Mixing In

Zhang Xuezhou only briefly touched the Dingkui that Hu Yu had unleashed when his Yang Soul left his body; he did not know Hu Yu's true strength.

But Zhang Xuezhou and Hu Hao had a fight.

Tiger Breed, which can defeat Tiger Hao, must be even stronger.

Zhang Xuezhou wasn't out of his mind; he wouldn't recklessly challenge Hu Yu alone or launch a sneak attack.

If conflict is ruled out, all Zhang Xuezhou has left is to observe and wait for an opportunity, or to eavesdrop on what methods Hu Yu will use, so as to avoid the other party as much as possible when collecting the great medicine from the snake cave.

As for the false furnace, Zhang Xuezhou felt that one shouldn't believe too much of what the other party said; it was enough to take half of it and half of it.

"Who knows who will fall victim to the Void Furnace's wickedness, and who will be able to extinguish its flame!"

While quietly waiting for nightfall, Zhang Xuezhou also thought about the fire that the Void Furnace possessed.

Both Hu Yu and Hu Hao came for the spark, and the spark is far from being as bad as Zhang Xuezhou described.

Hu Yu and Hu Hao waited a long time for this. While the fact that the wild snakes blocked the snake pit was the reason why these ferocious beasts had not taken the fire, the deeper reason might involve the Void Furnace.

Only when it is certain that the Void Furnace is completely dead due to factors unrelated to itself will ferocious beasts like Tiger Yu dare to come and take advantage of the situation.

Many things are easy to answer if you think about them carefully.

Zhang Xuezhou enjoys receiving benefits, but without sufficient understanding, some benefits are not worth the high risks he takes to obtain.

Their visit to Qinmeng involved plans related to the fire, but they were more focused on the tangible benefits they could obtain.

For example, the great medicine from the snake cave and the secret stone of Qinmeng.

"He can move almost again!"

Zhang Xuezhou from morning until noon, then from noon until nightfall, and finally, late at night, before his spirit departed and began his journey.

Yangpo was no match for Dingkui, but it was still Zhang Xuezhou's excellent ability to investigate silently.

His yang spirit, like a dandelion seed adrift in the wind and waves, drifted towards the snake den several miles away.

The pale, cool light of Proxima Centauri and Proxima Centauri made Zhang Xuezhou's Yang Soul's journey extremely comfortable and natural. With the help of the night's light, Zhang Xuezhou could clearly see everything below the snake cave.

Without causing any devastation, the hundred-meter-long giant python lay quietly outside its lair.

Occasionally, Zhang Xuezhou could see the massive body of the Wild Serpent twitch unnaturally.

Many ferocious beasts prey on snakes, but instead of eating the wild snakes, they seemed to forcibly drag them out of their dens and then leave them alone.

"Hu Yu also seems unwilling to be implicated, which suggests that Xu Furnace does indeed have a powerful background in the Outer Heavens!"

Unable to shrink their bodies, the ferocious beasts paced back and forth outside the snake pit. Tiger Yu and the golden-maned lion, members of the beast pack, were nowhere to be seen, seemingly having entered the snake pit to search for something, and had not yet emerged.

"Ding Kui was also taken to the snake pit!"

Zhang Xuezhou wandered around for a while, but he didn't see Hu Yu's precious treasure.

However, Zhang Xuezhou unexpectedly discovered a tiger cub that was only half a person's height while patrolling the stone slope three miles away from the snake cave.

He watched the tiger cub lying prone on the ground, breathing evenly towards the snake den, and his heart pounded.

"It has gunshot wounds; I must have shot it!"

Zhang Xuezhou had to admit that he was indeed somewhat blind; he had always suspected that the giant ape-like beast hunted in Badun was this young tiger, but he hadn't expected to be wrong.

There are indeed two giant ape-like ferocious beasts in this area.

One was captured by Badun, while the other was a ferocious giant ape that could transform into a tiger cub and was hiding here.

Considering that Hu Yu mentioned a ferocious beast seeking refuge, Zhang Xuezhou thought that the captured giant ape might be one of those beasts that had come to seek refuge, or it might belong to Hu Hao's command. After all, Hu Yu only mentioned the disappearance of the ferocious beast 'Feixun' and did not mention the name of the giant ape beast.

