"Argh!" An elder fell face-first on the soft earth, his belly cut open by the claws of a fierce tiger.
Its paw stomped down and crushed the head of the fallen cultivator, tainting its fur with blood and brain matters.
In the surroundings were the battered corpses of several clan members.
The blood beast didn't return to its lair but started to feast on them, enjoying this sumptuous meal as it started with the elder.
This showed how confident the tiger was in its strength that it could eat outside without being afraid of anyone disrupting it.
Ye Mo watched, deeply concealed in the jungle, a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be able to absorb the fallen Liu clan members.
He saw everything unfolding, the elder was only a third or fourth layer Foundation Establishment Realm expert, and with only high-tier Yellow class skills at best, he was no match for the rank 2 tiger.
Ye Mo speculated the tiger's strength was at least high-tier rank 2.
The Qi Gathering Realm juniors, of course, were of no utility, only able to pray for a miracle before being slaughtered by the beast.
Against this rank 2 tiger, even the beasts in the vicinity to which this terrain belonged didn't dare approach, letting it devour its prey to its heart's content until it returned from where it came from.
Ye Mo distanced himself from the scene and climbed on a tree, sitting on a branch with his back laid against the trunk, more than thirty meters above the ground.
"To fight blood beasts of your own level in a duel and surpass them, it's truly not easy. Without taking body refinement into account, you would need at least Star Class battle skills to fight those akin to this tiger and even then it doesn't mean you would win, but at least you could defend yourself. As for killing them, it depends on the cultivator's own abilities."
Ye Mo thought as he cultivated with closed eyes.
Between two maneuvers to lead Liu clan members to their death, he would take several minutes to cultivate and recover his qi.
It wasn't enough to completely recuperate the wisps of qi lost in the usage of his battle skill, but at least it would slow down Shadow Walk's expenditure, giving him more time until he could kill all the Liu clan members in this part of the woods.
It was deep in the afternoon, the jungle was vibrant, one could hear the rustling of leaves, the birds singing, and crickets chirping between intermittent growls of beasts.
The woods were a noisy expression of nature itself and the sun shone brilliantly in the sky.
Multiple hours went by since Ye Mo began his ploy to get rid of the Liu clan's troops and more than a hundred of them fell from the strikes of beasts, among them two elders.
He even had the chance to harness the blood of one of them, just thinking about it, he had the urge to go out and steal the tiger's meal from its mouth but he reined in his desires. He would die before reaching the corpse, doing this would be nothing less than suicide.
Demonic techniques were powerful and could make you progress fast but they also frequently gave the cultivator an insatiable lust for power, losing their rationality, so Ye Mo made sure to have complete control over his emotions and carefully consider his options before making a decision.
During the murder of the Liu clan members, he used his Nine Revolutions Fiend Body technique on the cadavers of Liu clan members every time he had the chance.
Many of them were reduced to dust, and his physical abilities increased quickly, though he wasn't yet at the point where he could breakthrough the third revolution.
Still, those absorbed weren't even up to half of the victims. Often he couldn't approach because the beasts stayed there devouring the cultivators or would bring their corpses with them and in the few cases where the beasts left without touching anything, the packs to which this terrain belonged would quickly return so Ye Mo didn't have the time to act.
As for the corpses of blood beasts killed by the Liu clan members, he didn't touch them. Not only was their body massive, taking him much more time to absorb, but they were only rank 1 blood beasts and the benefits of cultivating with them were very low.
In addition, he was still hunted by both the Liu clan members and the beasts that would spot him. He couldn't stay at one place for too long and had to move here and there to cover his tracks so wasting his energy on animals wasn't worth the risks.
"The only team to eliminate now is the one led by the blood tracking fly, however, they are constantly monitored by this middle-aged elder that never stray too far from them. He would leave from time to time to inspect some areas, then quickly return and check their progress, letting them benefit from his protection."
Ye Mo thought, annoyed. These people holding the blood tracking fly were his prime target, but because this elder was always wandering in the vicinity and scouting the area, he didn't have a good chance to strike.
"Since I am constantly entering dangerous zones to lead beasts against their clan members, this team that follows me everywhere should have reached a core area many times, but this elder always appears to warn them of the powerful beasts ahead and makes them turn back, waiting for the blood tracking fly to indicate a different direction."
"More than the cultivators, it seems the elder wants to protect the insect following me, but he doesn't keep it with him because it's not efficient enough. The blood tracking fly, when tied by the thread, can't move at full speed and is constantly held down, the elder would be forced to move slowly as well to follow the insect and understand its directions. If it were released instead, then it might immediately fly away and escape. By giving it to a team, they can split up to cover more ground, their research progresses faster, and he can just return here and there to check on them."
