With two sharp *clangs*, the two high-grade magical instruments only managed to leave two small notches on the tentacles before being sent flying, leaving Han Li momentarily stunned.
“So tough! It’s almost comparable to a mid-grade magical instrument!” Han Li inwardly sighed in relief. If he hadn’t used some tricks, dealing with this giant centipede would have been a real hassle.
Seeing that the flying blade and golden alms bowl weren’t very effective, Han Li promptly retrieved them.
Although the insect had already suffered a fatal wound, its vitality was so tenacious that it continued to thrash about wildly. It seemed it wouldn’t die anytime soon. Frowning, Han Li swiftly dashed past the demon beast’s head without a second glance, disregarding its fate, and made his way back along the tunnel to the stone hall.
Inside the stone hall, the several blue “Purple Monkey Flowers” remained unharmed, filling Han Li with joy!
He took out several jade boxes of the same size from his storage pouch and placed them on the ground. Then, he summoned his flying blade and carefully dug out the Purple Monkey Flowers along with the small purple stones beneath their roots. Using the flying blade as a tray, he gently carried them back to his hand and carefully sealed them inside the jade boxes.
After all the spiritual herbs had been picked and properly stored, Han Li finally let out a long sigh of relief, his mind at ease.
He stretched lazily and casually scanned the stone hall one more time to ensure nothing had been left behind before calmly walking out.
As Han Li passed by the area where the giant centipede had been severely wounded, he found the demon beast lying motionless on the ground, completely dead. A large pool of black, poisonous blood had flowed out from under its body, filling that section of the cave with a nauseating stench. Han Li felt slightly dizzy after inhaling it.
Startled, Han Li realized this was due to the toxicity of the blood spreading through the air. He quickly took some “Clear Spirit Powder” to alleviate the discomfort.
He stopped about seven or eight zhang away from the centipede’s corpse and released his flying blade to poke it seven or eight times. Only after confirming it showed no signs of movement did he feel reassured and continue forward.
But after taking just a few steps, Han Li paused, bent down, and pulled out a blackened short blade from the ground. Using two fingers, he gently wiped away the black mud from the blade’s edge, revealing a gleaming golden surface—it was one of the sub-blades of the “Golden Looper Mother and Son Blades.”
It turned out that Han Li had managed to slice open the centipede’s abdomen so easily because, during the time he had disappeared, he had embedded all eight sub-blades of the Golden Looper Mother and Son Blades into the ground along the tunnel, arranging them in a row with their incredibly sharp edges exposed.
Afraid that the golden blades’ gleam would alert the demon beast, Han Li had coated their edges with black mud, blending them seamlessly into the dark cave. This made it nearly impossible for the demon beast to detect them.
Thus, when the giant centipede chased Han Li along the ground through that section of the cave, its abdomen was effortlessly sliced open by these hidden blades, leading to its demise. Poor thing, as a high-tier poisonous insect demon beast, it hadn’t even had the chance to use its deadly venom before being cunningly ambushed by Han Li. It died a truly unjust death!
Although Han Li didn’t know that the centipede was a high-tier demon beast, he sensed it was at least a top-tier mid-level creature. He felt quite satisfied with how easily he had dealt with it.
Now, he took seven or eight steps, bending down each time to retrieve and wipe clean all the golden blades. Just as he was about to leave, he glanced unintentionally at the giant centipede’s corpse, hesitated for a moment, and then walked toward it.
Upon reaching the corpse, Han Li unceremoniously stabbed the golden blade into its head, back, and tail. He found that the shell on its back was the hardest—the blade could only penetrate half an inch initially and required significant force to cut through.
Without further delay, Han Li released all eight sub-blades he had just retrieved and began laboriously cutting through the centipede’s back shell.
Soon, he managed to cut off several large pieces of the hard shell, each several feet in size, and carefully stored them in his storage pouch. These shells, capable of withstanding full-force strikes from top-grade magical instruments, were rare treasures. If crafted into simple inner armor, they would undoubtedly be of great use to him.
Ideally, Han Li would have loved to take all of the centipede’s shell, but that would have been too time-consuming. And time was precisely what Han Li lacked most at the moment.
