Sharpening the Blade

Yuan Ming moved aside the boulder blocking the entrance to the burrow, cast the Fur Transformation Technique to become a white ape, and sprang out, scrambling up a nearby tree in just a few moves.

Having stayed inside the burrow day and night for nearly twenty days, breathing the fresh air outside now lifted his spirits, leaving him refreshed and clear-headed.

After taking a deep breath, Yuan Ming began leaping and weaving among the trees, heading toward the river he had visited before.

Although he could now cast the Fur Transformation Technique himself, hunting wild beasts was no easy task. He planned to catch some piranhas first, fill his stomach, and recover some strength before anything else.

When Yuan Ming reached a tree less than thirty zhang from the river, he abruptly stopped, hiding himself amid the dense foliage as he peered down through the gaps.

In the river not far away, a half-man, half-tiger figure was thrashing about. Each time he surfaced, a fish could vaguely be seen clenched in his mouth. After tilting back his head and swallowing it, he plunged into the water again.

Yuan Ming recognized the man. It was Wulu. Lage, who had previously traveled with him, was nowhere to be seen.

This guy actually mastered the Fur Transformation Technique so quickly too! Yuan Ming was somewhat surprised.

He himself had practiced the Blood Qi Art painstakingly without ever finding the knack, and had only managed to master the Fur Transformation Technique today through the Nine Yuan Art. Wulu, like him, only possessed a Quad Spirit Root. Who would have thought he had already succeeded?

Yuan Ming did not reveal himself. Only after watching Wulu catch more than a dozen piranhas and leave did he leap down from the tree and head to the riverbank.

Just as before, he endured the pain and used his ape tail to fish up a dozen or so piranhas. Wrapping them in a piece of bear hide, he quickly moved away from the water.

He returned to the burrow, built a fire, and roasted the fish.

After more than a dozen piranhas went into his stomach, including two whose bellies contained a great deal of black roe that greatly replenished vital energy, Yuan Ming could clearly feel his essence, qi, and spirit flourishing. His strength also began to recover.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he wiped his mouth and considered what to do next.

Only ten days remained before the one-month deadline. He needed to hand over five portions of ferocious beast essence blood to obtain the antidote. Though he could now cast the Fur Transformation Technique himself, his strength had not improved much compared to before. Killing that black bear earlier had already been so difficult, let alone hunting ferocious beasts.

After thinking it over for a while, Yuan Ming still decided to wait. He would spend a few days recuperating, continue accumulating magical power, and only then go hunt ferocious beasts.

Elder Huohuo had told them that the stronger one's magical power, the greater the Fur Transformation Technique's might. He understood well enough that sharpening the blade did not delay the chopping of firewood.

He sat down cross-legged and continued circulating the Nine Yuan Art, breathing in and out the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

In the blink of an eye, another five days passed.

As Yuan Ming quietly meditated and nourished his spirit inside the burrow, a thread of golden morning sunlight shone through the cracks between the stones, accompanied by clear birdsong from outside.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes and stopped cultivating. He picked up a piece of cold roasted meat beside him, wolfed it down in a few bites, drank some water, then stood and loosened his limbs.

At this moment, his skin glowed with a crystalline luster from within. The haggardness that had once covered his face had long since vanished.

Old Daoist Jade Pot had been right. The Nine Yuan Art was remarkably effective at strengthening one's foundation, replenishing one's vitality, and regulating the body. With sufficient food and the Nine Yuan Art's conditioning, his body had completely recovered.

After five days of bitter cultivation, his magical power had also grown considerably. A small mass of magical power slowly circulated within his dantian.

But only five days remained until the one-month deadline. He had to set out and hunt beasts!

With that thought, Yuan Ming left the burrow, formed a hand seal, and cast the Fur Transformation Technique. The White Ape Skin at his waist unfurled upward, and a white ape soon appeared among the trees.

The white ape's body was faintly more robust than before, and the power in every gesture had increased by nearly half.

As expected, the stronger the magical power, the more powerful the Fur Transformation Technique! Yuan Ming nodded slightly and ran south.

After running for less than half an hour, the view ahead suddenly opened up. The forest had come to an end, and an enormous gorge appeared before him.

The gorge was two or three li wide and of unknown length, stretching endlessly to either side until it reached the limits of his vision.

White mist drifted within the gorge, whose depths could not be seen. Like a natural chasm, it cut off the lands on either side.

"This must be the gorge Elder Huohuo mentioned," Yuan Ming muttered.

A dense mountain forest lay on the other side of the gorge as well. It was said that the ferocious beasts were over there. To kill beasts and collect their blood, he would need to cross the gorge.

Yet white mist filled the gorge floor. Who knew how deep it was, or whether ferocious beasts lurked within?

He picked up a stone and hurled it with all his strength into the mist-filled gorge. Two or three breaths later, he heard the faint sound of stone striking stone.

Yuan Ming's expression relaxed slightly. It seemed this gorge was not overly deep.

After a brief hesitation, Yuan Ming still pressed on. Finding a spot with a gentler slope, he slid toward the bottom of the gorge and soon entered its depths.

Mist filled the place, and he could see only one or two zhang ahead. Anything farther away was swallowed by the white fog.

Perhaps because of the mist, the gorge floor was thick with dampness, wet everywhere. Since sunlight never reached this place year-round, only some moss grew here, forming a stark contrast with the lush and flourishing forest above.

