Chapter 71

Nanli Mountain is located in the southwest of Fengming Empire, about 1,800 li away from the capital. It is a mountain range with towering peaks and steep cliffs, bordering the Daxia Empire.

In the mountain range, giant trees reach for the sky, and countless wild beasts roam, with occasional appearances of magical beasts. This is a wild and uninhabited land.

In a valley within the Nanli Mountain range, on either side are towering cliffs, which is the only path to the Daxia Empire.

"Boom"

In a secluded pond deep in the mountain range, Long Chen sat cross-legged on a large rock. A muffled sound came from within his body, and the twelfth vortex was born.

The vortex, originally only a few feet in diameter, instantly expanded to a terrifying size of over ten feet, making one's scalp tingle.

A normal person's vortex is only the size of a fist. It is said that some people's vortices are as large as a bowl, and there are even legends of geniuses whose vortices are as large as a water vat. Long Chen's vortex, however, was so large that it was impossible to measure.

The size of a vortex often determines the speed and amount of heaven and earth's spiritual energy it can absorb. Once a person advances from the Qi Gathering Realm to the Blood Condensation Realm, the vortex does not disappear, meaning it remains the ultimate means of absorbing heaven and earth's spiritual energy.

Originally, the expansion of the vortex would be a pleasant surprise, but when it expands beyond your imagination, it can be truly shocking.

Long Chen's heart raced as he looked at the twelve neatly arranged vortices in his dantian, each greedily absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

The spiritual energy here was much more concentrated than in the capital, and Long Chen had broken through in just two days.

Long Chen's confidence was waning. It was too bizarre. If this continued, when would it end? The size of the vortex was truly terrifying.

"Whine"

As Long Chen was deep in thought, a snow-white little creature jumped onto the large rock where he was sitting and burrowed into his arms.

Seeing this adorable little creature, Long Chen immediately put aside his concerns and picked it up.

Lu Fang'er had once instructed Long Chen on how to tame magical beasts. Over the past two days, Long Chen had hunted several mountain chickens and fed the Crimson Flame Snow Wolf with fresh chicken blood.

What amazed Long Chen was that the magical beast's body immediately became firmer after drinking the blood, and it no longer walked unsteadily.

What was even more astonishing was that this little creature, which had no teeth, began to bite into the mountain chicken, tearing off a piece of skin and swallowing it whole.

However, its throat was too narrow, and it choked, rolling its eyes. Long Chen was startled and quickly removed the food.

But the little creature, acting on instinct, started tearing again as soon as Long Chen removed the chicken skin.

Long Chen had no choice but to cut the chicken into small pieces to feed it, and he was almost stunned by what happened next.

This little creature, only slightly larger than a palm, ate half a chicken, which was almost twice its body size.

After eating half a chicken, the little creature's belly was only slightly swollen, and it fell asleep next to Long Chen. When it woke up, it continued to eat.

In just a few days, the little creature had grown from the size of a palm to over a foot long, and it had developed four sharp canine teeth, though still quite tender, they were already quite formidable. It would tear into food with great enthusiasm.

The little creature looked fierce but was very attached to Long Chen. When it was tired, it would nap in Long Chen's arms, sometimes even licking his face.

However, Long Chen could no longer use it to wash his face, as it had started eating meat, and the smell was a bit strong.

Long Chen gently stroked the Crimson Flame Snow Wolf, and the thought of Meng Qi's flawless face made his heart race.

"Boom"

A loud explosion came from a distance. Long Chen looked over and saw a large tree in the dense forest a few miles away collapse, accompanied by a thunderous roar.

Long Chen shook his head, picked up the little creature, and ran in that direction. When he arrived, a once lush forest was now a mess, with trees shattered and scattered everywhere.

In the center of the clearing, a massive figure was carrying a huge, one-zhang-tall savage bull.

"Aman, how many times have I told you to use some technique when hunting? The key is to use the least amount of effort to achieve your goal," Long Chen said, looking at Aman with a helpless expression.

"Hehe, Brother Long, I remembered what you said before hunting, but I forgot once I saw the prey," Aman scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.

Long Chen looked at the savage bull, whose neck had been twisted, and didn't know what to say.

Aman was incredibly strong, like a humanoid magical beast, and the most terrifying kind at that. However, he seemed to have no affinity for techniques.

On this journey, this was the fourth magical beast Aman had killed to satisfy his hunger. Although this savage bull was only a first-stage magical beast, its strength was astonishing, and even a Blood Condensation Realm expert might not be its match.

