What is an immortal?

While Yuan Ming was wholeheartedly practicing his step technique, Toad Valley was still bustling with activity.

About ten miles away from Toad Valley, in a shaded clearing, Wu Bao, the leader of the Green Wolf Gang, sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, breathing deeply and rhythmically.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps interrupted the silence, as a figure rushed in.

"Zan Bai, what have you found out?" Wu Bao asked without opening his eyes.

"Gang Leader, as you guessed, Yuan Ming did go to Toad Valley not long ago. Unfortunately, we were a step late, and the kid slipped away," Zan Bai reported, bowing respectfully.

"Hmph, even Ba Yin met his demise at his hands. Did you really think that you could hold him if you were only a bit earlier?" Wu Bao snapped, his eyes suddenly open and filled with a cold gaze.

"Gang Leader, please calm your anger. I have not returned empty-handed. Yuan Ming entered the valley and made transactions with two people," Zan Bai hurriedly said.

Wu Bao just looked at Zan Bai, remaining silent.

"One of them is a Registered Disciple named Zhao Tong. He's somewhat greedy for money. After being given some benefits, he allegedly sold only a step technique to Yuan Ming. The other is named Tu Lei, a member of the Earth Bear Association who deals in information. I suspect that Yuan Ming knows from him that we are hunting him," Zan Bai said with a dry laugh before continuing.

"Understood. Find Yuan Ming's whereabouts at all costs. I want to meet him personally. Also, reiterate to those forces, especially Hyena Hall, they must not kill Yuan Ming when they catch him. I want him alive," Wu Bao commanded, then closed his eyes again.

"Understood, I shall take my leave," Zan Bai responded, then retreated.

"Yuan Ming... to be able to kill Ba Yin by yourself, you must be at least at the Qi Refining Second Level. You must have some secret on you! I want to see what kind of fortuitous encounter lets you increase your cultivation so rapidly," Wu Bao muttered, opening his eyes once more with a sharp gleam in them.

...

The forest near Yuan Ming's cave dwelling.

An eerie shadow flickered among the trees, now on the left, and in the blink of an eye, appearing on the right, without affecting any of the underbrush. The shadow didn't touch even a single blade of grass or leaf, as if it wasn't made of flesh and blood.

The figure suddenly stopped and landed on a large rock, revealing Yuan Ming, who was gasping for breath with a look of joy in his eyes.

He had been back here for three days already.

During these three days, Yuan Ming didn't practice the Nine Elements Technique; all his time and effort were devoted to practicing the Shadowless Step.

While the location was secluded, there was no such thing as an impermeable wall in the world, so it was possible that the Green Wolf Gang people could find him. It was essential to boost his strength as much as possible.

He discovered that he had quite a talent for step techniques. Within just a few short days, he had already mastered the basics of the Shadowless Step.

The more he practiced, the more he appreciated the profound mysteries of the Shadowless Step Technique. Once executed, his movements were as rapid as the wind, truly living up to the "shadowless" aspect of its name.

Furthermore, this technique was particularly adept at nimble movements in narrow and complex environments, which went well with the White Ape Transformation.

However, using the Shadowless Step was quite taxing on the body and heavily drained his mana. With his current mana pool at the Qi Refining Third Level, even without using any other spells, he could sustain it for at most a quarter of an hour. To wield this technique better, he needed to continue improving his cultivation and conditioning his physical body.

"If even a Fur Beast Slave could have the chance to learn such a marvelous step technique, I wonder how powerful the spells and divine skills of the Biluo Cave Disciples are!" Yuan Ming looked toward the direction of Biluo Cave's entrance, feeling a surge of aspiration.

Yuan Ming came back to his senses, sat down cross-legged, and started to cultivate the Nine Elements Technique.

After cultivating for so many days, he found that the Nine Elements Technique not only rapidly absorbed nature's spiritual energy into the body, enhancing his mana, but also quickly restored his physical strength when cultivated.

His ability to master the Shadowless Step in such a short time was also thanks to the recovery capability of the Nine Elements Technique.

Yuan Ming's physical strength and mana were quickly replenished, and he returned to the cave.

In the corner of the cave, Hagon sat cross-legged.

After several days of healing, the wound on Hagon's chest had scabbed over, and routine movements were no longer a problem, but he still needed more time to fully recover.

In his hands, he held his green wolf skin, muttering to himself as if casting a spell, but it wasn't the Fur Cloak Skill. Where his palms touched the green wolf skin, there was a flicker of light.

"What are you doing?" Yuan Ming asked curiously.

Hagon didn't answer Yuan Ming, continuing his chanting. Only after the time it took to eat a meal did he open his eyes, and the light on his palms disappeared.

"Sorry, I was nurturing the Furred Beast Skin. This process can't be interrupted," Hagon apologized with a slight note of regret.

"It doesn't matter, but what is nurturing Furred Beast Skin? I've never heard of it before." Yuan Ming, who had sat down to cultivate, opened his eyes and asked.

"It's a bit complicated to explain and it starts with the process of refining Furred Beast Skin," Hagon seemed to be choosing his words, remaining silent for a while before he continued.

"Do you know the process of refining Furred Beast Skin? I would like to hear the details." Yuan Ming's eyes lit up as he spoke.

"I heard about it from a street vendor who is a disciple of the Biluo Cave in Toad Valley. The Biluo Cave throws live Fierce Beasts into a secret array, and as the array operates, the beast's flesh, bones, and Beast Soul will all be refined into Primordial Qi and merged into the Beast Skin. If the process goes without error, a piece of Furred Beast Skin will be born. The Furred Beast Skin we hold in our hands may look like just a piece of skin, but in fact, it contains all the Life Essence of a Fierce Beast," Hagon explained.

