“We’re here. Is this the cave?” Two hours later, Han Li stood atop a waist-high black rock, examining the several-zhang-high cave entrance not far away, murmuring to himself.
“It doesn’t look particularly special!” Instead of rushing in recklessly, Han Li carefully observed the surroundings for a moment. Although time was tight, he couldn’t afford to put himself in danger due to carelessness!
The secret cave mentioned in the materials indeed looked unremarkable from the outside, almost identical to several wild caves Han Li had encountered along the way, with nothing eye-catching about it. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration for how the original discoverer had found this place.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li finally confirmed that there were no demon beasts or ambushes nearby and cautiously approached the cave entrance.
The entrance was completely natural, made entirely of bluish-gray mountain rock without a trace of artificial carving. As soon as Han Li entered, he glanced at the cave walls on either side and reached this conclusion.
Then, Han Li’s figure flickered as he stealthily slipped deeper into the cave. But after taking just over a dozen steps, he stopped again because, after rounding one or two corners, the area had become pitch black.
Han Li frowned, reached into his storage pouch, and pulled out a moonstone the size of a chicken egg. As soon as it appeared, its soft white light immediately illuminated the surroundings clearly. Seeing this, Han Li shook his head helplessly.
His original intention had been to silently infiltrate the depths of the cave to see if any demon beasts were guarding the area. If there were, he planned to deliver a fatal blow stealthily, saving himself the trouble. But now, with the moonstone in hand, he had become an obvious target. How could he launch a surprise attack like this?
Holding the hazy white moonstone in one hand, Han Li hesitated for a moment before slapping a earth-attribute protective shield onto himself with his other hand. Then, he continued forward, stepping cautiously.
Unlike the open wilderness, the cave limited the use of rapid movement techniques, so having a layer of protection was reassuring. Although this greatly reduced his agility, Han Li understood the principle of not being able to have one’s cake and eat it too. He had no complaints.
The cave was extremely long and narrow. After walking for half a ke, Han Li still hadn’t seen any sign of an end. This made him start to doubt himself, wondering if he had come to the wrong place. What if this was the lair of some top-tier demon beast?
Fortunately, after walking several dozen more zhang and rounding a large corner, his worries were dispelled. From around the corner, faint strands of white light shimmered, indicating that his destination was just ahead.
Seeing this, Han Li felt a surge of joy. He quickly put away the moonstone and stealthily crept forward. Since there was already light here and it was situated around a corner, it seemed his original plan could still proceed!
When the cautious Han Li slowly peeked his head around the corner, the scene before him first brought him joy, but then made him inwardly groan.
Ahead was indeed the end of the cave—a fairly spacious natural stone hall. Not only were there many shimmering stalactites, but on a small section of purple stone wall at the very back, three or four light bluish flowers grew, each with a single stem and several leaves.
These flowers were about an inch in size, with several petals curiously curled in the same direction, forming a unique shape together. From a distance, they looked like several comical little monkeys hanging there, truly astonishing!
“No need to ask, these must be the ‘Purple Monkey Flowers.’ Although the color of their stems and leaves is bluish, it must be because they haven’t fully matured yet!” Han Li thought with delight as soon as he saw the flowers.
But when his gaze shifted to the ground beneath the purple stone wall, his expression soured. A several-chi-long giant centipede was lying there. Its jet-black, glistening shell, long antennae, and fearsome appearance made Han Li’s heart race with fear before he even took action.
Although he had never killed a venomous insect demon beast before, he had long heard of their notorious reputation.
According to others, venomous insect-type demon beasts were far more troublesome than beast or avian demon beasts of the same rank. Most possessed unorthodox, highly lethal poison techniques that could easily inflict deadly toxins, killing their victims instantly. Unless absolutely necessary, it was best to avoid provoking such demon beasts!
The centipede before him was so large that it had to be at least a mid-tier demon beast, if not a high-tier one. How could this not make Han Li gasp in shock, his face contorted with worry for a long time.
It wasn’t that he wanted to provoke it—this centipede demon beast had already become the guardian of these “Purple Monkey Flowers.” Without dealing with this giant poisonous insect, picking the spiritual herbs on the stone wall would be nothing but a fool’s dream!
