Chapter 40

Yuan Ming used the Shadowless Step, and with just a slight shift of his figure, he moved half a丈 (zhang, an ancient Chinese unit of length) to the side, easily evading Zanbai's sneak attack.

Three green arrows struck the wall behind him, exploding almost simultaneously, and a large cloud of green mist rapidly spread out.

"Poison!" Yuan Ming immediately held his breath and waved his hand.

A gray-black bead shot out and landed on the ground near the cave entrance.

With a muffled "puff," a large cloud of smoke suddenly emerged, instantly filling the entire cave and spilling out, making it impossible to see the situation inside, and no one dared to make a move for a moment.

"Trivial tricks!" Wu Bao snorted, a green light flashing on his finger as he tried to summon a strong wind to disperse the smoke.

At that moment, the ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked, and a sharp wooden spike shot up quickly.

Wu Bao was startled and leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding being impaled, but his attempt to summon the wind was interrupted.

Before Wu Bao and Jin Kun's group could react, another black bead shot out from the cave, hidden by the smoke, and landed on the ground outside.

A large cloud of mist rolled out again, intertwining with the smoke from the cave, enveloping a large area.

Inside the cave, Yuan Ming covered his nose and went to a stone wall deep in the cave, pushing it with all his might.

The stone wall slowly moved, revealing a dark passage. This stone wall was actually a large, cut stone.

Yuan Ming entered the passage, pushed the stone back to its original position, and ran toward the back exit of the cave.

He had long anticipated that the Green Wolf Gang might come, and had made preparations in advance. His previous actions were just a delaying tactic. By the time Wu Bao and the others noticed something was amiss, they would have already escaped far away.

Not far from the exit, Hagong appeared, holding a white phosphorescent stone that emitted a faint white light, seemingly waiting for him.

"Brother Yuan, I didn't expect your cave to have another exit. I'm impressed," Hagong praised.

"Now is not the time for idle talk, let's go!" Yuan Ming grabbed Hagong and ran forward.

The two took several twists and turns in the dark cave, walking for a full quarter of an hour before finally reaching the back exit. Yuan Ming used the Fur Cloak Technique, transforming into a white ape, and with one punch, shattered the large stone blocking the exit.

The two darted out, just as they were about to flee, the ground suddenly lit up with yellow light, forming a large yellow net that enveloped their bodies.

Yuan Ming was startled, gathering all his magical power in his legs, which instantly became even thicker, with muscles bulging. He kicked the ground forcefully.

Boom!

The ground cracked, forming a shallow pit, and Yuan Ming shot into the sky, escaping just as the yellow net closed.

Hagong, however, couldn't escape and was trapped in the yellow net, unable to move.

"Seal!" Yuan Ming landed a few zhang away, his pupils constricting. He flipped his hand and drew the Green Fish Sword, slashing at the net.

Two blade-like golden lights shot out from the side, aiming at his legs.

Yuan Ming quickly retracted his hand, using the Shadowless Step to move several feet to the side, narrowly avoiding the golden blades.

Seven or eight figures shot out from the nearby forest, surrounding the area tightly. The leader was a humanoid beast with a pointed head and a fat body, with small green eyes and a long, thin golden tail, resembling a giant rat in human form.

The giant rat's fur was dark gold, with especially long hair on its back, standing up like a hedgehog. Its two front claws were light gold, sharp like steel cones.

"Heh heh, do you think I'm a vegetarian? Since I took this job, I've already thoroughly investigated your situation. You should know who I am, Lord Jin," the humanoid rat said calmly, but it was Jin Kun speaking.

Yuan Ming's eyes couldn't help but twitch.

Although the fur-covered beast slaves around him were not formidable individually, they were not to be underestimated when gathered together, especially with Jin Kun leading them. It would be very difficult to break through.

As Yuan Ming's gaze shifted, he looked at Hagong, who was tightly bound by the yellow net. However, Jin Kun and the others ignored him, all staring intently at Yuan Ming.

Although he and Hagong had only met by chance, they had shared some hardships and could be considered rare friends in this vast mountain range. If not for being in a desperate situation, he wouldn't want to abandon him.

"Brother Yuan, you don't have to worry about me, go on your own!" Hagong said with a pained expression.

"Go? None of you will leave today!" Wu Bao's voice rang out, and another seven or eight figures flew over from a distance.

Wu Bao had also used the Fur Cloak Technique, transforming into a large blue wolf.

This blue wolf was similar to Hagong's transformation but was significantly larger, nearly two zhang tall, giving a strong sense of pressure just by standing still.

Most peculiarly, a pale purple horn grew on the wolf's head, with faint lightning patterns.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming's heart sank, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Clearly, he had miscalculated this time.

Although the situation was extremely unfavorable, Yuan Ming had no intention of giving up. His mind raced, trying to find a way out of the current predicament.

"Boy, if you have any other tricks, use them now. Otherwise, surrender peacefully, and I might spare your life," Wu Bao said calmly, seeing that Yuan Ming was not moving.

