This martial saint is too cautious.

In Baiyun Mountain, Lin Yan's figure shuttles through the dense forest.

Unlike ordinary hunters who follow streams or animal trails, he chose to walk along mountain ridges.

The True Explanation of Earth Veins: Earth's energy travels along the mountain ridges.

To observe the earth's energy, mountain ridges are the best place to observe it.

After crossing two mountain ridges, Lin Yan stopped on a gentle slope, squatted down, pushed aside the bushes, grabbed a handful of soil, and smelled it. The earthy smell had a faint sweetness in it.

"When the earth's energy rises, plants and trees are the first to know."

Lin Yan silently recited to himself, walked horizontally along the gentle slope for about a hundred steps, and stopped in a depression where the grass was exceptionally lush, waist-high, forming a stark contrast with the sparse shrubs around it.

He lay down, parted the grass, and dug in the dark brown soil with a small hoe.

"Found it."

When the ground was dug down to a depth of half a foot, a fist-sized, ginger-shaped object was revealed underground, with a yellowish-brown skin covered with fine lines.

"Goblin."

Lin Yan's eyes lit up. Looking at the size of the goblin, it was probably about ten years old. The Tang family bought it from traveling merchants for thirty taels per catty, and this one was about half a catty.

Lin Yan continued digging and soon unearthed eight more.

Although gnomes do not have the effect of increasing qi and blood, they are one of the two main ingredients for refining solid pills.

Once a martial artist fails to break through a barrier, one of the pills needed to restore their body is the Solid Pill. The demand for this medicine is extremely high, which leads to a shortage of goblin medicine. If it weren't for the fact that each county has its own monopoly on medicinal materials, the price of goblin medicine would rise even more if there were free trade.

Lin Yan tossed the goblin into the bamboo basket on his back and continued on his way.

The mountains and forests were not lacking in wild game. Lin Yan traveled through the mountains for two days and collected a lot of medicinal herbs, but he did not encounter any more large beasts.

Lin Yan had anticipated this before entering the mountain; the ferocious beasts of Baiyun Mountain do not respawn at specific times.

……

On the third day, Lin Yan crossed three mountain peaks, and the terrain suddenly dropped, revealing a low-lying valley in front of him.

The valley is gourd-shaped, narrow at the mouth and wide in the middle, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The valley is shrouded in mist, which does not dissipate even at noon.

"The gourd-shaped opening gathers energy, the interior accumulates energy, and the surrounding mountains prevent any leakage of energy. This is the 'wind-concealing and energy-gathering' formation described in the True Explanation of Earth Veins. With such a terrain, there must be good things." (He's back to his old ways with the Nine Lamps.)

Lin Yan climbed up an ancient pine tree, stood on the high ground and looked down. The next moment, his figure transformed into a streak of light and headed straight for the valley.

The fog in the valley was even thicker than what we saw above; we couldn't see a person just a few steps away.

Lin Yan slowed his pace, his gaze sweeping over the thick layer of decaying leaves beneath his feet, which felt soft and spongy underfoot.

After walking about a hundred paces, he suddenly stopped.

On a dead old tree stump in front, a cluster of fungi grew. The caps were dark red with purple edges, and the larger ones were as thick as a bowl, while the smaller ones were as big as a fist.

"Purple Ganoderma!"

Lin Yan's pupils shrank suddenly; he had actually discovered the precious medicine.

Purple Ganoderma is a variant of Ganoderma, and this particular purple Ganoderma has a cap the size of a large bowl, indicating it is at least ten years old.

"No wonder there are decaying leaves all around; this purple Ganoderma has probably absorbed most of the earth's energy in the valley."

Lin Yan took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement, and slowly walked towards the purple lingzhi. However, just as he bent down to pick the lingzhi, a fishy wind suddenly came from behind him.

Lin Yan felt a chill run down his spine. Without thinking, he pushed off with his feet and rolled to the side.

boom!

Where he had just been crouching, a huge tiger paw slammed down, sending rotten leaves and withered branches flying everywhere.

