Chapter 38

While Yuan Ming was fully focused on practicing his footwork, the Toad Valley was still bustling with people coming and going.

About ten miles away from the Toad Valley, in a shaded clearing, the leader of the Green Wolf Gang, Wu Bao, sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, breathing deeply.

Suddenly, a hurried footsteps sounded, and a figure ran in quickly.

"Zan Bai, how did the investigation go?" Wu Bao asked without opening his eyes.

"Lord, as you predicted, Yuan Ming indeed went to the Toad Valley not long ago. Unfortunately, we were a step too late, and the boy slipped away," Zan Bai said, bowing.

"Hmph, even Bai Yin fell to his hands. Do you think you could have stopped him if you had arrived earlier?" Wu Bao opened his eyes sharply and said coldly.

"Lord, please calm down. I did not come back empty-handed. Yuan Ming made transactions with two people when he entered the valley," Zan Bai hurriedly said.

Wu Bao just looked at Zan Bai without speaking.

"One of them is a registered disciple named Zhao Tong, who is somewhat greedy. After giving him some benefits, he only sold Yuan Ming a set of footwork. The other is named Tulai, a member of the Earth Bear Association, which specializes in secretly selling information. I suspect Yuan Ming may have learned from him that we are hunting him," Zan Bai chuckled and continued.

"Understood. Use every means to find where Yuan Ming is hiding. I want to meet him personally. Also, emphasize to those forces, especially the Hyena Hall, that they must not kill Yuan Ming; I want him alive," Wu Bao said, then closed his eyes again.

"Understood, I will take my leave," Zan Bai responded and left.

"Yuan Ming... You managed to kill Bai Yin with your own strength, so you must be at least at the second level of Qi Cultivation. You must have some secret! I want to see what kind of fortune has allowed your cultivation to advance so quickly!" Wu Bao opened his eyes again, his gaze sharp.

...

Near the entrance to Yuan Ming's cave.

A mysterious figure flickered through the forest, moving from left to right in an instant, unaffected by the underbrush. The figure seemed to be intangible, not touching a single leaf or blade of grass.

The figure suddenly stopped, landing on a large rock, revealing Yuan Ming, who was breathing heavily but with a look of joy in his eyes.

He had been back here for three days.

During these three days, Yuan Ming did not practice the Nine Yuan Technique; all his time and energy were devoted to practicing the Shadowless Step.

Although the place was secluded, there was no such thing as a completely airtight wall, and it was possible that the Green Wolf Gang might find him. He needed to improve his strength as much as possible.

He discovered that he had a natural talent for footwork and had mastered the basics of the Shadowless Step in just a few days.

The more he practiced, the more he appreciated the subtleties of the Shadowless Step. Once executed, his movements were as swift as the wind, truly living up to its name.

Moreover, this footwork was particularly adept at maneuvering in narrow and complex environments, complementing the White Ape Transformation well.

However, the Shadowless Step was very demanding on the body and consumed a lot of mana. With his current third-level Qi Cultivation, he could only maintain it for about fifteen minutes without using any other spells. To better utilize this footwork, he needed to further improve his cultivation and strengthen his physical body.

"To think that a Fur Beast Slave could obtain such a divine footwork. I wonder how powerful the spells and techniques of the Bi Luo Cave disciples are!" Yuan Ming looked in the direction of the Bi Luo Cave entrance, feeling a sense of longing.

Yuan Ming came back to his senses, sat cross-legged, and began to practice the Nine Yuan Technique.

After so many days of cultivation, he found that the Nine Yuan Technique not only quickly drew in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to enhance his mana but also rapidly restored his physical strength when practiced.

His ability to master the Shadowless Step in such a short time was largely due to the recovery ability of the Nine Yuan Technique.

Yuan Ming's physical strength and mana were quickly fully restored, and he returned to the cave.

In a corner of the cave, Hagon was sitting cross-legged.

After several days of recuperation, the wound on Hagon's chest had scabbed over, and he could move around normally, but complete recovery would take more time.

He held his green wolf fur in his hands, muttering incantations. It was not the Fur Transformation spell, but something else, as there was a glow where his hands touched the fur.

"What are you doing?" Yuan Ming asked curiously.

Hagon did not answer immediately, continuing to chant for about the time it takes to eat a meal before opening his eyes, the glow on his hands fading.

"Sorry, I was nurturing the fur. This process cannot be interrupted," Hagon said apologetically.

"No problem, but what is nurturing the fur? I've never heard of it before," Yuan Ming asked, having already sat down to practice.

"This is a bit complicated. Let me start with how the fur is made," Hagon said, pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"You know the process of making the fur? I'd like to hear more," Yuan Ming said, his eyes brightening.

