Within the mist, Wenlong kept feeling something attacking him. He instinctively used his mental power, trying to get a clear look at his opponent.
To his astonishment, there was nothing around him. This is bad. Alarm rose in his heart, and he used Shadow Step, turning to flee.
Only long after he had run out of the mist did he come to his senses. That had been close! He had wandered into the mist, fallen prey to its miasma, and begun hallucinating.
Had he ventured deeper, lost his way, and failed to find an exit, he would surely have died. Danger lurked on every side in the Hundred-Thousand Mountains. One careless move could leave him here forever.
Having learned this lesson, Wenlong became even more cautious. Whenever he encountered dense woods, he would probe them with his mental power before proceeding. A carefully steered ship could sail for a thousand years.
Countless strange plants grew in the primeval forest. Wenlong gathered only the precious medicinal herbs he recognized, though he also collected unusual plants to check against his herb books later.
Among them, he had already obtained the exceedingly precious blood lingzhi, the main herb required for the Life-Extending Pill.
His next step was to kill an adult male tiger for the heart's blood he needed. Once he managed that, he could leave the mountains satisfied.
Just then, a tiger's roar rang out in the distance. From the sound of it, it had come from the mountain opposite him.
Wenlong was delighted. It might well be a male tiger patrolling the mountain. Tigers were fiercely territorial and often patrolled their own domains.
Now that he knew there was a tiger there, he was in no hurry. He could eat his fill and rest first, then go looking for it.
A