Chapter 198 The Black Straw

Although there was a bit of bragging involved, Fang Yue was indeed full of confidence.

He couldn't wait to clash with any black-tier intermediate-level yougui to determine his true strength!

Seeing Fang Yue's confident demeanor, Zhang Dashou hesitated for a moment. After Fang Yue gave him two dregs Yuandan, he reluctantly agreed to lead the way.

The two went against the black spikes. Any tree they passed was immediately attacked by black spikes growing from within.

But Fang Yue simply raised his knife and struck. With a flash of the blade, all the black spikes were cut down mid-air.

"If the black-tier intermediate-level yougui's attack methods are only this much, then it's definitely doomed."

After repeatedly confirming the strength of the black spikes, Fang Yue was temporarily relieved.

After leaving Mo Village, Fang Yue headed towards the original Yuanqiu.

To reach the location of [Gui Zhi], he had to pass through the original Yuanqiu and Ruoyun Stone Ground.

Originally, everything was going smoothly. Since the road to the original Yuanqiu still had a stretch of village road, it was very safe along the way, and they didn't encounter any yougui.

But after leaving the village road and entering the original Yuanqiu, Fang Yue felt a faint sense of threat in the darkness.

However, these lurking yougui were only weak ones, not daring to get too close to Ren Hun Huo, so Fang Yue didn't pay them much attention.

But as he went deeper into the original Yuanqiu and approached the area, he noticed that black spikes would suddenly burst out from the surrounding trees.

At first, Fang Yue thought they were tree-type yougui. He even cut down the trees, trying to dig out the yougui hidden inside.

But after cutting down dozens of trees without finding the main body, Fang Yue abandoned the idea. He just dealt with the black spikes every time he encountered a tree, which was still very annoying.

It wasn't until Fang Yue met Zhang Dashou that he learned what these black spikes were all about.

In this way, as long as the main body was dealt with, the road would naturally be unobstructed.

An ordinary acquired second-rate realm expert, even if they had the ability to cut down trees and study the situation of the yougui, would never waste so much physical strength on cutting trees.

But Fang Yue was different. With the blessing of [Night Breathing], his fatigue was nothing at all, and he recovered in minutes.

Zhang Dashou quickly noticed this as well.

All the way, facing the sudden attacks of black spikes, Fang Yue was always able to react immediately, and directly cut down the black spikes with the fastest and most decisive means.

"Need to speed up."

Seeming to sense something, Fang Yue suddenly muttered.

Immediately afterward, Zhang Dashou felt his body lighten as he was lifted up and carried, running wildly through the forest.

With the wind whistling in his ears, black spikes brushed past Zhang Dashou.

And the trees were frantically left behind. Even if they stretched out black spikes again, they couldn't keep up with their speed.

In the darkness, the Ren Hun Huo carried by Fang Yue swayed, like a dazzling meteor breaking through the darkness and rushing straight towards the Meng Clan Hunting Group's temporary camp.

"Too, too fast! Idol, too fast! I, I can't take it anymore!"

In the whistling wind, Zhang Dashou couldn't help shouting loudly.

His small body really couldn't withstand such rapid movement.

All he could hear was the whooshing sound of air pressure, and the surrounding scenery had turned into a Gaussian blur as Fang Yue's speed increased again.

And in this rapid movement, he faintly seemed to hear some familiar screams and cries for help.

Those were the surviving members of the Meng Clan Hunting Group.

"Idol! There are still people alive!"

Zhang Dashou shouted loudly, but Fang Yue showed no intention of stopping or changing direction.

Zhang Dashou thought that Fang Yue hadn't heard him, but then he heard Fang Yue suddenly say, "Can't save them."

Zhang Dashou was about to retort, but soon realized that it was indeed impossible to save them.

Fang Yue was just one person, and the number of people he could save was limited.

Even if he saved the others and brought them to his side, he wouldn't be able to protect so many people's safety.

If he really wanted to save people, there was only one way to go, and that was to kill the yougui possessing the leader of the group. In that way, everyone who was still alive would naturally be saved!

Zhang Dashou fell silent, and being carried by Fang Yue, he soon saw a familiar scene.

That was the temporary camp that their Meng Clan Hunting Group had set up just over ten minutes ago.

The bonfire in the middle was still burning brightly.

But the people who had been celebrating earlier had already turned into dried corpses, lying next to the Ren Hun Huo, lifeless.

"This is it?"

