Yuan Ming's heart went cold, and he hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound.
Amidst the flying dust, a towering figure emerged, glaringly a brown bear covered in yellow fur. It stood even taller than the black bear he had killed earlier, nearly as high as a one-story building.
Under the creature's gaze, Yuan Ming felt as though he had been targeted by a terrifying monster, causing his hairs to stand on end. Although he appeared calm, his heart was deeply unsettled!
"This Fierce Beast is far more formidable than the wild boar just now. Could it be my bad luck to encounter a Level 1 Middle Stage being?" His heart sank with worry.
Not to mention he had just been through a battle. Although he had managed with ease, his mana had been significantly depleted. Even at his prime, he wouldn't dare to confront a Level 1 Intermediate-stage Fierce Beast head-on.
Thoughts raced through Yuan Ming's mind. Suddenly, he let out a thunderous roar, his muscles bulging as he feigned a pounce.
The brown bear halted its steps, wary eyes reflecting caution.
At that moment, Yuan Ming sprung backward and agilely climbed up a nearby large tree, scrambling upwards with remarkable speed.
"Ao!"
Only then did the brown bear realize it had been tricked. It charged with surprising speed, reaching the base of the tree where Yuan Ming was climbing in almost an instant, and attacked fiercely with its thick bear paws.
With a "bang," the thick tree, the girth of a water bucket, was forcefully snapped. Yuan Ming, having just reached halfway up the tree, was sent plummeting down with it.
Though shocked, he wasn't disordered. He kicked against the tree to propel himself toward another one.
The brown bear raised its head and let out a horrifying roar that felt as if metal was striking stone, piercing through everything.
The roar caused Yuan Ming's ears to buzz, his head to slightly sink, and his limbs to momentarily stiffen, sending his body tumbling down like a solid rock.
Before he hit the ground, the Nine Elements Technique within Yuan Ming instinctively activated. A surge of pure mana burst forth from his Dantian, swiftly coursing through his body, reviving his Qi-Blood and dispelling the numbness.
As soon as he regained feeling in his arms, he outstretched them forward, his claws piercing into the bark of another tree.
With a "hiss," his claws sank deep into the wood, and his body hung suspended in mid-air.
The brown bear paused below, then once again charged at the tree Yuan Ming was on, its hefty paw striking down.
"Boom"
This tree, too, was struck and started to collapse with a crash.
However, Yuan Ming had already leapt ahead to another giant tree nearby, ensuring his mana enveloped him as a defense against any further roaring attacks from the brown bear.
Contrary to his expectations, the roar didn't come.
A flicker of surprise crossed Yuan Ming's face. He quickly climbed higher into the giant tree.
From his position, about thirty feet above ground, he was safe from the bear's roar.
The brown bear, refusing to let Yuan Ming escape, pounced to the front of the giant tree, its paws pounding in succession, violently attacking the trunk.
The tree shook tremendously, its bark cracked, and a shower of leaves fell. Apart from a few claw marks left on the trunk, the tree showed no signs of falling.
"Such a massive tree can be shaken; this brown bear must be a Level 1 Middle-level Fierce Beast. Too bad its brain is not as big as its body," mumbled Yuan Ming, taking a rock from his pocket and tossing it down from high above.
The stone turned into a streak of gray light and harshly struck the brown bear on the head.
With a muffled "bang," the rock shattered. Although it didn't do much damage to the brown bear, it enraged the beast even more, driving it to attack the giant tree more ferociously.
The tree's shaking became even more violent, yet being so large, it was unlikely to fall anytime soon.
Yuan Ming, the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile, watched from above like a spectator at a monkey show, occasionally dropping rocks to provoke the brown bear below.
As time passed little by little, the brown bear's ferocity diminished. Its chest heaved with heavy breathing, the fiery rage in its eyes mostly gone.
After a long while, the brown bear let out a disgruntled low growl at Yuan Ming, bowed its body, and turned to leave.
Yuan Ming took one more stone and tossed it down, striking the bear squarely on the back of its head.
However, the brown bear seemed to have learned its lesson, ignoring Yuan Ming's taunt completely and continued to run away without looking back.
"Not too dumb after all, but now it's too late to run away!" Yuan Ming didn't stay put any longer. With a few leaps, he was over the bear, plunging down from above. His ape claws turned into two gleaming cold lights, viciously aiming for the bear's back.
The brown bear sensed something wrong with the wind behind it, rolled away to the side, but still got grazed by the claws.
The tough bear skin was torn open, revealing a shallow half-foot-long wound. Not much blood flowed out, but the wound was tinged with a faint purple hue.
It was Soft Bone Poison that Yuan Ming had quietly smeared on his claws, acquired earlier from Wulu.
The brown bear grew infuriated again, its paw striking down violently toward Yuan Ming's head.
But the bear's movements had grown much slower due to previous exertions, and Yuan Ming, now in his White Ape form, dodged under its paw with ease.
As they crossed paths, the white ape's right claw reached out and made another shallow cut along the bear's flank.
"Roar..." The brown bear grew increasingly angry, its paws flailing as it lunged forward.
Yuan Ming had no intention of clashing head-on. He used the nearby trees to dodge and weave, occasionally leaving minor wounds on the bear with his claws.
Though the brown bear was stronger than Yuan Ming, it had futilely expended too much strength on that giant tree. Combined with its inherently sluggish speed, it now found itself at a disadvantage, with small cuts accumulating and blood covering its body.
Moreover, with the effects of the Soft Bone Poison slowly taking hold, its movements became more and more sluggish.
