Chapter 23: Phantom Azure Flame

  Deep in the dense forest, a fierce battle startled the birds, a lean figure dodged and weaved, making dull roars, frantically colliding with a second-level Golden Furry Ape!

  ROAR!!! The golden-haired ape went into a frenzy, letting out an angry roar, its sharp fangs glinting with cold light. It charged forward, wildly swinging its two iron-like fists, and pummeled the small thing in front of it with a stormy fury.

  Tang Yan's face was as calm as water, relying on the surge of spiritual power to freely wield the Eight Extremes Fist. In this mystical world, few people purely trained in close combat or even knew what close combat was; it was the unrestrained display of martial skills and spiritual power that led them to victory. However, for Tang Yan, he always firmly believed that the body was the most terrifying killing tool.

  This is a head-on confrontation with the Golden Monkey, it's also a training of combat skills, tempering the body, and secretly exploring the 'Misty Shadow' in the 'Phantom Spirit True Body'!

  Boom! Boom! Boom!! Fists colliding, limbs crashing, dust flying everywhere, wooden splinters scattering, two large and small figures are engaged in the most savage collision, ruthlessly destroying the ancient trees and shattered stones along the way.

  In the intense and chaotic battle, Tang Yan was suddenly thrown out heavily, rolling continuously for eight or nine meters before barely stopping.

  "ROAR!!" The golden-haired, three-meter-tall giant ape charged furiously towards Tang Yan, its massive body suddenly appearing in front of him. Its tightly clenched golden fist came crashing down at Tang Yan.

  Tang Yan's body, which had just paused, suddenly convulsed violently. His hands pushed against the ground and he flipped over, his tightly clenched legs shooting out like lightning to strike the chest of the powerful Golden Fur Ape King.

  Neat and tidy! Swift and fierce!

  At this moment, both feet suddenly ignited a blue flame.

  Boom boom boom!! Tang Yan fiercely jumped up, his feet alternately stomping and kicking, the wild power on the spot sent the golden-haired violent ape flying out, and each stomp left a burning flame in front of its chest.

  The golden monkey sprang up, wildly pounding its chest, letting out a fierce roar, with scarlet eyes, ferocious fangs, and a massive body, looking extremely terrifying.

  "No time to play with you!!" Tang Yan sprang up, regardless of its ferocity or terror, rapidly flipping and somersaulting in mid-air, his iron legs wildly pounding and his rotating iron fists making him look like a fighting machine.

  The golden-haired ape was born ferocious, and didn't care too much about the flames on its chest. It continued to clash with Tang Yan in a head-on confrontation, but... As the collisions gradually increased, the blue flames almost covered every part of its body, and began to burn its skin and bones. The intense pain made it scream and howl, starting to wildly flail, roll around, and crash into trees. It used every method possible, yet the flames didn't weaken in the slightest.

  It finally realized the danger, but it was too late. The violent pain did not subside, nor did it stop Tang Yan's attack. Accompanied by a dull impact, Tang Yan's fiery iron fist hit the golden ape's head squarely, and under the urging of spiritual power, the blue flame spread to its entire head.

  ROAR!!! The golden monkey let out a mournful howl, like a huge blue fireball crashing through the forest, but unable to stop the flames from engulfing it. Splash! In its panic, it tumbled into the river, still unable to extinguish them.

  After struggling for ten minutes, the golden monkey fell to the ground with a thud and stopped moving after a few more struggles.

  The crazy battle is over.

  Tang Yan didn't get close to the corpse, and at the moment it started struggling, he quietly hid. In this dense forest, intense battles might attract more demonic beasts, just like an hour ago when hunting a razor-toothed boar, almost got swallowed by a three-stage giant python that came over after hearing the sound.

  In the quiet waiting, two monsters passed by continuously, perhaps sensing the danger of the flame, but only observing from a distance before leaving one after another.

  Tang Yan did not relax his vigilance, and his eyes kept rotating around the surroundings. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that there were a pair of eyes staring at him nearby, this kind of vague feeling had been existing since dawn, from searching for prey, to hunting and killing the wild boar, and now killing the golden-haired macaque.

  Could it be those people in white? It's unlikely! Since they've been discovered, why didn't they just kill themselves directly?

  With his own strength being only a third-class martial artist and being alone, is he still worth the other party's consideration?

  If it's not the white-clothed one, who else could it be?