Fang Yue put Zhang Dashou down beside him, and vigilantly scanned the surroundings.

However, he didn't find any trace of the yougui.

"Yes, yes, idol, that yougui possessed the leader here. I don't know where it is now."

Fang Yue frowned. He scanned around, but didn't find any trace of the yougui.

However, the dried corpses on the ground made him feel a little uncomfortable.

The skin of the corpses was wrinkled and shriveled, as if they were severely dehydrated, and their faces were as gaunt as skulls, as if they had been drained dry.

He could see some powdery residue of yellow flowers on the ground, which should be the strange flowers that Zhang Dashou had mentioned before.

In addition, the black spikes that had frantically sprung out and desperately tried to stop him from advancing when he was rushing here had all disappeared.

This temporary camp was as quiet as a graveyard, with only the faint sounds of their two living breaths.

"Master?!"

Just then, Zhang Dashou, who was examining the corpses, suddenly exclaimed.

Because he found his master's corpse in the pile of dried corpses.

Although this cheap master wasn't very good to him, he had taken him in after all, allowing him to survive in Mo Village, take on tasks, and get Yang Shou rewards to continue the game.

This time, he was able to get into the hunting group because of this cheap master.

So Zhang Dashou still had some feelings for his cheap master.

Now, seeing his master lying in the pile of corpses, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

But they quickly dissipated.

Because he remembered another more important thing.

"That's not right! Master was clearly running away with the other hunters, he wasn't killed by the black spikes right away. Why is his body back here?"

Realizing this, Zhang Dashou's breathing became rapid, and he subconsciously moved closer to Fang Yue.

But the next moment, his eyes widened and his whole body froze.

"L-Leader?!"

The leader's corpse was also quietly lying in the pile of corpses.

But unlike the other dried corpses, the leader's corpse, illuminated by the light of the Ren Hun Huo, had a rosy complexion and steady breathing, as if he was still alive.

But Zhang Dashou knew that after the yougui left Ah Lei's head, it had possessed the leader's body!

In other words, the current leader was that yougui!

While retreating, Zhang Dashou shouted loudly at Fang Yue, "Idol!!"

"What's wrong?"

"The leader's corpse! The leader's corpse is here! He was possessed by the yougui before, and now I don't know what's going on!"

Fang Yue frowned and was about to speak, but his expression suddenly changed. He took a step forward and yanked Zhang Dashou's body back. What followed was a dazzling blade of light!

The blade of light tore through the air, cutting down a black shadow.

"...dodged...it..."

The leader's body, or rather, the Luohua Gui's (Falling Flower Yougui's) body, slowly stood up from the pile of corpses.

And as the Luohua Gui stood up, Fang Yue discovered that the Luohua Gui's back was covered in dense, tube-like objects.

These tubes were made of a material similar to wood, giving off a very strange feeling.

After a quick glance, Fang Yue was surprised to find that the number of tubes seemed to correspond exactly to the number of corpses on the ground.

In other words, this yougui not only killed people and absorbed their Yang Shou, but was now also absorbing the nutrients from the corpses, maximizing its utilization rate.

"So it's you... the black-tier intermediate-level yougui that killed the entire Meng Clan Hunting Group!"

Fang Yue stared intently at it. Even though the other party was a black-tier intermediate-level yougui, Fang Yue didn't feel its power.

It was as if, as long as he gently swung his knife, he could easily kill the guy in front of him.

So, Fang Yue moved.

He moved like a released rabbit!

With a burst of speed, Fang Yue instantly closed the distance between himself and the Luohua Gui.

Inner force erupted, his body's strength soared, and small flames ignited around him.

"Raging Flame Heart Sutra!"

Compared to the Spark Heart Sutra, the inner force of the Raging Flame Heart Sutra was clearly more violent and warlike.

Therefore, the speed of mobilizing it was also faster.

Almost instantly, the inner force within his body burst out.

Flames burned his body, and power surged forth.

Force Manipulation +70 points!

Plus his base attributes.

"Force Manipulation: 140 [Base: 120] [State/Bonus: +20]."

Force Manipulation was soaring wildly. Before Fang Yue's knife even struck, his strength had already soared to a level beyond what an ordinary acquired second-rate realm expert should have!

140 + 70 = 210 points of Force Manipulation!

However, this was not the end.

"Spark... Blade Technique!"

The blade technique, although a bit of a drag, was still a decent blade technique among the many ordinary martial skills.

