Yuan Ming gradually regained consciousness after an indeterminate amount of time, slowly sitting up from the ground.

Surrounding fog swirled and drifted, obscuring his view of the sun and making it impossible for him to judge how long he had been unconscious.

His mind was still a bit muddled, and only after shaking his head did he recall the events that led to his fainting, hastily scanning his surroundings.

Although the will of the Purple-Black Demon Vine had been crushed by his Beast Taming Technique, considering the tenacity of such a creature, it might not be dead.

All was quiet around him, not a single insect was to be found, let alone the demon vine.

The Green Fish Sword was slanted into the ground beside him, the blade emitting a faint glow.

"Not seeing the corpse of the demon vine means it probably isn't dead. Could it have escaped by tunneling underground?" Yuan Ming muttered to himself.

If he had fallen into a coma and the demon vine was still alive, why hadn't it seized the opportunity to kill him? Perhaps it had been frightened by the Beast Taming Technique?

He slapped his cheeks forcefully and stood up.

"Eh!" Yuan Ming suddenly noticed something strange; he had somehow deactivated the Fur Cloak Skill and the Black Toad Beast Skin was nowhere to be seen.

"It's one thing for the Purple-Black Demon Vine to be missing, as it could have escaped on its own, but why would the Black Toad Beast Skin also disappear? Could someone have come by?" Yuan Ming considered the possibility and quickly checked his belongings.

Everything inside the Storage Bag was intact, nothing was missing, and the Mysterious Incense Burner had turned into a mark, quietly residing inside his arm with no abnormalities. Even the conspicuous Green Fish Sword wasn't lost; it didn't look like anyone had been there.

Yuan Ming silently picked up the Green Fish Sword, about to comb the area, when his expression shifted, looking off in a direction.

Something over there seemed to be connected to his heart and mind, albeit very faintly and indiscernible.

"What is that?" Yuan Ming was quite surprised.

The presence of a heart-mind connection signified a deep secret technique, similar to the Beast Taming Technique, or a blood-sworn Magic Artifact.

His Beast Taming Technique had yet to subdue a spirit beast, and the only item he had acknowledged with his blood was the Mysterious Incense Burner, which was perfectly situated within the Incense Burner Mark of his right arm. What else could be forming a connection with his heart and mind?

Unable to grasp the issue, Yuan Ming quickly stopped overthinking and started searching nearby for the Black Toad Skin but found nothing.

"Forget it, the Black Toad Skin was merely an auxiliary tool. If it's gone, it's gone," he sighed, sat down cross-legged, and began running the Nine Elements Technique to recover his mana.

A short while later, Yuan Ming's mana was fully restored, his strength returning to him.

However, the Purple-Black Demon Vine had drained nearly half of his Qi-blood, making his muscles feel weak. Fortunately, it did not hinder his movements.

Yuan Ming took out the White Ape Skin, but instead of casting the Fur Cloak Skill, he wrapped it around his waist and dashed off toward the distance.

The disturbance there continued to pull at his heart and mind; it was better to clarify it.

After a quarter of an hour, Yuan Ming arrived next to a swamp that was several acres in size, where the object connecting with his heart and mind lay submerged in the water.

As he got closer, his heart-mind resonance with the object in the puddle strengthened significantly, and he could finally sense what it was.

"No way!" Yuan Ming found it hard to believe; the situation was too bizarre.

Just at that moment, the puddle suddenly exploded, water churning violently, and a grey fierce creature emerged from the depths—a grey crocodile several zhang in length.

This crocodile had a dark red head, especially its blood-red eyes, which looked extraordinarily vicious.

"Not good, it's an adult Blood Head Crocodile!" Yuan Ming recognized the creature.

An adult Blood Head Crocodile's strength was at least at the peak of Level 1 Middle Stage, with exceptionally tough scale armor, immense strength, and a proficiency in water combat, making it one of the most formidable mid-level fierce beasts.

However, this particular Blood Head Crocodile was visibly panicked, rapidly twisting its body and fleeing in a desperate hurry.

Before it got far, a slender purple-black object broke through the water, wrapping around the crocodile's body in rapid coils—it was a purple-black vine.

The vine, devoid of leaves and translucent throughout, showed thin bloodlines within its eerie form.

Yuan Ming's pupils contracted sharply.

Despite its changed appearance, he could tell that this purple-black vine was none other than the very same Purple-Black Demon Vine that had almost claimed his life earlier!

The Blood Head Crocodile struggled fiercely, but the demon vine was extremely resilient, unaffected by the crocodile's attempts to break free.

One end of the demon vine started to hiss, sharpening before suddenly shooting out and striking the back of the Blood Head Crocodile.

With a soft "puff," the vine easily penetrated the crocodile's tough skin and buried itself inside its body.

The Blood Head Crocodile let out a mournful scream, its thick body shaking violently, the intensity of its tremors diminishing until it ceased entirely.

A few breaths later, the creature stopped breathing, and its bloated corpse floated to the surface.

With a "splash" from the water, a black shadow slowly emerged—an ebony toad the size of a fist, its back adorned with a round, swollen purple-black sac resembling the folded leaves of some plant, surrounded by a dozen or so poisonous sacs. Its cold, dark eyes fixed on the Blood Head Crocodile.

Yuan Ming's face strained to maintain calm, but the shock and doubt in his eyes were indiscernible no matter how hard he tried.

