The female Gu Master's body was like a ragdoll, folding from the waist. Her upper body lay flat on the ground, while her lower body bent at an angle relative to her upper body, with her buttocks pressed against the ground and the tips of both feet pointing toward the sky.
In the distance, Fang Yuan also fell from mid-air.
He first crashed into the tree canopy, snapping many branches and leaves before landing on the snowy ground.
He nimbly flipped over and stood up from the snow. Because he had just activated the Jade Skin Gu, apart from a dull ache in his back, he was completely unharmed.
On the battlefield over there, there was a brief silence, followed by Jiao San's furious roaring voice: "Fang Yuan, didn't you say you could still hold on!"
Fang Yuan sneered secretly. Suddenly, his body skewed and he almost fell over. He used his hand to support himself against a tree trunk, maintaining his body's balance.
He put on the appearance of having sprained his ankle and being unable to walk, but his gaze swept the surroundings to see if there were any other Gu Masters.
Facing the beast tide, Gu Masters were all fighting with all their might, unable to even fend for themselves, let alone have the leisurely mood to observe Fang Yuan here. Although he had been secretly observing all along and hadn't discovered any other Gu Masters in the vicinity, even so, Fang Yuan still cautiously chose to put on a disguise.
From over there, the sounds of intense battle transmitted over once again.
Evidently, the Wild Boar King had broken free and was fighting the Red Rock Python again.
Fang Yuan dragged himself over step by step, his face full of anxiety. He stumbled and fell to the ground several times, his body becoming covered with soil, grass clippings, and residual snow, looking utterly wretched.
Finally, he returned to the edge of the battlefield.
In the battlefield, three people and one boar were entangled.
The Red Rock Python's body was tightly coiled around the Wild Boar King's body, as well as the latter's two hind legs.
The Wild Boar King's two hind legs could only thrash blindly, causing it to sometimes roll on the ground, and sometimes struggle up, blindly crashing and ramming driven by its two front legs.
There were even more wounds on its body; the scalding hot boar blood had already dyed the ground red.
Seeing Fang Yuan arrive, the outermost Gu Yue Kong Jing instantly shouted: "Fang Yuan, you bastard, it was you who killed Hua Xin!"
"I, I didn't do it on purpose. But I really couldn't hold on anymore," Fang Yuan yelled.
"Fuck, couldn't hold on, then you still guaranteed it so solemnly just now! If you can't, then you can't. Spouting nonsense like this will get people killed!" Gu Yue Kong Jing opened his mouth and glared furiously. If they weren't in the middle of a battle, he really wanted to go up and directly slap Fang Yuan twice.
"S-sorry. I won't ever do it again," Fang Yuan hurriedly called out.
"Fang Yuan, I'll settle the score with you later!" Over there, the Sick Snake Jiao San started roaring, feeling immense pressure. The dying Wild Boar King had fallen into madness, and cracks were all over the Red Rock Python's body.
"Kong Jing, ignore Fang Yuan. Quickly take out the Blade Scale Net!" Seeing the Red Rock Python on the verge of not being able to hold on, his forehead covered in cold sweat, Jiao San yelled frantically.
"Yes!" Kong Jing hurriedly took out the Big Belly Frog, urged his primeval essence, and spat out a wire net.
This wire net was densely studded with sharp spikes and gleaming blades.
"Fang Yuan, grab the other end and charge up with me to cover the Wild Boar King," Kong Jing shouted.
"But I sprained my ankle, I can't walk!" Fang Yuan rushed over limping, wearing an anxious expression.
"Useless thing!" With no other choice, Kong Jing could only act on his own, dragging the Blade Scale Net with both hands and throwing it toward the Wild Boar King.
Covered by the Blade Scale Net, the Wild Boar King instantly let out a massive, miserable howl; fresh blood surged wildly.
It had already premonished the arrival of death and struggled even more fiercely. However, as its struggles became more violent, the Blade Scale Net entangled tighter and tighter, making the injuries more severe.
