Making Friends

Yuan Ming dug an earthen pit by the lake. After burying the corpse, he stood before the somewhat desolate little mound for a long while.

"You should have long since been reincarnated, shouldn't you? In your next life, may you no longer be a beast slave. The path of cultivation is so cruel—it would be better to be an ordinary mortal and live freely."

"Today, I am still here to bury your bones. If misfortune befalls me someday, who will collect my corpse?"

"Heaven and earth are heartless; the weak are meat for the strong. If I cannot rely on myself to cast off the identity of a beast slave and enter Jade Luo Cave, my future end may well be worse than yours."

Yuan Ming murmured a few words to the little mound, as if reminding himself of the cruelty of reality while strengthening his resolve to return to the Central Plains.

He did not transform into the white ape. Continuing onward, he quickly moved far away from the lakeside area and entered another dense forest.

On the branch of a large tree not far away, a silver figure crouched—it was the Silver Cat from before, its narrow pupils fixed intently on Yuan Ming's retreating back.

The light around him was dim, and Yuan Ming began to slow down, walking with great caution.

Suddenly, he stopped and crouched halfway down.

He spotted another line of footprints on the ground. Judging by their size, they belonged to the person he had been tracking earlier.

Yuan Ming followed the footprints forward. Before he had gone far, the sounds of fighting came from ahead, mixed with the roars of savage beasts.

Yuan Ming raised his brows and quickened his pace, soon reaching the source of the noise.

It was an open clearing in the forest. Two towering beasts were fighting for their lives, several large trees lay toppled on the ground, and dust drifted continuously through the clearing.

One of the combatants was an azure wolf beast standing upright, a full fifteen feet tall. Its limbs were thick and powerful, exuding an oppressive aura. Its might even surpassed Yuan Ming's white-ape form.

The wolf beast had narrow eyes, its pale azure pupils filled with chilliness, but even more with calm. It was clearly a furred beast slave.

The other beast was a Black Crocodile crawling along the ground, thirty feet long and covered from head to tail in thick scales. Its yellow eyes shone with hunger and savagery.

Not only was this crocodile enormous, its strength was also exceptionally formidable. Its thick, long tail lashed like a jet-black steel whip, carving deep furrows into the ground with every sweep. Its massive jaws could easily bite through trees as thick as water buckets. It was far more formidable than the brown bear from before.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave was clearly no match for the Black Crocodile in strength, but its body was exceptionally agile and its leaping ability astonishing. It kept springing away to evade the black crocodile's attacks, seeking opportunities to strike with four scythe-like claws.

Yet the black crocodile's scales were exceptionally tough. The green wolf's claws could only leave shallow marks each time, without drawing even a drop of blood. For a time, the battle reached a stalemate.

"This Green Wolf Beast Slave is quite powerful. His cultivation should be above mine." Yuan Ming had originally planned to hide and watch, but after a brief ponder, he transformed into a white ape and openly revealed himself.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave immediately noticed Yuan Ming, and swept his gaze over with cold light in his eyes.

Though the Furred Beast Slaves in this forest were all gathering essence blood for Jade Luo Cave, their relationships could hardly be called harmonious. Open and secret struggles were commonplace, and murder and theft happened from time to time. Jade Luo Cave paid no heed to any of it, simply letting things run their course.

Now, a white ape beast slave had suddenly appeared to watch from the side. Clearly, he intended to wait until the Green Wolf Beast Slave and the black crocodile were both wounded, then reap the benefits.

Yet the Green Wolf Beast Slave also found it somewhat strange. When doing something as underhanded as this, one generally lay in ambush nearby and waited for the right moment to strike. What was the point of this white ape beast slave revealing himself so directly?

Taking advantage of the instant the Green Wolf Beast Slave was distracted, the black crocodile opened its mouth and spat.

A snow-bright stream of water shot from the black crocodile's mouth like an arrow, slashing toward the Green Wolf Beast Slave's legs like a blade. It was so fast it nearly left afterimages.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave seemed to have anticipated it. He leaped upward, his tall body rising three feet into the air, easily avoiding the stream's attack.

