Hunting Foxes for Medicine, Fist Technique Breakthrough

The last afterglow of the setting sun vanished completely behind the ridge, and darkness swiftly fell. Biting winds swept up fine snow grains and began scattering them through the air. The camp gradually filled with the clamor and exhaustion of returning hunters, the air thick with the smells of blood, sweat, and smoke from newly lit bonfires.

Li Bufan completed a round of patrols and returned to the center of the camp to hand over his duties. He saw the other guards turning in their respective catches while the steward responsible for counting loudly called out the numbers and someone beside him recorded them. The haul seemed somewhat better than yesterday's, but there was still nothing especially eye-catching.

As she had yesterday, Nanny Wu stood beside the carriage, her gaze sweeping over the piled-up prey. Her brows creased almost imperceptibly. Though the overall harvest was decent, the Lin Family had a great need for high-quality furs during this Winter Hunt—the more, the better—for making cold-weather clothing and greasing the wheels of relationships. Yet while there were quite a few good furs among the prey, not a single one could be called a true treasure.

Li Bufan's heart stirred. The patrol route at the very edge of the camp was remote, but it seemed closer to areas that had not been disturbed on a large scale. Perhaps... He took the initiative to approach the guard Captain in charge of assigning patrol duties, cupped his fists, and said, "Captain, could I be transferred to the outermost patrol route tomorrow? While patrolling today, I noticed several snow slopes over there with excellent visibility. It is also quieter, so it may be easier to keep watch and prevent hungry mountain beasts or petty thieves from slipping through the cracks."

The Captain glanced at him. He naturally remembered this "celebrity," who had caused such a commotion yesterday and had personally been assigned patrol duty by the young lady today. After a brief pause, he nodded. "Fine. The outer perimeter does need someone alert. But it is colder and more dangerous there. Be careful."

"Thank you, Captain! I understand!" Li Bufan replied, his heart settling. Only by avoiding the eyes of the crowd could he peacefully digest what he had gained. If fortune favored him, perhaps he might even find some unexpected harvest.

The following day, the sky was even gloomier than it had been over the past two days. Lead-gray clouds hung low, as if a blizzard could descend at any moment. Li Bufan rose early and felt the blood and qi within him becoming a little more solid, his skin membrane a little tougher. He looked forward even more keenly to that final breakthrough.

After receiving his assignment, he was indeed sent to the route at the very edge of the camp. This was already the boundary of the camp's guarded territory, a place rarely visited by people. Only the lonely howl of cold wind passed over the snowy plains and through the dead woods. Snow had begun to fall. At first, it was merely fine grains, but it gradually became goose-feather flakes drifting down in swarms, quickly gathering into a thin layer over his leather armor and hat brim.

Li Bufan did not slacken. Instead, he grew even more vigilant. Heavy snow could conceal tracks, but it could conceal danger just as easily. He walked slowly and steadily along the designated route, his five senses sharpened to their limits. His eyes swept like a hawk over the endless whiteness, jagged strange rocks, and sparse trees.

The wind and snow grew fiercer, visibility steadily dropping. Silence blanketed the surroundings, broken only by the crunch of his boots on packed snow. Just as he patrolled past a sheltered snow slope, the corner of his eye suddenly caught an extremely swift flash of silver-white in the distance!

That figure was incredibly fast, almost blending into the snow itself. If not for the faint spray of snow it kicked up as it moved, and that trace of nimble grace, it would have been almost impossible to notice.

Snow Fox! Li Bufan's heart lurched, and even his breath caught! And it was a rare Snow Fox with exceptionally pure fur! Its pelt was worth far more than those of other wild beasts. This was precisely the finest kind of prize the Lin Family most desired!

An opportunity! He could not let it slip away!

Almost the instant Li Bufan spotted it, the Snow Fox seemed to notice the distant living creature as well. It paused, looked warily in his direction, then without the slightest hesitation leaped into the air on all fours and transformed into a silver-white streak, racing toward the deep mountains away from camp!

How could Li Bufan allow it to escape so easily? Blood and qi surged through his body in an instant, the power of Peak Minor Success in Skin Refining flooding into his legs as he violently kicked off the ground!

