A Makeshift Plan

After Yuan Ming left the armadillo territory, he followed the direction the second green fox had fled yesterday and searched for half a day. Finally, outside a mountain hollow, he discovered traces of green foxes.

There were two green foxes, slightly smaller than the one from yesterday. They were currently lying lazily at the exit of the hollow, seemingly basking in the sun.

Before Yuan Ming could do anything, a fox cry came from within the hollow. Immediately, four or five green foxes rushed out and, along with the two outside, disappeared into the dense jungle.

"It seems this hollow is the den of those green foxes." Yuan Ming glanced into the hollow and then followed the group of green foxes into the jungle.

With his current agile control over his transformed white ape body, he easily kept pace with the green foxes without being detected.

Not long after entering the jungle, the green foxes seemed to have their own destinations and gradually dispersed. Yuan Ming chose to continue following one that was traveling alone.

In the blink of an eye, the person and the fox were several miles away from the hollow.

Yuan Ming confirmed there were no other fierce beasts around, then quickened his pace. He soon caught up to the green fox and climbed onto a tree above it.

With its keen hearing and sense of smell, the green fox immediately discovered Yuan Ming. It stopped, looked up at Yuan Ming, and bared its teeth, letting out a low growl.

Yuan Ming just chuckled. He reached into his deerskin pouch and pulled out a piece of bluestone, tossing it towards the green fox.

The stone turned into a blue shadow, streaking through the air directly towards the green fox's head.

The green fox hurriedly dodged to the side, but another dark shadow attacked again – it was a black stone the size of a bowl.

This time, it couldn't dodge. Its head was struck by the black stone.

With a "bang," the stone shattered. The green fox's vision went black, and it was somewhat dazed.

Yuan Ming looked at his left hand, a little stunned.

After throwing the first stone, his left hand instinctively threw the second stone with almost no time gap.

This seemed to be some kind of throwing martial skill he used subconsciously. Even with the green fox's agility, it couldn't dodge.

Yuan Ming quickly regained his senses and lunged down, grabbing for the green fox's neck with both hands.

The green fox's vision had not yet recovered. It instinctively sensed danger and leaped to the side, dodging Yuan Ming's grab. It then seized the opportunity to bite Yuan Ming's arm.

Yuan Ming's grab was just a feint. Seeing the situation was unfavorable, he quickly retracted his arm, thus avoiding the fox's bite.

"Green foxes that aren't injured are indeed difficult to deal with," he muttered to himself. He turned and fled into the distance.

The green fox shook its head and quickly recovered.

It was indeed enraged by Yuan Ming. A bloodthirsty glint appeared in its emerald eyes. It let out a low growl and immediately gave chase.

The speed at which the white ape Yuan Ming transformed into ran on its hind legs was far inferior to the green fox. The distance between them quickly closed to less than thirty feet.

Seeing that he was about to be caught, Yuan Ming leaped onto a nearby large tree. He climbed up in a few moves, then pounded his chest with his fist towards the green fox below before beginning to leap through the trees.

The green fox was stunned for a moment, but Yuan Ming's provocative behavior completely enraged it. It continued to pursue relentlessly.

Yuan Ming moved at a steady pace, occasionally attacking the green fox with stones to prevent it from retreating midway.

The green fox was naturally provoked and let out roars from time to time.

The two, one chasing and one fleeing, soon arrived near the yellow armadillo's nest.

The yellow armadillo was feeding several cubs inside its cave. Hearing the commotion outside, it immediately darted out.

Yuan Ming had been paying attention to the situation near the armadillo's nest from a distance. As soon as the bushes moved, he instantly flashed and hid behind a patch of dense leaves.

In the forest, only the roaring green fox remained.

Its territory had been invaded by the green fox multiple times. This time, the green fox had actually come near its nest. The yellow armadillo's eyes almost blazed with fire. A layer of yellow light surged from its body, and it charged towards the green fox.

Only then did the green fox realize something was wrong. Without a word, it turned and fled.

However, the yellow armadillo was already furious. Under its full-power attack, it caught up to the green fox within a few breaths. Its two iron hook-like claws turned into two black afterimages, slashing down fiercely.

The green fox had nowhere to escape and turned to meet the attack.

The two fierce beasts instantly engaged in a fierce battle. Roars echoed through the forest, kicking up dust and smoke.

Behind the dense leaves, a flicker of excitement flashed in Yuan Ming's eyes.

His plan had succeeded by half. Now, all he had to do was wait for the green fox to be defeated and flee, and he could once again reap the benefits.

"Wait, yesterday there were two green foxes, and they managed to escape. Now there's only one. Could the yellow armadillo kill it directly?" Yuan Ming suddenly thought of something, his mind racing.

At that moment, he suddenly heard a faint sound, definitely not from the fight between the two beasts. It sounded like the cry of some small animal.

"The yellow armadillo is so furious, could it be..." A thought flashed through Yuan Ming's mind. He quietly approached the yellow armadillo's nest and soon arrived at a large tree in front of the nest.

He looked down through the gaps in the leaves, a hint of joy appearing on his face.

From this angle, he could faintly see inside the yellow armadillo's nest. Several armadillo cubs were huddled together, making squeaking sounds.

"As expected," Yuan Ming thought to himself and took out a piece of black stone from the pack on his back.

The battle in the forest soon ended. Just as Yuan Ming had predicted, the green fox didn't last long before it was completely defeated. Its body was covered in wounds, one eye was blinded by a claw, and it fled with a scream.

The yellow armadillo naturally wouldn't let it escape. It was about to give chase.

