The underground cavern beneath was incredibly vast, with towering stone pillars rising from the ground, making the cave resemble an ancient palace.
"This beast really knows how to enjoy itself, finding a place like this," Liu Bai smiled inwardly, though he became even more cautious.
Whoosh!
Inside the cave, a sudden gust of fierce wind swept through. The ash-gray spiritual wind brought with it a heavy pressure that weighed down on Liu Bai and An Ran.
Turning past a winding corridor, their vision was suddenly filled by a massive figure—it was a coiled serpent tens of zhang tall...
"Earthstone Spirit Python!"
What appeared before the two was a grayish-white python, its entire body covered in rocky scales like forged iron. A spiral horn protruded from its head, and its gray-white pupils were indifferent and ruthless, like a man-eating demon from the depths of the earth.
Zzzzzz...
Just as they laid eyes on this enormous python, a harsh grinding sound echoed out.
Soon, the massive coils of the serpent uncurled the python had already awakened.
"Not good. Serpentine spiritual beasts have extremely keen senses. It's already noticed us!" An Ran immediately warned.
Liu Bai nodded. He had already anticipated this the moment he saw the Earthstone Spirit Python. His fingers moved swiftly, and one spiritual seal after another flew out from his hands.
This scene surprised An Ran slightly, but she quickly caught on and said, "I'll draw its attention. You focus on setting up the Array!"
Without waiting for a reply, the girl leapt into the air. A surge of spiritual power condensed into a long spear in her palm, exuding immense pressure.
"Spirit-Piercing Spear!"
A cold shout escaped An Ran's lips. Her slender arm flicked, and the spiritual spear shot forth like a streak of lightning, fiercely piercing toward the python's gray-white scale armor.
Clang!
When the spiritual spear struck its scales, a burst of sparks exploded.
Upon closer look, however, it was clear the attack had done virtually no damage only a faint white scratch was left on the iron-like armor of the Earthstone Spirit Python.
Hiss!
Faced with such a blatant provocation from a mere human, the Earthstone Spirit Python let out an enraged screech. Its massive tail surged forward like a crashing tidal wave.
An Ran hadn't expected her attack to be so ineffective. Feeling the terrifying wind pressure approaching, she quickly dodged.
Boom!
The entire cavern trembled violently. Massive stone pillars, each several meters thick, were toppled by the Earthstone Spirit Python's strike. Dust and debris began to rain down from the cave ceiling.
In the midst of the smoke and chaos, five enormous golden wheels howled through the air, slicing into the serpent's body and leaving behind five wounds.
Hissss!
The sharp pain elicited an even more terrifying roar from the Earthstone Spirit Python. The giant beast surged upward, destroying everything within the cave. Even the ceiling rocks crashed down like a rainstorm.
"Tch, we can't let this thing go wild any longer," Liu Bai muttered, dodging two falling boulders. If this monster was allowed to rampage underground, it would be like a subterranean dragon overturning the land.
Moreover, judging from the earlier attacks, the Five-Wheel Heaven Splitting Array alone wouldn't be enough to kill this Earthstone Spirit Python. Its defense was simply too terrifying.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Liu Bai saw a flash of golden light the Earthstone Spirit Python had bitten one of the five golden wheels to pieces.
Seeing this, Liu Bai dared not delay. One spiritual seal after another shot out from his palms.
The Demon vine Strangulation Array required fifty spiritual seals. Even though Liu Bai had already reached the intermediate level of Heart Array, it would still take nearly half a minute to complete.
An Ran, hiding behind a stone wall, gritted her teeth when she saw this. Her beautiful eyes turned icy. Vast spiritual power surged onto her palm and formed a wave-like light slash, which she then cleaved forward.
"Ripple Slash!"
The light slash tore through the air, striking the Earthstone Spirit Python and producing a loud metallic clang. Like Liu Bai's golden wheels, it left another scar on the python's body.
Hiss!
A gray-white radiance converged atop the serpent's spiral horn, condensing into a beam of light that blasted toward An Ran's location.
