Chapter 1005: The Demon Who Snatched Food From The Tiger's Mouth
It happened so suddenly that Xiang Chuan had no time to react whatsoever. By the time he came to his senses, the Quicksand Four-Leaf Flowers had already, with a series of *swish-swish-swishes*, burrowed entirely underground. Their speed of descent was many, many times faster than their previous slow sinking, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished.
Xiang Chuan was stunned. It wasn't his first time collecting Quicksand Four-Leaf Flowers; every previous attempt had gone smoothly. But this time, something had gone awry.
However, his daze lasted only a fleeting moment. He quickly snapped back to attention, the playful grin vanishing from his face, replaced by a look of profound anxiety. He immediately sought to remedy the situation, intent on forcing the Quicksand Four-Leaf Flowers back out from underground.
He watched as he waved both hands, his internal power wildly surging. A massive amount of Spirit Energy erupted from his body, which he then unleashed in a fierce strike towards the ground ahead.
BOOM! ! !
With a colossal boom, the ground shuddered, and vast clouds of sand and dust billowed forth, enveloping the area where Xiang Chuan stood. All that could be seen by the naked eye was an endless expanse of yellow sand. Everything else was obscured; at that moment, it was as if only the yellow sand remained in this corner of the world, even the sky losing its original hue.
As a Medicine Spirit, Xiang Chuan's inherent strength was considerable. The reason his initial attempt to collect the Quicksand Four-Leaf Flowers caused little commotion was that he hadn't used his full power. He had believed that level of strength would be more than sufficient to gather all the Quicksand Four-Leaf Flowers into his possession.
But at present, the shift in his emotions had caused him to strike with far greater force, hence the tremendous commotion caused by this single blow.
Before Xiang Chuan, a large pit now gaped open. He stood at its edge, and though yellow sand swirled around him, it had no effect on his pristine, clean attire. Yet, his expression had shifted from anxious to enraged, for within the pit before him, there was nothing but yellow sand. Forget the Quicksand Four-Leaf Flowers themselves, not even a single leaf could be found.
"Damn it, who the hell has such gall? ! Snatching food from the tiger's mouth like this! Don't let me get my hands on you, or I'll tear you into a million pieces!"
The anger in his heart made Xiang Chuan roar uncontrollably. At that moment, Yang Haoran appeared beside him in a flash.
"Heh heh, instead of roaring here, you'd be better off thinking about how to drag the other party out. Roaring won't solve anything."
The reason Xiang Chuan hadn't pursued the one who snatched the Quicksand Four-Leaf Flowers was that he simply had no way to. The other party's power fluctuation had only erupted for a single instant before vanishing completely, leaving no trace to sense.
Moreover, while he had been momentarily stunned, his own reaction speed had been far from slow. Yet, despite this, he hadn't found any trace of the Quicksand Four-Leaf Flowers beneath the sand. This indicated that the other party had used some method to spirit them away at an even greater speed than his own. It was precisely this realization that had driven him to roar in fury.
Yang Haoran's reminder restored a sliver of Xiang Chuan's rationality. Though still seething with rage, he refrained from unleashing his fury on Yang Haoran.
He wasn't foolish; he knew his life was in Yang Haoran's hands. If he unleashed his inner fury on Yang Haoran, he wouldn't even know how he met his end. Normally, a few playful jabs at Yang Haoran were acceptable; he knew Yang Haoran wouldn't get mad at him for such trifles, as long as he knew his limits. But if he truly lost his temper with Yang Haoran, he couldn't guarantee that Yang Haoran wouldn't kill him.
Though he dared not unleash his anger on Yang Haoran, he still couldn't help but voice his inner grievances to him.
"Sigh, the power fluctuations have completely vanished. Where am I supposed to chase them? If I could sense their presence, I wouldn't still be standing here."
As his words fell, Xiang Chuan seemed to suddenly remember something. He turned his gaze to Yang Haoran, a look of surprise and delight blooming in his eyes.
