Far behind, a humongous creature drilled out from the ground without warning. It was a gigantic centipede, whose legs were whips, which were moved about to set up an inescapable trap at once. Inside the giant trap, a figure was seen plunging and dashing left and right, but he could not break free no matter which direction he went.
Bai Zhiyi gasped. He finally recognized the spirit beast.
It was Ghost Mo, which was a top-grade spirit beast from the Insects. The formidable spirit beast attacked casually as though it was very interested in its prey. Instead of killing the young fellow, it seemed like it wanted to capture him alive.
The figure amid its legs seemed to be moving slower, and he finally could not hold on anymore under the oppression.
“Pow…”
At last, when Ou Yangming’s figure slowed down again, the insect’s legs finally seized him. Nevertheless, when its legs really touched the figure, the figure explored and turned into a stream of black air before it disappeared.
Ghost Mo was startled for a while, then it quickly reacted to the situation. It let out a furious roar, then it looked downward with a vicious look in its eyes.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Ou Yangming and Big Yellow were already gone, whereas Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard stuck together and quivered.
They were also spirit beasts, but there was a huge disparity between low-grade spirit beasts and top-grade spirit beasts. As long as Ghost Mo was willing to, it could easily kill them at any time.
Even so, Ghost Mo did not make a move. Instead, it glared at them and Bai Zhiyi, then it transformed into a black wind and zoomed toward the black fog ahead.
When the fearsome spirit insect disappeared, Bai Zhiyi and the others exhaled deeply.
After recognizing Ghost Mo, Bai Zhiyi did not try to stop it anymore. This was because he knew the spirit insect would not kill them; it was afraid of the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One and the Beast King Sect. Despite that, if the elder overestimated himself and insisted on stopping the insect, there would be one outcome to his act of failing to appreciate its kindness.
Bai Zhiyi smiled bitterly as he looked at his unconscious juniors on the ground.
If he knew that a top-grade spirit insect had set up the fog, he would not have asked for trouble by using the bells.
“Elder, Elder Bai, what do we do now?” Fat Antelope went forward and asked softly.
“What else can we do? You should quickly run back to get reinforcements!” Bai Zhiyi cast a hateful look at it. “As long as the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One finds out about this, it won’t stand by idly.”
“Yes.” Fat Antelope’s eyes lit up. “I’ll go, go, go…” Its body swayed, then it suddenly collapsed to the ground and passed out.
Bai Zhiyi was stunned. When he turned to look, he saw that the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard had also swayed and fainted. By the time he cursed internally, his mind went blurry, and he did not know where he was.
Although Ghost Mo dared not kill them just like that, it would not let them alert anyone.
Therefore, Ghost Mo released its powerful poisonous gas before it left. The gas was invisible, and it invaded their bodies to make them collapse.
Needless to say, Ghost Mo controlled the poisonous gas perfectly, by which it would not kill them but only cause them to be unconscious.
※※※※
Ou Yangming and Big Yellow moved as fast as lightly as they blindly escaped forward.
Bai Zhiyi did not know what spirit beast was among the dog, but Ou Yangming recognized it long ago. This was because the fog had the same source as the thing he encountered in the lower realm; it was something carefully made by the Insects. Of course, the fog that the young fellow stumbled upon in the lower realm was refined by Ghost-clawed Venerable One, thus it was much more potent than the one they just saw.
Besides, Ou Yangming was more capable than he was before. Most importantly, he had a scorching fire in his sea of consciousness.
The intense fire was incredibly wonderful and mysterious. When Ou Yangming released the Military Fire’s power in his sea of consciousness, he realized that while the fog ahead was boundless, Ghost Mo was not inside.
It turned out that the vague black figure was merely a shadow, which was the result of the fog overlapping too much in a small area.
Ghost Mo was not inside the fog. Even when Bai Zhiyi led his juniors to adopt a secret technique from the Beast King Sect, they suffered a backlash and were injured as they failed to locate the spirit insect.
It was evident how strong the spirit insect was.
