Chao Tianxiang watched Fang Yuan and the Myriad Beast Demon Spirit from afar, her heart filled with shock.
Her knowledge was somewhat inferior to that of her husband, Meng Shu, but even so, she could see just how heaven-defying that young man was.
Absorbing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring in an instant, and he still had the nerve to say he hadn't cheated?
Meng Shu's suggestion to leave quickly suited her perfectly.
Taking her granddaughter's hand, Chao Tianxiang fled into the distance alongside Meng Shu.
Fang Yuan stood atop the Myriad Beast Demon Spirit's mountain-like body. Seeing the three of them trying to leave as though fleeing for their lives, he raised an eyebrow.
"Trying to leave?"
A faint smile appeared on his face. "Perfect. I can test my eighth soul skill. Leaving in front of me now won't be so easy."
As he spoke, eight Soul Rings rose neatly beneath Fang Yuan's feet—two yellow, two purple, three black, and one red—circling his body.
Then, the scarlet Soul Ring representing a hundred thousand years suddenly erupted with dazzling brilliance.
A flash of emerald light passed by.
Eighth Soul Skill, Fixed Immortal Travel!
Fang Yuan's figure instantly vanished from atop the Myriad Beast Demon Spirit's body. Amid the flashing green light, he appeared in an instant along the only route Meng Shu and the other two had to take.
Accompanied by a burst of dazzling emerald radiance, Meng Shu and the others could not help narrowing their eyes. When they looked ahead again, Fang Yuan was already standing before them.
Fixed Immortal Travel Gu was Fang Yuan's most prized space-path Gu worm in his previous life, a mobile Immortal Gu that had saved him from danger time and again.
Its ability was quite simple: it could teleport a person to anywhere in the world they wished to go.
Of course, the prerequisite was that the user had to possess a clear impression of that location in their mind. If the scenery of that place had changed drastically, activating Fixed Immortal Travel would fail.
Furthermore, before its teleportation ability could activate, it required three breaths of preparation time. If someone interrupted it during that period, the teleportation would likewise fail.
But even with these restrictions, it remained one of the finest movement methods in the world.
By now, Fang Yuan's earlier Soul Rings had resolved his issues of survival, combat power, and endurance. Naturally, his attention turned to this mobile Immortal Gu that he had used most often in his previous life.
With such an almost miraculous teleportation method, he could produce unimaginable effects.
Even the second soul skill granted by his eighth Soul Ring had been carefully selected by Fang Yuan to work in conjunction with Fixed Immortal Travel.
It was somewhat extravagant, but Fixed Immortal Travel's strategic value was worth such an investment!
Using Fixed Immortal Travel, Fang Yuan teleported before Meng Shu and the other two in an instant.
When Fixed Immortal Travel teleported someone, it could only transport the human body, not clothing.
If Fang Yuan did nothing, he would become a naked pervert after the teleportation was complete.
However, Fang Yuan had used Fixed Immortal Travel countless times in his previous life and had long devised a solution.
After the three-breath preparation period, just before the teleportation began, Fang Yuan instantly stored his clothes in the Supreme Immortal Aperture. The moment the teleportation was complete, he immediately took them back out of his Immortal Aperture and put them on.
It sounded somewhat troublesome, but Fang Yuan had used this little combo many times in the Gu World and was already extremely practiced at it.
Under the cover of the green light, no one could see his naked body.
Meng Shu and the other two had been about to leave, but in barely a moment, the mysterious young man who had slain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast appeared before them.
The instant they saw Fang Yuan, Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang were both greatly alarmed.
By instinct, they summoned their Martial Souls. The dragon-headed cane and snake-headed cane crossed in midair, the four eyes upon the canes gleaming with icy light.
Meng Yiran was shielded behind Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang. Her senses were not strong enough for her to know what had happened in that brief span of time.
But seeing her grandfather and grandmother acting as though they faced a formidable enemy, she summoned her Serpent Cane Martial Soul as well, watching the incomparably handsome man across from her with vigilance.
Fang Yuan stood where he was, his hands clasped behind his back, as if the imposing auras of Meng Shu's and Chao Tianxiang's canes did not exist at all.
He smiled calmly and spoke softly. "Why are you leaving in such a hurry? Fortunately, the two of you helped me hold off that Soul Beast earlier. I haven't even had the chance to thank you yet. Might I know how to address you both?"
Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang exchanged a glance, both secretly filled with doubt.
What exactly was this young man plotting? Had he truly come to thank them, or did he intend to kill them to silence them?
The latter was not impossible. After all, Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang had personally witnessed him hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
And hunting a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast meant that this person must possess a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!
If he did not want that information to spread, killing them to silence them would be the best choice.
Meng Shu's heart tightened, but he knew he absolutely could not show weakness now or appear guilty.
He laughed heartily, his voice unrestrained. "This old man is Meng Shu, known as Duke Long. This is my wife, Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang. Young people these days truly inspire awe."
He would first flatter the other party and see how he reacted.
Hearing that name, Fang Yuan could not help freezing for a moment, his expression turning somewhat strange.
Then, an inexplicable undertone entered his voice.
"As an eight-ring Soul Douluo, calling yourself a patriarch is acceptable. But calling yourself Duke Long before me is truly..."
Meng Shu's expression stiffened. "May I ask what Your Excellency means by that?"
The strange look vanished from Fang Yuan's face. He shook his head and smiled. "Nothing. You reminded me of an old acquaintance."
He let the matter pass and shifted his gaze to Meng Yiran behind Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang, as well as the Man Faced Demon Spider whose legs had been severed but which still remained alive.
At the sight of that Man Faced Demon Spider, Fang Yuan recalled the External Soul Bone Tang San had obtained from it in the original timeline—the Eight Spider Lances.
It seemed that because of him, the journey of Tang San, Xiao Wu, and everyone from Shrek Academy had been disrupted.
As a result, the Man Faced Demon Spider that Tang San should have absorbed had instead fallen into Meng Shu's and Chao Tianxiang's hands.
"The Eight Spider Lances were an External Soul Bone Tang San used exceptionally well. They helped him enormously and eventually even evolved into a divine artifact. Should I snatch this Man Faced Demon Spider?"
Such a thought could not help arising in Fang Yuan's mind.
If he wanted events to proceed as closely as possible to the original timeline, then he seemingly should not miss the Eight Spider Lances, which were so important to Tang San.
With that thought, Fang Yuan smiled faintly at Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang. "The one behind you is your granddaughter, correct? Has she reached a bottleneck and needs a Soul Ring to advance?
"You are carrying such a badly injured Soul Beast with you. Its bloody scent may attract other Soul Beasts. Why not absorb its Soul Ring as soon as possible?"
Chao Tianxiang's gaze sharpened as she said coldly, "Kid, what business is that of yours?"
Meng Shu hurriedly raised a hand to cut off Chao Tianxiang's words. The young man before them was exceedingly strange and terrifying. Chao Tianxiang had spoken without restraint out of concern for her granddaughter, but he could not do the same.
He smiled and said, "We still do not know how to address this young friend."
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