was the second stage of sacred embryonic development, called the Five Organs Truth.
Only by transforming true blood, allowing the organs to be nourished, could one reach the stage of Five Organs Truth.
Chen Shi activated the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique, and involuntarily, a glowing shrine appeared, shining brightly. Even if he stopped the practice, the shrine would linger, only dispersing after a moment or two.
He was immensely joyful.
"If the shrine could last longer, I could try to practice the swordsmanship in the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Technique. But to learn that, I would need to attend the private school in the town."
He had saved some money, unsure if it was enough for the private school fees.
Chen Shi left the Mountain Lord Temple, lifting the huge pot that could fit him inside, using a turtle shell he had found as a lid, and walked out of the mountains.
Having transformed his true blood, he no longer felt the intense hunger of before. There was no need to stay in the deep mountains to hunt; he could go home.
It had been a long while since he had left home and had yet to return, missing his grandfather and Black Pot.
It was his first time leaving home for so long, and he had even carried away the family's medicinal brewing pot, which made him somewhat anxious, fearing his grandfather's punishment.
"But the house was indeed empty because of me; if not for living off the mountain, I would have starved."
Chen Shi thought, "Grandfather will definitely be angry, and Black Pot will surely speak ill of me. But if I admit my fault first, even if Black Pot schemes, grandfather won't kill me. At most, he'll hang and whip me."
He passed through Gangzi Village and arrived at Granny Sha's doorstep, greeting her.
Granny Sha watched him warily and didn't invite him inside.
"A doting mother often leads to a spoiled child; there's not a single grain of rice in my jar!" Granny Sha cried.
Chen Shi set down the big pot, lifted the lid, and took out a hundred or so pounds of Spiritual Beast Meat, smiling, "I've eaten so much from Granny, so I brought some meat as compensation."
Granny Sha, seeing this, was overwhelmed with shame and awkwardly said, "To be honest, I still bought some rice, we can scrape by. Little Ten, won't you stay for a meal?"
Chen Shi saw that she wasn't genuinely inviting him to eat, so he excused himself, citing a longing for home, and carried the pot away.
The pot was packed full with various cuts of the most delicious parts of Spiritual Beasts, which he was reluctant to eat. Besides honoring Granny Sha, he also wanted to honor his grandfather and Stele Godmother.
He returned to Huangpo Village, approached Grandma Yu Zhu's doorstep, set down the large pot, and knocked on her door.
When Yu Zhu opened the door, she saw no one outside, only a piece of Spiritual Beast Meat hanging, weighing perhaps around fifteen pounds.