Bang! Snow exploded beneath him, and he shot after it like an arrow loosed from the bowstring!

Man and fox began a fierce chase amid the swirling wind and snow!

The Snow Fox truly deserved its reputation as a strange beast renowned for speed and agility. Especially within the snowy terrain it knew so well, it was like a fish in water. At times, it sprinted straight ahead, swift as lightning. At other times, it made abrupt turns and detours, constantly changing direction with the terrain in an attempt to shake off its pursuer.

Li Bufan pushed his speed to the limit. He used the techniques for explosive bursts from the Mighty Ox Fist to their fullest. Every step sank deeply into the snow before wrenching free, releasing tremendous forward force. Wind and snow lashed his face, cold enough to pierce bone, but he felt none of it. His eyes saw only that silver-white figure constantly changing direction ahead of him.

He crossed a ridge blanketed in deep snow, charged down a steep slope, and passed through a Deadwood Forest covered in ice and snow... He pursued it for more than five li! Li Bufan's breathing grew heavy, heat steamed from his entire body, and sweat froze the instant it seeped out. Yet the distance between him and the Snow Fox was steadily closing!

After the bloody battle with the wolf pack and the strengthening of Skin Tempering Paste, his endurance and explosive power had already surpassed those of ordinary Warriors at the same level!

At last, upon a relatively open snowfield, Li Bufan seized a fleeting opportunity! During one sharp change of direction, the Snow Fox's hind leg slipped slightly on a patch of hidden ice, its speed slowing by a fraction for an instant!

Now! A brilliant gleam flashed in Li Bufan's eyes. The powerful bow already gripped in his hand was drawn to its fullest! Blood and qi poured into both arms as his gaze locked firmly onto that point of silver-white!

Whoosh—!

The arrow left the string, splitting the wind and snow with a sharp whistle! It traced an incomparably precise arc and viciously embedded itself in the Snow Fox's hind leg!

"Screech—!" The Snow Fox let out a miserable cry. Its speed plummeted, and it stumbled into the snow, dots of vivid red immediately scattering across the pristine white ground.

Li Bufan hurried over. Looking at the Snow Fox struggling in the snow and attempting to flee on three legs, a trace of pity flashed through his eyes, but it was swiftly replaced by resolve. Such were the laws of the mountains and forests. Carefully avoiding its sharp teeth, he bound it with the rope he carried. He also roughly bandaged its injured hind leg to keep it from bleeding to death and damaging the quality of the fur.

Carrying the precious Snow Fox, which still struggled faintly, Li Bufan let out a long breath. A powerful sense of accomplishment welled up within him. This was not merely a rich harvest, but proof of his own strength and perseverance.

The wind and snow continued, and the journey back became somewhat more difficult with prey in hand. He followed his own tracks, stumbling deep and shallow through the snow. As he passed a sheltered rocky cliff, he instinctively looked up, his gaze sweeping over a crevice at the base of the cliff that was half-buried beneath snow.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Within that rocky crevice, beneath the covering of snow, something unusually white seemed to protrude slightly. Its shape was peculiar, unlike ordinary ice, snow, or stone.

Li Bufan's heart stirred. He carefully climbed over and brushed away the snow on the surface. A strange plant came into view—it was snow-white from root to tip, as though carved from ice and jade. It resembled ganoderma, yet was even more crystalline and translucent, giving off a faint chill and an extremely subtle fragrance.

"This is... Snow Ganoderma?" Li Bufan was briefly stunned, then the medicinal herb illustrations and notes he had studied as an apprentice at Huichun Hall flashed through his mind! That was right! There could be no mistake! This was the rare herb recorded in those books—Snow Ganoderma! It usually grew in icy rock crevices in lands of extreme cold, drawing upon the essence of ice and snow. Its medicinal properties were mild yet abundant, capable of nourishing blood and qi and producing the miraculous effect of Solidifying Foundation and Cultivating Origin. For martial artists, it was a great tonic that repaired one's foundation and strengthened blood and qi!

He had searched high and low in iron shoes only to find it without any effort at all! Li Bufan's heart pounded wildly. He had never expected that chasing a Snow Fox would bring such an unexpected windfall! To him, this Snow Ganoderma was worth even more than the precious Snow Fox in his hand!

