"Is that... a honey badger?" Yuan Ming looked at the animal Ba Yin had transformed into, somewhat dumbfounded.
Unlike others who underwent the Fur Cloak Technique and experienced significant changes in size, Ba Yin's size hadn't changed much, which made the sight somewhat comical.
However, seeing its eyes flashing with a crimson hue, the heavy breathing from its nose, and the fierce aura emanating from its body, it was clear that this creature was not as easy to provoke as it seemed.
Following closely behind, several other members of the Green Wolf Gang also employed the Fur Cloak Skill, transforming into three Green Wolves and a Black Leopard.
Yuan Ming's gaze quickly swept around before pulling out two White Bone Short Spears from the ground behind him, holding one in each hand.
His gaze moved from one Green Wolf Gang member to another as if he were looking for a target to strike. Three of them were the ones who had followed Zaha before and, having witnessed Yuan Ming's methods, understood what he was about to do and withdrew.
"Afraid of what, I'm here!" Ba Yin roared with a voice as loud as a bell.
However, just as the echo of his words faded, the sound of something whistling through the air suddenly attacked.
Yuan Ming hurled his Bone Spear with all his might, using the Energy Storage Arm technique, shooting it like an arrow straight toward Ba Yin's heart.
Just as it was about to pierce his chest, a palm suddenly struck down from above, heavily smashing down on the White Bone Short Spear.
With a bang, Yuan Ming only saw a shadowy light explode beneath the badger's paw, and his White Bone Short Spear shattered into pieces, as if struck by a heavy hammer, and fell to the ground.
But right behind, another whooshing sound broke out.
The second White Bone Short Spear had already burst through the air, heading straight for Ba Yin's face.
With a loud roar from Ba Yin's mouth, he didn't even flinch; he directly met the White Bone Short Spear with his head.
The White Bone Short Spear ricocheted off Ba Yin's forehead and was caught firmly in his hand.
At the same time, a figure suddenly darted past him and leaped towards the distance.
Ba Yin sneered, his body swiftly turning as he reversed the White Bone Short Spear tip and fiercely hurled it towards the fleeing Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming, already in mid-air, reached out for a vine hanging low, when the whooshing sound of wind from behind alerted him; he quickly recoiled his neck and dropped downward.
The White Bone Short Spear grazed past his scalp, breaking the vine he was about to grasp and with a bang, bored a large hole into an old tree farther away, and then pierced through another behind it.
"Such formidable strength," Yuan Ming muttered to himself.
As he fell to the ground, the silhouettes of two Green Wolves, having transformed from the Fur Beast Slaves, attacked from both sides with their massive jaws aiming for each of his arms.
Helpless, Yuan Ming could only roll on the spot and dodge forward.
As he got back to his feet, he saw a Black Leopard in front of him, its teeth and claws bared, blocking his escape.
This time, there was no way to avoid it.
As the Black Leopard rushed towards him, Yuan Ming propped himself up with one hand on the ground, erecting the other in front of him with finger mnemonic ready, and uttered in a low voice, "Rise."
In an instant, the ground just three feet in front of him burst with a yellow light, as a sharp yellow stone spike suddenly rose and pierced through the Black Leopard's chest.
Blood splattered, and the Fur Beast Slave transformed into a Black Leopard howled in agony.
Yuan Ming brushed past it, accelerating his pace to escape into the depths of the forest.
"Everyone, be cautious, that boy knows spells!" Ba Yin thundered as he pursued.
Seizing this opportunity, Yuan Ming leaped into the trees and made his way into the distance.
The three Green Wolves immediately followed closely. Although they were swifter and kept closing in on Yuan Ming, they consciously maintained a certain distance.
Only the honey badger Ba Yin had transformed into, lacking in speed, slowly fell behind.
As Yuan Ming ran, he observed the surroundings and continuously assessed the direction.
His face was taut, but his eyes were not in panic.
Clearly, he had already planned for his current predicament.
The three Green Wolves kept up their relentless pursuit of Yuan Ming. The chase went on for half an hour.
However, the distance between them and Yuan Ming had increased considerably. It wasn't that they couldn't keep up, but knowing that Ba Yin had been left far behind, they didn't dare follow too closely, fearing an unexpected counterattack from Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming too had thought of turning back to attack, but he wasn't sure of Ba Yin's strength and when he might catch up; if he got entangled by the three Green Wolf Beast Slaves and then Ba Yin arrived, the situation would not be good.
He did not stop along the way, heading straight to the deep valley cradled between two towering ridges, and glanced into the valley.
It was now Noon, yet the mist inside the valley had not completely dissipated, the smoke within was hazy, as if an illusion.