"Big Brother, I can't sense their presence, but you shouldn't be unable to, right? After all, your strength has reached a level I can only dream of. Don't tell me you didn't sense anything at all."
Xiang Chuan's sudden shift in expression was due to him pinning all his hopes on Yang Haoran. In his mind, just because he couldn't sense the other party's presence didn't mean Yang Haoran couldn't either.
"Heh heh, I can sense the faint presence of Demon Power here."
Yang Haoran said with a chuckle. This answer caused the surprise in Xiang Chuan's eyes to vanish, replaced by a look of profound disappointment.
"Big Brother, you're quite the comedian. While my strength isn't on par with yours, I'm still a Medicine Spirit, you know. Do you really think I wouldn't be able to sense the lingering Demon Power here? What I want to know is where this demon has run off to now."
There was indeed residual Demon Power in the area, and Xiang Chuan could certainly sense it, for the very force that had just shattered his hold on the Quicksand Four-Leaf Flowers was Demon Power. Let alone having reached the Medicine Spirit realm, even if he hadn't attained that level, as long as he wasn't an ordinary person, it would have been absolutely impossible for him not to sense the presence of this Demon Power.
It was just that he could only sense the lingering Demon Power. As for where the demon responsible for the attack was currently hiding, he had no idea whatsoever.
He had questioned Yang Haoran precisely to learn the whereabouts of the demon that had struck, not to be told that residual Demon Power lingered in the air.
Seeing the look of disappointment on Xiang Chuan's face, Yang Haoran smiled faintly and then spoke.
"This demon is hiding very deeply. It might be quite difficult to drag it out, I'm afraid. However, it's not entirely without a solution."
As soon as he heard these words, the disappointment on Xiang Chuan's face vanished instantly.
"What method?"
Xiang Chuan hurriedly asked. No sooner had his words fallen than, suddenly, a power fluctuation reappeared. This fluctuation was identical to the one that had manifested earlier — both were Demon Power — but compared to its predecessor, this current surge of power was considerably more potent.
The power fluctuation erupted from the sandy ground beneath Yang Haoran and Xiang Chuan's feet, surging upwards like a ferocious beast from the earth, charging directly towards their position. In such a situation, most people would likely choose to dodge, but Yang Haoran and Xiang Chuan did not.
Yang Haoran stood his ground, a smile still gracing his face, his body utterly motionless as if he hadn't sensed the power fluctuation at all. Xiang Chuan's reaction, however, differed from Yang Haoran's. Though he likewise made no move to dodge, he launched a counterattack against this force.
"Perfect timing!"
Xiang Chuan grinned, then his right foot slammed fiercely down onto the sandy ground below.
BOOM! ! !
As his foot came down, the sandy ground beneath was instantly cratered by Xiang Chuan's stomp, and the surging power fluctuation was likewise scattered by his attack.
Both men floated suspended above the sand pit. Although Xiang Chuan's stomp had created a large crater in the sand, with his and Yang Haoran's capabilities, such a minor event naturally wouldn't affect them. It was even less likely that they would end up tumbling into the pit.
As the swirling sand and dust dispersed, a figure appeared before them. It was a short, middle-aged man dressed in yellow, watching Yang Haoran and Xiang Chuan with a malevolent smile. His gaze made them feel as though they were merely his prey.
"I was just wondering how to find you, but you're quite audacious, showing yourself voluntarily. From the looks of it, you're planning to sweep both of us up in one go, aren't you?"
Xiang Chuan looked at the yellow-clothed man and spoke, a smile on his face. This smile was not like the faint, unperturbed one on Yang Haoran's lips; instead, it was a smile of pure mockery.
This mockery was, of course, directed at the yellow-clothed man before him.
The yellow-clothed man noticed the mockery on Xiang Chuan's face, but instead of growing angry, he burst into boisterous laughter, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Hahahaha, you're absolutely right! I *do* intend to sweep you both up in one go. It's been days since I've had human flesh. Today, I can finally use your two bodies to satisfy my cravings! The Human Spirits within you are far stronger than those in ordinary people. Such a grand feast is not something I'd want to miss."
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