"I heard it from a Bi Luo Cave disciple who sells things in the Toad Valley. The Bi Luo Cave places a live fierce beast into a secret array. As the array operates, the beast's flesh, bones, and soul are all transformed into essence, which is then infused into the fur. If the process goes well, a piece of fur is born. The fur we have, though it looks like a piece of skin, actually contains all the life essence of a fierce beast," Hagon explained.

"Beast soul..." Yuan Ming recalled the situation when the incense burner enhanced the two pieces of fur.

He had suspected that the fur contained a beast soul, and now it seemed to be true.

"The essence of the beast's flesh and bones is not significant; the most important part of the fur is the beast soul! Yuan, you have used the Fur Transformation for a long time, so you should have felt the beast soul to some extent, right?" Hagon continued.

"Somewhat," Yuan Ming nodded.

"These furs are already dead objects, and the beast soul inside is gradually weakening. Nurturing the fur is essentially using mana to nourish the fur and stabilize the beast soul," Hagon explained.

"Can the weakening of the beast soul be reversed? What is the purpose of stabilizing it?" Yuan Ming nodded and then asked.

"Nurturing the fur not only slows down the weakening of the beast soul but also makes the Fur Transformation more compatible with the user, allowing better control. With good luck, the beast soul's potential can be awakened, granting one or two new abilities. However, this is rare and requires a very long time," Hagon said, a hint of hope in his eyes.

"Awakening the beast soul's potential and gaining new abilities!" Yuan Ming repeated to himself, glancing at his right arm.

From the incense burner's previous performance in repairing the fur and awakening abilities, it seemed to be a form of nurturing the beast soul, and its effects were far superior to Hagon's secret technique.

"Are you interested in the secret technique for nurturing the fur? I came across it by chance, so I'll give you a copy," Hagon saw Yuan Ming lost in thought and assumed he was interested, taking out a piece of fur covered in small writing and handing it to him.

"Thank you, Hagon," Yuan Ming said, genuinely interested and not declining.

"Yuan saved my life; a small secret technique is nothing," Hagon laughed, then shared a few insights on the technique before continuing his practice.

Yuan Ming found that the technique was not complicated. The principle was to convert his own mana into a form of energy that could nourish the spirit, and then use a special method to infuse it into the fur to nourish the beast soul. The strength of the fur was directly related to the strength of the beast soul within.

After understanding the basics, he immediately began practicing the Nine Yuan Technique, slowly infusing mana into the white ape fur, following the nurturing technique. His hand and the ape fur glowed with a white light, similar to what Hagon had done earlier.

Yuan Ming nodded in approval and continued to infuse mana.

Time passed, and after half a day, he found that his connection with the white ape fur had indeed strengthened.

However, the improvement was limited, and it would take years of practice to significantly enhance the Fur Transformation. This not only consumed a lot of mana but also affected his daily cultivation.

"Previously, when using the incense burner to enhance the fur, I let the fur absorb the energy on its own. Now that I have this nurturing technique, if I use it to channel the heat flow from the incense burner into the white ape fur, might it be more effective?" he thought.

Deciding to try, Yuan Ming quietly went to a secluded spot outside the cave and took out the incense burner.

A heat flow emerged from the incense burner, and Yuan Ming quickly began the nurturing technique, trying to guide the heat flow to his right hand.

"Hopefully, this will work," he prayed, pointing and infusing the heat flow from the incense burner into the white ape fur.

The white ape fur absorbed the heat flow like a sponge, and the entire piece of fur began to move on its own. It then automatically performed the Fur Transformation, adhering to Yuan Ming's body and transforming him into a white ape.

White patterns appeared on the white ape's body, glowing brightly, and the ape soul shadow became more substantial.

Additionally, Yuan Ming found that his connection with the ape fur had deepened, equivalent to about two months of practicing the nurturing technique.

He sighed in relief and continued to channel the heat flow from the incense burner into the ape fur, making the white patterns even brighter.

After infusing the heat flow about ten times, even with the nurturing technique, the white ape fur stopped absorbing the heat flow.

At this point, the patterns on the fur were much thicker and brighter, and the white ape shadow had become half-real and half-illusory, emitting excited roars.

Yuan Ming's connection with the ape fur had greatly deepened, and he could clearly feel the demonic energy flowing within the fur. He could even sense the demonic energy maintaining the Fur Transformation while continuously invading his meridians, internal organs, dantian, and even his mind.

"The erosion of the Fur Transformation is like this," he put away the incense burner and narrowed his eyes.

Knowing the path of the demonic energy's backlash, he would have a better chance of resisting it in the future.