A covert pursuit unfolded between three elders of the Yan Zu clan and the Rank Three Gu Master who had plundered half of the caravan and fled. The elders did not chase Fang Tian since he was only Rank Two, and instead sent Gu Masters of the same rank to pursue him. As for the Rank Three Gu Master, he had to be killed!
No one was allowed to escape them, lest the news be leaked too quickly. Even though the news would inevitably spread after enough time had passed—and it certainly would—by then the Yan Zu clan would have already digested their gains and prepared for what was to come.
A middle-aged elder hurled a long black spear toward the Rank Three Gu Master and shouted:
"Xiao Lin, I swear on my clan's honor—if you surrender and hand over all the Gu worms and materials you possess, we will spare your life!"
"Bullshit! You've killed so many innocents, and now you dare to call yourselves honorable?!"
The Gu Master named Xiao Lin laughed as he dodged the spear's attack, then forcefully turned to face the elders of the Yan Zu clan. The elders quickly scattered when Xiao Lin threw a blade made of water and swung it several meters wide; the blade cut down dozens of arrow trees before coming to a halt.
Xiao Lin was surrounded from three directions by the elders of the Yan Zu clan, yet he remained confident. He had already recovered most of his primeval essence by using primeval stones while evading their attacks. Now, he was about to launch a counterattack.
The elders of the Yan Zu clan exchanged glances, then began their assault with precise coordination. A lean elder charged toward Xiao Lin for close-quarters combat, while the remaining elders retreated and attacked from afar.
Xiao Lin did not retreat. Instead, he activated his defensive Gu, forming a water barrier that covered his entire body and moved along with him. The long black spear struck again, and a sword slash cut through half of the water barrier.
Xiao Lin's expression turned ugly, and he did not wish to let the situation continue. He counterattacked— a water current capable of piercing rock shot toward the elder who sought close combat, not giving Xiao Lin any room to breathe as the current blasted him away.
Xiao Lin seized this opportunity and activated his movement Gu, charging toward the elder who had thrown the black spear. In a breath-taking instant, Xiao Lin appeared before the middle-aged elder and, with a massive, hairy arm, crushed the elder's defense and struck his skull!
The two elders roared in rage as the lean elder rushed in again. This time, steam rose from his body, and his pale skin turned red. All the muscles beneath his skin swelled, tendons bulging. A massive phantom of a shadow panther formed behind the elder, causing Xiao Lin's pupils to dilate in fear.
But the lean elder attacked Xiao Lin without any restraint; the watery liquid barrier dissipated, and Xiao Lin's defense collapsed entirely.
"Oh no!"
An invisible sword slashed Xiao Lin's arm and shoulder, tearing them apart until his bones were exposed, stained with a sapphire-blue sheen.
The battle between the elders and Xiao Lin continued for several minutes, and the forest and slope where they fought were already reduced to rubble. The noise of the battle awakened many beasts. Both sides suffered severe injuries, but there was no denying that Xiao Lin's injuries were greater.
When Xiao Lin attempted to flee, he sensed a powerful aura, then heard a cold, icy voice:
"Star Cage Gu!"
In the beautiful night sky, over a small patch of Mount Shu Jian, starlight condensed with terrifying density, then sealed off an entire area, isolating it from the outside world.
Inside the Star Cage, Xiao Lin knew that his end had come. He cried out in grievance:
"I surrender! I will hand everything over to you, and I am even willing to become an external elder of your clan, just don't kill me!"
A barrier opened within the Star Cage, and from it emerged the clan leader of the Yan Zu clan: Yan Zu Li Bing. The winner takes everything, while the loser dies—this had been the law of the world since ancient times, and it remained so to this very day.
Elsewhere, Fang Tian successfully escaped the pursuit of the Yan Zu clan's Gu Masters and had already reached the mountain's foot. Dawn had broken, and the nightmarish night had passed, while Fang Tian emerged from that battle with enormous gains!
However, he had also suffered a painful loss—one that truly hurt him. He had to withdraw from Mount Shu Jian, for he knew that the Yan Zu clan had already entered a state of alert, and that this mountain might soon turn into a battlefield.
Withdrawing from Mount Shu Jian meant leaving Li Hua's inheritance without fully exploring it. Three trial halls remained unexplored. Originally, he had planned to explore them after reaching the peak of Rank Two, which would have happened soon anyway.
"Ah… and now I'm stranded in the Southern Border with no nearby city. Well, at least I have enough food and water, and I have sufficient experience in gathering them if I need to. There's no need to worry about feeding Rank One and Rank Two Gu worms. As for Rank Three, there's no need to worry either."
At present, he possessed only three Rank Three Gu worms: Silver Merchant Pocket Gu and Stomach Refinement Gu Also Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus. The Silver Merchant Pocket Gu was a storage-type Gu of extremely high quality; among Rank Three Gu worms for storage, it was one of the best—no pockets were wider than a merchant's pockets. As for the Stomach Refinement Gu, it was self-sufficient.
The Stomach Refinement Gu consumed whatever the Gu worms stored inside it consumed. For example, if a Gu worm that fed on fertile green soil was placed inside it, then it would consume a large amount of fertile green soil as well.
It was truly a remarkable Gu, and a lifesaver for Fang Tian, who had become rich overnight.
"In any case, I need to move several kilometers away from the foot of Mount Shu Jian before I do anything else."
Fang Tian possessed close to one hundred and sixty Gu worms in his aperture, and with his extreme physique, he could already feel a slight pressure on his aperture. Fortunately, the Rank Three Gu worms were not affected much by this pressure, or else he would have been in serious trouble.
"Jumping Grass Gu!"
Fang Tian activated one of the Gu worms he had obtained from the Rank Three Gu Master, which turned out to belong to the Wood Path. This Gu worm had not been displayed for sale when the caravan arrived—no doubt it had been kept in storage.
The Jumping Grass Gu was perfect for Fang Tian. It formed grassy springs beneath each of his feet; when Fang Tian pressed down, he leapt into the air to the height of a house, then shot forward, covering an enormous distance of nearly seventy meters with each leap! This speed rivaled Rank Two Gu worms, and it would not have been possible without the amplification of the Boundless Forest Samsara physique.
After an hour, Fang Tian had covered a distance of about twenty kilometers away from Mount Shu Jian. He could only see the distant mountain shrouded in mist and the humid air of the Southern Border.
Fang Tian was pursued by many groups of beasts along the way, and he truly understood how dangerous the forests were and how perilous it was to travel alone. Fortunately, his strongest pursuers were merely a herd of hundreds of wild bulls led by a massive bull—a Hundred-Beast King.
He escaped it, but not without paying a price. That beast sent Fang Tian flying, causing him to suffer several fractures.
After escaping, he found a small cave and settled in, only to discover that the cave belonged to the Red-Scar Donkey. This beast was unique; it possessed Rank Two strength, but because it was solitary, it became prey for Fang Tian.
The donkey was brutally beaten and butchered, and a Gu worm was seized from its body. This Gu worm was only Rank One, and after some investigation, Fang Tian discovered that its function was to slightly raise body temperature, causing greater activity in the body and vital functions. Fang Tian refined it with ease and tossed it into his aperture.
Then, after having dinner on the donkey's tough meat, he focused on his aperture, preparing to refine the Gu worms he had obtained from the caravan. Fang Tian let out an excited breath— for the first time, he felt the pleasure of plundering the fruits of others' labor.