Chapter 6

Yuan Ming, who had just put his mind at ease, immediately became anxious again and hurriedly got up to look down.

He saw the black bear running wildly on all fours from a distance. Its massive body rushed forward, then suddenly turned and slammed its thick, sturdy back into the banyan tree with a forceful impact.

With a "thud,"

The old banyan tree shook violently, and a crack immediately appeared on its already somewhat withered trunk.

Yuan Ming, having noticed it early, clung tightly to the tree trunk to avoid being knocked off. However, seeing the crack on the tree, he could not help but feel deeply worried.

After the black bear's first strike, it ran back to a distance and charged at the old banyan tree again.

"Crack"

Before it even hit, the crack on the tree widened further.

"It can't hold."

Yuan Ming's brows furrowed. As the black bear was about to strike again, he turned his body, ran a few steps on a horizontal branch, and leaped with all his might toward an ancient tree about twenty feet away.

Such a distance would have been impossible for him to jump from the ground, but with the added force from the branch, his body seemed to fly through the air, leaping toward the opposite tree.

Amidst the sound of the old banyan tree collapsing, his body reached its highest point and began to fall, still some distance from the tree.

Yuan Ming extended his arms, like a monkey picking a peach, and reached out toward the front.

Just before he fell, his hand grabbed a horizontal branch extending from the opposite ancient tree, swung in mid-air, and leaped again, landing on the tree trunk.

Just as he was about to land, Yuan Ming did not let himself fall directly but extended his other arm to grab another branch, swinging out again, leaping about twenty feet away.

Only then did Yuan Ming feel he truly had control over his body.

He swung his arms repeatedly until his arms ached and he had no more strength, then stopped on a tree.

Looking back, the black bear was nowhere to be seen.

Yuan Ming slowly exhaled, feeling somewhat drained, and leaned against the tree trunk to sit down.

His entire body was drenched in sweat, a very peculiar feeling, as if the ape skin on his body had truly grown from his flesh and blood, even allowing sweat to seep through the fur.

As his emotions gradually calmed, Yuan Ming closed his eyes and silently traced the path he had taken in his mind.

Despite the earlier panic, he had not forgotten to leave marks at every turn. A map of his escape route quickly formed in his mind.

Yuan Ming slowly opened his eyes, and his stomach growled.

Since he had arrived at the Bi Luo Cave, he had not eaten anything. After the intense chase, the intense hunger finally became unbearable.

Looking at the sun, which was already setting, he knew that the primeval forest would become even more dangerous at night. If he did not find food and a place to stay before dark, he might not survive until the next day.

Thinking of this, Yuan Ming had to muster his strength and stand up.

He turned his body to look into the distance, carefully observing the surroundings. The seemingly quiet mountain forest was full of subtle movements.

He saw a grayish-brown python slowly wriggling around a grayish-brown old tree, its skin patterns almost identical to the scars on the tree, a nearly perfect camouflage.

Under a nearby mound, a small animal with crocodile-like armor poked its head out of a hole, looked around, and was startled by a large bird flying overhead, immediately retreating into the hole.

A fat gray rabbit jumped out of a clump of weeds and ran away.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming immediately leaped and pounced in the direction of the rabbit.

In mid-air, he grabbed an old vine with one arm, lowered his body, and reached out with the other arm in a sweeping motion to grab the gray rabbit.

Yuan Ming's hand had just touched the soft fur of the rabbit's tail when a strong gust of wind, carrying flying sand and gravel, hit his hand.

The rabbit's body sprang up like an arrow, leaping about ten feet away, and upon landing, it changed direction and disappeared into the grass.

Yuan Ming remained suspended in mid-air, his movements somewhat stiff, and his heart filled with bitterness.

He realized that none of the beasts in this forest were normal.

He slowly landed on the ground, intending to find another target, when a faint sound came from behind.

Yuan Ming instinctively turned to look, but a corner of his vision caught a green shadow darting out from his left blind spot.

He immediately stopped turning and quickly crouched down.

At almost the same time, a green wolf nearly eight feet long pounced over his back. If he had not dodged in time, he would have been knocked down and bitten in the throat the moment he turned his head.

