Chapter Five: Hungry Wolf

  It's early autumn now, and most of the wild fruits in the mountains have grown ripe. Gan Ping stuffed himself with a big appetite, finally filling his belly. Sitting on a branch, he couldn't help but feel troubled - he knew his name was Gan Ping, that this was the Tianfu Continent, and that he was at the foot of Heaven's Ridge, but he had no idea what had happened to him before. Every time he tried to think about his past, his head would ache violently, and the fragments of those two dreams would appear together, making him feel depressed and anxious.

  He gave up thinking about his past, and instead focused on identifying the direction. He took a step forward with his small legs, heading south. In his feeling, only this direction could lead him out of the forest. As for why, his little head was about to split open, he didn't dare to think.

  All the way up the mountain, the wind was howling and the leaves were withered and yellow. The cold gusts made Gan Ping tightly wrap his large robe around him, and he used the remaining cloth to tightly wrap his smooth feet to prevent them from being worn through. What surprised him most was that all along the way there were only withered trees and grass, without a single trace of wild beasts, but instead many dry carcasses of wild beasts, which made Gan Ping quicken his pace.

  After being tempered by the Earth Vein Spirit Fire, Wood Spirit Infusion Body Milk and Fire Dragon Essence Blood, Gan Ping's physical strength and power had greatly increased. However, he was still muddle-headed and unaware that after a day of rapid progress, they had traveled nearly a hundred miles.

  He rummaged around for some fruit to fill his stomach, and after resting on a giant tree for a night, he continued on his way. Gradually, he could no longer see the dry carcasses of wild beasts, and his heart slowly calmed down. It was only then that he walked out of the range of Xuan Mingzi's array, slowly heading in the direction with human traces.

  What made Gan Ping feel strange was that even though the corpses of dead beasts no longer appeared in the forest, he hadn't seen any living ones either. This gradually made him let his guard down, and no matter what happened, leaving this forest was still the top priority.

  At this point, Gan Ping, who had the life experiences of both Xuan Mingzi and Huo Long, was no longer the naive nine-year-old child. His mind had long been opened, and he knew his direction. If it were another child of the same age, they would have cried and become a mess, let alone escape this crisis-ridden mountain forest.

  Another day passed, and they came across a small stream that wound its way southwest. Gan Ping hesitated for a moment before following the creek downstream, drifting along with the current. The scenery was much better than the dark and dense forest, and he felt the warm sunshine on his head.

  Gan Ping walked along, and as the sunlight fell on him, it was as if flames had entered his body from all directions, a fire burning quietly in his chest and abdomen, wandering through his internal organs. The true fire of the sun in the sky had triggered the circulation of his triple warmer heart fire. At this time, Gan Ping's footsteps did not stop, but his mind was immersed in a strange and wonderful state.

  The congenital fire spirit's body is indeed extraordinary, and now Xiao Ganping has been tempered by three kinds of spiritual objects, condensing his spirit and turning his entire body into a piece of unblemished jade. If placed in the eyes of a cultivator, it would be no less than a precious treasure. If an orthodox cultivator were to encounter him, they would certainly take him in as a disciple, carefully instructing him. But if he were seen by an evil cultivator, they would surely stretch out their hand and snatch him away, refining him into a magic treasure. Alternatively, they might destroy his soul, seize his body, and use it for rebirth, or refine his entire body's essence blood as a great tonic.

  Although he had gone through this series of strange encounters, Gan Ping was no longer the weak and helpless child he used to be, but in front of those evil Taoist priests, he was still not worth mentioning.

  Xiao Gan Ping merged the essence of the Fire Dragon into his body, and all along the way, he unknowingly emitted a powerful pressure unique to high-ranking spiritual beasts. In the peripheral areas of Ju Tian Ridge, there were no strong demonic beasts, and wild beasts and low-level demonic beasts naturally kept their distance from him, which was why not a single wild beast was seen along the way.

