After seeing Xie Yuzhu safely home, Su Yan shouldered his basket and entered the mountains. The Dark Water Centipede had already crossed the forest and was waiting for him on the mountain peak next to Cloud-Front Village. As soon as he arrived, it immediately followed close beside him.
'According to Elder Song, martial arts training requires not only medicinal supplements but also Desolate Beast meat, both of which require silver.'
'Though the outer mountains have lingzhi and herbs, they can't compare to the Inner Mountain. My Skin Refining Initiate is nearly complete, and my strength has increased significantly. With the Dark Water Centipede at my side, self-preservation is guaranteed. It's time to venture into the Inner Mountains.'
With his mind made up, Su Yan gripped his hardwood bow, his broadsword at his waist, and burrowed into the deeper forest. His pace was swift. He imagined himself as a mountain ape, using the Ape Leap Step to leap and bound, using and dissipating force like an old ape returning to the forest.
The so-called Stance Skills and Fist Arts have a static form for deep meditation, but they also have a way of applying force during travel and movement. Mobilizing muscles and adjusting movements were also part of his cultivation. A martial artist wasn't a static target for practice. Integrating martial skills and stance work into instinct was the true measure of a martial artist. Su Yan gradually grasped this idea after Song Qi's hints.
Now in the forest, he unconsciously began to cultivate this way.
After about an hour, having crossed several outer mountain peaks and traveled seven or eight li, he finally arrived at a ravine and gully area. The two mountains were connected, old trees towered high, their dense leaves forming giant umbrellas, and their twisted branches looking like strange hands. Old vines hung from the trunks. The ground was covered in a thick layer of accumulated leaves, like soil—a truly deep and sinister forest.
This Inner Mountain region was rich in resources but sparsely traveled. Wild beasts were everywhere, a place where risk and reward coexisted. Only experienced mountain-men and hunters with real skill dared to enter.
Su Yan stepped onto the path piled with rotting leaves. It wasn't really a path, but just areas where the bushes and weeds were slightly sparser. While using his broadsword to clear the way, he simultaneously searched for resources. He had only walked two or three hundred meters when the Dark Water Centipede took action, drilling into the decaying leaves.
'Something's here.'
Su Yan used his broadsword to push aside the leaves and immediately saw a red leaf bud clinging to the ground.
'Ground Blood Vine. A good herb for supplementing blood.' Su Yan reached out to dig, pulling out a vine over two meters long from the decaying leaves and putting it in his basket.
The Ground Blood Vine was a good start. In the following hour or two, Su Yan and the Dark Water Centipede worked in perfect synergy, finding a significant amount of mountain goods. As always, he only collected the most valuable herbs, leaving the rest behind to conserve space in his basket and the Bug Realm space.
The air in the mountains was heavy with moisture, and the sunlight couldn't penetrate the canopy. Su Yan's short shirt was soaked with dew, clinging uncomfortably to his skin.
'The basket is almost full. This peak is one of the spots Elder Song mentioned. I've been wandering for a long time but haven't seen any Blood Vein Flowers. I think I need to go deeper.'
Su Yan put down his basket. He found an empty spot near a fallen tree stump, cleared the area, and started a fire. He hung his coarse hemp shirt on a makeshift rack nearby. Using his skinning knife, he skinned the rabbit he had hunted, sharpened a wooden skewer, and mounted the rabbit on it. He also took out a few poisonous fungi from the Bug Realm space and tossed them to the Dark Water Centipede.
Mountain-trekking was always like this; he might not return until noon or even night. Most mountain-men would quickly eat a wheat cake with mountain spring water for convenience. Su Yan, however, didn't want to chew on a dry cake. He started roasting the rabbit and simultaneously drying his clothes.
Standing bare-chested, his skin taut, his well-defined muscles were clearly visible. He moved, adopting the Golden Ape Stance Skill, his breathing rising and falling rhythmically, seemingly aligning with the chirping of insects, the calling of birds, and the swaying of the trees.
'Practicing Stance Skills in the mountains is better than in the city. Not only does the atmosphere match, making it easier to enter a state, but it also seems connected to the environment, though the effect isn't obvious.'
