The wolf packs rushed forward like a tide.
The expressions of the Gu Yue and Bai clan elders changed.
Both clans had just fought through a bitter battle. Their primeval essence was exhausted, their bodies were injured, and several elders had already died. Now that another wolf tide appeared, neither side had the strength to continue fighting over the spoils.
"Didn't the reports say there were only three Thunder Crown Wolves?" a Gu Yue elder shouted.
"No, look carefully. This one is injured, and the wolf pack behind it is not as large," another elder said.
The new myriad beast king slowly walked out from the forest.
At first glance, it looked like a Thunder Crown Wolf. Its body was huge, its fur carried lightning, and golden hair rose at its head like a crown.
But Fang Ming's gaze sank.
Its front legs were shriveled. Its hind legs were stronger, and when it moved, it leapt forward strangely like a beast that had adapted to another way of walking.
This was not a Thunder Crown Wolf.
Lightning Lycan.
A myriad beast king with intelligence close to humans.
Fang Ming immediately turned around and ran without saying single word.
A normal Thunder Crown Wolf was already terrifying. A Lightning Lycan was worse. The former relied on strength, while the latter could command, calculate, and hunt Gu Masters like prey.
"Retreat!" Gu Yue Bo shouted.
The Bai clan leader also reacted at almost the same time.
But the Lightning Lycan opened its mouth.
A black lump gathered between its teeth, then shot forward in a curved line.
Some elders saw the black ball hit empty ground and relaxed slightly.
"It missed!"
Before the words finished, the black ball exploded.
Thick black smoke spread violently in all directions. In a few breaths, the valley was swallowed. Vision disappeared, and even figures only a few steps away became blurred shadows.
Wolf Smoke Gu.
Rank four.
Fang Ming activated Sky Canopy Gu immediately.
A pale white canopy appeared around his body, blocking the first wave of impact from the smoke. At the same time, he lowered his stance and retreated three steps.
A bolt of lightning split through the black smoke.
Bang!
The lightning struck the place where he had just stood.
The ground cracked.
Fang Ming's expression did not change, but his heart became cold.
The Lightning Lycan had not used Wolf Smoke Gu only to hide the wolves.
It used it to split the elders apart.
All around, shouting sounded.
"Clan leader!"
"Where are you?"
"Damn it, I can't see!"
"Wolves, wolves are coming from the left!"
The two clans' elders had lost formation.
In the thick smoke, rank and faction became much less useful. If one could not tell direction and could not find allies, even an elder could be surrounded and eaten.
Fang Ming raised his left hand slightly.
Snake Tongue Gu.
A faint sense spread out, tasting the air. Blood, rain, wolf stench, human sweat, broken stone, and lightning residue mixed together. It was not clear, but it gave him enough warning of movement nearby.
The Lightning Eye Gu he had just seized was still sealed.
It was not refined.
Fang Ming poured white silver primeval essence into the jade box, forcefully suppressing the Gu's resistance. A faint electric feeling entered his eyes, unstable and painful. It was not true activation, only a rough borrowing under pressure.
The black smoke did not disappear.
But for a brief moment, moving lightning outlines appeared in his vision.
Wolves.
Many wolves.
Fang Ming immediately moved.
Thunderwings Gu flashed behind his back, but he did not fly high. In this smoke, flying too high would make him a target. He only used short bursts to shift direction quickly.
A group of lightning wolves rushed out.
Moon Edge Gu.
A thin crescent moonblade swept forward.
This time, Fang Ming did not suppress himself as much as before. The crescent blade cut through two wolves and tore open the throat of a third. Blood splashed into the smoke.
He continued forward.
A bold lightning wolf charged from the side.
Sky Canopy Gu shook as the wolf collided with it. Fang Ming stepped forward instead of retreating, and his palm struck down.
Moon Edge Gu flashed at close range.
The wolf's head split open.
Fang Ming's breathing remained steady.
There was no one nearby.
In the smoke, he could use more strength.
But not for long.
The Lightning Lycan's howl sounded again. Immediately, the wolf packs shifted direction. It was commanding them through the smoke.
Fang Ming listened to the surrounding movement and chose a direction with fewer wolf cries.
After rushing for some distance, battle sounds appeared ahead.
Ice.
Metal.
Wolf cries.
