The afternoon sun shone through the gaps in the shade of the trees, casting golden specks in the valley.
Wei Tao leaned against the somewhat hot rocks, carefully observing and listening to the movements around him.
Suddenly, a pair of dark green eyes appeared in the bushes more than ten meters away.
Followed by a second pair, a third pair, and finally a dozen red-capped gray wolves came nearby.
Wei Tao immediately tensed his spirits, gripping a few sharp stones found on the ground, and hiding his body deeper.
"Fortunately, the hard work I've put in these days was not in vain, and I've finally found their nest nearby."
"But luck is a bit unfortunate this time. The last time I saw them, there were only three or four wolves, and today there are more than ten all at once."
The wolves active in the Cangmang Mountains are generally found in small numbers, and a double-digit count can definitely be considered a large group.
As Wei Tao had read in various books before, hundreds of wolves in the mountains were simply impossible.
After all, the more wolves there are, the more food they consume every day, putting great pressure on their survival and eventually reaching a state of equilibrium.
The wolves huddled in the bushes and did not move, and he remained hidden behind the rocks.
It wasn't until a quarter of an hour later that a gray shadow burst out of the bushes, and in an instant, it reached the upside-down mountain deer tree, jumped high, and bit it.
Wei Tao furrowed his brow tightly but refrained from throwing a stone at the opportunity.
He waited quietly until the red-capped gray wolf tore the mountain deer off and dragged it back into the bushes, without making any rash moves.
The number of wolves was far greater than he had expected.
Therefore, the only option was to give up this hunting opportunity and wait until he was more fully prepared to return here.
The wolves soon disappeared deep into the bushes.
Wei Tao waited for another moment before slowly moving his body and quietly departing.
Suddenly, Wei Tao felt a chill run down his back.
A putrid smell assaulted his senses.
Without hesitation, Wei Tao turned around and slashed.
Shua!
A gray shadow flew closer, and he could even smell the stench emanating from its mouth.
Its claws were less than a foot away from Wei Tao's body when they were met with the slash of the Mountain Splitting Saber. A dazzling shower of sparks erupted between the blade and the sharp claw.
The Mountain Splitting Saber was flung high into the air, spinning and embedding itself into a nearby tree trunk.
However, the tremendous impact also sent the attacking gray shadow flying, crashing onto the ground and rolling a few times before regaining its footing.
A low growl escaped from the depths of the red-capped gray wolf's throat as it continued to snarl, preparing for its next attack.
Wei Tao stood several meters away, facing the wolf but refraining from launching an immediate counterattack, even with the stones at his disposal from the Traveling Stone Fist technique.
In just a couple of breaths, two more adult red-capped gray wolves emerged from the bushes, surrounding him from different directions.
Regret washed over him as he realized he should not have come to hunt alone.
Only now did he notice the stark difference between the red-capped gray wolves here and the gray wolves on Earth.
They were larger, stronger, and nothing like what he had imagined when he saw them from a distance.
Upon closer inspection, each one was almost the size of a calf.
The howls of the wolves echoed one after another.
A golden symbol appeared in front of Wei Tao, and the status bar momentarily appeared before vanishing.
"My mind is clouded. Trying to improve my cultivation amidst the watchful eyes of these wolves is simply inviting death upon myself."
"I have to stay focused and strive to make it off this mountain alive..."
Wei Tao suppressed the tension and anxiety in his heart, exhaling a breath of impure air. His hands swelled and enlarged, turning blood-red.
Suddenly, two red-capped gray wolves, one from the left and one from the right, lunged towards Wei Tao.
Without time to think, his body instinctively reacted.
Employing the Red Line Fist technique that he had practiced tirelessly day and night, he focused his energy.
Stepping forward, twisting his waist, bending his body, and throwing a punch.
Wei Tao managed to evade the paw of the left-sided red-capped gray wolf, while delivering a powerful punch to the wolf approaching from the right.
Ka-cha!
A crisp sound resonated from the gray wolf's body.
Simultaneously, a whooshing sound could be heard.
Wei Tao's clothes around his waist were sliced, but luckily he had added two layers of thick linen as protection, preventing the wolf's claws from inflicting a wound.
The red-capped gray wolf on the right howled miserably and collapsed to the ground, struggling but unable to regain its footing.
Wei Tao's strong momentum and profound power from his punch had immediately rendered it battle-weary.
However, before he could catch his breath, two more red-capped gray wolves pounced.
Wei Tao chose not to dodge or evade, instead meeting them head-on.
