49: The giant python appeared, causing disruption and delay.

Time passed minute by minute, and at this moment, the Black Mountain Town pier was a scene of bustling activity.

The sun had just risen, and a light mist floated over the river. Fishermen cast their nets from small boats, their shouts rising and falling.

Dozens of fishing boats, large and small, were casting nets, and the coarse chants of the fishermen echoed across the water.

Several cargo ships coming from upstream slowly docked. Bare-chested laborers at the pier shouted rhythmic chants as they carried heavy sacks and wooden crates, bustling back and forth between the pier and the warehouses.

Some vendors set up stalls along the shore, hawking fresh fish, fruits, and simple snacks. Children frolicked in the shallow water, and women washed clothes by the river.

Sunlight shimmered on the rippling river surface; everything was no different from any other day, filled with the mundane atmosphere of daily life.

No one knew that a massive danger was quietly approaching through the murky river water.

Deep within the turbid river, a massive and twisted dark shadow was laboriously gliding forward.

It was precisely that Black Water Profound Python!

It was nearly five zhang long (about sixteen or seventeen meters), and its thick body was as wide as a water vat.

Its originally black and shiny scales were now damaged and peeling in many places, revealing the mangled flesh beneath. In particular, a section of its tail was severed, held on only by a bit of skin and flesh, the wound hideous.

Every movement brought heart-wrenching pain.

Dark red blood continuously seeped from the wounds, staining the surrounding water at the riverbed.

Its Aura was extremely withered. On its massive snake head, two dull yellow vertical pupils were filled with pain and frenzied killing intent.

Repeated fierce battles and heavy injuries had left it incredibly weak; less than ten percent of its internal Demonic Power remained, and it desperately needed a large amount of blood and Qi to replenish itself.

It desperately needed blood and Qi! A massive amount of blood and Qi to repair this broken body and suppress the backlash of its Demonic Power!

When it sensed the fluctuations of a large amount of fresh, warm blood and Qi from the river section ahead, the greed born of animal instinct instantly overwhelmed its remaining caution!

"Hiss—!"

A muffled hiss, suppressing both pain and greed, echoed through the water.

It could no longer hold back! It suddenly accelerated!

The massive snake body surged up from the silt at the river bottom, stirring up a giant vortex!

Boom!

The originally calm river surface suddenly exploded!

A massive, hideous snake head burst through the waves, accompanied by a soaring pillar of water!

Following closely was its scarred yet still terrifyingly massive body!

The nearest fishing boat was directly overturned by the massive wave, and the fisherman on board screamed in terror as he fell into the water.

Its dark green scales glinted coldly in the sunlight. Its scarlet tongue flickered in and out, and its vertical pupils locked onto the struggling fisherman in the water and the stunned crowd on the shore!

"My god! A monster!"

"A snake! What a huge snake monster!"

"Run—!"

Someone on the shore let out the first heart-wrenching scream.

The pier instantly erupted into chaos! Screams and cries rang out everywhere.

Fishermen dropped their nets in terror, sailors on cargo ships scrambled onto the shore, and the porters threw down their goods and bolted!

Stalls were knocked over; fresh fish and goods rolled all over the ground, trampled by countless panicked feet.

The women washing clothes scooped up their children and ran, while the frolicking children wailed in fright.

Everyone was like ants from a disturbed nest, crying out and shoving each other as they fled for their lives toward the town!

The murderous light in the Black Water Profound Python's eyes intensified! It opened its bloody maw, and a powerful suction was generated out of thin air! The fisherman struggling in the water, and several elderly people and children on the shore who were slow to run, were dragged as if by invisible ropes, flying backward into that abyss-like giant mouth while screaming!

Crack! Squelch!

The tooth-gritting sound of bones shattering and flesh being torn rang out! A scarlet mist of blood instantly filled the air!

The contrast between the five-zhang giant python and the tiny Mortals created a scene straight out of Hell.

It devoured greedily. As its broken scales and wounds came into contact with the blood and Qi, they seemed to emit a faint black light, and its injuries began to recover at an extremely slow pace.

Having tasted the sweetness, its ferocity grew even more intense. Its dull yellow vertical pupils locked onto more of the fleeing crowd on the shore. Its massive body churned the river water as it prepared to pounce onto the land!

"Vile beast! Cease your insolence!"

