In the night.

 

A lonely and cold moon hung high in the sky, shining through the gaps between the branches and leaves of the trees, casting patches of light.

 

Yuan Ming sat cross-legged on a patch of moonlight, his palms pressed together, one hand pointing towards the sky and the other towards the ground.

 

A hazy layer of moonlight enveloped his body, different from elsewhere, misty and ethereal, as if shrouded in fog and thin veils, lingering for a long time.

 

At this moment, his brows were furrowed, sweat beads forming on his forehead, as if he was making some kind of attempt.

 

But after a moment, his brows relaxed, and he suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a trace of exhaustion.

 

"Ah, it seems that I'm really not cut out for this. I've been trying so hard, but I can't even fully comprehend the sea of consciousness, let alone observe my whole body. At this rate, it will take me at least ten years to complete the first level of cultivation. It's better to honestly cultivate the Nine Elements Technique." Yuan Ming sighed and accepted reality.

 

If all the cultivation techniques in this world were as smooth as the Nine Elements Technique, it would be great.

 

He put away the technique, ended this cultivation session, and temporarily decided not to continue cultivating the Death Moon method at night. Although it improved his control over his divine sense, it exhausted him mentally and physically, affecting his cultivation of the Nine Elements Technique during the day.

 

Moreover, after this period of silence, he found that there was no news about the incident with the human demon. It seemed that the unexpected event during the trial did not cause much disturbance. He pondered when he should resume hunting.

 

After all, accumulating blood food and finding a way to become an official disciple as soon as possible was the main goal.

 

Although the named disciples he had encountered before might not be stronger than him, each of them had a spirit beast by their side and possessed magical weapons, which made Yuan Ming, a poor beast slave, extremely envious.

 

Of course, more importantly, it would allow him to get rid of the identity of a beast slave with no status, no hope, and no freedom, and move closer to returning to the Central Plains and recovering his memories.

 

***

 

Time flew by, and it was already three months later.

 

In the evening, in a dense forest, a winding river flowed slowly.

 

On the water near the riverbank, a section of grayish-green rotten wood floated quietly, with water flowing slowly around it, creating ripples.

 

On the riverbank, a sturdy black-haired wild boar was drinking water, its dark red eyes scanning the surroundings, carefully observing any movement.

 

The light in the mountains and forests was dim, appearing quite tranquil. Only occasionally, birds chirped.

 

Seeing the peaceful surroundings, the black-haired wild boar gradually relaxed. Its short tail swayed gently behind it, and its mouth was completely immersed in the water, drinking with bubbles popping up.

 

At this moment, the quiet rotten wood floating beside it suddenly tilted, followed by a huge black shadow rising to the surface of the water, revealing a massive and ferocious mouth, biting towards the black-haired wild boar.

 

The black-haired wild boar panicked and barely avoided the sudden attack, but the ground under its feet was extremely slippery, and it couldn't retreat far.

 

The owner of the massive mouth jumped out of the water, revealing a gray-black giant crocodile covered in square scales, its huge mouth almost the same size as the black-haired wild boar.

 

After emerging from the water, it immediately caught up with the black-haired wild boar and bit it again.

 

With a powerful bite, the crocodile's jaws crushed the black-haired wild boar's head along with half of its body.

 

The black-haired wild boar struggled desperately, trying to escape.

 

But in the water, it had no resistance at all. In a short while, it became completely motionless.

 

The crocodile dragged its body and quickly swam back to the shore, starting to devour the entire body of the black-haired wild boar, swallowing it into its throat.

 

The sound of cracking bones continued.

 

The crocodile's jaws were incredibly strong, gradually crushing the bones on the black-haired wild boar's body. In no time, half of the boar's body was swallowed.

 

While the crocodile was enjoying its meal, on a tree trunk by the riverbank, a figure that had been quietly lying there, revealed a smile.

 

Wearing a white ape skin and a bronze longsword tied around his waist, it was Yuan Ming.

 

In order to hunt down this first-level advanced beast, he had been lurking here for four days and three nights, finally seizing the opportunity.

 

"Now is the time!"

 

He thought to himself, his figure flipped, and he jumped down from the tree, at the same time activating the Beast Transformation Technique. His body quickly grew, transforming into a muscular white-haired old ape.

 

The crocodile noticed something was wrong and didn't care about its meal anymore, quickly retreating into the river.

 

How could Yuan Ming give it a chance to escape? Gripping the Green Fish Sword tightly with both arms, he infused it with his spiritual power and fiercely stabbed it with his stored power.

 

With a clang, the Green Fish Sword pierced the scales on the crocodile's back, but the blade slipped and failed to penetrate.