Su Yan stuffed the Ground Blood Vine and a few-year-old ginseng into his mouth, chewing them raw. A bitter taste spread throughout his mouth, like chewing burnt charcoal. Though the taste was awful, these were all blood-nourishing medicines. Although not refined into pills or potions, so their full effect wasn't utilized, they were certainly beneficial. A warm current slowly rose in his body. His blood energy surged, flowing toward his skin. After achieving Minor Accomplishment in the Golden Ape Stance Skill, the blood energy refined was purer and more effective, naturally accelerating his physical tempering process.
Su Yan maintained the stance for about half an hour, consuming a lot of energy. He finally broke the stance and stretched to relieve his fatigue.
'I already have the Bug Essence continuously nourishing my body, yet the consumption is still so high. No wonder martial arts are hard to achieve without supplements.'
[Body Forging Realm: Skin Refining 85/100 (Initiate)][Golden Ape Stance Skill: 14/200 (Minor Accomplishment) ]
'I'm close to Minor Accomplishment. If I could find another exotic bug, the second thread of Bug Essence would speed up my progress even more, perhaps pushing my Golden Ape Stance Skill to Great Accomplishment.'
Su Yan tore off a piece of rabbit meat and shoved it into his mouth. In a few quick bites, he finished the entire rabbit. His physical depletion recovered slightly, and his strength gradually returned.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the forest. Su Yan immediately raised his bow, his eyes fixed on the source of the sound like arrows. The bushes shook violently, crackling and snapping, as they were flattened and broken. A black shadow burst out—a large wild boar with bared tusks and bristles like a brush.
The boar charged. Su Yan drew his bow and fired.
Swoosh! The arrow shot out like lightning, piercing the boar's eye socket. The boar was charging too fiercely. Struck by the arrow, its brain pierced, its body froze mid-air. Driven by inertia, the massive body shot forward like a cannonball, slamming into the fire pit and scattering the burning charcoal everywhere. The charcoal seared its hide with a sizzling sound, giving off a smell of burnt flesh.
Just then, the bushes shook even more violently, and the roar sounded right in his ear. A much larger black and yellow figure—a striped tiger—pounced out. It lunged at the boar, its claws raking and tearing the tough pig hide, leaving a large wound. It bit down on the boar's neck, tearing through the throat and windpipe. Blood gushed out, swallowed greedily by the tiger.
'Tiger?!'
Su Yan's heart jumped. The wild boar was being driven by something.
The striped large tiger was a forest beast, over two meters long, with a meter-long tail like a steel whip. As it crouched to bite the wild boar, its muscles were knotted like cast iron, every line clearly defined.
Su Yan immediately drew his bow, but the tiger was incredibly cunning. It abandoned the wild boar and lunged straight at him. The attack was premeditated and extremely fast, closing the distance in an instant.
Su Yan couldn't get an arrow off. He quickly flipped and dodged, causing his quiver to fall to the side. The tiger flicked its tail, batting the quiver right near its paws. It was clearly out of reach.
The Dark Water Centipede hissed, preparing to rush forward. The tiger arched its body, ready to pounce, and roared fiercely, baring its fangs as a threat. Although its body was a hundred times larger than the centipede, its animal instinct sensed danger from the Dark Water Centipede.
Su Yan, the tiger, and the Dark Water Centipede were locked in a standoff in the forest clearing.
Su Yan's muscles and bones moved in unison, his mind calm as water. His previous dodge was instinctive, like an ape avoiding danger. Now, his eyes were burning, and a fighting spirit suddenly rose within him.
'So what if it's a striped great tiger? This is a perfect chance to test myself and see how well I've grasped my fist techniques. And if all else fails, the Dark Water Centipede is here to back me up.'
With that thought, he subtly shifted his posture, standing like an old ape in the forest. The Dark Water Centipede retreated about two meters, leaving the clearing open.
The striped large tiger seemed enraged that a two-legged creature would throw away its weapon and challenge it.
"Roar!"
The tiger's roar shook the forest. It leaped forward, intent on killing Su Yan instantly.
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