Ji Ma Ko sat atop the massive blood wolf, feeling the rough crimson fur beneath his hands. The giant beast sniffed the muddy earth, letting out a low, rumbling growl.
Behind him, a pack of smaller mortal wolves waited in silence, their blood thirsty eyes piercing the gloomy forest canopy.
"Stupid mortals," Ji Ma Ko spat, his face twisted in absolute fury. He grabbed the thick fur of his mount in sheer frustration. "They dare to refuse me? It was merely ten girls. A small price to pay for their continued existence. But now? Now I shall use their entire village to feed my wolves for months!"
He knew this was a highly risky move on his part.
The Dong village ultimately belonged to the vast territory of the mighty Lin Clan. If he started massacring villages out in the open like this, the Lin Clan would eventually bring the heavy hammer of justice down upon his head.
That was exactly why he usually relied on safer, more covert methods to feed his beasts instead of hunting mortals.
But there was something that many did not know about Ji Ma Ko.
Yes, he was a Beast Tamer path cultivator, but recently, he had stumbled upon a rather strange inheritance.
He opened his right hand. A crystalline entity that looked very much like a deformed pearl hovered above his palm, radiating a chilling, mysterious aura. This was his newly found and refined Rank 2 Yin Gathering Spirit.
"Such a truly fortunate encounter," he murmured, his anger momentarily replaced by a look of profound greed.
When he was running for his life, desperately searching for a hidden cave to reside in until he recovered his cultivation, he had found this spirit.
Because of the brutal attack he faced, his soul had been severely damaged. His cultivation talent had plummeted drastically from what he once had, leaving him a shadow of his former self.
But this Yin Gathering Spirit changed everything. It had been constantly feeding him youthful energy, slowly mending the deep cracks in his soul.
This was the real reason he had been taking young girls day and night. Despite his naturally lustful nature, he was never this much of a beast before.
The youthful Yin energy was a strict necessity to heal, and the deformed nature of the pearl had already been fixed quite a bit by his actions.
"If I could gather the energy of young fairies, the recovery would be much faster," he pondered aloud, staring at the pearl. "But that is far too risky until I fully recover my cultivation. For now, mortal girls will do."
Once the pearl fully formed, he knew he could use it to refine the cultivation of his soul completely and regain his peak body. Doing it a second time would even grant him a massive boost in power.
"I will not let that bastard who ruined me live freely just because I touched his woman," Ji Ma Ko growled to himself, his grip tightening on the reins. He was dead set on taking his revenge.
But first, of course, the mortals came first.
He urged his blood wolf forward, having chased the footprints for a quite while. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
But suddenly, he found that the tracks simply vanished. It was not impossible for a huge caravan to leave no marks if they tried to purposely hide their footsteps, but it seemed like the heavens themselves were protecting these mortals.
A deafening crack of thunder shook the trees, and a heavy, blinding downpour began almost instantly. The torrential rain slammed against the earth, rapidly washing away the footsteps and completely disrupting the tracking scent of the wolf groups.
Ji Ma Ko wiped the rain drops from his eyes. He glared at the empty forest path ahead with an expression of pure hatred. "I will not let you escape. I know exactly where you mortals are heading. Let us meet there soon... if you are fortunate enough to stay safe from the wild beasts in this forest!"
***
Deep within the mountain range, the Dong village caravan had finally stopped.
They had been travelling for a quite while, and there had been a few three tusk boars and corpse eater hounds actively eyeing this huge group. Yet, every time a beast group got close, Hua Ke would suddenly disappear into the dense forest and chase away the beasts.
The sudden torrential rain had forced them to seek shelter far earlier than they originally expected.
Fortunately, they managed to find a network of spacious caves close to the mountain base and took shelter there. Outside, the village hunters bravely braved the rain to place several traps, hoping to find some extra meat if they could.
Hua Ke stood near the entrance of the largest cave, shaking the water from his dark robes.
"Brother Wang Ke, you are back!" Fei Fei called out, walking over and rubbing his hands together to ward off the chill. "This sudden rain is terrible luck. I am seriously worried about our food condition. If we get stuck here for days, we will starve."
"We will manage with what we have," Hua Ke replied calmly, his eyes scanning the dark woods outside.
From the side, Qing Qing walked over, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed in deep suspicion.
"Why do you always disappear in to the forest when beasts attack, young master?" Qing Qing asked, his voice laced with distrust.
"Qing Qing! You dare to question Master Wang Ke? Beg for forgiveness right this minute," Fei Fei shouted in anger at his son’s stupidity.
*We all know what spirit masters are like,* Qing Qing thought to himself. *Yet, instead of using his Spirits in front of us to defend the caravan, he is leading the beasts into the forest. He is doing this on purpose so he can hide what he is actually doing. It is highly suspicious!*
"It’s fine, Fei Fei." Hua Ke maintained a completely placid expression. "A Spirit Master has his own methods, Qing Qing. Do you want the beasts charging into our helpless elders and children? I draw them away to keep the collateral damage low."
Qing Qing clicked his tongue, clearly unsatisfied with the answer, but he had no evidence to prove otherwise.
Ignoring him, Hua Ke walked deeper into the cave and sat down on a smooth rock. Find the original chapter at g.com.
His gaze shifted toward the center of the cavern, where Cui Cui was standing. She was outside the main sleeping area, stirring a large iron pot of porridge over a crackling campfire.
Hua Ke watched her intently, losing himself in his thoughts.
*This girl, whether I want it or not, is now connected to me.* It was in his absolute best interest to train her properly.
But how did dual cultivation actually work? While Hua Ke possessed the spirit, he had absolutely no idea how to use it. The actual activation methods remained a complete mystery to him.
"Young master Wang Ke," Cui Cui called out in a soft, exhausted voice.
She lifted a smaller clay pot filled with porridge and walked toward him. As she took a few steps away from the fire, Hua Ke noticed she seemed a little unbalanced. She was shaking violently, her face deathly pale.
As close as she got to Hua Ke, she suddenly fainted. She fell directly forward, the clay pot slipping from her grasp.
Every single drop of the boiling hot porridge splashed directly onto Hua Ke, severely burning his skin.
Instead of defending or dodging out of the way to protect himself from the porridge, Hua Ke immediately lunged forward.
He ignored the searing pain on his chest and firmly caught the falling Cui Cui before she could hit the unforgiving stone floor.
"Ah! Heavens!" a nearby villager screamed in panic.
"She collapsed! Hurry!"
Hua Ke ignored the chaos erupting around them. As he held her close to his scorched chest, he took a breath and paused. *She smelled quite nice.* A rich, intoxicating, and sweet floral scent emanated from her very pores. There was definitely something going on.
Hua Ke looked down at her flushed face.
This is not mere exhaustion, his mind raced. This is not a sickness either. This scent and this sudden weakness... it is entirely because of the dual cultivation spirit resting inside her body!
"Make way," Hua Ke commanded the panicked villagers.
He effortlessly lifted her up like a princess, carrying her deep into the cave toward a makeshift hay bed to let her rest. He gently laid her down, knowing that his journey to understand this mysterious spirit had just taken a very sudden and urgent turn.