192: Between life and death
“There’s something to this… but with this Strength, why is it so cowardly, resorting to secretly poisoning and using medicine?”
Han Yi raised his eyebrows, his gaze deep. In his sight, as the Old Peach Tree’s true form was revealed, he could finally see the Strength of this fiend!
On one side of the monster’s massive body, a value of ‘130~130’ was prominently displayed, likely indicating a Strength far superior to those who had just entered Connecting Veins.
Even Han Yi himself only possessed a Strength of ‘110~132’!
This made Han Yi a bit puzzled. Since this monster, known as Peach Mómomo, possessed such Strength, why would it resort to such sneaky tactics…
Why didn’t it just attack them directly when they entered the village and slap them to death?
At that time, Han Yi had not yet achieved a Breakthrough and become a Tongmai Martial Master!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Numerous tentacles of the giant wooden human monster wildly writhed, and countless clumps of mud mixed with branches and leaves came crashing down on Han Yi.
These mud projectiles carried powerful Strength, flying as fast as dense machine gun bullets, raining down on Han Yi from all directions.
This attack was extremely sudden. The wooden human monster’s tentacle movements were already incredibly concealed, and coupled with the color of these “projectiles” perfectly blending with the dim pre-dawn light, they were extremely hard to spot.
Unfortunately, Han Yi was well-prepared. He dodged several clumps of mud by sidestepping, and for those he couldn’t avoid, he casually blocked them with his Xuan Tie Sword, making sure not to touch them with his arms or legs to prevent the mud from dirtying his clothes. It was effortless.
After all, although these projectiles had immense force, they flew in a straight line without changing angles. Han Yi could probably have easily dodged them even before his Breakthrough with a little evasion, let alone now.
After Connecting Veins, his five senses’ acuity and neural reaction speed had greatly increased.
It is impolite not to reciprocate!
Han Yi channeled his Qi and threw a torch he had nearby, hitting the monster’s head.
The attached flames tried to ignite but were instantly extinguished by the monster’s viscous fluid, leaving only a bare torch falling to the ground.
However, Han Yi was mentally prepared for this. If the flames from a “Yang Flame Arrow” couldn’t ignite the monster, ordinary flames naturally wouldn’t have any effect either.
He was just trying to test it out…
Splat!
The torch was completely extinguished. A few breaths later, the giant wooden human monster seemed to finally react, as if Han Yi had launched an attack, and a tentacle hanging from its back instantly slammed towards his direction.
“……”
Just as he expected, although the wooden human monster appeared fast, its reaction speed was shockingly slow, almost like an old mómomo. Its tactile sensory organs had degenerated, taking a long time to register an attack.
And this tentacle on its back was like a walking stick used by an elder, used for both balancing its body and striking others.
No wonder Tao Wu and the others called this Old Peach Tree Peach Mómomo!
Seemingly annoyed by Han Yi’s harassment, the wooden human monster waved its slimy tentacles as if beating its chest.
Buzz!!!
The next instant, a low, invisible sound wave exploded. The frequency of this sound was extremely grating, like fingernails scraping a blackboard, making one’s scalp tingle. Immediately, as the sound wave surged out, a circle of gray mist was also released from the monster’s body.
The space where Han Yi was located was suddenly enveloped in darkness from all directions, unable to see above or below, or hear in any direction.
Whoosh!
Han Yi resisted the Qi and blood stagnation caused by the sound wave, generating Evil Breaking Force to protect his eardrums, nostrils, and other areas.
As the Evil Breaking Force was consumed, a human-shaped void formed around him, and the gray mist could not advance an inch.
“Not good, I need to retreat first!”
Fighting in an advantageous environment created by the enemy is not a wise move.
Han Yi activated Flying Swallow Kick, preparing to rush backward.
Swish, swish, swish!
From the field permeated with gray mist and dust, several sharp branches suddenly flew out, densely packed, swarming towards Han Yi’s entire body, blocking his steps.
Clang!
Han Yi, left with no choice, had to stop and defend. Under his movements, the Xuan Tie Sword flashed with light, fanning out.
The Xuan Tie Sword’s blade was already wide, blocking most of the wooden thorns. Even if a few missed and struck vital areas, they struggled to penetrate the circulating Strength protecting those parts, and beneath the Strength, there was also a layer of Iron Wall property protecting him!
But prolonged offense will surely break through, and prolonged defense will surely fail!
In the gray mist, the wooden thorns seemed endless, continuously shooting from all directions at Han Yi. Even if he could persist for a long time without injury, his Qi and Strength would still be significantly consumed!
“I’ll take some injuries, but I have to get out of here first!”
Han Yi gritted his teeth and made a decision. In a situation where both time and terrain were restricted, it was too stifling. He had already tested the hardness of these wooden thorns and knew that with his Physical Body Strength, he could withstand some of them.
Thud!
A wooden thorn suddenly pierced Han Yi’s back skin and fell to the ground, but his feet did not hesitate for a moment. He changed direction and leaped backward rapidly.
Thud, thud, thud!
Immediately after, several more wooden thorns shot towards Han Yi’s back, causing him to grunt. Although they were only superficial wounds, they caused considerable bruising, and accumulating more would lead to pain.
Rip!
Moving at high speed, then suddenly stopping, the sword tip carved a two-foot-long mark in the muddy ground.
It wasn’t that Han Yi didn’t want to continue retreating, but rather, in the gray mist before him, at some unknown point, dozens of small wooden figures with glowing red holes had appeared, forming a pincer attack with the giant wooden human monster, Han Yi!
