Blood Qi Method

Under Yuan Ming's gaze, the black fleshy growth began to writhe rapidly. Strands of black thread started to split and extend from it, reaching towards Yuan Ming's chest.

Yuan Ming's eyes widened. He would rather die than be parasitized by this ghastly thing and live a fate worse than death.

Struggling, he realized that although his arms were still bound, his wrists could move. He immediately twisted his wrists and tossed upwards.

The White Bone Dagger, which he had been holding, floated into the air and came before him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yuan Ming used all his strength and headbutted it.

The White Bone Dagger shot out like a javelin, piercing into the Black Bear just as its ribs were closing.

"Roar..."

The Black Bear let out a furious roar. Its ribs, which had been closing, stiffened, and the black threads extending towards Yuan Ming slowly retracted.

Following this, the Black Bear's chest cavity slowly opened again. The bone spear, which carried Yuan Ming's last hope, was lodged in the Black Bear's heart, mere millimeters away from the black fleshy growth, but ultimately missed.

The Black Bear's heart was still contracting, and the black threads, as if driven mad, surged towards Yuan Ming's chest.

Yuan Ming stared intently, his expression stretched to the absolute limit of tension.

Just as the black threads were about to touch his skin, the Black Bear's beating heart stopped. The black fleshy growth, as if encountering a ghost, writhed frantically, trying to detach itself from the Black Bear's heart.

The black threads extending towards Yuan Ming instantly lost their strength, all of them drooping limply.

"That's great, I made it in time," Yuan Ming was so excited he almost cried.

At the critical moment of life and death, the poisonous berries he had eaten yesterday had saved his life.

Before setting up the trap, Yuan Ming had crushed all those berries and smeared their juice onto the tips of all the bone spurs and both daggers.

Earlier, it was likely because he had only pierced the Black Bear's body that the poison hadn't affected the parasite. But this time, it had directly acted upon the heart, and the black fleshy growth was directly affected by the poison, losing its strength.

The vines wrapped around Yuan Ming immediately fell off, along with the strange large flower on the Black Bear. They withered at a speed visible to the naked eye and turned into dust. His body and the Black Bear plummeted to the ground almost simultaneously.

The black fleshy growth parasitizing the Black Bear's heart finally detached and fell to the side. Its color quickly faded, and soon it turned grayish-white, looking no different from an ordinary stone.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming didn't dare to delay. He quickly got up and went to the Black Bear's corpse.

While the Black Bear hadn't completely stiffened, he quickly took off the animal skin pouch from his body, used the bone spear to cut open the Black Bear's neck, and began collecting its remaining blood.

After a good while, all the Black Bear's blood had been drained, and he had only collected a little less than half of the pouch.

"Beasts vary in size, and their blood volume isn't fixed. That person didn't say I had to collect a full pouch. This should be enough," Yuan Ming sealed the pouch, shook it, and muttered to himself.

After saying that, he slung the pouch back over his shoulder. He glanced at the bear carcass beside him, and his stomach rumbled again.

Facing such a large piece of beast meat, Yuan Ming felt reluctant to throw it away, but the thought of it being parasitized made him feel a bit disgusted.

However, the disgust in his heart ultimately couldn't overcome the hunger in his stomach.

To be safe, Yuan Ming didn't eat the Black Bear's meat raw this time. Instead, he found a pile of branches and dead leaves and, imitating the ancients, managed to start a fire by drilling wood. He then began roasting the bear meat.

While the meat was roasting, Yuan Ming went to the parasitic fleshy growth. He saw that it had turned into a fist-sized grayish-brown stone, appearing lifeless. He still couldn't resist poking it with his bone spear.

As a result, he discovered that the stone was surprisingly hard, completely different from its state as a black fleshy growth.

Yuan Ming's interest was immediately piqued.

He waved his hand towards the stone, but it showed no reaction. He then reached closer, only to find that there was still no movement.

"It seems to be completely dead."

Just as Yuan Ming was about to give up, a drop of beast blood fell from the animal skin pouch on his waist, landing on the grayish-brown stone with a "pat."

The seemingly lifeless corpse suddenly expanded slightly, and its surface reactivated into the appearance of the black fleshy growth.

But soon, the power of that drop of blood was exhausted, and the black fleshy growth shriveled up again, turning back into a stone.

"This little thing is actually quite interesting," Yuan Ming couldn't help but feel surprised.

He found a few leaves, wrapped the stone in them, and set it aside.

Only after the bear meat was roasted to a charred crisp, emitting a rich aroma, did Yuan Ming tear off a piece and start eating it.

This meal was the most satisfying Yuan Ming had eaten in a long time. However, to his confusion, although the cooked beast meat could fill his stomach, it didn't give him that feeling of replenishing his Blood Qi that he had experienced while gnawing on bones yesterday.

"Could it be that the Black Bear's blood was drained, causing a significant loss of Qi and blood? Or does only raw consumption have that effect?" Yuan Ming wondered.

He looked up at the sky and saw that it was already past noon. He wasted no more time, taking the unfinished bear meat and the parasitic stone with him, placing them in the hidden cave where he had been hiding earlier.