Han Li restrained his aura and slowly pulled his head back, making his movements as gentle as possible to avoid waking the giant centipede, which appeared to still be asleep.
Leaning against the stone wall, he slightly furrowed his brows, lowered his head, and pondered a foolproof strategy to deal with this demon beast.
Relying solely on the power of a few top-tier magical instruments and charging in recklessly was also an option. Just by activating the Golden Light Brick Talisman, he was fully confident he could crush the demon beast with a single strike. However, after such a battle, his magical power would likely be significantly depleted, leaving him unable to maintain his peak condition.
There was still a long road ahead! The dangers he would face were sure to increase, and since he was pressed for time, he couldn’t afford to spend half a day meditating to recover his magical power. Therefore, Han Li was reluctant to trade a massive consumption of magical power for victory in this encounter.
After pondering for a while, Han Li’s eyes lit up as he thought of a good idea.
Before taking action, he cautiously peeked at the centipede again. Seeing it still lying motionless in the same spot, he felt relieved. With a slight smile, Han Li disappeared into the darkness of the path he had come from.
A short while later, Han Li returned, beaming with joy.
This time, the protective shield around him was gone, and he made no attempt to sneak around. Instead, he swaggered around the corner and directly entered the hall where the centipede demon beast resided.
With such a conspicuous entrance, if the centipede demon beast hadn’t noticed, it wouldn’t be a demon beast but a “stupid beast.” So, the several-zhang-long giant insect immediately raised its head alertly toward Han Li, its two thick, long antennae waving incessantly while emitting strange hissing sounds, enough to make anyone’s heart tremble with fear.
Seeing this, Han Li didn’t say a word. With a flick of his hand, several small fireballs shot out rapidly, striking the demon beast’s head and producing a series of explosive sounds.
After the flames subsided, Han Li clearly saw that the head of the demon beast, hit by the fireballs, remained pitch-black and shiny without a single mark on its shell. This made him gasp in astonishment. It seemed what some people said was true—venomous insect-type demon beasts were indeed extremely troublesome!
Although the giant centipede wasn’t injured, it was thoroughly enraged by Han Li’s provocation!
Its two sharp fangs parted, and a cloud of red poisonous mist sprayed wildly from its mouth, surging toward Han Li with overwhelming force, as if intending to dissolve him into toxic liquid.
Naturally, Han Li wasn’t foolish enough to stay put and let this clearly highly toxic substance touch him even slightly. Unburdened by the protective shield, he tapped his toes on the ground and immediately flew backward out of the hall at a speed slightly faster than the poisonous mist. Then, he turned and sprinted back the way he had come, as if fleeing in panic from the demon beast’s toxic fog.
The giant centipede naturally refused to let Han Li escape easily. Its countless limbs wriggled rapidly, and its body chased out of the hall like the wind, its speed not at all inferior to the sprinting Han Li. This shocked Han Li, who glanced back, and he hurriedly increased his speed, pulling away from the centipede demon beast once again before disappearing into the passageway.
The giant centipede emitted a series of low, hissing cries and followed without hesitation. This passage was one the demon beast had traversed countless times, so it was far more familiar with it than Han Li. In no time, it caught up, clearly seeing Han Li’s back.
The centipede demon beast was overjoyed, its limbs waving even more rapidly as it charged forward fiercely!
Just then, Han Li, who was ahead, suddenly stopped and turned around, grinning at the demon beast as if he had completely given up on escaping.
In the blink of an eye, the giant centipede leaped to within three or four zhang of Han Li. Just as it was about to delightedly tear the small figure before it to shreds with its fangs, a sharp pain erupted from its abdomen. Its body shuddered, and it immediately began rolling on the ground in agony. Then, large amounts of black poisonous blood gushed out from underneath it, spreading all over the ground.
Unbeknownst to it, the giant centipede’s weakest point—its abdomen—had been neatly sliced open at some point by an extremely sharp blade, effectively gutting the demon beast. With such a fatal wound, it was no wonder the giant centipede was in such pain!
Standing to the side, Han Li naturally wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to beat a drowning dog. He raised his hand, and a circular golden light and a blue glowing flying knife shot out, aiming straight for the centipede’s two thick, long antennae.
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