8: Chapter 8: First Battle! Slay the Earthworms and Seize the Treasure!

Lin Ye didn't look back; he raised a hand and waved it slightly.

The rest of the time was spent traveling.

By the time he crossed several mountains and arrived at the Chenyuan Cave, it was already afternoon.

It was a massive sinkhole, nearly a hundred meters in diameter and seemingly bottomless.

Not a blade of grass grew around the edge of the pit, and white bones of unknown animals were scattered among the rubble.

A decayed, earthy smell surged up from the bottom of the pit, smelling like damp soil mixed with the reek of a reptile's lair.

Lin Ye stood at the edge of the pit and peered down.

It was pitch black; even his night vision could only penetrate part of the darkness, unable to see any deeper.

Taking a deep breath, he tightened his grip on the zhulong staff, extended it to eyebrow height, and leaped down.

The wind howled in his ears.

The instant he touched down, he bent his knees to absorb the impact and planted his feet firmly.

The ground was hard rock, shrouded in darkness, but his night vision allowed him to see clearly.

The cavern floor was vast, shaped like an inverted bowl.

The surrounding rock walls were riddled with honeycomb-like holes. At the base of one wall sat an arched passage about the height of a person, deep and winding, emitting an extremely faint earthen-yellow glow from within.

The light of the kun tu jade essence!

Lin Ye gripped his staff firmly and slipped into the passage.

The passage grew narrower and deeper the further he went.

The rock walls were damp, and water dripping from above hit his shoulders, bone-chillingly cold.

After walking for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn halfway, the passage suddenly opened up.

A naturally formed karst cave appeared before his eyes.

In the center of the cavern, embedded at the tip of an inverted stalactite, was a piece of jade essence the size of a fist.

Earthen yellow and crystal clear, a halo slowly circulated within it, as if something were breathing inside.

The entire cavern was dyed a pale gold by its light.

That was... innate kuntu jade essence!

Lin Ye's breathing nearly stopped.

But the next second, his gaze landed beneath the stalactite.

A strange beast lay crouching there.

Resembling a white goat with a teal-grey body, four spiral horns spread out in four directions. Each horn was etched with natural earthen-yellow patterns that looked like ancient runes.

The Tuli.

Its body was much larger than Lin Ye had imagined.

Even while crouching, it stood over two meters tall; if it stood up, it would likely exceed three meters.

The creature had its eyes closed, inhaling and exhaling the earthen-yellow elemental energy floating from the jade essence, like a python exhaling clouds of mist.

Lin Ye did not act rashly.

Concealed behind a stone pillar at the exit of the passage, he carefully observed the Tuli's breathing rhythm.

Half an incense stick of time.

A full incense stick of time.

He discovered that the Tuli's breathing was extremely rhythmic...

Every nine shallow breaths were followed by one deep breath.

The moment it took that deep breath, the flesh across its entire body would relax slightly, creating tiny gaps in the rocky carapace covering its skin.

That was the only opportunity to break through its defense.

But that opportunity lasted only for an instant!

Lin Ye calculated his trumps: the zhulong staff, Temporal Crimson Fire, his body strengthened by Body-Refining Ointment, and the speed and sight boosts granted by Daying flesh and blood.

Was it enough?

Even if it wasn't, it had to be!

The moment the Tuli began its next deep breath, he moved.

The muscles in his legs exploded with power, sending him charging out like a cannonball. The zhulong staff lengthened to two meters in his hand as he poured all his strength into it, smashing down toward the weak spot between the two horns on the Tuli's right side!

Boom!!!

A metallic crash exploded inside the cavern.

The Tuli's body was knocked sideways half a meter, yet the strike on its head only chipped a tiny crack, without shedding a drop of blood.

Lin Ye's pupils contracted.

A full-power blow with his current strength could shatter a half-meter-thick stone wall, yet it only chipped a single crack?!

The Tuli opened its eyes.

Slitted earthen-yellow pupils reflected endless earth energy, resembling two bottomless abysses of ley lines.

