I stuffed the unconscious mother Jade Ear Rabbit into the bundle.

  Then I grabbed the ears of the baby Jade Ear Rabbit that was standing there blankly at my side.

  True to rabbits, once their ears were bound, these creatures could not exert any strength.

  But for a baby, its ears were somewhat short.

  I frowned and shoved it into the bundle together as well. This was no time to worry about such trivial details.

  I bent down again to install the formation plate.

  In that instant, the land before my eyes was dyed completely red.

  My heart began pounding violently.

  This was a danger signal.

  I slowly raised my head.

  …My mouth fell wide open.

  It seemed every Jade Ear Rabbit in the vicinity had gathered here.

  Dozens of rabbits were glaring straight at me.

  They began stamping the ground with their hind legs in unison.

  The earth trembled.

  Had these rabbit bastards taken drugs as a group or what.

  Their eyes were bloodshot crimson.

  Jade Ear Rabbits were originally solitary spiritual beasts.

  That was why I had planned to quietly capture just a few.

  But now, every Jade Ear Rabbit in the entire area had assembled.

  Was there some kind of neighborhood meeting going on?

  Were games and reality really different?

  That wouldn’t do.

  I immediately turned around and started running.

  There was no time to hesitate.

  Back on Earth, running had been the one thing I was confident in.

  My speed had dropped after my back became hunched, but it was still serviceable.

  Now that I possessed spiritual power, there was no need to even mention it.

  The surrounding scenery streaked past at an abnormal speed.

  The enraged Jade Ear Rabbits kicked off the ground and chased after me like mad.

  …They really must have been on drugs as a group.

  Damn it.

  A small farm was about to turn into a large-scale farm.

  Well, it wasn’t a bad thing.

  ***

  I had been running through the mountains while being chased by a rabbit army for over ten minutes now. Leading them while avoiding dangerous areas was no easy task.

  These damn rabbits didn’t seem to tire at all.

  They were still chasing me with crazed eyes.

  Cursed rabbit bastards. You’re all dead meat.

  Soon, a familiar scene came into view.

  I increased my speed even more.

  An unusually tall tree appeared.

  As I reached it, I leaped high into the air.

  I stepped on a branch I had scouted in advance and headed for the top in an instant.

  The Jade Ear Rabbits that chased after me began gnawing at the base of the tree.

  It was truly insane speed.

  The tree shook violently.

  It looked like it would snap any moment.

  At this life-or-death moment, I grinned and formed a hand seal.

  Then I hurled my body toward the dense bushes on the opposite side.

  A perfect landing—ten out of ten!

  The formation hidden within the tree activated.

  Hadn’t I told you repeatedly?

  I was a thorough safety-first kind of guy.

  If you were going to do something as dangerous as hunting and gathering, you had to prepare an escape route. Otherwise, you couldn’t call yourself a true man.

  Fierce flames erupted from all directions.

  It was the Fire Assault Formation I had set up in advance.

  The panicked Jade Ear Rabbits ran around in chaos.

  They were pushed by the flames and herded to one side.

  Stuffing thirty spirit stones in at once had been worth it.

  It was a pity that the first safety device disappeared just one day after being installed, but……

  Well, what could I do.

  The rabbits trapped in the flames struggled desperately.

  Struggling like that would only make you suffocate faster, you know?

  Soon, thick smoke rose into the air.

  One by one, the rabbits collapsed weakly.

  I waited until every rabbit had fallen.

  Given their strong vitality, they wouldn’t die.

  All of this was mine, after all. I had to keep them alive properly.

  Now I just had to harvest them at my leisure.

  ***

  “Lulu, lululu.”

  A hum escaped me naturally.

  The captured Jade Ear Rabbits were all locked inside the herb cultivation chamber.

  The mother rabbit, knocked out by a blow—no, by the Jade Baton—was the same.

  I looked at the only baby rabbit that was still awake.

  It was trembling in fear, desperately trying to act cute.

  Its bound ears quivered.

  Sorry, but I’m a cat person.

  After giving it a glance, I focused on my work.

  I engraved a formation onto a new formation plate.

  I planned to reinstall it a little distance away from my hideout.

  Was I asking if I didn’t need to test trap formations anymore? I’d test them later by throwing in a few rabbits, obviously.

  With specimens lying everywhere, was there any need to go hunting?

  More importantly, I needed to confirm the insight I had gained from using the Fire Assault Formation.

  “Good, good.”

  As expected, my thinking was correct.

  All the problems with the first formation stone had been resolved.

  I immediately transferred the analyzed formation onto the formation plate and engraved it.

  Then I checked the baby rabbit again and carefully bound its ears even tighter.

  “If you cause any trouble while I’m gone, I’ll cut off your ears. Got it?”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  It nodded as if it understood.

