"How's it going? Brother Hanyin, any leads?" Xiang Yixue pressed.

Gu Hanyin withdrew his hand from the human-headed centipede's body, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

"This human-headed centipede has only been dead for a short time, and its body is still a little warm. It must have been that kid who did it. He was so badly injured, and he even fought a big battle with the human-headed centipede. He couldn't have gone far; he must be in this area!"

Gu Hanyin got up, intending to conduct a thorough search of the surroundings, but Lin Zimo, who had rarely spoken, stopped him.

Lin Zimo didn't say anything, but simply pointed to the headless corpse of the human-headed centipede in front of him.

Gu Hanyin narrowed her eyes, then gave Jing Su a wink.

Jing Su instantly understood, and then slashed out with her willow-leaf sword, aiming directly at the human-headed demon centipede!

For someone who is seriously injured, running away is definitely not a good option. So, the corpse of this human-headed centipede is obviously the best hiding place for Qiao Suinian!

The sword light flashed, slashing directly at the corpse of the human-headed centipede in front of him.

At this moment, the figure hiding inside the human-headed centipede seemed unable to hold back any longer, bursting out of the centipede's body and attacking Jing Su, who was closest to it.

"Hmph, I knew you were hiding here all along!" Jing Su revealed a cold smile.

But when she looked closely, she felt a chill run down her spine, because what rushed out of the human-headed centipede was not Qiao Suinian, but a skeleton warrior!

"We've been tricked! Watch out!"

Jing Su only had time to let out a gasp before Qiao Suinian's figure appeared behind her like a ghost.

This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. Shouldn't this guy be seriously injured?

Before they could react, Qiao Suinian wielded the Haoye Dragon Staff with great force, instantly causing Jing Su to become dizzy.

Immediately afterwards, Qiao Suinian used necromancy to condense a terrifying green hand, which instantly grabbed Jing Su, who was in a dazed state.

As soon as Jing Su's already slender body was gripped by that large hand, it began to shrink rapidly.

This is different from the necromancy curse that Gu Hanyin cast, which only put Qiao Suinian into a special state.

Once the curse expires, things will naturally return to normal.

What Jing Su suffered was not a curse, but a real draining of her life force. This was the new skill, Hand of Dust, that the necromancer class provided to Qiao Suinian after he reached level 20!

[Hand of Dust (Level 20): The necromancer conjures a massive hand imbued with the power of death, gripping his enemy tightly. The flesh and bones of those gripped instantly wither, turning the victim to dust within five breaths.]

As long as Qiao Suinian continues to let the Hand of Dust hold tight, Jing Su will surely die.

However, when he reached the fourth breath, Qiao Suinian suddenly broke the spell of the Hand of Dust and disappeared into the darkness once again.

The once dashing and beautiful female swordsman, Jing Su, was now curled up in a small ball, like a little old woman. All her flesh and bones had withered, and even standing up was a luxury.

If she weren't still breathing, she would be no different from a dried-up corpse.

"Sister Jingsu!"

Xiang Yixue's face was filled with resentment and anger.

First, Xiao Liu was murdered, and then Jing Su was harmed and left in this state. The successive blows brought Xiang Yixue's resentment towards Qiao Suinian to its extreme.

"Brother Hanyin, kill him! You must kill that guy! I want to cut off his flesh piece by piece and feed it to the dogs!" Xiang Yixue gritted her teeth.

"Don't worry, he can't escape!" Gu Hanyin's expression was also somewhat grim. He had been just a bystander from beginning to end; Qiao Suinian didn't confront them directly at all, which meant he had no chance to make a move. "Zimo, what do you think?"

Gu Hanyin turned his gaze to the silent Lin Zimo. He knew very well that, at certain times, Lin Zimo's thinking was far clearer than his own.

Lin Zimo pondered for a moment, then looked at Jing Su lying on the ground.

“That person must have something that can instantly heal injuries, and he clearly had the opportunity to kill Jing Su, but he didn’t. Instead, he deliberately spared Jing Su’s life.”

"It's obvious that he wants to... besiege the stronghold and ambush the reinforcements, burying us all here."

After saying that, Lin Zimo looked at Gu Hanyin and didn't say anything more.

Gu Hanyin's expression also changed drastically; he certainly understood what Lin Zimo meant.

This is a blatant conspiracy!

With Jing Su included, their team's combat effectiveness and mobility would inevitably be hampered, providing Qiao Suinian with an excellent opportunity to strike.

Without taking Jing Su along... leaving Jing Su here in this state would undoubtedly be sending her to her death. In that case, whether it's Xiang Yixue, Ji Gang, or Lin Zimo, they would all more or less feel alienated from their own cold-bloodedness.

In critical moments, such divisions within a team can be absolutely fatal.

Gu Hanyin's face turned extremely gloomy. From this moment on, he officially began to take this opponent seriously.

"Ji Gang, take Jing Su with you, let's give chase!" Gu Hanyin said coldly. "Besiege the point and attack the reinforcements? I'd like to see if he has the ability!"

Gu Hanyin ultimately chose the former, believing that with his own strength, he was not afraid of Qiao Suinian, who was fighting alone.

As the group walked through the dark forest, their initial picnic-like mood was completely different from what they had imagined. Now, they were all more cautious.

Because they discovered that Qiao Suinian, whom they were hunting, was not a defenseless little rabbit, but a dangerous lion.

If they are careless, they might lose their lives to the lions.

Qiao Suinian's despicable behavior of hiding in the shadows and preparing to launch a sneak attack at any time also made the group extremely wary.

At this moment, Qiao Suinian, who was quietly watching the group in the darkness, also smiled.

As the famous father-killing enthusiast Star-Lord once said, knowing it's a trap is not a trap, but a contest.

When Gu Hanyin chose to bring Jing Su along, his contest with Qiao Suinian officially began.

"Let's see...who will emerge victorious!"

Qiao Suinian glanced at the Haoye Dragon Staff in his hand, a look of madness flashing in his eyes.

Gu Hanyin wanted to get the nameless arm bone from his body, but how could he not also covet the staff in Gu Hanyin's hand?