Chapter 65: U Can’t Touch This

Chapter 65: U Can’t Touch This Xu Tao’s question was plain, without a hint of intent to undermine the other party. However, Gula took his words personally, gritting her teeth as she clenched her fists. "You fucking worms! Go ahead and finish our task!" But still, she retained her cold, level-headed decision-making faculties, allowing her to give out appropriate orders. She was angry—and more than that, insulted—but even after losing her weapon, the metal threads, she retained her fighting spirit, raising her fists in a boxing posture. "I’ll handle this monster, so go!" "..." Hearing her quick decision, Xu Tao smiled. He now knew that, at the very least, she wasn’t an idiot. Gula had already realized the difference in their strength, and knew she wouldn’t defeat Xu Tao anytime soon. Still, she was confident she could buy time for the rest to wrap up Carlos’s orders. "I don’t know where that bitch picked up a monster like you," Gula said, her voice laced with irritation and a hint of confidence, "but you can’t do anything against our numbers! Stay here, twiddle your fingers, and watch that bitch’s people die one by one!" A fierce grin crossed her lips as she lowered her stance, as if falling forward—and broke into a rapid dash. It was a simple action devoid of any deception: a straightforward charge followed by a well-timed gut punch. BAM! "...!" But Xu Tao simply caught her fist, his hand not even trembling. Gula couldn’t believe what she saw, but quickly pulled her hand back and launched another attack—a kick this time. She quickly leaned back, stretching her legs to the limit, and sent it sideways, aiming for his side. It was fast and came from a dead angle, hard to block or dodge. "Hm... It’d be a problem if you all tried to leave this place." But still, Xu Tao didn’t even bother. The leg struck his side, but his expression didn’t change. Like brushing off a fly, he casually swatted her leg aside. "You... MONSTER!" Gula was getting more irritated. Not only had her prided "sure-kill" attacks failed earlier, now he wasn’t even paying attention to her—as if she weren’t even a threat. "HAAAAAP!" She rained down fists, kicks, karate chops—various combinations she knew should have been fatal to any opponent. But Xu Tao kept glancing around, as if unable to see her, counting the people apart from her. She had never felt so insulted. Blood rushed to her head, her attacks growing faster and sharper, but still... nothing worked. Right then... "Alright, everyone. Stay still until we’re done." Xu Tao casually spoke, his voice mysteriously echoing in everyone’s ears. "No leaving this place until then." CLAP! As he brought his palms together, a shockwave spread around. The grass around them shook, and the trees around them trembled. A casual moment that made the entire scenery tremble for an instant. Some lowered their stances, bracing for an invisible attack. Others raised their arms in defense—but seconds passed, and nothing happened. Xu Tao just stood there, smiling, as if he had already finished what he needed to do. "You..." Even Gula, who stood right in front of him, didn’t understand what he had done. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be an attack—at least not an obvious one. "Bastards! Get moving, or I’ll skin your asses alive...!" she shouted again, reinforcing her previous command. However, Xu Tao chuckled lightly at this and spoke in an amused tone. "Nah, they’re not going anywhere." "Huh?" Curious, she looked around. And... was flabbergasted. All of the guys under her were running in random directions, going in circles, or bumping into each other. They looked like headless chickens forced to stay in place! Those under the said effect were still sane. They could see and feel what they were doing. Some even tried to counteract whatever was leading them astray—but nothing worked. They just kept running in circles with no destination. "What the fuck did you do to them?!" Seeing such a massive-scale application of some unknown technique, Gula felt genuinely afraid for the first time. Even the best illusionist cultivator she knew couldn’t control a crowd of 500—barely two dozen at most! And that illusionist was someone at her rank: Platinum. So where did that put Xu Tao, who was leading hundreds astray without breaking a sweat? She didn’t know. But one thing was certain... Xu Tao was someone beyond the current Platinum Rank. ’Fuck that bastard Carlos... What kind of monster did he make me face...?!’ At the end of the day, Gula was still just human. She’d bleed when injured and die if her heart was pierced. She might’ve been tougher than most, with only a few capable of threatening her life, but she wasn’t immortal. "The Lost Forest. Ever heard of it?" Xu Tao asked rhetorically in reply to her question. "It’s a forest below the Baidu Mountain said to lead anyone who enters it astray, trapping them in a maze of trees forever." "..." Gula stayed quiet, listening. She didn’t know of any Baidu Mountain or Lost Forest, but she listened. "The Lost Forest has a natural formation that tricks the five senses. I just copied that and applied it to the forest around us—I call it the Eight Beasts Reversed Four Bearings Technique." "...The fuck is that?" Gula muttered, appalled. "A self-made technique?!" Xu Tao smiled, nodding. "Yes, it is. And I’m quite proud of this one. I actually used it once to make a Seven-Colored Phoenix lose its sense of direction for a decade and—" BAM! While mid-sentence, Gula sent another attack—a kick to his groin. It was meant to be a surprise attack, but... CRACK! "ARGH!" She crumpled to the ground, clutching her right leg—which now bent at a right angle halfway down her shin. If not for her high-cut black leather boots, her foot might’ve been rolling across the ground by now. "As expected, I can’t let such a boorish attack land." Xu Tao smiled, lowering the foot he used to counter. "But still... You’re too soft. Are you made of sticks or something? That was just a light tap and your leg snapped..." "Guh...!" Gula’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat. The pain of her broken leg was worse than anything she’d ever felt. Her eyes watered as her fighting spirit completely faded. Now she was just backing away, terrified of the crazy man in front of her. "Hmm? Already done?" he asked, watching the woman crawl away. "Well... your martial arts is baby-tier anyway. What was I looking forward to, even..." he sighed. He raised his head, returning to his usual stance with both hands hidden inside his sleeves. He swept his gaze across the chaos—watching the blind lead the blind, all spinning in circles. "...I guess I should wrap it up now." Hearing this, her hands trembled. The Gula within who once crushed opponents effortlessly now screamed to run—but her legs refused to move. His figure grew into a tall mountain within her view, as if the looming threat of the reaper itself. "...Hiik!" His casual words broke the poor Platinum-ranked cultivator—physically, mentally, and spiritually.