Yuan Ming breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. Such a desolate place probably would not support ferocious beasts.

He felt his way forward, leaving a mark on the ground with every step so that he would not lose his direction.

He soon crossed the gorge floor and reached the cliff face on the other side.

White apes were not only skilled at climbing trees; scaling cliff faces was no great difficulty either. Yuan Ming used both hands and feet, swiftly climbing up the mountain wall and reaching the forest across the gorge.

The moment he entered this place, he immediately sensed a subtle change in the surroundings. The trees here were taller and denser, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth seemed somewhat richer. Yet the mountain wind circling through the area carried a bone-piercing chill. Even through the White Ape Skin, the hairs all over his body stood on end.

Yuan Ming raised his brows, thinking that this forest truly was somewhat sinister.

He leaped into a tree and headed deeper into the thick forest. Before going too far, he stopped and moved slowly along the gorge's edge, carefully searching for traces of ferocious beasts.

After all, he still did not know how strong ferocious beasts truly were. Staying near the gorge was safer; if he could not defeat an enemy, he could still jump into the gorge to escape.

As he advanced, all around him was silent, with only the occasional birdcall drifting from afar.

This deathly stillness instead made Yuan Ming's mouth go dry, while his palms grew damp and hot.

He wiped his palms and was about to continue when a strange cry rang out from the forest ahead—sharp and piercing, like an infant wailing.

Yuan Ming's body jolted. He hurriedly stopped, hid behind a thick screen of leaves, and looked toward the source of the sound, but unfortunately saw nothing.

At that moment, another beastly roar sounded, entirely different from the earlier shriek.

His brows stirred. He slowed his pace as much as possible, making no sound.

Before long, Yuan Ming reached the source of the two beast cries.

Through a gap in the leaves, he looked down below.

The creature that had made the shrill cry was an unusual beast, standing half a zhang tall. Its head resembled that of a rat, while its chest and belly were covered in coarse, stiff yellow fur. Its back was covered by a thick, tortoiseshell-like armor that was obviously exceptionally tough.

"An armadillo?" Yuan Ming secretly guessed, though armadillos were nowhere near this large.

The yellow armadillo's pea-sized green eyes gleamed viciously as it stared toward the grass ahead, where two green foxes crouched.

These foxes were covered in jade-green fur, with green eyes as well. They were completely unlike ordinary foxes, each over a zhang long and three chi tall, their bodies sleekly curved and clearly built for speed.

The green foxes fixed their emerald eyes on the yellow armadillo, growling low in their throats.

The savage glint in all three beasts' eyes grew ever more intense. Soon, they lunged forward at the same time and began tearing into one another.

Yuan Ming watched intently. These three beasts looked strange and were so large that they were most likely ferocious beasts. This was the perfect chance to see what ferocious beasts could do.

After watching for a while, his expression gradually turned grave.

Whether it was the yellow armadillo or the green foxes, their combat power far exceeded his expectations.

Just as he had guessed, the green foxes were agile ferocious beasts. They were more than twice as fast as ordinary foxes, wolves, and other wild animals, while their fangs and claws were equally formidable.

The yellow armadillo was even more powerful. Its claws were like black iron hooks, able to leave deep gashes even in stone. The yellow armor on its back was even sturdier; the claws of the two green foxes left only streaks of white marks upon it.

The battle soon became clear. Though fighting one against two, the yellow armadillo still held the overwhelming upper hand. The two green foxes accumulated more and more wounds, their fur stained red with blood.

After fighting fiercely for a while longer, the two green foxes finally could not endure any further and turned to flee.

The yellow armadillo did not pursue them. It roared a few times, then burrowed into the nearby brush.

But Yuan Ming's eyes lit up in the tree. He darted through the treetops, closely pursuing the two green foxes.

The green foxes were already wounded—ready-made prey!

The two green foxes were badly injured, and one had even hurt a hind leg. They were not moving very fast, and Yuan Ming quickly caught up to them.

The green fox at the rear seemed to sense something amiss. It was the one with the injured leg. It turned its head to look behind it, but discovered nothing.

Yuan Ming had already reached the green fox's head. He kicked off the tree and swooped down like an eagle seizing prey.

The green fox was startled and hurriedly dodged to the side. However, its injured leg had made its movements much slower, and Yuan Ming pounced it to the ground.

Frightened and enraged, the fox opened its jaws to bite Yuan Ming's arm. But Yuan Ming reacted faster, bending his knee and driving it fiercely into the green fox's spine.

The pain that pierced into its marrow made the green fox let out a miserable cry, and its head could not help but jerk upward.

Taking the chance, Yuan Ming wrapped his two thick ape arms around the green fox's neck, crossing them like two garrotes. The green fox's head was immediately unable to move.

The other green fox noticed what had happened behind it and instantly turned around, racing back.

Yuan Ming glared and shouted, driving the Fur Transformation Technique to its utmost limit. The muscles in his arms wriggled and swelled, becoming a third thicker in an instant, and he twisted violently.

Crack! The lame green fox's throat bone was forcibly snapped, and its head slumped to one side.

At that moment, a foul, fishy gale struck from behind as the other green fox pounced at him.

Yuan Ming hurriedly rolled aside, but its fox claws still struck his shoulder. The tough ape hide was slashed open in several places, and blood surged out.