Leaf Gray did not allow himself to rest for long. The sword still piercing his leg was a constant reminder of his perilous situation. The intense pain gnawed at his nerves like a persistent parasite, yet it paradoxically kept his mind clear, fighting back the dizziness from blood loss.

He was particularly worried about the wound's location. A slight deviation could have severed major blood vessels or tendons. Even if he didn't bleed out, losing the use of his leg in these treacherous mines would be a death sentence.

Gritting his teeth, he tore open the clothing around the wound. The fabric, stuck to the clotted blood, pulled away with a fresh sting. After a careful examination, a wave of relief washed over him. By some fortune, the wound, while gruesome, was only a flesh wound. It had missed both bone and major arteries. Hope flickered within him.

He knew better than to pull the sword out recklessly. A year in the mines had shown him countless souls who bled out from poorly treated wounds. Removing the blade would open the floodgates; without proper preparation, he'd likely pass out from blood loss and die unnoticed in this deep, dark tunnel.

First, he ripped strips from the relatively clean inner layer of his garment, twisting them into a tight cord. He bound it firmly around the upper part of his thigh, applying pressure to stem the future flow. Next, he completely ripped away the fabric around the wound, fully exposing it. By the time he finished these basic preparations, a fine layer of cold sweat coated his forehead.

Now, to find the means to survive. His gaze fell upon the stiff corpse of Manager Miller not far away, finally settling on the grey, palm-sized pouch at his waist.

Leaf Gray recognized it. Cultivators called it a storage bag, a small bag holding a separate space within, capable of storing numerous items.

The healing pellet Manager Miller had forced him to take earlier, and the very sword currently in his leg, had both come from this pouch. A cultivator's life savings were often tied to this small accessory.

Gritting against the pain in his leg, he dragged Manager Miller's body closer and undid the pouch.

It felt slightly heavy, its texture not like ordinary cloth but possessing the supple, cool feel of some unknown beast hide. He marveled at the thought of a separate dimension within such a small space. Although his knowledge of cultivation was sparse after over a year in the Novem Lands, he had picked up common lore like this.

Every cultivator's storage bag had an invisible lock—a restriction. Only the owner could open it freely. For others, unlocking it without special means was nearly impossible. Leaf Gray prayed silently that Manager Miller had been too rushed to activate the restriction before dying.

He took a deep breath, anxiety gnawing at him, and reached for the pouch's drawstring. As the opening loosened, he hesitantly slid his hand inside... and his face instantly broke into an uncontrollable grin of triumph.

There was no resistance. His hand clearly felt the shapes of various objects inside. It worked! It made sense. When he had ambushed the manager, caught off guard within the disruptive Metamagnetic Field, Miller had only had time to draw a sword. Sealing the pouch would have been the last thing on his mind.

Salvation was at hand. Feeling more secure, Leaf Gray began emptying the pouch, placing items on the ground around him. What he needed most right now were Vermillion Dawn Pill and healing pellets. After removing the sword, the Vermillion Dawn Pill would replenish his rapidly depleting life force, while the healing pellets were crucial for wound closure.

Soon, a small pile of miscellaneous items had accumulated around him: various bottles and jars, some dried meat and flatbreads, several large water bags, and even a few thread-bound books and a roll of rough toilet paper.

Leaf Gray stared at the toilet paper, speechless for a moment. But on second thought, considering Manager Miller had been preparing for a long hiding period, bringing such necessities was reasonable.

His eyes quickly scanned the bottles and jars, soon identifying his targets. There was a vast quantity of Vermillion Dawn Pill—ten bottles, each containing twenty or thirty round, red pills. The healing pellets, however, were in just one bottle, holding only seven or eight remaining white pellets emitting a faint, fresh scent.

Manager Miller was in charge of handling the exchange of Vermillion Dawn Pills for the mining slaves. By lining his own pockets, it was no surprise that he ended up with such a massive quantity of Vermillion Dawn Pills. For Leaf Gray, however, this was nothing short of a windfall. Back in the day, he had toiled for an entire year, accumulating contributions, just to exchange for thirty Vermillion Dawn Pills. But now, by killing Manager Miller, he had obtained two to three hundred pills in one fell swoop!

A unprecedented feeling of "sudden wealth" slightly eased his physical pain and prior fear. He took out one Vermillion Dawn Pill, thought for a moment, then added two more, stuffing all three into his mouth and swallowing them with difficulty.

It wasn't greed, but the understanding that the ordeal of removing the sword would demand immense energy. Three pills were probably the maximum his body could currently handle and absorb quickly. Next, he swallowed one healing pellet.

Then, he grabbed a water skin, uncorked it, took several deep gulps to soothe his parched throat, and carefully used the clean water to rinse the wound on his leg. The water contacting the torn flesh brought a sharp sting mixed with a cooling sensation, making him suck in his breath sharply. Sweat poured down his face again.

