"Monster, get away from me!"
Jiu Qilin frantically tore at the vines wrapped around him. Fortunately, the Great Demon had paid him no real attention. Only the plants on the outskirts, driven by a mysterious power, had entangled him, and he soon managed to break free.
But he was completely unaware that Han Tianzuo had already appeared behind him and was about to command the Gold-Armored Demon Centipede to swallow him whole. By the time he sensed danger and turned to look, it was already too late to dodge.
"What... what's going on?"
Jiu Qilin still seemed to be under the illusion's influence. His eyes widened abruptly, and he thought he must be seeing things.
Boom!
The wind howled as the Gold-Armored Demon Centipede lunged at him with ferocious momentum.
The extraordinary instincts he had honed through long experience and repeated trials of life and death finally jolted him awake.
This wasn't an illusion. This was real!
The Spirit Herder had appeared again!
Jiu Qilin leaped aside with all his strength, but the Gold-Armored Demon Centipede was simply too fast. He failed to evade it completely, and its enormous body struck him, sending him flying like a ragged sack.
Crash!
Jiu Qilin slammed into a tree as thick as a bucket. With a sharp crack, the trunk snapped. He felt as though an enormous rolling boulder had crushed every bone in his body, shattering them in an instant. His whole body went limp, and he could no longer move.
I'm done for...
Terror appeared on Jiu Qilin's face as he realized that this time, he truly might be finished.
But just then, a figure appeared before him without warning.
It was Fang Qianyuan.
Fang Qianyuan's expression was calm, as though he had stood there from the beginning and had never