Yuan Ming glanced at Hagon, who was still sitting with his eyes closed, breathing control, and did not make a sound to disturb him as he looked up towards the upper part of the canyon.

He was not worried that Wu Bao and the others might chase them into the canyon. The area inside was vast, and even if the numbers of the Green Wolf Gang and the Hyena Hall were multiplied tenfold, finding them would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Yuan Ming was thinking of his Green Fish Sword, which he had left behind during the fight with the white-haired beast.

This sword was a Half-magical Artifact, exceptionally sharp. It would be a pity to just abandon it.

But going back now to retrieve it would increase the risk of exposure.

"Forget it, it's just a treasure sword." After much consideration, Yuan Ming decided against retrieving the Green Fish Sword and sat down cross-legged.

His White Ape Transformation, originally very ordinary within the Fur Cloak Skill, had evolved several times. He felt his Furred Beast Skin was no less than any others; he was certainly not inferior to Wu Bao and Jin Kun.

By comparison, his cultivation level was still a notch lower.

If his cultivation could advance further to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, he wouldn't have to face such a debacle like today when encountering Wu Bao and the others.

Yuan Ming steadied his mind and began cultivating with his eyes closed, gradually losing all awareness of the outside world.

…

As Yuan Ming and Hagon leisurely cultivated within the canyon, Wu Bao, driven mad, had the Green Wolf Gang search frantically for them, but to no avail.

He guessed Yuan Ming might have hidden in Mist Canyon, and had sent people to search there, but the regionality of Mist Canyon was vast and the fog was thick as clouds. After several days of searching, they found no clue.

As time passed, Yuan Ming seemed to have evaporated from the world; there was no sign of him, and complaints started emerging within the Green Wolf Gang, as they still had to provide Blood Food every month.

Wu Bao, although reluctant, remembered that Yuan Ming might hold some secrets, but could only abandon the search in the end.

However, the news of how Yuan Ming had managed to escape unscathed from the joint encirclement and blockade of the Green Wolf Gang and Hyena Hall spread wildly, and with him having disappeared, Yuan Ming's name resounded through the region, becoming legendary among the Fur Beast Slaves.

Time passed, and half a year had flown by.

In a hidden cave at the base of the canyon, Yuan Ming sat cross-legged, his face faintly glowing.

Outside the cave, there was no sign of Hagon.

The white fog outside the cave suddenly began to surge violently, like boiling water, drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth towards the cave.

This gathering of spiritual energy lasted for a quarter of an hour before it ceased.

Inside the cave, Yuan Ming's body was enveloped by a layer of luminescence, making him look completely revitalized.

He circulated the Nine Elements Technique, a powerful wave of mana spreading out from him, far stronger than before.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes, his expression full of joy.

Qi Refining Thirteen Layers; layers one to three were just the basics. Only upon reaching the Fourth Layer could one considered to have made minor achievements.

It took half a year to advance from the Qi Refining Third Layer to the Fourth Layer, which was slower than before.

Yet, Yuan Ming was not at all dissatisfied. As his cultivation deepened, the breakthroughs took much longer. After the Third Layer, each advancement was measured in years.

That he had only taken half a year to break through to the Fourth Layer was entirely thanks to the exquisite nature of the Nine Elements Technique and was exceptionally fast, especially as his cultivation was not continuous, with each month sneaking out of the valley to exchange for antidotes.

Yuan Ming stabilized his realm slightly by circulating the Nine Elements Technique and couldn't wait to step outside the cave. He performed the Fur Cloak Skill and transformed into a White Ape form.

The White Ape looked not much different from before, but Yuan Ming could clearly feel that the strength of his physical body had increased dramatically, causing a stir with every movement.

He picked up a piece of Green Stone from the ground and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Crack!

The hard Green Stone shattered immediately, turning into a cloud of dust that drifted slowly from his fingertips.

A hint of surprise flashed in Yuan Ming's eyes. He had thought that with his advancing cultivation, the enhancement of physical strength provided by the Fur Cloak Skill would eventually weaken like his size, but this was not the case with the White Ape Skin; the increase in strength did not decrease but grew instead.

He returned to the cave, took out his bundle, and from within it, a sword wrapped in cloth was diagonally inserted—the Green Fish Sword.

This sword and he had quite some fate. During the battle with the white-haired beast, the Green Fish Sword had been left in the mountain forest. He was worried that Wu Bao and his people would detect his traces and did not retrieve it in time, thinking it would surely be lost.

Yet, when he later went out to collect food, he accidentally passed by that place, and the Green Fish Sword still quietly lay in the mountain forest.

Yuan Ming climbed upward and soon reached the top.

He arrived near a large tree and took out a bamboo tube from the roots, which contained a piece of Beast Skin.

Yuan Ming opened the Beast Skin, which was filled with small characters detailing recent events in the Ten Thousand Mountains, left by Hagon.

Not long after entering the valley, Hagon had healed his wounds and left. To keep abreast of the situation in the Ten Thousand Mountains, Yuan Ming used the same method as before, having Hagon leave the news there each month.

Reading the information on the Beast Skin, Yuan Ming's expression grew colder.

While the Green Wolf Gang no longer publicly offered a reward for his capture on the surface, Wu Bao had not given up and had secretly increased the rewards even more than before.

But now, Yuan Ming was not the same as before; his cultivation alone was comparable to that of Wu Bao, and he naturally had no fear.

Besides, the Ten Thousand Mountains were relatively calm, with nothing particularly out of the ordinary happening.

Yuan Ming put away the Beast Skin, took out a headband, and wrapped it around his head and face before heading towards Toad Valley.

