Chapter 17

After leaving the armadillo territory, Yuan Ming followed the direction in which the second blue fox had fled the previous day, searching for half a day. Finally, he discovered traces of blue fox activity outside a mountain hollow.

There were two blue foxes, slightly smaller than the one he had seen the previous day, lazily lying at the entrance of the mountain hollow, seemingly basking in the sun.

Before Yuan Ming could do anything, a fox cry echoed from within the hollow, and then four or five blue foxes rushed out, joining the two outside and darting into the dense forest.

"It seems this mountain hollow is the den of those blue foxes," Yuan Ming glanced into the hollow and then followed the group of blue foxes into the forest.

With his current dexterity in controlling his transformed white ape form, he easily trailed behind the blue foxes without being detected.

After entering the forest, the blue foxes seemed to have their own destinations and gradually dispersed. Yuan Ming chose to follow one of the solitary blue foxes.

In no time, the man and the fox were several miles away from the mountain hollow.

After confirming there were no other fierce beasts around, Yuan Ming sped up and quickly caught up with the blue fox, perching on a tree above it.

The blue fox, with its keen senses, immediately noticed Yuan Ming, stopped, and growled menacingly at him.

Yuan Ming just chuckled and took out a blue stone from his animal skin bag, throwing it at the blue fox.

The stone turned into a blue shadow, slicing through the air and heading straight for the blue fox's head.

The blue fox hurriedly dodged to the side, but a black shadow came again, this time a black stone as big as a bowl.

It failed to dodge this time, and its head was struck by the black stone.

With a "bang," the stone shattered, and the blue fox's vision went dark, leaving it dazed.

Yuan Ming looked at his left hand, somewhat stunned.

After throwing the first stone, his left hand subconsciously threw the second stone, with almost no time gap between the two.

It seemed to be a subconscious throwing technique, which even the agile blue fox couldn't avoid.

Yuan Ming quickly regained his composure, leaped down, and grabbed the blue fox's neck with both hands.

The blue fox's vision had not yet recovered, and it instinctively sensed danger, leaping to the side to avoid Yuan Ming's pounce and biting at his arm.

Yuan Ming's pounce was a feint; he quickly retracted his arm to avoid the fox's bite.

"An uninjured blue fox is indeed hard to deal with," he muttered to himself and then turned to run away.

The blue fox shook its head and quickly recovered.

It was indeed enraged by Yuan Ming, its emerald eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty light. It growled and immediately gave chase.

Yuan Ming, in his white ape form, ran much slower than the blue fox, and the distance between them quickly closed to less than ten yards.

Seeing that he was about to be caught, Yuan Ming leaped onto a nearby large tree, climbed up a few steps, and pounded his chest with one fist before leaping and advancing through the trees.

The blue fox was momentarily stunned but was thoroughly provoked by Yuan Ming's taunting behavior and continued to pursue him relentlessly.

Yuan Ming moved steadily, occasionally throwing stones at the blue fox to prevent it from giving up.

The blue fox, naturally, was also provoked into frequent growls.

The two, one chasing and the other fleeing, soon arrived near the yellow armadillo's den.

The yellow armadillo was feeding its young inside the den when it heard the commotion outside and immediately leaped out.

Yuan Ming had been keeping an eye on the armadillo's den from a distance. As soon as the bushes moved, he quickly hid behind a dense cluster of leaves.

In the forest, only the continuously growling blue fox remained.

The armadillo's territory had been invaded by blue foxes multiple times, and this time they had even come near the den. The yellow armadillo's eyes almost burst into flames, and its body emitted a layer of yellow light as it charged toward the blue fox.

The blue fox realized something was wrong and turned to flee without a word.

However, the yellow armadillo was extremely angry and, with a full-speed pounce, caught up to the blue fox in a few breaths. Its two iron-hook-like claws turned into black shadows and struck down viciously.

The blue fox had no choice but to turn and fight.

The two fierce beasts immediately engaged in a fierce battle, their roars echoing through the forest and stirring up clouds of dust.

Behind the dense leaves, a hint of excitement flashed in Yuan Ming's eyes.

His plan was already half successful. All he needed to do now was wait for the blue fox to be defeated and flee, and he could take advantage of the situation.

"Wait, there were two blue foxes yesterday, and they managed to escape. Now there's only one. Could it be killed by the yellow armadillo?" Yuan Ming suddenly thought of something and his mind raced.

At that moment, he heard a faint sound, not caused by the two beasts' struggle, but rather like the cry of a small animal.

"Is the yellow armadillo so enraged because...?" Yuan Ming had a thought and quietly approached the armadillo's den, quickly climbing a large tree in front of it.

Through the gaps in the leaves, he looked down and a smile appeared on his face.

From this angle, he could vaguely see inside the yellow armadillo's den, where several armadillo cubs were huddled together, making soft cries.

"Indeed, it is so," Yuan Ming muttered, taking out a black stone from his backpack.

The battle in the forest soon ended, just as Yuan Ming had predicted. The blue fox didn't last long and was thoroughly defeated, its body covered in wounds, one eye gouged out, and it fled with a wail.