"Beast Soul..." Yuan Ming muttered to himself, recalling the situation when the Mysterious Incense Burner had enhanced the two pieces of Beast Skin.

He had suspected that the Furred Beast Skin contained Beast Soul, and now it seemed to be true.

"The Primordial Qi refined from the flesh and bones of the Fierce Beasts is actually not important. What's crucial inside the Furred Beast Skin is the Beast Soul! Brother Yuan, you have been using the Fur Cloak Skill for so long, you must have felt the presence of the Beast Soul to some extent, right?" Hagon continued.

"I have noticed a little," Yuan Ming hummed in response.

"These pieces of Furred Beast Skin are already lifeless, and the Beast Soul inside is constantly weakening. So-called nurturing of Furred Beast Skin involves using Mana to warm the skin and stabilize the Beast Soul within," Hagon finally got to the point.

"The weakening of the Beast Soul cannot be reversed, can it? So what's the purpose of stabilizing the Beast Soul?" Yuan Ming nodded first, then asked.

"Nurturing the Beast Skin can not only slow the weakening of the Beast Soul but also make oneself more in sync with the Fur Cloak Skill, allowing for better control over the transformation. With good fortune, it's also possible to awaken the potential of the Beast Soul, gaining one or two new abilities. Of course, this is something one may encounter but cannot seek after, and it requires a very long time," said Hagon, a glint of hope flashing in his eyes.

"Awakening new abilities by stimulating the potential of the Beast Soul!" Yuan Ming silently repeated in his mind, glancing at his right arm.

From the previous performance of the Mysterious Incense Burner in repairing the Beast Skin and stimulating abilities, it seemed to be nurturing the Beast Soul to some extent too, and with an effect far surpassing the so-called nurturing secret technique mentioned by Hagon.

"Are you interested in the secret technique of nurturing Beast Skin? I obtained this technique by chance and will gift it to you," Hagon saw Yuan Ming lost in thought and thought he was interested in the nurturing secret technique. Hagon took out a piece of Beast Skin covered in tiny characters and handed it over.

"Then I thank you, Brother Hagon." Yuan Ming was indeed interested in the nurturing technique and did not stand on ceremony.

"Brother Yuan saved my life. A minor secret technique is nothing in comparison," Hagon laughed heartily, then pointed out a few key points of the nurturing secret technique to Yuan Ming before closing his eyes to continue cultivating.

Yuan Ming found the nurturing technique to be uncomplicated in content. The principle was to transform one's inner Mana into a type of energy that could nurture the Divine Soul and then use special methods to inject it into the Furred Beast Skin to nurture the Beast Soul. The strength of a piece of Furred Beast Skin was closely related to the strength of the Beast Soul contained within it.

After roughly understanding the principles, Yuan Ming wasted no time in operating the Nine Elements Technique, slowly channeling Mana into the White Ape Skin according to the method of the nurturing secret technique. Where his palm touched the Ape Skin, a faint white glow emerged, similar to when Hagon was casting earlier.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming silently nodded and continued to channel Mana.

Time passed incrementally, and after nearly half a day, he noticed a stronger connection between himself and the White Ape Skin.

However, the degree of strengthening was quite limited. To enhance the power of the Fur Cloak Skill through this would require years of dedicated cultivation, and it not only consumed a substantial amount of Mana but would also affect daily practice.

"Previously, when the incense burner strengthened the Beast Skin, it depended on whether the skin would absorb it on its own. Now with this nurturing secret technique, if I stimulate the Heat Flow inside the incense burner to merge into the White Ape Skin, I wonder if it will be more effective?" A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

No sooner said than done, Yuan Ming quietly moved to a secluded spot outside the cave and took out the incense burner in his hand.

A Heat Flow emerged from the incense burner, and Yuan Ming quickly operated the nurturing technique, trying to guide this Heat Flow and carefully directing it onto his right hand.

"I hope this technique works," he prayed silently, pointing his finger and injecting the Heat Flow from the incense burner into the White Ape Skin.

The White Ape Skin absorbed the Heat Flow like a sponge, moving on its own without wind, and then manifested the Fur Cloak Skill, adhering to Yuan Ming's body and transforming into a White Ape shape.

White patterns appeared all over the White Ape's body, shining with bright white light, and the shadowy figure ofAppdeSoul arose once more, much more solid than before.

In addition, Yuan Ming found that his connection with the Ape Skin had deepened somewhat, conservatively estimated to be the equivalent of two months of cultivating the nurturing technique.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then continued to induce the Heat Flow from the incense burner into the Ape Skin, causing the white patterns to shine even brighter.

After injecting the Heat Flow over a dozen times, even with the nurturing technique's enhancement, the White Ape Skin absorbed no more Heat Flow from the incense burner.

At this point, the patterns on the Ape Skin grew thicker, glowing brightly, and the shadowy figure of the White Ape became semi-transparent and substantial, emitting waves of excited roars.

Yuan Ming's connection with the Ape Skin on his body deepened significantly, allowing him to clearly sense the flow of demonic power within the Ape Skin and even feel the demonic power, while maintaining the Fur Cloak Skill, continuously seeping into his meridians, internal organs, Dantian, and even his brain like mercury spilling to the ground.

"So this is how the Fur Cloak Skill erodes the body," he put away the incense burner and narrowed his eyes.

Now that he knew the pathways through which demonic power backlashes against the body, he naturally had a better grasp of how to resist it in the future.