Just as Yuan Ming's Green Fish Sword's tip pierced the one-eyed woman, a yellow halo lit up around her again, attempting to protect her body.

But the light was already dim, and seeing this, Yuan Ming stepped forward, channeling his mana to thrust again.

With a "hiss".

The yellow halo shattered, and the long sword pierced into the back of the one-eyed woman.

The one-eyed woman looked at the blade protruding from her chest in disbelief, her eyes flashing with astonishment. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came from her throat.

She couldn't believe that the person they had previously chased around the mountains was now toying with her, leaving her completely powerless to fight back.

Yuan Ming twisted his sword, instantly shredding the one-eyed woman's heart.

Before the Black Wood Hairpin, maintained by mana, could even fall, it landed on the ground with a "clatter".

He searched the one-eyed woman's body and found only the barbed whip and a shattered yellow porcelain tile, which was the source of the yellow glow that had protected her.

However, it had been damaged by the Earth Fire Bomb previously and had been severely damaged by Yuan Ming's hit, and it was now completely destroyed.

Yuan Ming packed up the whip and the Black Wood Hairpin, and without time to examine them further, he hurried back to lead Tuya and her daughter to escape from this place.

At that moment, a sharp cry came from above the forest.

"Hu Huo!" Yuan Ming clenched his teeth silently and turned to plunge back into the thick forest.

In the sky, a Green Falcon swooped down toward this area, with Hu Huo bringing along two Human Demons, descending.

He glanced at the body of the one-eyed woman, his eyebrows furrowed, then he maneuvered the Green Falcon in the direction Yuan Ming had fled, chasing after him.

After he left, Wulu slowly arrived from behind.

Seeing the body of the one-eyed woman on the ground, he tugged at the corner of his mouth and followed at a leisurely pace.

Meanwhile, Hu Huo maneuvered the Green Falcon in the sky, holding a cylindrical magic artifact, looking around the forest.

Suddenly, he glimpsed a white figure flashing through a gap in the woods.

"Found him." Elder Hu Huo's eyes lit up.

This time, he didn't call others over for two reasons, one was to avoid startling Yuan Ming and allowing him to escape again, and two was that he wasn't worried about being unable to deal with Yuan Ming with the two Human Demons, including Hagon, beside him.

So, he maneuvered the Green Falcon and immediately followed the figure.

However, Yuan Ming's speed had increased considerably, and by activating the White Ape incarnation, he was even more agile and swift, moving through the forest with difficult maneuvers, making him hard to follow.

It was only when Hu Huo finally reached a river valley with sparser vegetation on either side that Yuan Ming's figure was fully exposed.

He seemed to be trying to use the river to hide his tracks and scent, but before he could jump into the river, he was already caught up.

Hu Huo sneered inwardly; his two fingers clutched a small triangular flag's slender pole, and with a gentle flick toward Yuan Ming.

"Whoosh"

The gold-colored frog on the triangular flag seemed to come to life, opening its mouth to spit at Yuan Ming.

Suddenly, a torrent of golden red flames surged out, rushing toward Yuan Ming by the riverbank.

Yuan Ming felt the scorching heat approaching his back, turned to look, and quickly dove at an angle into the cool river water.

The river was not too deep, failing to completely conceal his tall form transformed into the White Ape, and just as he raised his head, he saw another wave of intense golden red flames rolling toward him.

Yuan Ming quickly dove into the water again, drifting downstream with the flow.

Seeing this, Hu Huo pulled a silver bell from his chest and shook it lightly.

"Ding dong"

The Human Demon Hagon's body jolted, a hint of ferocious light blazing in his dull eyes as wisps of black mist seeped from his ears.

Hu Huo maneuvered the Green Falcon to land on the riverbank, pointing at the white shadow floating downstream in the water, and shouted lowly:

"Go!"

Human Demon Hagon immediately leaped off the Green Falcon's back, chasing after Yuan Ming in the river.

His movements were stiff, yet his speed was not slow; he landed in the water still in a running posture, not swimming, lacking the instinctive actions typical of regular Human Demons, nor as agile as the Human Demon King.

Watching Hagon chase far away, just as Hu Huo was about to fly the Green Falcon again, it suddenly let out a restless, low whine, struggling several times without being able to take off.

Hu Huo immediately realized something was wrong, and with the remaining Human Demon, he leaped down from the back of the Green Falcon.

Mid-air, he turned his head sharply, only to see that beneath the Green Falcon, several sturdy vines were entangled intricately, forming two vine prisons that tightly bound its claws.

At the same time, three wooden thorns unexpectedly protruded from the ground, stabbing directly at the Green Falcon's vital spots.

Hu Huo's heart chilled, he quickly waved the triangular flag, a burst of flame shot out, burning both the wooden thorns and the wood prison.

The Green Falcon also let out a painful scream, broke free from its binds, and rushed into the sky.

Panic and pain made it instinctively want to flee, but before it had flown far, it was recalled by Elder Hu Huo, who had just landed and was controlling a Stone Talisman.

