Mind Intent Art

"Heh heh, congratulations, Brother Yuan Ming, on mastering the Fur Transformation Technique and successfully getting through the first month," Wulu said with a smile, looking at Yuan Ming. He didn't leave immediately.

"Likewise. Speaking of which, Brother Wulu, why don't I see Lage?" Yuan Ming changed the subject.

"Brother Lage went out hunting alone a few days ago. Unfortunately, he met his end at the fangs of a beast," Wulu said calmly.

"That's a real shame." Yuan Ming nodded and said no more, turning to leave.

Wulu watched Yuan Ming walk away, his gaze flickering uncertainly, as if contemplating something.

Yuan Ming didn't head to the other side of the canyon to hunt beasts. Instead, he returned to his hidden cave. Hunting fierce beasts wasn't urgent; his most pressing need was to increase his strength.

He blocked the cave entrance, sat down cross-legged, and circulated the Nine Yuan Art. Spiritual energy from heaven and earth immediately converged upon him.

Time flew by, and twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.

Perched on a century-old giant tree outside the Green Fox's lair, a tall White Ape stood silently. This was Yuan Ming, who had activated the Fur Transformation Technique. Compared to twenty days ago, the White Ape had grown significantly taller, its muscles more defined and powerful, exuding an aura of fierce vitality.

Not long after, five or six Green Foxes emerged from their den in the mountain hollow, quickly scattering in different directions. Through previous encounters and hunts, Yuan Ming was already very familiar with the habits of these Green Foxes. They were dispersing to forage. He skillfully followed one of the Green Foxes to a black pine forest. This location was a good four to five li away from the mountain hollow's den, ensuring that any commotion wouldn't reach it.

Yuan Ming increased his speed, overtaking the Green Fox in just a few breaths. He leaped down from a tree, blocking its path. The Green Fox was startled at first, but upon realizing it was only a White Ape, its fox eyes relaxed, and it ferociously lunged forward. This Green Fox was larger and faster than the ones he had hunted before. A blur of green flashed, and the Green Fox was instantly in front of Yuan Ming, its dark green claws slashing down!

However, Yuan Ming's body swayed slightly, and he vanished from his original spot, causing the Green Fox to miss. Startled, the Green Fox quickly tried to regain its balance. But before it could fully stabilize, Yuan Ming descended from the sky, his right foot whistling with a terrifying gust of wind, landing a powerful kick on the Green Fox's back. A terrifying force surged into the Green Fox's body, and with a "crack," its spine snapped. Its body collapsed onto the ground, blood gushing from its mouth. Before it could struggle to its feet, Yuan Ming's other foot descended from above, stomping down on the Green Fox's head. With a crisp sound of bone cracking, the Green Fox's head was crushed, white brain matter spilling out. The fox had completely ceased to breathe.

Yuan Ming retracted his foot and stared blankly at the dead Green Fox. He chose to continue hunting Green Foxes not only because he understood their habits and felt he wouldn't be in mortal danger even if outmatched, but more importantly, to test his own strength. Twenty days ago, a Green Fox was a formidable fierce beast that he could barely contend with. Yet, twenty days later, this fox couldn't even withstand two moves from him. Unbeknownst to him, his strength had already increased to such an extent!

Suppressing the excitement in his eyes, Yuan Ming took out his blood collection bag to gather the Green Fox's blood. He then returned near the Green Fox den to stake out other foxes. One day passed, and he successfully hunted three Green Foxes. The next day, he returned to the mountain hollow and, without much effort, hunted two more Green Foxes. A task that had been a desperate struggle to complete last month was now accomplished with ease.

"I haven't even finished cultivating the first layer of the Nine Yuan Art, and the Fur Transformation Technique already possesses such power. If I continue cultivating at this pace, once I achieve mastery of the first layer's incantations, or even break through to the second layer, won't I be able to walk through this forest like I own it?" Yuan Ming mused, touching the ape skin on his body. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, feeling as though he had discovered a shortcut to becoming stronger.

