Chapter 16

Yuan Ming felt a sharp pain from his shoulder, but his movements did not stop for a moment. His body spun around, and his right leg, like a battle axe, swung out with a sharp wind, fiercely kicking the blue fox in the waist.

“Bang”

The blue fox was kicked away, crashing heavily into a large tree behind it and falling to the ground.

The fox quickly got up, and although the spot where it was kicked seemed uninjured, several old wounds that had not yet healed began to bleed again.

Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, the blue fox's steps were slightly unsteady. Its emerald eyes stared intently at Yuan Ming, who met its gaze without backing down, clenching his fists and letting out a few low, fierce roars.

After a few breaths, the blue fox suddenly turned and ran into the distance, disappearing into the forest in a flash.

Yuan Ming let out a long breath, his tense face relaxing slightly as he shook his somewhat swollen and painful right leg.

The strength of this blue fox far exceeded his expectations, its physical resilience was remarkable. If it had not been injured in the previous battle with the yellow armadillo, he would have had no chance of succeeding.

Even so, he did not have absolute confidence in dealing with the second blue fox. If it had really fought to the death, the outcome would have been uncertain.

Of course, Yuan Ming was also determined to fight to the death. He did not intend to let go of the blue fox's corpse that he had obtained.

As the saying goes, in a narrow path, the brave one wins. In the end, it was the blue fox that fled in fear.

Yuan Ming treated the claw wound on his shoulder, stopping the bleeding, and then hung the blue fox's corpse on a nearby small tree. He took out a bone knife and slit its throat.

Dark red fox blood gushed out, and he collected it in a leather bag designed for storing blood. Soon, the bag was half full, and the fox blood continued to flow.

"Judging by this trend, the blood of one blue fox will fill this leather bag. How can I hunt other fierce beasts?" Yuan Ming muttered to himself, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Given the identity and experience of the Fire Calling Elder, it was impossible for him not to have considered this issue.

"Could there be something special about this leather bag?" Yuan Ming's gaze shifted to the strange blood-red patterns on the surface of the bag, and a thought suddenly came to him.

He extended a couple of fingers and touched the blood-red patterns, channeling his dantian power through these fingers and slowly injecting it into the patterns.

The patterns instantly became even more vivid, and the entire bag glowed with a faint blood light, like the afterglow of a sunset. The fox blood inside also began to flow, as if stirred by an invisible hand.

To Yuan Ming's amazement, the fox blood in the bag visibly decreased in just a few breaths, and more than half of it had disappeared.

The remaining fox blood looked even more vivid and emitted a more intense bloody smell.

"This bag is indeed no ordinary thing. It must be refining and purifying the beast blood stored inside." Yuan Ming's face lit up with joy as he continued to channel his power, carefully injecting it into the leather bag.

At that moment, the leather bag emitted a light "pu" sound, as if the injected power had broken through a barrier. The surface of the bag glowed with a white light, forming a continuously swirling white circle.

A strong suction force emerged from the white circle, enveloping the wound on the blue fox's neck.

"Whoosh!"

A large amount of fox blood spurted out, but not a single drop fell outside, all of it entering the leather bag.

"This bag can even collect beast blood on its own?" Yuan Ming's eyes widened slightly but quickly returned to normal.

It was not surprising that a blood-storing leather bag had the ability to collect beast blood. If the corpse of a fierce beast was hung on a tree, not only would the efficiency of collecting beast blood be too low, but a lot would be wasted if not careful. As a sect, the Bila Cave would certainly have considered this issue if they needed this beast blood.

However, the Fire Calling Elder had not mentioned this, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

As the blue fox's blood was drained, the refinement in the leather bag also ended. All the fox blood had transformed into a small, fist-sized, crystal-clear blood mass, hanging quietly inside the bag.

Although very faint, the crystal-clear blood mass emitted a slight magical fluctuation.

"It seems my guess was correct. This blue fox is indeed a fierce beast that can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to strengthen itself." Yuan Ming concluded, not lingering in the area. He picked up the blue fox's corpse and retreated to the canyon, quickly reaching the edge.

At that moment, dense running sounds came from behind, mixed with heavy breathing.

Yuan Ming leaped onto a large tree and looked back, his pupils suddenly contracting.

He saw that at least a dozen blue foxes were running towards him, less than twenty yards away.