Squeak, squeak!
Following the sound, Han Yi glanced out of the corner of his eye. Among the rotten mud projectiles thrown by the giant wooden human monster in the first wave, after the gray mist covered them, several more slimy branches and small wooden figures emitting a strange smell staggered to their feet, swaying as they walked towards him.
“This…”
Han Yi was truly caught off guard. He genuinely hadn’t expected that the giant wooden human’s attacks would be linked, forming a combo!
The first wave was to scatter seeds, test the opponent, and simultaneously act as a harassing attack;
The second wave was to spread gray mist, launch wooden thorn attacks, restrict the area, awaken its offspring, and surround the enemy!
All these actions were incredibly intricate. It must be said, this Peach Mómomo’s combat prowess truly had some skill. This arrangement even reminded Han Yi of some annoying map bosses from his previous life!
“Hmm?”
He suddenly thought of a possibility, and his expression changed drastically!
If the first and second waves were like this, then the third wave would be…
Whoosh!
Four thick, long root tentacles cut through the dense gray mist, accompanied by sharp whistling sounds, like a net cast from heaven and earth, enveloping Han Yi from all sides and slamming down fiercely!
Although the giant wooden human monster had no face or skin, through the brief dissipation of the gray mist, Han Yi seemed to perceive a hint of mockery from the fiend, as well as the satisfaction of crushing an annoying little bug into paste!
Han Yi looked up. The four thick tentacles were like man-eating pythons, blotting out the sky and tearing through the firmament, bringing with them a wave of death, rolling and surging. Even the air above him was compressed by this immense force, forming spiraling Qi!
And all around, countless rotten wooden figures with menacing red eyes were limping closer, eyeing him covetously.
There was absolutely no room for him to escape!
Cannot escape!
Must not escape!
Fighting head-on offers a glimmer of hope!
In a flash, Han Yi assessed the situation. In this scenario, if he were to turn and flee without a care, he would likely die even faster!
Bang!
In an instant, the four tentacles slammed down on Han Yi’s position, and a large pit, about three zhang in diameter, appeared!
Immediately, many of the nearby small wooden figures were caught in the impact, branches and shattered leaves scattered everywhere, and the gray mist, under this fierce Qi, revealed a void!
Bang, bang, bang!!!
The giant wooden human seemed unsatisfied, or perhaps uneasy, and continued to slam down fiercely, determined to crush Han Yi into a pulp!
After an unknown period, the giant wooden human seemed to have exhausted its Strength, and its four tentacles slowly retracted, like soft-skinned snakes whose bones had been removed.
Rumble, rumble.
The monster wriggled its tentacles and walked towards the large pit, wanting to observe its victory up close.
The dark deep pit had specks of dust falling and wisps of smoke rising, but not a single trace of living breath.
“Heavy sword with an edge, ingeniously crafted… Xuan Tie Sword…”
Suddenly, with a bang, like red-hot charcoal, or refined iron from a furnace, a burst of aura erupted, the sunken earth exploded, and a figure surged out.
He leaped high, a layer of blood-red light circulating around his body. With both hands raised as if splitting mountains, the tip of the massive sword in his hands emitted three inches of dazzling crimson, an invisible Strength like a sword-light!
“Cut!”
The Xuan Tie Sword, infused with Evil Breaking Force, glowed with an unparalleled, piercing sword-light. The light and heat, reaching heaven and earth, were like a pillar of light, effortlessly cutting the eight-meter-tall giant wooden human in half at the waist!
Thud!
The upper half of the giant wooden human fell heavily to the ground like a meteor, while the cane-like tentacle on its upper body flailed helplessly, unable to gain leverage in the air, and broke in half under its own weight.
“Hoo, hoo…”
Han Yi lightly tapped his toes, and the Xuan Tie Sword pierced into the earth, sliding for several meters before losing its momentum.
He panted heavily, looking extremely disheveled.
His clothes were in tatters, like a beggar on the street corner, and his skin was torn and bloody underneath. Wherever his skin was visible, flesh was exposed. The most exaggerated was his back, which had a gash over a foot long and two inches wide, almost reaching his shoulder and neck.
Han Yi stood still, his heart still somewhat shaken.
Just moments ago, when the root tentacles slammed down, it was the closest he had ever come to death in his life.
The instant he first made contact with the tentacles, he felt an irresistible, immense force coming from above, like a train crashing and crushing him. It was simply not something human Strength could contend with.
Therefore, the Strength on his body was shattered and exhausted in an instant, and although the Xuan Tie Sword he used to block was not damaged, it was knocked from his grasp by this force. The wounds on his back were also sustained at that time…
At that time, the wooden human monster’s attack did not stop. Seeing the relentless, storm-like barrage of consecutive attacks coming one after another, Han Yi felt a hint of despair. He could only activate Returning Spring Force to barely recover from his injuries, seeking a sliver of hope in the midst of life and death!
But then…
Hum—
In Han Yi’s hand, a plain cloud handkerchief suddenly appeared before his eyes. This handkerchief was brilliantly colored and lustrous, clearly meticulously sewn from high-quality silk.
At this moment, specks of fresh blood sprinkled on the handkerchief formed vibrant red ‘plum blossoms,’ but instead of staining the handkerchief, they blended seamlessly with the embroidered ‘plum blossom branches’ on the surface, creating a breathtaking beauty!