Looking back at all the treasures and coins stashed in piles, he grabbed a filled pouch sitting on the edge.
Opening it and finding a bunch of copper, silver and gold coins a smile bloomed on Xie Tian as he shook the pouch to make a clinging sound.
"My time here is over now. Time to start for real."
He walked over to the exit and followed a stone staircase upwards for a while before coming to a stop where he saw a small button on the wall witch he pressed.
Slowly the rock wall ahead of him split and the sun hanging high in the sky blinded Xie Tian so much he had to look away.
Having not seen the sun for a year makes people incredibly sensitive to it and other forms of light.
Waiting for his eyes to adjust he left the hole in the ground and stood upon soft green grass with his bare feet.
Before he had time to react the opening behind him closed with a loud bang, and there was no way of seeing that it had ever been an opening.
Steeling himself he chose a direction and ventured.
The path he chose was straight through a forest, but Xie Tian's footsteps were neither hurried nor weak as he took in everything around him.
From the chirping of birds to the rustling of leaves blown by the wind, he enjoyed it all after not having anything of the sort.
After taking some moments to enjoy the scenery of green, he went out and killed a rabbit before starting a fire.
Before cooking the rabbit, he took out the martial arts books and stared at them for some time before using them as fuel for the fire.
Being a first-rate martial artist, he had no issues whatsoever to imprint techniques to his memory.
The books made the fire take on quicker than he expected, so he grilled the rabbit before savouring the heavenly taste of meat for the first time in a good time.
'I never ever want to eat grain pellets again!'
As he finished his meal, he stomped out the fire and begun moving again, following the flowing sound of water.
He soon arrived at a small creek where he looked at his reflection.
'Ugh.'
He looked all the part of a beggar or some kind of a pervert with no shirt and torn up pants.
Though after the bad reaction came the good one.
Inspecting his face up close he was surprised by his appearance; he was by all means handsome, and his smoot ink black hair flowed down below his shoulders.
Soon after Xie Tian took a bath to wash off the year of sweat and grease before venturing further and finding a real path.
Following it, after a day or so on the road he found a small village bustling with people.
Quickly entering the small village, as he expected he was greeted by all kinds of looks by the villagers.
Looking at the closest man who seemed like a woodcutter, he decided to ask him.
Approaching the middle-aged man with an axe in his hand made his eyes narrow at Xie Tian.
"Excuse me, is there anywhere I can buy some clothing?"
He asked in a friendly manner as there was no reason to antagonize the normal villagers right now.
'Oh, a martial artist speaking politely to a peasant like me?'
He answered in a sarcastic and disdainful tone.
Before Xie Tian had time to even retort, the man answered the actual question.
"Fourth house down the road, leave as fast as you're done. We don't want your kind here."
Xie Tian didn't mind the peasant who held him in distain and instead went to the house witch the man pointed out.
Exiting shortly after, Xie Tian was seen wearing a common black tunic which complimented his appearance.
His saber sitting on his back with the holster he brought out of the cave.
"I need to know where and when I am. I need to start building my strength!"
Xie Tian ventured ahead and found a small inn where he ordered a serving of dumplings as he listened to everyone around him.
Finding nothing interesting in the backwater town he decided to be more direct and walk up to the man standing behind the desk.
"Can I guess you are the owner?"
Xie Tian asked as he sat down opposite the old man with a long gray beard.
The old man in question looked at him for a moment and said nothing, that is until Xie Tian took out a couple of copper coins and placed them on the counter.
To which the old man finally spoke.
"Well yes, I am indeed. What could the honored martial artist want from a poor man like me."
"Where are we and what year is it?"
Xie Tian decided to start in a simple matter and asked the most basic question, to which he got a strange look from the old man before he took the coins.
"The Year is 5 After the great cleansing, and you are in the west of Guangxi."
Xie Tian took some time to process the information he got and placed himself close to the Ten Thousand Mountains which was the main base of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Thinking about that, he thought a good start would be to make his way over there to see what he can gain.
"Thank you. Any way to travel east from here?"
The old man didn't even look at him before sighing and placing a couple of more coins on the counter.
To which he smiled warmly and recounted.
"You martial artist are either the best or worst customers."
"If I remember correctly a merchant caravan is arriving in a couple of days, and are heading to Guangdong in the east."
Xie Tian thought about how perfect that was, he could enter them as an escort and follow them eastwards.
"I see, and a room."
Giving the old man his coins and getting the key, Xie Tian entered his room to which he sat down on the bed in a meditative position.
Even if he could gather and circulate his internal energy whilst moving, he was not completely used to it, so he still spent time meditating quietly.
Keeping the same routine of going out early into the woods to practice his techniques and going back to the inn and meditating a couple of days passed and the caravan finally entered the town.
Xie Tian approached what looked like the leader and initiated a conversation.
"I'm heading east, as I've heard you are. Care for an extra escort?"
The middle-aged man analyzed him for some time, looking him over before reluctantly agreeing on the conditions of that he was not to get paid.
To which Xie Tian had no need for in the world and he had finally found himself among the martial artists of the caravan.