Chapter 32

After putting all the items he brought out of the cave into his storage bag, Bai Shi's steps forward became much lighter and happier.

Of course, included in the storage bag were the blood of the several already deceased strong men. That blood was enough for Bai Shi to refine many medicines.

However, even so, the twenty-mile journey would still take some time for the current Bai Shi. Along the way, he also had to find some food and pay attention to whether there were any medicinal herbs needed for future refining.

Therefore, when Bai Shi reached the maple forest, the sky was already dotted with stars, and a crescent moon, like a sickle, illuminated the path ahead.

Although the maple forest was covered with fallen leaves, Bai Shi knew that beneath these leaves lay extensive swamps. This was not just because of the fallen leaves, but more so due to the mud soaked by rainwater and the accumulation of mountain streams.

Thus, Bai Shi moved through the maple forest very slowly and cautiously. Although he did not have to worry about the appearance of strange beasts, if he accidentally fell into a swamp, whether he could pull himself out was uncertain.

Despite the difficulty, Bai Shi's eyes remained resolute and determined, just like the path beneath his feet, which did not allow for retreat.

In this forward movement, Bai Shi did not stop. The surroundings were very quiet, except for the sound of Bai Shi stepping on the leaves, there was nothing else. Normally, at this time, one should be able to hear the howls of strange beasts. But these beasts had already hidden away, all because of the white fox.

What Bai Shi needed now was to find a clearing or some crevices in the rocks amidst the dense maple trees, then take out the wild rabbit he had hunted from his storage bag, and start roasting it. Finally, he would have a good sleep, waiting for the next day to continue his journey.

Fortunately, after such careful travel, Bai Shi finally saw a clearing not far from him, and even some stone mounds that seemed to be used for making fires.

He was certain that someone had definitely stayed here before, and even more certain that there were no swamps there.

Bai Shi quickly approached the stone mounds, took a deep breath, and started a fire. He took out the wild rabbit he had hunted and began preparing his late dinner for the day.

Soon, after the wild rabbit was processed, Bai Shi placed it over the flames to roast. The aroma of the wild rabbit quickly spread, attracting the white fox, which stared at the soon-to-be-roasted rabbit without moving.

After about half an hour, the wild rabbit was finally cooked. After Bai Shi and the white fox were full, Bai Shi let out a satisfied belch, lay on the ground, and gazed at the stars in the sky, his eyes showing a hint of confusion, as if in deep thought.

The white fox stood beside Bai Shi, its eyelids becoming heavy, opening and closing intermittently. The white glow from its body illuminated Bai Shi and scared away any strange beasts that tried to approach.

In fact, that was a kind of aura, an aura that made strange beasts fear!

Unconsciously, in this gaze, Bai Shi finally fell into a deep sleep. It was not until the next day, when the sunlight penetrated the forest and shone on Bai Shi, that his tightly closed eyes reluctantly opened.

Standing up, Bai Shi listened to the pleasant bird songs, took a deep breath, and lazily stretched. His gaze was directed towards the distance.

What he needed now was to find a secluded place to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and enhance his strength. Additionally, he needed to put the white fox into the storage bag to let the strange beasts approach him, gain some practical combat experience, and collect some spoils to sell in the market for money to buy medicine in the future.

Of course, before finding a secluded place for cultivation, Bai Shi would not put the white fox into the storage bag.

Thus, after a brief pause, Bai Shi took another step forward, continuing his journey.

The path inside the maple forest was very complex, making it difficult to distinguish directions, or one could say there was no path at all inside the maple forest.

But Bai Shi had a good memory. As he walked, he observed the surrounding terrain, so even if he entered deeper into the maple forest, he could still find his way out. However, even so, the always cautious Bai Shi was prepared for getting lost.

Moving forward, Bai Shi had advanced about ten miles when a tree with a history of a thousand years appeared before him. Although there were few branches and leaves on the trunk, each leaf was emerald green, swaying in the wind, exuding vitality.