The brown bear seemed to know that the situation was dire and completely gave up all resistance and evasive actions, charging directly at Yuan Ming in a desperate last stand!
The bear's final desperate attack was significantly faster than usual.
However, Yuan Ming was well-prepared. He moved towards a large tree big enough for two people to embrace, using it as a shield.
"Roar..."
The fierce brown bear charged forward undeterred, its eyes suddenly turning blood-red as it let out a deafening roar.
"I knew you would use this move." Yuan Ming was ready. Dan Tian Power surged out, spreading throughout his body.
He barely shook, and the movement of his feet was not much affected. At the moment before the brown bear charged, he dodged away.
"Bang"
The fierce brown bear failed to stop in time and slammed straight into the tree, its massive body bouncing back and sitting down on the ground, dazed.
The entire tree crashed down, stirring up a large cloud of dust.
The fierce brown bear struggled to get up and tried to flee, but after only a few steps, it collapsed onto the ground.
Yuan Ming's figure emerged from the dust, instantly arriving beside the brown bear, his right hand grabbing fiercely downward.
The sharp ape claws pierced into the brown bear's neck bone with a "puchi," as he slashed downward powerfully.
The brown bear's neck bone was severed, half of its neck cut through, and blood surged out, its huge body convulsing a couple of times before going still.
Yuan Ming took out a Blood Storage Bag and drained the brown bear's blood, then, without bothering to refine it, he slumped to the ground, gasping for air in big gulps. The intense battle had indeed taken his very last bit of strength.
This brown bear indeed possessed terrifying physical strength, and its hide was astonishingly defensive. Had it not been for Yuan Ming's ruse to exhaust most of the bear's energy and the addition of Soft Bone Poison Liquid, he would definitely not have been a match for the beast.
At this moment, Yuan Ming felt his entire skeleton aching, and even moving a bit seemed difficult.
But the area was reeking of blood and was by no means a place to stay for long.
Yuan Ming bit the tip of his tongue sharply, using the pain to stimulate his spirit, and stood up with the support of a nearby tree before heading back the way he came.
Yet, he hadn't gone far when an unexpected change occurred.
His entire body suddenly felt as if struck by lightning; the White Ape Skin that covered him began to wriggle, and an agitated aura permeated out.
The lingering Mana in his body suddenly became restless; his eyes showed traces of Blood Light, and a surge of killing intent rose in his heart.
"Not again." Yuan Ming's heart chilled. He quickly sat down cross-legged and started the Nine Elements Technique.
After three complete rounds of Grand Circulation, the desire to kill was barely suppressed somewhat.
Concentrating Mana in his left hand, he touched the Incense Burner Mark on his right arm.
A flash of aquamarine light passed over the mark, revealing the Mysterious Incense Burner in his palm.
With a surge of warmth from the incense burner blending into his body and mind,
Yuan Ming felt his whole body as if soaked in a hot spring, his head especially so, and the Blood Light in his eyes slowly dissipated along with the killing intent.
A quarter of an hour later, the disturbance caused by the White Ape Skin completely vanished.
Yuan Ming's eyes softened, and he dispelled the Fur Cloak Skill, silent as he gazed at the incense burner in his hand.
This kind of incident had occurred twice in the past three months, always after a fierce fight when his Mana and strength were nearly depleted.
Now the thirst for blood and killing was extremely intense, and the Nine Elements Technique could only resist it, not diminish it. He was clueless about how to deal with it the first time it happened, but then he recalled the warmth from the incense burner had the effect of nourishing the Divine Soul. In his urgency, he retrieved the incense burner, and that was how he suppressed the urge.
"Could it be that being transformed into the White Ape for an extended period in these mountains, I've unwittingly absorbed some of its malevolent aura? Fortunately, I have the incense burner." Yuan Ming privately celebrated but was also worried that this desire might grow stronger with each passing day.
He had intended to ask Hu Huochang about the White Ape Skin's transformation, but unfortunately, he had never found a good opportunity.
Yuan Ming shook his head, put away the incense burner, and quickly left, climbing up a nearby large tree.
Even without transforming into a White Ape, his tree climbing was much faster than before, and he quickly found a relatively flat spot halfway up to sit cross-legged and circulate the Nine Elements Technique, recovering his Mana.
A moment later, he took out the Blood Storage Bag and activated it with Mana to refine the bear's blood, which swiftly diminished and soon turned into a ball of Essence Blood.
But this ball of Essence Blood was a whole circle larger than that of the Green Fox and other Fierce Beasts, and the pulse of Mana within was much stronger.
"It seems this brown bear is very likely a Level 1 Intermediate-stage Fierce Beast." Yuan Ming gripped the Blood Storage Bag tightly.
After this battle, he had gained a preliminary understanding of the true strength of Level 1 Middle Stage Fierce Beasts. Although formidable, they were not entirely unbeatable.
He put away the Blood Storage Bag and once again cast the Fur Cloak Skill to transform into a White Ape and continued deeper into the forest.
An hour later, a fairly wide stream appeared in front of him, meandering out from a gully not far away. The stream was very clear, and a refreshing cool moisture hit him.
After traveling for so long, Yuan Ming was somewhat thirsty. He bent down to drink a few mouthfuls of the stream water and was about to continue forward when he suddenly paused, looking at the ground beside him.
There lay a few fresh green fruit shells, obviously just peeled.
Yuan Ming recognized these fruits, sour mixed with sweet, a rare tasty fruit of the forest, which he had also eaten a few times before.
Dropping fruit shells in the forest was normal enough, as many monkeys also picked fruit to eat. But monkeys eating wild fruits wouldn't peel them so thoroughly, would they?