The next day, Sirius descended the mountain on the opposite side of Grey Mountain Town, heading toward a nearby settlement known as Grey River Town. It was named after the Grey River, which flowed down from the mountains and ran beside the town.
Upon arriving at the town centre, he found a bustling marketplace filled with merchants, cultivators, and commoners moving through open stalls and stone-paved alleys. He made his way to a beast material trader and sold the contents of his three large gunny bags—claws, fangs, fur, and cores collected from the beasts he had hunted.
The sale brought in a decent sum of money.
With that, he went about gathering supplies.
He purchased a medium-sized wagon, basic cooking utensils, oil, spices, seasonings, several sacks of fresh vegetables, a few standard-grade weapons, a basic alchemy cauldron, and spare sets of clothing.
Everything was loaded onto the wagon, which was drawn by a tamed Iron Bull—a low-grade beast known for its stamina, physical strength, and strong natural defence. They were docile and easy to tame, making them a common choice for transporting goods.
Once everything was secured, Sirius climbed aboard and set off.
Rather than returning to the clan directly, he directed the wagon toward a small hilltop within the nearby range. The path was quiet and familiar.
This hilltop was flat, with a natural clearing and a serene atmosphere. In the center of the clearing was a small, clear pond. Several fish swam lazily beneath the surface. The Iron Bull grazed nearby on fresh green grass, seemingly content.
Sirius decided to stay here.
Over the next seven days, he cultivated in solitude.
He hunted beasts during the day, gathering fresh materials into new gunny bags. He would cook the meat into stew or grill it over a campfire. Beast meat, rich in mana and nutrients, accelerated his physical recovery and cultivation growth.
Sirius also gathered wild herbs, recognizing valuable ingredients from the surrounding forest. Using his alchemy cauldron, he practiced refining simple elixirs and medicinal pastes.
Even in his past life, he had reached a high level of mastery in alchemy. His methods were efficient, his temperature control and timing precise. Without much effort, he produced usable, effective elixirs each day.
Each morning, he trained using body cultivation techniques and martial arts routines. His movements were solid, focused, and carefully paced. In the afternoons, he ventured deeper into the forest to hunt and gather herbs. Evenings were spent brewing elixirs and preparing medicinal baths for recovery.
At night, he would lie beside the fire, eyes closed, silently reviewing the vast sea of techniques he had learned in his past life.
By the seventh day, Sirius had reached Level Nine Martial Disciple.
The Martial Disciple stage was the foundation for cultivators. It focused on building the physical body—toughening bones, refining muscles, strengthening internal organs.
Sirius had built his foundation steadily and methodically.
That day, he encountered two new beasts—a Wind Wolf and a Thunder Panther. These were far more dangerous than the wolves and boars he'd fought before. They were Elemental Grade Rank 1 Vicious Beasts, capable of manipulating elemental power.
The Wind Wolf moved with sharp agility, and each claw slash generated a slicing wind blade. The Thunder Panther released electric bursts from its mouth—energy spheres that scorched anything they hit.
Despite the difficulty, Sirius kept calm.
He relied on refined reflexes, a solid foundation, and combat experience from his previous life. The battle was intense and lasted nearly two hours.
Eventually, he brought both beasts down.
He carried their corpses back to the clearing and cleaned them—removing internal organs and preserving the bones and muscle tissue.
Using rare metals, medicinal herbs, and the beasts' spirit cores, Sirius began refining the remains into puppets. He had reached the Martial Practitioner stage during the fight. He could now use the power of his constitution and bloodline. With just a thought, Flames appeared in hand, refining the metals, herbs and spirit cores and integrating their essence into the beast corpses.
It was a technique from his past—Puppet Refining Art—a rare, practical skill that allowed the transformation of dead beast bodies into autonomous battle puppets.
Unlike the Blood Demon Cult, who used twisted arts to turn living creatures into zombie-like puppets, Sirius's method used only the dead, and preserved dignity. These puppets were more like tools—extensions of himself.
The process was long and meticulous.
After completion, Sirius carved inscription formations and elemental runes into the cores of both puppets. It was another rare art—Rune Inscription—the practice of binding elemental and formation energy into tools, puppets, or weapons.
On the Wind Wolf, he inscribed Wind Blade Runes and Blaze Runes on its claws. Now, each swipe could unleash fiery wind blades.
On the Thunder Panther, he etched a Thunder Rune on its tongue and a reinforcement formation across its spine, increasing its power, speed, and defence. With enough mana, it could even form electric armour over its body.
The puppets were complete. Sirius infused a spiritual command into them. They responded—activating silently and moving without resistance.
He stored them in the wagon.
"I miss storage rings," he muttered. "I could refine one for myself, but I'd need a space stone or a space-element beast core."
Before leaving the mountain, Sirius decided to bathe in the pond. The water was cool and clear. He dove in, swimming slowly.
While swimming to the bottom, something unusual caught his eye—a submerged stone monument.
He stopped.
Sirius immediately recognized the design. In the cultivation world, lone cultivators nearing death would sometimes prepare legacy monuments—structures holding their possessions and techniques, meant to be found by a worthy successor.
He swam closer.
Beside the monument lay a skeleton, seated in a meditative pose, undisturbed.
Sirius also found a sealed chest, old but intact.
He carried the remains of the cultivator gently to the surface and buried them near the hilltop under a tree. Then he returned for the chest.
Inside, he found gold, silver, and gems—wealth accumulated from a lifetime.
There was also a small wooden box. Inside it—three rings.
Sirius blinked. "Storage rings."
He had just spoken about needing one—and now, three of them were in his hands.
He examined them using his spiritual sense.
The first ring was filled with rare materials—metals, minerals, and gems.
The second held medicinal herbs, pills, and prepared elixirs.
The third contained armour, enchanted weapons, swords, shields, and other battle tools.
There was also a fourth ring tucked in a hidden compartment.
This one contained martial techniques, pill formulas, and formation blueprints.
Sirius smiled slightly.
He placed the first ring on his finger and immediately refined it again with his potent spiritual power. The ring's internal space expanded significantly—its void dimension multiplying tenfold. He transferred all the contents from the other three rings into this one, carefully organizing the space.
The other three rings were refined, and two of them, along with the first ring, were stored back in the wooden box, which he then placed in the inner pocket of his robe.
The fourth ring, now empty, was used to store the contents of the treasure chest—coins and gems.
He placed the two beast puppets into the fourth ring as well.
Everything was now compact and efficiently stored.
Finally, Sirius packed up his things, called the Iron Bull, and began his descent back toward Grey Mountain Town.
It was time to return to the Arya Clan.