The trunk was very thick, requiring several adults to encircle it with their arms. Some roots had already spread to the ground, extending through the swamps, resembling snakes lying on the ground. On the trunk, there was a tree hole large enough for a person to enter.

Bai Shi knew that such a tree hole was likely a habitat for strange beasts. Thus, he carefully approached with the white fox.

The aura from the white fox was very strong. Bai Shi was well aware that if there were strange beasts in the tree hole, they would have already sensed the white fox's aura and fled. But at this moment, there was no movement, so Bai Shi concluded that there were likely no strange beasts in the tree hole.

With a leap, Bai Shi entered the tree hole. The inside of the tree hole was not as dark as he had imagined; instead, due to the small holes in the trunk, light penetrated, illuminating the tree hole brightly.

But Bai Shi did not pay much attention to this. Even though he smelled a pungent odor inside the tree hole and knew it was a habitat for a strange beast, what he primarily sensed was the dense spiritual energy!

"Such dense spiritual energy!"

For a cultivator, or for someone with a pure soul, sensing spiritual energy was the most exciting thing. Bai Shi could clearly feel that the spiritual energy inside the tree hole was the densest he had ever sensed, even surpassing the spiritual energy in the wine cellar behind Dongchen Manor!

With a greedy look in his eyes, the moment Bai Shi leaped into the tree hole and sensed the dense spiritual energy, he immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began absorbing the spiritual energy inside the tree hole.

Soon, as Bai Shi's consciousness expanded, the spiritual energy inside the tree hole followed his consciousness, seemingly utilizing some unknown natural law, spreading around his body and finally seeping into his body through his skin!

Time passed quickly in such a quiet and focused state. Bai Shi maintained this posture for three days. Because the white fox was guarding beside him, the strange beasts that originally inhabited the area had already started looking for new homes. Meanwhile, a more substantial force was rapidly circulating within Bai Shi's body.

As night fell and the stars reappeared in the sky, the spiritual energy circulating around Bai Shi's body became more evident and numerous, like small snakes, weaving around his body and finally transforming into white threads, emitting a glow, and surging from the top of Bai Shi's head.

As these white-light-like spiritual energies surged from Bai Shi's head, Bai Shi's consciousness experienced a slight pain, but this feeling only lasted for a moment, flashing through his trembling body.

This sensation did not stop Bai Shi's desire to absorb spiritual energy. He clearly knew that this slight pain was a normal feeling, and often, some cultivators gave up on absorbing spiritual energy due to this pain, causing the originally gathered spiritual energy to dissipate over time.

Encountering such a dense source of spiritual energy was rare, and the closed-eyed Bai Shi was not willing to let it go.

Even so, this pain, which was initially rare, increased over time. By the fourth day, sweat from pain began to seep from Bai Shi's forehead, but he did not open his eyes. Instead, he continued to control his consciousness and absorb the spiritual energy from the tree hole.

At this moment, the originally emerald green branches and leaves of the thousand-year-old tree began to wither, and as the breeze blew, they fell from the branches, becoming part of the many fallen leaves.

If a highly skilled person were standing outside the tree at this moment, they would not find it difficult to notice that the spiritual energy from the thousand-year-old tree was subtly flowing into the tree hole!

At the moment the fifth night arrived, a surging force suddenly burst out from the tree hole. Inside the tree hole, Bai Shi also underwent a change. This change was not just the growth of stubble on his face but the previously motionless hands began to tremble, emitting energy fluctuations. Under these fluctuations, white threads appeared, and the seated body began to levitate!

The spiritual energy circulating around his body, as it levitated, spread like vines along his body. More importantly, under the energy fluctuations, after the fifth white thread appeared, another invisible force surged, and the sixth white thread appeared!

But as the sixth white thread was not yet fully formed, a subtle change occurred around the sixth white thread!

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