"Baaah--!!"

The cry it let out was not that of a goat, but a low, vibrating roar similar to a dragon's bellow.

As the shockwave swept across, the entire cavern trembled, causing loose gravel to rustle down.

The next moment, the Tuli stomped its four hooves.

The ground violently shook as countless sharp stalagmites burst through the floor beneath Lin Ye's feet, each as sharp as a javelin!

Without time to think, Lin Ye rolled sideways to evade. A stalagmite grazed his back as it shot up, tearing a hole in his clothes and leaving his skin burning with pain.

Before he could regain his footing, all four of the Tuli's horns glowed with earthen-yellow light simultaneously.

Four beams of light shot from the horn tips, weaving into a massive earthen-yellow net in midair that swooped down over Lin Ye.

As the light net swept past, even the air groaned under the pressure; if trapped beneath it, he would be flayed alive if he didn't die outright!

"Temporal Crimson Fire!!"

Lin Ye roared as dark-red flames burst from his right palm, condensing into a pillar of fire that blasted toward the light net.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle...

The flames collided with the light net, making a sound like boiling oil poured over snow.

The Temporal Crimson Fire was domineering to the extreme; the moment the light net touched the flames, it began to collapse, as vast swaths of earthen-yellow light were devoured by the dark-red fire.

However, the Tuli seized the chance to pounce forward.

Its three-meter-tall body carried immense power, cracking the ground with every stomp of its hooves as its four spiral horns rammed toward Lin Ye with terrifying force!

Unable to retract his flame in time, Lin Ye held his staff horizontally to block.

Boom!!!

The zhulong staff collided head-on with the four horns.

Lin Ye was knocked flying back, his back crashing hard against the cavern wall, causing cobweb-like cracks to spread across the stone.

A sweet taste filled his throat, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

Yet the zhulong staff did not break.

The toughness and hardness of Denglin Peach Wood were far beyond imagination.

The Tuli lunged forward once more, offering no breathing room.

Lin Ye's gaze turned cold.

He flipped aside to dodge the charge, while the zhulong staff suddenly extended, surging from two meters to five meters and thrusting hard into the Tuli's flank.

The strike connected solidly, knocking the Tuli two steps sideways, yet it left nothing more than a faint white mark on its belly.

Its hide was too thick!

"Then let's do this the hard way!"

Lin Ye bellowed. As he pulled the zhulong staff back into his hands, flames erupted from his right palm. The Temporal Crimson Fire enveloped the shaft, transforming the entire zhulong staff into a burning, dark-red flaming rod.

Then he brought the staff down in a crushing blow!

The Tuli countered head-on, thrusting all four horns upward.

Rumble--!!!

This time, empowered by the Temporal Crimson Fire, the power of the zhulong staff exploded!

The Tuli let out a blood-curdling howl as scorch marks burned into its four horns, and the rocky carapace covering its body began to crack.

It was finally terrified, turning around in an attempt to retreat toward the stalactite.

But Lin Ye would give it no further chance.

Gripping the staff with both hands, he caused the zhulong staff to expand once more. Pouring in the Temporal Crimson Fire to its limit, the entire shaft glowed red-hot like a branding iron, and the dragon patterns etched into the wood seemed to come alive, letting out a low dragon roar!

He took a step forward, stomping a deep pit into the floor.

Then...

He swept the staff in a horizontal strike!

The blow struck the Tuli directly on its hind leg, producing a crisp, audible crunch of snapping bone.

The Tuli's massive body lost its balance and crashed heavily to the ground!

As it struggled to get back up, Lin Ye had already leaped onto its back. Gripping the staff with both hands and channeling the Temporal Crimson Fire to the extreme, he plunged it forcefully into the weak spot at the back of its head!

Crack!

Pfft!!

The zhulong staff pierced through the rocky carapace, pierced through the flesh, and plunged deep into the back of the Tuli's head.

The Tuli released its final wretched roar, its massive body trembling violently a few times before its four hooves twitched and then fell completely still!