  Even so, he was only a nineteen-year-old child, rushing through the dark forest all the way, feeling endless loneliness, even an adult would collapse mentally, fortunately Gan Ping persisted and now the scene in front of him suddenly opened up, warm sunshine shrouded his small body, the gloom on his heart was swept away, and he naturally entered this wonderful realm.

  Although his spirit had already merged into that wonderful realm, his footsteps did not stop, and instead accelerated, lightly stepping over rocks and branches along the way. Even when a towering tree stood before him, his body unconsciously skirted around it, rapidly advancing in the original direction. His wide sleeves fluttered as if riding the wind, and he blended into the mountains like a wisp of mountain breeze.

  The true fire of the sun and the heart fire of Sanjiao jointly refined GAN Ping's mortal body and soul, spiritual energy gathered from all directions, at this time a training mantra appeared in GAN Ping's mind, it was the method to temper the body in Huo Long Yuan Shen, with the help of the fire dragon essence and blood inside his body, he quickly started running, bit by bit condensing his body into something even more solid, laying a solid foundation for his future cultivation.

  His feet moved swiftly, yet he didn't stop practicing this kung fu move. He was contemplating the workings of the universe day and night for over ten days in a row. If a cultivator were to see him, they would surely exclaim in surprise. Cultivators should originally be in harmony with heaven's will, but they are often plagued by distracting thoughts and desires, making it difficult for them to gain insight into the grand dao of the universe, let alone experience this wondrous state.

  Ke Ganping was just on his way when he fell into a state of enlightenment, merging with the heavens and becoming one with nature, perfectly blending in with the mountains and forests, leaving others to secretly admire his good fortune.

  Another day and night passed, and the speed of Gan Ping's internal skill operation slowed down bit by bit. He also retreated from that wonderful state. "Bang!" Gan Ping only felt a dizziness and saw stars, then realized he had crashed into a big tree. This collision didn't hurt, but it made his blood churn and eyes see gold stars.

  He didn't know that although he was moving at an extremely fast speed, which would have caused an ordinary person to suffer a severe head injury, his body had become incredibly resilient after undergoing intense physical training. The dizziness and blurred vision were merely the aftermath of his internal energy being disrupted by the sudden interruption of his cultivation technique. Fortunately, Gan Ping had only practiced for a short period, and his meridians were strong, his flesh solid, so when his technique was interrupted, he only felt some discomfort; otherwise, the backlash from the technique would have been enough to cause him severe injury.

  Gan Ping Zheng felt dizzy and disoriented, so he didn't get up either. He lay there, slowly waiting to recover. However, in his heart, he had already started muttering to himself about the strange things that had been happening recently. First, he appeared in that eerie place, then he couldn't remember his past, and now even walking made him lose consciousness and bump into trees. As he pondered these thoughts, he slowly fell into a deep sleep.

  He didn't know how long he had slept, but was woken up by a sudden burst of bird chirps. The bird chirps were so loud that Gan Ping suddenly opened his eyes and sat up with a start, looking around him. What he didn't know was that the previous exercise had not only made his flesh more solid, but also refined all the dragon's blood into his body, deeply hidden within. Now, he no longer emitted that faint aura of dragon power, so the wild beasts no longer kept their distance from him.

  Gan Ping was completely unaware of this, still immersed in the great joy, after many days, finally saw a living thing. Unfortunately, before his heart's joy dissipated, he was shocked and almost screamed out loud, as a gray-haired wolf appeared quietly several meters in front of him, staring at him fiercely with its green eyes.

  Unexpectedly, the first living thing I saw was a wolf in front of me. The wolf in front of me was obviously starving for many days, its dry belly could see rows of ribs, its long mouth was drooling with saliva, and two sharp and shiny wolf teeth were exposed outside, revealing its ferocity.