But then he suddenly recalled something, and a thoughtful expression appeared in his eyes. Although he was new to the path of cultivation, he found it rather peculiar. The Fur Transformation Technique was too convenient. As long as one cultivated enough spiritual power, it could be used, and its power increased so easily. Of course, the Nine Yuan Art played a significant role in this, but he still felt a sense of unease. Furthermore, this was quite different from the cultivators he had imagined, those who could move mountains and fill seas, summon wind and rain. To cultivate spiritual power only to transform into a half-human, half-beast monster to display one's strength seemed like a rather stifling way to be an immortal.

Once this thought arose in his mind, Yuan Ming couldn't help but feel increasingly uneasy, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly why. He managed to calm his mind and ponder for a while longer. Feeling that he couldn't figure it out anytime soon, he decided to put the matter aside for the moment and headed towards the cave, soon arriving near the canyon. As Yuan Ming was about to descend, he suddenly heard a low groan. He looked surprised. How could there be someone here? Following the sound, he found a figure in black robes lying in the grass, trembling uncontrollably. The exposed skin was a bloody red. Yuan Ming didn't approach rashly. After observing the person for a few moments, he let out a soft "yi," broke off a small tree from the nearby woods, and flipped the black-robed figure over. The person's face was then revealed – it was Wulu. Yuan Ming had already noticed something amiss from the figure's back and wasn't surprised. Wulu's face was also blood-red, his lips trembling, his eyes rolled back, and his consciousness was long gone. "Is he suffering from some kind of illness?" Yuan Ming wondered to himself.

At that very moment, blood was flowing from Wulu's nostrils, ear canals, eyes, and other orifices. His breathing suddenly became rapid, and his life force was rapidly weakening.

Yuan Ming hesitated for a moment before crouching down to check on Wulu's condition. He quickly discovered something: "It seems there's a problem with his heart meridian."

Wulu's heart was beating violently, ten times faster than a normal person's. The meridians near his chest were chaotic, his muscles were spasming, and the circulation of his vital energy was severely obstructed.

Yuan Ming channeled his spiritual power and rapidly tapped over a dozen points on Wulu's chest with his finger. Finally, he placed his palm on Wulu's chest, and his spiritual power surged forth, clearing the meridians.

After a quarter of an hour, he withdrew his hand, a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead.

There were no medicinal herbs or tools in this place, so this was all he could do. Whether Wulu lived or died now depended on his own fortune.

Perhaps Wulu was fated not to die. The vital energy within his body slowly returned to a smooth flow, the redness on his cheeks subsided considerably, and he regained consciousness.

"Yuan Ming... is that you?" Wulu managed to speak with difficulty.

"Your condition is very serious. Your vital energy is flowing backward into your heart. How did this happen?" Yuan Ming asked.

Wulu opened his mouth, wanting to speak but hesitating.

"It's fine if you don't want to say. However, your condition is extremely severe. I could only alleviate it slightly; it's not a cure at all, and it will recur soon. Do you have any specific medicine for it?" Yuan Ming waved his hand and asked.

Wulu's expression showed hesitation, but it quickly turned firm. He looked towards his waist.

"Is there medicine here?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Yes... Please, Brother Yuan Ming... get it for me..." Wulu said with difficulty.

Yuan Ming didn't say anything further. He took out a cloth bag from there, which contained quite a few miscellaneous items: four sealed bamboo tubes, two dark red stones, a white jade pendant, and a black jade bottle.

"Is it this jade bottle?" He picked up the black jade bottle.

Wulu's face lit up with joy, and he immediately nodded.

Yuan Ming opened the jade bottle and poured out a dark red pill. It didn't have any medicinal smell, so he couldn't tell what kind of pill it was.

He didn't bother to think about it and put the pill into Wulu's mouth.

Wulu swallowed the pill with difficulty. His complexion quickly turned flushed again, even redder than before. The veins on his forehead bulged out, writhing like living creatures. He also let out an extremely suppressed low growl from his throat, appearing to be in extreme agony.

Yuan Ming frowned. Looking at Wulu, it didn't seem like an illness.

