117: Purple-backed two-headed centipede

Setting aside the confrontation atop the cliff or the fierce battle within the canyon...

Xie Ning, who had been pushed off the cliff by Fei Shanqiu, quickly untied the Green Rope mid-air. He didn't have time to summon Little Mantis, but after several trees buffered his fall, he slammed into the ground with a 'thud,' kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Hiss—" Xie Ning sucked in a breath of cold air. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a haystack completely covered in withered leaves with several soft cushions placed on top, just over ten meters away. He couldn't help but curse under his breath, "That Dead Fatty!"

After lying there for a few minutes to recover his strength, Xie Ning propped himself up and stood. He scanned his surroundings before approaching a rock wall.

"This should be the place."

He threw a powerful punch, and with a 'bang,' the wall shattered, revealing an entrance two meters in diameter.

Xie Ning stared into the pitch-black, deep entrance. After two seconds, he remarked, "Spending two years digging such a secret passage... was it really him who had this kind of perseverance?"

He swung the changhong sword, igniting a flame that served as a torch. Holding the sword aloft, he cautiously stepped into the cave.

The edges of the cave were covered in chaotic marks from axes and knives. Bloodstains were visible here and there, and the ground was occasionally charred, perhaps from burning something.

As he went deeper, the axe marks on the walls became more regular and the gashes more neat. It was evident that the skill of the person wielding the axe was constantly improving.

"This fatty..."

Xie Ning's expression gradually became serious. Touching the axe marks on the wall, he thought to himself:

It seems this Waste Ball isn't entirely useless.

Continuing downward, he didn't know how long he walked, but the axe marks became newer than the previous ones. Each mark showed great progress; they were smooth and fluid, without a single crack along the edges.

"These should be the marks left during the second year. He improved quite fast." Xie Ning stepped closer to take a look, then continued deeper into the cave.

Along the way, remnants of battles could be seen, yet not a single bone remained. Occasionally, sections of the path were completely scorched black.

Xie Ning frowned slightly, scanning his surroundings warily. Little Mantis followed closely by his side, guarding him carefully.

Just then, a low growl echoed from the darkness ahead, followed by the sound of dense scurrying. Squinting, he saw faint fiery patterns moving back and forth.

Xie Ning delivered a vertical slash. A half-moon-shaped flaming sword beam flashed past, vanishing into the darkness and illuminating the silhouettes of the growling Yao Beasts along its path.

They were hard-shelled Yao Beasts resembling scorpions, salivating from their mouths and looking ferocious. They were spread across the ceiling, floor, and walls, slowly closing in on Xie Ning.

Once discovered by Xie Ning, these Yao Beasts stopped pretending. Flames erupted from their bodies as they pounced toward him like fiery mimics.

"Come on then!" Xie Ning stepped forward with his sword, dodging a pouncing Yao Beast. He thrust his longsword downward into its body, killing it instantly. Little Mantis was even faster; by the time Xie Ning hit an enemy, it was already attacking left and right with its arms, slaughtering the fire beasts until they were utterly defeated and fled in panic.

Notifications of Yao Beast kills rang out continuously.

"These fire Yao Beasts must have come from the Fire Source Zone. It seems his purpose for contracting a Water Spirit was to deal with these fire Yao Beasts," Xie Ning muttered to himself while inspecting the carcasses.

"There will likely be more ambushes on the road ahead. Stay alert," Xie Ning instructed. After Little Mantis nodded, they continued forward.

As Xie Ning expected, as he and Little Mantis pushed forward, they were attacked by groups of fire-attribute Yao Beasts dwelling there at regular intervals, and the encounters became increasingly frequent.

Clearly, they were nearing the bottom.

Deeper in, the marks of excavation became scarce, and the surroundings were covered in the tracks of crawling Yao Beasts.

Suddenly, Xie Ning stopped. He raised the flames above his head and looked up. Savage claw marks were scattered across the ceiling, radiating a terrifying atmosphere. These claw marks were thirty centimeters deep. Even though the marks looked old and no longer carried any aura, no other Yao Beast dared to leave a print within several meters of them.

"We need to be careful. It looks like there's a big fellow inside," Xie Ning said in a heavy voice, staring intently at the claw marks.

Little Mantis nodded as well, unsheathing its sharp scythe-arms.

As they continued, Xie Ning became more cautious, using flames to light the way and only moving forward once it was safe.

After walking nearly a hundred meters this way without encountering another wave of attacks, he suddenly felt dust falling. He looked up.

Boom!

The rock above shattered, and a purple centipede nearly two meters wide pounced down. Three pairs of flailing appendages on its mouthparts lunged straight for Xie Ning's head. If it bit him, his head would be gone instantly.

Without time to think, he lunged forward, narrowly avoiding the strike, then spun around and thrust his sword.

Clang!

The hurried strike failed to pierce the purple centipede's head.

The purple centipede landed, blocking the path between Xie Ning and Little Mantis. Only then did Xie Ning see it clearly—it was a Silver Level 5 Purple-backed Twin-headed Centipede, nearly twenty meters long, with equally thick heads at both ends.

At this moment, Little Mantis was already engaged with the other head of the Purple-backed Twin-headed Centipede. Xie Ning couldn't see it from his angle, but he could clearly feel the waves of impact. Especially with every Vibration Strike, Xie Ning could visibly see the centipede shuddering.

"Little Mantis, watch out for its toxin!" Xie Ning warned. He then swung his longsword, creating a ball of fire around him so the creature had nowhere to bite, before flicking his wrist to send the massive fireball flying from the blade.

The strike landed. Taking advantage of the centipede's senses being disrupted by the flames, Xie Ning jumped onto its back. Holding the sword with both hands, he stabbed down with all his might, but it only penetrated less than a fifth of the way in.

The Purple-backed Twin-headed Centipede screeched, its body thrashing violently and throwing Xie Ning off. Its hundred pairs of iron limbs rose, stabbing toward him.

Xie Ning quickly retreated half a step, dodging with difficulty in the cramped cave. Narrowly avoiding those glinting iron limbs, he returned to the back of the Purple-backed Twin-headed Centipede.

Accumulating power in his hands, he gave a loud shout and stabbed once more at the wound he had previously opened.

Simultaneously, a burst of energy erupted from the location of the other centipede head.

Puchi!

Squelch... The first sound was Xie Ning's sword piercing the Purple-backed Twin-headed Centipede; the second, like the sound of tearing parchment, was Little Mantis's outburst. With its arms whirling, it sliced half of the Purple-backed Twin-headed Centipede's body into several sections.

The screeching of the Purple-backed Twin-headed Centipede stopped abruptly. Its body crashed to the ground with a 'boom,' twitching unconsciously.

Xie Ning withdrew his longsword and ignited a blaze to burn away the blood. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief.

The sudden attack of the Purple-backed Twin-headed Centipede had nearly caught him off guard.

"It seems one must be careful everywhere when traveling in the wild," Xie Ning said, looking at the carcass of the Purple-backed Twin-headed Centipede with a sigh. "It's a pity such a good Yao Beast carcass can't be taken away."

After chatting briefly with Little Mantis, they continued deeper into the cave.

They were now close to the Fire Source Zone.