Reborn as Huo Yuhao, but also in Battle Through the Heavens

Chapter 21 Pill King Guhe

"Letting him hide like this isn't a big deal. Let's call him out and ask him what he wants." Yao Chen thought for a moment, a playful smile appearing on his lips, and instructed Huo Yuhao to call Gu He out and be frank with him.

"it is good."

Huo Yuhao called out loudly, "Senior, please show yourself for a chat."

No one answered.

Seeing that the other party had not shown himself, Huo Yuhao made a fist with his right hand, picked up a small pebble from the ground, and casually threw it. The pebble hit the trunk of the giant tree where Gu He was hiding with precision.

Seeing that he had been exposed, Guhe had no choice but to reveal himself.

A handsome middle-aged man dressed in a dark, fitted robe, with a serious and composed expression and a hint of competence between his brows, flew out and slowly landed in front of Huo Yuhao and the other two.

"Since you insist on the invitation, young friend, then I have no choice but to show myself." Gu He smiled and nodded to the group. He then introduced himself: "I am Gu He, a sixth-grade alchemist."

"You are Pill King Guhe?" Xiao Yan exclaimed feigned surprise, his face displaying just the right amount of admiration.

"However, everyone's praise is too much; I am unworthy of the title of Pill King." Gu He spoke modestly, but his expression carried a hint of pride. In a remote place like the Jia Ma Empire, reaching the sixth-grade alchemist realm at such a young age certainly gave him reason to be proud.

After Huo Yuhao and the others gave brief self-introductions, Gu He glanced at them and got straight to the point: "Where is your teacher? I have a deal I'd like to discuss with him."

"Uh, no, Senior Guhe, why do you think someone is following us?" Xiao Yan naturally couldn't reveal Yao Chen's existence, so he dropped his feigned admiration, put on a blank expression, and started to play dumb.

"Impossible! How did you find me without any elders reminding you?" Guhe frowned.

"It was because you, senior, did not conceal your soul power that I accidentally sensed it," Huo Yuhao offered an excuse.

"This..." Guhe was speechless for a moment, his eyes still filled with doubt.

"Senior Furukawa, you've come to the Monster Mountain Range..."

Seeing that Gu He was still somewhat doubtful, Xiao Yan took over the conversation, flattering Gu He while steer the topic elsewhere.

While Xiao Yan was showering Gu He with compliments, leaving his mind somewhat blank, Yao Chen's voice rang out directly in Huo Yuhao's mind.

"It seems they were just passing by and decided to follow you on a whim."

"Teacher, won't Gu He notice if you talk like that? After all, he's an alchemist, and his soul power is not weak either."

"He's only at the sixth rank; he's far from it," Yao Chen said dismissively. "Besides, neither Xiao Yan nor Little Fairy Doctor know how to restrain their spiritual power, which is also a distraction for this 'Pill King.' In this situation, even if you, Yuhao, used Spirit Sharing at this distance, he wouldn't be able to detect it."

As Gu He talked with Xiao Yan, he developed a liking for this clever and exceptionally talented young man, and the idea of ​​taking him as a disciple immediately took hold. However, out of consideration for the prestige of the Pill King, he didn't want to take the initiative and appear too eager. So he tentatively asked:

"You little guys are indeed exceptionally talented; very few geniuses can cultivate to this level on their own."

Xiao Yan understood the implication in his words, so he replied, "Senior, you misunderstand. We do have a teacher, but he asked us to train on our own, so we didn't come with him."

Upon hearing this, Gu He's face darkened, and he said with displeasure, "Nonsense! What kind of place is this? How can your teacher be so irresponsible?"

Putting aside his thoughts of taking on apprentices for the time being, he began to weigh whether he should bring these children along. Gu He was conflicted. His purpose in coming to the Monster Mountain Range was to obtain beast fire, preferably at the sixth rank. Bringing these children along would undoubtedly be a burden, but leaving them in the core area of ​​the Monster Mountain Range would likely mean watching them die.

"Ha!" Yao Chen sneered inwardly, staring at Gu He. His eyes darted around as he began to think about how to arrange things for him.

Huo Yuhao looked at the angry Gu He, sensed his emotions, and found that in addition to anger, there was also worry and hesitation.

At that moment, Yao Chen's voice rang in the minds of the three: "Ask him about his purpose, and we'll find a reason to follow him."

"Master?" Xiao Yan was a little confused. He was thinking about how to get rid of Gu He.

Huo Yuhao took a step forward, attracting Gu He's attention.

"Senior Furukawa, what brings you to the Monster Mountain Range?"

"I've come to find a suitable beast fire." Gu He was still debating whether or not to bring the children along, but he casually revealed his true purpose.

Yao Chen's voice continued, "Perfect timing. Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor also need a beast fire, and this kid has the same goal. We can make use of him."

"Huh? How do we use it?" Xiao Yan asked, puzzled.

"Why don't you think of a solution?"

