After Fang Ping understood that he was in the Jiao’s Forest—in the depths of it, as the Jiao itself was there—his mind cleared. He realized that he had to go in the opposite direction to exit this place.
With a clear sense of direction now, Fang Ping mustered up all his energy and made his way out from the clearing, which was a hundred li within the depths of the Forest. After less than an hour, he noticed the trees becoming more sparse.
“I’ll be out of here soon!”
Fang Ping’s spirits lifted!
The last two days had been so traumatic, he just wanted to be back in Hope City as soon as he could!
Right as he was about to exit the Forest, Fang Ping’s expression soured again. ‘What the f*ck have I done to deserve this?’
A squad of armed martial artists was just passing by outside of the Forest.
When they spotted Fang Ping, one of them made a beeline for him with quick Midair Steps. Fang Ping was terrified; the man was at least Peak Rank-5!
Of course, he had pinpointed the other man’s rank by sensing the concentration of energy particles around him.
Naturally, Fang Ping did not dare to linger. He turned and fled in the opposite direction immediately!
He did not dare exit the Forest now. There were dozens of martial artists out there, and he did not know if he was anywhere near the exit by Sky Gate City.
…
Fang Ping took off with reckless abandon, pushing his speed to the limit of his capacity.
Despite this, the Peak Rank-5 martial artist pursuing him was still much faster. He would have caught up to Fang Ping long ago if not for the trees blocking his path.
“F*ck, should I go back in there?”
Fang Ping hesitated for less than a second before he made up his mind. He would go back to where the Jiao was!
‘I’m bringing a fat one for you!’
Fang Ping had pegged the Jiao as a lazy creature that refused to go out hunting, preferring instead to have its food brought to it.
‘If that’s so, I’ll go find food for you!’
The Peak Rank-5 martial artist behind Fang Ping was somewhat hesitant as he saw his quarry run deep into the woods.
Sensing the other slowing down, Fang Ping turned back with a taunting expression on his face, and yelled, “Nayagukali!
“Come catch me, see if you can beat me to death!”
Fang Ping had to admit that this tried and tested strategy worked pretty well.
The long-haired Rank-5 martial artist’s brow creased. He seemed to understand what Fang Ping was saying when he saw Fang Ping’s taunting gaze—that Fang Ping was mocking him, daring him to try and pursue him.
Without any hesitation, the martial artist went after Fang Ping like greased lightning.
Fang Ping tore on, fueling himself with more and more Vitality outbursts. The wounds on his body had reopened and his shirt had long since been stained red.
Within half an hour, thanks to his furious Vitality outbursts, Fang Ping was able to return to where he first encountered the Jiao.
The Rank-5 martial artist pursued him the entire time—perhaps he had not sensed the aura of a powerhouse in the area.
Under normal circumstances, a powerhouse would stake its claim on its territory if another powerhouse barged in forcibly.
This particular Jiao, though, might just be extremely lazy. It had not broadcast its aura regardless of whoever the intruder might be, whether it was Huang Jing or anyone else.
The Rank-5 martial artist might not have been so careless if he had known that a Jiao resided here. However, he would not have been able to sense its presence even if he had known, as the Jiao had not broadcasted its aura—he might just have assumed that the Jiao had ventured out to hunt for food.
…
The golden beast opened its eyes at Fang Ping’s arrival.
Fang Ping frantically pointed behind him. “I brought a huge meal for you!”
The Jiao seemed to sense the other’s aura, as its attention was no longer on Fang Ping. When the Rank-5 martial artist burst into the clearing, his steps buckled suddenly and he was sent sprawling to the ground by some unseen pressure exerted down on him!
Fang Ping’s expression faltered, but he was also curious. ‘You didn’t push me down when I came the first time.’
‘Am I…too weak? So weak that I wasn’t worth it?’
The corners of Fang Ping’s mouth twitched as he came to this realization.
When he saw the Catacombs martial artist struggle to free himself while sweating profusely under the massive pressure exerted on him, Fang Ping suddenly understood why Old Man Li and the others yearned to be Grandmasters.