As his body fell again, whether by chance or design, he landed atop the black crocodile's back. His right leg immediately moved.

His claw became an azure afterimage, slashing toward the black crocodile's eye.

The black crocodile was greatly alarmed and hurriedly swung its head aside to evade.

But the Green Wolf Beast Slave's attack was simply too swift. The black crocodile could not avoid it completely, and its nose was clawed.

A crocodile's entire body was covered in scales, but its nose was relatively vulnerable. Five long wounds were immediately torn open, and blood poured forth.

The black crocodile let out a furious roar, its enormous body rolling in place and stirring up clouds of dust.

Wary of the black crocodile's monstrous strength, the Green Wolf Beast Slave hurriedly leaped away.

ROAR!

The black crocodile's yellow eyes stared fixedly at the Green Wolf Beast Slave as threads of blood-red emerged within them. Strange crimson patterns spread across its formerly black hide, and its body steadily swelled.

"What kind of ability is that?" Seeing this from afar, Yuan Ming could not help letting out a soft cry of surprise.

"It's actually a Bloodline Crocodile!" the Green Wolf Beast Slave said in human speech, his voice tinged with astonishment.

The black crocodile's transformation was complete in the blink of an eye. Its body had grown by thirty percent, countless blood-red patterns emerged across its scales, and the wound on its nose had stopped bleeding.

Its four claws slammed fiercely against the ground, and its massive body rushed toward the Green Wolf Beast Slave on a foul wind. The airflow within several yards roared loudly.

Seeing the crocodile's terrifying momentum, the Green Wolf Beast Slave did not dare meet its edge head-on and dodged to the side.

Yet after its transformation, the black crocodile had become much more agile. Its tail slapped against the ground, and it instantly changed direction, continuing to pounce at the Green Wolf Beast Slave. Not only had its speed not diminished in the slightest, it had become even faster. In the blink of an eye, it caught up.

Its jaws shot forward like lightning, almost trailing afterimages, and bit down on the Green Wolf Beast Slave's left arm. One thick foreclaw pressed against the Green Wolf Beast Slave's body, about to pin him to the ground.

At that moment, an azure shadow shot in from afar, heading straight for the black crocodile's left eye.

Though the black crocodile was in battle, it had not lost its composure. It tilted its head slightly, and the azure shadow struck the scales near its left eye. It was an azure bamboo tube.

Bang!

The bamboo tube exploded, splashing pale purple liquid everywhere. It drenched the black crocodile's head, with some dripping into its eyes.

The black crocodile's eyes throbbed with agony, rapidly blackening and rotting. It let out a pained shriek, and its jaws immediately sprang open.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave hurriedly pulled out his left arm, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Yet this man was extraordinarily fierce. Rather than retreat, he seized the opportunity to pounce at the black crocodile, his right claw shooting out.

Blood flashed!

The Green Wolf Beast Slave's right hand plunged straight into the crocodile's right eye and ripped out its eyeball.

The black crocodile unleashed an earthshaking roar. Its enormous body rolled violently, its tail lashing madly. Several nearby trees were smashed apart alive by the blows, creating a terrifying spectacle.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave had leaped away a step earlier and was not caught in the black crocodile's frenzied attacks. He looked toward Yuan Ming in the distance.

He had seen clearly that Yuan Ming was the one who had thrown that bamboo tube.

Yuan Ming nodded at the Green Wolf Beast Slave, still standing where he was without the slightest intention of approaching.

After rampaging in fury for a while, the black crocodile's bloodlines rapidly faded, and its body returned to its previous size.

"So this transformation has a time limit." Yuan Ming thought to himself upon seeing this.

As the black crocodile's body returned to normal, so did its reason. Its four claws flew, pounding the ground with booming thuds as it fled into the distance.

Having lost both eyes, it could not possibly be the Green Wolf Beast Slave's match. Staying behind would only mean death.

Yet without its eyes, the black crocodile could not judge its direction at all. It had not run far before crashing headfirst into a giant tree as wide as a millstone.

