138: Demon Serpent

The structure of this cave was extremely complex, with countless tunnels leading to unknown areas spread out in every direction, like a giant natural labyrinth.

Toriko reacted quickly, throwing out a rope to save them, but when he rushed to the edge of the pit, the sight before him made everyone gasp.

At some point, the bottomless pit had become swarming with giant cockroaches! They were as large as adults, with shiny shells covering their backs, but most terrifyingly, they had scorpion-like stingers on their tails that flickered with an eerie green light.

These Scorpion Cockroaches submerged the fallen hunters like a tide. In just three seconds, the swarm dispersed, leaving only a pile of white bones behind, without even a trace of flesh.

"Hiss—" Komatsu's legs went weak, his face pale as paper. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if Lin Luo had been half a second later... Toriko said solemnly, "They're Scorpion Cockroaches. Their potent venom can instantly melt the internal tissues of their prey, which they then suck out. This pit is likely their nest." He frowned, his tone grave, "And judging by the tidal scent, this is the only path to the beach; we can't avoid it."

Scorpion Cockroaches, giant venomous cockroaches. They are hideous and terrifying, with an extremely high reproductive capacity. When moving in groups, their danger level increases geometrically. They consistently rank high on the IGO's 'List of Creatures We Don't Want to Capture'!

"I'll go down first," Coco suddenly took a step forward.

"Going down now?" Komatsu looked worriedly at the bottomless pit.

"Yeah, you guys follow after me in a bit." Coco removed the bandage from his forehead, and strange purple patterns instantly appeared on his skin as he leaped into the darkness.

The moment he landed, the originally restless swarm of Scorpion Cockroaches seemed to catch the scent of a natural predator and fled in panic, disappearing into various tunnels in an instant.

"Amazing!" Tina watched in stunned silence, not forgetting to point her camera downward; these images were extremely precious field footage.

Toriko laughed, "Even those venomous creatures can sense the even more terrifying poison in Coco. Let's go, it's our turn to head down."

Having retied his bandage, Coco looked up and smiled, "Were you scared just now? Don't worry, it's safe now."

Toriko explained from the side, "To deal with various poisons, Gourmet Hunters regularly inject antibody-producing serums."

Komatsu seemed to understand, "Antibodies are used to neutralize toxins, right?"

"Exactly. I have over seventy kinds of antibodies in my body, while Coco has nearly five hundred, which is top-tier even among hunters."

"F-Five hundred?!" Komatsu stammered in shock.

Coco gave a calm smile, "It's just that my Physique happens to be more resistant to poison than average, and it's easier for me to generate antibodies."

Poison resistance! Generating antibodies by injecting small amounts of toxins sounded somewhat masochistic, but for hunters with gourmet cells, it was perhaps the most suitable method.

gourmet cells were too unique; as long as there was a sufficient supply of energy, they could adapt to various extreme environments. Whether it was polar cold or venomous swamps, the cells could evolve after enduring extreme pressure. Lin Luo had found another way to grow stronger, though this process was destined to be full of pain.

Coco glanced at the still-shaken Komatsu and turned to face the deep passage. "Alright, let's keep moving." He took the lead, his figure quickly vanishing into the darkness of the cave.

After walking for a while, Coco's voice came from ahead: "Toriko, Lin Luo, there's a huge cave about 100 meters ahead."

The four of them quickly picked up their pace to catch up.

Soon, a massive, bottomless pit appeared before them. The cave was so deep it seemed to lead straight to the center of the earth, with eerie sounds of wind faintly echoing in the darkness.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Coco took out a rope and said to the three of them, "I have good vision, so I'll go down first to scout the way."

No one else had night vision like Coco, so this task could only be left to him. As he descended along the rope, his figure was soon swallowed by the darkness below.

Komatsu asked worriedly, "He won't run into any danger, will he?"

Toriko was quite relaxed, "If it's Coco, there's no need to worry too much about him. All we have to do is trust him."

Lin Luo's Divine Sense followed Coco as it extended downward, but there seemed to be some special force field below; his Divine Sense became blurred at around thirty meters. Lin Luo wasn't surprised by this—the suppression of spiritual power in this world was omnipresent, and it was normal for certain special areas to restrict Divine Sense.

Before long, a rhythmic tugging signal came from the rope.

Toriko smiled, "See, I told you it would be fine. Komatsu, I'll take you down." After gesturing for Komatsu to climb onto his back, he grabbed the rope and leaped down lightly.

In front of Lin Luo, Tina was rubbing her hands, considering which posture to use to go down. Lin Luo smiled, "I'll take you down. Climb onto my back like Komatsu did."

Tina said a bit bashfully, "That wouldn't be right, would it?" But she had already obediently climbed onto Lin Luo's back, her arms around his neck and her camera held firmly in her hand.

Lin Luo slowly stood up; as his Physique continued to strengthen, he could barely feel Tina's weight on his back. After making sure the rope was secure, he followed Toriko's example, grabbed the rope, and leaped down.

During the descent, Lin Luo heard the voices of Toriko and the others below, sounding somewhat chaotic and noisy. Tina leaned close to his ear, her warm breath hitting his side: "What's happening?"

"I'm not sure, we're almost at the bottom." Lin Luo used the rock wall to kick off a few times to buffer his descent, landing steadily.

Because of the noise just now, he immediately took Tina toward Toriko and the others. "Toriko, Coco, what happened?"

A group of bat corpses was scattered on the ground. Judging by the venom remaining on them, Coco must have dealt with them.

Coco's tone was urgent: "Komatsu is gone."

Toriko's expression was grave: "He must have been taken by someone else. I smell another person's scent."

