It was Feng Luotian who snatched Mao Quanzhou's head from his body before throwing it to the floor.
But how could he pull the head of someone two levels higher than him just like that?
No, he could not, at least not in his normal state.
However, not only was his body now covered by multiple sparks of golden lightning, but there was also a black gaseous flame oozing out of it.
His purple eyes wholly turned black from pupils to sclerae. There were also cracking trails of blood veins around his eyes. His current countenance did not resemble that of an average human. He looked more like he was possessed by a demon.
This was a transformation after Feng Luotian activated his ability: Last Dance Curse.
///// [Last Dance Curse] Level 5 : Increase the user's power level by 1 for 11 minutes. However, the user has to collect 10 souls within 11 minutes. Otherwise, the user's level will be decreased by 2.
When Wu Neng and the villagers noticed Feng Luotian's aura and saw his current appearance, their eyes were widely opened.
"This aura. This pressure. He's really from that clan after all." Wu Neng remarked with complicated emotion.
Although they were shocked by his new look, the villagers did not forget that they were still on the battlefield. After Mao Quanzhou was killed and his Evil Typhoon receded, they got the upper hand once again.
Not a minute later, out of fifty-some bandits who came to raid the village today, only one was still standing.
That was their leader, Jiu Hao.
Although he was dumb, the troupe leader still had emotions.
Even though he liked to bully his men, he had never done it too much and was doing it out of fun and love.
Seeing all of his men were defeated and killed contort whatever Jiu Hao had inside as a raging hot feeling rose from his body up to his head. Alas, he could only watch from the side because, no matter how hard he struggled, he could not break off the strengthened Abyss Bind Array.
As time passed, the power of the array dwindled, while the fury grew stronger with each passing second and rising death toll.
In the end, his crimson hair and mustache violently trembled as his muscles expanded.
Black chains that were holding him down shattered one after another until this caged beast was finally freed.
"Aaaaaaarrrrgh!!" Jiu Hao furiously howled.
The sound alone was enough to destroy the hearing of anyone standing beside him. All the villagers, including Feng Luotian and Tu Lingxi, covered their ears with their hands.
When Jiu Hao finally calmed down, he pointed his finger at them and declared, "You will all die here today!"
///// Eight Fangs Stone Skin Vampiric Vulture
///// [Blood Sucker] : Every blood the user draws from their enemy will give vitality and life force to the user, increasing the user's attack and life regeneration rate.
"These guys … why can't you make it any simpler?! And some of Stone Skin Vampiric Vulture also have a hidden innate skill. So troublesome!!" Feng Luotian's expression turned grim as he complained.
"How should we deal with this guy?" Tu Lingxi trusted his judgment and insight completely and was willing to do anything he suggested.
"Like the previous one, we must avoid his attacks at all costs. Even one hit could lead to more trouble," Feng Luotian instructed her simply.
Tu Lingxi nodded, ready to charge in, but was stopped.
"Wait a moment. Let me try something first."
A zap of lightning crackled and Feng Luotian disappeared, leaving only an arc of electricity behind.
In the next instant, a sharp slapping sound was heard.
His figure reappeared in front of Jiu Hao, his hand poised to strike. But as soon as he made contact with the face, his expression turned solemn.
To an observer, it would appear that Feng Luotian had just slapped Jiu Hao, but that was far from his intention. He had planned to grab the head and either rip it off like he had done with Mao Quanzhou or slam it to the ground. However, like hitting a stone statue, he found himself unable to move the stone-like face even a single bit.
"As I thought. He has an innate skill." Feng Luotian inwardly exclaimed.
"Is that all you can do, brat?!" Jiu Hao sneered, his face now completely turned to stone.
"The skill—Stone Hide—is similar to Wuji's Stone Transformation, but instead of transforming his entire body, it only affects his skin to increase its defensive capabilities." Feng Luotian recalled the skill's information from his past life's knowledge.
During that moment, Jiu Hao raised his hand to grab the slapping arm.
Feng Luotian's eyes flickered blue as he activated his Momentum Eyes to dodge the incoming grab and retreated safely beside Tu Lingxi.
"You think you're the only one who's fast?!"