Having said that, owing to the backlash that Bai Zhiyi and the others suffered, Ou Yangming found out where exactly Ghost Mo was hiding.
After confirming that he was the spirit insect’s target, Ou Yangming made a prompt decision by activating the newly-carved Illusion Body Technique on his equipment.
He first formed an illusion to charge into the fog ahead, then he formed another illusion to escape in the opposite direction.
The young fellow did not attach much power to the first illusion, hence it was gotten rid of by the fog, which was controlled by Ghost Mo. However, the second illusion that he released managed to fool the spirit insect. The top-grade spirit beast actually made a move and spent some time to capture and attack the illusion.
Ou Yangming managed to control the second illusion so perfectly because he possessed notable mental power. As such, Ghost Mo could not distinguish it in a short period.
The only reason the second illusion ended up being arrested so easily was Ou Yangming and Big Yellow had gone far away. Due to the growing distance, the illusion became vulnerable.
“Woosh…”
Ou Yangming was greeted with light as he carried Big Yellow and got out of the fog.
Fortunately, the fog was not released by a Venerable One, or they could not have fled easily even if Ou Yangming was guided by his Military Fire.
As soon as they left the fog, Ou Yangming brushed his body. Ripples were formed on their bodies, then everything went back to normal.
It was a new skill that was learned by Ou Yangming, and he had carved the corresponding rune on another piece of equipment. Once the skill was stimulated, it allowed him to hide his and Big Yellow’s aura as their bodies were fully enveloped. This was also the reason they were not spotted by Ghost Mo when they crossed the fog.
If not, they would have been noticed by it as soon as they entered the fog.
After getting out, Ou Yangming conveniently tossed Big Yellow on the ground, then he jumped up to its back and ordered, “Run!”
Big Yellow sprinted without any hesitation. It ran headlessly at the fastest speed ever.
At this point, regardless of the harsh terrain ahead, it ran without frowning at all.
This was because it knew very well that it and Ou Yangming would not end well if they were caught by the spirit insect.
Big Yellow was as fast as lightning, and it left the fog very soon. Ou Yangming turned to look angrily as he mumbled, “Ghost-clawed Venerable One, Ghost Mo! Okay, very well…”
He sounded extremely infuriated, and he remembered those names well.
That said, Ou Yangming soon noticed through the corner of his eyes an enormous and long figure. The centipede with plenty of legs had somehow come out of the fog, and it pursued them with threatening gestures.
Ou Yangming’s face changed, and he yelled, “Big Yellow, faster, that fella’s catching up!”
Big Yellow roared and increased its speed to another lever.
Nonetheless, Ghost Mo suddenly arched its body and curled as though it was a bow. Following that, its body sprung up and formed a black arch in the sky, which was going to stop Ou Yangming and Big Yellow.
Ou Yangming hit Big Yellow and shouted, “Over here—change your direction!”
Big Yellow could not react at all. It turned halfway without any delay and bolted in another direction.
The young fellow turned pale as he screamed, “Bi
g Yellow, run as hard as you can! You’re not slower than a centipede, are you?”
Big Yellow widened its eyes and cursed, ‘Is that an ordinary centipede? It’s a top-grade spirit beast, okay!’
Chapter 600 - Human Caster
“Boom…”
Another arch of light appeared in the sky. Each time it happened, it meant that Ghost Mo had soared into the sky and was pressing in on Ou Yangming and Big Yellow from behind.
Ou Yangming reacted extremely quickly. He released his mental power and watched Ghost Mo’s every move at any time.
In terms of speed only, Big Yellow could not be on par with Ghost Mo even after wearing its suit. Although the spirit insect belonged to the Insects, it was a potent top-grade spirit beast. By arching and flicking its body, it traveled hundreds of meters in an instant, which could not be compared by ordinary centipedes.
Nonetheless, when Ghost Mo leaped high into the sky and was almost above Ou Yangming and Big Yellow, it suddenly saw a queer scene.
The big yellow dog had also jumped and changed its direction halfway, by which it dodged to the left.
