"Fang Yuan!" Bai Ning Bing shouted, as his eyes shone with lightning.
This is the Rank three Lightning Eye Gu, using the power of lightning to break through stealth. But it didn't have see-through vision. Fang Yuan realized this and, though stealthed, also used the forest for cover.
Bai Ning Bing's gaze swept the area, and he growled in frustration when he found nothing.
Fang Yuan picked a hidden spot, sat down, and activated the tusita flower to produce primeval stones.
Though Rank three, his aperture only stored 42% primeval essence. Even with the advantage in battle earlier, it couldn't last. Now, only about 3% remained.
Without primeval essence, Gu Masters lost most of their strength, often weaker than mortals in extreme cases.
Primeval stones shrank as natural essence poured into him. His aperture's primeval sea slowly filled.
When he was Rank one or two, replenishing was fast and obvious. But as a Rank three, with much higher essence quality, it took more stones and longer to recover.
Fights raged in the distance. After eight or nine minutes, Fang Yuan finally restored his primeval essence to full.
"As expected, it's the Lightning Current Gu." At the same time, he also looked at the new attack-type Gu he had obtained.
"The lightning lycan should be here by now." Fang Yuan, still hiding in his spot, decided to retreat the moment he heard another wolf howl.
He discovered that five clan elders had died. Among them, three were from Gu Yue clan, two from Bai clan.
Each clan elder was a valuable asset, yet so many had died.
Gu Yue Bo and the Bai clan leader fought fiercely, their anger fueled by heavy losses.
Meanwhile, three groups battled over the remaining wild Gu worms.
Without the Spring Autumn Cicada, capturing wild Gu was difficult. They had to hold back their strength to avoid harming the Gu.
Eight or nine Gu had escaped from the thunder crown wolf, but only three remained.
Elders surrounded them, clashing and blocking each other, stuck in a stalemate.
"Water Cage Gu, trap it!" a Bai clan Gu Master shouted, spitting out a water ball that expanded and trapped a Gu.
Bam!
A golden moonblade suddenly struck, shattering the cage and letting the Gu escape.
The Bai clan Gu Master cursed as the Gu he nearly caught flew away.
The Gu Yue clan was even more enraged—these were their rightful spoils.
"Bai clan scoundrels, shameless dogs, go to hell!"
"Gu Yue clan, you guys are finished. Our Bai clan will definitely rise up and stomp you all to the grounds!"
The two sides were overwhelmed with rage, eyes bloodshot, fighting mindlessly.
Just as Fang Yuan expected, he heard a wolf's howl like a military horn, spreading out in rhythm, rising and falling in succession.
Soon after, tons of lightning wolves rushed down like tide water.
There was no lack to the sound of bold lightning wolves and frenzy lightning wolves, but the one that made everyone's expression change was the mountain-like giant wolf.
Thunder crown wolf!
"There's a fourth thunder crown wolf?!" The clan elders shouted as they could not keep their calm anymore.
"The reports said there were three thunder crown wolves right?" A clan elder screamed in panic.
"No, this thunder crown wolf has lots of injuries, and the size of the wolf pack isn't very large either," Gu Yue Bo forced himself to remain calm and analysed.
"Don't tell me, this is the thunder crown wolf that attacked the Xiong village?" A clan elder slapped his forehead as he shouted.
The clan elders were feeling solemn as one said, "The fact that they appeared here, doesn't that mean the Xiong clan already…"
"That goddamn Xiong village, how can they be so useless? Not even able to resist a wave of wolf tide!" someone scolded.
But some were optimistic, "You see, this thunder crown wolf's forelegs are injured, the muscles have all shrivelled!"
They followed the voice and observed, regaining some lost morale.
It was true.
This thunder crown wolf's hind legs were developed, but its forelegs were smaller, with shrunken muscles. This caused it to only use the back legs when running, jumping forward like a kangaroo.
"Wait, this doesn't seem like a thunder crown wolf…" Bai clan leader suddenly thought of something, shivering.
"Go!" Fang Yuan spread his wings and flew into the sky.
Without hesitation, Fang Yuan turned around and left; the myriad beast king was no joke. Even though there was still two wild Gu worms flying around, he couldn't care less.
"Retreat, the wolf tide is huge, we cannot do anything to it."
"Get back to the village and plan our defenses!"
