"Lin Tang is done for, and it's my turn next!" Zhu Yingning thought, panic rising. "No! I have to keep running!" She gathered all her strength, striving to prolong her life.
Mu Jiuzhou watched as the green fur successfully pierced Lin Tang's skin. Like a mosquito drawing blood, it began to suck frantically. He laughed ecstatically. "Good, good, good! This power is so wonderful! Thank you, young man. Tell your na; I will rember you forever!"
Seeing his arrogance, Lin Tang's expression remained calm. "Do you really think you have cornered?"
Mu Jiuzhou scoffed, "You think you can still turn the tables?"
Lin Tang said faintly, "Turn around and look at your rcury pool."
"Huh?"
Mu Jiuzhou shifted his gaze. Down in the pit, the once-calm pool of rcury began to change. The silvery-white liquid was gradually stained with red, and it started to bubble as if it were boiling water, or perhaps a spicy red hotpot.
GURGLE, GURGLE…
BOOM!
The pool exploded!
"Damn it!" Mu Jiuzhou's expression changed drastically. The green fur on his body shriveled like dead branches and rotten leaves, withering away as his formidable aura vanished completely. Powerless, he stumbled backward, and Lin Tang ran him through with a single thrust of his sword.
"You secretly tampered with the rcury!" Mu Jiuzhou realized, his face twisting with bitter resentnt.
Just one step away. Only one step! He never expected Lin Tang to be so clever, to have instantly seen that the rcury pool was his greatest weakness.
"Hehehe, I will co for you again," Mu Jiuzhou laughed. "Wait for . Don't die!" He stared unwaveringly at Lin Tang, determined to burn the man's image into his mind. That gaze was more direct and primal than any carnivorous beast's, making even Lin Tang uncomfortable. So Lin Tang showed him no rcy, directly obliterating him into dust.
"Phew…" Lin Tang sheathed his sword and let out a long breath, feeling physically and ntally exhausted.
Zhu Yingning was ecstatic. "Master, you were truly amazing!"
Wonderful! I've survived again!
"You were no help at all. What good are you?" Lin Tang shot her a sidelong glance, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.
Frightened, Zhu Yingning froze. Her mind raced as she was about to beg for rcy when…
HISS—!
The next mont, the remains of the rcury pool completely shattered. A giant snake, over ten ters long, erupted from the ground beneath it. It was entirely silver-white and had no eyes. Fine scales covered its body, and the runes that had adorned its skin quickly dimd before disappearing entirely. The coiled alloy chains that had bound it snapped one by one.
Clearly, it had been locked and sealed beneath the pool. Lin Tang's destruction of the rcury pool had not only led to Mu Jiuzhou's defeat but had also freed this great snake.
Zhu Yingning's mind reeled. First a humanoid monster, and now a gigantic snake! Is this even the world I know anymore? No wonder Mu Jiuzhou told Lin Tang 'not to die.' The real danger was yet to co! An absolute behemoth… its aura is even stronger than Mu Jiuzhou's. How is anyone supposed to survive this?
Even Lin Tang raised his eyebrows in surprise. "It's an incredibly rare Hui Snake!"
"…But it's silver-white," Zhu Yingning muttered. "Why call it a Hui Snake? Does that an 'gray'?"
"It's *Hui*, not 'gray,' you illiterate! Get out of the way!" Lin Tang scoffed.
Even though he wasn't in peak condition, he faced the giant snake with utter fearlessness.
After all… when has fear ever solved a problem? It hasn't. Even in the most desperate situation, I will fight to the last mont. Never compromise! Never admit defeat! Otherwise, what's the point of cultivation?!
"KILL!"
Lin Tang once again gathered his True Qi and lunged forward, sword first.
Having regained its freedom, the giant snake let out a long hiss toward the sky. It was ready to slaughter all the humans in its sight. It couldn't distinguish which human had sealed it, so as far as it was concerned, any creature that stood on two legs deserved to die.
HISS!
As its tongue flicked in and out, it could clearly sense Lin Tang's position despite having no eyes. It charged toward him like a bolt of lightning.
CLANG!
Lin Tang's divine sword struck the snake's head, sending a spray of sparks into the air. But he couldn't break through its defense, leaving only a faint white mark. Pained, the snake grew even more furious. It twisted its body, its tail lashing out like a whip and striking Lin Tang hard, flinging him into the rock wall and kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Pfft—" Lin Tang coughed up a mouthful of blood, already severely injured.
Seeing this, Zhu Yingning fell into despair once again.
But Lin Tang only grew more excited, his eyes gleaming. "That had a kick! Again!"
He charged forward once more without a hint of hesitation, his sword flashing. He struck the exact sa white mark on the snake's head. He was dead set on breaking that one spot.
