Overestimating Oneself

Liu Feng left Li Xiang'er behind and approached the pile of medicinal mud.

He took a moment to size up the young girl before him, silently praising her beauty.

Even though Leng Qiuyue's face was smeared with grime, it could not hide her delicate features. Coupled with her slender, graceful figure, it was no wonder she had become a target.

His gaze finally settled on Leng Qiuyue's neck, where a small piece of jade hanging from a thin cord caught his eye.

It must be her. Thank goodness I arrived in time. Liu Feng felt a weight lift from his heart.

Cowering in the medicinal mud, Leng Qiuyue was gripped by terror; she misinterpreted Liu Feng's focus on the jade as lust for her body.

"Don't come any closer!" The girl pressed her long blade against her own throat.

Not far away, the Big-Headed Gu Child stood stunned, finally processing the scene.

"This blood-skinned beast wants to hog the prize for himself." The Big-Headed Gu Child's eyes turned cold.

Li Xiang'er, standing to the side, was more perceptive. Her gaze fell upon Liu Feng, and she realized he was likely not there for beauty.

"Put the blade down first; I mean you no harm." Liu Feng didn't know how to explain himself, given Leng Qiuyue's desperate, defiant stance.

Should he produce the other half of the jade now and use her parents' names to gain her trust? He didn't want to do that just yet.

His original plan had been to simply locate her and provide secret assistance. He hadn't anticipated that Leng Qiuyue would run into trouble the moment she arrived, forcing him to step out prematurely to shield her from disaster.

However, he reasoned that as long as Leng Qiuyue's identity remained hidden, there shouldn't be much risk in being associated with her.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Leng Qiuyue, and noting the resentful, disdainful look from the Big-Headed Gu Child, Liu Feng realized they had misunderstood his intentions. He simply stated, "I have taken a liking to this girl. From now on, you are not to treat her this way."

"Damn you, you want to eat alone, do you? Do you think you're a Gu Master or something..." The Big-Headed Gu Child was ready to explode on the spot.

But the next moment, he clamped his mouth shut!

Without any visible movement from Liu Feng, five insect limbs shot out from his back, each seven or eight feet long and lined with canine teeth.

With several "shrieking" sounds, the stone floor was shredded, leaving behind five trails of sparks and deep, jagged gouges.

Looking at Liu Feng himself, the once delicate-looking youth now had a face of dark, bruised blue. Paired with the five swaying, serrated limbs on his back, he looked grim and terrifying.

The Big-Headed Gu Child and Li Xiang'er were both newcomers; having never seen such a horrific sight, their teeth began to chatter as if they were staring at a demon.

The Big-Headed Gu Child said hoarsely, "I can hold off the Gu Children, but I truly cannot stop those overseers."

Liu Feng said coldly, "If any Gu Servants come looking, point them to me. My name is Liu Feng; you will soon understand who I am."

Hearing Liu Feng speak with such bravado, the Big-Headed Gu Child dared not delay, thumping his chest in assurance. "Fine, I will see to it."

Having achieved his goal, Liu Feng turned toward Leng Qiuyue in the corner.

The girl had already lowered her long blade, and a faint blush appeared on her mud-streaked face, making her look soft and endearing.

As a young man, Liu Feng couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. He blurted out, "I've been kind-hearted since I was a child and can't stand to see the old, weak, or women being bullied. Don't get the wrong idea!"

With a "pfft," Li Xiang'er, who had been trembling in fear of Liu Feng just a moment ago, couldn't help but giggle.

Liu Feng shot a cold glare at the giggling Li Xiang'er, retracted his Soldier Gu, and strode away.

The night had deepened, deep within the stone path at the foot of the mountain.

This path extended into the mountain, with several stone chambers carved into its left side. One of them belonged to Liu Feng.

At this moment, under the dim light, two figures—a man and a woman—stood by Liu Feng's chamber.

When Liu Feng returned and saw them from afar, he knew by the look on their faces that they were up to no good.

