"Hahaha, Fufeng, your Fu family's intentions are wicked, daring to ambush us in Xinghu Forest. Once I return, I will surely expose your Fu family's crimes, contact all parties, and eliminate your Fu family, removing this cancerous tumor from our Great Yan Star!"
Because Zhang Fan was entangled in combat with Bai Yunhu, blocking the greatest threat for them, Ouyang Ye and his group quickly broke through the encirclement of the beast horde. After escaping the battlefield, they let out hearty laughter.
"This Ouyang Ye is too insidious. It was clearly he who colluded with Li Yunhai to ambush us," Fusi Si said, her fair and beautiful face showing immense indignation.
Fufeng's expression was also extremely grim, but he remained silent. He understood that since Li Yunhai stood with Ouyang Ye, it also meant that the Li family and the Ouyang family had already formed an alliance, and dealing with their Fu family was only a matter of time.
It was imaginable that the Golden Core cultivators who followed Ouyang Ye out of the breakthrough might also have few survivors.
Although angry in his heart, they were currently surrounded here, and whether they could escape was still a question, let alone seek revenge on Ouyang Ye.
"If we can survive, we must send this news back to the family immediately. Otherwise, facing the surprise attack from the Ouyang and Li families, the family might be in trouble."
Thinking of this, Fufeng's desire to survive grew even stronger. This was not only a matter of their lives and fortunes but also related to the fate of the entire family.
However, facing Bai Yunhu, a cultivator who had not even passed his first Nascent Soul tribulation, he could only place his hope on Zhang Fan.
...
Although Zhang Fan also heard Ouyang Ye's words, none of it was of great importance to him. He was currently holding a bronze ancient sword, locked in combat with Bai Yunhu.
On one side was a powerful demon beast that had survived three Nascent Soul tribulations, and on the other was a human cultivator whose divine body had achieved minor success and who had cultivated two first-grade top-grade Golden Cores. Both sides' physical bodies were extremely strong, so the battle was exceptionally fierce.
"It seems that it is indeed a bit difficult to break through your physical body with this bronze ancient sword. Since that is the case..."
Relying on his agile footwork and extremely high speed, Zhang Fan completely gained the upper hand. The two had exchanged over a hundred moves, and the bronze ancient sword occasionally struck Bai Yunhu. Although it could injure him, the damage was too insignificant for Bai Yunhu.
Zhang Fan put away the bronze ancient sword. The vast spiritual power contained within his two first-grade Golden Cores surged out, and the "Lie Tian Si" (Splitting Heaven Rhinoceros) illustration within his body was lit up.
As a giant phantom of Lie Tian Si slowly materialized and appeared above Zhang Fan's head, an aura of ancient desolation spread through the forest. The Golden Core realm demon beasts were affected by this aura, their hearts trembling, and the ferocity in their eyes gradually receded, replaced by fear from the depths of their souls.
"What kind of exotic beast is this!"
Bai Yunhu also had a hint of fear in its eyes. From the phantom of that exotic beast, it felt a pressure that came from its soul, causing its fearless heart to produce a trace of fear, unable to fully boost its fighting spirit.
A mere phantom could affect its spirit. If the true body were here, wouldn't it be instantly suppressed into submission?
"This is not an exotic beast, but a chaotic ferocious beast."
"Horn of Splitting Heaven!"
With Zhang Fan's roar, the Lie Tian Si phantom seemed to come back to life. It raised its single horn, which could pierce the sky, and charged towards Bai Yunhu.
"Roar!"
Bai Yunhu let out a sky-shattering roar, echoing throughout the entire Xinghu Forest, making the weaker demon beasts tremble.
"I think you are just bluffing!"
Bai Yunhu forcibly dispelled the ancient aura that affected its spirit, and the trace of fear in its eyes completely vanished, replaced by a bloodthirsty coldness.
Facing the giant phantom of Lie Tian Si, Bai Yunhu, like a pure white and adorable kitten, darted out without hesitation, waving its tiger claws, wanting to shatter the phantom.