Just as this living Hell was unfolding, a roar exploded like thunder! A streak of blue-green light soared into the sky from deep within the reed marshes!

A streak of blue-green light flew over rapidly! It was the green bamboo shuttle piloted by Zhang Shitou!

The Flying Shuttle hovered over a dozen zhang above the river surface. On the shuttle, Wang Tiezhu and Li Qinghe were already prepared!

"Take this Talisman!" Wang Tiezhu roared, fiercely hurling several Talismans he had already prepared in his hand!

"Fireball! Go!"

"Golden Needles! Swiftly!"

Several clusters of blazing fireballs and a dense spray of golden light needles whistled toward the Black Water Profound Python's head and wounds!

Almost simultaneously, Li Qinghe also drew his Fine Iron Profound Bow! His eyes were cold as he poured Water Spiritual Qi into the bow's body, and the runes on his arm instantly lit up!

An ice crystal arrow carrying a grim chill instantly condensed and flew off the string with a 'whoosh,' aimed directly at one of the giant python's eyes!

Boom boom! Sizzle sizzle!

The fireballs exploded against the Profound Python's tough scales, leaving only a few charred marks. Most of the golden needles were deflected by the scales, and the few that pierced into the wounds seemed to cause no damage at all.

Li Qinghe's arrow, however, was quite a threat! The Profound Python's instinct for danger made it subconsciously tilt its head to dodge, but the arrow buried itself deeply into a gap in the damaged scales on its neck!

A bone-chilling cold instantly invaded, causing its movements to suddenly stiffen. The blood near the wound even seemed to show signs of freezing!

"Roar—!"

Being repeatedly ambushed, especially the pain brought by that icy arrow, completely enraged the Black Water Profound Python!

It abandoned devouring the Mortals within reach on the shore, raised its massive head, and its dull yellow vertical pupils locked onto the Flying Shuttle in the air!

It opened its giant mouth, and a jet of pitch-black water, carrying a foul stench and corrosive properties, blasted out like a high-pressure water cannon, shooting straight at the green bamboo shuttle!

"Stone! Dodge!" Wang Tiezhu shouted.

Zhang Shitou was so scared that cold sweat poured down his face. He desperately maneuvered the Flying Shuttle in a perilous side-shift, barely dodging that terrifying water jet.

The water jet missed and hit the distant river surface with a sizzling sound, sending up a large cloud of white smoke!

Seeing its attack miss, the giant python became even more frenzied. It spat out several more water jets while its thick tail slapped the water surface, kicking up murky waves several zhang high in an attempt to knock the Flying Shuttle down!

"Go higher! Higher!" Li Qinghe shouted calmly, while simultaneously drawing his bow again. Ice arrows were fired continuously to interfere with the Profound Python's movements.

Wang Tiezhu's Talismans were also thrown down as if they cost nothing. Although the damage was limited, the flames, explosions, and spiritual Qi impacts were extremely annoying to the Profound Python.

Several of its attacks were nimbly dodged by the Flying Shuttle, and instead, it found its own wounds aching and numbing from those bothersome ice arrows, while its Demonic Power recovery was also being disrupted.

The Black Water Profound Python's ferocity did not diminish; however, this level three Qi Refining Yao Beast's intelligence was, after all, not low.

The damage its body was taking led it to a decision: it would no longer entangle itself with these few flying "insects"! The slow-moving "Blood Food" on the shore was much easier to catch!

"Hiss..."

Its cold vertical pupils swept over the Flying Shuttle that was constantly harassing it in the air, then greedily looked toward those fleeing "Blood Food".

Greed once again overrode anger. It made the decision most consistent with its instincts—abandoning the pursuit of the troublesome "flies" and prioritizing the replenishment of blood and Qi to heal its wounds!

It no longer paid attention to the harassing Flying Shuttle in the air. Its massive body twisted rapidly, and with an Aura that could topple mountains and overturn seas, it crashed onto the riverbank!

Its massive body, covered in mud and blood, slithered forward, and its speed was not slow at all!

Deep ruts were crushed into the slippery silt, and small trees as thick as a bowl were easily snapped!

It reared up a small portion of its body, its head raised several zhang high. That hideous and terrifying appearance, carrying a suffocating pressure, appeared on the outskirts of Black Mountain Town!