 

The crocodile felt the pain, swung its long tail, but couldn't hit Yuan Ming no matter what.

 

Yuan Ming was somewhat surprised that he couldn't break through its defense. Seeing that the crocodile was still moving its body and retreating into the river, he immediately changed his plan.

 

Flipping his body, he jumped off the crocodile and used the Shadowless Step to dodge its tail sweep. With a horizontal slash, he struck the crocodile's leg.

 

Although its scales were impenetrable, its legs were not as well protected.

 

After the slash, blood spurted out, and the wound was already visible.

 

The crocodile felt the pain and wanted to roar, but it had a black-haired wild boar stuck in its mouth, unable to spit it out or swallow it, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

 

Yuan Ming had seized this opportunity when he saw the crocodile's situation and decided to make his move.

 

Skillfully dodging the crocodile's tail, he took advantage of the situation and stabbed its wound with his sword.

 

With a "crack" sound, one of the crocodile's legs was directly severed by him.The Black-Scaled Giant Crocodile was in extreme agony, its dark yellow eyes flickering incessantly as it shed crystalline tears.

 

Despite its injuries, it tried to retreat into the river at a faster pace. Yuan Ming, however, followed suit and severed another leg on its other side.

 

With two of its legs cut off, the Black-Scaled Giant Crocodile could no longer move quickly, even if it wanted to.

 

Yuan Ming, like a butcher, calmly dodged its tail attacks and slowly dismembered the Black-Scaled Giant Crocodile, which was utterly helpless against him.

 

About half an hour later, the Black-Scaled Giant Crocodile, with all its limbs severed, had half of its body submerged in the river. However, a bronze longsword was embedded in one of its eyes.

 

The Green Fish Sword pierced through its eye and into its brain, completely cutting off its life force.

 

Yuan Ming sat nearby, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

 

With his current strength, hunting a beast that had just reached the upper level of the first rank was still quite challenging and even risky. This time, he was successful only because he was well-prepared and took advantage of the situation.

 

After resting for a while, he began to dismember the crocodile from its abdomen and peeled off its entire skin.

 

This material was excellent for refining soft armor and was highly sought after by the named disciples of the Bi Luo Cave.

 

After cutting off some crocodile meat, he found the biggest gain from this hunt – a "Blood Pill" the size of a dragon's eye.

 

After packing up, Yuan Ming returned to the nearby temporary shelter with his spoils of war.

 

At night, he lit a bonfire under the tree house, skewered the crocodile meat, and roasted it over the fire. As the fat seeped out, a tempting aroma filled the surroundings.

 

After these days of trials and tribulations, Yuan Ming was no longer the weak little beast slave he used to be. Not to mention his cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Refining was already superior among many beast slaves, his adaptability in combat and hunting experience also made him a standout among them.

 

He had already set up various traps around him, so he was not worried that the firelight and the aroma of the meat would attract other beasts. On the contrary, if any beasts were to fall into his trap, he would be happy to collect more Blood Food.

 

After this period of frantic accumulation, he had almost gathered enough Blood Food. Including today's gains, he was less than four hundred short of his target of one thousand.

 

The thought of being able to shed his identity as a beast slave and enter the Bi Luo Cave Sect made Yuan Ming feel great.

 

You should know that although he used the mysterious incense burner hidden in his arm to suppress the backlash from using the Beast Transformation Technique, the effect was getting weaker and weaker. There were even times when he almost lost his sanity.

 

He didn't have much time left.

 

Just as Yuan Ming was about to take a bite of the sizzling crocodile meat he had taken from the fire, a sudden crash sounded in the distance.

 

"So a beast really did come…"

 

Yuan Ming took a bite of the meat and chewed it, then stuck the rest back into the ground. He got up, picked up his sword, and headed towards the source of the noise.

 

Under the dim moonlight, Yuan Ming saw that the trap he had set up was in a mess.

 

On the dug pit, four sharpened logs were crisscrossed, and underneath was a net made of beast tendons, covering the entire pit.

 

As Yuan Ming approached, he saw that two of the logs had broken, and the incredibly tough net had been torn open.

 

In the pit below, a shadow was frantically darting around, making dull noises.

 

The dim light made it hard for him to see the situation below, so Yuan Ming picked up a burning piece of wood and walked back.

 

By the light of the burning wood, he saw a large green wolf standing at the bottom of the pit.

 

"Huh…"

 

Yuan Ming took a closer look and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.

 

The green wolf at the bottom of the pit looked a bit strange. It wasn't lying on the ground with all four limbs, but standing on its hind legs, its paws constantly digging at the pit walls.

 

"Roar… Hiss…"

 

As the green wolf swung its claws, it also let out suppressed growls from its mouth, seeming to be in great pain.