Boom!
A muffled impact rang out as the Falling Star Dog slammed hard into the Drill Bear.
Though the Drill Bear was merely a Sixth Transformation Desolate Beast, its body was incredibly tough, like a wall blocking the Falling Star Dog's charge head-on.
The collision sent it stumbling back five or six steps, but it managed to stay standing. The Falling Star Dog retreated only one step, yet its head was spinning.
It shook its head and cleared its senses.
Seizing the opportunity, five or six killer moves flew in from among the Giant Grass, striking the Falling Star Dog one after another.
The Falling Star Dog let out a howl of pain, its skin torn open and flesh gashed.
Fang Yuan watched coldly from the sidelines.
"So it's not just Mao Twelve who's improved significantly — the other Hairman Gu Immortals have all mastered immortal-level killer moves too."
"But these immortal killer moves probably each only rely on a single core immortal Gu, with power no greater than the Sixth Transformation level."
The Falling Star Dog had taken many hits. Though its skin was torn and its flesh bleeding, these were only minor wounds.
It was an Ancient Desolate Beast. Even though it was still young and hadn't reached maturity, its defensive and recovery capabilities were formidable.
"This time I absolutely cannot fail and let Fang Yuan laugh at me!" Mao Twelve focused his mind, his heart filled with unprecedented fighting spirit.
The three Desolate Beasts seemed to sense their master's resolve, their battle intent soaring.
Under Mao Twelve's command, the Drill Bear — the toughest of the three — took the main role of resistance. The Golden-White Tiger served as the secondary line of defense. As for the Chestnut Yak, though weak, it could still provide support from the flank and serve as a distraction.
"Mao Twelve commands his Desolate Beasts methodically, with room to spare. But the situation is in a stalemate, and the Falling Star Dog's charge is fierce, yet he hasn't deployed a fourth beast. These three Desolate Beasts are likely all he has."
Fang Yuan analyzed calmly.
The fact that a Desolate Beast as mediocre as the Chestnut Yak had been brought out suggested his guess was very likely correct.
"Since the Treasure Yellow Heaven opened, Mao Twelve probably purchased a Drill Bear and a Golden-White Tiger through it. But his selection has real problems. Actually, a single Drill Bear would have been barely sufficient. The Golden-White Tiger is a gold-path Desolate Beast, also of the strong-defense type — it would have been better to swap it for a flying Desolate Beast, one with a more threatening offensive capability. That way, the Falling Star Dog would have been forced to be cautious, its aggression weakened, its attention divided between attack and defense. Hmm?"
Just as Fang Yuan was mulling this over, Mao Twelve's command went awry. The Drill Bear moved past its position, leaving a gap.
"Damn it!" Mao Twelve's eyes went wide with fury. He immediately redirected the nearest Chestnut Yak to fill the gap.
"Hold the line! You'd better hold the line!" Mao Twelve roared inwardly.
The Falling Star Dog let out a mighty roar and sent the Chestnut Yak flying with a single charge.
It then broke through the encirclement and lunged viciously at the surrounding grass.
The Hairman Gu Immortals hiding in the surrounding grass cried out in alarm.
"Quick — use that move!" Seeing the Falling Star Dog bearing down on him, the unlucky Hairman Gu Immortal shouted in panic.
Swoosh.
In the next instant, he vanished from his spot and reappeared beside another Hairman Gu Immortal a thousand steps away.
"Thank you, thank goodness you reacted fast — I'd be a dead man otherwise." The rescued Hairman Gu Immortal was still shaken.
The one who saved him was Mao Six.
He patted the Hairman Gu Immortal on the shoulder: "Calm down. Calm down, and don't forget there's an outsider watching. Don't embarrass our Langya Sect."
Even at a moment like this, he couldn't resist sowing discord.
The rescued Hairman Gu Immortal quickly composed his expression, though his body was still trembling slightly.
Fang Yuan let out a cold snort, the killing intent in his gaze toward Mao Six barely concealed.
"This bastard — sooner or later I'll have his head. But we're both members of the Langya Sect, bound by a trust-path pledge. We can't kill each other. So to deal with him, I first need to secretly remove the Langya Sect pledge from my own body."
Fang Yuan needed to leverage the power of the Langya Sect, and Mao Six was a serious obstacle.
The fact that Fang Yuan's relationship with the Langya Sect had deteriorated so badly was largely Mao Six's doing.
Within the Langya Sect, both Fang Yuan and Mao Six harbored ulterior motives. The relationship between the two of them was far from simple.
They had once traded with each other, and each held leverage over the other.
Fang Yuan was bound by the Langya Sect pledge and could not deliberately do anything harmful to the sect or its members. Of course, thinking about it or talking about it was permissible. Mao Six was, after all, a member of the Langya Sect. In fact, if Mao Six's life were in danger, Fang Yuan was even obligated to help — though there was a clause allowing for action within one's capabilities. So Mao Six's scheme of deliberately courting danger, luring Ancient Desolate Beasts to harm Fang Yuan, was fundamentally doomed to fail.
Since Fang Yuan had been able to join the Langya Sect and sign the pledge, he naturally wouldn't put himself under others' control without safeguards.
And Mao Six, for his part, also wanted to eliminate Fang Yuan and claim his physical body. But first, his own strength wasn't sufficient. Second, Fang Yuan held his secrets as well. Third, and most critically, regarding the Shadow Sect's overall strategy, he was the last remaining mole — and still needed to deal with the Blessed Land of Langya.
Both sides were wary of making the first move, each wary of the other.
As if sensing Fang Yuan's gaze, Mao Six looked over from afar and flashed him a sinister grin.
He was one of the specter's split souls, and his combat experience was actually quite rich. This was also why he had been the first to act and save the other Hairman Gu Immortals before anyone else.
Uniting the other Hairman Gu Immortals as much as possible, excluding Fang Yuan, and suppressing his growth — that was Mao Six's current strategy.
The battle continued.
The Falling Star Dog had failed to kill the Hairman Gu Immortal and was soon tied down again by the Drill Bear and the Golden-White Tiger. Before long, the Chestnut Yak also returned from the distance, re-establishing the encirclement.
The Hairman Gu Immortals resumed their ranged attacks.
But despite exerting every ounce of his strength, Mao Twelve still couldn't avoid making mistakes due to the sudden shifts in the battle.