Reversing the Milky Way

The two quickly reached the end of the field, where there was no road ahead, only an endless forest. At this moment, Yu Qing'an spoke up: "This is the Cloudfall Forest, but this is only the outer area. There is basically no danger, and you won't encounter any large wild beasts. Since this is your first time entering, you must stay close to me."

Bai Cheng nodded and followed. As soon as he entered the forest, he found himself surrounded by a dense green expanse. Tall trees surrounded him, their branches intertwined, allowing slivers of sunlight to filter through. The fragrance of grass and the scent of damp earth filled the air, making him feel refreshed and comfortable.

He looked around at the surrounding woods, where vibrant vegetation covered the ground. Bright wildflowers dotted the lush grass, along with many plants that Bai Cheng had never seen before. He took a deep breath; the moist air was filled with the scents of various herbs and plants, a comforting and tranquil feeling completely different from the forests of Blue Star.

At this moment, Yu Qing'an, who was walking ahead, made a gesture and whispered, "Looks like we've found a pheasant." Bai Cheng listened and slowly moved closer, his steps light, afraid of making a sound. He slowly parted the bushes in front of him, and then he was almost stunned by what he saw. He whispered, "This...is this a chicken?"

Before Bai Cheng stood a gigantic pheasant, its body covered in orange-yellow feathers that shimmered with a soft sheen. A pale red comb adorned its head and neck, while its tail was a vibrant red. It was currently lying prone on a clump of grass. Its size surpassed that of any rooster Bai Cheng had ever seen; if he had to make a comparison, it resembled a giant ostrich. It lay motionless with its eyes closed, as if incubating its eggs.

At this moment, Yu Qing'an slowly turned his head and said, "This is a phoenix-tailed pheasant. It's the most common pheasant on this continent. Judging from its appearance, it should be a female, and it's incubating eggs." Then he pointed to the phoenix-tailed pheasant and said, "How about it, Brother Bai Cheng, would you like to try?"

Bai Cheng didn't mince words and said, "It's just catching a chicken, what's so difficult about that? It's just a little big." After saying that, he got up and left the bushes to walk towards the pheasant. But after taking just one step, he turned back and said, "Uncle Yu, how do I subdue that chicken? Do you have any rope or anything?"

After listening, Yu Qing'an said, "There's no need for that. Just knock it out or take care of it directly."

After listening, Bai Cheng was also full of questions: "Do you have any weapons or anything? I don't think I have a way to subdue him if I go empty-handed."

After hearing this, Yu Qing'an realized that Bai Cheng had never cultivated before. He wasn't even at the most basic Body Refinement Realm. Thinking of this, Yu Qing'an looked around, found a tree trunk about the thickness of a bowl, and broke it off with a flick of his wrist. He then removed the thin, long part of the trunk and the branches, and tossed it to Bai Cheng, saying, "Use this."

Bai Cheng was slightly shocked as he looked at the tree trunk thrown in front of him. It was already 10 centimeters thick, and even on his own planet, he had never seen a strongman break it so easily. Yet Yu Qing'an had broken it so casually, seemingly without even using much force. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Is this the power of a mid-stage Body Refinement Realm cultivator?"

Bai Cheng picked up a tree trunk from the ground and walked towards the pheasant. He walked very carefully, his footsteps inadvertently treading on fallen leaves, making a faint sound. However, these sounds did not disturb the hen who was incubating her eggs. Bai Cheng tiptoed up to the hen and examined the pheasant. Bai Cheng was 181 centimeters tall, and the pheasant in front of him, even when crouching, was already up to his chest. At this moment, the pheasant had opened its eyes and was staring intently at Bai Cheng.

Upon realizing he had been discovered, Bai Cheng immediately swung the tree trunk in his hand and smashed it down on the pheasant's head with all his might. However, the expected hard impact did not come; the trunk felt like it had hit a sponge. It turned out that the pheasant's thick feathers had absorbed most of the impact, causing little damage.

After being attacked by Bai Cheng, the hen stood up. Bai Cheng looked at the hen, whose height had completely surpassed his own. He could clearly feel the anger in the hen's eyes, so he said, "Hello, big sister hen, hahaha... I might have mistaken you for a chicken. Please let me off the hook."

However, the hen did spread its wings and flapped them up and down. Its wingspan reached an astonishing 6 meters when fully extended, and the powerful wind pressure distorted Bai Cheng's face. The pheasant flapped its wings and took flight, revealing its enormous claws covered in hard scales, each toe with a sharp and hard claw.

Suddenly, the pheasant landed, its claws swiftly striking towards Bai Cheng. Seeing the danger, Bai Cheng immediately dropped the tree trunk he was holding and ran away, calling out to Yu Qing'an for help as he ran: "Uncle Yu, please save me!"