After meticulously cleaning the wound, he took out another healing pellet and placed it within easy reach on a clean piece of cloth, ready for immediate use after extracting the sword.

All preparations were complete. Leaf Gray leaned against the cold cave wall, taking several deep breaths, as if drawing courage into his lungs. Then, with a slightly trembling hand, he gripped the cold sword hilt tightly, closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and pulled with all his might!

"Urgh—Aah!"

Even braced for it, an indescribable wave of agony instantly wracked his entire body. A stifled cry of pain escaped his lips despite his efforts, and his whole frame shook violently. Blood gushed from the open wound, swiftly staining the ground beneath him.

Can't pass out! He fought against the pain threatening to shred his consciousness, swiftly grabbing the standby healing pellet, crushing it, and sprinkling the powder evenly over both the entry and exit wounds.

The powder contacting his raw flesh brought a strange sensation, a mix of numbness and coolness. Frantically, he untied the cord from his upper thigh and wrapped the wound tightly with the clean bandages he had prepared earlier.

When it was finally done, Leaf Gray felt completely drained. He collapsed to the ground, too weak to even move a finger. The extreme pain and mental strain had consumed his last reserves of strength. His eyelids felt heavy as mountains, and he quickly sank into a deep, unconscious sleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he finally stirred awake. The mine tunnel was still dark, illuminated only by the flickering light of the storm lantern Manager Miller had brought. Struggling, he propped himself up against the wall and gently pressed the area around his wound.

Pain flared, but thankfully, there was no telltale heat or swelling indicating infection. Instead, a cool, itchy sensation emanated from the wound—the feeling of flesh knitting back together. It seemed the ingested and applied healing pellets had worked their magic. The most critical danger had passed. Leaf Gray let out a long, slow sigh of relief, the tension finally leaving his body.

Just then, a loud gurgle erupted from his stomach. Intense hunger gripped him. Thinking back, it had been over half a day since his last meal before encountering Manager Miller. His original plan to trade his mined ore for food had been utterly derailed by the manager's coercion, their life-and-death struggle, and his subsequent injury.

Fortunately, Manager Miller's "emergency rations" were plentiful. Leaf Gray picked up a piece of dried beast meat from the pile of loot and began chewing it slowly, washing it down with gulps of water. The meat was tough and bland, but at this moment, it was the finest sustenance for survival.

As the hunger pangs subsided and situated in this temporarily safe, secluded spot, Leaf Gray's attention turned to the other items Manager Miller had left behind. While slowly chewing the jerky, he began carefully examining the things he had previously ignored.

He recognized the Vermillion Dawn Pill and the healing pellets, but there were other pills in different bottles, varying in color and scent. Some even gave off a pungent, fishy odor, clearly not benign. He cautiously set these unknown pills aside, not daring to touch them.

Next, he picked up the book closest to him. In the flickering lantern light, he opened it. A strange expression crossed his face, quickly turning into raised eyebrows and a faint, knowing smirk. It was an illustrated book of erotic art, exquisitely detailed and... comprehensive. So, beneath his respectable exterior, Manager Miller had been a man of such "refined tastes."

"Not the time for this, weak and injured as I am," Leaf Gray muttered to himself, tossing the "secret manual" aside. He picked up another book. This one had words on the cover: The Lost Annals of the Sword Saints.

The name sparked his interest. Could this be the cultivation insights or biography of some master swordsman? He eagerly opened it and read a few pages, only to find it was purely a work of fiction, tales of some fictional "Sword Saint's" legendary exploits. His hopes dashed, he disappointedly threw the book aside.

With a hint of lingering expectation, he picked up the third book. When his eyes fell upon the cover, his heart skipped a beat, and his breath caught in his throat.

Cicada's Transcendent Metamorphosis!

He eagerly flipped through the pages, his excitement growing with each one. This was it! A genuine cultivation manual! Similar to the first "illustrated book," this one was also filled with diagrams and text. The energy pathways and mental cultivation methods were clearly illustrated and easy to understand. This seemed to be the very technique Manager Miller himself had practiced.

With a cultivation manual, he held the key to stepping onto the path of cultivation! But elation was swiftly followed by a harsh, crushing reality.

He, Leaf Gray, had not yet opened his spiritual aperture. Without a opened aperture, he couldn't sense or absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The most profound manual would be nothing but useless words and pictures. Over the past year, he had tried numerous times using the crude methods circulated among the miners to sense and open his aperture, but it always felt like grasping at clouds, with no success whatsoever.

Dejection washed over him again. He let out a soft sigh and carefully placed the manual, which held hope he couldn't yet grasp, to the side.

After a moment of wallowing, Leaf Gray rallied his spirits. He picked up the grey storage bag again, remembering there were still items inside he hadn't fully retrieved. Reaching in, he carefully felt around, pulling out the remaining objects one by one.