It took a full meal's time before Wulu's condition began to improve. The redness on his face gradually faded, and the bulging veins slowly returned to normal.

He looked utterly exhausted. He forced himself to sit cross-legged and began to circulate his energy to recuperate.

Yuan Ming leaped onto a nearby large tree and sat on a thick branch several feet off the ground, circulating his energy to restore the spiritual power he had just consumed.

After a long while, Wulu's complexion fully recovered. A red light flashed across his body, and the tiger skin at his waist coiled upwards, clinging to him. In the blink of an eye, he completed the Fur Transformation Technique, transforming into a spotted fierce tiger about ten feet tall.

Yuan Ming's pupils contracted slightly. Wulu's body was nearly half as large again as when he had seen him by the stream last time.

As his cultivation continued to improve, the height of his White Ape transformation was also increasing, but his rate of growth seemed slightly less than Wulu's.

Wulu looked at Yuan Ming on the tree, his eyes gleaming with cold light.

"I just saved your life, Brother Wulu. Why are you looking at me like that? Are all people from the Southern Border like this to their saviors?" Yuan Ming said with a smile.

"Why did you save me?" Wulu asked in a deep voice.

"We both entered the Jade Luo Cave at the same time. Regardless of whether our relationship is good or bad, we can be considered companions. This was a simple matter for me, so why wouldn't I save you?" Yuan Ming said calmly.

Wulu's expression softened slightly upon hearing this, but the cold light in his eyes had not yet dissipated.

"It seems I was meddling. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about what happened today. We'll meet again." Yuan Ming stood up, patted his backside, and was about to leave.

"Wait a moment." Wulu suddenly called out to stop Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming stopped and looked back down.

"Regardless, thank you, Brother Yuan Ming, for your help this time. Your great kindness is beyond thanks. Consider this Fire Pattern Iron as my repayment." Wulu took out a dark red stone from his cloth bag and threw it up.

Yuan Ming's eyebrows rose. When he had opened Wulu's cloth bag just now, he had noticed that these two stones were not ordinary objects. They emitted faint spiritual energy fluctuations, indicating they were likely items needed by cultivators.

However, he did not catch the Fire Pattern Iron and instead pushed it away with his hand, throwing it back.

"I didn't save you because I was after your valuables," Yuan Ming said calmly.

Wulu caught the Fire Pattern Iron and was stunned for a moment before saying, "Since Brother Yuan Ming refuses to accept the Fire Pattern Iron, consider it a favor I owe you. If you need help in the future, as long as it's within my ability, I will not refuse."

"You're too kind. We'll meet again," Yuan Ming said with a faint smile, then leaped away, disappearing into the forest within a few breaths.

Wulu stood there in silence, his expression inexplicably somber.

A moment later, he turned and descended into the canyon, his figure quickly disappearing into the mist at the bottom.

Yuan Ming had not gone far. He hid in a large tree on the edge of a cliff about ten feet away, watching Wulu leave.

He wasn't a saint. The reason he had stepped in to save Wulu was partly because they were companions, after all. Since it was a simple matter to save Wulu, he wouldn't be so cold-blooded as to watch him die.

On the other hand, Yuan Ming was also very curious about Wulu's rapid improvement in cultivation and wanted to use this opportunity to get closer to him and inquire about his situation.

However, Wulu's reaction had been somewhat unexpected. This person seemed very bothered by his condition being known to others.

"That episode was indeed problematic," Yuan Ming murmured.

He didn't dwell on it, however. He leaped down from the tree, quickly crossed the canyon, and returned to the cave to continue his closed-door cultivation.

Wulu's matter was just a minor interlude. For Yuan Ming, the only way to have a chance of returning to the Central Plains was to improve his own strength as quickly as possible.

Regardless, his intuition told him that cultivating the Nine Yuan Art was always the right choice.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, Yuan Ming only spent one or two days each month hunting Green Foxes to complete the Jade Luo Cave missions and replenish his food supply. Otherwise, he didn't step outside his cave, dedicating himself entirely to the rigorous cultivation of the Nine Yuan Art.

