Second update, seeking recommendation votes. There's still one more chapter tonight!!!
Ye Chen thought for a moment, then put the jade pendant in his bosom pocket and headed out towards the cliff.
What's most important now is to leave this place. The matter of restoring the ancient painting scroll's 'Tian Li' can be put aside for now, let's talk about it after we leave this place.
"I don't know if the wolf pack is still there!"
Ye Chen gripped the steel knife tightly and walked stealthily for a hundred feet until he reached the edge of a cliff, where he stopped to observe.
It's already dawn, and a streak of daylight is gradually appearing.
The bonfire outside had gone out, but it didn't obstruct Ye Chen's line of sight. With the dawn, he could see very far away.
Ye Chen looked up and saw a pack of over ten gray wolves wandering around the nearby woods, some sitting or lying down, vaguely surrounding the cliff.
That largest wolf, its ferocious eyes still staring at the cliff, saw Ye Chen poking out his head, baring its sharp wolf teeth and letting out a low howl.
"One, two... thirteen heads! If I rush out like this and get surrounded by the wolf pack's pincer attack, I'll definitely die. That wolf didn't order its pack to charge at the cliff, it's really cunning. Its pack isn't big, and with one gray wolf dead, it will probably be even more cautious. It's waiting outside, clearly intending to wait until I'm hungry and tired before acting. Looks like I can only wait inside now, either for them to attack or give up and leave."
Ye Chen counted the number of wolves and observed their movements, secretly racking his brains.
Ye Chen couldn't get out and had to retreat back to a cliff within a hundred feet.
He came to the side of the dead gray wolf and skinned it with a steel knife, cutting its meat into pieces.
Then use withered branches to make fire and roast meat.
Ye Chen had previously cultivated in the mountains for three months, spent a night here, made a fire to roast food, and left some branches and firewood. This place is quite suitable, other people who come into the mountains to collect medicine also often stay overnight and leave behind a lot of firewood.
Half an hour later, a savory aroma wafted from within the cliff.
"It's really delicious!"
Ye Chen grasped a wolf's leg with both hands, biting into the greasy meat and eating his fill. After finding a dry spot on the ground, he leaned against the rock wall to rest and digest.
"The terror of a pack of gray wolves lies not in their sharp claws and teeth, but in their ferocity towards their prey, their patience in hunting them down, and their high level of coordination when hunting together. A pack of gray wolves can even kill animals as powerful as tigers and bears."
Ye Chen thought back to the information he had found in the library about the Ashen Wolf and couldn't help but smile bitterly. "The Northern Mountain Academy made the Ashen Wolf a graduation assessment target for a reason. If one can kill the Ashen Wolf, then going on the battlefield is nothing."
"I don't know how long it will take for them to leave! The meat of this gray wolf can be eaten for several days. Plus, I brought a month's worth of dry rations, which is enough for a month and a half. If it exceeds a month and a half, I'm afraid I'll starve to death."
"Can't waste time, even if trapped here, must continue to cultivate!"
Ye Chen muttered to himself, took out a five-grade Blood Python Grass from his bosom, a cyan jade pendant, and then untied the 'Xianfu' ancient painting scroll that was tied around his body. The ancient painting scroll was emitting heat.
This foot-long Blood Python Grass was picked by him and Wei Zhen, Zou Yi two days ago at a rocky place, still fresh.
"Being able to pick a rare Blood Orchid is truly lucky!"
Ye Chen placed the green jade pendant on the ancient painting scroll.
Whoosh!
An ancient painting scroll flashed with a faint light and sucked away the green jade pendant.
The small Lianqi Pavilion on Xianfu Island began to emit smoke.
Soon, the dull and lackluster ancient painting scroll began to reveal its lustrous color, becoming more and more eye-catching. Now this immortal mansion's ancient painting finally has a bit of the appearance of a famous painting.
Ye Chen was not surprised at all.
But the luster of the ancient painting scroll was still a bit surprising to him.
The blue jade pendant turned into a pile of powdered gravel.
"This blue jade pendant provides a pretty good earth power, the ancient painting is quite rich, it should be able to grow higher-grade herbs!"
Ye Chen placed the Blood Python Grass on the ancient painting.
The Blood Python Grass disappeared and appeared in a painting, planted in a one-acre medicinal garden.
This fifth-grade Blood Python Grass began to grow, its main stem becoming thicker and more robust, like a small python. Until the main stem could no longer become larger, after which it began to sprout several new buds, growing out new lower-grade Blood Python Grasses.
"Blood python grass does not bloom and bear fruit, but grows new buds! Its main stem has become a ninth-grade medicinal herb, and the new buds are now first-grade... still growing!"
Ye Chen was shocked.
"First bring over the medicinal herbs we tempered today and use them!"
He grasped the stone handle of the painting and shook it hard, and a thick, long Blood Python Grass fell out from inside the 'Xianfu' ancient painting. The main stem was several feet long, deep crimson in color. The new buds were much thinner.
Ye Chen cut off the main stem of the ninth-grade plant with a knife. As for the new buds, they were left alone for now and would be used later.
Ye Chen took a small piece of the ninth-grade Blood Python Grass, about an inch long, with both skin and flesh, put it in his mouth, chewed slowly, and swallowed it into his abdomen.
Hmph!
Ye Chen's abdomen suddenly produced a vigorous flow of fire, wildly surging towards the meridians throughout his body, stirring up his blood and energy, causing all the major and minor blood vessels to erupt, almost losing control.
"It's indeed worthy of being a ninth-grade rare blood-nourishing herb, it's truly domineering beyond compare!"
Ye Chen was shocked, hastily sat cross-legged, forcibly guiding this turbulent flow of fire into the marrow of his bones, stimulating the Qi and blood within his own bone marrow.
After a while, this chaotic airflow gradually weakened and merged into the major and minor meridians.
"These nine-grade Blood Python Grasses were originally used by 9th-layer Foundation Building cultivators to enhance their Qi and blood. I'm only at the 6th layer, so using such high-grade herbs is still too early for me. Fortunately, I only ate a small amount, just one piece, so it didn't lead to disaster. If I had taken the normal dose of a bowl of medicinal soup, I would have definitely suffered Qi Deviation and exploded my body."
Ye Chen finally managed to suppress his anger, but his heart was still racing with lingering fear.
"But this Blood Python Grass, its effect on enhancing the blood and energy is also very obvious! Next time I'll only take half a piece, it shouldn't be as dangerous as it is now."
Two hours later, Ye Chen absorbed most of the medicinal power and sensed the flow of qi and blood in his body as well as the strength of his arms, which had clearly increased. He couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise.
"Today's tempering has ended, now it's time to practice knife skills. Taking advantage of the remaining medicinal power, I will practice knife skills for four hours! The success rate of 'Tiger Leap Double Slash' that I have mastered is 100%. However, the more powerful 'Tiger Leap Triple Slash', only has a 50% success rate. If it can't be executed at critical moments, it'll be disastrous."
Ye Chen leapt up and began practicing his knife techniques in a single movement on the cliff.
Ouch!
Inside the cliff, the loud shouting voice of Ye Chen practicing his knife skills kept ringing out. From dawn till noon, from high noon to sunset. Except for a brief rest during meals, this sound almost never stopped.