"Are you two waiting for me? I hope you haven't been waiting too long."

Detecting the mockery in Liu Feng's tone, the young man stood up without a word, watching him with cold eyes.

The woman beside him said expressionlessly, "You certainly kept us waiting, brother and sister."

"Let's get straight to the point. We came here to trade these two boxes of potent blood-nourishing medicine for the Soldier Gu 'Split-Tooth' on your back."

Liu Feng glanced at the medicine boxes in the woman's hand, a sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth as he observed them with his Zen Eye.

The man and woman before him both displayed the deformed characteristics of failed exotic Gu implantation; they were undoubtedly Gu Servants.

Furthermore, looking through them to their internal organs, he discovered that their vitality was strangely vigorous—not the result of a Gu Master's methods, nor the effect of medicinal supplements.

"Not interested. You two may leave." Liu Feng withdrew his gaze and said coldly.

With that, he ignored their sinister expressions and stepped into his stone chamber.

The two Gu Servant siblings showed no intention of leaving. The male Gu Servant looked ready to strike, but the female held him back.

"I'm sure you've heard that Second Senior Brother is out searching for a suitable Soldier Gu. 'Split-Tooth' would fit the bill, and he will be returning soon. We are close to him, so you had better weigh your options carefully."

"Second Senior Brother? I see." The sneer on Liu Feng's face deepened.

Second Senior Brother was apparently surnamed Shen, and the exotic Gu he had planted was the "Mountain God."

The "Mountain God" allowed a Gu Master to merge their consciousness with the true spirit of a mountain, enabling them to monitor movements within a certain range and control flora that had gained sentience.

Thinking of this, the vigorous vitality in their organs was likely due to the essence blood of spirits gifted to them by Second Senior Brother.

"You want to use my property to curry favor with Second Senior Brother and beg for essence blood? You spineless cowards, you're not even as good as that mad dog Liu Xing. At least he dared to attempt a second exotic Gu implantation, while you two are still here trying to slowly strengthen your organs with essence blood."

Having their intentions laid bare by Liu Feng, the siblings Su Jing and Su Anjie immediately revealed their murderous intent, wasting no more words.

The two exchanged a glance, and the skin across their bodies simultaneously turned pale and grew incredibly coarse.

Under the dim light, two figures flickered into the stone chamber; one swept their right leg toward Liu Feng's head, while the other lunged directly for the Soldier Gu on his back.

"Overestimating yourselves." A disdainful snort echoed through the chamber.

The two insect legs of the Soldier Gu, Split-Tooth, snapped outward. The siblings pulled back just in time to block, but two sharp tearing sounds rang out as the jagged teeth on the insect legs raked across their arms.

Both were Gu Servants who had failed the implantation of the exotic "Cotton Spitter" Gu. The silk-cotton covering their skin managed to deflect the sharp teeth, but only barely; they were still left with two shallow gashes, proving they were, in the end, nothing more than cripples from a failed Gu ritual.

Immediately following this, several dull thuds resounded in the chamber. Liu Feng traded a few blows with the pair, and in terms of raw physique alone, he did not fall behind in the slightest.

Risking further wounds, the siblings still tried to entangle him to snatch the Soldier Gu.

Liu Feng's patience finally wore thin. Utilizing his Mind Eye Technique, he instantly dodged their punches and reached back with one hand to deliver a fierce grab.

The foot-long venomous cavity tube became a hilt, and as the five jagged insect legs coiled around one another, the Soldier Gu, Split-Tooth, transformed in the blink of an eye into a grim greatsword studded with canine teeth.

"Puchi, puchi..."

Flashes of blood illuminated the stone chamber as two arms covered in silk-cotton were severed and sent flying!

The man and woman wailed in agony, drawing the Gu Children from nearby chambers to peek out, though none dared to approach; they only heard Liu Feng's furious roar.

"Leave the medicine and get out."

Under the horrified gazes of several Gu Children, the two Gu Servants fled while clutching their severed arms, leaving behind a trail of dripping blood.