Hearing the shout from behind, Su Ze quickened his pace.

Although it was just one shout, it revealed a lot of information. The fact that he called out "Qiangzi" meant his insane personality was in control, not the real Feng Bqing.

It also meant he hadn’t yet been controlled by the Pope’s Blood and Flesh Parasite.

Feng Bqing’s enormous body burrowed directly into the ground, closing in on Su Ze at an unimaginable speed.

His burrowing speed was even faster than Mr. Ya’s Earth Escape Skill. This was a Talent Skill belonging to the fifth-rank Spiritual Plant, the Coiling Dragon Root. Feng Bqing had gained this appearance—and the Coiling Dragon Root’s ability to travel underground—by drinking an extract from a Spirit Root Tree that had been on the verge of evolving into one.

Su Ze gritted his teeth and activated his Flying Skill, Celestial Sea Wings, soaring into the air.

’At a time like this, who had the luxury of worrying about attracting other beasts?’

Although Feng Bqing wouldn’t harm Su Ze in his frenzied state, he could regain his sanity at any moment. When that happened, Su Ze wouldn’t even have a chance to run.

Just as Feng Bqing was about to catch up to Su Ze, he suddenly stopped. He emerged from the ground, stretched out his two thick legs, and sat there in a daze.

Although Su Ze was curious about what was happening to Feng Bqing, this was no time to satisfy his curiosity. He took the opportunity to frantically put more distance between them.

A moment later, clarity returned to Feng Bqing’s eyes. He slapped himself hard with one of his massive, branch-like hands.

"Idiot!" Feng Bqing cursed his other, insane self.

He had been fighting the Pope’s flesh inside him, only to have that fool of an alter ego seize control of his body. That idiot had completely ignored the bizarre flesh eroding his body, single-mindedly chasing after some "Qiangzi."

Having finally regained control, Feng Bqing ignored the fleeing Su Ze and hurriedly mobilized his evolutionary power to corner and suppress the Pope’s flesh.

He discovered that in that short time, because his insane personality had given up all resistance after taking over, the Pope’s flesh had already invaded his body and fused with his own.

Moreover, the Pope’s flesh was planning to use his body as a medium to invade his mind.

For someone like Feng Bqing, who had already reached the Saint-level Supreme realm, the Pope’s Blood and Flesh Parasite wasn’t actually that hard to resist. The key problem was that the other idiot in his body was always causing trouble, giving him a massive headache.

Now that the Pope’s flesh had fused with his, what should have been a simple matter had become much more complicated.

Feng Bqing realized he could no longer expel the Pope’s flesh. He had to settle for the next best thing: first, he had to eliminate the Pope’s residual consciousness within the flesh to prevent his own mind from being controlled.

He also discovered that after his body fused with the Pope’s flesh, it gained a bizarre vitality.

Originally, parts of his body were tree-like, as stiff and dead as wood, but now even those parts had become unusually active.

Feng Bqing had no idea what consequences this change would bring.

’What the hell is this! What has my body become? That son of a bitch Pope, that son of a bitch Su Ze—they should all die! They all have to die...’ Feng Bqing cursed inwardly as he worked to eliminate the Pope’s consciousness.

He didn’t even know what kind of species he was anymore.

The composition of his body was already complicated enough. He was half-tree, half-human, maintaining a chaotic balance that had also thrown his mind into disarray.

He had just managed to absorb a drop of Miracle Spring Water, which had slightly organized his chaotic consciousness, only for the Pope’s flesh to worm its way in.

’You’re not picky at all, are you, Pope? You didn’t even look at the state I’m in before burrowing into my body.’

’In the end, it’s all Su Ze’s fault. He’s the one who led the Pope’s flesh here. That brat really deserves to die!’

Feng Bqing seethed. He hadn’t gone looking for trouble with Su Ze, yet Su Ze had come looking for him.

Feng Bqing felt that his body, once a simple duality, had now turned into a chaotic stew.

「...」

While Feng Bqing was preoccupied with eliminating the Pope’s consciousness, Su Ze had already flown a great distance away.

However, he flew with his heart in his throat. The commotion Feng Bqing had caused while chasing him had startled several fourth-rank beasts into fleeing, which only confirmed Su Ze’s suspicion that he was now in the core region of the Blood Earth Forest.

He planned to fly a little farther before landing to continue on foot. He really didn’t dare to stay in the air.

’I’d better find a water source.’

Su Ze looked around, hoping to find a stream. He could transform into his liquid state, merge with the current, and perform a Water Escape. It was an excellent form of concealment; even a Saint-level expert might not be able to find him.

Su Ze extended his hearing, trying to catch the sound of flowing water.

Before long, he actually heard the gurgling of a stream.

’That direction...’ Su Ze flew low to the ground, heading toward the sound of the water.

Soon, his Perception Tentacles detected a small river.

Just then, Feng Bqing seemed to lose control of his body again, his insane personality taking over.

From a great distance, Su Ze heard a deafening cry of "Qiangzi!" The trembling of the earth told him that Feng Bqing was closing in fast.

Su Ze didn’t hesitate. He accelerated, rushed to the riverbank, and dove in with a SPLASH.

