Let's Do It This Way

A sharp pain shot through Yuan Ming's shoulder, but he didn't stop his movements. He spun his body, and his right leg whipped out like a battle axe, carrying a piercing gust of wind as it slammed into the Green Fox's waist.

"Bang!"

The Green Fox was kicked flying, crashing heavily into a large tree behind it before falling to the ground.

The fox quickly got back on its feet. The spot on its waist where it had been kicked seemed uninjured, but several of its unrepaired wounds began to ooze fresh blood.

Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, the Green Fox's steps were slightly unsteady. Its eerie green eyes stared fixedly at Yuan Ming. Yuan Ming met its gaze without backing down, clenching his fists and letting out a few low growls.

After a few breaths, the Green Fox suddenly turned and bolted into the distance, disappearing into the jungle in the blink of an eye.

Yuan Ming let out a long sigh, his tense face relaxing slightly. He vigorously shook his slightly swollen and aching right leg.

The Green Fox's strength had far exceeded his estimations, and its physical body was incredibly tough. If it hadn't been for the significant injuries it sustained fighting that yellow Armadillo earlier, he never would have succeeded.

Even so, he hadn't had absolute confidence in dealing with the second Green Fox. If the creature had decided to fight him to the death, the outcome would have been uncertain.

Of course, Yuan Ming had been prepared to fight it to the bitter end. He had no intention of letting the Green Fox's corpse go to waste.

As the saying goes, in a narrow path, the brave one wins. Ultimately, the Green Fox had been the one to flee out of fear.

Yuan Ming made a cursory treatment of the claw wound on his shoulder, stopping the bleeding. He then hung the Green Fox's corpse on a nearby small tree and took out a bone knife to slash its throat.

Scarlet fox blood gushed out, and he collected it in a beast-skin bag meant for storing blood. Soon, more than half the bag was filled, and the blood continued to flow.

"Judging by this rate, one Green Fox's blood will fill this bag. How am I supposed to hunt other Fierce Beasts?" Yuan Ming muttered to himself, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Given Elder Huohuo's status and experience, he couldn't possibly not have considered this issue.

"Could this bag have something special about it?" Yuan Ming's gaze shifted to the strange bloody patterns on the bag's surface. A thought suddenly struck him.

He extended a finger or two to touch the bloody patterns, circulating the spiritual energy from his dantian through them. The patterns immediately became a deeper crimson, and the entire bag lit up with a faint bloody glow, like the halo of setting sun. The fox blood inside began to swirl as if an invisible hand was stirring it.

To Yuan Ming's astonishment, the fox blood, which had filled more than half the bag, visibly decreased at an alarming rate. In just a few breaths, more than half of it had vanished.

The remaining fox blood looked even more vibrant, and the bloody scent it emitted became more potent.

"This bag is indeed extraordinary. It's refining and purifying the beast blood stored within, isn't it?" Yuan Ming's face lit up with joy. He continued to channel his spiritual energy, carefully injecting it into the skin bag.

Just then, a soft "pop" sounded from inside the bag, as if the injected spiritual energy had broken through some barrier. Silken white light emanated from the bag's surface, forming a constantly swirling white halo.

A considerable suction force emerged from the white halo, enveloping the Green Fox's neck wound.

Whoosh!

A large amount of fox blood surged out, but not a single drop fell outside, all of it flowing into the skin bag.

"This bag actually has the ability to collect beast blood on its own?" Yuan Ming's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

It wasn't surprising for a blood-storage skin bag to possess the ability to collect beast blood. If one hung a Fierce Beast's corpse on a tree, not only would the efficiency of collecting blood be too low, but a significant amount would be wasted if one wasn't careful. As a sect, Jade Luo Cave would surely have considered this issue if they needed this kind of beast blood.

It was just that Elder Huohuo, whether intentionally or unintentionally, had never mentioned it.

As the Green Fox's blood was drained, the refinement within the skin bag concluded. All the fox blood transformed into a small, fist-sized, crystalline blood mass, suspended quietly within the bag.

Though faint, the crystalline blood mass emitted wisps of spiritual energy fluctuations.

"It seems my guess was correct. This Green Fox is indeed a Fierce Beast that can absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth to strengthen itself," Yuan Ming concluded. He didn't linger there any longer. Grabbing the Green Fox's corpse, he retreated towards the canyon and soon reached its edge.

Just then, the sound of dense footsteps echoed from behind, accompanied by panting.

Yuan Ming leaped onto a large tree and looked back. His pupils suddenly contracted.

More than a dozen Green Fox Fierce Beasts were rushing towards him, less than twenty feet away.

"Damn it, these Green Foxes are pack hunters!" Yuan Ming quickly got down from the tree, leaped into the canyon, and his figure quickly merged into the dense mist.

A few breaths later, the pack of Green Foxes arrived at the canyon's edge, roaring at the misty canyon, but none dared to step into it, as if wary of something.

As the mist swirled, Yuan Ming didn't slow his pace. He ran at full speed towards the opposite bank, quickly reaching the stone wall on the other side.