A piercing whistle came from behind, and a dark shadow shot towards the armadillo's nest.

The yellow armadillo was shocked and enraged. It immediately abandoned the green fox, its thick legs powerfully pushing off the ground, turning into a yellow blur as it charged towards its nest.

The dark shadow didn't hit the armadillo's nest. It struck a nearby large tree with a loud "thud." It was a black stone.

The yellow armadillo stood frozen, its large body sliding forward due to inertia, crushing a large patch of bushes and grass.

Yuan Ming smiled faintly, leaped from his hiding spot, and pursued the injured green fox.

The yellow armadillo, concerned for the cubs in its nest, let out a few angry roars at Yuan Ming and the green fox as a show of defiance before turning and burrowing into its cave.

Yuan Ming soon caught up to the injured green fox. Calculating the distance, he leaped from a tree like an eagle hunting prey.

The sounds of struggle and roars echoed through the forest once more, dust flying everywhere before quickly returning to calm.

Yuan Ming stood up, dusting himself off, a grin spreading across his face.

Several bloody marks adorned his arm, inflicted by the green fox's desperate counter-attack before its death.

However, the already heavily injured green fox had also become a corpse, its neck bent at an unnatural angle as it lay on the ground, its neck bone also broken.

Yuan Ming looked at his hands, lost in thought.

He had used the same technique as yesterday, strangling the green fox with his bare arms.

He was quite skilled with this throat-locking grappling martial art, using it subconsciously during the fight, much like the stone-throwing technique he had used earlier.

Although both martial arts were simple, they were exceptionally suited to his transformed White Ape form.

Yuan Ming took out the blood-storage animal hide pouch, channeled his spiritual power to drain the green fox's blood, and transformed it into a ball of crystal-clear blood. Without continuing his hunt, he took the green fox's corpse and retreated towards the canyon.

Over the next three days, he practiced breathing and cultivation at night. During the day, he followed the same pattern, luring green foxes into the yellow armadillo's territory, causing them to fight, and then seizing the opportunity to hunt.

Yuan Ming's luck was quite good; he successfully hunted a green fox each day. By the fifth day, he had collected five portions of Fierce Beast essence blood.

He weighed the blood-storage animal hide pouch in his hand and let out a long sigh, slumping onto the ground.

Although the process had been somewhat perilous these past few days, he had finally completed his mission before the deadline.

The most difficult period had passed. With the profound mysteries of the Nine Yuan Art, his strength would steadily improve, and he believed it wouldn't be long before he could hunt green foxes independently, and perhaps even challenging that armadillo might not be entirely without a chance of success.

After resting for a short while, Yuan Ming got up and returned to the opposite bank of the canyon, heading towards the giant rock boundary marker.

When he arrived back under the giant rock, he found Wulu already waiting there. Lage, who had been with him previously, was still nowhere to be seen.

I wonder where this guy's so-called safe place with great prospects actually is. Lage still hasn't shown up, so he's probably met with misfortune. Yuan Ming cast a deep glance at Wulu, who was sitting with his eyes closed, and without any intention of greeting him, he also closed his eyes and meditated beside the giant rock.

With an outsider present, he did not circulate the Nine Yuan Art, but instead used his spiritual power to examine his internal condition.

A month had passed, and the poison from the Heart Rot Pill had gradually spread, infiltrating his heart meridians. A bowl-sized area around his chest felt faintly cold and numb.

Yuan Ming had also attempted to expel the poison with his spiritual power in the past few days, but to no avail.

This was normal. Jade Luo Cave was a cultivation sect; naturally, their poisons wouldn't be easily broken by someone like him, who had only been cultivating for a few days.

I hope Elder Huohuo keeps his word and provides the antidote. Yuan Ming thought to himself.

Not long after, a grey shadow appeared in the distance, rapidly approaching.

Yuan Ming was no stranger to this sight. He stood up abruptly, and Wulu, not far away, also opened his eyes and stood up.

The grey shadow soon drew near; it was Elder Huohuo's grey bird. It circled briefly in the air before landing on the giant rock, and Elder Huohuo's figure gracefully descended from its back.

"Elder Huohuo!" Yuan Ming and Wulu bowed in unison.

"Hand over the blood-storage pouch for me to see," Elder Huohuo said directly, without any pleasantries.

Just as Yuan Ming was about to speak, Wulu stepped forward a few paces and presented the blood-storage pouch.

Elder Huohuo glanced at the contents of the pouch, nodded, and tossed a jade bottle to Wulu.

"This month's antidote. Take it."

"Thank you, Elder Huohuo!" Wulu exclaimed joyfully. He removed the stopper from the jade bottle, poured out a pale red pill, and swallowed it, his tense expression relaxing.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming also submitted his blood-storage pouch. Elder Huohuo glanced at it, said nothing further, and bestowed a detoxification pill upon him as well.

Yuan Ming tilted his head back and swallowed the pill. He felt a surge of warmth immediately rise from his lower abdomen, counteracting most of the cold, poisonous sensation and returning him to the state he was in a month ago when he first took the Heart Rot Pill. His heart meridian also returned to normal.

This made him secretly breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed Elder Huohuo was relatively trustworthy; as long as he submitted the beast blood on time each month, the potent poison of the Heart Rot Pill would not be a concern.

Elder Huohuo silently retrieved a slightly bulging blood-storage pouch. After collecting the essence blood from Yuan Ming and Wulu's pouches, he left again on his flying bird without waiting for them to say anything further, appearing somewhat hurried.