Several days passed without incident, and Li Xian gradually felt at ease. The growth of Inner Qi was slow due to the lack of beast meat over the past days.

On this day, early in the morning, Li Xian saw the sky painted with dawn colors, the air warming, and the weather was truly excellent. He decided to return to the mountains to hunt and replenish his stock of wild game.

"This time, I'll venture deep into the mountains and hunt a head bear to taste its paw."

"Additionally... I'll pick some herbs and try the Hundred Day Bath!"

Li Xian prepared his bow and arrows, jerky, and water.

With light steps like walking on snow, he ventured deep into the forest.

After achieving Perfection in [Clear Wind Leg], Li Xian ran at an incredible speed. Over short distances, he could surpass a horse, and was more agile.

After traveling over ten miles, any signs of human presence had vanished. Li Xian saw three deer and two tigers but did not rush to kill them.

He was already tired of tiger beasts. His target this time was the big bear!

As noon approached, feeling some fatigue, he saw a tree stump and sat down to rest. Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound from the nearby bushes, and a wild rabbit ran out, bumped into the stump with a "thump."

"Waiting for rabbits by the stump?"

Li Xian chuckled; since it came to him, he decided to make it his lunch.

He immediately started a fire to roast it, eating as he walked.

The forest was rich with resources, with plenty of wild rabbits and boars. The deeper he went, the more frequent the traces of various beasts became. Unfortunately, ordinary people who dared to covet them would end up in a tiger's mouth.

"This area has almost turned into a tiger disaster, much more than I had anticipated."

Perhaps his luck wasn't good.

By evening, he still hadn't seen a single bear.

Li Xian pondered for a moment and decided to camp on the spot and continue deeper tomorrow. With his rich hunting experience and the excellent weather today, he dared not return the same way, wasting the day's opportunity.

Stars twinkled in the night sky.

Even at night, Li Xian wasn't idle; he practiced Qi Circulation, experiencing the wonders of Blood Solidification, and tried the method of Closed Pores.

It also effectively warded off the cold.

"I can now sustain Blood Solidification for a full fifteen minutes."

"During this time, I must avoid vigorous movement; otherwise, the blood and energy will scatter, breaking the cultivation in an instant, and the blood flow will return to normal."

The next day.

Before dawn, Li Xian had already set off in the dark. He was already far from Black River Village, but with his excellent sense of direction and the markings he left along the way, he did not get lost.

Suddenly, he noticed a patch of floating mist in front.

Li Xian covered his mouth and nose and immediately distanced himself. It was a miasma in the forest, causing illness at best, and violent death at worst.

"Strange."

"Usually, in winter, the miasma retreats underground. It's rare for it to spread like this."

The poisonous miasma of the mountains was an old acquaintance; Li Xian had dealt with it since childhood and knew how to handle it.

In areas with dense miasma, careful observation could reveal that if there were trees bearing fruit, and the fruits were brightly colored, plucking and swallowing them would allow a person to endure the miasma longer.

Li Xian plucked some and placed them in his mouth, juice filling his mouth.

He was less afraid of the miasma now, but he still didn't want to approach it.

"The miasma blocked my way back."

"No matter, the forest is vast, and there are many paths to take."

He turned westward, deeper into the forest. His luck today was such that it was hard to say whether it was good or bad, as he encountered many strange events.

After not walking far, he saw a peculiar mountain crab, bright red, with one large claw and one small, moving at an incredible speed.

"I wonder if it's edible."

With a leap, he caught the mountain crab and tied it tightly with grass rope, placing it in a cloth bag.

Crabs usually dwell near water.

There was no water around here, and on a winter's day at that, the appearance of this crab was indeed strange.

Li Xian caught three of these "Red Mountain Crabs" in succession.

Despite his experience in hunting, he had no idea of its origin.

"Blood Seal Throat!!"

By evening.

A large tree caught Li Xian's attention. In the mountains, not only were beasts dangerous, but the flora could be too.

This Blood-sealing Tree, from its branches to its trunk, and even the living plants, insects, birds, and beasts around it, were all highly toxic!