"Trouble, these blue foxes are actually pack animals!" Yuan Ming hurriedly climbed down the tree and leaped into the canyon, his figure quickly blending into the thick fog.

After a few breaths, the blue foxes reached the edge of the canyon, roaring at the misty canyon, but none of them dared to step into it, as if they were wary of something.

...

Amidst the rolling fog, Yuan Ming did not slow his pace, running full speed to the opposite shore, quickly reaching the stone wall.

Carrying the blue fox's corpse and running for so long, even with the Fur Cloak Spell, he was still exhausted and had to stop to catch his breath.

Fortunately, the fog behind him was quiet, and the blue foxes did not pursue him.

Yuan Ming found it strange but did not delve into it. After recovering some of his strength, he picked up the blue fox's corpse and climbed up, quickly reaching the top.

The blue foxes were still lingering on the opposite shore. Seeing Yuan Ming and the blue fox's corpse on his back, they roared again, but none of them dared to step into the canyon.

"It seems these blue foxes dare not enter the canyon. I wonder if they are afraid of the fog or if the Bila Cave has used some means to prevent them from doing so?" Yuan Ming speculated.

If his latter guess was correct, this canyon would be very useful. In the future, if he encountered powerful fierce beasts, he could just hide in the canyon.

After standing silently for a while, Yuan Ming turned and walked into the forest, his figure quickly disappearing.

The blue foxes on the opposite shore lingered at the edge of the canyon for a while before finally dispersing, unwillingly.

Half an hour later, Yuan Ming returned to the cave with the blue fox's corpse, carrying an additional cloth bag containing several plants.

He could not recall the names of these plants, but he had seen them on the way and remembered that they had the effect of stopping bleeding and promoting healing, so he picked them.

"It seems I had some knowledge of medicine in the past," he thought to himself, casting a spell to remove the Fur Cloak Spell and exposing the wound on his shoulder.

Covered by the ape skin for so long, the bleeding had mostly stopped.

Yuan Ming crushed the plants, mixed them with water to form a paste, and applied it to the wound.

Instantly, a cool sensation spread, reducing the pain and completely stopping the bleeding.

"Indeed effective," Yuan Ming was pleased.

In this forest, getting injured was common, and this healing formula would certainly be very useful.

At that moment, his stomach growled.

Casting the Fur Cloak Spell not only consumed his magical power but also his physical strength. After the intense battle with the blue fox, his stomach was empty.

Yuan Ming got up and cut two pieces of fox meat, starting a fire to roast them. The aroma soon spread, making his mouth water.

"The blood and flesh of fierce beasts contain spiritual energy, indeed different from ordinary wild beasts," he thought, waiting for the meat to be about seven-tenths cooked before eagerly devouring it.

After eating the two pieces of fox meat, Yuan Ming felt warm and satisfied, rubbing his stomach and then sitting down to plan his next steps.

He had already witnessed the power of fierce beasts today. The blue foxes and yellow armadillos lived in the forest's edge, and they were just the most common fierce beasts.

Even the slightly weaker blue foxes, in a one-on-one battle without any other assistance, he would likely lose more often than win, let alone a whole pack of them.

He had four more days to hunt four more fierce beasts, and his time was tight. He needed to quickly come up with a good strategy.

After some thought, Yuan Ming decided to target the blue foxes.

First, because they were slightly weaker, and second, because there were many of them, enough for him to hunt.

"Should I dig a trap like when I hunted the black bear?" Yuan Ming, lacking much hunting experience, first thought of the old method.

But after careful consideration, he rejected this idea.

The blue foxes were different from the black bear. They knew to retreat and call for reinforcements when faced with danger, and they were clearly very cunning. Their agility meant that a crudely set trap would likely fail, and he didn't want to make a mistake.

Yuan Ming continued to think hard, and after a moment, he suddenly looked up, as if he had an idea.

"Yes, that's what I'll do!"

The night passed quickly.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.

After a night of intense cultivation, the power in his dantian had increased slightly. With the speed of the Nine Yuan Technique, if he had another ten days or half a month, he might not fear the blue foxes.

Unfortunately, he did not have much time left.

After hastily roasting two more pieces of fox meat to fill his stomach, Yuan Ming cast the Fur Cloak Spell, transforming into a