An Ran's heart trembled. She could sense how terrifying this beam was. Her delicate figure immediately soared into the air. Her expression turned serious, and her breath deepened as her beautiful eyes grew colder.
Her surrounding spiritual energy erupted violently. Behind her, an ice-blue giant hawk suddenly emerged, releasing an overwhelming spiritual pressure.
This was the Icefeather hawk that An Ran had fused with—none other than the Northern Golden Stripe Seahawk!
The moment the icy-blue hawk appeared, the spiritual aura around An Ran surged, briefly pushing her power to the peak of the Divine Soul Realm—just one step away from entering the Heaven Fusion Realm.
The appearance of the Northern Golden Stripe Seahawk also drew most of the Earthstone Spirit Python's attention. Hawks and serpents were natural enemies. More importantly, this hawk and python had been lifelong rivals within the Northern Heavens Realm. They had clashed countless times. In the past, the Earthstone Spirit Python was always defeated and driven underground. This time, its instinct immediately triggered a defensive response.
Although heavenly beasts possessed intelligence on par with humans, they still retained the instincts of wild creatures. Faced with a natural enemy, fear was unavoidable. It failed to notice that the Icefeather hawk in front of it wasn't the real thing.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Bai's spiritual array was finally complete. Cyan-green spiritual light rapidly outlined a mysterious formation throughout the cave.
In the next moment, massive green demonic vines, each dozens of zhang long, burst from the ground. Covered in sharp barbs, they shot forward like living serpents and quickly wrapped around the Earthstone Spirit Python's massive body. Then, like true pythons capturing prey, they constricted violently.
The sudden change caused a brief moment of panic in the Earthstone Spirit Python. After all, it was the real serpent—how had it been caught like prey?
As the vines tightened, their sharp barbs pierced deep into the python's flesh, even tearing through its once-impenetrable gray-white scales and digging deep into its muscles.
HISSSSS!!
The intense pain drove the Earthstone Spirit Python into a wild frenzy. But the more it struggled, the tighter the vines became. Like a real constrictor, the barbs tore off large chunks of flesh with every movement of the beast's bulging muscles.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Earthstone Spirit Python thrashed about, smashing into the surrounding stone walls and leaving behind massive bloodstains.
Liu Bai frowned. Though the Demon vine Strangulation Spiritual Array had strong restraining power, it was not enough to deliver a killing blow. If they wanted to kill the Earthstone Spirit Python, they would have to wear it down over time.
He assessed the spiritual energy within his body, which was still relatively abundant. If he used it sparingly, he could manage to deploy a few more of these Rank-three arrays.
Truth be told, although the act of array inscription appeared effortless, the consumption was in no way less than that of powerful offensive spiritual arts. Especially Rank-three arrays, which often required dozens of spiritual seals—if not for Liu Bai's spiritual energy reserves far exceeding those of ordinary people, someone like Mu Chen in the original work would not have been able to deploy multiple Rank-three arrays consecutively even at the Heaven Fusion Realm.
Screech!
Naturally, An Ran would not miss such a good opportunity. The ice hawk behind her let out a sharp cry as layers of icy fragments began forming around its body. The moisture in the air was frozen solid.
A cold command came from An Ran's beautiful lips. The ice-blue giant eagle flapped its wings and soared high into the sky. Layer upon layer of frost enveloped its body until, from afar, it resembled a lifelike ice sculpture.
When a spiritual beast essence gained physical form, it was at its most dangerous.
"Wings of Frostseal!"
Once the ice-blue eagle was entirely shrouded in cold, its wings suddenly trembled and transformed into a brilliant beam of freezing energy. With ferocious speed, it dived toward the Earthstones spirit Python's vital weak point the area seven inches below its head.
Boom boom!
Massive boulders exploded into fragments as the terrifying dive tore through them. A chilling aura spread across the cave, and a trail of frost appeared along the hawk's descent, like an icy path carved through the air.
Boom!
The frosted wings, like the sharpest blades in existence, cleaved down upon the Earthstone Spirit Python's weak point. In an instant, scales flew and flesh split apart.