The situation was bad. Being kidnapped in such a perilous place meant that if he wasn't found quickly, Komatsu would likely be used as bait by those unscrupulous Gourmet Hunters to attract terrifying creatures in the dark.

This was exactly what Coco was most worried about; at this moment, he had completely lost his usual composure.

However, just then, Lin Luo suddenly sensed something was wrong. "Tina, find a place to hide. There's a problem."

"Toriko, Coco!" Lin Luo's voice was solemn.

Toriko's face was also heavy: "I was just wondering why naturally timid creatures like Butterfly-winged Bats would suddenly attack us. It seems they were fleeing from something even more terrifying."

"A strong electromagnetic wave is rapidly approaching our direction." Coco removed his headband again, and purple patterns once more surfaced on his skin as he prepared for battle.

Tina had already hidden behind a giant boulder with Kruppo the moment she heard Lin Luo's warning.

A sharp explosion that seemed to tear through the air suddenly came from the passage ahead.

"Wu~ Ge-ge-ge~ Zhi~"

The moment the explosion sounded, Lin Luo's eardrums felt a sharp, stabbing pain.

"What a terrifying sound!" Coco also felt intense discomfort.

Just as he finished speaking, a massive figure about fifty meters long broke through the darkness and appeared in everyone's view.

When that sharp explosion rang out, all the creatures in the cave instantly fell into a panic and fled madly. The massive sound waves formed a strong echoing wave in the intricate cave, causing some surrounding stone pillars to collapse and sending debris flying. The destructive sound waves were still spreading rapidly through the cave.

"Demon Great Serpent! It's the legendary Demonic Beast, the Demon Great Serpent!" Coco shouted.

It was a giant purple snake, nearly fifty meters long, with four sharp claws gleaming coldly. It had three snail-like eyes, one on top of its head and two on the sides. Behind its head grew a mane of hair-like tentacles, looking exceptionally hideous.

Before Coco could finish speaking, the Demon Great Serpent's left front limb suddenly retracted into its body and then shot out like a spring, its claws aiming straight for Lin Luo's face.

Lin Luo was prepared; the moment the claws attacked, he sidestepped and narrowly avoided the strike.

Boom—

The ground where Lin Luo had been standing was gouged into a basin-sized pit by the Demon Great Serpent's claws.

Having missed its mark, the Demon Great Serpent immediately switched targets. It opened its massive maw and, after a moment of preparation, spat out a large amount of dark green digestive fluid toward Coco.

Coco instantly snapped back to attention and dodged the venom with an agile backflip.

"Sizzle~ Sizzle~"

The spot where he had been standing was corroded into a large hole by the venom, emitting pungent white smoke.

"This is the Demon Great Serpent's digestive fluid; it's extremely toxic!" This scene made Coco's eyes turn sharp. "Lin Luo, Toriko, both of you be careful!"

As Lin Luo nodded, the Demon Great Serpent spat another stream of digestive fluid. Just as he was about to sidestep, the serpent's other claw attacked from the side, blocking his path of retreat.

"3-Fold Nail Punch!" Toriko's fist slammed heavily into the Demon Great Serpent's abdomen, the force exploding layer after layer, forcing the giant snake back several meters.

After witnessing Toriko's combat technique, Lin Luo began to try and mimic his movements. He also threw a punch, and while the force was not inferior to Toriko's, it lacked that layer-by-layer hidden force.

"Is that not it?" Lin Luo observed Toriko's movements while carefully dodging the Demon Great Serpent's attacks.

Coco's entire body was covered in a dark purple Poison Membrane, and he kept firing Poison Bullets from his fingertips, but they had little effect.

"Knife!" A phantom of a dining knife formed of energy appeared in mid-air. As Toriko swung his hand down, it instantly severed one of the Demon Great Serpent's limbs.

However, before Toriko could breathe a sigh of relief, the severed part of the Demon Great Serpent quickly wriggled and regenerated. A new claw grew rapidly and lunged at Toriko again. Fortunately, Lin Luo followed up with a kick in time, and the claw grazed Toriko, striking the rock wall and sending fragments flying.

"The Demon Great Serpent's body is made of special universal cells, giving it extreme regenerative abilities," Coco reminded them.

In that moment of distraction, the dark green venom completely enveloped Coco. Toriko and Lin Luo turned pale with shock: "Coco!"

"I'm fine!" The venom slid off, revealing an unharmed Coco. "Its venom can't break down my Poison Membrane yet."

However, before everyone could relax, the Demon Great Serpent took the opportunity to seize Coco, several poison needles piercing into his body and injecting a large amount of toxins.

Lin Luo stepped forward, landing a series of heavy punches on the Demon Great Serpent's abdomen, but even under such a violent assault, it still held onto Coco tightly. On the other side, Toriko was gathering his strength, his right arm swelling to a size nearly equal to his body due to the infusion of power.

" Bang！ Bang！"

As two muffled sounds exploded inside the Demon Great Serpent, Lin Luo finally succeeded in mimicking Toriko's Nail Punch technique.

Just then, the hair on his back suddenly stood on end, as if he were being locked onto by some terrifying existence. He looked back to see a massive phantom appearing behind both Toriko and Coco—Toriko's was a red ogre, while Coco's was a white plague demon. At the moment these two phantoms appeared, even the air seemed to freeze.

The Demon Great Serpent let out a sharp hiss, refusing to back down, and faced off against the two demonic phantoms.

Suddenly, the hissing stopped abruptly. Coco shouted, "I've analyzed its venom components and generated a reverse serum; now it's been paralyzed by my venom!"

Toriko's power was fully charged, and he roared the moment Coco finished speaking: "5-Fold Nail Punch!"