Yuan Ming, transformed into a White Ape, and the Four-eyed Golden Ape chased and fled through the forest, quickly covering several miles, until a tall, extremely large Black Pine Forest appeared ahead.

Each of these black pines was as thick as a water bucket, with trunks as dark as wrought iron, looking much sturdier than ordinary pines, and very dense, making them more suitable for evading the pursuit of the Golden Ape.

Yuan Ming's figure flickered as he darted into the Black Pine Forest.

However, the originally ferocious Four-eyed Golden Ape stopped at the edge of the forest, staring intently into the depths with its four eyes, scratching its ears and cheeks as if wary of something.

Seeing Yuan Ming about to escape far away, the eyes of the Golden Ape grew fiercely bright, and it resumed the pursuit.

Yuan Ming proceeded through the Black Pine Forest for a moment, only to feel an inexplicable sense of unease welling up inside him.

It was too quiet here, even giving off a feeling of being quieter than the previous mountains and forests.

He couldn't help feeling that if he continued to bumble around like a headless fly, who knows what strange things he might encounter?

Just as he was considering using a great amount of mana to summon the incense burner and escape through the sky with the Exorcism Technique, a piercing cry broke the tranquility within the Black Pine Forest.

He saw a Black Giant Crow flying out from somewhere ahead.

This crow was as large as a building, with a body covered in black feathers and scarlet eyes. Its massive wings were two to three zhang long when spread wide, looking over with a fierce gaze.

Yuan Ming's complexion changed drastically, and he quickly stopped in his tracks as his heart sank.

The pressure the Black Giant Crow exerted on him was no less than that of the Four-eyed Golden Ape. Against the Golden Ape, he could still rely on the incense burner to take flight and avoid, but if targeted by the Black Giant Crow, he would truly have no escape.

Just then, there was a rustling from the woods behind him, and the Four-eyed Golden Ape had caught up to the vicinity, also stopping in its tracks.

However, when the Black Giant Crow saw the Four-eyed Golden Ape, its eyes showed obvious anger, emitting a piercing screech.

Yuan Ming's eyes flickered. Recalling the knowledge he had learned about taming beasts and the meanings of their cries, various signs indicated that the Black Giant Crow seemed to be questioning the Golden Ape.

The Golden Ape growled lowly as if its confidence were lacking.

The Black Giant Crow roared repeatedly, angrily flapping its wings, creating gusts of wind that swept through the nearby pines, causing dead branches and leaves to flutter down.

It seemed that the attitude of the Giant Crow had enraged the Golden Ape. Its calls grew sharper, with fierce light flooding its face as it confronted the Black Giant Crow.

Meanwhile, Yuan Ming, the instigator of the conflict, had been abandoned by the two fierce beasts.

"It seems that this Black Pine Forest is likely the territory of the Black Giant Crow. The Golden Ape entered chasing after me. If they truly start fighting, I might have a chance to escape," Yuan Ming's thoughts raced as he covertly planned an escape route.

However, contrary to Yuan Ming's expectations, although the Golden Ape and the Black Giant Crow glared and roared at each other, there was no sign of them actually coming to blows for a while.

Yuan Ming felt uneasy and began to edge sideways stealthily.

No sooner had he moved when the Black Giant Crow glanced over, opening its mouth to emit a shrill cry. Accompanying the sound, a wave of visible black Sound Waves enveloped his vision.

The attack range of the black Sound Waves was vast, and both Yuan Ming and the Four-eyed Golden Ape were engulfed by it.

Yuan Ming felt his Sea of Consciousness shake violently, as if his Divine Soul was trapped in a vigorously ringing bell, his body trembled in response, and his consciousness quickly grew blurry.

"Bad news, it's an attack targeting the Divine Soul!" he thought with alarm, quickly running the Moonlight Technique in an attempt to stabilize his Divine Soul.

The Four-eyed Golden Ape was also enveloped by the Crow's Call Wave, trembled as well, but managed to maintain its will. Its four eyes suddenly shone with intense Golden Light, and beams of light, sharp as arrows, shot forth brilliantly.

The Black Giant Crow hurried to dodge, but was still struck by two beams of golden light, causing a dozen or so Black Feathers to fall and blood to pour out, staining the nearby black feathers crimson.

The enraged Giant Crow flapped its wings and dove toward the Ape, its black talons slashing down fiercely.

The Golden Ape, refusing to show weakness, swung its arms, releasing Sword Qi-like golden light to meet the attacking Giant Crow.

Yuan Ming's previous guess was correct; this Black Pine Forest truly was the territory of the Black Giant Crow. The Golden Ape also had its own territory. As neighbors, the two beasts had been competing and fighting for many years and were old rivals with deep grudges.

The two beasts were embroiled in combat, paying no attention to Yuan Ming.

Although the impact of the black Sound Waves had passed, he still felt an intense agitation in his Sea of Consciousness. It was not under the control of the Moonlight Technique, and there was some issue with the circulation of his mana. His use of the Fur Cloak Skill began to collapse, and the White Ape Skin gradually fell away from his body...

A sense of dread weighed heavily on Yuan Ming. Currently relying on the power of the Fur Cloak Skill, he was barely managing to hold his own against the Golden Ape. Once his White Ape Skin shed, his speed and defense would severely diminish, and he would easily be killed by either of the two beasts before him.

He bit the tip of his tongue fiercely, regaining some willpower through the pain, and ran the Moonlight Technique recklessly.

At that moment, the mark of the incense burner on his right arm suddenly trembled, and a stream of warmth flowed out, swiftly entering his mind.