The Little Fairy Doctor's voice rang out: "The Seven-Colored Poison Scripture records a medicinal liquid that is colorless and odorless, but if you take another kind of powder afterward, you will smell a very pungent odor that lasts for a long time. I made some a few days ago, and we can use it to track this person."

"Um, there's no way he wouldn't have noticed, right?"

Gu He was unaware that the little ones in front of him were making plans for him. After hesitating for a long time, he finally decided that he was worried about letting them wander around the Monster Mountain Range and decided to send them away from the Monster Mountain Range first before going to find the Beast Fire.

"How about I escort you out of the Monster Mountain Range?"

"Thank you, Senior Guhe, but our training is not yet complete. We plan to help Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor find a beast fire each." Huo Yuhao rejected Guhe's suggestion.

"Since that's the case... then you can come with me." Gu He's hesitation vanished, and he relented. This time, he'd just take a fifth-tier beast fire. Taking them to provoke a sixth-tier magical beast was still too dangerous. He could invite Yun Yun to come next time and then take a sixth-tier beast fire.

"Thank you, senior." Huo Yuhao and the other two said in unison.

……

With the addition of Gu He, a Battle King, the journey became much safer. Most of the magical beasts were frightened away by his aura, and the few remaining Iron-Headed Babies were easily killed by Gu He.

"Master, how can we train if he's here? What if he tries to steal the medicinal herbs that are suitable for Yuhao?" Xiao Yan asked silently in his heart.

"What are you afraid of? Your teacher is here."

At this moment, a sudden change occurred. A fourth-tier Fire Cloud Leopard, for some unknown reason, perhaps thinking that Gu He's strength had decreased due to the consumption of his battle qi, or perhaps being overconfident in its own speed, took advantage of the fact that Gu He had just dealt with a magical beast and was somewhat separated from Huo Yuhao and the other two, and completely ignored Gu He, a Battle King, and charged directly towards its target, "three little snacks".

"Not good!" Upon discovering that the Fire Cloud Leopard's target was Huo Yuhao and his group, Gu He was furious. He quickly mobilized his battle qi, clenched his fist, and condensed his battle qi into a long sword in his palm. Pink flames burned fiercely on the blade.

"Thousand Flames Net!"

With a furious shout, Gu He's wrist jerked violently, and he brandished his longsword, unleashing a giant net woven from flames that enveloped the Fire Cloud Leopard.

Gu He's reaction was incredibly swift. Judging by the Fire Cloud Leopard's momentum, the fire net should have enveloped it just as it reached Huo Yuhao and the other two. If the three of them had simply dodged and retreated slightly, the crisis would have been a close call. And once the Fire Cloud Leopard was contained, with Gu He's strength as a high-level Dou Wang, dealing with such a fourth-tier magical beast would have been a piece of cake.

To Gu He's surprise, Huo Yuhao did not retreat, but instead waved his hand and unleashed a beam of emerald green light.

【The Wrath of the Ice Emperor】!

The beam struck the Fire Cloud Leopard, which was clearly caught off guard, still in its lunging posture, a layer of frost forming on its body. The momentum of its forward charge came to an abrupt halt, leaving only an icy trail on the ground due to inertia.

As Huo Yuhao made his move, without needing any prompting, Xiao Yan exerted force with his legs, a cracking sound emanating from beneath his feet, and his body sprinted forward. His bones and muscles resonated as he threw his punch—this was the pinnacle of the Eight Extremes Collapse technique. Simultaneously, the surrounding天地元气 (heaven and earth energy) condensed around his outstretched arm, mixing with the force of his punch to form a vortex.

"Whirlwind Eight Extremes Collapse!"

The inspiration for this fighting technique came from Xiao Yan's descent from the sky and shattering the Crimson Ice Serpent. After that, Xiao Yan spent his spare time researching how to use Qi control techniques to unleash whirlwind energy. Through this period of training, and with the assistance of various magical beasts, Xiao Yan finally mastered the "Whirlwind Force" and combined it with the Eight Extremes Collapse.

Bang! The Fire Cloud Leopard, which had just broken through the ice layer, was still a little dazed when Xiao Yan's fist slammed down on it, hitting the leopard's relatively vulnerable nose. It was knocked back two steps and let out a painful growl.

Unfortunately, Xiao Yan had just broken through to the fourth-star Dou Zhe level, so this punch did almost no damage to the Fire Cloud Leopard. It only made the Fire Cloud Leopard, which had just thawed and was still in a daze, even more confused.

Just then, a pulling force came from Huo Yuhao and Xiao Yan's lower backs. It turned out that Little Fairy Doctor had quickly retreated while Huo Yuhao and Xiao Yan were fighting, using her Qi control technique to pull the two who had just finished their attack. Using this force, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Yan quickly pushed off the ground with their toes, their bodies retreating backward.

Before the Fire Cloud Leopard could even recover from its defeat, Guhe's net of fire swept in from behind, binding its body. Immediately afterward, a pink flaming longsword shot from behind, plunging deep into the Fire Cloud Leopard's skull.