Chapter 382 - 379: Mutation
Chapter 382: Chapter 379: Mutation
Upper Three Grades.
A chill ran through Fang Han’s heart.
This was a Demon that had reached the Upper Three Grades. Although with his current strength, he wouldn’t necessarily lose to it, the risk was too great. There was no need to engage.
He concealed his aura and prepared to detour around the presence, keeping his distance.
Just then...
...another aura suddenly appeared in his perception.
This aura carried an indescribably vast and majestic quality.
It was rapidly approaching the Demon’s location from another direction.
’This aura... it’s Yue Lingtian!’
Fang Han’s gaze sharpened.
The owner of the aura was none other than the man ranked first on the Celestial Pride List, Yue Lingtian, the third son of the Garrison Commander.
Yue Lingtian was heading toward the Upper Three Grades Demon, his objective self-evident.
’Just how strong is Yue Lingtian?’
A flicker of curiosity rose in Fang Han’s heart.
He pondered for a moment, then turned. Instead of detouring, he stealthily made his way toward the location of the two auras.
The distance of over five thousand feet was but a moment’s effort for the current Fang Han.
He stopped in the canopy of an ancient tree, several hundred yards from the Demon’s aura. Pushing his Returning Ruins Hidden Essence Skill to its limits, he seemed to merge completely with the branches and leaves.
Through a gap in the foliage, he saw the Demon.
It was a colossal tiger.
It was more than ten times the size of an ordinary tiger, measuring roughly fifty feet from head to tail and standing over twenty feet tall at the shoulder. Even crouched on the ground, it resembled a small hill.
Its fur was a dark gold, covered in jet-black stripes. These weren’t ordinary tiger stripes; they vaguely formed some kind of bizarre pattern that shimmered with a cold light under the moon.
Its eyes were also dark gold, with vertical pupils that radiated undisguised brutality and majesty.
And at that moment, a moon-white figure was walking toward the giant tiger from the opposite direction, his pace unhurried.
Yue Lingtian.
He made no attempt to hide his presence or conceal his aura. He simply walked openly toward the Upper Three Grades Demon, a creature that would make countless Martial Artists tremble in fear.
The giant tiger sensed his approach and abruptly raised its head, its dark golden pupils locking onto Yue Lingtian.
It opened its massive jaws and let out a deafening roar.
"ROAR—!"
The roar materialized into a physical soundwave, spreading out in all directions.
The surrounding trees shook, their leaves rustling violently, and the fallen leaves on the ground were sent scattering into the air.
Yet Yue Lingtian’s steps didn’t falter in the slightest.
He continued to walk forward at his unhurried pace, his moon-white robes fluttering gently in the night wind.
The giant tiger was enraged.
It kicked off the ground with all four paws, its massive body transforming into a streak of dark golden lightning as it lunged at Yue Lingtian.
Its speed was astonishing. Its sharp claws tore through the air, producing a piercing shriek.
Fang Han’s pupils constricted slightly.
’If I were facing that lunge,’ he thought, ’I’d probably have no choice but to use the Wind and Cloud Escape to evade with all my might.’
But Yue Lingtian—
He simply raised his right hand.
And casually thrust out his palm.
There were no fancy Transformations to this strike, no earth-shattering momentum.
It was just a simple palm strike.
Yet, the moment that palm struck out, Fang Han felt as if the world had frozen for an instant.
An indescribably immense Palm Force erupted from Yue Lingtian’s hand.
The Palm Force was so condensed it looked solid, a faint gold that carved a brilliant arc through the night.
It struck first despite being launched later.
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening explosion ripped through the air.
The giant tiger lunging at Yue Lingtian froze mid-air.
The next instant, a gruesome wound appeared on its formidable body—a body that could strike fear into countless Martial Artists.
One palm strike.
Just one.
An Upper Three Grades Demon, a creature that could make countless Martial Artists tremble at its very mention, was killed so effortlessly by Yue Lingtian’s palm.
Standing in the treetop, Fang Han’s pupils contracted.
He knew Yue Lingtian was strong.
First on the Celestial Pride List, powerful enough to suppress the prodigies of the Seven Sects, his strength was unfathomable.
But he had never imagined Yue Lingtian was *this* strong.
That Tiger Demon’s strength was definitely on par with a Third Grade Martial Artist, yet it couldn’t even withstand a single move from Yue Lingtian.
A chill went through him. ’So this is the power of the number one on the Celestial Pride List.’
Just then—
Yue Lingtian slowly retracted his palm.
He didn’t look at the Tiger Demon’s corpse. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze piercing through the layers of leaves and landing precisely on Fang Han’s hiding spot.
His gaze was as placid as water, yet it seemed capable of seeing through anything.
Fang Han knew he had been discovered.
After a moment of silence, he floated down from the treetop, landing several dozen yards away from Yue Lingtian.
"Brother Yue."
Fang Han cupped his fist, his voice steady.
Yue Lingtian’s gaze lingered on him for a moment. He didn’t speak, only nodding at Fang Han.
SWOOSH!
Then, with a gentle flutter of his moon-white robes in the night wind, his figure vanished into the darkness like a phantom.
He was so fast that Fang Han could barely track his movement.
Fang Han stood his ground, staring in the direction Yue Lingtian had disappeared, silent for a moment.
’If he weren’t scheduled to be removed from the list in three months, the younger generation of Qingyang County would probably be suppressed by him for a long time to come.’