At the same time, he activated Liquid Life. His body turned into liquid, merged with the river, and escaped downstream with the current.

Feng Bqing finally reached the riverbank and began running along it, relentlessly persistent.

Su Ze’s concealment trick wasn’t flawless. The mass of water he’d become still contained a Storage Pendant and a Storage Ring. These storage items couldn’t turn into liquid with his body, making them rather conspicuous.

Right now, for instance, a small fish was chasing him, trying to bite the storage items within his liquid form.

This fish was clearly no ordinary animal. It was some kind of low-grade beast, but it was surprisingly fast. Su Ze’s speed in his liquid form was nearly as fast as a proper Water Escape, yet he still couldn’t shake the annoying little fish.

It kept its mouth open, nipping at him relentlessly, as if something in his storage items was attracting it.

Exasperated, Su Ze slapped it away.

But a moment later, the fish swam back up. It puffed up angrily, its body expanding continuously. As its soft belly swelled, sharp spikes emerged one by one.

’Isn’t that a pufferfish!’

Su Ze recognized it. It was that unlucky thing people were always using to scrub their shoes in those short videos.

’Heh, what a temper on this little guy.’

Su Ze raised his hand to slap it away again, but before he could act, the pufferfish opened its mouth. A huge blast of water pressure shot out, striking his liquid body like a cannonball and instantly riddling him with holes.

It was a good thing his liquid body was somewhat immune to this kind of physical attack. If he had been in his flesh-and-blood form, Su Ze would probably be dead by now, forced to use his Regeneration Core to rebuild his body.

Su Ze was shocked. He finally understood: this pufferfish was no simple creature!

’It makes sense when you think about it. Where is this? The core region of the Blood Earth Forest!’

’Would a low-rank beast dare to operate here?’

Then Su Ze remembered a crucial detail: this pufferfish was the only beast he had encountered since entering the river.

Su Ze’s shattered body reformed in the river. He reached out and grabbed his Storage Ring. The Storage Pendant was a little farther away. Just as he was about to reach for it, the pufferfish beat him to it, about to swallow the pendant.

The Storage Pendant held nearly all of Su Ze’s possessions. He couldn’t afford to lose it, so he immediately fired a Gravity Chain and yanked the pendant back.

Unexpectedly, this action completely enraged the pufferfish. It flapped the fins on its sides rapidly, its body swelling like a balloon. At the same time, a cyan light began to glow from within it.

’Am I seeing things? Cyan? A fifth-rank beast?’ Su Ze thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

He had thought it was a fourth-rank beast at most, but it turned out the little pufferfish was a fifth-rank beast!

’If you’re so damn powerful, you should have said so! Why were you acting all cute for?’

In the blink of an eye, the pufferfish had expanded into a large sphere three to four meters in diameter.

Su Ze had no doubt that if it launched another water cannon attack at this size, it would vaporize him on the spot!

’Lord Pufferfish, I was wrong...’ Su Ze burst out of the water and scrambled toward the shore.

But unexpectedly, the pufferfish gave chase, bursting out of the water as well.

’The fish... it can fly!’

Then again, it was a fifth-rank beast. Even for a fish, being able to fly wasn’t that strange.

The crucial part was that not only could it fly, but it expanded even faster in the air!

Unrestricted by the terrain, it swelled into a behemoth over ten meters wide in an instant. It didn’t chase Su Ze, but simply aimed its mouth in the direction he was fleeing.

A chill ran down Su Ze’s spine. He felt like he was being targeted by a cannon.

His survival instinct drove him to fly back toward Feng Bqing.

Feng Bqing had also noticed the commotion and was rapidly burrowing through the ground toward Su Ze.

BOOM!

With a world-shaking bang, the pufferfish, now dozens of meters wide, spat out an Air Cannon.

Su Ze had no doubt that this blast could kill him so thoroughly he’d need to be resurrected on the spot.

At the critical moment, Feng Bqing burst from the ground, resolutely placing himself behind Su Ze to face the blast head-on.

Su Ze was sent flying by the terrifying shockwave. He hit the ground and rolled several times before stopping. When he looked back, Feng Bqing’s bark-like skin was cracked all over, and seventy to eighty percent of his leaves had been blown off, leaving him looking like a bare "tree."

However, his body possessed astonishing life force and was already healing itself.

With bloodshot eyes, Feng Bqing charged forward and began to brawl with the River Fish Monster. He didn’t use any skills, relying purely on brute force.

The River Fish Monster didn’t seem to excel at close combat, but it used its size to its advantage. It had swelled to ten times Feng Bqing’s size and possessed immense strength. A single sweep of its tail sent Feng Bqing stumbling backward.

Feng Bqing rubbed his head and suddenly regained his sanity. He fixed a hate-filled gaze on Su Ze, about to charge and kill him.

But the River Fish Monster wouldn’t let him go. It tangled with Feng Bqing relentlessly, its venomous belly spikes raining down on him like a torrential storm.

Su Ze reverted to his flesh-and-blood form. He was still dizzy and disoriented from the aftershock of the Air Cannon. Just as he was about to get up, a large hand pulled him to his feet.

Su Ze turned his head and saw Chen Suifeng’s handsome face. A wave of relief washed over him.