After a few minutes, Ye Mo stood up and left the place as he kept pondering.
He couldn't go find the secret cave with this blood tracking fly pursuing him, the elder was also too dangerous and had to be eliminated.
The rest of the Liu clan members were mostly dealt with, and only a few isolated teams remained, far from the green highlighted route.
They would die by themselves at some point encountering a few beasts, the most important was that they were unable to follow him.
Ye Mo traveled quickly and approached one of the red crosses of the map.
Here he found an animated, towering tree with twisted roots and branches moving around. On the center of its trunk the bark made strange patterns that, when looked at as a whole, were similar to the deformed human face of what seemed like an old man screaming.
"Blighted Treant, the rank 2 personification of the treemen I fought when I faced Liu Zhi!" Ye Mo thought as he walked towards the beast.
Blighted Treants are a sentient embodiment of nature, summoning swarms of insects and venomous vines to ensnare their prey.
"Some people believe the bark taking the form of a face is the tormented soul of a human the tree absorbed to come to life." Ye Mo laughed quietly as he revealed himself to the beast.
This absurd story had no sources and was just told among mortals to feel a chill for an instant, the mysteries of souls weren't something this kind of creature could pierce, and of course Ye Mo didn't take it to heart one bit.
The blighted treant noticed Ye Mo and a deep sound echoed from the deformed face before dark purple brambles left the ground, encircling him as they closed on his body.
Ye Mo was standing in the shadow of a tree from his side and as the brambles were about to pierce his skin, he used shadow walk and merged with the shadow at his feet just to emerge a few meters further.
The blighted treant raised its roots and combined elements of plant-like motion with unnatural, jerking movements as it began to pursue Ye Mo.
The tree wasn't as fast as other rank 2 beasts, but it was still much faster than Ye Mo and could advance a dozen meters in the blink of an eye.
Sometimes, vines would emerge from the ground or the surrounding trees and attempt to immobilize him, but Ye Mo quickly turned in shadow form and escaped.
He didn't know the position of the team holding the blood tracking fly because he didn't have to, he just had to retrace his steps and they would inevitably encounter each other since they were constantly following his traces.
As he thought, while stealthily distancing himself from the blighted treant, Ye Mo passed by six persons led by a bug running in the opposite direction.
"I'm not sure the blighted treant will be enough, I will think of another way, just in case." Ye Mo wasn't assured as he knew their elder would quickly intervene if they were in danger, so he started to think of a plan B as many possibilities flashed in his mind.
At the same time, he left the battlefield and spectated from far away.
The Liu clan members were rushing behind the bug, the one in front was concentrating on the indications the fly gave while the others watched over the surroundings.
"Run!" Suddenly, one of them shouted loudly as he used an investigative battle skill.
It was too late, though, as near the same time, a towering tree with an unsettling appearance quickly approached them, its branches and roots swaying furiously.
At first, it was only chasing behind one prey, but when it vanished and five appeared instead, the blighted treant seemed even more agitated as it summoned its servants.
A veil of darkness progressively covered the earth as waves of insects left the tree's cavities and crawled on the ground, all as venomous as the blighted treant's vines.
In the sky, a dark buzzing cloud was formed of flying insects, while those on the ground stridulate menacingly, both charging towards the frightened cultivators.
They tried to run away but there was no way they could outrun this monster.
When they were about to be swallowed by the dark cloud, a wind blade fell down and separated it in two then crashed on the ground, creating a large gash where the crawling insects fell into.
From the dark cloud, hundreds of them fell down, mostly cut in two.
At the same time, a middle-aged man landed beside the Liu clan members, "Go now, I will hold it for some time. Don't forget, the well-being of the blood tracking fly is your responsibility, if something happens to it, you will be held accountable by the clan."
Saying so, the elder activated a defensive and a movement battle skill, a deep light covered his body while he flew in the dark cloud, leaving from the other side as he directly attacked the blighted treant!
"Elder!" Seeing their senior's dedication, the disciples felt touched, but they quickly turned around and ran away.
They had to leave or his sacrifice would be in vain and if not for him, his reminder was enough drive to escape with all their strength. The clan would be as welcoming as this beast-filled jungle if they returned without the fly.
"As I thought, he showed up."
Ye Mo, who was spectating from far away with hands crossed, used shadow walk and vanished.