"This thing is dangerous, yet it is also an opportunity!"

After recovering from his surprise, Li Xian was excited.

He took out his dagger, carving a mark on the trunk. Being winter, the tree sap flowed slowly. Li Xian used the "Clear Wind Leg," lightly kicking the trunk.

Inner Qi flowed into the trunk, slowly forcing the sap out.

Li Xian drank the water dry.

He used a water bag to collect the sap.

"This thing is extremely poisonous, but at critical moments, it can save lives!"

"Especially for me, though my Martial Arts progress quickly, there are too many strong enemies. The Black Water Gang and Mountain Wind Stronghold may cause trouble at any time."

"I must prepare more, just in case."

In this way, tirelessly for a full hour, he filled the water bag.

The trunk was etched with countless marks.

"If I'm not careful and drink a mouth of it directly, I'd be in big trouble." Li Xian patted the water bag, finding humor in hardship.

Perhaps it was fate playing tricks.

Li Xian ventured deeper without encountering any big bears. On the third day, as he was heading back, he walked half a day to meet three big bears head-on.

He drew his bow and shot.

Shooting one dead, the other two bears panicked and fled. The bear he hunted was just a common brown bear, not particularly large.

Killing it was easy, but dragging it back to the cabin was another story. The physical effort and low efficiency of pulling it were daunting.

Li Xian first chopped wood, made a small raft, placed the brown bear on it, and then took out the "Golden Leopard Rope," binding it to the raft and forcibly dragging it back to the cabin.

The snow on the ground helped immensely.

By the time he got home, it was already late at night, and the night seemed extraordinarily dark and quiet.

After working hard for several days, he finally accomplished his task and could quietly enjoy the bear meat to nourish his body.

The most delicious "bear paw" was the first to be cooked and enjoyed.

[You ate the mountain delicacy brown bear paw, Skill Level +12]

The taste was beyond words; bear paw is a rare mountain delicacy, a signature dish in prestigious restaurants, with a high price tag yet countless people flock to it.

Pang Long mentioned...

Even the lady, someone of high status, enjoyed eating bear paw.

But Li Xian's cooking method was simple, with no extra spices, at most adding a bit of salt. After eating a large bear paw, he grew somewhat tired of it.

He had some roasted bear meat.

It sizzled with oil and, with a bite…

Not very delicious, but certainly satisfying.

Feeling the meat digesting, transforming into warm currents nourishing his body, Li Xian felt an inexpressible joy.

"For the next few days, it'll be all bear!"

"The other bear paw I'll save for another day until I gather the right ingredients for a proper feast."

"Yes... and these mountain crabs."

Li Xian took out the still vibrant mountain crabs and dropped them into boiling water.

"Hmm?!"

An anomaly appeared, and after a long time, they still weren't cooked. The crab seemed to be bathing in the hot water.

After a pot of water boiled dry and evaporated.

The crabs were barely alive, far from being cooked.

"Could it be..."

Li Xian felt a sudden realization.

He picked up the crab and the pot, heading to the stream in the mountains. He started a fire nearby, poured in clear water, and began to cook them again.

Boiling... evaporating... boiling dry...

Adding more water... boiling again... evaporating again... boiling dry... repeating like this, the mountain crab died, but Li Xian faintly felt it was still not enough.

He continued adding water and continued cooking.

After a night passed, as the sky began to brighten, Li Xian opened the pot lid and caught a faint whiff of fragrance, with the soup a slight creamy white.

Opening the crab shell, the meat was light purple with a faint earthy smell, seemingly still carrying toxicity.

However, the crab roe was creamy white, the faint fragrance quite pleasing.

He scooped up some creamy white crab roe, tasting it, and it melted in his mouth, sliding into his stomach.

A familiar yet strange, extremely subtle essence energy appeared in his abdomen, quickly flowing into his limbs and bones…

The Essence of Heaven and Earth!

"Indeed, this crab is Essence Treasure!"

In his overwhelming joy, Li Xian circulated his Qi, solidified his blood, and closed his pores!

The clay embryo exerted all its strength to retain even a trace of the Essence of Heaven and Earth.

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