He had asked Hagon to request an item from Zhao Tong before, and now nearly two months had passed, Zhao Tong should have had it ready.

While hurrying on his way, Yuan Ming unconsciously activated the Shadowless Step.

With his cultivation and mana enhanced, he now found it even more effortless to control.

Midway through his journey, the nearby jungle rustled loudly as a plump gray rabbit burst out, frantically fleeing into the distance.

To break through his bottleneck, Yuan Ming had secluded himself for a full three days and nights without a drop of water; he felt a bit hungry at the moment and pinched a gesture in the air.

A sharp wooden thorn flashed under the running rabbit, conjured out of thin air, and accurately pierced through the rabbit's body, exiting through its back.

The gray rabbit screamed miserably, struggled a few times, and soon lay motionless.

He rose to retrieve the rabbit's corpse and was about to clean it when he suddenly stopped, his gaze falling on the rabbit's chin and forelegs.

There were many bloodstains there, a blackish red color, clearly not the rabbit's own blood.

Yuan Ming picked a strand of soft, fiery red human hair from the congealed blood.

His expression turned solemn as he walked towards the jungle from where the rabbit had emerged.

At first, he discovered nothing, but not far along, a scent of blood wafted from ahead.

Yuan Ming followed the scent and soon arrived at a valley, parting the dense grass at the entrance, his face suddenly changed.

He saw several corpses lying haphazardly in the valley, all Fur Beast Slaves, each body shattered into several pieces, dying a ghastly death.

The Furred Beast Skins of these people were also torn into many pieces, completely destroyed.

Yuan Ming's brows furrowed deeply!

Since he had entered the Ten Thousand Mountains, he had grown accustomed to bloody slaughters, but such a brutal act of dismemberment was a first for him; nobody would do such a thing even to Fur Beast Slaves, and it didn't seem like the work of Fierce Beasts either.

He suppressed his nausea and carefully examined the corpses, but unfortunately found nothing.

Yuan Ming did not linger there any longer and soon left.

At this moment, he lost his appetite and continued on his journey, quickly reaching Toad Valley.

However, the normally bustling Toad Valley was eerily quiet, seeming somewhat sinister.

As Yuan Ming walked, he scanned his surroundings. The stone houses used by several disciples of the Biluo Cave Sect for business were all closed, and the entire valley was devoid of people.

He quickly arrived in front of Zhao Tong's stone house, which was also empty.

"Could something have happened?" Yuan Ming murmured to himself, stroking his chin.

The message from Hagon had mentioned that there were no other abnormalities in the Ten Thousand Mountains, so it seemed that the drastic change in Toad Valley had occurred recently.

Yuan Ming stood silently for a moment, about to turn and leave, when he suddenly remembered something and went behind the stone house, reaching his hand into a gap between two large stones in the corner. Рlеаsе rеаd this сhаptеr оn its оriginаl plаtfоrm—

He quickly withdrew his hand, now holding a piece of Beast Skin.

Yuan Ming and Zhao Tong had traded many times and were quite familiar with each other; this was their way of leaving messages for each other, a method he had learned from Zhao Tong for communicating with Tu Lei and Hagon through written letters.

Yuan Ming unfolded the Beast Skin; there wasn't much written, and he quickly finished reading it.

According to the message left by Zhao Tong, closing Toad Valley was a directive from the Biluo Cave Sect, and the reason seemed to be that something had occurred within the Ten Thousand Mountains, Zhao Tong also cautioned Yuan Ming to be careful.

He put away the Beast Skin, and the image of the dismembered bodies he had seen not long before crossed his mind; he wondered if the death of those Fur Beast Slaves had anything to do with the current changes?

Yuan Ming did not linger in Toad Valley much longer and soon turned to leave, heading straight back to his dwelling in Mist Canyon to consolidate his realm.

Although his cultivation had improved, he dared not be overconfident, as the incident in the Ten Thousand Mountains was taken seriously by the Biluo Cave Sect, and he naturally did not dare to take it lightly.

Five days later, Yuan Ming left the Cave Mansion again, climbed up the canyon, and headed towards the Boundary Marker.

He was not out to hunt beasts; today was the day to pay Essence Blood.

Yuan Ming quickly arrived at the foot of the Giant Stone Boundary, finding that Wu Lu had already arrived.

"Wu Lu, no troubles I hope." Yuan Ming greeted.

"All is well, Brother Yuan Ming, how have you been recently?" Wu Lu asked with a smile.

"Getting by," Yuan Ming replied with a slight smile, his attitude friendlier than before.

Although the Green Wolf Gang had withdrawn their forces and no longer actively pursued him, the conflict between them had not been resolved. Several months had passed, and though the Green Wolf Gang had not ambushed him near the Boundary Marker, it influenced his relationship with Wu Lu significantly.

"Brother Wu Lu, a few days ago I went to Toad Valley and found it deserted. After inquiring, I heard that something had happened in the Ten Thousand Mountains, leading to the sealing of the valley. The Green Wolf Gang has a well-informed source; do you know if this is true?" Yuan Ming inquired.

"What will happen next in the Ten Thousand Mountains, we too are not sure," Wu Lu sighed thoughtfully, shaking his head.

As the two chatted casually, Elder Hu Huo arrived, soaring on a giant eagle from a distance and landing near the Boundary Marker.

"Greetings, Elder Hu Huo!" Yuan Ming and Wu Lu quickly stood and bowed.

"Good that you both are here; I have something to inform you," Elder Hu Huo said as he leaped down from the giant eagle.

"Please instruct us, Elder Hu Huo," Yuan Ming and the other responded respectfully.