On the other hand, because of its stone body, the Red Rock Python didn't suffer much damage within this Blade Scale Net.
"What a pity for this fur!" A trace of lamenting light flashed in Jiao San's eyes.
"Finally got it done." Kong Jing let out a long breath of turbid air.
Right at this moment, Fang Yuan yelled: "I'll come help you guys!"
Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle.
Several moonblades flew out and struck the Blade Scale Net, cutting the iron wires. Amidst the Wild Boar King's violent struggles, the tear was instantly pulled open. The Blade Scale Net turned into a few torn pieces, and the Wild Boar King broke free.
For a moment!
Kong Jing's eyes widened completely round, staring blankly.
"I, holy fuck…" The other female Gu Master no longer cared about any ladylike image, loudly bursting out a swear word.
"I, it seems I caused a disaster. I wanted to help you guys!" Fang Yuan yelled, his voice very sincere and very innocent.
Jiao San dodged the Wild Boar King's charge. Rolling on the ground, before he even climbed up, he roared: "Fang Yuan—! You idiot, look at what you have done! You are simply the pig of a teammate!!!"
"Group Leader, you have to believe me, I really didn't do it on purpose," Fang Yuan defended himself.
"Shut your mouth! You are not allowed to make a move from now on, get to the side and stay there!" Jiao San shouted loudly, rolling again to dodge the Wild Boar King's stomping hooves.
Fang Yuan sneered secretly, but stepped back several dozen paces exactly as told.
"All of you step back!" Jiao San snorted loudly, starting to reveal his true trump card. From his nostrils, he snorted out two traces of yellow poisonous gas.
The poisonous gas continuously emerged from his nostrils, growing more and more, gradually converging into a cloud of yellow toxic mist.
The figures of the Wild Boar King and Jiao San were faintly visible outside the toxic cloud.
Kong Jing, Fang Yuan, and the other retreated to watch the battle from outside the yellow cloud.
Fang Yuan said to the remaining female Gu Master: "Heal my foot injury. I sprained my ankle!"
The female Gu Master flew into a tremendous rage: "My good sister died, and you merely sprained your ankle! Why don't you go die?!"
Fang Yuan said aggrievedly: "It's not like I wanted this either."
Deep in the bottom of his eyes, however, a streak of sharp light flashed.
Should I make a move and eradicate these people?
Making a move now was undoubtedly an opportunity. In their subconscious, they would absolutely never anticipate that I would harbor murderous intent.
If the Sick Snake group was eradicated, the bindings holding me back would also diminish somewhat.
But…
If this process was seen by other Gu Masters, I would be doomed beyond redemption. The crime of murdering a clansman was the most unforgivable felony in this world; not only would one be executed, but they would also be tortured with various cruel punishments in public for seven days and seven nights.
Death, of course, was nothing to fear, but taking this risk for the sake of such a group was not worth it. To kill them, I must borrow the beast tide and keep my own hands thoroughly clean.
Pity, the Wild Boar King is about to die. After this battle, the Sick Snake group will suffer heavy casualties and their combat strength will be weakened to the absolute extreme; they will definitely have to withdraw from the battlefield. What a pity, such a good opportunity…
A wave of regret welled up in Fang Yuan's heart.
But he had already pushed it to the absolute limit. Exceeding this degree, the flavor of an intentional frame-up would become too heavy. The others were not idiots and would definitely notice it. Perhaps it would also be seen by other Gu Masters around; the risk would be too great.
Five minutes later, with a heavy thud, the Wild Boar King collapsed onto the ground.
The yellow cloud and mist dissipated. Jiao San stood panting heavily, his face pale. He had used his bottom-of-the-box method, and his remaining primeval essence was now next to nothing.
"All of you come dissect the corpse, be quick, once we bring the war spoils we will retreat!" Jiao San yelled.
Fang Yuan and the others surrounded the Wild Boar King, immediately beginning cutting up and dissecting the corpse.