So, with some regret, Han Li left the cave and headed toward the next planned location, where some unripe “Heavenly Spirit Fruits” should also be available.
While Han Li was busy gathering various unripe spiritual herbs according to his plan, intense conflicts had broken out among elite disciples in several well-known locations where mature spiritual herbs were expected. After all, only a few places could accurately predict the maturation of spiritual herbs, making encounters among the “experts” of various sects inevitable!
In a secluded valley southeast of Han Li, three people were locked in a stalemate over two Purple Monkey Flowers, the same kind Han Li had just acquired.
However, these two flowers were not pale blue but an extremely vivid purple, emitting a rich, unusual fragrance. In front of these two extraordinary purple flowers lay a strange deer with a fiery red single horn, its body severed into two parts lying in a pool of blood, dead for some time.
Not far from the monstrous beast’s corpse, three people in different attire stood in a triangular formation, none making a move, as if each greatly feared the other two.
“What do you two mean by this? I alone killed this Blaze-Horned Deer, so the spiritual herbs should belong to me!” Finally, one of them spoke up angrily.
The speaker was a blue-robed youth in his twenties, handsome and tall. In one hand, he held a green flying fork, and in the other, a yellow pearl. Both objects radiated dazzling spiritual light, clearly top-grade magical instruments. No wonder he had managed to kill that seemingly extraordinary high-tier demon beast alone.
“Brother Daoist, I didn’t expect to see you again this year. What a coincidence!” This time, it was an elderly man in green robes, leaning on a cane, who spoke. He looked kind and amiable but completely ignored the youth’s question, instead addressing a middle-aged Taoist priest.
“Indeed, I also didn’t expect to meet Benefactor Li again this year,” the priest replied calmly, carrying a simple sheathed longsword on his back. He, too, paid no attention to the youth.
The youth from Tianque Fort was furious. Since childhood, he had possessed exceptional talent, came from a prominent family, and was handsome and elegant. Wherever he went, he was the center of attention. Yet now, these two were humiliating him so blatantly! How could he not feel intense hatred?
But before he could say anything more, the next few words from the old man and the priest made his face pale with panic.
“No need to bring up the past. Now that there are two spiritual herbs here, why don’t we split them evenly—one each?” The old man cut to the chase, proposing an alliance to the Qingxu Valley priest to divide the herbs.
The middle-aged priest showed no surprise at the suggestion. After a moment’s thought, he nodded. “Very well. Our strengths are comparable. Fighting would only lead to mutual loss. I have no objections.”
The youth heard every word clearly, feeling both shocked and enraged!
If these two joined forces, even with his powerful magical instruments, he knew he stood no chance. But to give up the spiritual herbs he was so close to obtaining was something he couldn’t accept.
After a frantic moment of thought, the youth suddenly shot backward toward the two spiritual herbs, intending to grab them and flee immediately.
“Seeking death!” The moment the youth moved, the green-robed old man’s expression darkened. He threw his cane, which transformed into a green streak of light, racing toward the youth. The green light was incredibly fast, flashing past and arriving in front of the youth in an instant, blocking his path.
The youth was shocked. What kind of magical instrument was this? So fast! But there was no time to ponder. He raised his hand, sending the green flying fork to meet the green light, while his body continued rushing forward without pause. It seemed he wouldn’t give up until he obtained the herbs!
“Young friend, it’s too late! You’d best leave quickly. Don’t force me to shed blood today!” Before the youth could take two steps, the priest’s calm voice sounded from behind him, as if he were right on his heels, terrifying the youth out of his wits!
The youth turned pale and looked back. Sure enough, the priest was only a zhang away, smiling at him.
Without another word, the pale-faced youth immediately turned and sprinted toward the valley exit, not daring to look back. He knew the gap in strength between him and these two was too vast. Pursuing the herbs further would only mean certain death. The fact that they were letting him go was already unbelievable!
“Heh! Brother Daoist, your Spirit Fox Step has become even more impressive. Truly miraculous!” The old man, surprised that the priest had let the youth go, didn’t intervene but instead praised him.
“It’s nothing, just a minor skill,” the priest said indifferently, glancing at the direction where the youth had disappeared.
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