Chapter 297: It… is Mo Qing! (8/10, Autumn Subscriptions)

Fang Yue punched the Shadow-Devouring Specter right on the head.

Bang!!

1!

An embarrassingly low damage number popped up.

And before Fang Yue's strength ran out, he was sent flying by a burst of Supernatural Strength—whoosh! —and he actually overtook the running tail, landing smack in the middle of the lake bottom and rolling a few times in a sorry state, with the damage number only lazily popping up above his head now.

355!

Fang Yue couldn't even take two consecutive basic attacks from the Shadow-Devouring Specter!

"Ye Ge!"

Seeing Fang Yue had landed up ahead, Tail directly tossed over the bag holding the Fluorescent Beads.

Fang Yue reached out and caught it, then took out the Fluorescent Beads to illuminate the lake bottom.

Buzz!

Instantly, the lake floor trembled faintly, reflecting a dim glow; like a mechanism activating, gears meshing, one groove after another sank down from the surface of the lake bottom.

He guessed right! What was on the mural was real—the exit appeared just like this!

"Tail…"

Bang!!

The moment Fang Yue opened his mouth, a black shadow slammed right into his face.

The two of them rolled together for several turns before finally stopping.

"Tail! Are you okay!"

Fang Yue scrambled up to look—and his pupils contracted sharply.

The Tail that had flown over was only the upper half of a body.

And the other half—the lower body—was under the Shadow-Devouring Specter's claws! Being swallowed whole into its belly!

The blood-drenched upper half still wore Tail's final expression of terror.

"You fucking—!!"

Rage flared up from his chest in an instant.

Although he hadn't known Tail for long, from Gu Yue Cun to the escort team, and then to Mo Cun, they'd gone through life-and-death together; with the bond of Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu between them, their relationship had always been good.

Although dying in the game wasn't really dying.

Watching a friend die before his eyes still made Fang Yue's fury surge.

This was different from the deaths of Liao Moran and Hai Ming.

In the end, Fang Yue and Liao Moran had only met once—dead was dead.

But Tail was his in-game friend; the level of anger couldn't be lumped together.

Not to mention, he'd taken the risk of coming to Maple Leaf Forest this time specifically to help Tail, and now Tail was dead!

Clutching Tail's half-corpse, Fang Yue placed all four Fluorescent Beads into the grooves on the lake bottom and glared at the Shadow-Devouring Specter.

"Shadow-Devouring Specter, if you've got the guts, then follow me out! Outside the ruins, we'll settle this life and death!"

"Roar!!"

As if provoked by Fang Yue, the Shadow-Devouring Specter charged at him.

At the same time, the light from the four Fluorescent Beads on the lake floor had already spread through the grooves to fill the entire Bronze Room.

The Ancient Script on the walls emitted an unfathomably eerie glow, reflecting off the Fluorescent Beads.

The massive dragon-shaped shadow monster, the Shadow-Devouring Specter, carrying wind that did nothing and a piercing roar, charged right up to Fang Yue—its shadowy claws nearly covering his entire head!

And just at this moment…

Buzz!!

A flash of fluorescent light, and the figure of Fang Yue clutching Tail's corpse vanished.

Boom!!!

【42】 The Shadow-Devouring Specter's frenzied attack only just arrived now, scraping against the surrounding bronze walls with a clanging clatter.

The 【Shadow Devouring Trick】's furious attack had only just arrived, clanging and scraping against the surrounding bronze walls.

"Roar!!"

As if sensing it had been toyed with, before the glow of the four Fluorescent Beads had fully faded, the Shadow-Devouring Specter slammed into them in a flash.

A flash of fluorescent light!

The Shadow-Devouring Specter vanished!

……

At the edge of Fengye Ya.

A blinding fluorescent light burst forth without warning.

The next moment, a man clutching a half-corpse appeared at the edge of Fengye Ya without any sign—like he'd just respawned.

"I'm out…"

Looking at the familiar surroundings and the rising morning sun on the horizon, Fang Yue was briefly lost in thought.

But soon, he tightened his grip on Tail's corpse, his face contorted with rage, and looked up at the sky.

"Will it follow? Shadow-Devouring Specter!"

Almost the moment Fang Yue thought this.

A fluorescent flash suddenly lit up before his eyes!

"Roar!!"

A massive five-clawed golden dragon shadow abruptly appeared in midair!

"It came! You chased me here!! Good—now, I'll make you pay!!"

Facing the massive black shadow that nearly obscured half the cliff edge, he dove down.

Fang Yue suddenly pulled out the Silver Ball and the fleshy orb from the tail's corpse, held them high, and poured his inner power into them.

"Ni! Dong! Mei!!"

Hummm!!!

A blinding pale blue light erupted outward!

The 【Shiying Gui】 that had been diving downward froze in midair, as if time had stopped.

At the same time, the fleshy orb had turned into an ice orb!

The ice orb gradually reshaped, twisted, and transformed into the form of Ni Dongmei!

"Congratulations—you have passed my Trial!"

She turned to look at Fang Yue and the half-dead tail, smiled with a glowing expression, and her body trembled slightly with excitement.

Success! These two little ones truly succeeded!

They brought out this·thing·from·the·Huanggui Yiji!

A divine treasure—the Immortal-grade Gui, the Soul-Hosting Jade Pendant!

The soul sealed within is a terrifying existence even I dare not disturb!

The only unexpected thing is that they also brought out a monstrous creature.

But these are minor issues.

Smiling faintly, Ni Dongmei turned her back to Fang Yue and asked, "Boy, do you know what this strange creature is?"

"I know—it's the 【Shiying Gui】! Lady Ni Dongmei, be careful; this thing is absurdly strong—I can't even sense its power limit."

Absurdly strong… yes, after all, it's something left behind by 'him'.

Ni Dongmei shook her head slightly and said calmly, "You're right, and yet you're wrong. It is indeed called the 【Shiying Gui】. But it also has another name—【Huang Gui】!"

"What is a Huang Gui? Only in the Da Huang Zhi Mo, only in the Qian Gu Zhi Yuan, can you encounter a 【Huang Gui】! This is a relic of the ancient past—rare beyond measure, unseen for centuries or even millennia!"

The 【Shiying Gui】—it is an ancient Gui!

Ancient Guis vary in strength, but even the lowest-ranked Huang Gui cannot be challenged by any warrior below the Human Realm!

Shocked me for a hundred years!

Fang Yue stared blankly—this thing had such a huge background?

And Huanggui Yiji… Huanggui Yiji… Fang Yue had thought "Huang Gui" referred to some other creature. So this thing *is* the Huang Gui—and this is its ruin!

But that didn't make sense—what about Master Mo's experimental subjects?

As if reading Fang Yue's thoughts, Ni Dongmei spoke slowly, as if describing something ordinary.

"It's simple: anyone who reaches Mo Qing's realm, if they wish to conduct research, must use ancient Guis like this Huang Gui as materials. So, in a sense, this 【Shiying Gui】 was raised by Mo Qing!"

"Since you've accomplished such a great deed today, I'll tell you the truth. According to our Ji Bing Sect's internal records and research, this 【Shiying Gui】 has been forged into Mo Qing's avatar!"

Or rather—it *is* Mo Qing!

(End of Chapter)