After leaving the armadillos' territory, Yuan Ming followed the direction in which the second Green Fox had fled yesterday, searching for nearly half a day. At last, outside a mountain hollow, he found signs of Green Fox activity.
They were two Green Foxes, slightly smaller than the ones from yesterday. At the moment, they lay lazily at the entrance to the hollow, seemingly basking in the sun.
Before Yuan Ming could do anything, a fox's howl rang out from within the hollow. Then four or five Green Foxes came racing out, joining the two outside before slipping into the dense forest.
"So this hollow is that pack of Green Foxes' den." Yuan Ming glanced into the hollow, then followed the pack into the forest.
With his current dexterous control over the body of the white ape he had transformed into, he easily trailed behind the Green Foxes without being noticed.
Not long after entering the forest, the Green Foxes seemed to have their own purposes and gradually scattered apart. Yuan Ming chose one solitary Green Fox and continued following it.
In the blink of an eye, man and fox had moved several li away from the hollow.
After confirming that there were no other ferocious beasts nearby, Yuan Ming quickened his pace. He soon caught up with the Green Fox and climbed into a tree above its head.
The Green Fox had keen ears and a sharp nose, and it immediately noticed Yuan Ming. It stopped, raised its head, bared its fangs at him, and let out a low growl.
Yuan Ming merely chuckled, pulled out a piece of bluestone from the beast-hide bundle he carried, and hurled it at the Green Fox.
The stone became a streak of azure that cut through the air, flying straight for the Green Fox's head.
The Green Fox hurriedly dodged to the side, but another black shadow came hurtling toward it—a black stone as large as a bowl.
This time, it failed to evade.
The black stone struck it squarely on the head.
With a bang, the stone shattered. The Green Fox's vision went dark, and it was left thoroughly dazed.
Yuan Ming stared at his left hand, momentarily stunned.
After throwing the first stone, his left hand had instinctively thrown a second, with almost no interval between the two.
It seemed to be some kind of throwing martial skill that he had used unconsciously. Even with the Green Fox's agility, it had been unable to avoid it.
Yuan Ming quickly came back to himself, diving down and reaching both hands for the Green Fox's neck.
The Green Fox's vision had yet to recover, but it instinctively sensed danger. It leaped sideways, evading Yuan Ming's grab, then took the opportunity to bite at his arm.
Yuan Ming's grab had been a feint to begin with. Seeing things go awry, he hastily pulled back his arm, narrowly escaping the fox's bite.
"An uninjured Green Fox really isn't easy to deal with." He grumbled inwardly, then turned and fled into the distance.
The Green Fox shook its head and quickly recovered.
As expected, Yuan Ming had enraged it. Bloodthirsty ferocity flared in its emerald eyes. With a low roar, it immediately gave chase.
The white ape Yuan Ming had transformed into was far slower than the Green Fox when running on two legs, and the distance between them swiftly narrowed to less than ten zhang.
Just as he was about to be caught, Yuan Ming sprang onto a nearby large tree. He climbed up in a few quick movements, thumped his chest with one fist at the Green Fox below, and began bounding through the trees.
The Green Fox paused in surprise, but Yuan Ming's taunting thoroughly enraged it. It continued after him without letting up.
Yuan Ming moved ahead at an unhurried pace, occasionally pelting the Green Fox with stones to keep it from turning back midway.
Naturally, the Green Fox was provoked into roaring again and again.
One chased while the other fled, and before long, they arrived near the yellow armadillo's den.
The yellow armadillo was inside the cave feeding several cubs. Hearing the commotion outside, it immediately shot out of the den.
Yuan Ming had been watching the area around the armadillo's den from afar. The moment the bushes there stirred, he flashed aside and hid behind a patch of dense leaves.
Within the mountain forest, only the endlessly roaring Green Fox remained exposed.
Its territory had been invaded by Green Foxes time and again, and now one had even come near its den. Fire nearly burst from the yellow armadillo's eyes. A layer of yellow light surged over its body as it charged straight at the Green Fox.
Only then did the Green Fox realize that something was wrong. Without another word, it turned and fled.
But the yellow armadillo had already flown into a towering rage. With all its strength unleashed, it caught up to the Green Fox within a few breaths. Its two iron-hook claws became two black afterimages as they slashed down viciously.
With nowhere to evade, the Green Fox turned back to fight.
The two ferocious beasts clashed in an instant. Their roars echoed through the mountain forest, kicking up clouds of dust.
Behind the dense leaves, a flicker of excitement passed through Yuan Ming's eyes.
Half his plan had succeeded. Now, he only needed to wait for the Green Fox to lose and flee, then he could reap the fisherman's profit once more.
"No, there were two Green Foxes yesterday, which was why they could escape. Now there's only one. Could the yellow armadillo kill it outright?" Yuan Ming suddenly thought of something, his mind racing.
At that moment, he suddenly heard a faint sound. It definitely was not caused by the two beasts fighting; it sounded like the cry of some small animal.
"The yellow armadillo is this enraged... could it be..." A thought surfaced in Yuan Ming's mind. He quietly approached the yellow armadillo's den and soon climbed into a large tree before it.
Peering down through a gap in the leaves, delight appeared on his face.
From this angle, he could vaguely see inside the yellow armadillo's den. Several armadillo cubs were huddled together, making tiny squeaking cries.
Just as I thought. Yuan Ming took a black stone from the bundle on his back.
The battle in the forest soon ended. Just as Yuan Ming had expected, the Green Fox could not hold on for long before suffering a crushing defeat. It was covered in wounds, one eye had been clawed blind, and it fled shrieking in desperation.