Lin Yan rolled over and stood up. The first thing he noticed was the several skulls at his feet. Then, looking at the huge tiger lurking there, he instantly understood what was going on.

The owner of these skulls must have died at the hands of this tiger.

What a cunning beast!

He lay in ambush around the purple lingzhi mushroom, waiting for it to distract him and lower his guard so he could launch a sneak attack.

Lin Yan couldn't help but curse. Purple Ganoderma can be harvested and consumed after three years. Any martial artist who discovers Purple Ganoderma will immediately want to harvest it, making it difficult to maintain a calm state of mind. This beast, hiding in the mountain mist, took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, and its probability of success was extremely high.

If I hadn't cultivated sword intent and developed a keen sense of danger, I would have fallen victim to this attack as well.

Roar!

The tiger, having failed in its sneak attack, now growled softly. Its yellow and black fur was bulging, and its muscles were bulging. Standing there, it resembled a small mountain. Its tiger eyes were a deep green, carrying the coldness and brutality unique to wild beasts.

The tiger seemed surprised that its prey dared to look it directly in the eye. It pawed at the ground and let out a deep roar that echoed through the valley, making the mist tremble.

However, Lin Yanyi was not afraid. She raised her fists and stared intently at the tiger.

Faced with such a beast, retreat is out of the question.

Roar!

Seeing that Lin Yan not only did not retreat but also took a stance, the tiger seemed to be provoked. With a kick of its hind legs, its massive body pounced on Lin Yan with lightning speed!

A foul stench filled the air as tiger claws tore through the air with a sharp whistling sound.

Lin Yan also let out a soft shout and threw a punch!

Fist and tiger clash.

boom!

Lin Yan staggered back three steps, his tiger's mouth went numb, and his entire arm trembled. The beast's pounce was the strongest he had ever faced.

The tiger was also stunned in mid-air by the punch. When it landed, its forepaws trembled slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in its eyes.

But the ferocity of the beast quickly overwhelmed its surprise and doubt; the tiger roared and pounced again.

"Stone waist and rugged ridge!"

At that moment, his back suddenly trembled, and a slight crackling sound came out, just like bamboo shoots growing taller. Lin Yan's figure instantly grew half a foot taller. He wanted to see if, with the support of the Stone Waist and Spine, he could face this beast head-on with strength alone.

Bang bang bang!

The sound of fists and palms clashing echoed through the valley, causing the mountain mist to surge.

Seeing his fists ripped open by tiger claws and blood splattering everywhere, Lin Yan showed no worry whatsoever; on the contrary, he felt increasingly exhilarated as he fought.

This was the most exhilarating battle he had ever fought since he embarked on his martial arts journey.

Even when he sparred with Junior Brother Zhao, he didn't unleash his full strength.

Every pounce and bite of this tiger carried the most primal power and speed. It was unpredictable yet perfectly natural. In this pure, violent clash, his fist technique subtly improved.

The tiger also unleashed its ferocity, its originally emerald green eyes gradually turning scarlet. The man and the tiger fought fiercely in the valley, their fists clashing and their roars echoing, sending stones flying and causing vegetation to fall.

However, neither Lin Yan nor Meng Hu, despite constantly changing positions, approached the area where the Purple Lingzhi was located.

Ten breaths!

Fifty breaths!

One hundred breaths!

Lin Yan was covered in sweat, and his clothes were torn in several places by the tiger's claws, revealing the bloodstains underneath. But his eyes grew brighter and brighter. He was fascinated by the exhilarating feeling of his blood and qi circulating at full capacity without reservation.

On the contrary, the tiger gradually began to falter, its movements slowed down, and its breathing became heavy. Although it did not have as many bloodstains as Lin Yan, it had taken quite a few punches, and its fur was covered in bruises. Only it knew how painful a human's punch was.

This guy is unbeatable.

Roar!

The tiger let out a deafening roar, and Lin Yan froze, fully alert, waiting for the tiger to fight him to the death.

However, the tiger made a feint and then turned and fled towards the valley entrance.

"They ran away?"

Lin Yan was taken aback. This beast knew how to use a feint, but it was too late to run away at this point.

call out!