Ghost Mo turned its enormous body in mid-air too, and it bent its long body into a semicircle to envelope the young fellow and the dog.
Who knew, it was then when its vision went blurry as the human and the dog disappeared from its encirclement. Even with its strength, it failed to notice how Ou Yangming and Big Yellow escaped.
“Pow!”
Big Yellow landed hard on the ground, then it continued to flee with all its might.
The big yellow dog and Ou Yangming knew their limits; they knew they would not be able to defeat the powerful top-grade spirit beast.
Escape—their only choice was to escape.
Ou Yangming exhaled deeply, causing a peculiar light to flash on his armor. This was another Spell Rune that he learned in front of the crystal wall at the peak.
The skill was able to confuse one. Even though it was not an offensive skill, it was undoubtedly the perfect time to release it as it could lure Ghost Mo away.
Ou Yangming sat on Big Yellow and shouted, “Senior Ghost Mo, there’s no enmity between me and your race, so why are you pestering me!”
Big Yellow’s ears twitched, and it thought, ‘We killed a spirit centipede in the lower realm, did you forget that?’ Nevertheless, it was a fleeting thought. It immediately refocused on escaping.
Ghost Mo scoffed. Instead of explaining, it arched its body again.
The Insects were separated into different races too. Ghost Mo did not belong to Ghost-clawed Venerable One’s line; it belonged to the 10,000 Legs Venerable One’s line.
Ghost-clawed’s line was the one that openly sought trouble with Ou Yangming in the lower realm, but the 10,000 Leg’s line had also received news and secretly intervened. If not, Ghost Mo would not have left the mountain after hearing Ou Yangming’s name to sneak an attack on him without bothering about 10,000 Beasts Venerable One.
The light arch in the sky was dazzling, but it carried an intense aura of death as though a towering mountain was about to crush Ou Yangming and Big Yellow.
Ou Yangming smiled bitterly. He suddenly lifted its leg and kicked upward.
In an instant, the water particles in the air around him became lively. It took only a blink of an eye for the water particles to agglomerate, where they turned into a wave and charged at Ghost Mo, which was pouncing on them from above.
The Waterfall Attack!
This was one of the gifted skills that Ou Yangming learned from Mount Liang Wolf King.
Despite that, Ghost Mo was indifferent. ‘Could a mere water-mastery attack block my path?
‘This young human fella is truly overconfident.’
Perhaps it would be wary about the ghostly skills before, but it was no longer concerned at the moment.
Ghost Mo’s legs in the front section extended forward. Normally, a centipede’s legs would not be too long, but one with its cultivation base would have legs that were equivalent to forceful weapons. As such, it could extend and retract them as it wished.
Over 10 of its legs were extended into the incoming water. The water flow was similar to tickles to it as it could not obstruct it at all.
Having said that, just as Ghost Mo wanted to split the water flow to continue its attack, its body stiffened.
The water flow somehow turned cold as soon as it touched its body.
No, not only did the water turn cold, but it directly turned into ice. The waterfall was even more detestable because it happened to have completely enveloped Ghost Mo’s body. Consequently, the spirit insect’s body turned into a humongous and long ice rod.
“Boom…”
As formidable as Ghost Mo was, it was distracted for a moment too.
‘What exactly is happening?’ Before it could figure out the situation, the ice rod that wrapped its body crashed hard into the ground and ruptured due to the intense power.
Ghost Mo shook its body to get rid of the ice, but it realized that Ou Yangming and Big Yellow had gone far away.
It did not delay much time, but Big Yellow, which was fleeing for its life, would not stop even for a second. Hence, the big yellow dog had taken the opportunity to scurry away.
Ghost Mo roared furiously but due to an insect’s vocal organ, its voice did not spread far and wide. At this point, the spirit insect was so mad that it had become dizzy. It stared at the escaping figures in the distance and arched its body once more.
It had decided to take down the human and the dog no matter what.
After presenting them to the 10,000 Legs Venerable One, it also planned to leave one of them to itself as it wanted to vent its anger by crushing one of them into pieces.