Meanwhile, Yu Qing'an also saw Bai Cheng's cries for help. He noticed that Bai Cheng's hair was disheveled and his clothes were in a mess.

Yu Qing'an looked at Bai Cheng and then called out, "Don't worry, I'll help you when you can't hold on any longer."

Bai Cheng rolled his eyes after hearing this. "You were the one who led me to catch the rooster, so why do I have to restrain it?" Before he could think of anything else, he staggered and dodged the pheasant's attack. He saw that the pheasant's gray-brown claws hooked into the ground, each toe deeply embedded in the soil. When they lifted up, a lot of soil was turned up, and upon closer inspection, a lot of plant roots were also turned up.

Seeing this, Bai Cheng tried even harder to dodge. At this moment, Bai Cheng wanted to take advantage of the phoenix-tailed chicken's missed attack to circle behind it, but unexpectedly, the phoenix-tailed chicken lowered its head and headbutted Bai Cheng. Bai Cheng didn't have time to dodge and was directly knocked away.

Yu Qing'an, who was watching the scene from afar, also saw that things were going badly. He gathered his strength in his legs and shot out like a spring. Bai Cheng, on the other hand, was sent flying seven or eight meters before landing heavily on the ground. He felt a jolt in his internal organs, as if some blood was churning up from his stomach.

At this moment, the pheasant swiftly attacked Bai Cheng, its huge, sharp beak lunging towards him. Bai Cheng was already injured and had no time to dodge. Just as the pheasant's beak was about to pierce his body, a fist slammed heavily into the pheasant's side of the head with a whistling sound. The pheasant's eyes glazed over, and it flew past Bai Cheng's sight, finally coming to a stop after crashing into a thick tree.

"Phew~ That was close, Brother Bai Cheng, are you alright?" After saying that, he turned to look at Bai Cheng lying on the ground.

Bai Cheng coughed twice and said, "If you're any slower, I'll be in trouble." He then turned to look at the pheasant that had been sent flying. Yu Qing'an's punch had sent the pheasant flying at least ten meters, snapping branches along its path. He walked over and looked at the pheasant lying on the ground, asking, "Is it dead?" Yu Qing'an also walked over and kicked the pheasant, saying, "It's dead. Let's take it back to the village."

After saying that, he picked up the tree trunk that Bai Cheng had thrown away earlier, took out a rope from his pocket, tied the pheasant's feet together, and hung it up. "Oh right, let's see if there are any eggs where we found that pheasant," Bai Cheng suddenly remembered and quickly went to the spot where the pheasant had been. Sure enough, he found five golden eggs in the hay, but because the eggs were so big, each one was as big as an ostrich egg, Bai Cheng only took three. He couldn't carry the other two, so he left them where they were. Then Yu Qing'an led Bai Cheng out of the woods.

At the northern exit of Yujia Village, Zhang Hai was leading a few people on guard duty when one of his men stepped forward and said, "Captain, have you heard? He Jinchao, the son of the village chief of Hejia Village next door, has reached the mid-stage of the Body Refinement Realm. It seems that our competition between the two villages this year is in jeopardy."

The captain named Zhang Hai then said, "If I remember correctly, He Jinchao is only 20 years old this year. He has reached the mid-stage of body refinement in just two years. Although he can't compare to some of the scions of big families, he's still pretty good. I guess his father used some resources on him again." Just then, they saw Yu Qing'an and Bai Cheng walking over from a distance, along with the phoenix-tailed chicken hanging behind them.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Hai immediately stepped forward and said, "Brother Qing'an, not bad! You've caught a spirit beast in such a short time, even if it's the lowest grade."

Bai Cheng was puzzled after hearing this and said, "A spirit beast? Isn't this just a common chicken?"

After listening to Bai Cheng's words, Zhang Hai explained, "Common chickens are the domesticated kind, while wild chickens, due to different growing environments, some breeds will mutate under the influence of places with abundant spiritual energy. This phoenix-tailed chicken is like that. Of course, besides the phoenix-tailed chicken, other animals will also be affected by spiritual energy and mutate. There are also those that accidentally swallow some rare treasures."

Only then did Bai Cheng realize that he had been tricked by Yu Qing'an. He had only been transmigrated for a few days and was already going to catch spirit beasts. He didn't even have any cultivation at all. Wasn't this just suicide? Thinking of this, he knew that he had to become stronger. Only by becoming stronger could he not be controlled by others. He could no longer be like before.

After Zhang Hai finished speaking, he looked at the phoenix-tail egg in Bai Cheng's hand and said, "This egg is a good thing. How about you sell it to me, young brother? I'll offer 500 coins for each one."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qing'an immediately said, "Go away, go away, I haven't eaten these eggs much. If you want some, go get them yourself." After saying that, he left with Bai Cheng.

