Strange Occurrences

Yuan Ming glanced at Hagon, who was still meditating with his eyes closed, and didn't speak to disturb him. He looked up towards the top of the canyon.

He wasn't worried that Wubao and the others would chase after them. The canyon was vast. Even if the Green Wolf Gang and Hyena Hall had ten times their current number of people, finding them would still be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Yuan Ming was thinking about his Azure Fish Sword. It had been left behind at the scene when he was fighting the white-furred monster earlier.

This sword was a Half-Magic Tool, exceptionally sharp, and it would be too much of a pity to just abandon it.

But going up to search for it now would increase the risk of exposure.

"Forget it, it's just a sword." After much consideration, Yuan Ming still abandoned the idea of risking retrieving the Azure Fish Sword and sat down cross-legged.

His White Ape transformation was originally quite ordinary within the Fur Transformation Technique, but after several evolutions, the beast hide was no longer inferior to any other Furred Beast Hide. He felt he was not at a disadvantage compared to Wubao and Jin Kun.

In contrast, his cultivation was still a notch lower.

If his cultivation could advance further, reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining, he wouldn't have been in such a sorry state when facing Wubao and the others today.

Yuan Ming calmed himself, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate, gradually losing himself in the process.

While Yuan Ming and Hagon were leisurely cultivating in the canyon, Wubao had mobilized the members of the Green Wolf Gang to search for them frantically, but they couldn't find them anywhere.

He guessed that Yuan Ming might have hidden in the Misty Canyon and sent people to search, but the Misty Canyon was vast and filled with mist. After searching for several days, there wasn't a single clue.

As time passed, Yuan Ming seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, never to appear again. Some people in the Green Wolf Gang began to complain, as they still had to hand over Blood Food every month.

Wubao, concerned about the secrets Yuan Ming might possess, had to give up reluctantly, despite his unwillingness.

However, the news that Yuan Ming had managed to escape unscathed under the pursuit of both the Green Wolf Gang and the Hyena Hall spread like wildfire. Coupled with his disappearance, the name Yuan Ming became well-known in the area, passed from mouth to mouth among the Furred Beast Slaves.

Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

In a hidden cave at the bottom of the canyon, Yuan Ming sat cross-legged, a faint glow emanating from his face.

There was no sign of Hagon inside or outside the cave.

The white mist outside the cave suddenly began to churn violently, as if boiling water. The surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth was also drawn, converging towards the cave.

The convergence of spiritual energy lasted for a quarter of an hour before it subsided.

Inside the cave, Yuan Ming was enveloped in a layer of fluorescent light, making him look completely renewed.

He circulated the Nine Yuan Art, and a powerful wave of spiritual power emanated from him, several times stronger than before.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes, his expression filled with joy.

The thirteenth level of Qi Refining. Levels one to three were just the foundation. Only by reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining could one be considered to have achieved a minor success.

In half a year, advancing from the third to the fourth level of Qi Refining was considerably slower than before.

Yuan Ming, however, was not dissatisfied. As his cultivation deepened, the time required for breakthroughs greatly increased. After the third level of Qi Refining, each subsequent level required years to achieve.

He had only taken half a year to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, all thanks to the exquisite Nine Yuan Art. It was already extremely fast, and it wasn't continuous. He still had to sneak out of the valley every month to exchange for antidotes.

Yuan Ming circulated the Nine Yuan Art, slightly stabilizing his realm, and then eagerly came out of the cave. He performed the Fur Transformation Technique and transformed into the White Ape form.

The White Ape looked largely the same as before, but Yuan Ming could clearly sense that his physical strength had once again surged. With every movement, a powerful force vibrated.

He picked up a piece of bluestone from the ground and gently gripped it.

Crack!

The hard bluestone shattered instantly, turning into a puff of stone powder that slowly drifted down from his fingertips.

A hint of surprise flashed in Yuan Ming's eyes. He had originally thought that as his cultivation increased, the enhancement of physical strength from the Fur Transformation Technique would gradually weaken, just like his body size. However, the White Ape's hide seemed to be different. The increase in strength had not diminished but rather increased.

He returned to the cave, took out his bag, and a long sword wrapped in cloth was diagonally inserted inside. It was the Azure Fish Sword.

This sword had a significant connection with him. After the fierce battle with the white-furred monster that day, the Azure Fish Sword had been left behind in the forest. Fearing that Wubao and the others would detect his tracks, he hadn't retrieved it immediately, and he thought the sword was definitely lost.

Who would have thought that when he went out to gather food and drink later, he accidentally passed by that spot, and the Azure Fish Sword was still lying quietly in the forest?

Yuan Ming climbed upwards and soon reached the top.

He went to a large tree nearby and retrieved a bamboo tube from a crevice at the root of the tree. Inside was a piece of beast hide.

Yuan Ming opened the beast hide. It was filled with small characters, detailing the recent situation in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, left by Hagon.

Hagon had recovered from his injuries and left not long after entering the canyon. To keep abreast of the situation in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, Yuan Ming had used the same method as before, having Hagon leave messages in this location every month.

Looking at the information on the beast hide, Yuan Ming's eyes turned a bit colder.

The Green Wolf Gang, on the surface, no longer had a bounty out for him. In reality, Wubao had not given up and had secretly increased the rewards even more than before.

However, he was no longer the same person as before. In terms of cultivation alone, he could now be compared to Wubao, so he naturally had no fear.

Besides this, the Hundred Thousand Mountains were relatively peaceful, with no particularly unusual events occurring.