It was a top-grade spirit beast, but it kept missing the 2 little fellows, who were equivalent to low-rank spirit beasts. If news spread, it would not be utterly embarrassed.
“Woosh…”
Ghost Mo’s long body shot out like an arrow. It stared hatefully at Ou Yangming and the big yellow dog from the sky.
‘This young fella knows how to hide his aura, cause illusions, attack with water flows, agglomerate ice…
‘They’re not great tricks, but they’re unexpectedly effective when they’re used as a combination, which allowed him to escape from me.
‘Hmph, but I’ve seen all his tricks now, so there won’t be any mishap from now on!’
Ghost Mo’s extensive body crashed down like an oppressive mountain. It adopted the simplest and roughest attack by using its absolute power.
The spirit insect would not have dared to do this if it encountered an equal-ranked powerhouse from the Walking Beasts but given that it was a top-grade spirit beast, it would be a fool if it did not do this against a low-grade spirit beast. After all, if one was a normal living being, one would not fight a thousand or so rounds with one’s opponent if one could have knocked down the opponent with one punch.
Since they were not too far from the 10,000 Beasts Ridge, Ghost Mo needed to capture the human and the dog and leave as fast as possible.
This time, Ou Yangming and Big Yellow finally could not escape anymore as they were suppressed by Ghost Mo, which descended from the sky. However, before the spirit insect could laugh out loud, it realized that something was off below it.
It was as though it was not suppressing bodies, but an indestructible giant rock.
When it lowered its head to look, it felt dizzy.
It turned out that it had not suppressed Ou Yangming and Big Yellow, but the toughest mountain rock ever.
Normally, mountain rocks were tough, but they would not be able to withstand Ghost Mo’s power no matter what. On the contrary, this mountain rock was unbelievably tough, so much so that it slit a thin red line on its abdomen. If the spirit insect had not tempered a body of steel, it would have suffered from this. In actuality, the part of its body that was being poked at the moment was aching a little.
Ghost Mo did not know that a spirit beast from its
race had its body penetrated by this power when it fought Ou Yangming and Big Yellow in the lower realm, and the beast then died a miserable death.
The spirit insect’s legs began to move intensely; it was its natural reaction after being deeply infuriated.
Once again, Ghost Mo was fooled by the human. While it was not hurt, its raging fire had reached an extremity.
‘Kill him, kill him, I’m going to kill him regardless of the costs!’
Ghost Mo’s best trick was arching its body and flicking it to pursue its opponents, and it never returned empty-handed. That said, after meeting Ou Yangming, the ability that it prided itself with seemed to have become useless. No matter how the spirit insect tried to get close to the young fellow, it would somehow face queer attacks from spells.
Moreover, there was not just 1 spell, but 2 or 3. Most of the time, an Intermediate Spell would be paired with 1 or 2 Rudimentary Spells.
Usually, Ghost Mo would not bother about such spells. Nonetheless, bizarre and forceful powers were always generated whenever Ou Yangming released them, causing its attacks to be disintegrated every time, and it ended up not accomplishing anything.
The longer Ghost Mo pursued the human and the dog, the more its heart pounded. Furthermore, a cold look could be seen in its eyes.
It gritted its teeth as it watched Ou Yangming and Big Yellow escape in desperation, but it was feeling helpless.
In the beginning, Ghost Mo had its plan. It did not plan to kill Ou Yangming because it knew what the 10,000 Legs Venerable One wanted. Therefore, after meeting the young fellow unexpectedly, it quickly set up something and did not hesitate to use its fog, which it had refined and stored for many years.
Who knew, Ou Yangming made up his mind to escape right away, and he was crafty as he knew many mysterious spells.
At this moment, a faint chill rose from the bottom of Ghost Mo’s heart.
‘The spells are either powerful or weak, but they’re always effective and mighty when they’re used together.
‘But how could a little human cultivator learn so many spells? What frightened me more is—how did he learn how to match those spells together?
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 354