Chapter 1420: Revealing True Colors

"What a lecherous wild boar!" Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo cursed under their breath, seeing Feng Xi staring madly at Yun Jianyue atop the tree. In comparison, Zuan's performance was far, far better.

Feng Xi was circling the tree below, gazing blankly at Yun Jianyue in the sky. Seeing the beauty in the moonlight, it became extremely restless, as if recalling some past event. A moment later, merely watching was no longer enough. It pushed off the ground with its four short legs and, howling, flew towards the sky. Its posture was utterly ridiculous, but combined with its massive body, it resembled a giant cannonball. If it hit with full force, not only Yun Jianyue's delicate body but even the large mulberry tree might not withstand it.

At this moment, Zuan also recovered his senses and directly launched a Hundred Screams spiritual attack at Feng Xi. In that instant, Feng Xi trembled all over, its body noticeably stiffening. Zuan also felt a sharp pain in his mind; the Hundred Screams, a spiritual attack, often resulted in 'killing a thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of your own' when used against powerful beings whose souls had fully formed. However, trusting in his strong recovery ability, Zuan used it without hesitation. A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes because, for a moment during the spiritual attack, he seemed to see not a wild boar but a burly man wreathed in black mist. Yet, the next second, it was the wild boar again. Could it be that the mental backlash made him hallucinate?

Just as Feng Xi was momentarily stunned in mid-air, a thick rope suddenly shot out from the dense branches, stretching taut like an iron chain across a river, directly blocking Feng Xi's path. Feng Xi finally snapped back to reality, a flicker of disdain in its eyes. It was incredibly strong; in the past, humans had fantasized about tripping it with ropes, only for them to snap with a simple struggle. It allowed the rope to catch its body, intending to break it with the sheer force of its impact. However, its pupils suddenly constricted violently. It realized that the rope, stretched to its limit by the force of its charge, had elongated several times, becoming incredibly thin as if about to snap at any moment. Yet, it had not broken. Its own movement, having been briefly interrupted by the sudden spiritual attack, had significantly weakened its momentum, and it was too late to change course. The taut rope, like a fully drawn bow, abruptly propelled it back down to the ground the moment its momentum was exhausted, even faster than it had ascended.

This was, of course, no ordinary rope, but the sinew of an Azure Moon Measuring Sky Dragon. This sinew had been given to him by Princess Bi Linglong as a spoil of war when he helped the Crown Prince complete his assessment in the Western Dog Mound secret realm. He hadn't expected it to be useful at this moment. Naturally, the sinew of an Azure Moon Measuring Sky Dragon alone might not have withstood the immensely powerful Feng Xi. Fortunately, Yan Xuehen had also enchanted it with some runes, which allowed them to successfully trip Feng Xi. Losing its balance, Feng Xi crashed to the ground with a thud, and the earth immediately caved in. This was a pit trap that Yan Xuehen and the others had set up earlier.

From the pit came Feng Xi's continuous roars of fury. It had come for beauty, but instead of enjoying any pleasure, it ended up covered in dirt. The disappointment was simply too great. Looking at the broken wooden spikes and sharp stones crushed at the bottom of the pit, it thought, 'They actually wanted to harm me, who has an invincible defense, with these?' Roaring, it tried to get out, intending to teach those ignorant fellows outside a lesson. Suddenly, blue lines lit up all around, densely combining into a terrifying pattern. Faintly, some banners could also be seen fluttering and glowing among the trees. As an ancient great demon, it immediately realized: "A formation!"

Then, a scroll unfurled overhead, obscuring the sky and sun. Feng Xi felt the scene before its eyes change; it was no longer the mulberry forest but an unfamiliar world. That scroll was naturally Yu Yanluo's 'Map of Thousand Miles of Mountains and Seas,' but its current grade was not enough to trap an ancient great demon like Feng Xi. Fortunately, Yan Xuehen was also there. She had already set up a grand formation in advance and then used the 'Map of Thousand Miles of Mountains and Seas' as the core of the formation. With the grand formation and the map working together, their power immediately multiplied.

