Hardship in Cultivation

"The Blood Qi Method is a secret technique of Jade Luo Cave. You are forbidden from passing it on without the sect's permission. Those who violate this will have their skin peeled and souls extracted. Remember this." Elder Huohuo added a few brief notes on precautions during cultivation before changing the subject to a warning.

"Yes." The three straightened their expressions and replied in unison.

Elder Huohuo nodded, his sharp gaze softening. He took out a jade bottle from his robes, poured out three pale purple pills, and handed them to each of them.

"Take them."

Yuan Ming took the pill but didn't swallow it, glancing at the other two out of the corner of his eye.

"Elder Huohuo, what kind of pill is this?" asked the Fierce Tiger Beast Slave.

"It's a Heart Rot Pill, a secret medicine of Jade Luo Cave. After taking it, it will slowly invade your heart meridians. You must take the antidote at a fixed time each month to suppress the poison," Elder Huohuo said in a flat tone.

Upon hearing this, the Fierce Tiger Beast Slave and the Wild Boar Beast Slave couldn't help but change their expressions.

Yuan Ming also frowned. Jade Luo Cave intended to control them, these Furred Beast Slaves, with the Heart Rot Pill.

However, when you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.

He didn't overthink it, tilted his head back, and swallowed the pill. The Heart Rot Pill dissolved as soon as it entered his stomach, and a cool sensation spread through his internal organs. It stopped when it approached his heart, as if an icy dagger were pressed against it, ready to strike at any moment.

Although the other two looked displeased, under Elder Huohuo's indifferent gaze, they also took the Heart Rot Pills one after another.

"You have passed the test and been taught the Blood Qi Method, officially becoming Furred Beast Slaves of Jade Luo Cave. From now on, you will bring five portions of Fierce Beast Blood Essence here every month to receive the antidote for the Heart Rot Pill," Elder Huohuo said, quite satisfied with their attitude.

"May I ask, Elder, what is a Fierce Beast?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Fierce Beasts are wild beasts capable of absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Their combat power surpasses that of the beasts you hunted before. There is a canyon about ten miles south of here. Fierce Beasts can be found in the forest on the other side of the canyon. This is, of course, assuming you have cultivated the Blood Qi Method; otherwise, you might not return," Elder Huohuo said, looking south.

Yuan Ming remained silent, his expression grave.

The Blood Qi Method sounded profound and difficult at first hearing. He hadn't had time to ponder and comprehend it carefully, but he knew that cultivating it would be no easy feat.

Moreover, even if he cultivated the Blood Qi Method and could perform the Fur Transformation Technique, he would only return to his previous combat strength.

When he hunted the Black Bear earlier, he had barely survived a near-death experience to succeed. Hunting even stronger Fierce Beasts would be even more challenging.

A shadow of gloom flickered in the depths of Yuan Ming's eyes. In the eyes of Elder Huohuo, or rather, Jade Luo Cave, their lives as Furred Beast Slaves with poor aptitude didn't matter. What mattered was whether they could be used.

The other two quickly understood the implications, their expressions growing even more grim.

"Remember, if you perform well, your future will be bright. I hope you will conduct yourselves wisely." Elder Huohuo, having seen countless Furred Beast Slaves, saw through their thoughts at a glance. However, he couldn't be bothered to address it. As he spoke, he lightly patted his waist.

The giant falcon once again soared into the sky, carrying him upwards. The air currents within a dozen yards churned violently, like a hurricane, causing the surrounding trees to sway.

The three were blown about, struggling to regain their balance.

However, this commotion managed to dispel some of their heavy feelings.

"This gray eagle's presence is far beyond ordinary beasts. It's likely a type of Fierce Beast, isn't it? To be tamed to this extent, Jade Luo Cave's foundation is truly profound," Yuan Ming secretly guessed, a sense of longing for Jade Luo Cave growing unconsciously in his heart.

"Gentlemen, it is fate that brings us three together here today. Perhaps we should introduce ourselves. I am Wulu," the Fierce Tiger Furred Beast Slave said, cupping his fists.

"Yuan Ming." Yuan Ming picked up the White Ape Beast Hide and returned the salute.

"Just call me Lage," the Wild Boar Beast Slave also gave his name.

"So you are Brother Yuan Ming and Brother Lage. You both know how formidable the beasts here are. The task Elder Huohuo just assigned is almost impossible to complete alone. Elder Huohuo didn't explicitly say we must act alone. How about we three cooperate?" Wulu said, looking at Yuan Ming more closely.

"Great idea! With the three of us working together, we have a good chance of hunting Fierce Beasts!" Lage's eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed.

"We can discuss hunting Fierce Beasts later. The most important thing for us now is to find a safe place to cultivate the Blood Qi Method. We have all had our Fur Transformation Technique removed, and we have no chance against those beasts. It will be safer to act together," Wulu suggested.

"Brother Wulu has foresight. We should indeed find a safe place first," Lage said after a slight pause.

"Brother Yuan Ming, what are your thoughts?" Wulu asked with a smile, looking at Yuan Ming.

"I'm sorry, but I've always preferred to act alone." Yuan Ming said after a moment of silence, shaking his head. Before they could speak further, he turned and left.

He had already prepared a safe place to stay, and he had no trust in Wulu and Lage, whom he had just met. Staying together would mean constant worry, so it was better to act alone.

"They say people from the Central Plains always consider themselves a superior civilization and are arrogant and ignorant. It seems the rumors are true. Speaking of which, being able to pass the test with just the White Ape Beast Hide, which has little power, shows some skill," Lage said with a curl of his lip.

