What is an immortal?

After the Spirit Root test was completed, the self-proclaimed genius "Yiguo" with Dual Spirit Roots was personally escorted by Elder Saren to the grandest hall located behind the plaza.

After that, the other two Wild Men with Three Spirit Roots were also taken away, leaving only seven individuals with Four Spirit Roots including Yuan Ming. They were still led by the naked man Hu Zha and they left the Candle Spirit Hall.

Once they had moved away from the area, Hu Zha suddenly began to speak to them on his own initiative:

"I know you all resent me now, but one day in the future, when you look back on these days, you will feel fortunate."

The Wild Men, still in shock, looked at him eagerly, and although they understood his words, none dared to join in the conversation.

"Is it because of the test just now?" Yuan Ming spoke for the first time in days, his words in the Southern Border dialect were fluent without any hint of awkwardness.

"So you speak our Southern Border dialect, that's quite rare."

Hu Zha was a bit surprised and re-evaluated Yuan Ming, but then continued to speak his mind:

"How many mortals dream of setting out on the path of cultivation in search of immortality, struggling without any means to do so. Although you were forcibly abducted, being able to join our Biluo Cave is also your great fortune. If one day you can move mountains and summon the winds and the rains, do not forget me, your guide."

Hu Zha grinned, pointing at himself with his thumb.

Hearing these words, the Wild Men looked at each other with ambiguity, but indeed some of them thanked Hu Zha.

The Southern Border naturally venerates strength and greatly respects absolute power, so an opportunity to embark on the path of the powerful is truly precious.

"What did you mean earlier by 'Fur Beast Slave'?" Yuan Ming asked at this moment.

Hearing this, Hu Zha was taken aback, seemingly not expecting this Central Plains man to have paid attention to his and Elder Saren's conversation.

"I've long heard that Central Plains people are cunning, and now I see that they are indeed more crafty than us Southern Border People. However, I must warn you that being too clever here may not necessarily be a good thing," Hu Zha said with a cold expression, reprimanding.

Having said that, he seemed to lose any further interest in speaking with Yuan Ming and the others, leading them toward the west.

Along the way, Yuan Ming ignored the hostile and puzzled looks occasionally cast by the others, but pondered silently the information Hu Zha had inadvertently revealed earlier.

Being a Fur Beast Slave did not sound like a good thing; otherwise, Hu Zha would not hesitate to say more about it. However, it seemed likely there was no immediate danger to their lives.

As for that so-called journey of cultivation, he wondered if it was just Hu Zha's way of scaring them. Although he could not remember many things, he understood what it meant to become immortal.

For now, he could only take it one step at a time, focus on keeping himself alive, and worry about the rest later.

About half an hour later, Yuan Ming and the other six under Hu Zha's guidance arrived at a remote area and from afar saw a tall stone wall stretching dozens of miles, its gates made of solid bronze, seemingly impenetrably thick.

Inside the gate, several fortress-like buildings had been constructed.

As Hu Zha and the others passed by, a man dressed similarly to Hu Zha came out from the fortresses, exchanged a few words with him, and then let them pass.

For some reason, Yuan Ming felt the man gave them a look mixed with pity and mockery.

Upon exiting the bronze gate, they were immediately met by a dense primordial forest.

The massive towering trees densely populated the area, each one wide enough to require several people to encircle them, their huge canopies interweaving, with occasional gaps through which sunlight slipped, while the ground beneath was covered with low shrubs.

In the midst of the forest, a mist lingered, a narrow path winding through the shrubs, extending to the horizon.

As Yuan Ming stepped into the forest, the temperature around him dropped slightly, with the sounds of birds and insects echoing around him, and his nostrils were filled with the distinctive scent of damp earth and vegetation.

Upon entering the forest, the expressions of the Wild Men next to him relaxed somewhat, as if they had returned to their own homeland. In contrast, Hu Zha, leading the way, looked a bit more tense.

Every so often, the roars of animals in the distance prompted him to turn his head and scan the surroundings quickly.

All along the way, nobody had told them specifically what they were supposed to do, and none dared to ask, but Yuan Ming faintly guessed that this place was unlikely to be a haven for cultivation.

Following the forest path for half an hour, an open space appeared ahead, with a several-zhang-high black stone standing in the center, its coarse surface engraved with a series of dark red Southern Border characters.

"Ten Thousand Mountains Boundary One," Yuan Ming silently read to himself.

At this moment, he noticed that beside the black stone stood a tall grey-robed man with his hands behind his back, his back toward them.

Hearing the noise, the tall man slowly turned around. He was a stern-faced middle-aged man with regular features, his thick, bushy eyebrows slightly furrowed, his gaze somewhat fierce.