However, this was, after all, a divine-grade divine ability, and as Zhang Fan's strength increased, the power of this divine ability was far from what it used to be.
When the two collided, it was almost a destructive force. The physical body that Zhang Fan could not injure with dozens of sword strikes earlier was directly penetrated by the horn of Lie Tian Si.
At the same time, a transparent phantom flew out from Bai Yunhu's body and then fled rapidly towards the depths of the forest. That was Bai Yunhu's Nascent Soul.
"After expending so much effort to kill you, how could I let you escape?"
Seeing this, a cold smile appeared on Zhang Fan's lips. He had done all this for this very moment.
Whether it was a human cultivator or a demon beast, as long as they cultivated a Nascent Soul, the Nascent Soul could detach from the physical body. As long as the Nascent Soul was not destroyed, it had the opportunity to possess and be reborn.
Of course, the physical body that the Nascent Soul possessed could not be more compatible than its original body, so no one would do such a thing unless absolutely necessary.
At this moment, Bai Yunhu's powerful physical body was pierced by the Horn of Splitting Heaven, and it had no choice but to make this decision.
Although it knew in its heart that even with a complete physical body it couldn't contend with that incredibly monstrous human cultivator, the chance of its Nascent Soul escaping was slim.
Bai Yunhu's Nascent Soul flew at an extremely high speed, far surpassing ordinary Golden Core cultivators, but it was still inferior to Zhang Fan, who cultivated the path of lightning and condensed a first-grade top-grade Golden Core.
Moreover, it was currently in its Nascent Soul form, and the power it could exert was less than thirty percent of its peak strength, making its chances of escape even more remote.
When Zhang Fan fully unleashed his movement technique and swept towards Bai Yunhu's escape direction, Fufeng and Liu Mu could only catch a glimpse of an afterimage flashing by before it disappeared from sight.
In just a few breaths, Zhang Fan returned, and in his hand, he was holding a Bai Yunhu the size of a fist.
"Human, spare my life. I can help you rule the entire Xinghu Forest. From now on, you will be the king of Xinghu Forest."
Bai Yunhu's Nascent Soul was held in Zhang Fan's hand, completely defenseless, and could only bow its head and beg for mercy.
"Truly an ant looking at the sky. Your offer has tickled my funny bone."
Zhang Fan merely smiled at Bai Yunhu's words, reached out, and pointed at Bai Yunhu's Nascent Soul, completely sealing its spiritual power, and then took out a bag to put it in.
Let alone this small forest, even if he were to stay on Great Yan Star and be its lord, he would have no interest.
Due to Bai Yunhu's demise, the demon beast horde that had been besieging Liu Mu and the others instantly retreated. On Xinghu Lake, in addition to the corpses of over a hundred human cultivators, there were also the corpses of dozens of Golden Core realm demon beasts.
"You demon, how exactly did you cultivate?" Liu Mu could not help himself. His bright eyes were full of curiosity as he stared at Zhang Fan and asked.
If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that a Golden Core cultivator could kill a powerful demon beast that had survived three Nascent Soul tribulations.
Liu Mu came from an extraordinary background and had broad knowledge. Even he could be considered an unparalleled genius. During his Golden Core stage, he had also condensed a first-grade top-grade Golden Core, but at that time, he could at most contend with some weaker two-tribulation Nascent Soul cultivators. Forget killing, even defeating them was difficult.
Even now, after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage with a first-grade top-grade Golden Core and condensing a golden Nascent Soul, he was still no match for Bai Yunhu.
Fufeng and Fusi Si's backgrounds and knowledge were far inferior to Liu Mu's. Regarding Zhang Fan killing Bai Yunhu, even if they had witnessed it, they found it hard to accept.
If they hadn't clearly felt that Zhang Fan had not yet formed a Nascent Soul, he would have suspected that a master disguised as him.
"It was just a fortunate encounter, nothing worth mentioning," Zhang Fan waved his hand, not dwelling on this issue, and then turned to collect the demonic cores.
