Chapter 19

Yuan Ming sighed, casually placing the green incense burner down, which happened to touch the white ape skin wrapped around his waist.

A flash of green light appeared on the surface of the incense burner, and a warm current of air escaped from it, quickly merging into the white ape skin.

The white ape skin trembled, its surface glowing with a faint golden light. Then, with a "whoosh," it unfolded and draped itself over Yuan Ming's body.

Before Yuan Ming could understand what was happening, the dantian within him suddenly surged with a rush of magical power, which began to flow outward, continuously infusing the white ape skin, which started to merge with his body.

This sensation was similar to the first time Elder Huo Hu had activated the Fur-Wearing Technique, covering his body with the fur.

The white ape skin wriggled like a living thing, its surface bulging with protrusions, as if countless rats were burrowing inside.

Yuan Ming was startled and, without hesitation, tried to stabilize the magical power in his dantian to prevent it from continuing to flow out, but to no avail.

Not only was the magical power within him being drawn out, but even the spiritual energy in the surrounding air seemed to be attracted by some invisible force, converging into the white ape skin.

A scene that left Yuan Ming speechless unfolded before him.

As the spiritual energy continuously infused the white ape skin, the originally gray and withered fur became white and lustrous at a visible speed. Bald spots regrew white down, which quickly thickened and lengthened.

At the same time, a white ape's shadow appeared within the white ape skin, covering his body.

"What is this?" Yuan Ming was startled, his hands and feet involuntarily scratching and rubbing. He could hear the sound of apes chirping in his ears.

Before he could react, a cold sensation rose in his mind, causing a sudden pain in his brow, as if a dagger had been forcefully thrust into his head, piercing through his skull!

Yuan Ming opened his mouth wide but could not make a sound, feeling dizzy and almost losing consciousness.

Despite his usually firm resolve, he barely endured this inhuman torment, but his consciousness was nearly shattered, his ears hearing no sound, his eyes seeing no light.

In a daze, an image appeared in Yuan Ming's mind: a tall and robust white ape standing proudly on a giant peak, fists pounding its chest, roaring to the sky amidst a storm.

Then he lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, Yuan Ming's consciousness slowly returned, and his senses gradually recovered.

He shook his slightly swollen head, feeling that the ape skin had stopped wriggling and was no longer absorbing his magical power. However, his dantian felt empty, as if all his magical power had been drained.

The originally gray and withered ape skin was now entirely white and lustrous, its surface oily and shiny, as if it had just been peeled off, with a faint golden glow.

"What just happened? Why does this white ape skin seem to come alive? Right, that white ape, could it be...?" Yuan Ming frowned, pondering in his mind.

Although there was no basis for it, he instinctively felt that the white ape in his mind was the owner of the ape skin.

"Thump, thump, thump"

A powerful heartbeat suddenly sounded in his ears, startling Yuan Ming and snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Ah!"

In the next moment, he felt an excruciating pain from his fingertips, as bloodied, white, sharp claws pierced through his skin, causing him to tremble and fall to the ground, clutching his hands and groaning in pain.

After a full moment, the claws stopped growing, and the excruciating pain subsided.

Yuan Ming caught his breath, his body drenched in sweat, his head buzzing, almost fainting.

However, the commotion he had caused might attract wild beasts, so he forced himself to sit cross-legged and practice the Nine Yuan Technique to regulate his breathing.

After half an hour, Yuan Ming opened his eyes, his face slightly relieved, and his magical power had recovered a little.

He looked at his hands and saw that the claws on his ten fingers were half a foot long, curved like dragon claws, seemingly made of steel, looking indestructible.

"Although I don't know what happened, it seems the white ape skin evolved due to the mysterious incense burner. This incense burner is truly a rare treasure!" Yuan Ming thought to himself.

He used magic to put away the incense burner and moved his arm, casually scratching the cave wall.

The cave wall was easily scratched with five deep marks, the solid earth wall feeling like tofu before the claws, offering almost no resistance.

"Sharp!" Yuan Ming praised.

The original white ape was known for its arm strength, able to move freely through the mountains and forests, but compared to wolves, tigers, and leopards, it had no offensive advantage. However, with these claws, things were different.

For example, the armadillo beast that faced the green foxes without fear, relying on its incredibly tough armor, could stand invincible. With his current strength, he could defeat it with brute force, but it would be very difficult. With these claws, he could easily break through the opponent's defense, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

"Regardless of how much my strength improves, as long as I don't have the true antidote for the Heart-Corrupting Pill, I can't leave this area, let alone return to the Central Plains." Yuan Ming felt disheartened when he thought about the poison from the Bi Luo Cave.

"Since the incense burner can't be lit for now, perhaps I can try to get some information from there?" He turned his thoughts to the south.

Over the past few months, he had used the opportunity to submit the beast blood to have some interaction with Elder Huo Hu.