After confirming that Yue Lingtian was long gone, Fang Han turned his gaze to the Tiger Demon’s corpse. The corpse of an Upper Three Grades Demon should fetch a good price.
He called up his system panel and deposited the Tiger Demon’s corpse into it.
[Wealth: 89,200,000 silver → 91,200,000 silver]
As expected, the corpse of the Upper Three Grades Tiger Demon was indeed extremely valuable.
With the deposit of the Demon Corpse, his wealth increased by a full 2,000,000 silver, reaching 91,200,000.
He was now less than 9,000,000 silver short of his 100 million silver goal. He would surely be able to gather the rest tomorrow.
Without lingering any longer, his figure flickered and he continued on toward the rendezvous point.
—
「Rendezvous point, the valley encampment.」
The bonfires of the various factions were lit, illuminating the night sky.
When Fang Han stepped into the camp, the gazes that fell upon him were noticeably different from the day before.
There was curiosity and scrutiny.
Fang Han’s expression remained unchanged as he walked straight toward the area where the Qingxuan Sect was stationed.
Just as he reached the edge of their camp, a pale-green figure hurried over to greet him.
Yun Qianyue.
She still wore her purple veil, revealing only a pair of cool, clear eyes.
Right now, those eyes were fixed on Fang Han, quickly scanning him from head to toe—his robes were intact, with no new tears, and there were no fresh bloodstains on him.
Deep within her eyes, a faint trace of tension quietly dissipated.
"You’re back."
She spoke, her voice still cool, but beneath that coolness was a distinct, subtle softness.
Fang Han nodded slightly. "Yes."
Yun Qianyue said no more, simply walking quietly by Fang Han’s side as they headed deeper into the camp.
When they reached Fang Han’s tent, she parted ways with him.
A short while later, she returned with a wooden tray bearing a large, glistening piece of golden-brown roasted beast meat and a bowl of steaming meat broth.
Fang Han took the tray and sat down inside his tent.
Yun Qianyue didn’t leave. She just stood there quietly, her eyes occasionally landing on Fang Han before quickly looking away.
After a moment, Fang Han finished his dinner and handed the wooden tray back to Yun Qianyue.
She took it and nodded gently.
"Rest well."
With that, she turned, lifted the tent flap, and walked out.
Fang Han watched the gently swaying tent flap, a faint smile touching his lips.
...
The night was as deep and still as water.
Most of the bonfires in the valley encampment had been extinguished, leaving only a few scattered piles of embers that flickered in the night wind, occasionally sputtering a few sparks before falling silent again.
Fang Han sat cross-legged in his tent, not yet asleep.
The day’s hunt had consumed a great deal of his Inner Qi, so he was practicing the Profound Wind Technique to restore it.
After finishing his cultivation, he didn’t immediately go to sleep. Instead, he replayed the lingering impression of Yue Lingtian’s palm strike in his mind.
One palm strike.
Just one.
The Upper Three Grades Demon, which could strike fear into countless Martial Artists, had been killed so effortlessly.
’Top-level Third Grade...’
Fang Han slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Yue Lingtian’s strength had definitely reached the top-level of the Third Grade; he would have few rivals among those of the same grade.
No wonder he could suppress the other prodigies on the Celestial Pride List and hold the top spot so securely.
Fang Han was just about to go to sleep.
Suddenly—
His eyes snapped open.
His Spirit Smelling Technique had already reached the Great Success Realm. Even when not actively in use, his perception was never completely shut down.
At this moment, within the vast sea of auras, countless presences were surging toward him from all directions like a tide!
The auras were cold, violent, and filled with unconcealed killing intent.
Demons.
And there were a huge number of them!
"Enemy attack!"
At almost the same instant, a blood-curdling shriek came from outside the camp.
It was the voice of a Martial Artist on night watch, but the sound was cut short as soon as it began, turning into a brief, tragic scream.
The next instant—
"BOOM!!!"
A deafening explosion erupted, and the entire encampment trembled violently.
Fang Han grabbed the Cloud Splitting Sword from beside him, and with a flicker of his body, he was already outside his tent.
The scene before him made his pupils shrink abruptly.
In the forests surrounding the camp, countless crimson points of light glittered in the darkness—the eyes of Demons.
They swarmed in from all directions like a black tide, instantly overwhelming the night watchmen at the perimeter of the camp.
Flashes of swords and sabers flickered, and the roars of exploding Qi Force rose and fell one after another.
But the night watchmen were too few and their strength was limited. Faced with the overwhelming horde of Demons, their defensive line was instantly torn open in countless places.
Demon after Demon broke through the blockade and charged into the camp.
The Martial Artists who had just rushed out of their tents were pounced on and knocked to the ground before they could even react.
Screams of agony, furious roars, the clash of weapons, the tearing of flesh—
All these sounds intertwined, forming a heart-stopping symphony of death.
"Senior Brother Fang!"
Two figures shot out from the adjacent tents and landed beside Fang Han.
It was Yun Qianyue and Li Feng.
Yun Qianyue was veiled in purple, revealing only her eyes, which were now filled with unconcealed shock.
Li Feng clutched his long saber, his expression equally grim.
"How... How can there be so many Demons attacking?!"
Li Feng’s voice was low, laced with disbelief.
The Demons that were supposed to be their prey had actually joined forces to hunt them instead.
He had never heard of such a thing.