This arduous training, coupled with the profound mysteries of the Nine Yuan Art, caused his magical power to increase rapidly.

One day, as Yuan Ming was meditating, his increasingly substantial magical power suddenly churned like boiling water, flowing out of his dantian and surging into the meridians throughout his body.

His body trembled, and a cracking sound, like bones colliding, emanated from within him. He couldn't help but open his mouth and exhale.

A stream of green light spewed out, transforming into a verdant mist that circled his body.

A chant echoed from within the mist, and the swirling green light quickly dissipated. Yuan Ming's figure stood upright.

"The first level of the Nine Yuan Art is finally complete!" Yuan Ming murmured, looking at his hands.

He was now equivalent to a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining, officially entering the ranks of immortal cultivators.

Yuan Ming's magical power had increased severalfold compared to three months ago. He was eager to know the extent of his Fur Transformation Technique. He stood up, walked out of the cave, and performed the hand seals for the technique.

The White Ape skin from his waist swept up, enveloping his body. Numerous blood-red threads appeared on the inner side of the White Ape skin, piercing deep into his flesh.

Yuan Ming was accustomed to this pain and gritted his teeth to endure it.

The piercing agony soon passed, and a White Ape about ten feet tall appeared.

"My height is still about the same as before, it seems I've reached the limit," he said, comparing himself to a large tree nearby.

Over the past few months, as Yuan Ming's magical power grew, the size of the White Ape form had continuously increased. Two months prior, it had reached its current height of about ten feet.

However, since then, no matter how much his magical power increased, the height and size of the White Ape had not changed significantly, clearly indicating that he had reached the limit of the Fur Transformation Technique.

While his height hadn't increased, the muscle density of the White Ape had greatly improved. Large, solid muscles bulged, showcasing astonishing power far beyond what he possessed before.

He clenched his right fist and struck out, producing a dull, startling whistling sound. He hit a large tree.

Crack!

The tree, as thick as a water bucket, was directly snapped. Half of the broken trunk crashed to the ground, kicking up dust and startling birds and beasts!

Yuan Ming retracted his fist, a look of satisfaction on his face.

With his current strength, dealing with Green Foxes was no longer an issue. Even the yellow Armadillo, known for its strong defense, would likely not dare to face his full power head-on.

"With my current strength, I wonder if I could traverse the Ten Thousand Mountains and return to the Central Plains?" Amidst his excitement, the thought of escaping flickered through his mind.

But the thought of the Heart Rot Pill's potent poison coursing through him instantly chilled his enthusiasm.

"Staying in this forest filled with nothing but Fierce Beasts and Furred Beast Slaves, what use is even greater strength! No, I must find a way to truly escape this place!" Yuan Ming clenched his fist.

His current identity was a Furred Beast Slave of Jade Luo Cave, with no opportunity to contact the outside world. His only channel of communication was Elder Huohuo, and how could Elder Huohuo possibly give him the true antidote for the Heart Rot Pill?

"Right, months have passed. I wonder if that incense burner can be lit again? Perhaps I can establish contact with the outside world through the incense burner?" Yuan Ming slapped his forehead, wondering how he could forget that treasure.

He immediately dispelled the Fur Transformation Technique, returned to the stone cave, and channeled his magical power to summon the incense burner.

Yuan Ming held the incense burner with both hands, feeling a surge of warmth penetrate his mind through his palms, invigorating his spirit.

However, at this moment, he had no time to savor the exhilarating feeling of mental invigoration. His eyes were fixed intently on the azure incense burner before him.

Compared to before, the incense burner seemed to have undergone significant changes. A small portion of the Tai Chi pattern on it had become luminous, while the rest of the area remained dim.

"It seems the Tai Chi pattern automatically regains its brightness after a certain period. I wonder if I'll be able to travel through it again when it's fully lit," he guessed inwardly.

Looking at the speed at which the Tai Chi pattern was recovering, it would still take a considerable amount of time for it to become completely bright.