Naturally, the yellow armadillo would not simply let it escape, and it was about to give chase.
A piercing whistle came from behind it as a black shadow flew straight toward the armadillo's den.
The yellow armadillo was both shocked and enraged. It immediately abandoned the Green Fox, its thick legs stamping fiercely against the ground as it became a streak of yellow rushing toward the den.
The black shadow did not strike the armadillo's den. Instead, it hit a nearby large tree with a loud thud. It was a black stone.
The yellow armadillo froze in place. Its towering body slid forward from momentum, flattening a large patch of bushes and grass.
Yuan Ming smiled faintly, leaped out from his hiding place, and pursued the injured Green Fox.
Worried about the cubs in its den, the yellow armadillo roared threateningly several times at Yuan Ming and the Green Fox before turning and burrowing back into the cave.
Yuan Ming soon caught up to the injured Green Fox. Judging the distance precisely, he leaped down from a tree like an eagle seizing prey.
The sounds of fighting and roaring rose once again from the forest. Dust billowed, then everything quickly returned to silence.
Yuan Ming stood up and dusted himself off, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward.
There were several additional bloody gashes on his arm, left by the Green Fox's desperate bite before death.
Yet the already heavily injured Green Fox had also become a corpse, lying on the ground with its neck bent at an unnatural angle. Its neck bones had likewise been broken.
Yuan Ming stared blankly at his hands.
He had used the same method as yesterday, strangling this Green Fox with his arms.
He had used that throat-locking grappling skill with remarkable proficiency. During the battle, he had employed it instinctively, just as he had instinctively used the stone-throwing martial skill earlier.
Though both martial skills were simple, they were exceptionally suited to the white ape body he had transformed into.
Yuan Ming took out the beast-hide blood-storage pouch, activated his mana to drain the Green Fox's blood, and condensed it into a crystalline blood mass. He did not continue hunting. Carrying the Green Fox's corpse, he withdrew toward the gorge.
Over the next three days, he cultivated through breathing exercises at night. By day, he repeated the same method, luring Green Foxes into the yellow armadillo's territory and making them fight before taking advantage of the chance to hunt them.
Yuan Ming's luck was fairly good. He successfully hunted one Green Fox each day, and by the fifth day, he had gathered five portions of ferocious beast essence blood.
He weighed the beast-hide blood-storage pouch in his hand, let out a long breath, and dropped heavily onto the ground.
The past few days had been somewhat perilous, but he had finally completed the task before the deadline.
The hardest period had passed. With the mysteries of the Nine Yuan Art, his strength would steadily improve as well. Before long, he believed he would be able to hunt those Green Foxes alone. Perhaps even challenging that armadillo would not be entirely without hope of victory.
After resting briefly, Yuan Ming rose and returned across the gorge, heading for the giant stone boundary marker.
When he returned beneath the giant stone, he found Wulu already waiting there, while Lage, who had previously traveled with him, was still nowhere to be seen.
"I wonder where this fellow's supposedly safe place, where he claimed he would accomplish something, really was. Lage still hasn't appeared. He's most likely met with a grim fate." Yuan Ming gave Wulu, who sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, a deep look. He had no intention of greeting him and simply sat down beside the giant stone to meditate with his eyes closed.
With outsiders present, he did not circulate the Nine Yuan Art. He merely used his mana to examine the condition of his body.
A month had passed, and the poison of the Heart Rot Pill had gradually spread into his heart meridians. An area the size of a bowl around his chest had begun to feel faintly cold and completely numb.
Over the past few days, Yuan Ming had also tried to force out the poison with mana, but to no avail.
That was only natural. Jade Luo Cave was an immortal cultivation sect. The poison it used was naturally not something a person who had only cultivated for a few days could easily neutralize.
"I hope Elder Huohuo keeps his word and gives us the antidote," Yuan Ming pondered inwardly.
Before long, a gray shadow appeared in the distance and rapidly approached.
Yuan Ming was no stranger to the creature. He abruptly rose to his feet, while Wulu, not far away, also opened his eyes and stood up at once.
The gray shadow swiftly drew near. It was Elder Huohuo's gray bird. It circled briefly in the air before landing atop the giant stone, and Elder Huohuo's figure drifted gracefully down from its back.
"Elder Huohuo!" Yuan Ming and Wulu bowed in unison.
"Bring me the blood-storage pouches." Elder Huohuo did not waste words and went straight to the point.
Yuan Ming was about to speak when Wulu stepped forward first and respectfully presented his blood-storage pouch.
Elder Huohuo glanced over the contents of the pouch, nodded, and took out a jade bottle, tossing it to Wulu.
"This is this month's antidote. Take it."
"Thank you, Elder Huohuo!" Wulu was overjoyed. He pulled out the stopper, poured out a pale red pill, and tipped his head back to swallow it. The tension on his face eased.
Seeing this, Yuan Ming also handed over his blood-storage pouch. After Elder Huohuo glanced at it, he said nothing further and likewise bestowed upon him a Detoxification Pill.
Yuan Ming tipped his head back and swallowed it. A stream of heat immediately rose from his lower abdomen, neutralizing more than half of the icy poison. He returned to the state he had been in just after taking the Heart Rot Pill a month ago, and his heart meridians also returned to normal.
This made him secretly breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed Elder Huohuo was fairly trustworthy. At least, as long as he turned in beast blood on time every month, there was no need to worry about the Heart Rot Pill's deadly poison.
Without saying a word, Elder Huohuo took out a slightly bulging blood-storage pouch. After collecting the essence blood from Yuan Ming and Wulu's pouches, he did not wait for either of them to say anything else before riding away on the flying bird again, seeming somewhat rushed.
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