Yuan Ming put away the beast hide, took out a headscarf, and wrapped it around his head and face before heading towards Toad Valley.

He had previously asked Hagon to procure something from Zhao Tong for him. Now that almost two months had passed, Zhao Tong should have the item ready.

While traveling, Yuan Ming subconsciously activated the Shadowless Step.

With the improvement of his cultivation and spiritual power, he could now control it more freely.

Halfway there, there was a rustling sound from the nearby jungle, and a plump gray rabbit darted out, fleeing in panic towards the distance.

Yuan Ming had been in seclusion for three days and three nights to break through his bottleneck, not taking a single drop of water. Feeling a bit hungry, he formed a hand seal and pointed into the void.

A flash of green light appeared beneath the running rabbit, and a sharp wooden spike emerged from thin air, accurately piercing the rabbit's body and passing through its back.

The gray rabbit let out a squeak and struggled a few times before quickly becoming still.

He got up to retrieve the gray rabbit's corpse. Just as he was about to skin and clean it, his movements suddenly stopped. His gaze fell upon the rabbit's chin and front legs.

There was a lot of bloodstains there, appearing black and red, clearly not the rabbit's own blood.

Yuan Ming picked up a soft, fiery red strand of hair from the congealed bloodstains, which was clearly human hair.

His expression turned solemn. He got up and walked towards the jungle where the rabbit had darted out.

At first, he found nothing. But after walking not too far, a scent of blood wafted from ahead.

Yuan Ming followed the scent forward and soon arrived at a valley. Pushing aside the lush vegetation at the entrance, his expression suddenly changed.

Inside the valley, several corpses lay scattered about. They were all Furred Beast Slaves, each dismembered into several pieces, their deaths gruesome.

The Furred Beast Hides of these people were also torn into multiple pieces, completely ruined.

Yuan Ming frowned deeply!

Since entering the Hundred Thousand Mountains, he had seen his fair share of bloody battles, but this was the first time he had witnessed such brutal dismemberment. It was unlikely any Furred Beast Slave would do this, nor did it seem like the work of a Fierce Beast.

He suppressed his nausea and carefully examined the corpses, but unfortunately, he found nothing.

Yuan Ming did not linger there and left soon after.

At this point, he had lost his appetite and continued on his journey, soon arriving at Toad Valley.

However, Toad Valley, usually quite lively, was eerily quiet at the moment.

As Yuan Ming walked, his eyes scanned his surroundings. The stone houses previously used by disciples of Jade Luo Cave for business were all closed. The entire valley was deserted.

He soon arrived at Zhao Tong's stone house, which was also empty.

"Did something happen?" Yuan Ming muttered, stroking his chin.

The information Hagon had given him indicated no other anomalies in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. It seemed the drastic changes in Toad Valley were recent events.

Yuan Ming stood silently for a moment. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly remembered something. He went behind the stone house and reached into the gap between two large stones in the corner.

He soon withdrew his hand, a piece of beast hide now in his palm.

Yuan Ming had traded with Zhao Tong many times and was quite familiar with him. This was where they left messages for each other. He had learned from Zhao Tong how to communicate with Tule and Hagon by writing letters.

Yuan Ming unfolded the beast hide. The content was not much, and he finished reading it quickly.

According to the message Zhao Tong left, the closure of Toad Valley was a requirement from the Jade Luo Cave sect. As for the reason, it seemed that something had happened in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and Zhao Tong also cautioned Yuan Ming to be careful.

He put away the beast hide, and the image of the dismembered bodies he had seen not long ago flashed through his mind. He wondered if the deaths of those Furred Beast Slaves were related to the current events.

Yuan Ming did not linger in Toad Valley and soon turned to leave, heading directly back to his residence in Misty Canyon to consolidate his cultivation.

Although his cultivation had improved, he dared not be blindly arrogant. The changes in the Hundred Thousand Mountains were taken very seriously even by Jade Luo Cave, so he naturally dared not be careless.

Five days later, Yuan Ming emerged from his cave dwelling again, climbed the canyon, and headed towards the boundary marker.

He was not going out to hunt beasts; today was the day to submit his vital blood.

Yuan Ming soon arrived beneath the giant stone boundary marker and found that Wulu was already there.

"Wulu, I trust you are well," Yuan Ming greeted.

"I am doing well. How have you been lately, Brother Yuan Ming?" Wulu asked with a smile.

"I've been getting by," Yuan Ming replied with a slight smile, his attitude a bit friendlier than before.

Although the Green Wolf Gang had withdrawn their men and were no longer aggressively pursuing him, the conflict between them had not been resolved. Now, several months later, the Green Wolf Gang had not ambushed him near the boundary marker, but this had a lot to do with Wulu.

"Brother Wulu, I went to Toad Valley a few days ago. It was deserted. After inquiring everywhere, I learned that an anomaly occurred in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, leading to the sealing of Toad Valley. The Green Wolf Gang is well-informed; is that true?" Yuan Ming asked.

"We are also unclear about what changes will occur in the Hundred Thousand Mountains next," Wulu sighed thoughtfully and shook his head.

As they chatted idly, Elder Huohuo arrived from afar, riding a giant eagle, and landed near the boundary marker.

"Greetings, Elder Huohuo!" Yuan Ming and Wulu quickly stood up and bowed.

"It's good that you are both here. I have something to inform you of," Elder Huohuo said as he dismounted from the giant eagle.

"Please instruct us, Elder Huohuo," Yuan Ming and Wulu replied respectfully.