In this grappling amidst the encirclement, especially when speed was not on his side, he could only opt to confront force with force, even if it meant trading blows and incurring injuries.
By overwhelming his opponents with his imposing presence and smashing their will to fight with forceful punches, he hoped to secure a glimmer of survival.
The fierce battle lasted less than 5 minutes before it came to an end.
The wolves left behind two severely injured comrades and made off with the mountain deer, leaving Wei Tao unsure whether it was a loss or a gain.
Wei Tao, too, paid a hefty price.
Several parts of his body oozed blood, and the continuous expenditure of energy and blood from his punches left him on the brink of exhaustion.
Sweat drenched his torn clothes, and the wounds stung with heat and pain.
Leaning against a tree, he gasped for air, his legs trembling, barely able to support his body's weight.
"En!?" Wei Tao's pupils suddenly contracted.
He was about to sit down on the ground when his eyes locked onto a red-capped gray wolf slowly emerging from the bushes with graceful steps.
It was larger than the others of its kind, and its jade-green eyes shimmered with a hint of cunning and a cruel gleam, in stark contrast to the other red-capped gray wolves.
Wei Tao's heart raced with anxiety, but he showed no expression on his face.
Wei Tao even left the tree he had been leaning on, mustering all his strength to stretch his sore and weakened legs, taking step after step toward the crouching red-capped gray wolf that was approaching.
This must be the alpha wolf, testing his mettle.
He couldn't show any weakness at this moment.
He couldn't turn around and flee, exposing his back to them.
Wei Tao drew closer, his arm swelling and enlarging once again, his fist clenched despite the excruciating pain.
The final red-capped gray wolf that had appeared lowered its head, whimpering softly, and began to slowly retreat.
Until it vanished completely.
Wei Tao finally let out a sigh of relief.
His physical strength had nearly been depleted, and he was injured. Even exerting thirty percent of his strength had been difficult.
If the wolf had truly disregarded its own safety and attacked, the best outcome would have been Wei Tao killing it at the cost of severe injuries.
He would either be bitten to death or lie on the ground incapacitated, dying a slow and agonizing death.
After bravely waiting for a moment, Wei Tao finally regained some strength.
First, he retrieved the herbs he had prepared in advance from his backpack and applied them to his wounds. Then, he hastily bled the red-capped gray wolf, collecting all the blood in a wine pouch he had prepared beforehand.
Goo dong!
Goo goo dong!
He swallowed several large mouthfuls of wolf blood mixed with medicinal wine.
Wei Tao's eyes widened sharply, as if a line of fire raced from his throat to his stomach.
His qi and blood circulated sluggishly, and his arm felt like it was on fire.
It was akin to the morning when he had first visited his teacher, Master Zhou, who unleashed his lightning-fast strikes on his body.
After a moment, although his wounds still burned and pained him, his qi and blood circulation had returned to around sixty or seventy percent of its normal level.
And the efficacy of the wolf blood continued, constantly being digested and absorbed by his body, replenishing the previous expenditure.
Using a thick branch as a makeshift stretcher, Wei Tao tied the two red-capped gray wolves together with hemp rope and hurried along the same path toward the exit of the mountain.
By this time, the sun had begun its descent towards the west, and a slight coolness carried by the mountain breeze set in.
Wei Tao quickened his pace, determined to reach the city before the gates were locked.
He wasn't afraid of spending the night in the wilderness, but he needed to deliver the blood and flesh of the red-capped gray wolf to the Martial Arts Hall as quickly as possible. If he delayed too long, it would affect the efficacy of the Blood Activation Pill.
After this hunting experience, Wei Tao finally understood the effectiveness of venturing into the mountains to cultivate his martial arts techniques, as Peng Yue had advised.
At the same time, he became acutely aware of his own shortcomings.
He had overestimated his own strength and neglected the utilization of various tactics.
Cultivating the Red Line Fist was the foundation, but he should have prepared in advance for other means of defeating enemies.
Traps, drugs, poison, hidden weapons, and more.
If possible, he even wished to acquire some crossbows and armor.
As he turned a corner, just emerging from a rare open expanse of the mountain, Wei Tao suddenly halted, his thoughts coming to a standstill.
He lowered the burden on his shoulders and reached behind to draw the Mountain Splitting Saber.
Several men in tattered hides jumped out, blocking his path.
Sou!
A feathered arrow flew diagonally from behind, embedding itself deeply into a nearby tree trunk.
The gazes of the men wandered back and forth between the corpse of the red-capped gray wolf and Wei Tao, dressed in ragged clothes. Their expressions were somber and uncertain, their eyes filled with unpredictable intentions.