Chapter 22: Make friends

Chapter 22: Make friends

Yuan Ming dug a pit by the lake and buried the body. He stood in front of a small lonely mound for a while.

"You should have already reincarnated. In your next life, I hope you won’t be a beast slave. The path of cultivation is so cruel, it’s better to be an ordinary mortal and live carefree."

"Today, I buried your bones for you. If something happens to me in the future, who will bury me?"

"The heavens are heartless, and the strong prey on the weak. If I can’t get rid of my identity as a beast slave and join the Bi Luo Cave, my fate in the future may be worse than yours."

Yuan Ming muttered to himself a few words in front of the small mound, reminding himself of the harsh reality and strengthening his belief in returning to the Central Plains.

He did not transform into a white ape and continued on his way, quickly leaving the lake area and entering a dense forest.

Not far away, a silver shadow crouched on a branch of a large tree, the silver cat from before. Its slender pupils stared at Yuan Ming’s back.

The light was dim around him, so Yuan Ming slowed down and walked carefully.

Suddenly, he stopped and crouched down.

He found another set of footprints on the ground, the same size as the person he had been tracking.

Yuan Ming followed the footprints and soon heard the sound of a fight, mixed with the roar of a fierce beast.

Yuan Ming raised his eyebrows and quickened his pace, soon arriving at the source of the sound.

It was a spacious clearing in the forest, where two large and exotic beasts were fighting for their lives. Several large trees had collapsed and smoke and dust filled the clearing.

One of the fighters was a blue wolf beast standing upright like a human, towering over a zhang and a half tall. Its limbs were sturdy and it exuded a strong sense of oppression, even more imposing than Yuan Ming’s white ape form.

The wolf beast had slender, pale blue pupils full of coldness and calmness, clearly a beast slave.

The other exotic beast was a black crocodile that crawled on the ground, three zhang long. Its whole body was covered with thick scales, and its yellow eyes emitted a hungry and fierce light.

This crocodile was not only huge in size, but also exceptionally powerful. Its thick and long tail was like a black steel whip that left deep marks on the ground every time it swung. Its strong jaws could easily bite through a tree as thick as a water bucket, much more powerful than the previous brown bear.

The blue wolf beast slave was obviously no match for the black crocodile in terms of strength, but it was extremely agile and had an amazing jumping ability. It constantly jumped to avoid the crocodile’s attacks and found opportunities to attack with its four scythe-like claws.

However, the crocodile’s scales were extremely tough, and the wolf’s claws could only leave shallow scars without drawing blood. The battle was at a stalemate."This green wolf beast tamer is quite powerful, his cultivation should be above mine." Yuan Ming had originally planned to hide and observe, but after a moment of hesitation, he transformed into a white ape and appeared boldly.

The green wolf beast tamer immediately noticed Yuan Ming’s presence and gave him a cold gaze.

Although the beast tamers in this mountain forest were all collecting essence blood for the Bi Luo Cave, their relationships were far from harmonious and there were often hidden conflicts, even incidents of murder and robbery. However, the Bi Luo Cave paid no attention to these matters and let them be.

Now, a white ape beast tamer suddenly appeared, apparently intending to wait for the green wolf and the black crocodile beast to both be injured before taking advantage.

However, the green wolf beast tamer was also somewhat puzzled. Usually, when someone tries to make a sneak attack, they would wait in ambush and strike when the time is right. So why did this white ape beast tamer show up so directly?

Taking advantage of the green wolf beast tamer’s distraction, the black crocodile suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a bright water stream like a sharp arrow, slashing towards the green wolf beast tamer’s legs at a speed almost too fast to be seen.

The green wolf beast tamer seemed to have anticipated this and jumped up three feet high, easily dodging the water stream’s attack.

As he landed, whether by coincidence or intention, he landed on the black crocodile’s back and immediately moved his right leg.

His claw turned into a blue shadow and grabbed towards the black crocodile’s eye.

The black crocodile was shocked and quickly shook its head to avoid it.

But the green wolf beast tamer’s attack was too swift. The black crocodile was unable to completely dodge it and was scratched on the nose.

The black crocodile was also knocked down, revealing its soft and pale belly.

The green wolf beast slave was obviously an experienced beast hunter, and immediately leaped up. Its two wolf claws pierced into the crocodile’s belly and pulled hard.

Several long wounds were immediately cut open on the crocodile’s belly, and blood rushed out, staining the ground with red and white.

The black crocodile struggled frantically again, but this time it suffered a fatal injury and soon stopped moving.

The green wolf beast slave bent down and took out a blood storage bag to collect the black crocodile’s blood, while looking at Yuan Ming nearby with a slightly wary expression.

"Thank you for your help just now. I am Ha Gong. May I ask for your name, friend?" The green wolf beast slave quickly finished collecting and bowed to Yuan Ming."My name is Yuan Ming." Yuan Ming returned the courtesy.

"So it’s Brother Yuan. This is not a place for conversation, let’s find another place to talk." Ha Gong said.

The recent battle had caused quite a commotion, so Yuan Ming naturally agreed.

The two quickly left the area and soon arrived at a lakeside.

Yuan Ming’s eyebrows twitched slightly, as this lake was the place where he had discovered the black beast skin.

Ha Gong, covered in dust, washed himself in the lake water and removed his beast skin disguise, revealing his true form - a tall, twenty-something young man with blond hair and blue eyes, a typical appearance of a Southern Region native.

Yuan Ming had also removed his ape skin and revealed his face.

"Brother Yuan, are you from the Central Region?" Ha Gong asked with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Yes. Due to some coincidences, I entered the Bi Luo Cave and became a beast slave." Yuan Ming did not hide the truth.

"I see. But Brother Yuan, you seem to be quite unfamiliar." Ha Gong didn’t delve too much into Yuan Ming’s identity and said.

"I haven’t been here for long. I just saw Brother Ha Gong fighting the black crocodile earlier, and I was curious to watch. I hope Brother Ha Gong doesn’t mind." Yuan Ming was friendly.

"Not at all. If it weren’t for Brother Yuan’s timely help, I would have been dead or at least severely injured by now. I should be the one thanking you." Ha Gong said solemnly.

Seeing Ha Gong’s sincere attitude, Yuan Ming’s determination to befriend him grew stronger.

The two chatted for a while and gradually became acquainted with each other.

From their conversation, Yuan Ming learned that Ha Gong had been a beast slave for two years, making him a senior among the beast slaves.

"Brother Ha Gong, how much do you know about the Bi Luo Cave sect?" He asked about the matter he was concerned about.

"Like you, I was inexplicably captured and brought here, and I don’t know much about Bi Luo Cave either. I only know that it’s a major sect in the Southern Region, with many disciples and three Nascent Soul stage cave masters in charge. They dominate the Hundred Thousand Mountains, a massive mountain range with immense power." Ha Gong said.

"Are the Hundred Thousand Mountains the mountain range we are in right now?" Yuan Ming recalled the Southern Region characters on the big stone and asked.

"Exactly." Ha Gong nodded.

Yuan Ming looked around, seeing towering mountain ranges on all sides, stretching to the limits of his vision, with no end in sight.

"The Hundred Thousand Mountains are one of the largest mountain ranges in the Southern Region, and you won’t be able to see the end just by looking." Ha Gong laughed.

Yuan Ming smiled faintly, not intending to see the end of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, but to reacquaint himself with the mountain range controlled by the Bi Luo Cave.

"Brother Ha Gong, do you know how many beast slaves like us are there in the Hundred Thousand Mountains?" Yuan Ming asked after looking around.