Chapter Sixty-Five: Sinister Aura-Corpse Hunter in a Strange World(A sleepy, lazy person)

After Fang Mu stood up, he looked at Yu Youde, who was clutching his stomach and lowering his head, and walked over with the butcher’s knife in hand.

Even though Fang Mu had recovered some of his true energy, the relentless battles—especially these desperate struggles against overwhelming odds—had left him somewhat weakened.

Black mist slowly seeped from Yu Youde’s abdomen, and his face paled visibly. After being outmaneuvered by Fang Mu, Yu Youde’s strength was severely sapped.

“Tree roots… tree roots!” Yu Youde raised his head, gazing at Fang Mu as he approached, and gritted his teeth. “That wretched woman! It was that vile woman, wasn’t it! But how is it possible? Even if you had the tree roots, how did you manage to wound me?”

Fang Mu said nothing, only quickened his pace.

Yu Youde’s voice was full of hatred: “I cannot accept this. I have schemed and plotted, so how could I fall at the hands of an obscure youth like you? Fang Mu, I hate you!”

From the moment he arrived in Jinglong County, Yu Youde had been plotting, every step calculated for maximum advantage. Even when his plans failed, he ensured there would be benefit. So why, why would tree roots appear?

He could sense it—whatever lay beneath the withered tree had been eradicated completely; nothing should have remained. How, then, had Fang Mu discovered the clue?

Yu Youde’s heart was filled with resentment. After so much planning, thinking victory assured, everything had vanished in an instant.

Such a crushing reversal can bring about many outcomes: some are left broken-spirited, others die with their eyes open in defiance. Yu Youde belonged to the latter.

“Tell me!” Summoning his last ounce of strength, Yu Youde roared, “Why? How did you find out?”

“Very well, I’ll tell you.” Fang Mu walked up to Yu Youde, a bright smile on his face.

Yu Youde was momentarily stunned, staring blankly at Fang Mu’s smile.

A flash of the blade, and Yu Youde’s head soared high into the air before thudding to the ground.

Even separated from his body, Yu Youde’s eyes remained fixed on Fang Mu, filled with confusion and unwillingness.

Fang Mu seized the headless corpse and laughed. “Because… when water mixed with the powder of the tree root, it could also invade you. Even though your wounds were few, that still counted as ingesting the tree root.”

This had been Fang Mu’s plan—a gamble.

On his way here, Fang Mu had been pondering how he could make Yu Youde consume the tree root. As the mastermind, Yu Youde was far too shrewd to take it willingly. There was no simply handing it over for him to eat.

So Fang Mu devised this method: grind the tree root into powder, let water carry it into Yu Youde’s wounds.

It was a risk; Fang Mu did not know if it would work, but he had a backup plan.

If it failed, there was always Iron Abacus Immortal nearby. That would be the moment to involve him.

To his surprise, Yu Youde’s wife had said the tree root would kill him outright, but after dissolving it in water, the effect was greatly diminished, merely stripping Yu Youde of his ability to resist.

Luckily, the lake here was small—had it been a larger one, the effect would have been weakened further, and things could have turned out differently.

At the side, Iron Abacus Immortal shuddered upon witnessing Fang Mu converse with a corpse. This was a ruthless man, and his actions were far too decisive.

Yu Youde’s only wish was to learn why he lost. Very well, I’ll do you the small favor of killing you first; with no worries left, I’ll explain at my leisure.

Iron Abacus Immortal raised his head to the sky, pretending he’d seen nothing at all.

See less, do more, keep a low profile—these are the essential virtues and survival skills of a true supporting character.

Fang Mu paid no attention to Iron Abacus Immortal’s thoughts, for at that moment, the headless corpse before him began to change.

Wreaths of black mist emerged from Yu Youde’s body, and the distant severed head quickly turned to ash.

The black mist coiled upward, twisting in the air to form a black skull, seething with boundless malice.

“Something strange!” Iron Abacus Immortal gripped his ritual staff, readying for battle, but then noticed something amiss.

The black skull, initially menacing, underwent a transformation as soon as it took shape.

Human figures writhed across its surface, and soon, a dense accumulation of golden light began to gather within the skull.

In no time, the golden light condensed into a single, distinct object—a tree root.

With the appearance of the tree root, the black skull let out a pained howl, dropping from midair to the ground, bouncing repeatedly like a ball as if trying to rid itself of pain through impact.

Iron Abacus Immortal swallowed hard, feeling a chill at the sight. This was not fear, but a conditioned response—he had been hunted by this very thing before.

Fang Mu, his back to Iron Abacus Immortal, was visibly elated. Inwardly, he marveled, “I never thought the tree root’s power would be so great.”

The black skull continued to slam itself into the ground, while the golden tree root within it slowly faded.

Fang Mu hefted the butcher’s knife, licking his lips, and said, “Let me end your suffering.”

He unleashed the Butcher Dissects Oxen technique, sending a flurry of blades to envelop the black skull.

Within that storm of steel, the skull visibly dissipated.

Deep within, the golden tree root made a soft pop and vanished into golden dust.

As the golden dust disappeared, an intangible ripple—unseen by others—spread from Fang Mu’s mind.

He reached out, brushing his hand over the black skull, and a notification sounded:

[You have touched an Obsession Form and gained a wisp of true energy.]

[You have touched an Obsession Form and gained a wisp of sinister energy.]

Two wisps of true energy merged into Fang Mu’s body. The Dragon Gate, which already bore dragon horns, became even more lifelike, new patterns etched upon the horns as if they were real.

Beneath the Dragon Gate, that wisp of true energy drew ever closer. Fang Mu sensed that the Fish-Leap Realm was now within reach.

Just then, two wisps of icy energy entered his body.

Fang Mu snapped to alertness. “Sinister energy,” he thought.

That chilling power had come from the strange remnants of Yu Youde. The two wisps of sinister energy coursed through him, cold and violently restless, as if they loathed being within him.

Sinister energy… what could it be?

Fang Mu tried to command the sinister energy in his body, and just as the thought formed, his mind rang with a thunderous boom.

Four objects appeared in his mind—objects all too familiar to him.