The Peak Rank-5 martial artist was quite strong, but he was still completely helpless now that he was up against the Jiao, unable to move an inch even as he was constrained.
His face was abject with terror and shock as he registered what was happening to him.
Why was the intruding martial artist from the land of “Xiwang” unharmed?
Fang Ping ignored him; he did not know what the Jiao wanted to do. He could not communicate with the Catacombs martial artist, so he could not show the other what to do—not that he would even if he could.
However, the Jiao did not demonstrate its intent as it did before, turning to look at Fang Ping instead.
The corners of Fang Ping’s mouth spasmed. He had no choice but to condense his Vitality once more; the Jiao swallowed it in a gulp before it turned to the Catacombs martial artist again.
The other understood what the creature wanted by then.
Giving Fang Ping a venomous glare, the other man condensed his Vitality, detached it from his palm, and sent the blob toward the Jiao—sentient creatures were always annoyingly clever in the face of danger. Seeing that the Jiao now had a new source of food, Fang Ping gestured toward the path leading to the outskirts as if to say, ‘I’m going out to lead some more prey to you.’
The Jiao paid him no attention, which pleased Fang Ping greatly. He headed out with care.
…
When he reached the outskirts of the Forest, Fang Ping’s expression changed rapidly.
An army!
He saw that there was an army on the move just outside the Forest!
How could this be?
If this was the Jiao’s Forest, it did not intersect with the paths of both armies heading to battle, as it was near the northeast…
‘Why would this happen?
‘The more powerful martial artists can do reconnaissance by walking on air. A Grandmaster would be more effective than a generic scout unit…taking a detour to sneak attack won’t achieve much, will it?’
Fang Ping scrutinized the soldiers carefully from his hiding place in the woods.
He did not quite understand what these troops wanted to achieve by taking a detour.
‘Would going by a longer way be more effective?’
Fang Ping had to make a run for it soon after, however; some of the enemy scouts had entered the forest.
Fang Ping’s head ached as he headed back into the interior of the Forest. What should he do now?
There was an army outside the wood, and a gigantic monster waiting for him inside the wood. Although the Jiao had not eaten him, it might decide to if it became displeased with him.
“Escape from another direction?”
Fang Ping was irresolute for a while. He had found the exit path now. If he changed directions, he might get himself lost again.
“What should I do?”
Fang Ping now had a massive dilemma on his hands. This route was definitely not viable with a huge army outside the Forest. They might have high-rank martial artists in their ranks; if he went out and was spotted, he would end up extremely dead indeed.
‘If I can’t go this way I’ll just change direction. The Jiao’s Forest is quite big, but…I suppose if you want to call it small, a couple of hundred li isn’t that large an area.’
By the time he reached this conclusion, Fang Ping had ventured deeper into the forest. If he passed by the Jiao, he would just tell the gullible creature that he was on his way to find a meal for it.
…
An hour or so later, Fang Ping arrived in the Jiao’s clearing once more.
As soon as he set foot in the area, he heard a desperate, angry shriek.
Instinctively he turned to look and saw the Rank-5 martial artist from before. The man was now so thin he looked like nothing human. The Jiao was still sucking the Vitality out of him, even though Fang Ping could sense that the man’s energy particles were already so weak they were practically invisible.
In the blink of an eye, the Catacombs Rank-5 martial artist had shriveled to nothing but skin and bones. He slumped on the floor, devoid of any signs of life.
Fang Ping froze!
“This…this is what happens when Vitality is completely sucked dry?”
Very early on, Fang Ping had heard Lu Fengrou talk about this. The human body needed a certain amount of Vitality to survive. If one’s Vitality was completely depleted, one would become a desiccated corpse.
Everyone was aware of this, so Fang Ping had never seen what happened when a body was completely depleted of Vitality.
Today was an eye-opener for him though!
A Rank-5 martial artist had ended up dead in no more than the blink of an eye!
‘He’s dead?
