"Walk faster, don't fall behind!"
"The clansmen at the front lines are fighting bloody battles and are waiting for our reinforcements."
"Stay close, it's easy to lose your sense of direction during night combat, especially newcomers must pay special attention!"
…
Walking on the mountain road back to the village, from time to time, five-person groups dashed past Fang Yuan's side.
"Did something happen?" In a short journey of less than five hundred meters, Fang Yuan had already seen thirteen waves of groups.
He could not help but fall into deep thought. However, the memories of five hundred years were truly too lengthy and complex. Speaking of which, although Fang Yuan had never given up on recalling since his rebirth.
But there were still many memories covered by a layer of heavy, thick fog. Forcibly recalling would only make one lose their direction in the dense fog, where the loss outweighed the gain.
Only some deeply impressive memories were like a crystal clear pearl necklace, stringing through Fang Yuan's five hundred years of past life.
Very clearly, the matter currently happening was not within this pearl necklace of memories.
Life in the Gu Yue mountain village was only the early stage of the early stages, it was truly too long ago. Moreover…
"Perhaps this matter fundamentally never happened in my previous life, and changes occurred because of my alterations, it's hard to say."
Just like this, he walked while pondering. Unknowingly, Fang Yuan arrived at the north gate of the mountain village.
Just so happened, another group was about to set off.
"Hm?" Seeing Fang Yuan alone, a person in this group abruptly stopped his footsteps, "Fang Yuan, why are you still here?"
"What?" Fang Yuan looked up. The person speaking was none other than one of his former classmates, Gu Yue Chi Cheng.
Chi Cheng immediately furrowed his brows: "Aiya, do you still not know? A small-scale beast tide has already formed near the village. If left alone, it will gradually form a large-scale beast tide, and by then the villages at the foot of the mountain will all be destroyed. Without these mortal lowly slaves in our mountain village, it can be very inconvenient sometimes."
"Oh, so it's like that?" Fang Yuan's gaze flashed.
Being reminded like this, he remembered; it seemed there was such a matter in his memories.
In this world, human survival was arduous. Almost every few years, a beast tide would occur. Humans needed resources and living space. Wild beasts and insects equally needed them too!
Explaining beast tides as a war between humans and wild beasts might make it easier to understand.
Taking Qing Mao Mountain as an example, every three years, a large-scale wolf tide would impact the major mountain villages.
"Calculating the time, the true wolf tide outbreak should be next year. However, the root cause of this current small beast tide still lies here. The wolf packs continuously develop and grow stronger, constantly compressing the living spaces of other surrounding beast groups. Accumulating over days and months, after reaching a certain limit, a migration of beast groups will occur. The migrating beast groups will naturally go on to affect other beast groups."
"Under such mutual influence, there is a certain probability that the impact expands, leading to the simultaneous migration of major beast groups, thereby forming a beast tide. If this situation is not controlled in time, the beast tide will grow larger and larger. Although it temporarily does not threaten the existence of the entire Gu Yue mountain village, if left unchecked, the strength of the mountain village will be weakened."
"Wait a minute! If it's said like this… Hehehe." Sudden intense light flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes, but he timely lowered his eyelids, covering up the change in his gaze.
Seeing Fang Yuan not speaking, Chi Cheng continued: "Currently, both the Internal Affairs Hall and the Foreign Affairs Hall have issued mobilization orders and promulgated emergency missions. Fang Yuan, don't think about slacking off, your group already set off in the morning, and you must also go. However…"
Speaking up to here, Chi Cheng deliberately dragged out his tone: "The beast tide is fraught with crises, with various wild beasts appearing. Night combat is especially much more dangerous than daytime. A tiny Rank One Gu Master like you, unlike those of us who are Rank Two, had better be careful. Hehehe!"
As he said these words, he deliberately held his head high and puffed out his chest, stroking his own belt with a triumphant expression.
His belt was no longer the cyan color of Rank One, but the red color representing a Rank Two Gu Master. At the same time, the iron plate embedded on the front of the belt was carved with the character "Two."
Just not long ago, Gu Yue Chi Cheng had also successfully advanced to Rank Two with the help of his grandfather, Chi Lian.
"I just heard this news, but since it is so." Fang Yuan suddenly smiled, "Then I shall depart together with you guys. Once we reach the front lines, I will leave the team and return to my group."
"What? Tch, who wants to bring you along!" Chi Cheng hugged his arms, curling his lips disdainfully.
Fang Yuan's tone was leisurely: "Clan rules state: a Gu Master separated from their group shall be merged into a nearby group, holding the obligation to continue fighting. Chi Cheng, do you not even know this much?"
"You!" Chi Cheng glared, just about to flare up.
"It is indeed so." Chi Shan, who had been silent all along, opened his mouth.
He was nearly two meters tall, with a back like a tiger and a waist like a bear. Bare-chested, his muscles were thick and hard like iron. His fiery red skin throughout his body seemed to faintly emit hot air.
Without a doubt, he was the brain of this group.
Seeing him open his mouth, even with Chi Cheng's identity as the successor of the Chi lineage, he involuntarily closed his mouth.
Chi Shan glanced at Fang Yuan expressionlessly and continued: "Let's go, you keep up."
His voice was low and deep, his words concise, revealing a flavor that allowed no questioning.
Fang Yuan shrugged dismissively, considering it an agreement.
Chi Cheng sneered, looking at Fang Yuan with ill intentions, and emphasized in a weird tone: "Then you better keep up!"
Fang Yuan did not pay him any attention.
"Hmph, what are you acting so arrogant for. Just a Rank One Gu Master." Chi Cheng muttered angrily, but hindered by Chi Shan's authority, he dared not act too presumptuously.
