Fang Tian leaned against a pile of hides, using them as a crude pillow. He closed his eyes and began to seriously contemplate how to break through the second hall as quickly as possible.
He had already judged that the living vines inside were nothing more than mindless followers of a Hundred Beast King. Most likely, that Beast King was extremely weak—otherwise, it would have been impossible for Fang Tian to pass through while being only Rank One, and with just a single Gu worm specialized in offense, whose power was mediocre at best.
Therefore, to clear the hall, the Hundred Beast King had to be a weak plant-type beast. Otherwise, Fang Tian's chances would be extremely slim.
Suddenly, Fang Tian opened his eyes and muttered foolishly.
"Wait… am I an idiot or what? Why am I restricting myself to Gu worms? I can apply what I learned over all those years with my previous family."
Although the hunter family had abandoned him, Fang Tian still remembered some of their tricks—such as setting traps. Combined with the knowledge he had learned back on Earth, it would not be difficult to injure or even kill the Beast King and pass the hall.
"This will work."
Fang Tian hurried out of the cave and headed outside.
What greeted him was a forest of arrowleaf trees, the vibrant noise of the forest flooding his ears. He activated the coiling Vine Gu, and vines twice as thick as they had been in the initial stage sprouted forth.
The vines extended and wrapped around his body. Although he felt a stinging sensation, the defensive strength of the vines gave him a sense of security. Once his body was fully covered, Fang Tian began moving, searching for prey.
His plan was simple, yet extremely practical.
What was the best way to kill an enemy you could not confront head-on?
In many cases, people used ambushes and traps to lure the enemy. If they could not lure it, then they would exploit its weaknesses.
And what was the weakness of vines?
Fire.
Previously, Fang Tian had believed he could only pass the second hall if he obtained a Fire Path Gu or reached Rank One Peak Stage. That was simply because he had been intoxicated by the mystique of this world and the power of being a Gu Master. He had failed to think clearly.
But once he faced real danger and nearly got torn apart, his rational mind returned.
Fang Tian moved forward slowly, stepping carefully on the muddy ground. Sunlight pierced through the forest canopy, tree shadows swaying.
Beneath a cliff rested a Black-Tusked Boar, with pitch-black fur and massive black tusks. Its size was completely abnormal—nearly twice that of ordinary boars.
Fang Tian crawled to the edge of the cliff after deactivating the coiling Vine Gu and lifted his head, looking down at the massive beast below.
"A Black-Tusked Boar… tsk, my luck is terrible."
Black-Tusked Boars were widely known among villages at the foot of the mountain. Their strength and speed made them synonymous with death for ordinary humans.
"But I'm no longer an ordinary human."
Fang Tian's eyes gleamed. He estimated that the boar possessed Rank One Peak Stage strength. It would be kinda hard for an ordinary Gu Master—but not for him.
He quickly and quietly retreated to the far side of the cliff, where massive mountain rocks formed a steep, difficult slope. Activating the coiling Vine Gu, Fang Tian extended vines forward, wrapping them around a large boulder.
Eight thick vine limbs coiled around the rock and pulled with brute force.
Fang Tian grimaced as intense mental pressure assaulted him from controlling multiple vine limbs simultaneously, combined with the difficulty of dragging the stone. The sound of tearing vines rang out as the strain increased—but in the end, the rock moved.
He continued stacking and arranging rocks, forming something resembling a stone maze.
By the time the sun reached its zenith, the maze was nearly complete—stone walls covered in thorny vines, wooden stakes protruding from gaps, and multiple pit traps lined with sharpened spikes.
Fang Tian returned to where the Black-Tusked Boar was resting.
With extreme caution, he hid among the bushes, watching as the black-furred beast rolled in the mud to cool itself under the midday sun. Only after confirming that it had not noticed him did Fang Tian draw a crude bow and arrow, raising it to shoulder height and taking aim.
As a former member of a hunter family, archery had been a mandatory skill. His marksmanship was excellent.
