Closing the Encirclement

Yuan Ming transformed into a white ape and swiftly moved his limbs a few times, confusion appearing on his face.

He could feel that both the compatibility and connection between himself and the beast hide had strengthened, yet for some reason, the power of his transformation had not increased.

As Yuan Ming puzzled over this, he suddenly felt heat course through his entire body. A powerful demon force surged out from the White Ape Skin, scattering like a rushing torrent and flowing into every part of his body. Then, a muffled bang erupted from within him!

The next moment, his body rapidly swelled as though inflated. Muscles writhed all over him, while his bones let out a series of crackling explosions.

The change came swiftly and departed just as swiftly, lasting only two or three breaths from start to finish.

His white ape form had grown a full tenth taller out of thin air, its muscles swelling another round, while the ape claws on both hands became increasingly sharp.

Yuan Ming drew a deep breath, feeling power greater than before welling up throughout his body, and his heart surged with excitement.

This method he had stumbled upon after turning cleverness into clumsiness could actually enhance the power of his White Ape Skin transformation. If he had the time, he would have to study it properly. After all, this was currently his greatest reliance when facing enemies in battle.

Yuan Ming dispelled the Fur Transformation Technique and returned to the cave. Before long, he emerged again with a piece of black beast hide in hand—the Toad Hide he had picked up.

Since the nurturing technique worked on the White Ape Skin, perhaps it would work on the toad hide as well.

He immediately used the Fur Transformation Technique to assume his toad form, then followed the same method, activating the nurturing technique to draw out the heat currents emerging from the incense burner and slowly infuse them into the toad hide.

Just as he had expected, the toad hide could absorb the heat currents as well. However, after taking in only five or six streams, it stopped. No matter how Yuan Ming tried afterward, it gave no further response.

It seems that beast hides possess different growth potential. This toad hide is far inferior to the White Ape Skin, Yuan Ming thought.

Several breaths later, a cool yet powerful demon force flowed from the toad hide, bringing an oddly chilly sensation over his entire body.

Yuan Ming closed his eyes and sensed it carefully, a faint smile appearing on his face.

The body of his current toad form had not noticeably grown, but the strength in its limbs had increased considerably. Its lungs also expanded and contracted with greater force, and the time he could remain underwater had increased by at least half.

Yet those were not what excited him most. Rather, the toad transformation had awakened a new ability.

He crouched low and poured mana into the black bumps on his back. Those black bumps began to writhe, suddenly swelling to more than twice their previous size.

Pfft!

More than a dozen streams of black liquid sprayed from the bumps, striking a cluster of shrubs ahead like arrows.

Sizzle, sizzle...

The verdant leaves rotted at a visible rate, while the tough bark quickly cracked apart, as though the black liquid had drained every drop of moisture from it.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the once-lush shrubs had completely withered and died. Only a few thick branches barely remained; everywhere else had turned into rotten black mud.

"What potent venom. I'll call this the Toad Poison Arrow," Yuan Ming said, drawing in a slight breath.

"Come to think of it, what exactly are these streams of heat emerging from the incense burner? Their nourishing effect on beast souls is so obvious?" Yuan Ming dispelled his transformation and gently stroked the Incense Burner Mark on his arm, his thoughts stirring once more.

The incense burner had previously allowed his consciousness to possess others and even control their actions. Now it could strengthen the beast souls contained in Furred Beast Hide, enhancing the hide's power. It never failed to astonish him. It was clearly a peerless treasure unseen in this world. If he ever had the chance to leave this place, he would certainly study it properly.

When Yuan Ming returned to the cave again, Hagon had already stopped nurturing his beast hide. He lay on a bed of dry grass with his eyes closed, resting quietly, while the green wolf hide sat beside him.

Yuan Ming glanced at the wolf hide and sat down.

It was now fairly certain that the incense burner could strengthen beast hides, and it would surely work on the green wolf hide as well. Hagon was his friend, and the two of them were currently in the same predicament. Should he help strengthen it too?

However, for the sake of safety, the incense burner's secret could not be exposed. Even if he wanted to lend Hagon a hand, he could not let him discover it.

At that moment, Yuan Ming abruptly stood up and cocked his ear to listen, his expression quickly darkening.

"Hagon, get up!"

"What is it?" Hagon had not been sleeping deeply and hurriedly sat up upon hearing this.

"People are coming, and there are quite a few of them!" Yuan Ming said gravely.

"Enemies? Should we leave at once?" Hagon started, grabbing the green wolf hide beside him.

"It's too late." Yuan Ming shook his head. With a flash, he appeared at the cave entrance and peered into the distance through a crack in the doorway.

More than a dozen figures had already entered his field of vision, bounding toward them at high speed. Within a few breaths, they reached the cave entrance and formed a fan-shaped encirclement outside.

The arrivals clearly belonged to two separate factions. Of the two leaders, one was a large man with loose black hair, a hooked nose, and three scars across his face. The other was a short, fat blond man with a pair of mung-bean eyes.

"It's Wubao of the Green Wolf Gang and Jin Kun of Hyena Hall! Their gangs have always been enemies—why have they appeared together?" Hagon also came to the entrance. Seeing those outside, he sucked in a cold breath.

Yuan Ming said nothing, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

Naturally, he had heard of Hyena Hall, which stood on equal footing with the Green Wolf Gang. If only the Green Wolf Gang had come, he was confident he could escape unscathed. But with Hyena Hall added to the mix, matters became far more troublesome—especially since both leaders had come in person.

"Hehe, Gang Leader Wubao, I'm not boasting, but in these Hundred Thousand Mountains, there isn't a person our Hyena Hall cannot find," the blond Jin Kun said with a smile, picking his teeth with a thin beast bone.

