Since I ran into her, this was a good opportunity to ask about Tail's whereabouts. According to Tian Dan Zhiyuan Wu, the two of them had been getting very close recently, to the point that Tian Dan Zhiyuan Wu felt neglected.

After searching for a while, Fang Yue finally found Ni Dongmei under a large locust tree in an open space.

The girl with the single ponytail was leaning against the large locust tree, examining the necklace she had just snatched back. However, her eyes were unfocused, as if her thoughts were far away from the object in front of her.

Approaching quickly...

"Who?!"

Like a startled wolf baring its fangs, Ni Dongmei's sharp, cold gaze immediately turned towards him, and she put away the necklace.

"I'm Ye, the captain of Guyue Village. Do you know where Tail is now?"

"...I know."

Hearing Fang Yue's name, Ni Dongmei's expression softened slightly.

"Where?"

"Outside the village."

Wh...

Fang Yue's expression changed slightly.

"Why is she outside the village?"

"Because she has things to do."

Fang Yue's face darkened, and he slowly placed his hand on the Lengyue Blade.

He could sense that Ni Dongmei was unusual, with a calmness that was out of place, and the fact that she had remained silent even when her necklace was stolen, simply pursuing the thief.

However, her strength shouldn't be too high, or perhaps she didn't dare to make a move in the village. Otherwise, how could an ordinary thief steal the necklace of a powerful person?

Staring coldly at Ni Dongmei, Fang Yue asked, "Did you force Tail to leave the village? What do you want to do?"

"You're not the captain of Mocun Village."

"What?"

"You're not the captain of Mocun Village." Ni Dongmei impatiently emphasized, "So, Mocun Village's affairs are none of your business. Don't be a busybody. I can do whatever I want in Mocun Village. Besides, Tail went outside the village voluntarily. She has her own things to do and should be back in two or three days."

Fang Yue frowned and tried to send a message to Tail, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea, obviously too far away to receive it.

"Who exactly are you?"

"If Tail can come back alive, you will know my identity. If she doesn't, we should never cross paths again in this lifetime."

With that, Ni Dongmei ignored Fang Yue and turned to leave, but after only two steps, a cold glint stopped her in her tracks.

It was Fang Yue's Lengyue Blade.

"I don't like playing riddles. Tell me everything you know."

"Captain Ye, I don't want to argue with you out of respect for Tail. Don't force me to take action."

Fang Yue raised an eyebrow. In the next instant, he slashed with his blade.

The blade was fast, but it stopped right in front of Ni Dongmei.

Because Ni Dongmei didn't dodge. It was as if she hadn't even reacted.

"You can't dodge?"

"I don't need to dodge."

Ni Dongmei pushed the Lengyue Blade away expressionlessly, glared at Fang Yue, and continued to walk away.

But Fang Yue's words made her stop.

"You're too confident. I could have taken your life with that strike just now, but you're right. This is Mocun Village, and there are more suitable people here to deal with you."

"Taken my life?"

Ni Dongmei turned around and looked coldly at Fang Yue. "It was I who almost took your life. Thank Tail, otherwise you would be a corpse right now."

"Is that so? Then I really want to know what it feels like to be a corpse."

"You really want to try?"

"I really want to try."

The two stared at each other, and the air seemed to crackle with invisible electricity, a fierce collision.

In the next moment, Fang Yue moved.

The muscles throughout his body worked according to his will, and his coordination underwent a qualitative change after breaking through to the Houtian second-rate realm. His will arrived, and his power was immediately mobilized, with almost no lag.

The result of this qualitative change was that Fang Yue's attack speed became faster.

How fast? So fast that Fang Yue crossed a distance of ten meters in an instant, and slashed at Ni Dongmei's chest with his blade.

Fang Yue's strength hadn't changed; what had changed was his coordination. His body and internal energy seemed to become a whole, a precise machine, without any clumsiness.

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But Fang Yue's strike missed.

"How could..."

Fang Yue frowned and looked at the Lengyue Blade.

There was no blood on the blade, only wet droplets of water, as if his strike had only cut through a waterfall.

An unusual stinging pain was spreading along his right hand, which was holding the blade, all the way up to his arm. The veins in his arm bulged one by one, and the blood vessels gradually became translucent, revealing black spots flowing inside.

These black spots were like insect eggs bathing in a warm bed, and they gradually swelled up in the blink of an eye, blocking the blood vessels and causing Fang Yue's arm to bulge into large lumps, as if stones had been stuffed inside.

The piercing pain almost made Fang Yue drop the blade.

He had never heard of or seen such strange techniques before.

