Chapter 264: The Blade of Void and Solid

For a moment, Zhang Dashou, who had been secretly watching from afar, felt his mind go blank.

Just over ten minutes ago, he had still been fleeing in panic before that invincible Falling Flower Wraith, his life and death uncertain.

But in the blink of an eye, it was the Falling Flower Wraith's turn to be brutally beaten by Fang Yue, suppressed from start to finish, not given any chance to survive at all!

Zhang Dashou didn't understand the game of wits and scheming between Fang Yue and the Falling Flower Wraith; he could only see who held the initiative on the field.

And looking at the entire battle, from the moment Fang Yue made his move, the Falling Flower Wraith had almost no ability to fight back!

Love it, love it! Who wouldn't love an idol like this?

I hereby declare that from now on, I am Ye Ge's die-hard fan!!

Thinking this, Zhang Dashou didn't forget to check whether the recording function was working properly—thank goodness he was quick-witted; after meeting Fang Yue, he immediately turned on the recording function for the whole journey, and sure enough, he'd captured great footage now. A quick edit later and post it on the forum—that'll rake in some easy money!

Just as Zhang Dashou was thinking about such things, a sudden boom rang out from Fang Yue's battlefield.

Fierce flames shot up over a dozen meters high like an exploding pot, like fireworks in the darkness.

And along with this explosion, the Falling Flower Wraith's thick, solid wooden shield was completely blown open with a breach.

Without any pause, Fang Yue hacked away wildly at the Falling Flower Wraith inside the shield, who was staring dumbfounded and stunned.

1862!

1922!

1996!

2521!

Damage rose steadily, every slash wreathed in blazing fire, hacking the Falling Flower Wraith into continuous howls.

That peculiar recovery ability from before, after having both its legs chopped off by Fang Yue, seemed to have not recovered yet.

Through the gaps in the exploding waves of flame, Fang Yue could see that the lower half of the Falling Flower Wraith's severed legs had grown tentacle-like wooden tendrils, fusing with the ground like a mollusk.

But this fusion clearly hadn't completed before Fang Yue broke through the shield and struck its physical body, so that recovery ability naturally collapsed on its own.

"Stop… stop…"

The Falling Flower Wraith roared and wailed; the hands it had raised to block the Leng Yue blade had already been chopped off at the base by Fang Yue, revealing an interior filled with black straw-like stuffing.

Earlier, when Fang Yue's flames burned the black straw inside the Falling Flower Wraith's body, the flames would automatically extinguish.

But now, wave after wave of violent flames surged forth, and the Falling Flower Wraith was already burning all over; those internal black straws caught fire too, and the whole figure became a being of flame.

2262!

102!

82!

2562!

125!

75!

2962!

162!

96!

Amid Fang Yue's frenzied continuous attacks, there was also the persistent health drain from the burning status.

Fang Yue could feel that his attacks were growing stronger and stronger, the damage increase more and more pronounced.

And at times like this, it usually meant the wraith was about to die!

"Looks like its abilities are only this much! A mid Black Grade wraith is nothing special!"

Compared to that terrifying mid Black Grade wraith, the Heavy Pressure Wraith, this Falling Flower Wraith's strength was clearly weaker than the Heavy Pressure Wraith's.

But it was still a mid Black Grade wraith, able to make Fang Yue feel pressure—though only to that extent.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes; Fang Yue squeezed out the last of his internal force once more, blade light flashing in rapid succession.

3562!

5482!

6855!

Boom!!

Just when Fang Yue thought victory was in the bag, the waves of flame on the Falling Flower Wraith's body suddenly exploded, violent gusts of air scattering in all directions.

Fang Yue was jolted into a brief pause by the shockwave, and in that instant, he saw clearly what the Falling Flower Wraith looked like now.

The human figure's appearance had long since peeled away; the body of the Meng Clan Hunting Group's Regimental Commander it had occupied had already been burned to nothing by the fierce flames.

What remained was a black scarecrow made of black straw, standing tall before Fang Yue.

Their gazes met in that instant.

At that moment, what radiated from Fang Yue's face was an icy killing intent, while on the Falling Flower Wraith's face was pure terror and fear.

Just as Fang Yue was about to charge forward, the Falling Flower Wraith had already whooshed into a black shadow and darted into the nearest large tree.

"Where do you think you're escaping!"

Fang Yue roared, raised his blade, charged straight at that large tree, and hacked directly at it.

Chopping trees—he was a pro at that!

Earlier, when he had first encountered the black spikes, he had kept chopping trees, thinking the wraith was hiding inside them.

Now that the wraith really was hiding inside one, how could Fang Yue hold back?

Almost the instant the Falling Flower Wraith plunged into the large tree, Fang Yue had already rushed to that large tree and slashed out fiercely with one blade.

Boom!!

Violent flames exploded on the surface of the large tree, and the sharp Leng Yue blade, empowered by Fang Yue's Supernatural Strength of a full 220 control points, sank into the large tree as easily as slicing vegetables.