"I wonder where the hairless tiger is hiding. Perhaps Tiger Lord might be nearby?"

Although Zhang Xuezhou's mental strength greatly increased after mastering the "Entwined Dragon and Pillar True Fire Refining Golden Body" technique, and even surpassed Ren Yisheng in the comparison against Badun, Zhang Xuezhou would not underestimate the Hairless Tiger, nor would he underestimate the defeated Tiger Hao.

He had previously planned to eavesdrop on the tiger cubs' upbringing. After discovering the cubs, he focused on finding the hairless tiger and the tiger tigress. He even looked back at his own body to avoid being accidentally drawn into the fight.

"Could that thing be Tiger's Fury?"

After patrolling the area three times, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't find the hairless tiger, but he unexpectedly discovered a small, mottled tree that could still move.

This peculiar tree wasn't far from the snake's lair, and it moved at a speed no different from a normal person walking.

If it weren't for the tree's unusual color and the sparse trees near the snake cave, Zhang Xuezhou felt he wouldn't have noticed this moving tree.

The tree moved slowly and somewhat furtively.

"The art of transformation is indeed wondrous!"

Li Shaojun mentioned the connection between the art of body expansion and transformation in Zhuangzi's Law Treasure cloth. Zhang Xuezhou was also familiar with the art of aging, but when he saw this ability to turn into a tree, he was still amazed.

However, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't be sure at the moment that this tree was Hu Hao, after all, he had made mistakes more than once or twice.

"Are they planning a sneak attack?"

Seeing the moving tree steadily approaching the snake's lair, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but do some calculations.

The white dragon, white horse, giant tortoise, and giant sheep-deer appeared to be patrolling outside the snake cave, but these ferocious beasts didn't find anything and didn't notice the tree approaching.

Zhang Xuezhou saw the tree finally stand in the shadows of the snake den, and then remain there motionless.

"This entire cave is filled with excrement. If Xu Lu were buried in a place like this after his death, he'd be remembered for his infamy for eternity. It's absolutely awful!"

"Take a break, adjust your posture, and then try looking again!"

As if timed precisely, the sounds of the spiritual exchange between Tiger and the Golden Lion began to reverberate outside the snake pit.

The faint, seven-colored light, like a nighttime light source, also illuminated the area outside the snake pit.

Zhang Xuezhou saw Hu Yu use Ding Kui to avoid the wild serpent, then draw an irregular circle around the group of ferocious beasts before placing Ding Kui in front of them.

"So that's how you avoid the top spot!"

Looking at the dwarf trees that were also included in the Dingkui's range, Zhang Xuezhou finally understood the flaw in Dingkui's strategy.

Clearly, Ding Kui does not harm any living beings within the designated area; anyone who can blend in can avoid Ding Kui's power.

Of course, knowing about this avoidance method is one thing, but being able to use this method is another.

"Bai Yin, are your injuries not fully healed yet?"

"Hiss~"

"It's alright. I thought your injuries had already been healed by Ding Kui. I didn't expect you still needed treatment. That dwarf from the Tiangong Clan is indeed quite capable."

Perhaps it was because the light emanating from Ding Kui was beyond what was usually seen, Hu Yu was slightly suspicious, but after asking Bai Jiao, he came to the same conclusion.

"It's a pity we couldn't find the spark for the Void Furnace. You'll continue to lie there and endure the pressure. Hopefully, you'll be smarter tomorrow. If not, keep searching for the spark!"

Tiger Yu commanded the ferocious beasts, who nodded repeatedly. The giant tortoise even raised its head and roared like flowing water. Only after Tiger Yu slapped it with its claw did the beasts quiet down.

As if a sleep switch had been flipped, many of the ferocious beasts in the circle, whose mental states were perfectly normal, only closed their eyes for a few minutes under Ding Kui's light before falling into a deep sleep with extremely even breathing.

Even Tiger Yu and the Golden Lion couldn't hold on, falling asleep within minutes.

"It seems that the tree-transforming technique can resist the rules of the top spot?"

Besides blending into the area designated by Ding Kui, transforming into a tree seems to also allow one to avoid Ding Kui's influence.

Zhang Xuezhou saw that within Ding Kui's light, the stunted tree slowly began to move again, gradually approaching Ding Kui.