And a familiar cold laugh.
Fang Ming slowed down.
Soon, two figures appeared through the black smoke.
One was Gu Yue Fang Yuan.
The other was Bai Ning Bing.
Bai Ning Bing's body was full of injuries. One sleeve hung empty, and his breathing was rough. But his eyes were bright, no longer carrying the same empty madness from before. He looked like a blade that had found where to cut.
Fang Yuan stood not far from him. His expression was calm, but his body was also covered in blood and dust.
The two had clearly already fought, spoken, and reached some temporary conclusion.
When Fang Ming appeared, both of them looked over.
For a moment, none of the three spoke.
Then Bai Ning Bing laughed.
"Another one came. Interesting."
Fang Yuan looked at Fang Ming, his eyes deep. "You are alone?"
"The smoke scattered the elders," Fang Ming said.
"That makes three of us," Bai Ning Bing said, raising his iceblade. "Gu Yue Fang Ming, do you want to kill each other here, or do you want to leave first?"
Fang Ming glanced at him.
Then he looked at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan said calmly, "Inside this smoke, more people means more ways to live."
Fang Ming understood the meaning.
"Direction?" Fang Ming asked.
Fang Yuan lowered his body. Roots stretched from his ear and pierced into the ground.
Earth Communication Ear Grass.
Bai Ning Bing's eyes flickered with lightning.
Lightning Eye Gu.
Fang Ming silently used Snake Tongue Gu again.
Three different scouting methods worked at the same time.
Fang Yuan heard movement through the earth.
Bai Ning Bing saw blurred shapes through the black smoke.
Fang Ming sensed scent, breath, and the direction of nearby life.
After several breaths, Fang Yuan said, "Southwest has fewer wolves."
Bai Ning Bing smiled. "There is a pack turning there. If we are fast, we can pass before they close the gap."
Fang Ming said, "There are humans fighting further south. Too much noise. Avoid it."
Fang Yuan looked at him once.
Bai Ning Bing laughed again. "Good, then southwest."
The three moved.
They did not stand too close.
Fang Yuan was on the left.
Bai Ning Bing was on the right.
Fang Ming stayed slightly behind the middle.
None of them trusted the others enough to give up their back.
But their attacks cooperated.
A wolf pack rushed from the side. Fang Yuan's Chainsaw Golden Centipede swept across, smashing two wolves away. Bai Ning Bing's iceblade cut down, freezing the ground and slowing the wolves behind. Fang Ming's Moon Edge Gu followed, slicing through the gap and killing the wolves that tried to leap over the ice.
They continued forward.
The black smoke grew thicker.
The Lightning Lycan's howl sounded again.
This time, the wolves did not attack directly. They moved around the three, closing the path behind and forcing them toward the left.
Fang Yuan stopped. "It is driving us."
Bai Ning Bing's eyes shone. "Then break through."
Fang Ming's Snake Tongue Gu picked up a heavy scent from the front.
"Frenzy lightning wolf."
Not one.
Two.
A moment later, two frenzy lightning wolves rushed out of the smoke, leading dozens of lightning wolves behind them.
The path was cut off.
Fang Yuan's expression remained calm.
Bai Ning Bing's smile widened.
Fang Ming's gaze became cold.
At this point, hiding too much was courting death.
"Move forward," Fang Ming said.
His aura suddenly changed.
White silver primeval essence surged in his aperture. Rank three peak stage strength poured into Moon Edge Gu. The crescent mark in his palm brightened, and a thin blade flew out.
This moonblade was still narrow.
But its speed and sharpness were completely different from before.
Swoosh!
The blade cut through the first frenzy lightning wolf's shoulder and continued forward, opening a wound deep enough to show bone.
Fang Yuan's eyes narrowed.
Bai Ning Bing laughed loudly. "So you were hiding this!"
Fang Ming did not answer.
Sky Canopy Gu.
Thunderwings Gu.
Moon Edge Gu.
All three activated together.
The white canopy blocked the lightning balls fired from the wolf pack. Thunderwings Gu pushed him forward in a short burst. Moon Edge Gu fired again, cutting at the injured frenzy lightning wolf's front leg.
Blood sprayed.
The frenzy lightning wolf stumbled.
At the same time, Fang Yuan moved.