This black toad, in both skin color and shape, was identical to his Toad Beast Skin, only much smaller in size.

A piece of Beast Skin had come to life out of thin air—what a miraculous event this world had borne witness to!

The purple-black Demon Vine shot out from a bulge on the toad's back; a stream of blood-red light flowed swiftly back along the vine into the toad's back. A faint glow of blood light appeared on the toad's body, which quickly dissipated, but its form seemed to grow imperceptibly larger.

The purple-black Demon Vine flew back and disappeared into the bulge on the toad's back.

The toad seemed to sense something and turned its head towards Yuan Ming nearby, a hint of alarm in its eyes, and then it turned to flee.

"Come here!" Yuan Ming's expression darkened slightly as he coldly commanded, his right hand forming a spell, with black light flashing at his fingertips.

The Black Toad trembled but did not move.

Yuan Ming's face showed a look of surprise. Only when he exerted the Beast Taming Technique to its maximum did the Black Toad reluctantly swim over and hop in front of him.

He raised his hand to the Black Toad's head, and dense black Qi gushed from his palm, rolling into the creature.

A moment later, he withdrew his hand, his face showing a complex expression of surprise, joy, and mostly confusion.

Yuan Ming had just now used the Beast Taming Technique, combined with Divine Soul Power, to check. For some reason, the original Black Toad Beast Skin had indeed grown internal organs and shown signs of a Divine Soul, turning into a living being.

The Purple-Black Demon Vine had fused with the toad's internal organs through the bulge on its back, becoming an organ within it. With each beat of the heart, the toad's blood not only circulated through its veins but also through the Demon Vine to the rest of the body.

This Black Toad appeared to be a Black Pattern Poison Toad, but it was actually two entirely different creatures that had merged into a strange hybrid.

And within the Demon Vine was a rune imprinted, the Beast Taming Rune, which contained Yuan Ming's Divine Soul Power, and it seemed to be a condensation of his Divine Soul.

Yuan Ming had just now felt a faint connection with this Beast Taming Rune and found it unbelievable, but the reality was right before his eyes, leaving no room for doubt.

Regardless, it seemed he had unwittingly tamed a spirit beast.

Given his current level in the Qi Refinement Realm, he could not tame a second spirit beast unless he killed the Demon Vine and destroyed the Beast Taming Rune within it.

"Fine, a Demon Vine it is then. This vine's capabilities are quite decent, and now it has fused with this Black Toad, who knows what special Divine Skills it might develop?" After much consideration, he decided to keep the vine.

Yuan Ming sat down cross-legged in front of the Black Toad, continuing to communicate with it using the Beast Taming Technique, probing its internal condition.

More importantly, he needed to understand the Black Toad's current Divine Skills.

After half a day, he stopped casting, a glimmer of joy in his eyes.

As he had speculated earlier, the fusion of the Black Toad with the Demon Vine greatly altered their Divine Skills. The most notable change was the blending of their powers, with the Demon Vine now containing the Black Toad's poison, significantly enhancing its ability to attack enemies in battle.

The reason the Purple-Black Demon Vine could easily pierce through the Blood Head Crocodile's skin was precisely because of this.

Furthermore, the Black Toad had also acquired a powerful self-healing ability akin to that of the Demon Vine. Combined with the Demon Vine's blood-draining trait, its self-healing capability had reached a monstrous level, allowing it to recover quickly from any non-fatal injuries.

"Stick with me from now on!" Yuan Ming exhaled gently. This Black Toad had become a monster-like existence, and having it as a spirit beast might not be such a bad thing after all.

The Black Toad glanced at Yuan Ming but made no move.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming slightly increased his Mana to drive the Beast Taming Technique, making the Black Toad reluctantly croak and leap onto his shoulder, where it crouched.

"This Black Toad is a product of mutation. The Beast Taming Rune that I've imprinted into the Demon Vine, I'm unsure how effective it is in restraining this creature... But this little thing is so dark it can hide well without easily being discovered," he thought.

Yuan Ming quickly moved on, having settled the matter of taming a spirit beast. With the Black Toad by his side, his strength had increased significantly, and he planned to continue exploring the island.

Most importantly, he wanted to find the Four-eyed Golden Ape.

The effects of those Red Core Spiritual Peaches were unforgettable to Yuan Ming. If he could find them, and with the miraculous effects of the Nine Elements Technique, it was entirely possible for him to advance his cultivation to the eighth or even the ninth level of Qi Refinement in a short period.

...

Two days later.

Yuan Ming arrived at a region of low hills on the island, where the hills were gray-black, oozing dense Yin Qi from within the rocks, filling the air with a chilly sensation that was quite uncomfortable.

The vegetation inside the low hills was sparse, clearly unable to withstand the oppressively Yin Qi of the land.

Yuan Ming, accompanied by the Black Toad, entered and began searching the area.

Over the last two days, he had searched various parts of the island. Although he hadn't found the location of the Four-eyed Golden Ape, he had made no small gains, discovering seven or eight precious spiritual materials, which could be exchanged for a considerable number of Contribution Values at the sect.

However, the island was alarmingly large. After three days of searching, he still hadn't found the same spot he had landed on last time.

This made him somewhat anxious. He had only five days authorized for his leave from the sect, and now there wasn't much time left. If he didn't find it soon, he'd have to wait for the next opportunity.

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