5552!

The Leng Yue Blade had just sunk into the big tree when a huge damage number suddenly popped up from the tree.

Oh?

Fang Yue's heart stirred, and he immediately increased his force.

5621!

5721!

"Roar!!"

A howl from the Falling Flower Guiyi rang out from within, and black spikes slowly emerged from the tree's body at a very slow pace.

That's right — a very slow pace, worlds apart from the swift speed before.

Fang Yue faintly sensed that the black spikes emerging from the tree contained something extremely dangerous.

But… Fang Yue wasn't going to give it another chance!

"Die!"

Fang Yue wildly swung the Leng Yue Blade, pouring every last bit of his inner force into it.

Blazing fire raged, blade light flashed like shadows, and the Leng Yue Blade sliced straight through the middle of the tree, cutting whatever was inside clean in two!

15221!

Along with the burst of massive damage, the Falling Flower Guiyi's bizarre black straw body was utterly reduced to ashes within the flames.

"System Notice: Congratulations to player 【Yese Liming】 for killing the Guiyi 【Falling Flower Guiyi】. Reward: Control +30, Disarm +10, Lifespan +1 month."

Creak, creak.

Along with the bisected tree crashing down, the 【Falling Flower Guiyi】 hidden inside — its body cut clean in two — turned into two black stones.

"System Notice: Congratulations, you obtained Black Stone x2."

Attribute points — finally, after far too long — increased!

Fang Yue swallowed a pill while opening his attribute list.

"Name: Yese Liming."

"Realm: Postnatal Second-rate."

"Status: Healthy."

"HP: 400/400."

"Inner Force: 0/700."

"Control: 170 【Base: 150】 【Status/Boost: +20】."

"Disarm: 150 【Base: 130】 【Status/Boost: +20】."

"Comprehension: 1. 【Special Attribute】"

"Talent: Night's Breath 【Human Grade, Superior】."

"Skills: Analysis Pupil 【Human Grade, Inferior】, Star Fire Blade Technique Lv. 1 【Postnatal Third-rate】, Water Sky Blade Technique Lv. 1 【Crude Martial Arts】, Blazing Fire Heart Method 【Postnatal First-rate / Fourth Layer】, Star Fire Heart Method Lv. 3 【Postnatal Third-rate / Max Level】."

"Lifespan: 10 months, 7 days."

His inner force had been completely drained in this wave of battle.

The boost in power from the Blazing Fire Heart Method was obvious, but so was the rise in inner force consumption — he faintly felt he could barely keep up.

As for lifespan, after losing some to 【Time Rewind】 a few times before, gaining one month back now still didn't make up much.

Regardless, his attributes were finally rising again, which made Fang Yue quite happy.

Add in the 2 Black Stones just obtained, and this battle had been quite fruitful.

"A-amazing! My idol!"

Seeing the Falling Flower Guiyi slain by Fang Yue, Zhang Dashou popped out from his hiding spot.

Looking at the fallen tree and the stump before him, Zhang Dashou felt the strength of the game's number one player for the first time.

That terrifying suppression from start to finish had pinned the Guiyi down so hard it couldn't lift its head.

This wasn't a Guiyi hunting people — it was a person hacking down a Guiyi.

Sure enough, once your strength was in place, the whole game experience changed!

Zhang Dashou, who'd originally thought coasting through days was pretty nice, now felt an inexplicable sense of urgency about raising his strength.

Only by raising his strength could he do something as satisfying as casually slaying Guiyi the way Fang Yue did.

"Just a small Guiyi."

Fang Yue waved his hand, pretending to be casual, but in truth the fight had been full of close calls — this mid Black Grade Guiyi did have some tricks.

It's just that its attack method, the Life Flower, was completely countered by 【Night's Breath】. And its recovery method was seen through by Fang Yue and dealt with directly.

From this experience of solo-killing a Guiyi, Fang Yue truly felt his own growth — from the Heavy Pressure Guiyi, to the Memory-Erasing Guiyi, and now to the Falling Flower Guiyi.

In terms of strength ranking, the Falling Flower Guiyi was slightly weaker, but it was the one Fang Yue had handled the most easily, and truly killed solo with only his own strength!

That was a completely different concept from the two mid Black Grade Guiyi he'd killed before.

After resting briefly and recovering some inner force, Fang Yue finally had the leisure to carefully observe his own status and tally the gains from this battle.

Because of the 【Feibai Pill】, the curse on the Sheep Void Guiyi had been lifted. What remained in Mo Cun was just the lingering aura of the curse — it had nothing to do with Fang Yue himself.

This meant Fang Yue could now gain rewards from killing the Sheep Void Guiyi, but killing too many would cause the aura transferred over to overwhelm the Feibai Pill in Mo Cun, rendering it ineffective — so it was best to touch the Sheep Void Guiyi as little as possible.

Also, after reaching the Postnatal Second-rate Realm, killing a mid Black Grade Guiyi — even solo — didn't yield as much as one might imagine.