Wubao looked at the cave before him and snorted coldly. Forming hand seals with both hands, he produced sizzling sounds in his palms, and a purple lightning sphere the size of a pigeon's egg appeared from thin air.

"Not good!" Yuan Ming's pupils contracted as he grabbed Hagon and rapidly retreated.

Wubao swept his right hand through the air, and the lightning bead flashed out of sight.

The next instant, dazzling purple light flashed through the forest. A bolt of violet lightning appeared from nowhere, tearing through the air and striking the boulder at the cave entrance.

Boom!

The massive boulder, over a zhang tall, shattered in response, exploding into countless fragments that shot in every direction and kicked up a great cloud of dust.

"So Wubao really has mastered the Lightning Strike Technique!" A flicker of apprehension crossed Jin Kun's eyes before vanishing.

Like the Wood Thorn Technique, the Lightning Strike Technique was a spell. There were countless spells in the cultivation world, but at their root, all fell within the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Yet there were always exceptions in this world. Some people or demon beasts in the cultivation world possessed extraordinary talents, while others suffered great changes later in life, allowing them to cultivate and control powers beyond the five elements.

The cultivation world called such circumstances spirit root mutations.

There were many types of mutated spirit roots. The more famous ones included Lightning Spirit Roots, Shadow Spirit Roots, Poison Spirit Roots, and so on. Whether a spirit root mutation was good or bad was difficult to say. A beneficial mutation could make a spirit root stronger, but a harmful one could even damage the body.

A Lightning Spirit Root was a beneficial mutation. Lightning itself was known for its overwhelming destructive power, and because lightning force could arise naturally between heaven and earth, Lightning Spirit Roots were comparatively common among mutated spirit roots. This had given rise to many lightning-attribute spells and divine abilities. The Lightning Strike Technique was one of the relatively low-grade ones, yet its power was far beyond that of five-element spells such as the Wood Thorn Technique.

Wubao flicked his sleeve, faint green light glimmering at his fingertips. A violent wind arose from nowhere and swept outward, blowing away every speck of dust at the cave entrance.

The situation inside the cave was clearly revealed. Yuan Ming had not hidden his tracks and stood there calmly, but Hagon at his side had vanished without a trace.

Wubao frowned. When he had first arrived, he had clearly seen two people inside the cave.

"Gang Leader, be careful. The other person is likely hiding in the dark. Yuan Ming is putting on this act to lure us inside. If we rashly make a move, there is an eighty percent chance we'll be ambushed," Zan Bai said quietly from beside him.

Wubao nodded almost imperceptibly and made a hand gesture with his left hand behind his back.

The Green Wolf Gang members slowly shifted their positions, surrounding one side of the cave entrance.

Within the crowd, Wulu looked at Yuan Ming with a somewhat complicated expression, seemingly letting out a quiet sigh.

"Gang Leaders Wubao and Jin Kun, what wind has blown two such great figures here together?" Yuan Ming took in Wubao and the Green Wolf Gang's movements, then spoke unhurriedly.

"Yuan Ming, why ask when you know the answer? You have repeatedly opposed my Green Wolf Gang and even caused the death of our Deputy Gang Leader Bayin. Your crimes are heinous. Surrender obediently, and we may still leave you with an intact corpse!" Wubao said coldly.

Yuan Ming and the Green Wolf Gang were already locked in an irreconcilable struggle, so he could not be bothered to argue. He turned to Jin Kun. "Gang Leader Jin Kun, are you here to capture me as well? To my knowledge, I have never offended Hyena Hall."

"Hehe, Brother Wubao and I are close friends. Since he invited me here, naturally I could not stand idly by," Jin Kun said with a smile, his mung-bean eyes shifting.

"Today's conflict is between the Green Wolf Gang and me. It has nothing to do with outsiders. Gang Leader Jin Kun, you should think carefully about whether you truly wish to involve yourself. I, Yuan, am not a magnanimous man," Yuan Ming said slowly, sweeping his gaze across the Hyena Hall members around him.

"Oh? Are you threatening me?" Jin Kun's eyes suddenly narrowed, his gaze turning cold.

"Not at all. It is merely advice," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

He had heard quite a bit from Tule about the relationship between the Green Wolf Gang and Hyena Hall. The two major gangs openly and secretly fought each other, and could never possibly coexist peacefully.

Given Jin Kun's character, he was likely planning to watch the tigers fight from the mountain and reap the benefits. Yuan Ming's move was meant to give Jin Kun a way out. If he could make him stand aside, today's battle might not be without a chance of victory.

Jin Kun stared at Yuan Ming, his mung-bean eyes narrowing almost into a slit before he suddenly burst into loud laughter.

Yuan Ming's brow twitched, but he said nothing.

"Hehe, Yuan Ming, you truly are no ordinary man. In such a situation, you remain calm in the face of danger and even seek to divide us. To be honest, I really did consider taking you into Hyena Hall!" Jin Kun said with a booming laugh.

"Jin Kun, do you still want the item or not?" Wubao said with a frown.

"All Hyena Hall members, heed my order! Surround this place for me! Not even a flying insect is to leave!" Jin Kun waved his hand impatiently.

The Hyena Hall members immediately scattered in all directions, forming a semicircle around the other side of the cave. Together with the Green Wolf Gang, they sealed off every exit from the cave so tightly that not even water could pass through.

At that moment, Zan Bai, who had been hiding among the crowd, suddenly drew a crossbow. Three green arrows were nocked upon it, and he aimed at Yuan Ming before pulling the trigger.

A piercing whistle tore through the air as the arrows became three streaks of green light, shooting straight for Yuan Ming's chest and other vital points.