Yuan Ming's heart skipped a beat. With Wu Bao almost certain of victory, he wasn't in a hurry to kill him. Could he have other plans?

"Jin Kun, go and capture him!" Wu Bao shouted when Yuan Ming still didn't move.

"What are you shouting for? I'm not your subordinate!" Jin Kun glared with his small green eyes and retorted.

Despite his words, he still waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to approach Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming slowly took a few steps back, took a deep breath, and waved his arm.

Two smoke bombs flew out of his hands and hit the ground on either side.

With a light "bang," thick smoke emerged, engulfing the nearby area.

"I thought you had some secret moves, but it's just these trivial tricks!" Wu Bao sneered, his wolf claws glowing green, and a strong wind surged, quickly dispersing the smoke.

Yuan Ming took the opportunity to move, turning into a white shadow and dashing in one direction.

At this moment, he could only try to escape first and make plans later. As for Hagong, he was powerless to help.

Two fur-covered beast slaves saw Yuan Ming rushing over, showing a moment of panic but quickly regaining composure and moving to intercept him.

"Get out of the way!" Yuan Ming swung his arms, and a surge of immense force erupted like a tidal wave.

The arms of the two fur-covered beast slaves instantly broke, and their massive bodies were thrown back, howling in pain.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Green arrows shot from the front, landing in front of Yuan Ming and exploding into a large cloud of green mist, forcing him to pause.

But then, Yuan Ming pushed the Shadowless Step to its limit, his figure becoming blurry as he dodged the remaining green arrows and charged into the crowd of fur-covered beast slaves.

The surrounding smoke was mostly dispersed, and Wu Bao and Jin Kun saw Yuan Ming's position, rushing over together.

Yuan Ming's heart sank as he punched out with both fists, a white light flashing on his chest and abdomen, and a third ape arm emerged, striking a fur-covered beast slave in front of him.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Three fur-covered beast slaves were thrown back.

However, more people rushed over, and Wu Bao and Jin Kun also moved in, seemingly holding back for some reason.

Yuan Ming's heart raced as he realized he had no chance of escaping, and his magical power and physical strength were rapidly depleting. If this continued, he would be exhausted to death.

He didn't believe Wu Bao would really spare his life, even if he had other plans. Once his purpose was achieved, Yuan Ming would still be dead.

At that moment, the nearby forest rustled, and a tall white figure darted out, charging into the encirclement.

Two fur-covered beast slaves were caught off guard, being directly knocked back, spitting blood and falling to the ground.

"Everyone, be careful, reinforcements are here!" Zanbai shouted, aiming his crossbow and shooting three green poison arrows at the white figure.

All present were battle-hardened, and three nearby fur-covered beast slaves abandoned Yuan Ming and moved to intercept the newcomer.

The tall white figure ignored the others, charging straight in, its arms becoming blurry.

With a whistling sound, the three who moved to intercept were all thrown back, spitting blood and crashing into the forest, their fates unknown. The three poison arrows were also broken and fell to the ground.

"Where did this reckless thing come from? Die for Lord Jin!" Jin Kun was enraged, abandoning Yuan Ming and charging at the white figure.

One of the three who were severely injured was a member of the Hyena Hall named Chena.

He had awakened his sense of smell, and the Green Wolf Gang and Hyena Hall could easily find this place and block Yuan Ming's escape route thanks to his skills.

Wu Bao hesitated for a moment and then changed his target, charging at the white figure.

A purple light glowed on his forehead horn, crackling with electricity. Arcs of lightning surged over his body, turning him into a lightning man, and he charged at the white figure.

Jin Kun's body glowed with intense golden light, and the golden hair on his back stood up.

Rustle!

A large number of golden hairs shot out, like a rain of arrows, aiming at the white figure.

The tall white figure ignored the two and continued charging into the encirclement, swinging its arm.

With a loud "bang"!

Wu Bao and Jin Kun were both thrown back, flying several zhang away and crashing to the ground.

However, Wu Bao's strength far exceeded the previous beast slaves, and the white figure's steps staggered, stopping for the first time.

Only then did everyone see the true form of the white figure: a strange creature resembling an old white ape, standing two zhang tall, covered in white fur, with blood-red eyes, long black claws, and a mouth full of white, gleaming fangs.

"What is this monster?" Everyone was shocked.

Yuan Ming also showed surprise, his eyes darting as he took a step back, shaking his arm.

With a light "bang," another smoke bomb exploded, and thick smoke spread, engulfing everything around.

"Be careful, stop him!"

The few surrounding Yuan Ming rushed over, trying to continue纠缠住 (entangling) him, but Yuan Ming's figure had already disappeared in the smoke, nowhere to be found.

"Ao..." The white-furred monster seemed enraged by Wu Bao and Jin Kun's interference, roaring and charging at them.

"I'll deal with this white-furred monster, you go after Yuan Ming!" Wu Bao shouted, focusing on the battle.

However, before he finished speaking, several smoke bombs flew out from somewhere, landing on the battlefield.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Large clouds of smoke exploded, enveloping everyone, making it impossible to see anything.

The scene became chaotic for a moment.