Most were various ores glinting with different hues, including a few fist-sized chunks of Metamagnetic Ore emitting a faint magnetic force field. These were clearly minerals Manager Miller had embezzled or collected using his position, though their purpose was unknown. Having mined for a year, Leaf Gray was familiar with most rare ores; he could recognize most of them at a glance.

Until he pulled out a lump of ore the size of a human head, its entire body a deep, dark red.

This ore felt warm and smooth to the touch, its texture fine. It didn't match any ore he knew. It was heavy, its color like congealed blood, gleaming with a dull luster under the lantern light. Leaf Gray examined it repeatedly, confirming he had never seen this type of mineral before. He wondered which miner had unearthed it, only for it to end up in Manager Miller's hands.

"Rarity implies value. If even I haven't seen it, this must be extraordinary," Leaf Gray mused internally. Just as he was about to place this dark red ore with the other items, a sudden change occurred!

His mind grew dizzy without warning, his vision blurring slightly. Then, a vague, shadowy image that existed only in his perception abruptly materialized before him—it was the mysterious Shadow Tree!

This tree had appeared occasionally since his arrival in this world, usually only when he focused intensely, and even then, not always. He had never understood its purpose. But this time, it had manifested on its own!

In the very heartbeat of Leaf Gray's disbelief, a more wondrous and terrifying sight unfolded. From the faint roots of the phantom tree, a cascade of countless, finer, and nearly invisible rootlets surged forth. As if possessing a will of their own, they transcended the realm of nothingness, drinking deeply from the dark red ore clutched in his palm.

Crack... Crunch...A series of faint, yet distinct, cracking sounds came from within the ore.

To his horror, Leaf Gray saw the hard, dark red surface of the ore rapidly web over with fissures.

In the next moment, a point of orange-yellow light shone through the cracks, instantly illuminating his stunned face. The ore split apart completely. Inside wasn't more mineral matter, but a fist-sized, calmly burning, orange-yellow flame!

The flame existed without any apparent fuel, hovering in the center of the split ore as if it were the core itself.

Terrified out of his wits, Leaf Gray instinctively tried to fling the eerie flame away. But the flame clung to his palm like a brand. No matter how he shook his hand, it wouldn't budge.

After a brief moment of panic, Leaf Gray forced himself to calm down. He realized this bizarre change was originating from the mysterious Shadow Tree! Its roots had triggered this peculiar ore.

Even more baffling was that this seemingly burning flame, in contact with his skin, produced no sensation of heat or pain whatsoever. It only felt warm and smooth, like holding a piece of heated jade.

Under his watchful eye, the orange-yellow flame began to shrink at a visible rate, as if being rapidly devoured and absorbed by some invisible force. In mere seconds, the flame vanished completely from his palm, as if it had never existed, leaving behind only the shattered, dull fragments of the dark red ore on the ground.

Before Leaf Gray could fully process these successive shocks, a scorching power erupted violently from deep within his dantian, the field of spirit pill below his navel! This energy was pure and overbearing. It madly tugged and churned the blood and vital energy throughout his entire body, forcing it like countless rivers converging into the sea, compressing it towards his dantian.

An indescribable agony instantly overwhelmed him! It felt as if a red-hot brand had been thrust into his lower abdomen, as if countless steel needles were piercing and churning him from the inside out, threatening to tear his body apart and incinerate him. He curled into a ball, emitting pained grunts, his recently dried clothes once again soaked through with cold sweat.

Just as he felt he was about to be ripped apart by this violent energy, his consciousness teetering on the brink of a dark abyss, a tremendously significant, yet incredibly faint, sound echoed from his dantian—a clear pop that resonated deep within his soul.

Pop!

It was as if a long-standing shackle had been shattered, a sealed treasure vault forced open.

In that instant, the nearly destructive pain receded like a tide. In its place was an unprecedented feeling of unobstructed flow and weightlessness. The world before his eyes seemed washed clean, becoming sharper, more vivid. He could even sense tiny, indescribable motes of light floating in the very air.

Instinctively, he focused his mind, sensing the location of his dantian. There, he clearly "saw" a wondrous swirl of energy slowly rotating and coalescing, like a miniature vortex, spontaneously drawing in the sparse energy around it. It was intimately connected to his very life force, emitting a faint but tangible pulling force.

Immense, inexpressible joy erupted within him like a volcano, completely overwhelming Leaf Gray. He trembled with excitement, tears welling in his eyes.

A spiritual aperture! This was a spiritual aperture!

The aperture he had desperately sought, tried and failed to open numerous times, had actually been successfully opened now, through such a bizarre twist of fate and in this unimaginable way!

From this moment on, he, Leaf Gray, had truly stepped onto the path of cultivation in this world!