"How can such a matter be handled by fellow Daoist Zhang Fan himself?" Fufeng quickly stopped Zhang Fan and then said to Fusi Si, "Sisi, help me clean up the battlefield and sort out fellow Daoist Zhang Fan's spoils of war."
Before Zhang Fan could speak, Fufeng continued, "If fellow Daoist Zhang Fan had not been here, perhaps neither Sisi nor I would have survived. These spoils of war rightfully belong to fellow Daoist Zhang Fan and fellow Daoist Liu Mu."
With Zhang Fan's discernment, how could he not see why Fufeng was so enthusiastic? Collecting demonic cores was a bit troublesome, and since Fufeng was willing, he did not say more.
Liu Mu stood by without speaking, not even looking at the blood-stained corpses on the ground, completely unconcerned.
Soon, under the diligent labor of Fufeng and Fusi Si, all the demonic cores of the demon beasts were extracted, and the storage artifacts of the deceased human cultivators were also collected. Fufeng did not inspect them, put them all into a storage artifact, and very politely handed them to Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan accepted them without any pretense and said to Liu Mu, "Looking at you, you don't lack these low-level things, so I'll accept them."
Liu Mu pouted and said nothing, indicating his tacit agreement.
The strongest of the deceased human cultivators had only condensed a second-grade Golden Core, so how much wealth could they possess? Given his status, he truly did not look down on it.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang Fan, for killing Bai Yunhu and saving the lives of my two Fu family members, my Fu family owes you a favor. If you have any requests in the future, my Fu family will not refuse." Fufeng cupped his fists at Zhang Fan and bowed sincerely.
"With your Fu family's strength, it's really hard for you to help me with anything. Moreover, you haven't forgotten what Ouyang Ye said before he left?" Zhang Fan said with a light laugh.
That concerned the fate of his entire Fu family. How could he forget?
Fufeng took a deep breath. He understood that Zhang Fan had seen through everything. So, he stopped being polite and said, "I implore fellow Daoist Zhang Fan to help my Fu family this once, and my Fu family will surely reward you handsomely!"
"Oh? If I were to help, how would your Fu family reward me?"
"A high-grade spiritual treasure, or something else?" Zhang Fan asked curiously.
Fufeng's face immediately showed difficulty upon hearing this, unsure how to respond.
With Zhang Fan's strength, ordinary treasures might not be within his sights, but a high-grade spiritual treasure...
Their Fu family only had one, which was their family's treasure. He did not have the authority to dispose of it.
"Hahaha, it was just a joke."
Seeing Fufeng's expression, Zhang Fan couldn't help but laugh heartily and then said, "We have also experienced life and death together, and I really can't stand that Ouyang Ye. It's just right to take this opportunity to resolve him."
"Didn't their Ouyang family already have a high-grade spiritual treasure? Let's take that spiritual treasure as a reward then."
"If so, then thank you, fellow Daoist Zhang Fan." Fufeng's tense heart relaxed upon hearing this, and he bowed deeply to Zhang Fan once more.
Fusi Si stood by and watched silently. At this moment, her gaze towards Zhang Fan was filled with complexity and gratitude. Originally, she had thought Zhang Fan was a reckless fool who didn't know his place, but she never expected that this was all due to her narrow perspective.
"I'm going to kill Ouyang Ye, are you going?" Zhang Fan asked, looking at Liu Mu.
"Why wouldn't I go? I hate these despicable and shameless scoundrels the most." Liu Mu was like an angry youth at this moment, wanting to step forward and uphold justice.
"With fellow Daoist Liu Mu joining, even if that Ouyang Ye joins forces with the Li family, there's nothing to worry about." Liu Mu's words made Fufeng's old face break into a wider smile.
Although Liu Mu had rarely taken action, his strength was absolutely formidable, especially above his own. With such a powerful cultivator joining, he was naturally happy.
After everyone reached an agreement, to prevent any unforeseen changes due to delay, they immediately set off for the area outside Xinghu Forest.
...