Yuan Ming glanced at Ha Gong, who was still meditating with closed eyes, and didn’t disturb him. He looked up at the top of the canyon.

He wasn’t worried that Wu Bao and the others would chase after them. The canyon was vast, and even if the Qing Lang Gang and Lie Gou Hall had a few dozen people, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack to locate them.

Yuan Ming was thinking about his Qing Yu Sword. During the battle with the white-haired monster, he had left the sword behind.

This sword was a semi-magic weapon, extremely sharp, and it would be a pity to lose it.

But now, going up to search for it would increase the risk of exposure.

“Forget it, it’s just a treasure sword.” After considering it for a while, Yuan Ming dismissed the idea of taking the risk to retrieve the Qing Yu Sword and sat down cross-legged.

His White Ape Transformation was originally ordinary in the Beast Transformation Art, but after several evolutions, the beast skin was no less inferior to any other beast skin, and he was not inferior to Wu Bao and Jin Kun.

In comparison, his cultivation level was still lower.

If his cultivation level could advance further and reach the fourth level of Qi Refining, he wouldn’t be as embarrassed as he was today when facing Wu Bao and the others.

Yuan Ming calmed his mind and began to meditate with his eyes closed, gradually forgetting himself and the world.

…

While Yuan Ming and Ha Gong were peacefully cultivating in the canyon, Wu Bao and the others from the Qing Lang Gang were frantically searching for them, but they couldn’t find any trace of them.

Wu Bao speculated that Yuan Ming might have hidden in the Misty Canyon and sent people to search for him, but the area of the Misty Canyon was vast, filled with fog, and after searching for several days, they found no clues.

As time passed, Yuan Ming seemed to have evaporated from the world and didn’t appear again. Some people in the Qing Lang Gang began to complain, especially since they still had to provide blood sacrifices every month.

Wu Bao was concerned about the secrets Yuan Ming might have on him, but he had no choice but to give up reluctantly.

However, the fact that Yuan Ming was able to escape unscathed when surrounded by the Qing Lang Gang and Lie Gou Hall before had spread like wildfire. Combined with his disappearance, Yuan Ming’s name echoed throughout the area and was passed on by the Beast Slave.

Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

In a hidden cave at the bottom of the canyon, Yuan Ming sat cross-legged, with a faint glow on his face.

There was no sign of Ha Gong inside or outside the cave.

Suddenly, the white mist outside the cave surged violently, like boiling water, and the surrounding spiritual energy was also stirred up and converged towards the cave.

The gathering of spiritual energy lasted for a quarter of an hour before it stopped.

Inside the cave, Yuan Ming was enveloped in a layer of glowing light, looking refreshed.

He circulated the Nine Elements Technique, and a powerful wave of spiritual power emanated from him, much stronger than before.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes, filled with joy.

The thirteenth level of Qi Refining was just the foundation from the first to the third level. Only when one reached the fourth level of Qi Refining could they be considered to have made some progress.

It took him longer to advance from the third level to the fourth level compared to before, but Yuan Ming was not dissatisfied. As his cultivation deepened, the time required for breakthroughs increased significantly. After reaching the third level of Qi Refining, each level required years to calculate.

He had only taken half a year to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, thanks to the exquisite Nine Elements Technique. Although it wasn’t continuous, he still needed to secretly leave the valley every month to exchange for the antidote.

Yuan Ming stabilized his cultivation level with the Nine Elements Technique and couldn’t wait to transform into his White Ape form using the Beast Transformation Art.

The White Ape didn’t look much different from before, but Yuan Ming could clearly sense that his physical strength had greatly increased again, and every movement he made carried a powerful force.

He picked up a piece of green stone from the ground and gently squeezed it.

Crack!

The hard green stone shattered and turned into a pile of powder, slowly falling from his fingertips.

A trace of surprise flashed in Yuan Ming’s eyes. He originally thought that as his cultivation level increased, the enhancement of the Beast Transformation Art on his physical strength would gradually weaken, but it seemed that the White Ape’s skin was not like that. The increase in strength did not decrease but instead increased.

He returned to the cave and took out his bag, in which a long sword wrapped in cloth was slanted. It was the Qing Yu Sword.

He had a special connection with this sword. During the battle with the white-haired monster, the Qing Yu Sword was left behind in the mountains. He was worried that Wu Bao and the others would notice his tracks and didn’t retrieve it in time, thinking that the sword must have been lost.

But he happened to pass by that area while gathering food and found that the Qing Yu Sword was still lying quietly in the mountains.

Yuan Ming climbed up to the top and quickly reached a nearby big tree. He reached into a gap between the roots and took out a bamboo tube containing a piece of animal skin.

Yuan Ming opened the animal skin, which was filled with small words, recording the recent situation in the Ten Thousand Mountains, left by Ha Gong.

Ha Gong had left shortly after entering the valley, and in order to keep up with the situation in the Ten Thousand Mountains, Yuan Ming used the same method as before, having Ha Gong leave the information here every month.

Looking at the information on the animal skin, Yuan Ming’s eyes became cold.

Although the Qing Lang Gang no longer offered a reward for capturing him openly, Wu Bao hadn’t given up and had secretly increased the reward. But now, he was no longer the same as before. With his cultivation level comparable to Wu Bao’s, he naturally had no fear.

In addition, the Ten Thousand Mountains remained relatively calm, with nothing special happening.

Yuan Ming put away the animal skin and took out a headscarf to cover his face. He headed towards the Toad Valley.