With a loud boom, the giant tree was smashed apart and leaned crookedly to one side.

The black crocodile was also knocked to the ground, exposing its soft, pale-blue belly.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave was clearly an experienced beast hunter. He immediately sprang forward, driving both wolf claws into the crocodile's belly and wrenching them apart.

Several long gashes instantly opened across the crocodile's belly. Blood gushed out in torrents, and red and white matter spilled across the ground.

The black crocodile began struggling frantically once more, but this time it had suffered a fatal wound. Before long, it went completely still.

The Green Wolf Beast Slave bent down and took out a blood collection pouch to gather the black crocodile's blood, all while watching Yuan Ming nearby with a trace of wariness.

Yuan Ming still stood quietly in place without making any unusual move. Seeing this, the Green Wolf Beast Slave's gaze softened slightly.

"Thank you for your assistance just now, sir. I am Hagon. May I ask my friend's name?" After quickly finishing his collection, the Green Wolf Beast Slave clasped his hands toward Yuan Ming.

"I am Yuan Ming." Yuan Ming returned the salute.

"So it is Brother Yuan. This is not a place to talk. Let us change locations and speak further," Hagon said.

The battle just now had caused an enormous commotion, so Yuan Ming naturally had no objection.

The two quickly left the area and soon arrived by a lake.

Yuan Ming's brows moved slightly. This was the very lake where he had found the black beast hide.

Covered in dust, Hagon washed himself in the lakewater, formed a hand seal, and dispelled the Fur Transformation Technique. His true form was revealed: a tall young man in his twenties, with blond hair and blue eyes—the typical appearance of a man from Southern Frontier.

Yuan Ming had also put away the ape hide by then, revealing his own appearance.

"Brother Yuan is from the Central Plains?" A trace of surprise flashed through Hagon's eyes.

"That is right. I only entered Jade Luo Cave and became a beast slave because of a series of chance circumstances." Yuan Ming did not conceal it.

"I see. But Brother Yuan looks somewhat unfamiliar," Hagon said with an acknowledging sound, not probing further into Yuan Ming's identity.

"I truly have not been here long. Just now, I saw Brother Hagon fighting the black crocodile and stopped out of curiosity to watch. I hope Brother Hagon will not take offense." Yuan Ming's attitude was friendly.

"Not at all. If Brother Yuan had not helped in time, I would have been lucky to escape with only a layer of skin peeled off. I should be the one thanking you," Hagon said solemnly.

Seeing Hagon's sincere attitude, Yuan Ming became even more determined to befriend him.

The two talked for a while longer and gradually grew familiar.

From their conversation, Yuan Ming learned that Hagon had been a furred beast slave for two years and could be considered a veteran beast slave.

"Brother Hagon, how much do you know about the Jade Luo Cave sect?" he asked about the matter that concerned him.

"My experience was the same as yours, Brother Yuan. I too was inexplicably captured and brought here, so I do not know much about Jade Luo Cave. I only know that Jade Luo Cave is a major sect in Southern Frontier, with numerous disciples and three Cave Masters of the Core Formation Stage presiding over it. It dominates the enormous Hundred Thousand Mountains, and its power is extremely vast," Hagon said.

"The Hundred Thousand Mountains—does that refer to the mountain forest where we are now?" Yuan Ming recalled the Southern Frontier writing on that great stone and asked.

"Exactly so." Hagon nodded.

Yuan Ming turned to look around. Mountain ranges rose on all sides, stretching to the end of his vision. He could not see the end of them at all.

"The Hundred Thousand Mountains are one of Southern Frontier's largest mountain ranges. You will not see the end by looking like that," Hagon said with a laugh.

Yuan Ming smiled faintly. He had not been trying to see the end of the Hundred Thousand Mountains; he was merely gaining a new understanding of these mountains controlled by Jade Luo Cave.

"Brother Hagon, do you know how many Furred Beast Slaves like us there are in the Hundred Thousand Mountains?" Yuan Ming asked again after withdrawing his gaze.