This one strike alone left a deep, bone-revealing wound on the python striking precisely at its seven-inch weak spot.
In a flash, the previously frenzied and struggling Earthstone Spirit Python stiffened. Its entire massive body seemed to lose all strength.
At the same time, the ice hawk in the sky shattered into countless icy fragments, falling like a frozen rain.
Amid that icy rain, a red figure also plummeted powerlessly. From the trajectory, she was about to fall dangerously close to the Earthstone Spirit Python.
If she really landed there, even the slightest movement from the Earthstone Spirit Python could crush An Ran—whose spiritual energy had been nearly depleted to death.
At that critical moment, a stream of brown spiritual light surged forth like a rope and swiftly wrapped around the slender waist of the falling girl.
In the next second, the light contracted and pulled An Ran back toward Liu Bai, who caught her in his arms.
Of course, Liu Bai did not act like the leads in some melodramatic romantic tale embracing her while spinning and whispering sweet nothings.
In fact, he didn't even spare a moment to feel the soft, warm sensation of the girl in his arms before immediately tossing her aside. His hands rapidly formed seals, activating a new spiritual array. One by one, more demonic vines erupted from the ground, wrapping tightly around the Earthstone Spirit Python.
As for the previous array, it had already dissipated when Liu Bai's control over the spiritual seals was disrupted while rescuing An Ran.
"Hiss hiss hiss… roar!"
Although only a few seconds had passed, that brief interruption gave the seemingly defeated Earthstone Spirit Python the opportunity to lash out. It suddenly surged forward and crashed violently in Liu Bai's direction.
"Mountain God Art!"
Liu Bai had no time to dodge while activating the new array. He could only rely on the powerful defensive strength of the Mountain God Art to withstand the blow.
Just as the earthy-yellow mountain projection rose around his body, the enormous serpent's head barreled into him like a speeding locomotive.
Bang!
With a thunderous crash, the mountain projection surrounding Liu Bai shattered almost instantly. The terrifying force slammed into Liu Bai's body, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood on the spot. His internal organs twisted with pain, nearly causing him to pass out.
Pfft!
Vomiting another mouthful of reverse-flowing blood, Liu Bai's heart filled with lingering fear.
"The Earthstone Spirit Python's strength is too overwhelming. Fortunately, this space is far too narrow for it to fully exert its power. The Demonic Vine Strangling Array restricted its movements just enough. Otherwise, with just the two of us trying to slay this beast, it would have been nothing but a pipe dream!"
Had the Earthstone Spirit Python not been heavily injured already, that previous attack would have certainly rendered Liu Bai completely powerless. He likely would not have been able to withstand even one strike let alone An Ran.
Now, both of them were wounded. An Ran, in particular, had temporarily lost all combat capability. Liu Bai could only rely on his spiritual arrays to stalemate the Earthstone Spirit Python and wait to see who would collapse first.
Time slowly ticked by. In the blink of an eye, half a day had passed.
By this time, An Ran had recovered about seventy to eighty percent. The spiritual energy in her body once again felt abundant.
However, Liu Bai was in poor condition. If it weren't for the White Jade Spirit Light generated by his Frost Skin Jade Bone Art, constantly healing the injuries within him, he might have already lost half his life.
In the end, An Ran once again soared above the Earthstone Spirit Python and delivered a final Ripple Slash to its seven-inch weak point, finally putting an end to the beast.
"In the end, that girl An Ran still took the kill!"
Liu Bai was full of frustration. He had suffered a serious injury, and in the end, he didn't even gain the experience from slaying the beast.
But Liu Bai also understood clearly, given the situation at the time, had An Ran not recovered quickly enough, he might have been the first to fall. In the end, it wouldn't have been about experience; he could have become a lump of meat inside the beast's belly. So all he could do was resign himself to the outcome.
"You absorb the spiritual energy this time. With that, you should be able to raise your imprint to the seventh grade. I'll recover a bit first, then fuse with the Earthstone Spirit Python's spiritual essence here. I'll try to complete everything before the appointed time."
"I'll have to trouble you to guard me for a while, An Ran."
.....
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