Yuan Ming executed the Shadowless Step, his form barely flickering as he moved laterally by half a zhang, easily dodging Zan Bai's covert attack.
Three green arrows struck the wall behind him and exploded almost simultaneously, spreading a large cloud of green smoke rapidly in all directions.
"Poisonous!" Yuan Ming immediately held his breath and waved his hand.
A gray-black round orb shot out, landing near the entrance of the cave on the ground.
With a muffled 'puff', a large cloud of smoke emerged from nowhere, instantly filling the cave and spilling outside, making it hard to see inside the cave and deterring any rash actions for a moment.
"Petty tricks!" Wu Bao scoffed lightly, a flash of green light flickering over his fingers as he tried again to summon a strong wind to disperse the smoke.
Just then, the ground beneath him suddenly cracked open, a sharp wooden thorn emerging and rising swiftly.
Wu Bao shivered and jumped to the side, narrowly escaping a foot piercing, but his wind summoning was forcibly interrupted.
Before Wu Bao and Jin Kun's groups could react, another black round orb emerged from within the cave beneath the cover of smoke and landed on the ground outside.
More clouds of smoke erupted, mingling with the smoke spreading from inside the cave, covering a large area.
In the cave, Yuan Ming covered his nose with his hand and moved to a stone wall deep inside the cave, pushing hard against it.
The stone wall moved slowly, revealing a pitch-black passage; the wall was actually a large cut stone.
Yuan Ming dove into it, pushed the large stone back into place, and ran toward the back exit of the cave.
He had anticipated that the Green Wolf Gang might come after him and had prepared accordingly. The moves he had made earlier were all delaying tactics; by the time Wu Bao and the others outside noticed something was wrong, he was already far away.
Not long after, Hagon appeared in front with a white fluorescing stone in his hand emitting a faint white light, seemingly waiting for him.
"Brother Yuan, I didn't expect this cave to have another exit. Impressive," praised Hagon.
"Now is not the time for idle chat, let's go!" Yuan Ming grabbed Hagon and ran forward.
The two wound through the pitch-black cave, turning corners for a good quarter of an hour before finally reaching the back exit. Yuan Ming used the Fur Cloak Skill and transformed into a White Ape, smashing the large stone blocking the back door with a punch, shattering it.
The two dashed out, about to sweep toward a distant area, when the ground suddenly lit up with lines of yellow light, forming a large yellow net that enveloped them.
Yuan Ming was startled, all his mana concentrated in his legs, which were already quite sturdy and now swelled another thirty percent with muscles bulging out, fiercely stomping the ground.
Bang!
The ground exploded into a shallow pit, and Yuan Ming shot into the air, escaping the enclosing yellow net at the last instant.
Hagon, however, didn't escape and was enveloped by the yellow net, unable to move.
"Talisman!" Yuan Ming landed a few zhang away, his pupils contracted as he drew the Green Fish Sword and slashed at the net.
Two blade-like golden lights shot from the side, aiming at his legs.
Yuan Ming hastily withdrew his hand and used the Shadowless Step below, shifting several feet in midair, narrowly dodging the golden blades.
Seven or eight figures shot out of the nearby jungle, completely surrounding the area. The leader was a sharp-headed, fat-bodied humanoid exotic beast with small mung bean eyes and a long golden tail dragging behind, resembling a giant humanoid rat.
The giant rat's fur was dark gold, particularly long on the back and upright like a hedgehog, with pale golden forepaws, sharp as steel drills.
"Hehe, did you think I was a vegetarian? Since I took on this assignment, I've naturally investigated your situation thoroughly. You should have asked around about who Grandpa Jin is," the humanoid giant rat spoke in a mild voice, apparently Jin Kun.
Yuan Ming's eyes twitched.
Although he didn't consider any of these Fur Beast Slaves a challenge in single combat, their gathering was not to be underestimated, especially with Jin Kun in charge, making a breakout extremely difficult.
Yuan Ming's gaze shifted, looking toward Hagon, who was tightly bound by the yellow net. Jin Kun and the others paid no attention to him, all eyes firmly on Yuan Ming.
Although he had met Hagon by chance, they had shared hardships together and could be considered rare friends in these Ten Thousand Mountains; unless absolutely necessary, he was loath to abandon him.
"Brother Yuan, don't worry about me, just go!" Hagon's face showed a pitiful expression as he shouted.
"Leave? None of you are leaving today!" Wu Bao's voice rose, and another seven or eight figures flew over from afar.
Wu Bao had also used the Fur Cloak Skill, transforming into a large Green Wolf.
This Green Wolf, resembling Hagon's transformation, was noticeably larger, nearly two zhang tall, its mere presence imposing.
Strangely, a pale purple horn grew on the top of the wolf's head, marked with faint thunder patterns.
Seeing this, Yuan Ming's heart sank, and fine cold sweat appeared on the tip of his nose.
Clearly, he had miscalculated this time.
Despite the situation being overwhelmingly against him, Yuan Ming had no intention of giving up resistance; his thoughts raced as he tried to find a way out of the current predicament.
"Boy, if you have any tricks left, use them now, or else just surrender quietly! I might just spare your life," Wu Bao said, seeing Yuan Ming unmoving, his tone indifferent.
Yuan Ming's heart jumped at the words. Wu Bao almost had victory in his hands yet was not eager to kill him, perhaps he had other plans for Yuan Ming?
"Jin Kun, go capture him!" Wu Bao saw that Yuan Ming still did not move, and shouted.