What kind of martial skill was this, or perhaps... a guizhou (curse)?

He glanced at his status bar.

"System Notification: You have fallen into the [Guizhou: Stone Worm Poison Eggs] state."

His pupils constricted, and Fang Yue's expression instantly turned ugly.

It really was a guizhou!

Was this person a guiyi (monster)?!

When did she enter the village? Why was she lurking in the village? What did she want to do? Was Tail already dead?

Fang Yue's expression changed several times, and his emotions surged within him, but he suppressed them in an instant, roaring in his heart.

"Parchment!!"

[What what? Is it time to pay back the stones?]

"...Stop thinking about the stones all the time, and use Time Reversal for me!"

The parchment reluctantly displayed words.

[Fang Yue owes me black ember, which he has not yet repaid. I'm noting it down in my little notebook.]

"Hurry!"

Fang Yue roared again, and the parchment reluctantly used its ability.

[...Time Reversal.]

The strange sensation he had experienced once before surged up again.

Fang Yue felt his own time flowing against the river of time, like sailing upstream.

The burning lifespan was transformed into assistance, allowing the small boat to be pushed forward a short distance against the current.

Then, time reversed.

The insect eggs in his right hand shrank and flowed out of his body.

His arm, which had been swollen into deformed lumps, quickly returned to its original state.

He was safe.

Relieved, Fang Yue turned around to look at Ni Dongmei.

He saw that the woman was standing there, seemingly illusory, and was now slowly turning her head...

"I told you, you would die. It's still not too late to beg for mercy, and I'll give you the antidote..."

Before she could finish her words, Ni Dongmei suddenly froze, her eyes wide with disbelief as she looked at Fang Yue's undamaged right arm.

"How is this possible?! You, you were poisoned by my Stone Worm Poison Eggs, why are you alright?"

"Yes, why is that?"

The violent internal energy in Fang Yue's body began to circulate.

The fourth level of the Liehuo Xinfa (Blazing Fire Heart Sutra) directly ignited Fang Yue from the inside out.

Strands of flame emerged from Fang Yue's body, gradually burning his clothes and the Lengyue Blade.

A terrifying aura emanated from Fang Yue amidst the flames.

"Liehuozong (Blazing Fire Sect) techniques?"

Ni Dongmei, who had just recovered from her shock, turned cold, and her body became even more illusory.

"No wonder you're targeting me... Fine! I'll take your dog life today!"

Fang Yue grinned hideously. "It's not certain who will live and who will die!"

Flames raged around Fang Yue.

Ni Dongmei's body was illusory.

A battle seemed imminent!

But just at that moment...

"Everyone, stop!!"

A sudden, loud shout exploded.

Fang Yue turned his head sharply. "Who?!"

Ni Dongmei glanced in that direction and snorted coldly. "You came just in time. A few seconds later, and I would have taken his life."

From the direction of the voice, a figure was striding quickly towards the two of them. It was none other than... Captain Lang Wu!

Fang Yue was slightly surprised. "Why is it you?!"

"It's me. I heard someone report that you two had made contact, and I knew there would be trouble, so I rushed over. Don't fight, nobody fight!"

Fang Yue's expression darkened. "Lang Wu, she's a guiyi. Why are you helping her?"

Fang Yue stared warily at Captain Lang Wu and Ni Dongmei, slowly retreating.

Clearly, the two of them were in cahoots.

One against two, Fang Yue had no chance of winning.

But unexpectedly, as soon as Fang Yue spoke, Ni Dongmei opened her mouth, her voice rising.

"Who's the guiyi? Don't talk nonsense!"

You've already used guizhou, and you still don't admit that you're a guiyi??

Fang Yue wasn't interested in listening to her sophistry. He even suspected whether Captain Lang Wu was the real deal, or if he was just a shapeshifting member of her gang.

"Don't be nervous, Captain Ye. Put away your weapon first. This person isn't a guiyi. Her name is Ni Dongmei, she's the Seventh Elder of the Jibingzong (Extreme Ice Sect), and what's in Mocun Village right now is just a clone."

"What?!"

Fang Yue was stunned.

This person was actually a clone?

Was I almost instantly killed by someone's clone just now?

Fang Yue suddenly felt a little defeated.

But after thinking about it carefully...

"Wait! An elder of the Jibingzong? Isn't this Liehuozong territory? What are the Jibingzong doing here?"

Ni Dongmei smiled coldly. "The Liehuozong is just recruiting disciples in your area. When did your Black Green Mountain Range become Liehuozong territory? Shang Qingtian hasn't even spoken, what does the Liehuozong count for?"