He had asked Ha Gong to purchase something from Zhao Tong before. It had been almost two months, and Zhao Tong should have prepared the item.

As Yuan Ming hurried on his way, he instinctively activated the Shadowless Step.

With the improvement of his cultivation level and spiritual power, he was now more proficient in using it.

Halfway through, there was a rustling sound in the nearby jungle, and a fat gray rabbit dashed out and fled into the distance in panic.

Yuan Ming, who had been in seclusion for three days and nights without eating or drinking, felt a bit hungry in his stomach. He used a technique to point at the running rabbit.

A green light flashed under the running rabbit, and a sharp wooden thorn appeared out of thin air, accurately piercing through the rabbit’s body and coming out from its back.

The gray rabbit squealed in pain, struggled for a few moments, and soon stopped moving.

Yuan Ming picked up the rabbit’s body and was about to clean it when he suddenly stopped, his gaze falling on the rabbit’s chin and front legs.

They were stained with a lot of blood, presenting a black-red color that was not the rabbit’s own blood.

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

His expression became serious, and he walked towards the jungle where the rabbit had fled.

At first, he didn’t find anything, but after walking a short distance, a strong smell of blood came from the front.

Yuan Ming followed the scent and soon arrived at a valley. He pushed aside the lush vegetation at the valley entrance, and his face suddenly changed.

There were several bodies lying haphazardly in the valley, all of them Beast Slaves. Each person’s body was broken into several pieces, and the scene was gruesome.

Their beast skins were also torn into pieces and completely destroyed.

Yuan Ming furrowed his brows!

Since entering the Ten Thousand Mountains, he had witnessed bloody battles, but this was the first time he had seen such a brutal dismemberment. It was unlikely that the Beast Slaves would do such a thing, and it didn’t seem like the work of ferocious beasts either.

He endured the nausea and carefully examined the bodies, but unfortunately, he found nothing.

Yuan Ming didn’t stay here any longer and quickly left.

At this moment, he had lost his appetite and continued on his way. He soon arrived at the Toad Valley.

However, the usually bustling Toad Valley was now quiet and seemed somewhat eerie.

Yuan Ming looked around as he walked, and he noticed that the stone houses that were previously used by disciples of the Bi Luo Cave for business were all closed. There was not a single person in the entire valley.

He quickly arrived in front of Zhao Tong’s stone house, but it was also empty.

“Could something have happened?” Yuan Ming rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.

According to the information Ha Gong gave him, there were no other abnormalities in the Ten Thousand Mountains. It seemed that the sudden change in the Toad Valley was a recent event.

Yuan Ming stood silently for a moment, about to turn around and leave, when he suddenly remembered something. He went to the back of the stone house and reached into a gap between two large stones.

He quickly withdrew his hand, and there was an additional piece of animal skin in his palm.

Yuan Ming had traded with Zhao Tong multiple times and was quite familiar with each other. This was the place where they left messages for each other, using written letters to communicate with Tu Le and Ha Gong, which he learned from Zhao Tong.

Yuan Ming unfolded the animal skin, and there wasn’t much content on it. He quickly read it.

According to the message left by Zhao Tong, the closure of the Toad Valley was a requirement from the Bi Luo Cave. As for the reason, it seemed that something had happened in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and Zhao Tong warned Yuan Ming to be careful.

He put away the animal skin, and in his mind, he couldn’t help but recall the scene of the dismembered bodies he had seen not long ago. He wondered if it had any connection with the current situation.

Yuan Ming didn’t linger in the Toad Valley and quickly left. He returned directly to his residence in the Misty Canyon, intending to consolidate his cultivation level.

Although his cultivation level had improved, he didn’t dare to be blindly arrogant. The changes in the Ten Thousand Mountains had attracted the attention of the Bi Luo Cave, so he naturally couldn’t take it lightly.

Five days later, Yuan Ming walked out of his cave and climbed up the canyon, heading towards the boundary monument.

He wasn’t going out to hunt beasts today; it was the day to submit refined blood.

Yuan Ming quickly arrived at the giant stone boundary monument and found that Wu Lu was already there.

“Wu Lu, it’s been a while.” Yuan Ming greeted.

“I’m fine. How have you been, Brother Yuan Ming?” Wu Lu asked with a smile.

“I’m doing alright.” Yuan Ming smiled slightly, his attitude friendlier than before.

Although the Qing Lang Gang had withdrawn their manpower and no longer ambushed him near the boundary monument, the conflict between them had not been resolved. Now, several months had passed, and the Qing Lang Gang hadn’t ambushed him near the boundary monument, but he had some connection with Wu Lu.

“Wu Lu, a few days ago, I went to the Toad Valley. It was empty, and after inquiring from various sources, I heard that something happened in the Ten Thousand Mountains. The Qing Lang Gang is well-informed. I wonder if it’s true?” Yuan Ming asked.

“We don’t know what will happen in the Ten Thousand Mountains next.” Wu Lu sighed thoughtfully, shaking his head.

As the two of them chatted aimlessly, Elder Hu Huo arrived on a giant eagle from a distance and landed near the boundary monument.

“Greetings, Elder Hu Huo!” Yuan Ming and Wu Lu quickly stood up and saluted.

“You two are here, good. There’s something I need to tell you.” Elder Hu Huo jumped off the giant eagle and said.

“Please tell us, Elder Hu Huo.” Yuan Ming and Wu Lu respectfully replied.