Thunderwings Gu flashed behind him as he rose slightly, then descended. Chainsaw Golden Centipede roared in his hand, striking the second frenzy lightning wolf's head like a heavy weapon. Blood Moon Gu followed, leaving a red wound that continued to bleed.
Bai Ning Bing stepped forward.
Cold air spread from his body.
His iceblade enlarged, and fierce wind gathered around it. He did not form a full iceblade storm; there was no time and not enough space. Instead, he compressed the cold wind around his blade and slashed forward.
The ground froze.
Several lightning wolves lost their footing.
The three attacks struck almost together.
The first frenzy lightning wolf collapsed under Fang Ming's repeated Moon Edge blades.
The second was forced back by Fang Yuan's Chainsaw Golden Centipede, then Bai Ning Bing's iceblade cut into its neck.
The surrounding lightning wolves hesitated.
That hesitation created the opening.
"Go," Fang Yuan said.
No one objected.
They charged through the gap.
More wolves attacked from behind. Fang Ming released another Moon Edge blade without looking back. Fang Yuan threw out a blood-red moonblade. Bai Ning Bing swept his iceblade sideways, leaving a trail of frost.
The black smoke thinned ahead.
Sunlight appeared faintly.
The three rushed out almost at the same time.
Behind them, the black smoke still covered the valley like an overturned pot. Inside, wolf howls and Gu Master cries continued without stopping.
Bai Ning Bing landed first. His body swayed slightly, but he still laughed.
"Interesting. Truly interesting."
Fang Yuan stood several steps away from him.
Fang Ming stood on the other side.
The temporary cooperation had ended.
Killing intent rose again between Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing.
Fang Ming withdrew one step.
He had no interest in standing between these two.
Bai Ning Bing glanced at him. "Gu Yue Fang Ming, you are also more interesting than I expected."
Fang Ming looked at the black smoke behind them.
"Interesting people die too."
Bai Ning Bing laughed.
Fang Yuan looked at Fang Ming once, then turned his gaze back to Bai Ning Bing.
Fang Ming did not stay.
He activated Thunderwings Gu and moved to the opposite direction of Gu Yue village.
Inside the smoke, enemies could walk side by side because they needed a path out. Once they left the smoke, the reason disappeared.
Fang Ming did not look back.
He had finally glimpsed a little of the gap between Rank four and Rank five.
The Lightning Lycan had trapped two Rank four Gu Masters and dozens of elders inside the smoke, turning the valley into its hunting ground. Yet in the original fate, that same Lightning Lycan would be killed in one strike by the Divine Investigator Tie Xue Leng.
And Tie Xue Leng would not even be in his peak condition.
Fang Ming's earlier thoughts of staying until the end and trying to copy the first generation Gu Yue's Gu worms suddenly seemed laughable.
Too naive.
Very naive.
That level of danger was not something he could touch with Rank three peak stage cultivation.
He no longer wanted anything to do with the black smoke behind him.
Nor did he run toward Gu Yue village.
He turned directly toward the wilderness.
In his memory, Tie Xue Leng would soon meet Fang Yuan on the road and be held back from leaving the village. Fang Ming had no intention of joining a group of mad men who are already walking toward death.
The wolf tide, the Gu Yue clan, Fang Yuan, Bai Ning Bing, Tie Xue Leng, the first generation clan head Gu Yue__
All of them could continue their struggle.
Fang Ming finally understood Fang Yuan's hunger for power.
In this world, knowing the future did not mean safety.
One person might be hiding a scheme planned over centuries. Another might command ten thousand beasts and slaughter an entire mountain. Another, full of hypocritical righteousness, might force you to stay beside him and wait for death.
This world was too twisted.
No wonder Fang Yuan chased power so desperately.
If Fang Ming did not have the copy system, if he had lived carefully but ordinarily, then even with A-grade aptitude like Fang Zheng, he might still not have reached Rank three in time. He would not have had the strength or qualifications to escape this death trap.
Knowing where danger lay was useless without enough power to avoid it.
Fang Yuan was not crazy.
It was this world that was crazy.
For the first time, Fang Ming felt a deep respect toward Gu Yue Fang Yuan.
That man had lived for almost five hundred years without talent, without backing, without resources, and with terrible luck. Yet somehow, he had still carved out a path and became an immortal.