Luo Bai intended to enter the cave first to refine the beast cores he had obtained and unblock his ninth meridian.
Before he reached the cave, Luo Bai heard sounds coming from the bushes, as if some Yao Beast was moving through the dense foliage ahead, making him vigilant.
He focused his gaze and found a Silver Wolf staring intently at him from the grass ahead.
Silver Wolves are First-Tier Yao Beasts, corresponding to human Cultivators at Qi Refining First to Third Stage; Second-Tier corresponds to Qi Refining Fourth to Sixth Stage; Third-Tier Yao Beasts correspond to Seventh to Ninth Stage, and so on.
Fourth-Tier Yao Beasts possess the strength of a human Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator, and currently, if Luo Bai encountered a Fourth-Tier Yao Beast, his only option would be to flee.
The Silver Wolf before him was merely a First-Tier Yao Beast, posing no threat whatsoever to Luo Bai.
These Silver Wolves are similar to wild wolves, but their bodies are much larger, and their attacks are naturally much stronger.
As the Silver Wolf stared at Luo Bai, the silver fur on its back bristled, and its front paws crouched on the ground, exuding a powerful Aura, ready to pounce on Luo Bai at any moment.
Seeing the Silver Wolf, Luo Bai suddenly recalled something: Silver Wolves are gregarious Yao Beasts; a large pack can have three to four hundred individuals, while a small pack has thirty to fifty, and the larger the pack, the stronger the wolf king.
Could it be that he had encountered a pack of Silver Wolves?
Luo Bai's eyelids twitched uncontrollably, thinking, 'Could I be that unlucky? To encounter a pack of Silver Wolves so soon after arriving at the Mystic Forest's periphery?'
He glanced around and, finding no other Silver Wolves nearby, Luo Bai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Silver Wolf before him might be a lone one, or perhaps a scout Silver Wolf.
Regardless, he absolutely could not let the Silver Wolf signal its pack; otherwise, Luo Bai would certainly face big trouble.
Typically, Silver Wolf Kings are Fourth-Tier Yao Beasts, and some might even be Fifth-Tier Yao Beasts, and with so many wolf soldiers under their command, it would be a miracle if Luo Bai could defeat them.
The Silver Wolf in front raised its head, preparing to signal its companions.
Luo Bai, like a wild beast, lunged forward and, with a single punch, directly killed the Silver Wolf.
He quickly took out his dagger, extracted the Silver Wolf's beast core, and then swiftly dashed towards the cave.
It was not advisable to linger here; the wolf pack would surely discover the scout Silver Wolf's body soon.
Silver Wolves have extremely sensitive senses of smell, so as Luo Bai rushed towards the cave, he lit an animal-repelling incense stick, ensuring the Silver Wolf pack wouldn't track him by scent.
Luo Tian had given him this animal-repelling incense before he came to the Bihai Mountain Range; this type of incense was not very expensive, and once lit, it could ward off Yao Beasts below Fourth-Tier.
Even Fourth-Tier Yao Beasts would be affected by the animal-repelling incense within a certain range.
Following his memory, Luo Bai ran for a while and finally arrived at the cave where Luo Tian had taken him when he was a child.
The front of the cave was already covered with moss, some bushes, and weeds, and the entrance was covered with a layer of cobwebs, with no other traces, indicating it had been abandoned for a long time.
Luo Bai tidied up the cave entrance and cautiously walked inside.
After confirming there was no danger in the cave, he moved a large stone from the side to block the entrance, then took out the beast core from the Silver Wolf he had just killed and the beast cores obtained from the masked men, placing them in front of him.
Luo Bai sat cross-legged and began to Cultivate the Yin Yang Two Qi Gong; the Spiritual Qi around him twisted, resembling a Taiji Diagram, slowly circulating, and the Spiritual Qi from the beast cores on the ground floated out of them, like threads, merging into Luo Bai's body.
Luo Bai gathered his True Qi and charged towards the remaining three Acupoints in the ninth meridian.
A sharp pain caused Luo Bai's entire body to tremble; he gritted his teeth and endured, the pain nearly causing him to faint.
He felt as if his ninth meridian was a great river, its waters vast and surging, but ahead, a tall and majestic mountain seemed to block the river's path.
Luo Bai exerted force again, and a tearing pain in his muscles spread throughout his body.
As Luo Bai saw cracks in the meridian Acupoints, he thought, 'Just a little more effort, and I can break through this Acupoint! Come on!'
Luo Bai gritted his teeth and pushed again with force, charging fiercely.
The third-to-last Acupoint in the ninth meridian was broken through; there were still two more Acupoints, and as long as he continued to break through those two subsequent Acupoints, Luo Bai would be able to fully unblock his ninth meridian, and at that time, his strength would once again increase.
Luo Bai mobilized his black and white True Qi to continue pushing forward, but he found that the Spiritual Qi from the beast cores had been completely depleted.
Originally, Luo Bai had thought that only a dozen beast cores would be enough to unblock the last three Acupoints of the ninth meridian; it seemed he had been mistaken, as the Spiritual Qi required to break through these three Acupoints was far more than Luo Bai had imagined.
The energy from the beast cores just now was barely enough to break through one Acupoint.
Next, he would have to continue hunting Yao Beasts; Luo Bai thought that if he could hunt a Fourth-Tier Yao Beast, perhaps only one beast core would be enough to break through the ninth meridian.
Luo Bai's strength was Qi Refining Eighth Stage; the strength of a low-level Fourth-Tier Yao Beast should be around Qi Refining Great Perfection, so he should be able to kill low-level Yao Beasts among the Fourth-Tier Yao Beasts.
...
Time passed quickly; ten days had gone by in the blink of an eye.
During these ten days, Luo Bai had been hunting Yao Beasts in the outer reaches of the Bihai Mountain Range.
During this period, he hunted many Yao Beasts, the highest cultivation among them being a Third-Tier Yao Beast.
On a certain mountaintop, Luo Bai sat cross-legged; because he had hunted too many Yao Beasts recently, a faint, bloody Killing Intent emanated from around his body.
Through Cultivation, his ninth meridian had been broken through; now, Luo Bai's strength had far surpassed that of ordinary Qi Refining Eighth Stage Cultivators, and Luo Bai even had the confidence to contend with ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivators.
Luo Bai opened his eyes, a sharp gaze flashing by; suddenly, he heard voices coming from the valley ahead.
Luo Bai looked towards the valley; a person leading a team was in the valley, doing something unknown, seemingly exploring something?
Curious, Luo Bai stealthily approached, hiding under a large tree, observing the group of people ahead.
"Isn't that Murong Fu, the Second Elder of the Murong family? What are they doing here?" Luo Bai immediately recognized Murong Fu; the Guardians behind him should be Murong Fu's personal guards.
In his memory, Murong Fu's strength was between Qi Refining Ninth Stage Peak and Qi Refining Great Perfection.
"Haha, it's truly a case of finding something without even looking for it!" Murong Fu held a compass in his hand and burst into laughter, clearly very pleased.