When the boar rolled over again, exposing its back, the arrow shot forth at great speed, embedding shallowly into the boar's neck.
The boar let out a furious, pain-filled howl and began searching madly for its attacker.
That was when Fang Tian shouted:
"Over here, you bastard!"
He ran with all the speed his frail body could muster. Behind him, the boar charged wildly, bellowing in pain. Fang Tian sharply veered aside, narrowly avoiding having his leather clothes shredded by the tusks, struggling to widen the distance.
"Coiling Vine Gu—Wood origin Gu!"
Thick vines erupted instantly as Fang Tian poured his Rank One Middle Stage primeval essence into the Gu without restraint. The vines wrapped around him tightly.
Two vine limbs lashed out toward the boar like whips, flaying its hide. Fur and skin were torn away, exposing raw flesh.
The boar's rage intensified, its remaining sanity completely gone. It charged toward Fang Tian as he leapt over a fallen tree trunk.
A loud crash echoed behind him, but Fang Tian ignored it. The maze had entered his field of vision.
This beast would die today.
He rushed into the maze. Moments later, the enraged boar followed.
"Come on, you stupid beast!"
Fang Tian jumped over a pit filled with spikes and took a sharp turn. Behind him, the boar was torn apart by wooden stakes and shredded by vines. When it crossed another pit, spikes pierced its abdomen, spilling its entrails.
Pain blinded the beast. It destroyed everything in its path, wounds piling up as its black fur turned crimson with blood.
At the end of the maze, it saw the small, weak human waiting—vine limbs protruding from his body like giant serpents, each as thick as an arm.
The boar charged madly.
When it came within a few meters, four vine limbs shot forward, binding its legs tightly. Fang Tian staggered from the immense force resisting him, but he endured, commanding the remaining vines to lash the boar's head and constrict its neck.
After two minutes, the boar collapsed, riddled with wounds.
Fang Tian did not relax. He increased the pressure on its neck until blood seeped through the vines.
Only then did he release it and collapse to the ground, sweat soaking his green hair.
"This is exhausting… I can barely breathe. Damn this boar—why is hunting so tiring?"
The mental and physical strain had been enormous. Even the Colling Vine Gu was injured from overuse.
After checking the Gu's condition, Fang Tian forced his exhausted body up and returned to the maze to retrieve the leather bags he had brought.
He returned with three large leather sacks.
Taking out a crude stone skinning knife, Fang Tian began cutting away the torn fur and hide with difficulty, exposing flesh and fat. He roughly butchered the meat, filling one sack completely, then harvested fat from the abdomen, back, and haunches, filling the remaining two sacks.
As the sun began to set, Fang Tian hurried back to the rock crevice where the safe inheritance ground lay.
Returning to his room—his home—where a stone bed covered in blood-scented hides and a pile of crude stones formed a small hill, he felt a genuine sense of returning home.
After several hours of sleep and rest, Fang Tian began boiling the animal fat, turning it into something close to oil for his plan.
The stench of burning hides was atrocious, but he had no alternative. He used the thick leather bags to melt the fat.
When the oil began crackling inside, Fang Tian removed them from the fire and poured the oil into smaller leather pouches, sealing them completely. He tied thick cords to them and coated the ends in fat so they would ignite quickly.
He tied all the pouches around his waist and headed to the second hall beside his dwelling.
The door to the second hall stood four meters tall, radiating an invisible, barely perceptible pressure.
Fang Tian pushed the door lightly, then retreated, holding his torch.
Wild vines thrashed upon sensing the heat, lunging toward him—but Fang Tian acted first, igniting several pouches at his feet and hurling them as far as he could.
"One. Two."
The vines struck two of the pouches, rupturing them and spilling oil. One burning cord was extinguished—but the other remained lit, igniting the spilled oil and the pouch itself.
"Three. Four. Five."
Fang Tian hurled the remaining pouches rapidly, enduring vine strikes through his defenses, then slammed the massive door shut.
The last thing he saw was wild vines writhing madly as flames spread throughout the hall.
"And now… we wait."