‘The Jiao sucked out all his Vitality?’
Fang Ping shuddered. No wonder the Jiao had become restless when his Vitality was nearing rock bottom; it had probably been gearing up to suck the last remnants of Vitality out of him.
Luckily, whenever Fang Ping had come to this point, the Jiao’s gaze had always terrified him into replenishing his Vitality again.
‘A Rank-5 powerhouse’s Vitality would be 4000cal and above!
‘And yet he’s still been turned into a hunk of dried meat!”
Fang Ping swallowed hard. Had the Jiao already digested the ten thousand cal that he had fed it?
What on earth had he been thinking, treating this ferocious beast who sucked humans dry of Vitality as a dumb, insentient creature?
Fang Ping’s heart could not stop thudding hard in his chest. When the Jiao turned its gaze on him, Fang Ping had no choice but to step forward quickly to feed it.
This bastard could really eat!
The sky was not even dark yet!
After Fang Ping had fed it a thousand over cal of Vitality, the Jiao seemed to be full. It sprawled onto the ground and took a nap.
Fang Ping was not in a hurry to leave at the moment. He strolled toward the Rank-5 martial artist, who had long since become a shriveled husk of a corpse.
Fang Ping noticed that the Jiao did not care much about the corpse, so he rummaged around the body for a while and acquired some objects in a very short time.
‘A pair of boxing gloves…they’re made with C-grade material. They should cost a lot.
‘The energy stones are gone. That’s probably because he fed them to the Jiao early on.
‘Hey, this pair of boots is nice. They’re a bit better than mine.’
Fang Ping made some rapid calculations. These objects cost quite a lot, at least a few million. The system did not add to his Wealth points though.
“King Jiao!”
Fang Ping called softly. The golden beast opened its eyes. Fang Ping held up the gloves gingerly, made a punching gesture toward the corpse, and gestured outward.
“I’ll catch some people for you using this pair of gloves. Give them to me?”
The Jiao gave him a sweeping glance, then closed its eyes again.
Fang Ping felt rather elated. The Jiao had given the gloves to him!
The next moment, Fang Ping’s Wealth increased. He had spent about 13 million on feeding the beast, and on his escape.
Now he had regained 6 million!
Fang Ping’s Wealth was again 88 million!
“This is quite a lucrative method!”
Fang Ping’s eyes lit up. He could lure some enemies to the Jiao so it could feed. Although there would be no energy stones and their energy hearts would be shattered due to the Jiao’s voracious appetite, their weapons could fetch a handsome sum.
“If I lure a Peak Rank-6 martial artist here and he ends up dead, if his weapon’s made of B-grade alloy, wouldn’t I earn a lot of money?”
Fang Ping made some calculations, but he ran into problems almost immediately; the outskirts of the Forest were almost a hundred li away.
If he did come across a Peak Rank-6 martial artist, he would not have the ability to escape, as he would be killed instantly.
“King Jiao, what if we go out and catch a big one?”
Fang Ping called. He waited until the Jiao opened its eyes, and gestured for it to walk outside.
The Jiao gave him a look, impatience flaring in its great eyes. It was obviously annoyed by the incessant noise Fang Ping was making.
Fang Ping’s heart skipped a beat. He had apparently said the wrong thing.
Not daring to bother the Jiao any further, Fang Ping tied the gloves, the boots, and all the weapons together. He then took off his coat and wrapped them all up. He felt somewhat helpless; he had too many weapons to carry, and they hindered his mobility.
The most crucial thing was that all the valuable energy stones were gone.
“What if I leave these weapons here and lure some more Rank-4 and 5 martial artists over? I’ll take everything back with me afterward …won’t Big Lion be shocked when I return! I’ve killed so many Rank-4 and 5 martial artists, he’s sure to be astonished!
“It’s impossible to persuade the Jiao to act against its own interests though. I can’t blame anyone if I do something wrong and get eaten.”