  Tang Yan hid, observed and waited quietly. Due to the larger body of the Golden Hair Ape, the time it took for the Green Flame to burn was relatively longer.

  Twenty minutes later, the green flame slowly went out.

  Tang Yan once again warned the surroundings, confirming that there were no monsters approaching for the time being. He suddenly rushed out, preparing to take the Lingyuan liquid and quickly retreat. But just as he landed, he abruptly stopped his movement, his heavy gaze fixed on an ancient tree on the opposite bank of the river, or something in its canopy.

  There, a man in black with a paper person on his back slowly appeared.

  "Is it you?" Tang Yan quickly recalled the man's identity, when he and Tang Ying jointly killed that white-clothed person, they coincidentally met this strange man carrying a paper person.

  Was he secretly watching?

  The man in black had a pale face like paper, giving people a kind of evil and cold feeling. A pair of emotionless eyes stared straight at Tang Yan.

  "The flavor is quite heavy, I like to peek at men, but sorry, I'm not good with this taste." Tang Yan walked towards the corpse of the golden-haired ape, its massive body was left with only a pile of ashes, and a pea-sized drop of blue liquid was emitting pure energy.

  "What's your name?" The evil-looking man walked over, his voice as cold as his expression, and what made Tang Yan even more surprised was... he actually stepped on the water surface to come over!

  "My surname is Liu, and I'm Liu San Er."

  "Who is your master?"

  Tang Yan blurted out: "Sun Wukong!"

  "Sun Wukong?" The man walked seemingly slowly, but before Tang Yan approached the Lingyuan liquid, he was already standing there.

  Tang Yan wanted to take away the Lingyuan liquid, but he had some reservations: "My master can go up to heaven and down to earth without any difficulty, you barbaric children naturally don't know."

  The evil-minded man ignored Tang Yan, picked up the crystal-clear Spiritual Origin Liquid, and gently stirred it, as if sensing something: "I'll ask you a question, answer honestly."

  "Before I answer your question, may I say something?"

  "Huh?"

  "Hey bro, you seem to have taken my stuff! This... is... mine!"

  The evil-looking man with no expression on his face: "Who gave you the Ghostly Blue Flame?"

  "What's on fire?"

  "Let me remind you once again, don't try to be clever with your words. I ask what I want to know, and you answer accordingly." The evil man's body suddenly emitted a chilling aura of malevolence.

  Perhaps it was an illusion, but Tang Yan seemed to see... the paper man behind him... move slightly...

  "You actually know You Ming Qing Huo? Tang Yan was uncertain what this person wanted to do, and naturally wouldn't say the truth: "I've never heard of that name, let alone know what it is.""

  "Hmm?" The evil-intentioned man's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  Tang Yan felt a sudden tightness in his chest, as if something was fiercely grasping his heart. He stumbled backward three or four steps, his eyes flashing with anger, and shouted: "Bastard, don't try to act cool in front of me! If you want to kill me, then kill me, I'm not afraid of you!"

  "Who gave you the ghostly green fire?" The evil-intentioned man asked again.

  As his pupils slowly constricted, Tang Yan felt the suffocating sensation in his chest growing heavier, almost to the point of being unable to breathe. His gaze changed with a hint of uncertainty, trying to resist but feeling powerless, after a while... The strong tone turned bitter, and he said dejectedly: "Fine, fine, you win!"

  "Say."

  "Are you talking about them?" Tang Yan raised his right hand, and a faint blue flame appeared on his fingertips, dancing happily: "I'm very sorry, I also want to figure out where they came from."

  "Don't shed tears until you see the coffin!"

  "Wait! The truth is, I was just a waste before, not even a martial artist. A while ago, I suddenly fainted and when I woke up, I had these strange things. It may be hard to accept, but whether you believe it or not, this is the fact." Tang Yan said half-truthfully.

  The man with evil intentions looked at Tang Yan deeply, but instead of exploding as expected, he asked again: "What's your relationship with Dusty Pavilion?"

  "What's going on? Please! Big brother! I have no idea what you're talking about? You come out of nowhere and ask a string of inexplicable questions, it's got me all confused, do you know that?" Tang Yan was really getting confused, who the heck is this guy? Is he crazy?!

  At this time, a thin mist spread from the dense forest in front, gently floating and seemingly normal. However, the evil-intentioned man slightly furrowed his brow, and before Tang Yan could continue asking questions, he slowly retreated several steps and disappeared into the woods before the thin mist spread over.