The two left the stone city, one in front and one behind, re-entering the continuous mountain range. Jack walked at a moderate pace, while Long Xiao chased after him, panting.
Jack would walk for a while, then look back at Long Xiao, occasionally teasing him and delighting in his anger.
As noon approached, Long Xiao followed Jack up a hill and saw several mountains covered by forests ahead.
Jack pointed to the forest and said, "Look, Long Xiao, the Feast Forest is just ahead."
Standing beside Jack, Long Xiao looked at the forest and asked, "Jack, what delicious food is in the forest?"
Jack smiled mysteriously and said, "You'll know when you get there."
The two descended the mountain and entered the forest. Not long after, they saw a tall fruit tree.
Long Xiao had only seen short, small fruit trees. He had never seen one taller than a pine tree.
The wild fruits on the tree were bright red, about the size of apples.
Standing under the fruit tree, Jack pointed to the fruits and said, "I'm hungry, let's eat some of these first."
Long Xiao patted his empty stomach and said, "Okay, I'll climb up and pick them."
Jack glanced at Long Xiao and said, "Silly, do you need to climb a tree to eat fruit?"
Long Xiao picked up some small stones from the ground and said, "I can knock them down with stones."
Jack sighed and said, "So foolish, I'll do it then."
Long Xiao threw away the stones in his hand. Jack waved his right hand towards the fruit tree, and a golden light shot towards the canopy, causing a few fruits to fall.
Long Xiao was curious about Jack's technique but dared not ask, fearing it would displease Jack and arouse Old John's suspicion.
Jack tossed a few of the fallen fruits to Long Xiao and began to eat himself.
Jack ate very quickly, as if the fruits were incredibly delicious, devouring them.
Jack had eaten two when he saw Long Xiao had not started. He looked at him and asked, "Are you not hungry? Maybe you can give yours to me."
"I'll eat them, I haven't tasted this fruit before."
Long Xiao took a bite of the fruit. A fragrant aroma wafted into his nostrils, and a warm current followed the swallowed flesh into his body, transforming into qi in his dantian.
Long Xiao was stunned. He hadn't expected the fruit to contain such rich qi.
Soon, Long Xiao was eating even faster than Jack, taking a few bites per fruit. He quickly finished the fruits in his hand.
"Let's get some more," Long Xiao said, looking up at the fruit tree.
"As long as you're not hungry, there's plenty of delicious food inside. If you eat too many fruits, you won't be able to eat other things."
Long Xiao walked with Jack, realizing that the qi that entered his body with the fruits was extremely pure life qi.
As he walked, Long Xiao looked up at the trees ahead, searching for fruit trees.
After walking for about ten minutes, he hadn't seen any fruit trees. Just as Long Xiao was wondering, he heard Jack shout, "Long Xiao, hurry, don't let it get away!"
Looking down, he saw Jack chasing after a white figure and quickly followed.
This time, Jack ran at full speed. In less than a minute, both the white shadow and Jack disappeared.
Giant trees surrounded them, a diverse species that Long Xiao couldn't name most of.
Long Xiao walked, observing his surroundings. Not long after he set off, a black shadow suddenly lunged at him.
Long Xiao used his 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu' (Elusive Shadow Steps) and barely managed to dodge the black shadow.
When the black shadow landed, Long Xiao finally saw it clearly: it was an animal about the size of a dog. The small animal bared its teeth at Long Xiao, its slobbering mouth revealing dagger-like white fangs.
The small animal pounced at Long Xiao again. Long Xiao couldn't dodge in time and was scratched on the arm by the animal's teeth, blood immediately gushing out.
He covered the wound with his hand, feeling extremely dejected. The 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu' he relied on could now barely evade the attack of a small animal.
Seeing the blood, the small animal drooled even more. Before Long Xiao could even attack, it pounced again.
This time, the small animal targeted Long Xiao's neck. Long Xiao, terrified, dispersed all his five-elemental qi to aid the 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu' in dodging the attack.
After dodging dozens of times, Long Xiao was in a sorry state, chased by the small animal and having no chance to fight back.
To defeat the small animal, when it pounced again, Long Xiao hid behind a large tree.
As soon as the small animal rounded the tree, Long Xiao swung his fist at it.
The punch landed squarely on the animal's head. With a bang, the small animal was sent flying backward. Long Xiao felt an intense pain in his right hand and, looking inward, saw that several bones in his knuckles were cracked.
The small animal climbed up from the ground, shaking its head as if stunned by Long Xiao's blow.
Long Xiao waited a few seconds, his right hand feeling better. He swung his fist again and charged.
Seeing Long Xiao approaching again, the small animal turned and ran. Long Xiao used his 'Jifeng' (Gale) footwork, relentlessly pursuing it.
After chasing for five to six hundred meters, the small animal disappeared into the forest. Long Xiao stopped to catch his breath, feeling disappointed that he couldn't catch it. Just then, Jack walked over, carrying the carcass of the small animal.
The small animal's head was smashed, but its body was intact.
"Long Xiao, we have another delicacy today. You're so lucky. The meat of the Ironhead Wolf is extremely delicious, a rare delicacy."
"Okay, I'm tired too, let's roast the wolf meat right away."
"Roast it? No roasting. Eating it raw is the most delicious."
Jack tore off a wolf leg and threw it to Long Xiao. He tore off one for himself and began to devour it.
Watching Jack with a mouth full of blood, Long Xiao felt a bit nauseous. He suppressed the urge to vomit and took a bite of the wolf leg.
After a mouthful of wolf meat, Long Xiao felt five-elemental qi entering his body again. The wolf meat was indeed extremely delicious, with no trace of a bloody taste.
This time, Long Xiao ate faster than Jack. After finishing one wolf leg, he directly tore off another.
Long Xiao followed Jack, running through the forest for the entire afternoon. They ate over a dozen types of fruits and the meat of several animals. While searching for fruits and animals, Long Xiao discovered many precious herbs in the forest, which he dug up.
As darkness fell, Jack saw Long Xiao carrying a large pile of grass and said, "Long Xiao, you've eaten so much today, are you still hungry?"
"No, I'm not hungry. Why do you say I'm still hungry?"
"You're carrying all that grass, you're not going to eat it, are you? I thought you were so hungry you'd eat grass." Jack said with a laugh.
"You're the one who's hungry and wants to eat grass. These are rare precious medicinal herbs."
"Herbs, what are herbs good for? You can't eat them."
"Sigh," Long Xiao sighed and said, "How can I explain it to you? Medicinal herbs can cure diseases and help humans improve their cultivation."
Jack finally understood what medicinal herbs were for and said, "I get it. These are all useless. We never get sick. As for improving cultivation, these herbs are not as useful as the fruits on the trees."
"How long have you been coming here to eat fruits and meat?" Long Xiao asked.
"I've been coming here often since I was about five or six years old. Back then, I walked slowly and it took me two days to get here."
Now, Long Xiao finally understood why Jack's strength was so high.
The sky completely darkened, and Long Xiao and Jack found a clearing to rest. At Long Xiao's insistence, they stayed in the forest for two days.
Every day, they ate fruits and hunted for meat. Soon, Long Xiao noticed that the five-elemental qi entering his body from these foods was decreasing.
After three days, the five-elemental qi entering his body from eating fruits was so little that Long Xiao could barely feel it.