Through the tunnel, Su Yun, Lin Yuan's mother, successfully left Zhang Family Fortress.
But scarcely half an hour had passed when the relentless pursuers from the Ten Thousand Demons Sect arrived.
Clearly, the secret passage within the room had been discovered.
In utter despair, Su Yun had no choice but to hide Lin Yuan in a secluded patch of grass.
"I will lead them away," she said, "and come back for you later."
With those words, she headed off in a different direction.
As the wife of Zhang Kun, an exceptional expert, Su Yun was no ordinary person.
Even though she had just given birth, her abilities were still greater than those of a third or fourth-tier fighter, and her skills in lightness techniques were remarkable.
Yet, two or three hours passed, and Su Yun still hadn’t returned.
"She probably won’t be coming back," Lin Yuan silently reckoned.
If Su Yun had managed to shake off the pursuers, she would have returned by now.
Her absence only meant she hadn’t lost them, and the consequence of not shaking them off was all too obvious.
Lin Yuan sighed softly.
Just earlier, he was a celebrated heir of the Zhang Family Fortress, but now, all was lost.
"This is troublesome," Lin Yuan muttered, knitting his brows.
Now wasn’t the time for contemplation; the pressing matter was survival.
As a newborn, Lin Yuan couldn’t take any drastic actions.
If he left his swaddling, he would most certainly freeze to death.
Crying loudly to attract attention was also risky, as Lin Yuan wasn't sure if he would draw the pursuers from the Ten Thousand Demons Sect.
Moreover, the surroundings were remote and deserted.
Any noise might attract wild beasts, which regarded human infants as delicacies.
Regrettably, had this happened just a few months or even days later, Lin Yuan thought, he could have relied on his heaven-defying comprehension to grow stronger quickly.
His previous traversal at the age of three allowed him to master the Great Arhat Buddha Fist and enter the Innate Realm.
Although an infant's body imposed numerous restrictions, it wasn’t entirely helpless and could at least resist somewhat.
As night fell, the temperature rapidly dropped.
Even wrapped in his swaddling, Lin Yuan felt waves of cold creeping in.
While another infant might have begun crying at this point, Lin Yuan refrained.
He knew if he attracted beasts with his cries, he’d be dragged away and eaten.
Despite his caution, the faint scent inherent to infants wafted into the air.
Soon, Lin Yuan heard rustling from the nearby grass.
From the sound, it was evident it wasn’t human.
"What to do?" Lin Yuan’s heart raced.
If not humans, then beasts were coming.
As the rustling drew closer, Lin Yuan steadied his breathing.
Meanwhile, his gaze abruptly fixed on the ground’s withered leaves and wood.
In this wild, plant-abundant setting, withered leaves and wood were everywhere.
Fixating on these, Lin Yuan's mind suddenly birthed a flurry of insights.
[Your comprehension is heaven-defying, observing withered wood has led to the realization of the Withered Wood Breathing Technique.]
[Withered Wood Breathing Technique: Conceals all presence through a special breathing rhythm, emulating the appearance of withered wood.]
In an instant, Lin Yuan’s aura further concealed itself.
The faint milk scent disappeared entirely, and his once soft, fair skin seemed to blend into the dark tone of the surrounding withered wood.
From afar, Lin Yuan resembled nothing more than a piece of wood wrapped in swaddles.
"Howl..."
Not far away, an adult wolf paused, sniffing the air with a puzzled growl.
It wandered around for some time, but detected no sign of food, thus turned away.
From his swaddling, Lin Yuan felt immense relief as he sensed the rustling fade away.
"Withered Wood Breathing Technique?" Lin Yuan maintained his concealed state.
His previous experiences had gifted him many stealth techniques, albeit requiring inner or elemental energy—resources he didn’t have as a newborn.
But this newly formed Withered Wood Breathing Technique, reliant solely on breath rhythm, was feasible for him now.
"Safe for the moment," Lin Yuan thought, cautiously observing his surroundings.
Time trickled by, and before long, half a day passed.
Lin Yuan felt a profound hunger, with every cell crying out for sustenance.
[Your heaven-defying comprehension, tortured by hunger, has led to the realization of Hibernation Breathing Technique.]
His comprehension once again proved his savior.
The Hibernation Breathing Technique significantly reduced physical consumption, and when used with the Withered Wood Breathing Technique, rendered Lin Yuan as indistinguishable from wooden debris.
Two days later, with the last flicker of consciousness, Lin Yuan noticed a Daoist in robes descending from above.
"Someone’s coming?"
"And it’s a Daoist?" Lin Yuan’s spirits lifted, being the first human he’d seen in two days.
"I have no choice," he thought.
"Any longer and I’ll really die."
Quickly dismissing the concealing techniques, Lin Yuan used all his might to cry out.
The infant’s cries reached the Daoist, who appeared middle-aged and weary.
"An abandoned infant?" he murmured, noting the emblem on the swaddlings—revealing Lin Yuan’s identity as a child of Zhang Kun.
The sight of a jade pendant, Zhang Kun's own, brought tears to the Daoist's eyes.
He was Daoist Changqing, who received Zhang Kun's letter months ago about the Ten Thousand Demons Sect.
But on his way, he was ambushed by sect protectors, delaying his journey.
By the time he reached there, all in Zhang Family Fortress were slain.
Just as Changqing was mourning and preparing to report back to Dragon Tiger Mountain, he heard Lin Yuan’s cries, identifying the baby as Zhang Kun’s son.
"Good, good," he whispered.
"Zhang Kun’s bloodline endures."
Holding Lin Yuan, Daoist Changqing used his True Qi to restore the baby’s vitality, a significant expenditure for him, but he couldn’t care less after having failed to save the household earlier.
"Hmm?" Noticing the baby's well-being despite apparent exposure, he was baffled.
"An incredible child," he thought, deciding that Lin Yuan would be raised among them on Dragon Tiger Mountain.
At the True Martial Great Hall, Daoist Changqing explained the situation to Cangqing Zhenren, leader of the Heavenly Master Mansion and a revered figure in martial circles.
"This generation's leader of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect is a shrewd force, having stepped into the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm, he's sending disciples to exploit and plunder," Cangqing Zhenren spoke slowly, cradling Lin Yuan.
"A pitiable child. Zhang Kun, a righteous man, fell to them, and we, the Heavenly Master Mansion, must not let this lie."
"By the way," queried Cangqing Zhenren, "do we have a name for the child?"
Daoist Changqing replied softly, "In his swaddle, there’s a jade with the word 'Shanfeng' carved."
"Shanfeng, Shanfeng," mused Cangqing Zhenren.
"Very well, henceforth you'll be Zhang Shanfeng."
Thus, Lin Yuan came to reside on Dragon Tiger Mountain.
Initially worried about crying disturbances, Daoist Changqing found Lin Yuan remarkably docile, never fussing and only gazing silently when hungry—an astoundingly well-behaved child.
With villages aplenty below Dragon Tiger Mountain, nursing from women who had recently borne children became Lin Yuan's sustenance, kept alive through Daoist Changqing’s persistence.
Ten years passed like this.