One strike isn't enough? Then I'll use two! If two aren't enough, ten! If ten fails, then a hundred!
Lin Tang let out a ferocious battle cry. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! One strike after another, he was sent flying ti and ti again. Not only did he repeatedly spit up blood, but his body was also covered in nurous wounds. He was completely drenched in his own blood.
"Madman! You're a madman!" Zhu Yingning shrieked in anxiety. "Are you out of your mind? Why don't you try attacking its belly? Why do you keep aiming for the hardest spot on its head?"
You're the idiot, Lin Tang thought, lacking the energy or ti to curse her aloud. This snake is massive, and its life force is imnse. Even if I managed to cut open its belly, would that kill it? No. I'd just get swallowed whole. Only by attacking its head can I stun it for a mont and keep it from biting. If I can break through its skull, that's a fatal wound.
Adhering to his battle strategy, Lin Tang continued to grind the snake down with his own life, clashing with it again and again. The fight was brief, yet in his perception, it felt extraordinarily long. Every breath felt like it took several minutes. It was the first ti in his life he had ever been pushed this far. Fortunately, the giant snake was far less intelligent than a human, only knowing how to et force with force. Perhaps it simply disdained using complex tactics against such insignificant food. Coupled with its simple attack patterns, Lin Tang, though outmatched, was able to stay in the fight.
Finally, the battle reached its climax.
Lin Tang's divine sword, made of poor materials save for the Adamantine Sand fused within it, could no longer hold up. His True Qi was depleted and he could no longer sustain the weapon. It began to shatter, inch by inch!
Seeing that Lin Tang was now unard, Zhu Yingning closed her eyes, ready for death. She didn't even consider fleeing. The snake was too fast; she could never outrun it.
Husband, I'm coming to reunite with you… The thought flashed through her mind.
She didn't notice that as the divine sword shattered, a wound finally appeared on the snake's head. Blood sprayed out as a single scale broke loose and fell. Lin Tang's hand shot out and caught it. He poured every last shred of his True Qi into it.
Its scales can absorb True Qi! This is another material for forging flying swords!
Lin Tang grinned. Bathed in the snake's blood, his body began to radiate a brilliant light.
He gripped the scale and charged forward, colliding once more with the descending snake's head.
This ti, he wasn't thrown back.
Using the scale as a blade, he plunged it into the edge of the wound on the snake's head and sliced forward. He brutally tore the wound open, widening the gash all the way down to its tail.
With a final, mournful cry, the giant snake collapsed heavily to the ground, thrashing about. More and more blood gushed from the wound, along with its internal organs and the contents of its stomach.
It was dead.
Killed by its own toughest scale.
THUD!
Lin Tang pitched forward and collapsed, unable to move for a long ti.
Zhu Yingning was left completely stunned. She stared blankly for several monts, then suddenly leaped three feet in the air with excitent.
"So I'm the final winner? Haha!"
Licking her lips, she cautiously approached the giant snake to confirm it was completely dead. Then, she tried kicking Lin Tang's backside.
No response.
He isn't dead too, is he? Does that an I'm free? Whether he's dead or not, this is the perfect opportunity!
A fierce glint appeared in her eyes. She prepared to shatter Lin Tang's heart.
But then she hesitated.
After all, I only survived because of him. And he destroyed my husband's body that Mu Jiuzhou had possessed, indirectly saving my husband from further humiliation… Should I just let it be?
As she hesitated, WHOOSH!
Like a ghost, Lin Tang instantly appeared behind her. He climbed onto her back, his arms wrapping tightly around her neck. Goosebumps erupted all over Zhu Yingning's skin. She thought she was about to be executed.
Then she heard Lin Tang whisper in her ear, his breath warm against her skin. "Take to Shen Youling…"
「On the outskirts of Jiangbei City, in a desolate mountain range.」
CAW, CAW—
A crow shrieked before taking flight.
Inside a cave, Old Granny was now nothing but a mummified husk. All of her "nutrition" had been stripped away.
Yan Luoyang's eyes snapped open. He exhaled a plu of blackish-green Evil Qi.
"Hehehe, my Corpse Heart Technique is finally complete. Is there anything left in this world for to fear?"
His face was no longer numb and stiff like a puppet's; it had regained the lively expression of a normal human. His eyes, however, were a ghostly grayish-white. His pupils were shrunk to pinpoints, and when they dilated, they beca eerily vertical slits, having nothing in common with a normal person's. He looked every bit an unholy demon.
"Grandmother, rest in peace. I will now go and avenge you."
Yan Luoyang rose to his feet and walked out of the cave. He moved without a sound, like a phantom.
Lin Tang, you will be the first sacrifice to my perfected Evil Skill…
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