Of course, it might also have to do with the Falling Flower Guiyi's strength; more mid Black Grade Guiyi were still needed as data for comparison.

"Idol, I got an assist! My Control went up by 0.1!!"

Suddenly, Zhang Dashou spoke up excitedly, as if he'd discovered something.

A 0.1 increase in Control — for Zhang Dashou, that was almost earth-shattering good news!

Because the first time he drank the Gui Hunter's soup, the effect had only been a 0.1 increase in Control.

Right now he was just being chased by the strange creatures, and he had witnessed Fang Yue's entire battle from the side, then somehow ended up with a reward—this was just too good!

Instantly, the way Zhang Dashou looked at Fang Yue was as if he were looking at a glittering, mobile treasury.

"Idol, where are you heading next? This little brother will go with you!"

He had made up his mind—wherever Fang Yue went, he would go too. He had to stick around and leech off him, at least to scrape together another 0.1 Control value!

Besides, it was the dead of night, and in a wilderness like Yuanyuan Hill, not following a strong expert meant losing his life any minute.

"Me? I plan to keep going deeper. My final destination is the Maple Leaf Forest area. Are you coming?"

M-Maple Leaf Forest?!

Zhang Dashou, who had just been excited, instantly deflated.

As a freeloader tagging along with the Meng Clan Hunting Group, he naturally knew about Maple Leaf Forest—such a dangerous place was simply not a domain he could set foot in.

Even if he followed Fang Yue in, Fang Yue wouldn't guarantee his life and safety.

Looking at it this way, waiting until dawn and heading back to the village alone was actually the best choice.

"Um, idol, I think I'll find a way back to the village..."

"Suit yourself."

Fang Yue didn't mind. Once his inner force had mostly recovered, he started going through the corpses of the hunting group on the ground.

But strangely, the Black Ember on the hunting group members was pitifully little—they were basically a broke hunting group.

As for the armor and weapons, they were all ordinary goods that couldn't catch Fang Yue's eye at all. In the end, Fang Yue only scrounged out some small pills that restored blood and qi.

While Fang Yue was sorting through the spoils, Zhang Dashou silently followed along the whole time, never saying anything about splitting it among those present. Only when Fang Yue picked up a Hunting Bow from a withered corpse did he get nervous.

"Idol, this Hunting Bow..."

"You want it? Here."

Fang Yue casually tossed the thing over. He had already used his Analysis Pupil to check its attributes—it was just an ordinary Hunting Bow, nowhere near comparable to his Leng Yue Blade, let alone the fact that he didn't know archery at all.

The moment Zhang Dashou got his hands on that Hunting Bow, he was overjoyed as if he had obtained a treasure.

Earlier, when he had discovered his cheap master's corpse, he had been too busy being nervous about the strange creatures appearing to think about fishing for loot on the side.

Now that the threat was gone, he finally remembered this good stuff.

Sure enough, following the idol pays off!

Fang Yue continued to scour the area a bit more, and after confirming there was nothing good, he started moving on.

But before he had walked a few steps, he noticed Zhang Dashou was still following behind him.

"Didn't you say you were going back to the village?"

"Uh... idol, let me follow you until dawn first. Once it's light, I'll find my way back to the village..."

It's the dead of night, it's not safe!

"Well... but I'm traveling through the night, taking the fastest route straight to Maple Leaf Forest. If you follow for a whole night, it'll probably be even less safe."

"Ah, this..."

Zhang Dashou hesitated, thought for a moment, then said: "How about... idol, help me find some Hunters scattered around? Or help me find a hunting group? They should all be nearby, it won't take much time."

"If it's on the way, sure."

On the way... the direction everyone had fled was the opposite direction. But as for hunting groups, he seemed to remember there were a few up ahead in his memory. Only the distance would be a bit farther.

But Zhang Dashou had no choice and could only follow Fang Yue.

Two clusters of Human Soul fire illuminated the ground.

The two traveled one in front and one behind. Relying on his memory, after walking for a stretch, Zhang Dashou hurriedly called Fang Yue to stop and changed their direction of travel.

Sure enough, in no time, they spotted a small temporary camp in the distance.

Compared to the big bonfire camp of the Meng Clan Hunting Group, this hunting group's camp was pitifully small—only a temporary tent and seven or eight people scattered about.

After revealing his identity, the people of this small hunting group instantly looked at Fang Yue in surprise.

"Captain Ye? How come you're out in the wilderness?"

"The Sheep-Empty Strange caused a great chaos, and the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 went on a rampage. I came to handle this matter."

Hearing Fang Yue say this, the way the others looked at Fang Yue instantly changed, and everyone stood in solemn respect.

"Captain Ye, truly righteous!"

"Captain Ye, eliminating harm for the people, working for the people—truly a model Captain!"

Ah, this... it's not that exaggerated. If it weren't for myself, I wouldn't want to leave the house...

(End of chapter)