"Elder Hu Huo, these are the new batch of Fur Beast Slaves, I've brought them over for you," Hu Zha said, his expression slightly tense as he spoke.

"Good," the middle-aged man, known as Elder Hu Huo, nodded.

"Then I'll go back to report," Hu Zha replied, and then turned to leave.

After they had left, Elder Hu Huo casually glanced over Yuan Ming and the others, his expression indifferent. His gaze was as if he were looking at several trees, or rocks, devoid of any emotion.

After looking them over, he slapped his palm on a purple cloth pouch, about the size of a palm, hanging at his waist, and a slight gleam of light emitted from the bag.

Immediately after, various oddly shaped beast skins began to materialize in Elder Hu Huo's hands out of thin air.

Yuan Ming rubbed his eyes, unable to see clearly how these things appeared.

The Wild Men, one by one, watched with gaping mouths, believing they had witnessed a miracle.

Yuan Ming collected his thoughts and looked closely, only to discover that among these beast skins were the dark hunting leopards, the green wild wolves, the multi-colored wild boars, the grey-white old apes, the brown and mixed bears, the colorful tigers, and even a green, hairless rhino skin.

He was able to recognize these furs at a glance because, although they were only half-skins, they were all stripped along with the head and facial skin, with the wild boar's tusks and the rhino's horn all intact.

Elder Hu Huo walked behind them and slipped these beast skins over their heads one by one; the halves of the skins then draped behind them, like short capes with hoods.

A grey-white old ape skin was slipped onto Yuan Ming's head, his skin merging slightly itchy with the flesh of the White Ape, and his nose smelling a faint stench, not quite foul, but also not pleasant.

Then, with another slap on his cloth pouch at his waist, Elder Hu Huo produced seven brown leather pouches in his hand, each adorned with a blood-red, peculiar pattern.

"For the next three days, you must cross this boundary marker and survive in the forest beyond. During this time, you must hunt and kill a wild beast like a jackal, wolf, tiger, or leopard on your own, and fill this beast skin pouch with its blood to bring back," Elder Hu Huo stated.

With that, he tossed the beast skin pouches in front of them.

"Is this the trial of becoming a Fur Beast Slave?" Yuan Ming wondered inwardly.

At this moment, he noticed that the expressions of the other Wild Men had changed, appearing somewhat reluctant, conflicted, and even fearful.

"After three days, if you can successfully complete this task, you will receive a basic Cultivation Method, the Blood Qi Skill," Elder Hu Huo continued.

Then, a Wild Man asked timidly, "Elder, could you give us some tools, even just a stone axe or a stone knife would be enough."

With their mere mortal bodies, without the use of tools, it would be too difficult to survive in the vast forest, let alone hunt wild beasts and collect their blood. One mishap, and they could easily end up in the belly of a beast.

"Tools? Hmph… You won't need them," Elder Hu Huo chuckled lightly.

Before the people could understand what he meant, his figure suddenly flashed before them, and he reached out to press his hand on one of them.

As a blue light shone from his palm, the man immediately let out a miserable howl, scaring the others into retreating.

The black leopard skin that the man was wearing lit up with a dark light, and the beast hairs suddenly stood on end. The half-length beast skin, as if coming to life, stretched and extended, covering and wrapping around the man's body.

Yuan Ming looked over and saw the man's eyes turn blood red, filled with veins, his mouth hung wide open dribbling uncontrollably, and the sounds coming from his throat were gradually changing, becoming less and less human, more like the growl of a wild beast.

This process lasted for about a dozen breaths; when the man's howling stopped, the black leopard skin had tightly wrapped around him, as if it had grown on his body.

The man's face had taken on the appearance of a black leopard, though his body still maintained a human skeleton, presenting a bizarre half-man, half-beast figure with a leopard's head and human body.

After he transformed, he immediately crouched low to the ground, seemingly adopting a more beastly demeanor, though his eyes did not become beast-like; the redness faded somewhat, revealing more humanity.

"Do not worry, this is the Fur Cloak Technique, which will be your reliance for survival over the next three days, and for hunting wild beasts," Elder Hu Huo said, and moved on to the next person.

As his palm landed on the next person, another piercing howl echoed through the forest.

A dozen breaths later, a wolf-headed, blue-furred creature stood before everyone.

Although Yuan Ming had witnessed it once before, he still felt a significant shock. To become such a terrifying creature just by donning a beast skin was truly inconceivable.

Despite his extreme reluctance, Yuan Ming understood the gravity of the situation. If he dared to resist, he believed that Elder Hu Huo would not show mercy and would likely crush him with a single blow.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Elder Hu Huo stepped in front of him, and his palm landed on Yuan Ming's shoulder.