The first level of the Spark Blade Technique directly increased 10 points of Force Manipulation.

Buzz!

Sparks flickered on the Cold Moon Blade, and after a moment's pause...

Boom!!

Violent flames soared into the sky.

The Cold Moon Blade transformed into a Raging Flame Blade. The soaring flames directly illuminated everything around, and also illuminated the Luohua Gui's momentary stunned expression.

It didn't seem to expect that Fang Yue would use such a deadly move right from the start.

And in the instant it was stunned, the Cold Moon Blade had already struck.

Boom!!

Calling it a flame blade technique was more like calling it an explosive blade technique.

The Spark Blade Technique, with a Force Manipulation of up to 220 points, combined with the sharpness bonus of the Cold Moon Blade, caused the flames to gush out like a raging wave when the blade struck the Luohua Gui, directly sending it flying.

"Ahhhhh!"

In mid-air, the Luohua Gui, engulfed in raging flames, let out a inhuman scream, and crashed into the nearest tree with a bang.

The flames on its body instantly spread along the tree, even igniting and burning the tubes behind the Luohua Gui!

-1251!

-52!

-75!

-71!

First, a huge amount of damage burst out above its head, followed by continuous burning damage.

Strike while the iron is hot!

Seeing that this strike was effective, Fang Yue rushed over again without any hesitation, but the Luohua Gui immediately caught this scene, and its expression gradually became ferocious.

Then, an incredible scene appeared!

+1251!

+52!

+75!

+71!

A plus sign actually appeared above the Luohua Gui's head!

That was information about its life force recovering crazily!

And how much life force the burning flames burned away, it recovered that much life force.

This was the first time Fang Yue had encountered a yougui with 'recovery' abilities.

Not recovery on the physical level or other aspects.

But recovery ability on the life force level!

Is this guy a healer?!

Fang Yue was slightly stunned, but quickly reacted. He rushed to the front of the Luohua Gui without stopping, and once again struck down with his knife from top to bottom.

Raging Flame Blade Technique!

Boom!!

The raging flames exploded again.

And this time, Fang Yue not only attacked the Luohua Gui, but also completely burned the tree behind the Luohua Gui.

The flames soared into the sky, causing the tree to crackle and pop.

It's it! This familiar feeling!

It's the Raging Flame Sect... someone from the Raging Flame Sect!

The Luohua Gui seemed to suddenly realize something, and its emotions became agitated.

A large wound had been cut open in its chest, and a huge amount of damage of -1211 was popping up above its head, but the terrifying thing was...

The next second, a life force recovery prompt of +1211 appeared on its head again!

But strangely, the huge wound on its chest didn't show any signs of healing.

Through the broken chest, Fang Yue saw that the Luohua Gui's body didn't contain various human organs, but rather clumps of things like black straw, densely packed inside its body, like the fluff used to stuff a panda toy, looking strange and disgusting.

The most shocking thing was that when the burning flames reached this black straw, they would immediately extinguish!

His expression darkened. Without hesitation, Fang Yue struck out with a third knife.

"Spark Blade Technique!!"

The Raging Flame Heart Sutra had increased a large amount of inner force, and also increased the power bonus provided by the heart sutra.

But at the same time, the inner force consumption of the heart sutra was also greatly increased.

In simple terms, the mana consumption had become higher.

When Fang Yue struck out with this third knife, his inner force instantly decreased.

Fortunately, the power was worth the inner force consumption.

Another exaggerated four-figure damage value exploded. Fang Yue's Cold Moon Blade, swept up with flames, cut out a huge cross-shaped wound on the Luohua Gui's chest.

But in an instant, the damage was filled in by the recovery, as if everything was just a waste of effort.

"You can recover so much health, I'd like to see how much health you can recover!"

That's what he said, but Fang Yue raised his knife and chopped at the tubes connecting the Luohua Gui's back to the ground!

The big knife chopped at the power lines, with sparks and lightning all the way!

Boom!!

The huge wave of flaming heat, along with the Cold Moon Blade, directly cut off all the wooden tubes connecting the Luohua Gui to the ground.

But the Luohua Gui remained indifferent, just staring at Fang Yue with some kind of hateful emotion.

"Raging... Flame... Sect?"

"That's right! Niu Niu, the eighteenth-generation disciple of the Raging Flame Sect, will take your dog life today!"

After cutting off the tubes, Fang Yue swung his knife again almost without thinking.

And in that instant, the Luohua Gui moved.

It made its first counterattack!