A voice from behind made them turn around in surprise. It was Jiu Hao, who had manifested himself right behind them.
Feng Luotian sensed an attack coming but didn't know from which direction it was coming form, so he dashed forward to create some distance. But it was too late.
Jiu Hao was quick and caught his right leg.
Jiu Hao repeatedly slammed the body in his hand to the ground, causing Feng Luotian to cough up blood and giving the vulture more strength with each hit from the ability: Blood Sucker.
Tu Lingxi finally sprang into action after recovering from her shock.
She retrieved a handful of sakura petals from her bag and threw them upwards, executing the same onslaught as when she took down Mao Quanzhou.
Unfortunately, Jiu Hao quickly activated Stone Hide. The defense was so strong that none of her attacks could penetrate it, even though she launched dozens of slashes.
After receiving many of those strikes, Jiu Hao could now predict her movements. He threw Feng Luotian away to catch Tu Lingxi mid-air, clutching her throat.
He readied his Bone Claw Gauntlet, preparing to stab her with it. At the moment when the weapon was about to sink its blades into her skin …
A spear pierced Jiu Hao's shoulder, and he cried out in pain.
That spear was thrown by the village head, causing Jiu Hao to lose his grip and drop Tu Lingxi to the ground.
The floral rabbit withdrew from the battle with a pale face, her entire body trembling at the thought of the near-death experience. With her current condition, she could no longer participate in the ongoing fight.
As for Feng Luotian, after he saw the vampiric vulture was actually hurt, his eyes flashed with a cold and profound light.
Meanwhile, Wu Ya took Tu Lingxi back into the village; her husband arrived next to his side: "Are you okay, my lord?"
"My lord?" Feng Luotian immediately turned to Wu Neng.
"I'll explain it to you later, my lord. But are you alright?"
Feng Luotian nodded, still feeling the lingering pain from the smash. He had to admit that Jiu Hao was a formidable opponent, and his Stone Hide was almost impenetrable.
"Village Head, how did you manage to pierce his stone skin with that throw earlier? Did you use a special skill?" Feng Luotian asked, his curiosity piqued.
Wu Neng shook his head. "No, it was just a normal throw. I didn't have time to activate any skills in the heat of the moment."
Feng Luotian furrowed his brow, deep in thought. If Wu Neng's throw was just a normal one, then how did it manage to pierce Jiu Hao's defense?
Then, a realization hit him. "Stone Hide requires him to expend Theríon over time to maintain. When he thought there was no danger, he turned it off, leaving himself vulnerable."
His mind raced with ideas. If he could somehow force Jiu Hao to spend more Theríon, the defense would weaken, and he might be able to break through it.
He made a mental note to try this strategy in their next encounter. For now, he needed to rest and recover from his injuries.
Earlier, Feng Luotian tried to think of a way to deal some damage. He knew that his damage was too low to overwhelm Jiu Hao's stony defense. Even he was to have more speed, if none of his attacks worked, nothing would matter. Thus, he did not bother attacking.
Instead, he used most of his Theríon to protect himself from receiving too much damage from the repetitive ground slams. Otherwise, with Jiu Hao's rising strength in every swing, Feng Luotian should have been on his death door by now.
While Feng Luotian formulated the plan in his head, Jiu Hao pulled the spear out of his shoulder and groaned.
With Blood Sucker, his wound slowly healed from the life force he stole. Although not as fast as when Mao Quanzhou absorbed his Evil Cyclones, the healing was still much faster than that of an average cultivator.
"Village Head, how likely do you think we are to defeat him?"
"Let's be frank. Less than five percent." Wu Neng sighed.
"Then, how likely is it that we can hold him down and prevent him from taking any rest for five minutes?" Feng Luotian smiled.
Wu Neng paused for a bit before answering: "That's doable."
"Do you trust me, Village Head?"
Wu Neng was taken aback by the question before earnestly replying: "Of course, my lord. Furthermore, you have led us this far, and there's only one guy left. We would jump through fire if it were my lord's command."
"Let's do this, then!" Although Feng Luotian was still not used to being called that, he saved it for later.
Wu Neng heavily nodded.