"What are you yelling for, I'm not one of your subordinates!" Jin Kun glared with his mung bean eyes, retorted, yet still waved his hand to signal his men to close in on Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming slowly retreated a few steps, took a deep breath, and waved his arm.
Two smoke bombs flew from his hand, hitting the ground on both sides.
With a "bang," thick smoke emerged out of nowhere, engulfing the space around for several yards.
"I thought you had some ace up your sleeve, but it's just this trivial trick again!" Wu Bao sneered coldly, his wolf claws glowing with cyan light, and a much stronger gust of wind emerged, quickly dispersing the surrounding smoke.
Yuan Ming took the opportunity to shake his form, turning into a white shadow rushing in one direction.
For the moment, the only option was to escape first and then consider the next steps. As for Hagon, he was powerless to help.
Two Fur Beast Slaves, seeing Yuan Ming speeding towards them, showed a moment of panic on their faces before quickly calming down and confronting him together.
"Get out of the way!" Yuan Ming swung his arms, unleashing a tremendous force like a tidal wave.
The arms of the two Fur Beast Slaves instantly broke, and their huge bodies were directly thrown away, howling in pain.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several green poison arrows shot from the front, falling in front of Yuan Ming and exploding into a large cloud of green smoke, forcing him to halt momentarily.
But immediately after, Yuan Ming pushed the Shadowless Step to its limit. His figure blurred, he dodged the remaining green poison arrows, and crashed into the oncoming group of Fur Beast Slaves.
As the smoke was mostly blown away, Wu Bao and Jin Kun also spotted Yuan Ming's position and rushed over together.
A chill went down Yuan Ming's spine as he swung his fists out forcefully. A white light flashed across his chest and abdomen, and a third ape arm burst out, striking a Fur Beast Slave blocking his way.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Three Fur Beast Slaves were thrown away.
However, more people rushed up; it was an unwinnable fight. Wu Bao and Jin Kun, like shadows, moved alongside, seemingly contemplating their moves and not yet striking.
Yuan Ming grew more and more anxious as he fought—there was no chance to break free, and both his mana and physical strength were being rapidly drained. If this continued, he would be worn down to death.
He didn't believe that Wu Bao would truly spare his life. Even if Wu Bao had other plans for him, once those were accomplished, he would still be left on a dead end.
Just then, the nearby jungle rustled loudly, and a tall white figure dashed out, crashing into the encirclement.
Two Fur Beast Slaves couldn't dodge in time and were directly knocked away, spitting blood and falling down, unable to get up.
"All hands, reinforcements!" Zan Bai bellowed out loud, his crossbow aiming forward, shooting three green poison arrows at the white figure.
The experienced fighters in the arena abandoned Yuan Ming and flanked towards the newcomers.
The tall white figure ignored the others and continued to charge in, its arms suddenly blurring.
In a swoosh of air, the three individuals confronting it were all left spewing blood and flew backward into the nearby jungle, life and death unknown; the three poison arrows also snapped and fell to the ground.
"Where did this reckless creature come from, face Grandpa Jin's wrath!" Jin Kun roared furiously, abandoning Yuan Ming and leaping towards the white figure.
The severely injured trio included a member from the Hyena Hall named Chi Na.
This individual had awakened olfactory abilities, and the Green Wolf Gang and Hyena Hall were able to easily find this place and block Yuan Ming's retreat, all thanks to this person's capabilities.
Seeing this, Wu Bao hesitated slightly but then also changed his target, pouncing towards the white figure.
Purple lightning flickered on the horn on his forehead, crackling loudly, and arcs of electricity surged out, roaming all over his body, turning him into a thunder man as he fiercely collided with the white figure.
Jin Kun's body shone brightly with golden light, his spine hair bristling.
Rustling!
Masses of golden fur shot out from his body like a rain of arrows at the white figure.
The tall white figure still ignored the two of them, continuing to run into the encirclement, swinging its arm.
With a loud "bang!"
Wu Bao and Jin Kun were similarly blown away, flying four or five yards like paper kites, and crashed heavily onto the ground.
Wu Bao was far stronger than the previous Beast Slaves, causing the white figure to also stagger, stopping its motion for the first time.
Only then did everyone see the true face of the white figure—it was a strange creature resembling an old white-haired ape, standing over two yards tall, covered in white fur, with blood-red eyes and long black claws on its hands. When it bared its teeth, it revealed jagged and glistening white fangs.
"What kind of monster is this?" everyone present exclaimed in shock.
Yuan Ming also showed a surprised expression, his eyes spinning as he retreated, his arm shaking.
With a soft "bang," another smoke bomb exploded, the thick smoke spreading, obscuring everything nearby.
"Be careful, stop him!"
The few people surrounding Yuan Ming hurriedly followed, trying to continue tangling with Yuan Ming. However, Yuan Ming had already disappeared in the smoke, his whereabouts unknown.
The white-furred creature, seemingly enraged by Wu Bao and Jin Kun's blockade, let out a fierce roar and lunged at the two.
"I'll handle this white-furred creature with Jin Kun. The rest of you, go after Yuan Ming!" Wu Bao quickly focused to confront the threat, shouting as he fought.
However, before he could finish speaking, several smoke bombs came flying from nowhere, landing in various parts of the battlefield.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Great clouds of smoke erupted, enveloping everyone present and making it impossible to see anything clearly.
The scene became somewhat chaotic for a moment.