  A spiritual beast really was a spiritual beast.

  But……

  No matter how I looked at it, its ears were still a bit short.

  I narrowed my eyes and examined the little guy.

  Well, someday I’d find out its true identity.

  I selected the three plumpest adult Jade Ear Rabbits among those sprawled around and wrapped them into a bundle.

  After slinging the bulging bundle over my side, I left the cave.

  Even to my own eyes, it looked pretty shabby.

  …Someday, I would definitely buy a beast-taming bag.

  ***

  Hmm, this place would do nicely.

  After finding a suitable spot, I set up the formation plate.

  The three formations Elder Haoranzi had given me formed a multilayered linked formation.

  Once I understood the principles, dismantling them was easy.

  It was a shame that my cultivation was still shallow, preventing me from bringing out their full performance.

  A linked formation was a structure where multiple formations were chained together.

  The formation I dismantled consisted of a total of three parts.

  The first was the Sensory Concealment Formation.

  It concealed the formation’s layout and the hideout.

  If someone approached nearby, I would know immediately.

  The second was the Defensive Illusion Formation.

  It protected the hideout and the formation.

  If someone approached with malicious intent, they would face a nightmare.

  The third was the Fire Assault Killing Formation.

  It possessed killing power incomparable to the Fire Assault Formation I had used to catch rabbits.

  Even a cultivator who had perfected Qi Refinement would not be able to escape once they entered.

  If I used enough spirit stones, I might even be able to deal with an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator?

  After setting up the entire linked formation, my heart felt at ease.

  Was it because I had dismantled all three formations?

  The location of the next formation stone in the Jade Baton came to mind.

  I lightly ignored it.

  I had no intention of going yet.

  Slowly. Let’s take it slowly.

  After stuffing the Jade Baton—protesting by emitting light—into my belt pouch, I headed toward the Flying Immortal Grass colony.

  The Flying Immortal Grass colony was one of the many bugs in the game ‘Fresh Immortal.’

  No matter how much you harvested, it would keep growing endlessly….

  Thinking back to those days made a smile naturally appear on my face.

  Mm, it had been quite profitable.

  The developers eventually found out and intervened, patching it.

  But strangely enough, the colony itself remained intact—it was just that characters could no longer enter.

  So wouldn’t it still exist in the real world as well?

  As expected.

  Purple-tinged Flying Immortal Grass swayed gently in the wind.

  The Flying Immortal Grass was trapped within a formation.

  Without knowing the exact location, it would have been impossible to find.

  I approached as if enchanted, then snapped back to my senses.

  First, I had to break the formation.

  To check what kind of formation it was, I lightly pressed the Jade Ear Rabbit bundle against it.

  …Wasn’t that too cowardly, you ask?

  I only had one life.

  Nothing happened.

  It didn’t seem to be an offensive defensive formation.

  I slung the bundle back over my shoulder and lightly placed my right hand on it. Contact was unavoidable to analyze the formation.

  Hm?

  The pattern that had seeped into the back of my hand emitted a bright glow.

  By the time I came to my senses, I was already inside the formation.

  “Huh?”

  It seemed the one who had cultivated this Flying Immortal Grass was our old man.

  Jackpot.

  No wonder everyone wanted to serve a master.

  Just how much was all this worth?

  My eyes blazed.

  Flying Immortal Grass over three thousand years old tempted me.

  It was all mine, all mine.

  The Jade Ear Rabbits, sensing the scent of spiritual herbs, woke up and struggled.

  Tsk, stay still!

  I reached out and tapped the bundle lightly, and they quieted down.

  I had been worried there might not be enough sacrifices, but now there was no need to worry.

  After surveying the surroundings, I began harvesting the Flying Immortal Grass as quickly as possible.

  Were there any other herbs?

  None.

  Still, this was better than nothing.

  The colony was reduced to scorched earth in an instant.

  After setting aside about ten stalks of Flying Immortal Grass, I stuffed the rest into my belt pouch.

  This should be enough.

  I had secured spiritual beasts and harvested spiritual herbs—now it was time to move on to the next stage.

  Originally, I hadn’t planned to use the altar this soon.

  But it couldn’t be helped.

  If I didn’t, the cave would end up becoming a rabbit den.

  ***

  “Ugh, my whole body aches.”

  I must have run too hard earlier.

  A groan escaped me naturally.

  The path to my destination was rougher than expected.

  Erasing my presence completely and avoiding the territories of lurking demonic beasts made it even more so.

  It was supposed to be a small mountain on the outskirts.

  But it seemed taller and more treacherous than most mountains back on Earth.

  If it was this exhausting even for a cultivator, it really drove home just how vast this world was.