Then, following the route he remembered, he started searching for the giant stone boundary marker.

By evening, Yuan Ming finally returned to the giant stone boundary marker. However, he didn't see Elder Huohuo. Instead, a colorful tiger was lying on its side next to the stone, with its back to him.

Hearing Yuan Ming's return, the tiger suddenly turned around. It then sat up in a human posture and looked towards him.

Yuan Ming also looked at it. Neither of them spoke, nor did they make any unnecessary movements. They simply stared at each other warily, separated by a considerable distance.

Just then, a rumbling sound of galloping could be heard.

A dark brown wild boar suddenly rushed out from the dense forest, charging towards them.

Yuan Ming immediately gripped the White Bone Dagger in his hand, on guard. The tiger also turned its head, its tiger eyes wide.

The wild boar was covered in wounds, its tusks were stained with blood, and the animal skin pouch hanging from its body looked bulging.

As they neared, he also saw Yuan Ming and the ferocious tiger. Their speed quickly decreased, and they finally stopped not far away.

The three half-human, half-beast figures formed a pincer formation, surrounding the giant stone boundary marker, watching each other warily.

After a long wait, no other figures appeared.

It wasn't until the sun was about to set that the giant falcon arrived, flapping its wings. Elder Huohuo's figure stood upon its back.

After landing, Elder Huohuo patted the leather pouch at his waist. Immediately, a green light flew out, enveloping the majestic and imposing giant falcon, and then retreated into the pouch, disappearing.

Even seeing it for the second time, Yuan Ming still found the scene before him incredibly magical.

"Give me the blood storage pouches," Elder Huohuo said, his gaze sweeping over Yuan Ming and the other two.

The three understood and each unfastened the beast hide pouches from their bodies, handing them over.

Elder Huohuo opened them one by one, brought them to his nose to sniff, and examined them carefully.

When he saw that Yuan Ming's pouch was only half full, he didn't say anything. However, after opening it and sniffing, his brow furrowed.

"Was the black bear you killed parasitized by the Blood Soul Vine?" Elder Huohuo asked Yuan Ming.

"What Blood Soul Vine?" Yuan Ming asked, a look of confusion on his face.

Elder Huohuo frowned, said nothing more, and waved his hand to collect all the blood storage pouches.

"Not bad, three people passed the test." Elder Huohuo nodded, then pointed a finger.

Three thin, white threads of light shot from his fingertips, landing on the chests of Yuan Ming and the other two. They flashed and disappeared, merging into their bodies.

Before Yuan Ming could react, he felt a warmth in his chest. Then, the white ape hide on his body became soft. The root-like blood-colored patterns on the inner layer of the hide were forcefully pulled out from his body, tugging at his muscles and internal organs.

Yuan Ming's face contorted, and he felt intense pain all over his body, as if his entire human skin was being peeled off. It was even more painful than when he had first put on the ape hide.

He trembled uncontrollably, his knees buckling as he knelt on the ground. He propped himself up with his arms, gritting his teeth, but managed not to cry out.

The other two were in a similar situation, but they lacked Yuan Ming's fortitude. They both collapsed on the ground, trembling and crying out in agony.

Fortunately, the process didn't last long. After a few breaths, the beast hides were completely removed from their bodies and fell to the ground.

However, Yuan Ming and the other two felt as if several hours had passed. They sat on the ground, feeling utterly drained, their skin flushed red, and their clothes tattered.

They lay limply on the ground, gasping for air. It took a while for them to recover somewhat, and they looked at the beast hides with complex expressions.

After putting on the beast hides, their strength had greatly increased, but the pain was truly unbearable.

"When an outsider performs the Fur Transformation Technique, it involves considerable pain. However, once you cultivate your own Dharma power and perform it yourself, the situation will be much better," Elder Huohuo's voice cut through their thoughts.

"Is that true?" The three were overjoyed.

"Whether it's true or not, you'll find out when you try it! Next, I will teach you the Blood Qi Method. Listen carefully!" Elder Huohuo said impatiently.

The three quickly sat up properly, concentrating and listening.

"The so-called 'Blood Qi Method' is a cultivation technique that enhances blood qi through meditation and qi refinement. Upon reaching the introductory stage, you will have truly stepped onto the enviable path of cultivation, becoming a Qi Refining stage cultivator. Once you accumulate sufficient Dharma power, you will be able to perform the Fur Transformation Technique. The incantation is as follows: The lung earth has fire, entering from the幽泉 (You Quan), rising into the abdomen, bright as a torch..." Elder Huohuo slowly recited.

The entire Blood Qi Method incantation was two to three hundred characters long and quite difficult to understand. However, Yuan Ming found that he had memorized it perfectly after hearing it just once.

My memory is actually this good. He was quite surprised, and even more so, delighted.

The other two were scratching their ears and cheeks, their faces filled with anxiety. They clearly hadn't remembered it.

"Elder Huohuo, could you say it again?" The wild boar Furred Beast Slave hesitated for a moment before pleading.

"I will only say it one last time." Elder Huohuo glanced indifferently at the man and recited the Blood Qi Method incantation again.

The two quickly committed it to memory. This time, they managed to barely remember it.