Yuan Ming's Divine Soul felt instantly steadied, and the trembling in his Sea of Consciousness subsided significantly, his consciousness quickly recovering.

"I never expected the incense burner could also help me resist attacks on the Divine Soul!" he secretly rejoiced, quickly running his mana to stabilize the Fur Cloak Skill, and turned to flee into the distance.

The Black Giant Crow, in the midst of battle, glimpsed this scene, a hint of surprise visible in its eyes.

The effect of its Crow Cawing Skill was long-lasting, and other than a strong old adversary like the Golden Ape, no one could recover so quickly. What method did this Human Clan's cultivator use?

The Black Giant Crow let out a Crow Cry towards the Four-eyed Golden Ape, and black Sound Waves once again erupted, engulfing the Golden Ape's body.

The Four-eyed Golden Ape stiffened slightly in its movements, and the Black Giant Crow took the opportunity to break away from the battlefield and turn to pursue Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming sensed the Black Giant Crow chasing after him and felt a chill in his heart, hurriedly accelerating his speed and, just as he had dealt with the Golden Ape before, constantly changing directions and relying on the tall pine trees to block the giant crow's pursuit.

However, the Black Giant Crow could fly, so the obstruction of the trees was limited, and the distance between them was still closing.

As Yuan Ming inwardly cursed his bad luck, the view suddenly opened up before him.

He sprinted out of the Black Pine Forest, and an icy stream several zhang wide blocked his path.

The stream was a grayish-white color, and from a distance, it carried a chill that clearly was not that of ordinary water. This content is presented by *.

As the sound of the Black Giant Crow tearing through the air rapidly approached, Yuan Ming clenched his teeth and leapt into the stream, disappearing from sight.

The giant crow arrived like a flash of lightning and let out another Crow Cry at the spot where Yuan Ming had entered the water.

A large wave of black Sound Waves entered the water, causing the surface to ripple with fine concentric circles that took a while to gradually dissipate.

The Black Giant Crow circled overhead, black light surging from its claws as it waited for Yuan Ming to emerge from the water to deliver a fatal strike.

But as it waited, there was no sign of Yuan Ming surfacing; it was as if he had completely vanished.

After circling in mid-air for a while longer, the Black Giant Crow finally spread its wings and flew away.

A few zhang away from where Yuan Ming had ducked into the stream, the surface of the water stirred slightly, and a black toad head emerged. It was Yuan Ming, who had swapped the White Ape Skin for Black Toad Skin, eager to leap ashore, his body trembling uncontrollably.

The water in this stream was exceptionally cold and contained a strange Yin Qi, hence even the Black Toad Beast Skin was unable to isolate it, and plenty of Yin Qi had seeped into his body.

Yuan Ming released the toad transformation, revealing his true form.

At this time, his face was pale, and dark bruises appeared on his limbs, signs of the invasion of Yin Qi.

He sat down cross-legged and began to circulate the Nine Elements Technique, allowing Mana to flow from his Dantian throughout his body, trying to dispel the Yin Qi within.

However, the Nine Elements Technique was a wood attribute cultivation method, capable of quickly restoring Mana and physical strength, but not strong in dispelling Yin Qi. No matter how he circulated it, he only managed to drive out a small amount of Yin Qi.

Anxious, Yuan Ming suddenly remembered something. He swept his hand over his Storage Bag, and a red curved item appeared in his hand, which was the Red Bent Horn he had acquired from Tali Volcano.

He held on to the horn, channeling Mana into it.

The red glow on the Red Bent Horn suddenly intensified, enveloping his body and a wave of scorching heat poured into him.

Since acquiring this horn, Yuan Ming had tried to discover its origins, with no success.

Such a treasure, left unused, would be a waste. He had carefully studied the horn and found that not only could it absorb fiery heat, but it could also release it.

The Yin Qi in Yuan Ming's body was met with the scorching force and began to rapidly dissolve, soon completely dissipating. The trembling in his body gradually subsided, and his complexion returned to normal.

He was overjoyed and played with the horn for a moment before putting it away.

"Fortunately, the Yin Qi was forced out, or it would have been troublesome if it had remained in the body. What kind of water is this stream, to contain such formidable Yin Qi?" Yuan Ming stood up, looking at the stream and then around him.

This island, with its rich Spiritual Energy, and the presence of peculiar Fierce Beasts like the Four-eyed Golden Ape and the Black Giant Crow, and now a stream of Yin Qi, was becoming more and more mysterious.

Yuan Ming, no longer feeling tense, instead felt an urge to explore this place and began to follow the stream.

Not far along, Huo Chan'er inside his Spiritual Beast Bag started excitedly shrieking again.

Yuan Ming pondered for a moment before releasing Huo Chan'er.

But as soon as Huo Chan'er was about to dash forward, Yuan Ming grabbed it.

"Huo Chan'er, this island is full of dangers. We must be careful. Don't run around; if we encounter any powerful Fierce Beasts, I won't be able to protect you. Do you understand?" Yuan Ming cautioned gravely.

Huo Chan'er nodded repeatedly.

Only then did Yuan Ming let go, and Huo Chan'er immediately ran forward.

He quickly followed, and after advancing about a li or so, a small hill about a dozen zhang high appeared before them.

Huo Chan'er arrived at a mountainside, looked up, and didn't move, as vines were entwined around the rock face, with several large stones leaning against it.

After a while, it jumped onto a boulder and began to scratch and claw at a spot on the mountainside, seemingly trying to break through the area.

"You mean to say, there's something odd about this rock face?" Yuan Ming approached.

Huo Chan'er bobbed its little head, letting out urgent, high-pitched cries, seemingly urging Yuan Ming to help quickly.