  How long had I climbed?

  At last, I reached the mountain peak.

  My view opened wide, revealing the scenery below in one sweep.

  But I had no time to enjoy the view.

  Standing at the peak, I looked toward the opposite cliff. A gloomy wind brushed past my ears.

  Thankfully, it meant no one had ever used the altar.

  Now, I had to descend this cliff.

  I stood still for a moment, recalling the procedure.

  I had to follow it precisely.

  Unless one fully climbed the peak and descended from the opposite side, the altar would not reveal itself.

  Flying or using techniques made no difference.

  I could not use even a shred of spiritual power.

  I had to rely solely on my body.

  Looking at the sheer cliff face made curses rise to my throat.

  Hoo…. Mind control, mind control.

  Let’s think positively.

  That was why this opportunity had come to me.

  If it were something easily obtained, someone would have already seized the fortuitous encounter.

  After taking a deep breath, I stepped onto the cliff.

  I stretched out my trembling arms and grabbed onto a protruding rock.

  It was dizzying.

  I had to move one step at a time with utmost care.

  A ravine so deep I couldn’t see the bottom.

  Wind surged through it.

  The gloomy wind tugged at my clothes, shaking me as if trying to pull me away.

  My body swayed.

  I gritted my teeth and endured.

  I was so scared that tears welled up.

  In the bundle slung across my back, the Jade Ear Rabbits held their breath.

  They must have sensed their fate.

  After taking a deep breath,

  I reached out again.

  Grabbing a foothold, I shifted my center of gravity onto my toes.

  I placed my foot into a fist-sized crevice.

  Moss clung to the cracks, making them slippery.

  In some sections, there wasn’t even enough space to fit my hand.

  Blood flowed from my fingernails, but I had to endure it.

  The eerie wind shook my body.

  My heart dropped.

  My heartbeat pounded against my ears.

  All my senses became extremely sharp.

  Rocks were falling from the path I had passed.

  I wanted to use a protective talisman right now, but I clenched my teeth.

  I had to endure.

  A stone grazed past my ear and plunged downward.

  If I fell, it was over.

  I forced strength into my limbs.

  Fuck, this is terrifying!

  At this point, it was do or die.

  Let’s get down as fast as possible.

  “Haah, haah….”

  I nearly died several times.

  Ugh, gives me goosebumps.

  I barely made it down to the midpoint.

  At the middle of the cliff, there was a narrow crevice.

  Everything looked exactly like the scene in the game.

  When I squeezed my body through the gap, a flat rock appeared.

  That was the altar.

  I had been worried, but it seemed I had followed all the rules.

  If I hadn’t, the rock wouldn’t have revealed itself.

  I cautiously approached the altar and examined it carefully.

  The upper portion was stained dark red.

  The rock felt as if it were alive.

  ***

  Ugh, chills.

  I swallowed and took items out of my belt pouch.

  It was a relief that I could use spiritual power from here on. Otherwise, I would’ve had to carry all this manually.

  The liquor I had brought from home, the Flying Immortal Grass, and the three Jade Ear Rabbits inside the bundle.

  I placed all the offerings on the ground.

  I pulled out the cork and carefully poured the liquor onto the altar.

  The altar smacked its lips and greedily swallowed the liquor.

  Ah, disgusting.

  I placed all the Flying Immortal Grass I had prepared on it.

  It devoured those greedily as well.

  I grabbed a Jade Ear Rabbit by the ears and lifted it.

  As if resigned to everything, it closed its eyes and went limp.

  The altar began to drool.

  I raised the dagger I had brought and cleanly slit its throat.

  It was my first time killing, but there was no hesitation.

  If I hesitated, they would only suffer more.

  Fresh blood splattered across the altar.

  A twisted laugh echoed.

  I felt someone’s persistent gaze.

  Had I not known that this being could not leave the boundary and would disappear along with the altar, I would never have attempted this.

  Even so, cold sweat trickled down.

  Ignoring its gaze, I slit the next Jade Ear Rabbit’s throat.

  Hot blood splashed across the altar once more.

  I neatly placed the three dead Jade Ear Rabbits atop the altar.

  A black tongue shot out and swallowed the offerings.

  I bowed my head.

  A pungent, rotten stench filled the air.

  The sounds of bones and flesh being crushed rang out.

  And then.

  At last, the satisfied altar let out a long belch.

  Moments later, from the altar, a ring as red as blood popped out.

  The ring rolled across the ground.

  As if asking to be picked up.

  I ignored the ring and politely bowed. From the darkness came a snort of displeasure. Without lifting my head, I maintained proper etiquette.

  After some time passed, the rock disappeared.

  Only then did I bend down and pick up the ring.

  At last, it was in my hands—a subspace ring.