Although Elder Huo Hu came and went like the wind, unwilling to say much, during one of the exchanges, he mentioned, either intentionally or unintentionally, that the Bi Luo Cave had many Fur-Wearing Beast Slaves, scattered across various regions of the Ten Thousand Mountains, managed by different elders, and he was responsible for over twenty to thirty of them.

Yuan Ming believed that these beast slaves could be considered "seniors" to him, with more knowledge about the Bi Luo Cave or the Ten Thousand Mountains. Perhaps by seeking and contacting them, he could obtain some information he needed.

After making this decision, Yuan Ming did not immediately set out to find other beast slaves. There were only two days left until the next submission of beast blood. After submitting the beast blood for this month, he would set out.

Two days later, Yuan Ming brought the prepared beast blood to the giant stone boundary marker.

Elder Huo Hu was already waiting there, but Uru did not appear.

"Elder Huo Hu, here is the beast blood for this month, please check it." Yuan Ming took out the blood storage bag and handed it over.

"The color and scent of these five samples are similar. Were they collected in one day?" Elder Huo Hu took the blood storage bag, glanced at it, and raised an eyebrow, looking at Yuan Ming.

"Elder, your insight is truly sharp! I accidentally found a den of green foxes and managed to collect five samples in one day." Yuan Ming did not understand the meaning behind Elder Huo Hu's words but did not lie.

"Killing five green foxes in one day is impressive. Has your cultivation broken through to the first level of the Qi Condensation stage?" Elder Huo Hu looked at Yuan Ming and asked.

"A few days ago, I had an epiphany and managed to break through." Yuan Ming hesitated slightly before answering.

"Breaking through to the first level of the Qi Condensation stage within half a year is quite good, barely qualifying." Elder Huo Hu nodded.

"What do you mean, Elder?" Yuan Ming looked surprised.

"You Fur-Wearing Beast Slaves mostly have four spiritual roots, which, according to the cultivation world, are considered 'pseudo spiritual roots.' Without special opportunities or a strong will, it's difficult to achieve greatness. Our Bi Luo Cave values talent, and the Fur-Wearing Beast Slaves are a form of trial. Those who can break through to the first level of the Qi Condensation stage within half a year can be given a path to advancement, but whether you succeed or not depends on your determination." Elder Huo Hu lifted his chin and said kindly.

"Please enlighten me, Elder." Yuan Ming felt a hint of excitement.

"As long as you can submit a certain number of beast blood samples within three years, you can leave the status of a Fur-Wearing Beast Slave and be accepted as a registered disciple of the Bi Luo Cave, learning true cultivation techniques." Elder Huo Hu seemed satisfied with Yuan Ming's reaction and continued.

"Join the Bi Luo Cave! Is this true?" Yuan Ming's expression brightened, and he asked in disbelief.

"I, Huo Hu, have a certain status in the Bi Luo Cave. When have I ever spoken falsely?" Elder Huo Hu's face turned serious.

"Forgive me, Elder. I was momentarily excited and spoke out of turn. May I ask how many samples I need to submit within three years?" Yuan Ming quickly apologized and changed the subject.

"One thousand."

Yuan Ming's eyes widened, seemingly unable to believe what he had heard.

"If you can't even collect a thousand samples, then you might as well give up on cultivation. I find you somewhat likable, so I'll give you a tip: to complete the task, it's best to hunt higher-level beasts. According to the rules, one sample of a mid-level first-tier beast is equivalent to ten samples of a low-level first-tier beast, and one sample of a high-level first-tier beast is equivalent to one hundred samples of a low-level first-tier beast." Elder Huo Hu glanced at Yuan Ming and said.

"Thank you for the advice, Elder. I understand." Yuan Ming felt a chill and respectfully replied.

Last month, when Elder Huo Hu collected the blood, he had mentioned this to him and Uru. The low-level first-tier beasts were a classification of first-tier beasts, with mid-level and high-level first-tier beasts above them.

The green foxes and armadillos he had encountered before were low-level first-tier beasts, with strength roughly equivalent to cultivators at the first to fourth levels of the Qi Condensation stage. The mid-level first-tier beasts in the deeper parts of the Ten Thousand Mountains were equivalent to cultivators at the fifth to eighth levels of the Qi Condensation stage, with significantly greater strength.

As for the high-level first-tier beasts, they were even more terrifying, far surpassing mid-level beasts, and if one's strength was insufficient, encountering them would result in instant death.

Of course, due to the low intelligence of beasts, cultivators with lower real strength could sometimes attempt to hunt higher-level beasts using certain methods, but this was not always the case.

In short, with his current first-level Qi Condensation cultivation, he had no confidence in surviving an encounter with a mid-level first-tier beast.

This meant that if he wanted to collect a thousand beast blood samples, unless his cultivation could further improve, he would have to continue hunting a thousand low-level first-tier beasts.

Just as Yuan Ming was about to ask Elder Huo Hu for the antidote and take his leave, a disturbance came from the nearby forest, with the sound of footsteps approaching.

Yuan Ming turned his head to look and saw Uru limping toward him.