Suppressing his excitement, he carefully used his dagger to dig out the Snow Ganoderma intact, roots and all, along with some of the frozen soil around it. He wrapped it in clean soft cloth and solemnly tucked it close against his body.

Only after finishing all this did he pick up the Snow Fox and quicken his pace back to camp.

When he appeared at the camp entrance with his weary yet excited body, carrying the continuously struggling Snow Fox, he caused another uproar!

"Gasp... a Snow Fox!"

"He actually caught one? While on patrol?"

"This luck is just too..."

The steward in charge of counting prey stared wide-eyed. He hurried forward to take it, examining it carefully, especially the arrow wound. After confirming everything, his face split into a grin as he loudly announced, "Patrol guard Li Bufan has turned in one Snow Fox! Completely intact!"

A wave of envious exclamations immediately rose around him. Even Nanny Wu beside the carriage cast him a slightly surprised look. The carriage curtain seemed to stir faintly, but it was not lifted.

Li Bufan remained calm and said nothing more. After turning in the prey, he politely declined others' questions about how he had caught it. Claiming that patrol duty had exhausted him and that he needed rest, he quickly returned to his tent.

The moment he entered the tent and shut out the outside world, he immediately and eagerly took out the Snow Ganoderma.

Its icy touch contained vast vitality. He hesitated no longer, swallowing it in several bites before chewing slowly.

The Snow Ganoderma was icy upon entering his mouth, then melted into a warm, sweet fluid that slid down his throat. Immediately afterward, an immense medicinal power of incomparable purity—yet mild and without harshness—burst forth like a warm current, rushing into his limbs and bones!

This medicinal power was entirely different from the Skin Tempering Paste and Beast Heart Blood he had consumed before. It was neither violent nor domineering. Like spring rain moistening all things silently, it swiftly permeated his body. Wherever it passed, his blood and qi became extraordinarily active and full. The physical strength he had exhausted chasing the Snow Fox during the day was instantly replenished, and even some hidden injuries from yesterday that had not fully healed were rapidly nourished and repaired!

"What powerful medicinal effects! It truly deserves to be one of the precious herbs recorded in the books!" Li Bufan did not dare delay. He immediately performed the movements of the Mighty Ox Fist with all his strength, using the vast medicinal power to merge with his blood and qi and temper his physique.

His skin once again took on a bronze luster, one that grew increasingly deep as it faintly shifted toward dark bronze! Blood and qi surged and roared through his body, making a rushing sound like a flowing river. That was a sign of blood and qi flourishing to their utmost limit!

Within his mind, every move and stance of the Mighty Ox Fist spun rapidly like a revolving lantern. Many places that had once felt stagnant were broken through one after another beneath the impact of the immense medicinal power and his clear insight, as unstoppable as bamboo splitting under a blade!

No one knew how much time passed. When nearly seventy percent of the Snow Ganoderma's medicinal power had been absorbed, Li Bufan was suddenly struck by inspiration. He opened his eyes sharply and let out a low roar. Within the cramped tent, he unleashed the final stance of the Mighty Ox Fist—Mighty Ox Horn Strike!

This stance held itself in reserve without releasing, yet it gathered all of his blood and qi, strength, and will into a single point. The air before his fist seemed to twist slightly, emitting a dull hum!

Boom!

[Heaven Rewards Diligence]

[Mighty Ox Fist], (1/), Great Mastery.

His Skin Tempering Realm also followed the natural course of events, crossing that final step and completely reaching Peak Minor Mastery!

Li Bufan slowly withdrew his fist. Feeling the vigorous, endlessly surging blood and qi within him respond as readily as his own limbs, along with the incomparable toughness radiating from the skin membrane across his body, he finally revealed an uncontrollable expression of wild joy.

The Snow Ganoderma's medicinal power had not yet been completely exhausted. It still slowly nourished his body, consolidating the realm he had just broken through.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking sharply as a powerful confidence rose naturally within him.

The wind and snow still howled beyond the tent, but the youth within had already completed a transformation of crucial importance. The road ahead now seemed farther and clearer than ever before.