Chapter 149 What a Great Skill
In the passage ahead, there was nothing to be seen except a monk.
The crooked-mouthed, cross-eyed monk saw Fang Mu walking over, opened its mouth, and let out a threatening roar.
A Bai jumped onto Fang Mu’s shoulder and let out a low growl at the monk.
The roaring monk stopped abruptly. At the sound of A Bai's growl, it actually took a step back, appearing somewhat fearful.
The Ghost-Devouring Beast fed on anomalies, making it practically the natural nemesis of all anomalous entities.
However, the monk’s fear was only temporary. In the blink of an eye, it resumed its arrogant posture.
Fang Mu sighed and said regretfully, "Look at you. You said you were going to break my hand, but ended up losing your own. And when I asked you to test the waters, you're about to go taste danger yourself."
Grey Seventy struggled incessantly in Fang Mu’s grip, but to no avail.
With his hand severed, blood kept gushing out, leaving Grey Seventy extremely weak. Hearing Fang Mu's words made his face turn even paler.
Fang Mu raised his hand and gave a flick. Grey Seventy traced an arc through the air and landed in the passage ahead.
The crooked-mouthed, cross-eyed monk stared blankly, as if it couldn't quite process such a pie falling right out of the sky.
Yet it quickly reacted and lunged at Grey Seventy.
The monk grabbed Grey Seventy by the shoulders and sank its teeth into his neck.
The sound of soft, tearing crunches rang out as the monk began to leisurely feast on Grey Seventy.
Sounds of agonizing pain escaped Grey Seventy's lips, but paralyzed and unable to move, he could only slowly endure the excruciating torment.
In the blink of an eye, Grey Seventy was devoured completely clean by the monk.
Having finished his meal, the monk turned back toward Fang Mu and let out an angry roar.
Fang Mu frowned slightly. Aside from this crooked-mouthed, cross-eyed monk, there seemed to be nothing else here, nor were there any miniature versions of the monk.
"This subordinate will go test it first," Ghost One said, bowing slightly.
Fang Mu nodded, raising no objection to Ghost One's proposal.
Ghost One turned around, four items—a zither, a go board, a book, and a painting—floating up behind him as he stepped forward.
The moment Ghost One entered, the monk lunged at him, moving with the speed of lightning.
Ghost One was startled, and the floating zither, go board, book, and painting behind him vibrated in unison.
"Boom!"
A loud crash echoed. The monk was directly repelled, slamming heavily against the wall.
However, upon hitting the wall, the monk did not bounce back. Instead, it dissolved like a pile of sand, instantly scattering into a swarm of miniature monks.
The miniature monks roared, vanishing in a flash while the sound of clanging echoed through the passage.
The zither, go board, book, and painting vibrated together, weaving an invisible barrier around Ghost One’s body.
Ripples, barely visible to the naked eye, undulated through the air, as though something was relentlessly attacking Ghost One.
Fang Mu frowned. He could not see any visible source of attack.
Was it moving too fast to be seen?
He pondered the possibility and dismissed it. With his mastery of the Double Shadow Escape, he should at least be able to catch some trace of a pattern.
At that moment, Ghost One spoke up.
"Master, these creatures can turn invisible," Ghost One said, looking back. "Though their strength isn't particularly formidable. That fellow Yellow Ninety earlier must have fallen victim to their invisibility."
Invisibility?
Fang Mu understood. Now he knew why Yellow Ninety had died so swiftly.
The Heretic Buddha disciples specialized in illusion arts and lacked strong personal defenses. Combined with an anomalous entity like this monk that possessed the ability to turn invisible, it easily resulted in sudden, invisible death.
After a moment of thought, Fang Mu activated the Triple Golden Body Art and stepped forward into the space.
The instant he crossed the threshold, the outermost layer of golden light in the Triple Golden Body Art rippled.
There was no visible trajectory, as if he were being struck by an unseen enemy.
"So that's how it is." Fang Mu stroked his chin, his hand drifting toward his waist before dropping back down again.
It would be far too wasteful to simply kill it. Such an anomalous ability was genuinely tempting.
With a flick of his thought, Fang Mu raised his right hand, and true Qi surged within him.
The true Qi serpent inside his body seemed to receive a command, instantly turning incomparably ferocious.
A terrifying, violent aura erupted from Fang Mu, resembling a pitch-black abyss that sent a tingling sensation creeping across the scalp.
Ghost One, standing nearby, felt a jolt of shock. The Master had grown stronger again!
In truth, Ghost One was also growing stronger, because as Fang Mu grew more powerful, Ghost One strengthened correspondingly.
What shocked Ghost One, however, was that the Master’s rate of growth was simply too terrifying. While others advanced step by step, the Master seemed to be soaring through the skies.
Could it be that the Master was truly one of those children of destiny described in ancient tales, blessed with peerless, matchless talent?
Of course, he had no way of knowing that even a child of destiny stood no chance against Fang Mu, simply because destiny could not compete with cheating.
Behind Fang Mu, a ferocious, fiery-red tiger head materialized.
"Roar—!"
A wave of fiery-red sound swept outward. In the previously empty passage, a swarm of miniature monks was sent flying backward, coalescing mid-air into a single crooked-mouthed, cross-eyed monk.
The monk crashed heavily to the ground, its entire body charred black.
Fang Mu gave the monk no chance to react, walking straight over and reaching out to loot it.
[You looted the nameless corpse and obtained a wisp of true Qi.]
[You looted the nameless corpse and obtained a wisp of true Qi.]
[You looted the nameless corpse and obtained the skill — Concealment Art, capable of concealing one's form and aura.]
The true Qi melted into Fang Mu's body, accompanied by a massive influx of information.
After digesting the knowledge, Fang Mu could not help but praise it inwardly.
Yet another highly practical skill!
The Concealment Art was equivalent to an invisibility technique, yet vastly superior. Aside from concealing one's physical form, it also completely masked one's aura.
Unless an opponent vastly surpassed Fang Mu in strength, it was utterly impossible to detect him.
Invisibility! The dream skill of every man, offering boundless potential for creativity, such as...
Naturally, Fang Mu had no intention of using it for such trivialities. He deemed this ability top-tier, whether for eavesdropping or ambushing enemies.
The monk struggled, attempting to rise once more, but A Bai spat out a cloud of black mist, absorbing the monk until it was entirely clean.
Once A Bai finished absorbing the monk, its own aura grew visibly stronger.
The passage fell silent.
Fang Mu did not dismiss the Triple Golden Body Art. Instead, he gazed into the pitch-black opening—the exit.
"Master..." Ghost One walked over, casting a questioning look at Fang Mu.
Fang Mu shook his head and pulled out the ancient book he had scavenged earlier.
This book had belonged to Grey Seventy and seemed to contain records regarding the eminent monk of the Vajra Temple.
Fang Mu flipped through the ancient volume from cover to cover. Aside from a biographical account of the eminent monk, there was nothing unusual within its pages.
He had hoped to find some clues, but it appeared there were none.
Looking at the pitch-black opening before him, Fang Mu stroked his chin and decided to step inside and take a look.
Ghost One spoke respectfully, "Let this subordinate go ahead and scout the path."
Fang Mu did not refuse, nodding in agreement.
Without hesitation, Ghost One strode directly into the dark entrance.
The moment Ghost One crossed over, his figure vanished from sight.
Fang Mu waited within the passage.
A moment later, Ghost One's voice drifted out from the opening.
"Master! There is... a bridge in here!"