“What are you doing?” Tu Ya’s mother saw Tu Ya fall into a coma and rushed over without caring about her grieving husband’s death.

“Somebody is here. If you want your daughter to live, don’t say anything!” Yuan Ming extended his arm and pushed Tu Ya’s mother to the ground.

Tu Ya’s mother widened her eyes and dared not speak again.

Yuan Ming held Tu Ya and her mother in his hands, a faint blue light appeared on his chest, and he floated up, flying towards the distance, disappearing into the jungle in the blink of an eye.

As Yuan Ming left, the vines around Ha Gong were released, and the purple-black demon vines disappeared into the ground.

Ha Gong’s body lost support and fell to the ground with a muffled sound.

Not long after Yuan Ming and the others disappeared, several figures flew over from a distance and arrived in an instant. They were Kun Tu, Hu Huo, and Wu Lu.

Kun Tu and Wu Lu rode on green wolf spirit beasts, while Hu Huo walked on foot without summoning the green falcon.

Seeing Ha Gong’s body, Hu Huo’s face darkened despite having sensed it earlier.

He had already sensed Yuan Ming’s presence here through Ha Gong’s sea of consciousness, but Yuan Ming was powerful and had mysterious methods. Hu Huo had suffered losses before and didn’t dare to face him alone.

He coincidentally encountered Kun Tu and Wu Lu in the mountains, so he followed them. However, little did he know that with this slight delay, Yuan Ming had already killed Ha Gong and disappeared again.

“Yuan Ming and Ha Gong have a close relationship. I didn’t expect him to really make a move. I need to reassess this person’s character.” Hu Huo thought to himself.

“Hu Huo, didn’t you confidently claim that Yuan Ming was here? Where is he?” Kun Tu glanced at Ha Gong’s body and then looked away, questioning with a commanding tone.

“Yuan Ming did come here not long ago. He probably sensed that we were approaching and ran away. This kid is quite cunning, but he must have left some traces in his hasty retreat. It’s not difficult to determine the direction he escaped.” Hu Huo didn’t get angry, but instead smiled and said.

“Oh, really? Then I’ll trouble Elder Hu Huo to find it. After all, you used to be in charge of him, so you should be familiar with him.” Kun Tu chuckled and deliberately emphasized the word “Elder.”

A flash of anger crossed Hu Huo’s eyes, but he suppressed it and started searching nearby. He quickly found Yuan Ming’s footprints next to Ha Gong’s body and hurriedly followed the trail.

However, these footprints only showed where Yuan Ming came from, and there were no traces of where he went, as if he disappeared into thin air.

“How is it? Did you find the trace of that beast slave?” Kun Tu walked over slowly.

“That kid used some means. It seems like he has tamed a bird-type spirit beast and escaped into the sky with it.” Hu Huo’s expression changed uncertainly before saying so.

“If we’re talking about bird-type spirit beasts, there aren’t many that can compare to your green falcon. So, I’ll trouble you to find him.” Kun Tu said.

“Of course. However, Yuan Ming is much stronger now. I’m afraid I’m not his match alone. When the time comes, I will use fireworks as a signal. I hope both of you can come quickly.” Hu Huo said, trying to please them.

“I have a conflict with this kid. Do I need to say more?” Kun Tu snorted and said without a good tone.

“Alright, then I’ll go first.” Hu Huo nodded and summoned the green falcon, flying away.

“Just a steward of the Beast Slave Hall, being called an elder by a few beast slaves, he really forgot his identity.” Kun Tu spat on the ground.

“Senior Kun Tu, Hu Huo is still a steward and has a lot of connections in the Beast Slave Hall. It might not be a good idea to humiliate him like this. If he becomes angry, it won’t be a good thing.” Wu Lu hesitated to speak.

“He not only has something I can use against him, but he also needs my help. Does he dare to go against me? I just can’t stand his usual behavior!” Kun Tu sneered.

“Understood. What should we do next?” Wu Lu asked.

“Although Hu Huo is not great, his green falcon has some means of tracking. Let’s follow him. It’s a good opportunity for him to take the lead and investigate Yuan Ming’s true strength. This kid has made such rapid progress since he started, I want to see what secrets he’s hiding.” Kun Tu said with a smile.

“Senior Kun Tu has great insight.” Wu Lu praised.

Kun Tu proudly smiled and chased after Hu Huo with Wu Lu in the direction Hu Huo flew.

Yuan Ming flew forward with Tu Ya and her mother for several miles before landing in a hidden forest.

“You two hide inside there, don’t make any noise. We’ll talk about everything when I come back.” Yuan Ming pointed to a dense bush nearby.

Tu Ya’s mother nodded repeatedly and helped the weak Tu Ya into the bush.

Yuan Ming didn’t stay here and ran forward.

Although he had used the mysterious incense burner to escape a distance, Kun Tu and the others had many methods and would soon catch up. Continuing to bring Tu Ya and her mother would only increase the risk.

Although it was risky, leaving the two women here was relatively safe for now.

While running, Yuan Ming released a soul crow to investigate the surroundings and took out a green crystal stone, a wood attribute spirit stone that he had exchanged from the Green Falcon Hall with a fire attribute spirit stone he obtained from Misty Island.

The pure spiritual energy in the spirit stone flowed into Yuan Ming’s dantian, quickly replenishing his nearly depleted mana.

“The effect of replenishing mana with a spirit stone is good, but it’s a pity that I can’t use it freely.” He muttered with some regret, speeding up his pace. However, he hadn’t gone far when his brows slightly furrowed.