  Staring at the ferocious beast in front of him with horror,

  Xiao Gan Ping hastily searched around, wanting to find a handy weapon to resist the gray wolf's attack in front of him. What made him disappointed was that there was nothing around him, and the thick autumn leaves covered the ground like a layer, making it difficult to even find a stone.

  At this time, the hungry wolf in front had let out a low growl. Gan Ping sat on the ground, unarmed and facing the ferocious beast, becoming even more flustered, backing away while feeling around his body.

  His right hand suddenly touched something hard, he was overjoyed and immediately picked it up, holding it in front of him. However, he let out a sharp cry and hastily dropped it, as it turned out to be a withered bone, about a foot long, with the front half already broken off, revealing uneven bone fragments. Startled, Gan Ping threw the bone away.

  The wolf in front of Gan Ping heard his sharp cry and retreated two steps, with a hint of hesitation in its green eyes. Wolves are naturally suspicious, and this lone wandering wolf was even more so. In unclear circumstances, the wolf began to wander back and forth in front of Gan Ping, slowly getting closer to him, its saliva dripping more fiercely from its mouth.

  Looking at the lingering wild wolf, Xiao Gan Ping was terrified, his hands covering his body, muttering: "Don't come over, don't come over..." As he backed away, the wolf crept forward two feet for every one foot he retreated. The more he backed away, the closer the wolf got to the frightened Gan Ping.

  Moving back a little bit more, I suddenly bumped into the solid tree trunk behind me. It turned out that there was no way to retreat, and the wolf had also arrived just a few feet in front of me.

  The wolf in front of him, seeing that the prey in front of him was not a threat to himself, opened his big mouth, retreated one bow, and pounced on him. One of his front paws had already landed on Gan Ping's arm.

  As he saw the ferocious beast pouncing in front of him, Gan Ping panicked and waved his hands wildly. The wolf's claws had just touched Gan Ping's arm when its big mouth rushed towards his throat.

  Gan Ping suddenly grabbed the wolf's paw, and with a fierce grip, he flung it outwards. Unexpectedly, the wolf's paw was wide and large, covered in thick fur, with several sharp claws that had curved hooks. Gan Ping's small hand grasped and pinched, instantly producing a cracking sound of breaking bones. The entire wolf was thrown out, rolling over several times, letting out a mournful howl. Its left paw had been severed.

  Gan Ping was tempered by Xuan Mingzi with wood spirit infusion in the spiritual fire of the meridians for seven days and seven nights, and the essence of dragon blood merged into his body. After experiencing the previous few days of riding the wind and understanding the Heavenly Way, he inadvertently activated the physical law decision left behind by the Huo Long Yuanshen. Now, which part of his body could be harmed by this hungry and weak wild wolf? He just didn't know yet. Although he still looked weak and vulnerable, he was actually capable of tearing tigers and hunting leopards. The old wolf in front of him could be kicked away with one foot.

  Seeing that ferocious beast suddenly fall down in front of him, Gan Ping didn't bother to investigate the reason, hastily scrambled up and turned around to run.

  "Bang!" He bumped his small forehead against the tree again. If this tree had a spirit, it would surely cry out in innocence, being hit by this clumsy kid twice in a row. This impact made Xiao Guanping fall back again, fortunately, the wild wolf was also stunned and didn't have the energy to care about him.

  He couldn't help but see stars in his eyes, and he quickly got up, holding his forehead, circled around the big tree, and ran forward.

  "Bang!" Another crash sounded, after several rounds of tempering, Gan Ping's physical strength had increased greatly, and his power was also unknown how many times stronger. However, he himself was still confused and unaware of this, suddenly exerting force under his feet, and in an instant, he dashed out over a dozen meters, crashing into another tree.

  He hastily got up, his heart crying out in fear, but he didn't dare to run wildly again. He could only walk forward slowly while looking back. In the midst of panic, he didn't notice that on the tree trunk he had collided with twice, there were two small forehead prints.