Promptly, the group of six set off from the gate, following the mountain path and rushing down the mountain.
Gu Yue Chi Shan took the lead. He had a large build, but his speed was not slow. Besides him and Chi Cheng, the other group members consisted of two men and one woman, all bearing expressions of indifference.
Sprinting all the way, the Chi Shan group began to display the demeanor of the three great strong teams.
Everyone breathed evenly, their footsteps fast and unhurried. Only Chi Cheng appeared somewhat wretched. But by frequently utilizing the Red Pill Cricket Gu, he barely managed to keep up. It could also be seen that he had received good transmission of experience; although he stumbled, at least he did not fall.
Arriving at the foot of the mountain, with a hand gesture from Chi Shan, the team abruptly stopped.
Pant pant pant…
Chi Cheng had already fallen three hundred meters behind, the last to arrive. His face was pale, panting heavily, looking at Fang Yuan with an inconceivable gaze.
Along this journey, Fang Yuan had followed closely behind the entire time. Up until now, his breathing was merely slightly ragged. One could not see at all that he was a newly debuted rookie.
"Chi Cheng, remember, regulate your physical strength." Chi Shan turned his head, advising Chi Cheng, then inconspicuously swept a glance at Fang Yuan, a smear of appreciation revealing itself in his eyes.
The complexions of the other few group members looking at Fang Yuan also softened a bit.
"Next, we are about to approach the beast tide. Chi Cheng, Fang Yuan, get to the center of the formation," Chi Shan said, looking at the pitch-black mountain forest ahead.
These words made Fang Yuan re-evaluate this Chi Shan.
This big guy had quite some capacity. The center of the formation was often the safest. Although Fang Yuan was not a person of the Mo lineage, Chi Shan still maintained the demeanor of protecting newcomers. Compared to the Sick Snake Jiao San, the latter instantly paled in comparison.
The sky had already turned completely black. Layers of dark clouds caused the accumulated snow to also dim down.
The Chi Shan group had changed their formation. Their speed dropped significantly, jogging through the complex terrain of the mountain forest.
Fang Yuan and Chi Cheng were in the center of the formation. On the left was the massive Chi Shan, on the right was an elderly man. At the rear was a young woman with long water-blue hair.
And directly at the front was a male Gu Master named Chi She.
He was the reconnaissance Gu Master of this group, emitting hissing sounds, his tongue occasionally spitting outward from his mouth.
At this moment, his tongue had already forked, turning into a bright red snake tongue.
As they ventured deeper into the mountain forest, wildly running and rioting beasts began to appear in the surroundings.
Suddenly, Chi She opened his mouth: "Three mid-sized creatures appearing ahead, suspected to be wild deer."
"Disperse them." Chi Shan's expression remained unchanged, immediately issuing the command.
The six-person team did not change direction, heading straight forward. The three wild deer came head-on, then one after another changed direction and scattered away.
Not long after, Chi She's expression changed: "A group of mid-sized creatures, suspected to be Turtle-backed Old Apes."
"Relocate." Chi Shan said.
The group immediately veered to the left, bypassing this troublesome ape group.
This was the advantage of having reconnaissance methods, able to foresee in advance and thereby make correct adjustments.
"What Chi She is using should be the Snake Tongue Gu. This Rank Two Gu worm can sense heat. However, it has three obvious flaws. First, the perception range is small. Second, it is easily disrupted. Third, it cannot detect cold-blooded creatures. But no matter what, having something is better than having nothing. Having advanced to Rank Two, to survive in the wild in the future, I will also need a reconnaissance Gu worm," Fang Yuan pondered.
Suddenly, Chi She ahead spoke hurriedly: "One mid-sized creature, suspected to be a White Tiger. It has discovered us and is approaching rapidly!"
"Engage." Chi Shan's tone was calm.
Roar!
A fierce tiger abruptly dashed out from the bushes ahead, meeting the group head-on. If it weren't for Chi She's early warning, they might have all been caught somewhat off guard.
But now, everyone had long been waiting in full formation.
First, the elderly man on the right forcefully puffed up his cheeks, opened his mouth, and spat out a patch of white viscous substance.
The object abruptly expanded in mid-air, turning into a giant spider web, which utilized strong adhesiveness to net the white tiger right over its head.
The white tiger struggled violently within the net. Chi Shan abruptly took a step forward, swinging his fist to smash the tiger's head.
A metallic luster flashed fiercely on his fist. With a smack, the tiger's head was smashed to pieces by his strike, and the white tiger died.
The crowd did not pause in the slightest, stepping over the tiger's corpse to continue moving forward. Chi She once again replaced Chi Shan's position, leading the run at the front.
The entire process flowed like moving clouds and flowing water; all group members displayed great tacit understanding.
"The time taken from start to finish was no more than three seconds. If I alone were to deal with this tiger right now, it would take at least five minutes to circle around and resolve it." Fang Yuan's gaze flashed.
These Gu Masters' cultivation was exactly the same as his, all Rank Two; the main gap was still the Gu worms.
The Gu worms they used were all Rank Two Gu worms, bringing out the best in each other. What Fang Yuan held in his hands, however, were still Rank One.
Gu Master, Gu Master, the Gu precedes the Master; Gu worms had a massive impact on a Gu Master's actual combat strength.
"Although I have advanced to Rank Two, I must still have Rank Two Gu worms in order to exert the combat strength of a Rank Two Gu Master. However, my primeval stones are running low now, having consumed a large portion charging toward Rank Two, and every time fusing Gu worms requires a considerable expense."
Just as Fang Yuan was thinking, Chi She ahead suddenly said: "Discovered the Sick Snake group."