The soul crow he had sent out to investigate the surroundings had already discovered Hu Huo, who was chasing after him on the green falcon.

At the same time, Hu Huo also discovered Yuan Ming’s approximate location and immediately sent out a signal with fireworks in mid-air. Then, he controlled the green falcon to chase after Yuan Ming.Yuan Ming immediately used the Shadowless Step, accelerating towards a forest ahead.

Although his Shadowless Step was fast, it was still far behind the speed of the Azure Falcon, and he was soon caught up.

Hu Huo, controlling the Azure Falcon, flew directly over Yuan Ming’s head, suddenly turned around, and fiercely flapped his wings downwards.

A gust of wind suddenly rose, sweeping the air within dozens of feet, causing the trees to sway wildly and sand and stones to fly.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming, instead of retreating, plunged headlong into the gust. With each step, he forcefully stabbed his feet into the ground. Although his speed was slightly slower, he was not much affected by the wind.

Hu Huo frowned, controlling the Azure Falcon to maintain a certain distance from Yuan Ming. He waved his hands in the air, and several green wind blades whistled out, shooting towards Yuan Ming. At the same time, he anxiously glanced in the direction he had come from, obviously waiting for Kun Tu and the others to arrive.

Yuan Ming moved agilely, dodging each wind blade attack, and his forward speed was only slightly affected.

Seeing this, Hu Huo suddenly leaped off the back of the Azure Falcon and landed on a nearby tree, raising one hand.

The Azure Falcon pounced towards Yuan Ming, its wings suddenly standing upright, almost closing together. It looked like a giant green arrow, and in an instant, it was in front of Yuan Ming. Its iron claws, carrying an incredibly sharp wind, clawed towards Yuan Ming’s head.

The power of this claw was so great that it could even crack the head of an iron man.

“Perfect timing!” Yuan Ming shouted, raising his hand.

A red shadow flashed over his head, and a large red hammer appeared out of thin air, spinning towards the Azure Falcon. It was the hammer he had obtained from the Mist Island.

The Azure Falcon, unprepared for this change, was too late to retract its claws and fiercely grabbed the red hammer.

With a loud “bang”, the red hammer was knocked away, with a few claw marks on its surface. They were not deep and didn’t seem to be a big problem.

The Azure Falcon’s claws were broken, and blood gushed out. Its pouncing body skewed to the side and hit a large tree with a “bang”.

Before it could stabilize its body, a sharp whistle came from the side. A green treasure sword shot out from the jungle, aiming straight at the Azure Falcon’s chest. It was the Green Fish Sword.

“You dare to hurt my spirit pet!”

Hu Huo shouted, quickly slapped his waist, and a small red triangular flag appeared in his palm. It was embroidered with a golden three-legged toad, the same magic weapon he had used to chase Yuan Ming before.

He held the triangular flag and waved it forward.

The golden toad on the flag seemed to come alive, opening its mouth.

In an instant, a surge of golden-red flame gushed out, instantly crossing a distance of more than ten feet, carrying a scorching heat wave and hitting the green treasure sword, easily knocking it away.

Hu Huo let out a sigh of relief, but he didn’t plan to engage in close combat with Yuan Ming. Instead, he planned to continue to harass Yuan Ming with the triangular flag, waiting for Kun Tu and others to arrive.

Suddenly, a black shadow flashed in the jungle next to him, and a Soul Crow shot out without warning, crashing into his face.

“What is this!” Hu Huo was startled and hurriedly dodged to the side.

But at this moment, a black shadow flashed in the direction he was dodging, and another Soul Crow rushed over like lightning.

This time he couldn’t dodge and was hit head-on.

The Soul Crow entered Hu Huo’s sea of consciousness, fiercely collided with his soul, and exploded.

“Ah!”

Hu Huo, his soul severely damaged, screamed in pain, the triangular flag slipped from his hand, and he fell from the tree, hitting the ground hard.

With a light “crack”, his leg broke.

Hu Huo’s cultivation was profound, and his soul was much stronger than Ha Gong’s. Stimulated by the pain of a broken bone, his consciousness actually recovered.

Near a large tree not far away, Yuan Ming looked surprised.

Pain could stimulate and help the enemy to shake off the impact of the Soul Crow. He would have to be careful about this when fighting enemies in the future.

“Kun Tu, save me!”

Hu Huo’s consciousness barely recovered, and he shouted, trying hard to sit up. Suddenly, the ground next to him cracked open, and a purple-black demon vine shot out.

With a soft “puff”, the demon vine pierced Hu Huo’s throat, penetrating his neck.

Hu Huo spat out a mouthful of blood, opened his mouth wide as if to say something, but the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, and his body fell softly to the ground, becoming a corpse.

Not far away, the Azure Falcon had just stabilized its body and was about to come to help, but Hu Huo had already fallen. A circle of black light suddenly appeared on the Falcon’s head, and several fist-sized black runes jumped within it, then silently disappeared.

The Azure Falcon stood there, stunned. After a few breaths, it recovered, its eyes revealing a joyful light.

The secret method that had long imprisoned its soul was lifted. Although it had caused some damage to its soul, it was nothing compared to regaining its freedom.

The Azure Falcon didn’t even glance at Hu Huo’s body, turned around, and flew away.

Yuan Ming let out a sigh of relief and slowly sat down, leaning against a tree.

These attacks seemed ordinary, but in fact, he had used all his strength, even using himself as bait, otherwise, he would not have been able to kill Hu Huo in one fell swoop.

He knew that the enemy was numerous. If he couldn’t break them one by one when they were alone, once they gathered together, he would be the one in trouble.

(End of the chapter)