Having run at full speed with a Green Fox's corpse for so long, even though he had used the Fur Transformation Technique, he was still exhausted. He had to stop and catch his breath.

Fortunately, the mist behind him was silent, and those Green Foxes hadn't pursued him.

Yuan Ming found it a little strange but didn't dwell on it. After recovering some strength, he slung the Green Fox's corpse over his shoulder and began to climb upwards, soon reaching the top.

The Green Foxes were still lingering on the opposite side. Seeing Yuan Ming from afar, and the Green Fox corpse on his back, they let out another series of roars, still not daring to enter the canyon.

"It seems these Green Foxes are afraid to enter the canyon. I wonder if it's because they fear the mist here, or if the people of Jade Luo Cave have used some means in this valley to deter them?" Yuan Ming guessed inwardly.

If his latter guess was true, then this canyon would be very useful. In the future, if he encountered powerful Fierce Beasts, he could just hide in the canyon.

He stood silently for a moment, then turned and walked into the forest, his figure quickly disappearing.

The pack of Green Foxes on the opposite side of the canyon lingered at the canyon's edge for a while longer before finally dispersing, unwillingly.

Half an hour later, Yuan Ming returned to the cave dwelling with the Green Fox's corpse. He now held a cloth bag containing several herbs.

He couldn't recall the names of these herbs, but he had seen them on his way and inexplicably remembered that they had hemostatic and muscle-regenerating properties, so he had picked them.

"It seems I had a basic understanding of medicine in the past," he thought to himself. He cast a spell to deactivate the Fur Transformation Technique, revealing the wound on his shoulder.

Having been covered by ape skin for so long, the bleeding had mostly stopped.

Yuan Ming mashed several flowers and plants together with water to form a paste, which he applied to his wound.

A cool sensation immediately spread, greatly reducing the pain and completely stopping the bleeding.

"It really works," Yuan Ming rejoiced.

Getting injured was common when hunting beasts in this forest, so this medicinal recipe would surely be very useful.

Just then, his stomach rumbled.

Using the Fur Transformation Technique consumed not only spiritual power but also physical strength. After fighting the Green Fox, all the reserves in his stomach were depleted.

Yuan Ming got up, cut off two pieces of fox meat, started a fire, and began roasting. A delicious aroma soon wafted out, making his mouth water.

"The flesh and blood of fierce beasts contain spiritual energy; they are indeed different from ordinary wild beasts." His mouth watered, and as soon as the meat was about seventy to eighty percent cooked, he eagerly began to devour it.

After eating the two pieces of fox meat, Yuan Ming felt warm all over. He rubbed his satisfied belly and then sat down to plan his next steps.

Today, he had personally witnessed the power of fierce beasts. The Green Fox and the yellow Armadillo lived in the forest's edge areas, and they were likely the weakest types of fierce beasts.

Yet, even against the slightly weaker Green Fox, he felt he would lose more often than win in a one-on-one fight without any assistance. Moreover, there was a whole pack of those Green Foxes.

He had four more days left and needed to hunt four more fierce beasts. His time was extremely tight, and he had to come up with a good strategy quickly.

Yuan Ming pondered for a moment and decided to target the Green Foxes.

Firstly, the Green Foxes were slightly weaker. Secondly, there were many of them, enough for him to hunt.

"Like when I hunted that Black Bear before, dig a trap?" Yuan Ming didn't have much hunting experience, so his first thought was the old method.

However, after careful consideration, he rejected the idea.

The Green Foxes were different from the Black Bear. They knew to retreat and call for companions to launch a group attack when there was a risk. They were clearly very cunning, and coupled with their agility, a crudely set trap would likely not catch them. It might even backfire.

Yuan Ming continued to rack his brain for other methods. After a moment, he suddenly looked up, as if he had thought of something.

"Yes, that's how we'll do it!"

The night passed quickly.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes, which were full of vigor.

After a night of cultivation, the spiritual power in his dantian had thickened slightly. With the rate at which the Nine Yuan Art accumulated spiritual power, if he had another ten days to half a month, he might not fear the Green Fox fierce beasts.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time left.

Yuan Ming randomly roasted two more pieces of fox meat to fill his stomach. Then, he used the Fur Transformation Technique to transform into a White Ape and headed straight for the other side of the canyon, soon arriving at the place where he had discovered the yellow Armadillo yesterday.

After some searching, he finally found traces of the yellow Armadillo in a bush near the mountain wall.

The yellow Armadillo also noticed Yuan Ming in the tree. Its black eyes stared directly at him, filled with menacing ferocity.

Yuan Ming grinned at the Armadillo, turned around, and leaped through the trees, heading into the distance.

The yellow Armadillo was stunned that the suddenly appearing White Ape had left so quickly. It stared with its small, black eyes at Yuan Ming's retreating figure until it was sure he had truly left its "territory." Then, it turned and "slithered" into a small hole at the base of the mountain wall.

The hole was lined with dry grass, and several small armadillos lay there. Seeing the large Armadillo enter, they chirped and gathered around it.

The yellow Armadillo's eyes also showed affection as its pink tongue licked a few of the young ones.