But in Aman's hands, it was like a chicken, with no resistance, its neck twisted effortlessly.

Aman's favorite way to fight was to use sheer strength to overwhelm his enemies, which gave Long Chen a headache.

It seemed Aman was like a magical beast, acting on instinct. He remembered things clearly before a fight but forgot everything once it started.

"Alright, let's process this savage bull. We'll skin it, remove the organs, and keep the meat."

Long Chen took out a sharp knife and began to skin the bull. This kind of delicate work was not something Aman could handle. He was better at chopping the bull into mincemeat with his axe.

The scent of magical beasts could travel far, and other magical beasts could smell it from hundreds of miles away. After processing the bull, Aman carried the skinned and gutted carcass back to the camp.

Long Chen had chosen a campsite behind a waterfall, where there was a natural cave, providing a ready-made shelter.

The waterfall's water could mask their scent, making it less likely for other magical beasts to notice them.

Although they weren't afraid of ordinary magical beasts, being ambushed by one would be very troublesome, especially if the beast was venomous, which could be a fatal threat.

The cave was spacious, and Long Chen built a large fire, roasting the entire savage bull. In less than an hour, the aroma filled the entire cave.

"Whine"

The Crimson Flame Snow Wolf, seeing the large roasted bull, broke free from Long Chen's arms and pounced towards it.

Long Chen was startled and quickly grabbed it. If he had been any slower, the little creature would have fallen into the fire.

At that moment, the beautiful little creature, though not in danger of being burned to death, would have had its white fur scorched.

"No fooling around," Long Chen glared at the Crimson Flame Snow Wolf, putting on an angry face.

The little creature seemed to sense Long Chen's anger and immediately became obedient, its large eyes fixed on the ground, not daring to look at Long Chen's face, as if admitting its mistake.

Although Long Chen hadn't implanted a slave mark on the little creature, he could still clearly convey his emotions using the communication techniques Lu Fang'er had taught him.

Implanting a slave mark would allow him to control the creature's life and death with a thought, ensuring it would never betray him.

However, Long Chen didn't treat the little creature as a slave but as a companion. But the Crimson Flame Snow Wolf was like a child and needed to learn what was right and wrong.

After being obedient for a while, the little creature sneaked a glance at Long Chen. Seeing his still stern face, it slowly moved its head towards Long Chen's chin, rubbing against it as if seeking affection.

Long Chen wanted to laugh but held back. If he let it off this time, it would be even bolder next time. He needed to teach it a lesson.

The Crimson Flame Snow Wolf rubbed against Long Chen for a while, but seeing his still stern face, it lowered its head. To Long Chen's surprise, the little creature actually started to cry.

Long Chen couldn't believe it. He examined closely and saw that it was indeed tears, and its nose was twitching as if it were sobbing.

"Alright, don't do that again. It's very dangerous and could hurt you. Understand?" Long Chen smiled bitterly and gently stroked the little creature's head.

The Crimson Flame Snow Wolf seemed to understand and started rubbing its head against Long Chen's chin again, trying to please him.

Long Chen sighed. It seemed this little creature was not easy to handle. He then looked at Aman, who was already talking non-stop, and felt a headache coming on.

Seeing the meat was almost done, Long Chen cut off a large piece and gave it to the Crimson Flame Snow Wolf. The little creature didn't like minced meat; it preferred to tear its own pieces.

Long Chen only cut off about ten pounds of meat. The rest was not his concern because Aman's stomach was like a bottomless pit, always hungry.

Even though he knew about Aman's appetite, Long Chen was still amazed when he saw Aman devour several thousand pounds of beef. Looking at the bones on the ground and Aman's still unsatisfied expression, Long Chen was speechless.

According to Aman, eating the meat of magical beasts was especially delicious and made him feel incredibly strong, much better than eating regular beef.

Long Chen also examined Aman's body again and found that the dormant cells in his body were gradually awakening, a very good sign.

He also seemed to understand that the flesh and blood of magical beasts were extremely important to Aman, and the stronger the beast, the greater the benefit to Aman.

After eating, the little creature's belly was round, and it fell asleep next to Long Chen. Long Chen began to prepare for his cultivation. Since he couldn't enter the Blood Condensation Realm, he could only continue to condense vortices.

Aman hesitated for a moment, then, carrying the giant axe Long Chen had given him, went out to hunt again, as if he was never full.

At noon the next day, a gust of wind blew, and a noisy sound came from a distance. Long Chen, who had been meditating, slowly opened his eyes. The person he was waiting for had finally arrived.