Fang Ping was somewhat hesitant, but his Wealth had decreased by a massive amount and there were many martial artists outside the Forest. Then too, if he did not proceed with the plan, how much longer would he have to wait until his Wealth broke the hundred million barrier?
Before, he had needed 5 million to achieve his goal, but now he needed 12 million more. The Jiao had consumed it all, so the beast should compensate him somewhat, should it not?
Clenching his teeth, Fang Ping said resolutely, “Let’s do this. I’ll leave after my Wealth reaches a hundred million!”
He would leave after he had a hundred million Wealth points to his name.
The Jiao did not seem to limit Fang Ping’s actions right now. If he fled after he had earned 100 million Wealth points, as lazy as it was, the Jiao probably would not go after him, would it?
…
There was danger everywhere in the Catacombs. Fang Ping understood that now. Currently what he was doing was dangerous, as dangerous as killing other martial artists elsewhere in the Catacombs.
The latter might be more dangerous, even!
Big Lion really knew how to deceive people. What was this about middle-rank martial artists being few and far between? They were everywhere!
Only a moment had passed, and yet he had seen so many middle-rank martial artists!
…
When Fang Ping arrived at the outskirts of the Forest again, he could still see smaller military squads passing by, including a few groups of random martial artists.
Right there and then, Fang Ping realized that war was about to commence.
“Is Hope City in the middle of a battle?”
“I’m also contributing to Hope City’s efforts by covertly attacking from the rear and infiltrating the enemy troops, right?”
Fang Ping fancied himself to be quite a hero. He was now bargaining with a higher-rank creature in a bid to save humanity. Who would dare to do something so dangerous without great courage?
Big Lion had said before that Fang Ping would not contribute anything to humanity. What he was doing right now was a slap in the face for the old bastard!
With these virtuous thoughts of alleviating the burden for humanity, Fang Ping set his sights on a few middle-rank powerhouses with weapons in hand, so that he would not waste his Vitality on luring anyone unarmed to the Jiao’s lair.
Fang Ping did not target any of the martial artists in the army.
He did not bother with groups that had a lot of people either.
He used his discretion when choosing small groups as well. If the group had a Rank-6 powerhouse in their midst, he immediately went under the radar, not daring to reveal his aura.
His targets were Rank-4 and 5 martial artists.
Very quickly, Fang Ping settled on his prey—a small team of three Rank-4 martial artists!
When he was done luring the three of them into the depths of the forest, the light suddenly faded from the sky.
It was now dark!
Fang Ping stopped going out of the Forest after that and lay in wait instead.
Dinnertime came. When Fang Ping demonstrated how the martial artists should feed their Vitality to the Jiao, two out of the three understood him while the remaining one tried to attack Fang Ping. This unfortunate soul was immediately pinned to the ground by the Jiao’s Mentality and sucked dry in no time!
The other two martial artists were indignant and furious at the sight, but they could only continue feeding Vitality to the creature.
The Jiao was like a bottomless pit. However much Vitality it consumed, it never seemed to be full.
Soon, all three Rank-4 martial artists had been sucked dry. Before they expired, the remaining two wore expressions of hopelessness and resignation. They had thought that they would survive. Why had the martial artist from the Land of “Xiwang” not been sucked dry like they were?
Naturally, Fang Ping could not explain how he was almost sucked dry a few times but had managed to rapidly replenish his Vitality. If not, he would be very dead by now.
After collecting the three men’s weapons, Fang Ping asked the Jiao the same question as before. The beast paid no heed to him, as usual.
Fang Ping’s Wealth rose again.
Three people, three weapons—they contributed to a 10 million increase in Fang Ping’s Wealth!
After deducting the Wealth points he had spent while running in the Forest earlier, Fang Ping was left with 97.5 million Wealth points. His 100 million goal was merely a step away.
“I killed 6 Rank-4 martial artists and a Rank-5 one!” Fang Ping exclaimed. Apart from himself, could any other Rank-3 martial artist pull this off?
Fang Ping felt a surge of satisfaction as he collected the badges from the deceased martial artists. With results like these, how could anyone object?