The yellow armadillo naturally wouldn't let it escape and was about to give chase.

A piercing whistle came from behind, and a black shadow headed straight for the armadillo's den.

The yellow armadillo, shocked and angry, immediately abandoned the blue fox, and with a powerful leap, turned into a yellow blur rushing toward the den.

The black shadow didn't hit the den but struck a nearby large tree with a loud "thud," revealing it to be a black stone.

The yellow armadillo was stunned, its large body sliding forward due to inertia, crushing a large patch of bushes.

Yuan Ming smiled slightly, leaped out from his hiding place, and pursued the injured blue fox.

The yellow armadillo, concerned about its cubs, roared a few times at Yuan Ming and the blue fox as a warning and then turned to enter the den.

...

Yuan Ming quickly caught up with the injured blue fox, calculated the distance, and leaped down from the tree like a hawk hunting its prey.

The forest echoed with the sounds of the battle, and the dust soon settled.

Yuan Ming stood up, brushed off the dust from his body, and couldn't help but grin.

His arm had several blood marks from the blue fox's last desperate bite.

However, the already heavily injured blue fox had become a corpse, its neck bent and broken.

Yuan Ming looked at his hands, lost in thought.

He had used the same technique as the previous day, strangling the blue fox with both arms.

This throat-locking technique was quite proficient, and he had used it instinctively during the fight, just like the stone-throwing technique.

Although both techniques were simple, they were exceptionally well-suited to his transformed white ape form.

Yuan Ming took out a leather bag for storing blood, used his magic to extract the blue fox's blood, and formed it into a crystalline blood ball. Without continuing to hunt, he carried the blue fox's body and retreated toward the canyon.

Over the next three days, he practiced the same method, luring blue foxes to the yellow armadillo's territory, making them fight, and then taking advantage of the situation to hunt them.

Yuan Ming's luck was quite good, and he successfully hunted a blue fox each day. By the fifth day, he had collected five portions of fierce beast blood.

He weighed the blood-storing leather bag in his hand, sighed with relief, and sat down.

Although the process had been somewhat risky over the past few days, he had finally completed the task within the deadline.

The most difficult period was over, and with the profound Nine Elements Technique, his strength would steadily improve. He believed it wouldn't be long before he could hunt those blue foxes alone, and even challenge the armadillo with a chance of success.

After a brief rest, Yuan Ming got up and returned to the other side of the canyon, heading for the giant stone marker.

When he arrived at the base of the stone, he found that Ulu was already waiting there, but Lago, who had traveled with him, was still nowhere to be seen.

"I wonder where this guy's so-called safe place is, where he can achieve something. Lago hasn't appeared yet, so he's probably met with misfortune," Yuan Ming glanced at Ulu, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, and didn't intend to greet him. He also sat down and closed his eyes to meditate.

With an outsider present, he didn't activate the Nine Elements Technique but used his magic to check his internal condition.

A month had passed, and the poison from the Heart-Corrupting Pill had gradually spread, invading his heart meridians. A bowl-sized area in his chest felt cold and numb.

Yuan Ming had tried to expel the poison with his magic over the past few days, but to no avail.

This was normal; the Green Luo Cave was a cultivation sect, and the poisons they used were not something a novice like him could easily counter.

"I hope Hu Huo keeps his word and provides the antidote," Yuan Ming thought to himself.

Not long after, a gray shadow appeared in the distance and quickly approached.

Yuan Ming, familiar with this sight, stood up abruptly, and Ulu, not far away, also opened his eyes and stood up.

The gray shadow soon arrived, and it was Hu Huo Elder's gray bird. It circled in the air for a moment and landed on the giant stone. Hu Huo Elder's figure gracefully descended from its back.

"Hu Huo Elder!" Yuan Ming and Ulu bowed in unison.

"Bring me the blood-storing bag to check," Hu Huo Elder said straightforwardly.

Yuan Ming was about to speak, but Ulu stepped forward and presented the blood-storing bag.

Hu Huo Elder glanced at the contents, nodded, and took out a jade bottle, tossing it to Ulu.

"This month's antidote, take it."

"Thank you, Hu Huo Elder!" Ulu was overjoyed, uncapped the bottle, and swallowed a light red pill, his tense expression relaxing.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming also handed over his blood-storing bag. Hu Huo Elder glanced at it and, without further words, gave him a detoxifying pill.

Yuan Ming swallowed it, feeling a warm current rise from his abdomen, neutralizing most of the cold poison. He returned to the state he was in a month ago, just after taking the Heart-Corrupting Pill, and his heart meridians returned to normal.

This made him secretly sigh with relief. It seemed Hu Huo Elder was trustworthy, and as long as he submitted the beast blood on time each month, he didn't need to worry about the Heart-Corrupting Pill's poison.

Hu Huo Elder, without a word, took out a slightly bulging blood-storing bag, collected the essence blood from Yuan Ming and Ulu's bags, and without waiting for them to say anything more, quickly left on his flying bird, seeming somewhat hurried.