Zuan and the others seized the opportunity to enter the formation. He immediately enveloped Feng Xi in his White Lotus Sacred Flame. Feng Xi shrieked repeatedly, attempting to shoot out the steel-like bristles on its body, trying its old trick of setting the surrounding forest ablaze. However, inside this grand formation, it was a world unto itself; where could there be any mulberry forest?

As the controller of the grand formation, Yan Xuehen effortlessly helped everyone avoid the steel-like hairs that flew out with the force of siege crossbows. At the same time, she unleashed the Snowflake Divine Sword, and a pervasive chill enveloped Feng Xi. Empowered by the formation, her Snowflake Divine Sword's might greatly increased. When the chilling mist was roasted by the White Lotus Sacred Flame, it turned into vapor clinging to Feng Xi's body, causing it to scream in agony. Zuan's heart stirred. He hadn't expected the combination of ice and fire to be so incredibly powerful. "Hmm, no wonder so many men in his previous life enjoyed the duality of ice and fire..."

He wasted no more time, conjuring the Qiankun Ring and continuously smashing it against Feng Xi's head. While Feng Xi was disoriented from the blows, Zuan took out a long spear with a flaming tip. This was also one of the Celestial-grade weapons from the Dragon Palace that Shang Liuyu had given him previously—the Fiery Spear. Feng Xi's defense was too strong, and its counterattacks were fierce. A long-handled weapon like this would be easier to deal with it; he recalled how hunters in his previous life used spears against wild boars. Although Feng Xi's defense was formidable, it had already been significantly weakened by the alternating attacks of the White Lotus Sacred Flame and the Snowflake Divine Sword. Moreover, while its physical resistance was high, it couldn't withstand an enchanted Fiery Spear. Virtually every thrust left a burning, bloody hole. Even with Feng Xi's tough hide and thick flesh, it couldn't endure such relentless attacks.

Realizing it was in danger if this continued, it suddenly let out a loud cry, then its entire being transformed into a cloud of black mist. Immediately, the black mist dispersed into countless small wild boars, scattering in all directions. "Be careful! If even one small boar escapes, it will get away, and it won't be easy to catch it again next time," Yun Jianyue, being well-informed, immediately recognized this as an extremely clever life-saving technique.

Zuan, however, remained calm. If Feng Xi had maintained its large boar form, he might have had some trouble dealing with it. But scattering into many smaller entities, while perhaps tricky for others, was no problem for him, as he never lacked AoE (Area of Effect) group attack skills. He immediately unleashed the Lion's Roar, which he had seized from the Lion tribe, and a terrifying roar filled the entire world. This type of area attack had limited effect on high-cultivation targets, but with Feng Xi transformed into countless small boars, each significantly weaker, they were instantly dazed and disoriented by the Lion's Roar. While the small boars were stunned, Zuan activated the Azure Phoenix Sword Array. Countless sword energies descended from the sky, pinning all the little boars scattered across the area to the ground. Finally, the small boars dissipated into clouds of black mist, which then re-formed into Feng Xi's massive body.

However, by now, it was riddled with wounds and on the verge of death. As Zuan, holding the Fiery Spear, was about to end its life, Feng Xi's massive body suddenly transformed into a human figure, crying out, "Mercy, brave warriors! Mercy!"

The group was greatly startled to see this; they never expected Feng Xi to be a human. After all, even the Ya Yu before had a human face and snake body, retaining many non-human characteristics. But this creature before them was, from head to toe, a typical human. Zuan was even more surprised, as this person looked exactly like the figure he had seen in his mind when he launched the Hundred Screams spiritual attack. Could this be Feng Xi's true form?

"Who are you?" Yun Jianyue demanded. The burly man glanced at Yun Jianyue, clearly recognizing her as the woman who had been dancing in the moonlight. A complex expression of infatuation and resentment appeared in his eyes. He hastily bowed his head and replied, "My name is Peng Meng. I was once a hunter. I came to eliminate Feng Xi for the people's sake. Although I successfully killed it, I was infected by its black mist and unknowingly transformed into its likeness. Thanks to you all for saving me from this suffering."

Zuan and the others exchanged glances, their expressions extremely strange. "How is this so similar to Ya Yu? Could it be another unfortunate soul?"