Back in the village, Yu Qing'an took Bai Cheng to the largest butcher shop in the village. The owner of the butcher shop was named Huang Hansheng. As soon as they entered the shop, Yu Qing'an put down the phoenix-tailed chicken, and a little dust was kicked up from the ground with a thud. Then he called out to the inside, "Old Huang, I've come to deliver the goods."

After he finished speaking, a middle-aged man came out of the house. He was wearing a gray robe, had a scar on the left side of his face, and had a beard that made him look somewhat rugged and wild. Upon seeing the pheasant on the ground, he hurriedly ran over to examine it.

"Qing'an, it seems you're in luck today; you actually caught a spirit beast."

After listening to the boss's words, Yu Qing'an responded, "Yes, I found it on the outskirts of Yunluo Forest. Logically speaking, you can only encounter spirit beasts in the depths of Yunluo Forest, but I found it on the outskirts today."

After listening, Huang Hansheng also showed a solemn expression: "It seems that it is necessary to talk to the village chief about this matter and tell him to be careful."

After hearing this, Yu Qing'an said, "I don't think it's necessary. As long as we don't encounter a large number of spirit beasts, there shouldn't be any problems. Let's see how much this spirit beast can sell for."

Huang Hansheng stepped forward and took a look, then said, "It looks like it weighs about 800 jin, so I'll give you two silver coins." After saying that, he looked at the chicken eggs in Bai Cheng's hand and said, "I'll give you one silver coin for the eggs." Hearing this, Bai Cheng didn't understand. He had almost been tricked by Zhang Hai. If he had agreed, he would have lost half of his money.

"I'm not selling this; I'm keeping it for myself."

Hearing Yu Qing'an say this, Huang Hansheng continued, "Alright, then I'll want more next time I catch a spirit beast."

"That's for sure. You're the only one in this village who can afford to buy the flesh of a spirit beast."

Yu Qing'an's statement was based on fact. In Yu Family Village, most of the meat consumed by the villagers was from livestock. Spirit beasts were rarely encountered and possessed extraordinary combat power, making them virtually impossible for ordinary people to catch. However, there were always a few people in the village who made a living by hunting. Even though they had reached the Body Refinement Realm, they still took great risks to hunt, so they mostly hunted on the outskirts of the Cloudfall Forest.

The meat of spirit beasts is of better quality because it is influenced by places with more abundant spiritual energy, and the meat of high-quality spirit beasts may even contain some spiritual energy.

After the transaction was completed, Yu Qing'an took Bai Cheng away from the butcher shop. On the way, Bai Cheng asked about the need to guard against spirit beasts.

According to Yu Qing'an, Yu Family Village had been attacked by spirit beasts 10 years ago. At that time, the village didn't have as many Body Refinement Realm cultivators. The spirit beasts gathered in packs and ran into the fields, destroying farmland and ruining many crops. This caused severe damage to the village, but that wasn't the main problem. Spirit beasts don't leave their habitats for no reason, as the spiritual energy outside the forest isn't as concentrated as inside. They only leave the forest when they encounter predatory monsters.

At that time, the demonic beast also ran out of the forest, killing many villagers, including quite a few people at the Body Refinement Realm. The village chief hurriedly sought help from the nearest town, Wuling Town. Ten people at the late stage of Body Refinement Realm and three people at the Great Perfection of Body Refinement Realm arrived, but they still couldn't subdue the demonic beast, even though one was killed and one was injured. In the end, it was an immortal who happened to be passing by who casually killed the demonic beast, which was only the lowest level, the low-level demonic beast.

After this incident, Emperor Xia Tianwu of the Fire Cloud Kingdom issued an order: [Every village within the Fire Cloud Kingdom must have a cultivator at least at the early stage of the Qi Condensation Realm stationed there, every town must have a cultivator at the late stage of the Qi Condensation Realm stationed there, every second-level city must have a cultivator at the early stage of the Meridian Opening Realm stationed there, and first-level cities and the imperial capital must have a cultivator at the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm or higher].

This is why emperors of various countries try every means to cultivate or have their descendants cultivate. Otherwise, they would not be able to keep their thrones, and they would be taken over by other powerful families, or even have their countries destroyed.

However, there are not many people in this world with the aptitude for cultivation. Most people can only remain at the Body Refinement stage. Therefore, royal families in various countries are supported by cultivation sects, and some aristocratic families also send their family members to cultivate. Among these are their family's various prodigies, who will become their family's heirs. In addition, these people will also choose people with cultivation aptitude for marriage to ensure that their offspring can also cultivate.