Elder Hu Huo knew that Yuan Ming was behind this mischief. He did not dare to linger, immediately shaking the bell to summon the Human Demon Hagon back to him.

"I am already here. Weren't you constantly eager to seek revenge for Hagon? Hiding now, will you still seek revenge?" Elder Hu Huo looked around, taunting Yuan Ming, trying to provoke him into showing himself.

However, there was silence all around, without any response.

"If I were you, I'd use whatever tricks I have right now. Otherwise, once Hagon returns, you'll have to fight him, and you wouldn't want to behead him yourself, would you? Wouldn't it be easier to deal with just me?" Elder Hu Huo continued to shout.

Just then, from behind him on an ancient tree branch, a figure suddenly appeared, flipped over, and with a flash of the cold light from his long sword, he thrust directly at Elder Hu Huo's head.

Elder Hu Huo did not turn his head, but waved his hand, and the small triangular flag immediately flew up. The surface flashed, and a golden toad emerged like a Light Shield, protecting his head.

The moment Yuan Ming's sword hit the Light Shield, it made a grating sound, but the sword tip could not pierce through the light barrier.

At that moment, the fierce light flashed in the Human Demon's eyes as it charged forward, leaping up to smash a fist towards Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming blocked with his sword horizontally and with the other hand, he formed a seal and chanted softly, "Rise."

As the word rang out, he was knocked flying by a punch.

At the same time, the ground beneath Elder Hu Huo cracked, and black vines burst from the soil, twisting toward him.

Realizing the danger, Elder Hu Huo leapt from the ground in an instant, grabbed the small triangular flag above him, and waved it towards the ground. A surge of Golden Red Flames spewed forth, igniting all the vines.

However, amidst the raging flames, a thin black vine suddenly pierced through, heading straight for Elder Hu Huo's throat.

Sensing the danger, Elder Hu Huo quickly tipped on his toes and retreated, widening the distance from the black vine.

Just as he thought he was out of the black vine's attack range, a surprising scene unfolded.

A small Black Toad leaped out from among the flames, heading straight for his face, with the swell on its back connected to that thin black vine.

As the distance between them narrowed, the thin black vine gathered strength again for another thrust, aiming directly at the vital spot of his throat.

Just as the black vine was about to strike Elder Hu Huo, a white shadow suddenly leaped in from the side, positioning itself in front of Elder Hu Huo — it was the Human Demon.

The black vine struck the Human Demon's upper abdomen, piercing through its hard skin with astonishing force.

A stream of Poison Liquid rapidly infused into its body.

The abdomen of the Human Demon was quickly eroded by the poison, and soon it could not stand and collapsed onto the ground.

Seeing this scene, fear struck Elder Hu Huo's heart, and he was plagued with a series of questions, "That dark little thing... could it be a spirit beast? Since when did Yuan Ming have such a spirit beast?"

As the thought arose, he quickly waved the triangular flag, and the rolling flames immediately surged toward the Black Toad.

However, the triumphant Black Toad had already returned to Yuan Ming's side, summoned by him.

At that moment, the water in the river churned, and a white figure swam upstream against the current — it was the Human Demon Hagon.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming immediately jumped into the river with the Black Toad, bypassed Hagon, and vigorously swam downstream.

Earlier, he had used a vine-woven human decoy, supporting the White Ape Beast Skin as it drifted downstream. Elder Hu Huo still thought the Fur Cloak Technique was Yuan Ming's only reliance, which led him to be deceived.

"This kid is getting harder and harder to deal with," Elder Hu Huo muttered as he watched Yuan Ming's departing figure, his eyebrows tightly furrowed once more.

He shook the bell in his hand, signaling Hagon to give chase again, while he planned to meet up with Kun Tu.

...

Yuan Ming quickly found the White Ape Beast Skin on a shallow bank. After climbing ashore, he looked back and scanned around, then glanced upward at the sky.

"Has Elder Hu Huo not caught up?" he pondered quietly.

At that moment, a black shadow circled back in the night sky, returning — it was the soul crow that had distracted Kun Tu earlier by carrying a piece of his clothing.

The soul crow dove into Yuan Ming's forehead, returning to his Sea of Consciousness.

He had now largely mastered Elder Hu Huo's tactics and could handle them with ease. Now, what worried him more was Kun Tu.

This person's cultivation was profoundly high, and he possessed a Mid-grade Magical Artifact. After becoming an Inner Sect Disciple, his strength must have increased significantly, necessitating caution.

Yuan Ming pondered briefly, then used the Wood Concealment Skill.

After the Divine Soul Transformation, his control over Mana had become more accurate, and the effect of the Wood Concealment Skill had improved significantly. Not a single animal or insect nearby was aware of his presence.

Yuan Ming was very satisfied with this, and he took a detour back to Miao Hua Village to check on Tuya and her daughter's safety.

The Wood Concealment Skill worked superbly; the journey back encountered no obstacles, and he arrived quickly at Miao Hua Village. However, Tuya and her daughter were nowhere to be seen.

There were no signs of a struggle in the surroundings; traces of two sets of footprints were faintly visible in the bushes, suggesting they had escaped on their own.

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