Even though the clan elders have not realized the lightning lycan's identity, they all had retreating thoughts.
Just then, the lightning lycan growled and opened its massive jaws.
Its dagger-like fangs parted as a black lump appeared, quickly forming into a sphere.
Pew!
The black ball launched, tracing a curved arc through the air before smashing into the ground.
"It missed?"
"This thunder crown wolf is finished, its aiming sucks!"
The clan elders shouted about, but Fang Yuan suddenly stopped.
Bam!
The black ball of mist exploded and under that intense impact, the black mist spread all over the place.
"This is the Rank four Wolf Smoke Gu. Last time, I was outside the smoke's range but was forced back into it by the lightning lycan." Fang Yuan calculated that his best option was to stay within the smoke's range but not so far that he exited it.
"After all, taking a hit from the lightning lycan is suicide, even with two Rank three Gu for defense." As Fang Yuan expected, the lightning lycan ignored him and charged toward the two clan leaders, whose auras marked them as greater threats.
His surroundings were dark, full of thick smoke; Fang Yuan was unable to tell directions.
"Be careful, that thunder crown wolf became smaller, it is now as small as a normal lightning wolf and is hiding among the pack," A clan elder shouted at this time from the smoke.
Fang Yuan heard it but did not panic.
Countless wolf eyes lit up the surroundings.
Fang Yuan could hear their growls and the wind as the wolf packs charged through the darkness.
In such low visibility, the Gu Masters' sight was heavily impaired. But the wolves were unaffected—they had traded their sense of smell for exceptional vision.
The pressure was too large, the surroundings were covered in darkness; he was unable to see anything. Wolf packs rushed in from all directions, and it was difficult for him to deal with it alone.
"Gu Yue Bo, what do you say?" At this time, the Bai clan leader said from within the dark smoke.
"Alright, let's work together and get out of this first!" Gu Yue Bo shouted, quickly replying.
This was the forced circumstance of the situation — only through cooperation can they have a chance of survival.
Otherwise, by fighting alone, they would soon expend all their primeval essence on the lightning wolves and be turned into food. That would surely be a bad ending.
"I should be near Bai Ning Bing by now." Fang Yuan calmly used the Earth Communication Ear Grass to locate Bai Ning Bing.
Although it was confusing with many sounds—wolf cries, battle noise, clan elders' frantic shouting, and lightning wolves' dying wails—this did not stop Fang Yuan. He had already anticipated it and experienced it before.
With that knowledge, he carefully retraced his steps and took a more cautious, reserved approach when killing the wolves. He took advantage of their vision and relied more on the Stealth Scales Gu.
Fang Yuan did not prolong any battles; he quickly moved as he fought.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Far away, he heard this Gu Master screaming, battling relentlessly.
Fang Yuan sprinted over, and suddenly came to a stop.
Bai Ning Bing! Found you.
Bai Ning Bing's body was laden with injuries. He was breathing raggedly and looked like a mess.
When Fang Yuan got there, Bai Ning Bing was stunned.
"Hehehe, Fang Yuan, to think it's actually you!" Bai Ning Bing spoke first, laughing loudly, his tone becoming aggressive, "Then die together with me. With you dying alongside me, it shall be an interesting end to my life."
"Interesting?" Fang Yuan had a thought. Smiling lightly, he approached Bai Ning Bing.
The nearby lightning wolves lunged, but Fang Yuan swung the chainsaw centipede, killing three instantly and sending their bodies flying.
By now, the centipede's razors were badly damaged, its cutting power mostly gone. It could only serve as a blunt weapon.
"Under the pressure of these wolves, let's have an intense life and death battle, isn't that more fun?" Fang Yuan got closer to Bai Ning Bing, his mouth curling into a cruel smile.
Bai Ning Bing's eyelids trembled, he did not expect Fang Yuan to be a greater maniac than him.
"You really want to die? Then I'll grant your wish!" Bai Ning Bing squinted his eyes, emitting a dangerous aura.
Fang Yuan laughed heartily, his steps slow as he spoke in an old and experienced tone, "Humans only live for a hundred years, it is as unreal as a dream that ends in an instant. What is the point of a person living in this world? No more than just being on a journey, and witnessing interesting things. Although I do not want to die, I do not fear death. I am already on my right path, I have no regrets even if I die."
This was Fang Yuan's true feelings.
Since the start of time itself, who could live forever?