Yuan Ming, not allowing himself to be scared, ran forward on all fours, and the sound of wind immediately followed from behind.

Suddenly, he stopped, twisted his body, and punched backward with a long arm, as if wielding a spear and delivering a backhand strike.

His fist broke the air with a "snap" and struck the mouth of the green wolf that was about to bite him.

A muffled "thud" sounded.

Yuan Ming felt a sharp pain in his fist, and the large green wolf was knocked flying, crashing into a thick old tree and falling to the ground.

The green wolf got up, its mouth and jaw bloody, a tooth broken, and let out a low growl, its ferocity undiminished, but it did not immediately pounce again.

Yuan Ming was also surprised. A vague memory floated in his mind, a scene of him practicing martial arts with a spear in an open square.

Along with these images, a persistent dizziness lingered in his mind.

Yuan Ming knew this was not the time to think about these things, so he shook his head, suppressing those thoughts, and focused on the front.

He saw another, larger green wolf had joined the first one, and the two flanked him, surrounding him from the sides.

His previous punch had been unexpectedly powerful, twice what he thought he could muster, but even that strength had not seriously injured the green wolf.

"I can't fight, I can only run." Yuan Ming made a quick decision.

At that moment, the two green wolves suddenly accelerated, charging at him from both sides.

Yuan Ming ran forward, glancing left and right, but found that the two green wolves maintained the same speed, clearly intending to attack simultaneously, forcing him to choose one or the other.

His speed was no match for the green wolves, and both routes were blocked. Even if he tried to climb a tree again, it would be too late.

At this moment, the wind suddenly roared in his ears as the two green wolves attacked simultaneously.

Without hesitation, he stopped abruptly, twisted his waist to the right, and feinted a punch at the injured green wolf.

The injured wolf, out of fear, instinctively flinched.

This momentary hesitation gave Yuan Ming an opportunity. He twisted his body again, changing his punch to an elbow strike, and slammed it into the green wolf on the left.

With a "thud," the green wolf was hit hard and flew away.

At the same time, the green wolf on the right bit into Yuan Ming's shoulder.

The sharp wolf teeth pierced through his flesh, causing intense pain, and he gasped. He grabbed the fur on the green wolf's back and threw it forward.

The green wolf, with a broken tooth, could not bite down fully and was thrown off his shoulder, landing hard on the ground.

Taking advantage of this moment, Yuan Ming quickly ran to a tall ancient tree and climbed up, using his hands and feet.

The green wolf that had been hit by his elbow followed, but missed and failed to stop Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming climbed to a horizontal branch near the top of the tree and stopped, looking down to see the two green wolves circling below.

The green wolf with the broken tooth and bloody mouth looked somewhat disheveled, while the one hit by the elbow showed no signs of injury, its red eyes fixed on him.

Seeing that the wolves could not climb the tree, Yuan Ming felt somewhat relieved. He took the opportunity to look at his shoulder, which had three bleeding wounds.

He slightly moved his shoulder muscles and immediately winced in pain.

The green wolf below circled the tree for a while, then raised its head and let out a "howl."

The sound echoed through the forest, spreading far and wide.

Yuan Ming immediately realized that the wolf was calling for reinforcements. It seemed that even in this strange forest, wolves still maintained their pack habits.

"I can't stay here. If I'm surrounded by a pack of wolves, I won't be able to escape."

With this thought, Yuan Ming tore a vine from a nearby branch, wrapped it around his shoulder, and once again used the skill of swinging through the air, leaping between the ancient trees.

The two green wolves followed relentlessly below.

Unlike the clumsy black bear, the green wolves were more patient and persistent, and would not let their prey escape.

No matter how Yuan Ming leaped and ran, they could keep up, and occasionally howled to report his position to their companions.

Yuan Ming dared not stop. He had already seen shadows moving in various parts of the forest, and the pain from his injury and the lack of food had pushed his body to its limits.

His vision began to blur, and even the pain in his shoulder could not keep him alert.

The shadows ahead grew darker, and his arms ached, making it difficult to hold onto the vines. Perhaps the next leap would be his last.