The longsword was drawn, and an arc of light pierced through the mountain mist.

The tiger seemed to sense the danger and suddenly turned around, raising its paws to try to block the sword light. However, it was all in vain. The sword light sliced ​​through the tiger's forelimbs as easily as cutting tofu, piercing the fur on its chest and revealing its white bones.

Lin Yan remained silent and swung his sword again. This time, the sword light pierced directly through the tiger's chest, giving the tiger a quick death.

The tiger's massive body remained stiff for a brief moment before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Ignoring the tiger's corpse, Lin Yan turned back to the purple lingzhi mushroom, carefully dug it up by the roots with a hoe and put it in a basket. Only then did he rush back to the tiger's corpse, carry the tiger away from the valley.

Although there are tigers around, and no other wild beasts nearby, it's possible that some other wild beasts may have marked this purple lingzhi earlier and will come to it once it matures.

This is rare, but not impossible.

……

The moon hangs like a hook.

The campfire on the hilltop crackled with the sound of burning firewood. Lin Yan was roasting tiger meat over the fire, while a dozen or so pieces of cut and cleaned tiger meat hung on a wooden pole to the side.

It took him more than an hour to clean and dissect the tiger, but it was all worth it.

This tiger meat is enough for him to eat for seven days.

Soon, the tiger meat on the campfire was roasted to a golden brown and glistening with oil.

Lin Yan wrapped tiger meat and wild scallions in wild shepherd's purse he picked from the stream. He took a bite, and the oil burst in his mouth. The meat was fragrant and spicy, and his mouth was full of the taste of the mountains and fields.

"With my current barbecue skills, I would definitely be a barbecue master in my past life."

After several barbecues in the mountains, Lin Yan felt that his barbecue skills had become superb, no less than those of the master from his previous life.

As he chewed, that familiar burning sensation in his stomach rose again, even more intensely than when he ate bear meat.

Lin Yan stood up and began practicing the Mountain-Splitting Fist on the flat ground.

The fists whistled through the air, creating a powerful, swift wind.

In the heat of the battle, he couldn't help but let out a long howl, startling the birds in the forest into flight.

After finishing their boxing match, they returned to the campfire and continued eating meat.

They ate, practiced, practiced, and ate until the moon was high in the sky, finally finishing the ten pounds of tiger meat.

……

For the next seven days, Lin Yan ate tiger meat as the main dish, with pheasant, wild birds, mushrooms, and winter bamboo shoots as side dishes. He enjoyed the delicacies of the mountains and wild game every day, and occasionally chewed on a few ginseng roots. His blood and qi were increasing at an alarming rate.

There is plenty of silver hidden in the mountains.

Lin Yan has truly experienced this saying that circulates among martial arts practitioners.

Along with his increased blood and qi, his Martial Dao Tree also grew taller, and his entire body became noticeably fatter.

"After we finish this tiger meat, we have to go back. We're almost out of Bone Tempering Pills."

Lin Yan took out the last medicine bottle from his pocket. The Tiger Bone Tempering Pills had already been used up, and there were only three Leopard Bone Tempering Pills left from the Tang family.

Most importantly, his bamboo basket was already so full that it couldn't hold any more.

The roasted tiger meat sizzled and dripped oil over the campfire. Just as Lin Yan reached out to take it, an old voice came from behind him.

"The meat smells so good, young man! May I have a bite to try?"

The sound was not far away. Lin Yan's back tensed, and he pressed his right hand calmly on the scabbard on the ground before turning around to look.

Less than three zhang behind him stood a thin old man with gray hair, followed by a girl in green.

"An absolute master!"

Lin Yan felt a chill run down his spine. With his enhanced perception from three times, no bird or beast within a radius of several feet could escape his senses. Yet these two were able to appear silently within three feet without him noticing, demonstrating their extraordinary strength.

In addition, there is another point: the combination of the old man and the young girl deep in the mountains already gives them a powerful advantage.

This old man is definitely a senior-level expert, or even a former senior-level expert.

"It is my honor that you would like my barbecue, senior. Please."