The Wild Boar King's blood was scalding hot, and the smell of blood was extremely thick. The surroundings were pitch-black mountain forests, continuously transmitting the howling of wild beasts and the sounds of intense battle.
However, no other wild beasts appeared on this small battlefield.
This was the prestige of a beast king.
There were also rules among wild beasts.
The dense aura of the Wild Boar King made ordinary wild beasts tremble with fear; any beast tide advancing here would naturally diverge and split. Of course, if a stronger beast group or beast king appeared, they naturally wouldn't care about the Wild Boar King's aura.
However, right at this moment, pairs of blue pupils suddenly surfaced within the surrounding darkness.
From other places, the miserable screams and terrified howls of Gu Masters abruptly rang out.
"It's wolves, a wolf pack!"
"Lightning wolf packs have actually appeared!"
"Dammit, how could wolf packs appear? It's not the time for the wolf tide outbreak yet?!"
"Retreat, ignore the Wild Boar King, we also need to retreat with speed!" Jiao San shouted; the complexions of the people around him also instantly turned ashen pale.
A single lightning wolf was not frightening. But once lightning wolves formed into a pack, even a Wild Boar King would have to avoid them.
More crucially, lightning wolves had long-lasting stamina, ran very fast, and were the most adept at pursuing and killing.
In such a critical moment, Jiao San could care about nothing else. Abandoning the other three, he frantically fled backwards.
"Lord Group Leader, wait for me," Kong Jing yelled in terror, hastily keeping up.
"I have no speed-enhancing Gu worms, I cannot escape. Jiao San and the others have almost no primeval essence left; even if they have speed-enhancing Gu worms, they won't escape the pursuit of lightning wolves!" Under the crisis of death, Fang Yuan's heart was as calm as snow.
He made a prompt decision. With a hand chop, he struck the neck of the female Gu Master standing blankly beside him, knocking her unconscious.
Then, dragging her, he squeezed into the dissected abdomen of the Wild Boar King.
The Wild Boar King's belly had already been sliced open with a deep, long gaping cut.
Fang Yuan squeezed into the blood-drenched body of the wild boar while simultaneously pulling the female Gu Master, using her body to block the outside and conceal his own figure.
The wolf pack surged over. The vast majority chased after retreating Gu Masters like Jiao San and Kong Jing, while the remaining portion surrounded the Wild Boar King's corpse and began to gnaw and eat.
Inside the wild boar's body, Fang Yuan could clearly hear the sounds of the lightning wolves chewing and swallowing, as well as the swaying caused when they tore and bit.
"To think lightning wolf packs appeared in the very first beast tide. This belongs to an accident; the clan side will definitely dispatch reinforcements. The Wild Boar King's body is massive; it will take a period of time for the lightning wolves to eat their way inside. As long as I can hold on for a period of time, I can survive."
Fang Yuan pondered.
Unless an accident occurred, Jiao San and Kong Jing were already dead for sure. They didn't have much primeval essence left and neither was adept at speed; in such a short distance, they would definitely be hunted down by the wolf pack.
Under panic, people would all make foolish choices. Under the pressure of death, those who could be as clear-headed as Fang Yuan and instantly choose the optimal countermeasure were truly few and far between.
Even if the Wild Boar King's flesh and skin were entirely eaten away, exposing Fang Yuan hiding inside.
The number of lightning wolves Fang Yuan would face would absolutely not be as many as the others. According to his experience and estimation, there would be five at most; he still had the power to fight back. His hopes of survival were far greater than the others.
The sounds of lightning wolves violently tearing and biting continuously transmitted over, getting closer and closer.
Most of the Wild Boar King's skin and flesh had already entered the lightning wolves' mouths and stomachs.
If an ordinary person were in such a situation, they would definitely feel like every second was a year. But Fang Yuan instead closed his eyes, took out spare primeval stones, gripped them in his palms, and began to race against time to recover his primeval essence.