"Never mind, everyone has their own aspirations. We can't force it. Brother Lage, let's go. While hunting beasts these past two days, I found a safe place. With our combined efforts, I believe we can achieve something," Wulu said, picking up his beast hide and walking away in another direction with Lage.

Yuan Ming wrapped the ape hide around his waist and smeared mud all over his body to conceal his scent. He carefully made his way back to the cave he had previously used as a shelter, hiding at any sign of disturbance.

Without the aid of the Fur Transformation Technique and any decent weapons, he was no match for the beasts here with just his basic combat skills.

Fortunately, his luck was good. Although he encountered beasts several times along the way, he managed to hide and evade them in time, reaching the cave safely without incident.

He moved several large stones to block the cave entrance. Darkness enveloped the interior, with only faint slivers of light filtering through the cracks.

Only then did Yuan Ming's taut nerves relax slightly. He cleaned off some of the mud from his body, closed his eyes, and meticulously recalled the incantations of the Blood Qi Method in his mind before attempting to comprehend and cultivate it.

Following the method Elder Huohuo had described, he first sat cross-legged, placing his legs in a meditative posture, with his palms facing upwards. Then, he silently recited the incantation.

"The Earth's Lung has fire, entering from the deep spring, rising into the abdomen, blazing like a torch..."

As he recited, Yuan Ming felt a warmth rise from the ground beneath him. It traveled upwards from his tailbone, circulated through his body, and slowly gathered in his lower abdomen.

He was overjoyed and was about to follow the instructions to stabilize the warm current in his abdomen, but in the next instant, the warmth suddenly dissipated, leaving no special sensation.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Yuan Ming frowned and pondered. He found no fault in his movements or the recitation of the incantation, so he tried again.

However, the result was no different this time. He could only feel a slight warmth in his lower abdomen but couldn't stabilize it. He could only watch helplessly as it gathered and then dispersed, vanishing into nothingness.

According to what Elder Huohuo had previously explained, after circulating a full Grand Cycle, the heatflow should normally remain in the Dantian, acting like a charcoal furnace to warm the Blood Essence throughout the body, making it active and vigorous, and gradually nourishing and strengthening it. This would be a long process, depending on one's comprehension and aptitude.

Once the Blood Essence was sufficiently strong, during cultivation, one would feel their hair stand on end. At this point, all the pores in the body would open, allowing one to further attempt to sense and absorb the ethereal spiritual energy contained within Heaven and Earth.

Once the spiritual energy entered the body through the pores and was transformed by the Dantian, it would become one's own Mana, which could be stored. When a certain amount was accumulated, the Furred Beast Slave could be activated by the Fur Transformation Technique using the beast hide, merging with one's flesh and blood. Then, one could transform into a half-human, half-beast state, possessing strength far exceeding the norm.

However, Yuan Ming awkwardly discovered that he was blocked at the very first step of his cultivation.

Afterward, he tried several more times, but each attempt ended in failure.

Yuan Ming was not discouraged by this. He had long expected that cultivating the Blood Qi Method would not be easy. If it didn't work today, he would continue to explore tomorrow, believing he would eventually succeed.

"Grumble..."

At this moment, a rumbling sound came from his lower abdomen. He was hungry.

Yuan Ming rubbed his empty stomach, got up, cut off a piece of Black Bear meat, and swallowed it. He then drank a couple of mouthfuls of water and resumed cultivating the Blood Qi Method.

Time flies when cultivating. Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the cave, Yuan Ming sat cross-legged, with his five senses directed towards Heaven.

The spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth slowly gathered, circulated a full cycle according to the Blood Qi Method's route, and sank towards his Dantian.

The previous problem persisted. The spiritual energy he had painstakingly gathered rapidly dissipated, vanishing by 99.9% in an instant. Only a barely perceptible wisp of spiritual power entered his Dantian and was converted into Mana.

"It's still like this. It seems my aptitude is really poor." Yuan Ming opened his eyes, his expression somewhat solemn.

After half a month of arduous cultivation, he had finally made a little progress. He had broken through the bottleneck of spiritual power being unable to enter the Dantian and had managed to absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth into his Dantian.

However, the dissipation of spiritual power remained severe, with almost none retained. After half a month of hard work, his Dantian had only accumulated a trace of Mana, far from enough to activate the Furring Technique. At his current cultivation speed, it would take at least half a year to accumulate enough Mana.

Yuan Ming couldn't help but shake his head and give a wry smile. Forget half a year, he would likely die from the poison in a month.

Could it be that the Blood Qi Method was inherently more suited for people from the Southern Border to cultivate, and his body from the Central Plains was not adapting well to it?

He couldn't help but speculate.

Even more troublesome was that the food and water in the cave were almost depleted. He couldn't continue cultivating peacefully like this anymore. If he went out to hunt, with his current flesh and blood body, encountering something like a Black Bear or Green Wolf again would be a certain death.

"Am I really going to be trapped and die here? No, I still have time, I can't give up!" Yuan Ming gritted his teeth, spread his legs into the five-senses-towards-Heaven posture, and intended to continue his arduous cultivation.

At this point, he seemed to have no other option but to continue cultivating. Because stopping meant only death, while continuing to try might offer a sliver of hope.

However, after another half a day, with over a dozen Grand Cycles completed, the trace of Mana in his Dantian had barely moved.

"Give me Mana... I want to return to the Central Plains!" An inexplicable rage surged within Yuan Ming, his strong obsession only increasing.

The next moment, his vision suddenly darkened, and he almost fainted.

Simultaneously, his right arm suddenly felt a slight warmth, as if a scorching airflow had permeated it before quickly disappearing.