Faced with such a straightforward, brainless attack, Fang Ling hadn't fallen for that trick in over 800 years.
He quickly dodged and immediately started running.
That soul beast, eyes blood-red, clearly wasn't one to mess with. And goats were stubborn animals to begin with, put together, it was a terrifying combination.
He couldn't get points from something like this.
Fang Ling was running for his life when suddenly a loud noise behind him shook the ground.
He quickly looked back, and what he saw made his heart race.
The one-eyed giant-horned antelope was now surrounded by a blood-red glow, like a demon straight from the depths of hell.
Bathed in that light, it effortlessly smashed a towering, ancient tree in half.
The sound of it breaking was deafening and terrifying.
"That kind of attack power… it has to be a thousand-year soul beast!"
It couldn't be ten-thousand-year. If it was, he'd already be dead.
Fang Ling's heart trembled, and he sped up even more.
Man and beast had begun a deadly chase through the ancient forest.
Fortunately, while the antelope was powerful, its turning was clumsy.
After an hour of frantic running and smashing dozens of trees, Fang Ling finally shook it off.
Still wary, he trekked for a long time before finally resting in a tree.
That extended sprint had taken a serious toll on his stamina. He needed a proper break.
Two more hours passed, and thinking he was safe, Fang Ling killed a hundred-year soul beast that tried to attack him, earning two more points.
Now he only needed eight points to level up his martial soul.
But then, unbelievably, that goat found him again.
Fang Ling ran. The antelope chased.
Another round of pursuit ended with him escaping once more.
Learning from before, he ran even farther this time to avoid being tracked.
Yet that only bought him an extra hour.
The one-eyed giant-horned antelope seemed possessed, relentless, as if it had locked onto him no matter what. Even after losing him twice, it kept chasing.
Fang Ling was furious.
"Damn goat! All I did was glance at you once, and now you're hunting me down like we've got some deep grudge? What the hell did I ever do to you?!"
Still, no matter how much he cursed in his heart, he kept running.
Meanwhile, he was already planning how to deal with this creature.
He had no intention of leaving the Star Dou Great Forest before reaching Martial Soul Level 4.
But with this goat constantly in the way, he couldn't keep collecting points.
If he ever got ambushed while being chased like this, he might really die here.
His Star Mole transformation had already been activated, and as he ran, he studied the terrain around him.
Against a fierce, powerful thousand-year soul beast that could shatter giant trees with a single blow, there was no way he could win head-on as a mere Level 21 Grand Soul Master.
His best bet was to trap it using the terrain.
Normally, provoking a fight between two beasts would be a good strategy.
The dumb look on the antelope's face and its reckless charges might easily make other soul beasts treat it as an invader.
Then Fang Ling could swoop in and take advantage.
But the other beast would also need to be a thousand-year soul beast to hold its own.
Unfortunately, most thousand-year beasts stuck to their own territory.
And with Fang Ling still this weak, barely surviving a goat, wandering into those dangerous zones would be suicide.
Too risky. Better to keep running.
After circling around for a while, he came back to the old tactic, use the terrain.
A swamp that could trap it, a crevice between rocks, a fast-flowing river, a vast lake…
Any of those would be a perfect chance to escape the hunt.
Boom!
Another massive crash rang out.
The one-eyed antelope smashed yet another ancient tree.
Fang Ling remained calm and split some focus to scan for terrain he could use while still dodging its attacks.
All around him was forest. From the climate, a swamp seemed unlikely.
No sound of rushing water, so no river.
No lakes in sight either.
So maybe a rock crevice?
Fang Ling scanned his surroundings.
The Star Dou Great Forest was never short on rocks, and gaps between them weren't rare.
But finding the right one? Not easy.
Half an hour passed. He was still running. The goat was still chasing.
Though exhausted, there was a flicker of joy in Fang Ling's eyes.
He finally found it!
In the distance, he spotted a small rocky hill split down the middle, a crevice big enough for him to slip into.
The large fist-shaped crater near it meant it had been smashed open.
Another Titan Giant Ape?
That was Fang Ling's only guess.
"You're really just roaming all over the forest, huh?"
He muttered to himself. From what he could tell, that narrow gap should trap the giant-horned antelope with no problem.
After glancing at the goat's position, he changed his course.
No hundred-year soul beasts were around to block him.
The raging aura of the thousand-year beast had scared everything else off.
Everything was going smoothly. Fang Ling slowed slightly and stopped right in front of the rocky crevice.
This was it—make or break.
The one-eyed antelope locked its blood-red gaze onto Fang Ling, staring down the one who dared to challenge it.
It finally came to a stop.
The antelope seemed excited. It slowed a bit and stepped onto a thick tree root.
Its hooves pawed at the ground eagerly.
Blood-red light exploded from every part of its body.
Without the slightest hesitation, it charged straight at Fang Ling.
Its huge, sharp horn, like a massive battering ram, cut through the air with a piercing screech.
This time, it took two steps back, lunged forward for momentum, and then leapt with full force.
It flew like a cannonball straight at Fang Ling.
"Good goat!" Fang Ling thought. "So easy to trick?"
Thousand-year soul beasts really lacked brains.
Filled with joy, Fang Ling hooked his massive scythe into the rocky crevice and used the momentum to launch himself upward.
This gap had been made by a powerful blow that split the mountain in two.
He was small enough to move within it. But if that antelope charged in, it would get stuck.
Boom!
Baaa!
First came a deafening crash, then the agonized cry of the antelope.
It had paid the price for not thinking, it was now wedged in the crevice, unable to move.
The blood-colored glow around it flared even brighter.
Its massive horn smashed against the rock walls, seemingly trying to shatter the mountain itself.
But this mountain had only cracked under the attack of a true powerhouse. It wasn't going to break easily.
Some rocks crumbled and fell, but the gap held firm. The goat was stuck tight.
Baaa!
Its screams were filled with pain.
Fang Ling used the scythe to lower himself a bit.
With his newly acquired Weak Point Detection skill, he found the areas where the goat's soul power was weakest.
Both the front and back had openings.
But attacking from the front was out of the question.
If the antelope broke free and hit him with its one-meter-long horn, he'd be dead.
So he darted to the rear, precisely locking onto the target.
In an instant, he leapt from above.
His figure, like an arrow released from the bow, carried his heavy 80-jin (40kg) scythe in a sharp arc through the air.
He activated his Blade Curse skill just in time, massively increasing the power of his downward slash.
The thick hide offered only a moment of resistance, then gave way.
The antelope was cleaved cleanly in half from the rear.
Blood poured out in torrents.
Baaa!
Its final cry was one of desperate agony.
Fang Ling landed quietly and watched as the soul beast slowly succumbed to blood loss and died.
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