Shang Qingtian? What's that?

Fang Yue was a little confused.

Captain Lang Wu sighed. "Lord Ni Dongmei, please go back and rest. Every bit of power used by this clone is a drain, isn't it? I'll handle the rest."

"Hmph!"

Ni Dongmei snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Fang Yue frowned. "Wait! At least tell me where Tail went!"

Ni Dongmei paused, her back to Fang Yue, and said coldly, "Tail has the aptitude to join my Jibingzong. She's currently in the gathering place of the Jushou Xuequan (Giant-Headed Blood Hounds). If she can pass the trial, I will accept her and bring her back to the Jibingzong."

Tail... has aptitude?

Fang Yue was still in a daze, but Ni Dongmei had already walked away.

Fang Yue frowned and looked at Captain Lang Wu.

"What exactly is going on? Why is an elder of the Jibingzong in Mocun Village? Did you know about this all along?"

"Yes."

Seeing that Ni Dongmei had really gone far away, Captain Lang Wu visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"I said before, when you were in seclusion, many people heard about the Jushou Xuequan gathering in Mocun Village, so many outside forces came, and the Jibingzong was one of them. However, Lord Ni Dongmei is a bit special. She shouldn't have been able to come to Mocun Village given her status, it seems she came specifically for something else."

Something else...

Fang Yue's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be... that she came because of Doctor An?

That shouldn't be the case.

"Did she say what she came for?"

Captain Lang Wu shook his head. "She didn't say. Don't look at me as the captain of Mocun Village, I'm actually in a weak position when facing such a behemoth. I don't have much say."

Fang Yue could see that.

After thinking for a while, Fang Yue asked, "Then how much do you know about Tail's matter? Did she come for... Doctor An's matter, or for Tail?"

Hearing Fang Yue's question, Captain Lang Wu's expression changed.

"Shhh! You know about Doctor An's matter too? This matter is of great importance, don't talk about it carelessly."

After looking around and confirming that no one was there, Captain Lang Wu lowered his voice. "I don't know anything about Tail. But I'm certain that Lord Ni Dongmei definitely didn't come to recruit disciples. She seemed to be just wandering around the village and happened to meet your people and discovered that their aptitude was extremely good, and had the sudden idea to recruit them."

Aptitude, huh...

Fang Yue's expression became strange.

According to Lin Ling, major sects and factions have very high requirements for aptitude. Anyway, Lin Ling's aptitude was never looked upon, and no one from Guyue Village had ever been taken into a major sect in all these years.

So when Captain Lang Wu said that Tail had aptitude, Fang Yue had a strange feeling.

Could it be that Tail, this guy with no talent skills, had stronger aptitude than Niu Niu, who had talent skills?

How is aptitude determined?

With my 1 point of comprehension, what level of aptitude would that be in the eyes of those major factions?

To be honest, Fang Yue was a little tempted.

Although he had clashed with Ni Dongmei, that was because he didn't know her identity.

Now that he knew that she was a big shot from a sect, he had some thoughts about joining the sect as a disciple.

After thinking for a while, Fang Yue asked, "Captain Lang Wu, do you know the whereabouts of the Blood Hunter?"

Captain Lang Wu was taken aback, not knowing why Fang Yue suddenly asked about the Blood Hunter, but he still said.

"He left the village with a team a few days ago and hasn't returned yet."

"A team?"

"Yes, a team hunting Jushou Xuequan. They are usually hunters who band together temporarily, but Jushou Xuequan are not simple. They are at least at the Black grade early stage of guiyi strength. Even I need to avoid a group of guiyi at the Black grade early stage."

Once the numbers reached a certain scale, even Captain Lang Wu, who was at the Houtian first-rate realm, had to think twice.

But if he couldn't beat them, it would be easy for someone of Captain Lang Wu's strength to run away.

"Where is the gathering place of the Jushou Xuequan? Can you point me in the right direction?"

"That's no problem. I'll go back and mark the place, but I advise you not to leave the village. First, the village has just experienced a guiyi invasion, and people are anxious and need strong people like you who can stabilize morale to be here.

Second, the area outside the village is full of dangers. Even I don't dare to say that I can always come back when I leave the village. If you go far from the village road and outside the village range, then I'll be walking on thin ice. No matter how much stronger I am than ordinary martial artists, the wilderness... is far from as simple as you think."

Fang Yue naturally knew what Captain Lang Wu was talking about.

He had come all the way from Guyue Village, how could he not know the dangers of the wilderness.

"Don't worry, I just want to understand the situation in detail first. I'll consider carefully what to do."