Yuan Ming did not hesitate, and plunged headfirst into the mist of the valley.
Just as he entered the valley's mouth, a breeze carrying a burning scent hit his face, causing him to furrow his brows involuntarily. Content presented by *.
By the time he entered the valley, past that windy spot, the pungent odor was not as strong.
The woods within the valley were sparser than outside, and one could spot some Fierce Beasts, but they seemed very cautious and timid by nature. When they heard the noise made by Yuan Ming, they took off running.
Yuan Ming continued inward for about half an hour when the air in the valley suddenly became murky, filled with a piercing sulfur smell.
When he rounded a bend in the gorge, the scene before him opened up brilliantly, and not far ahead, a sulfur lake spanning about ten acres in size and irregular in shape came into view.
The waters of the lake were clear yet a golden hue, and along the stone banks at its edge, a layer of White Frost formed. From a distance, it looked like a gigantic yellow gemstone set in the middle of the valley.
On the seemingly tranquil surface of the lake, one could see one skeleton after another, some still maintaining a relatively complete shape, while others were fragmented, standing on the surface of the lake like plants that had grown out of the water.
Spread across the cliff face close to the lake were a dozen caves of varying sizes, some as high as over thirty feet, while others were as small as dog holes.
Yuan Ming glanced at the entrances to those caves and then quickly bypassed the lake, running towards them.
Outside the valley, Ba Yin ran up frantically, only to see his subordinates pacing outside the valley, not daring to go in.
"Where's the kid? What are you dallying around here for?" Ba Yin immediately berated them.
"Gang Leader Ba Yin, he ran into the valley. The mist is dense inside, and we dare not rush in recklessly for fear of his ambush," one of the Green Wolves spoke up.
"Useless wretches, get in there and chase him now! If he escapes again, I will cast you out of the Green Wolf Gang to fend for yourselves," Ba Yin scolded furiously.
Upon hearing this, the men panicked.
They usually relied on the name of the Green Wolf Gang to do a lot of misdeeds but seldom faced retribution. However, without this identity as protection, they would only die faster than others.
The three Green Wolf Beast Slaves said nothing and rushed into the valley, with Ba Yin closely following them.
On the other side, Yuan Ming, who was running along the shore of the lake, suddenly saw a shadow swiftly passing over the water, speeding towards him. As it drew closer, the shadow grew larger and larger.
He immediately stopped in his tracks, his eyes focusing on the surface of the water. But only when the shadow rushed towards the bank did he suddenly realize the danger and looked up at the sky.
There, a giant black raptor with massive wings spread suddenly retracted its wings and dove at him with great force.
Yuan Ming immediately stepped back, his fists clenched, waiting for the raptor to approach.
As the raptor neared, suddenly a "swoosh" sound was heard.
The raptor let out a piercing scream as Blood Light suddenly appeared on its enormous body, and its form, as if sliced by several blades at once, split into seven or eight chunks, plummeting to the ground.
Bright red blood sprayed in midair, narrowly missing splashing all over Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming was shocked. He hastily retreated several feet, not knowing what had happened.
But when he looked up at the sky again, he discovered that several crisscrossing blood-red lines had appeared in the Void about ten meters high, floating in midair.
Upon closer inspection, Yuan Ming realized that these blood-red lines extended out to form a massive spider web that almost covered the entire sulfur lake.
If it weren't for the blood of the raptor on it, it would have been difficult for anyone to notice it.
"How careless, I didn't notice it just now," he thought with a chill, feeling extremely frightened.
At this moment, noises from behind approached again; the men from the Green Wolf Gang had caught up.
Yuan Ming looked back, a look of relief crossing his face, as if he was worried they wouldn't dare to follow him.
He hurriedly picked up his pace, running towards the direction of the cliff.
Ba Yin, seeing Yuan Ming running towards the cliffs, thought he was trying to climb the cliff to escape, and immediately shouted, "Don't let him near the cliff, stop him for me!"
As he spoke, he chanted under his breath, and wisps of pink mist began to rise from all over his body, his muscles bulging, and his running speed increased instantly as he charged toward Yuan Ming.
The two Green Wolves took the lead, catching up swiftly, flanking him from left and right, as they both pounced towards Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming sidestepped left and right, swinging both arms in turn, striking the spines of the two Green Wolf Beast Slaves and flipping them over.
But then the third Green Wolf Beast Slave also circled around and blocked his path.
Seeing this situation, Yuan Ming seemed very annoyed and let out an angry roar.
Without his White Bone Short Spear in hand, he could only rely on his bare fists to fight the three Green Wolf Beast Slaves. His heavy punches sent them yowling in pain, but the close combat didn't give him much advantage. His arms and shoulders were bitten in many places, blood streaming down.