Lingzhi and the Giant Centipede

Lingzhi!

This was an exceptionally nourishing treasure!

The lingzhi before him was as large as both his palms put together. It was purplish-black, almost ink-black, with more than a dozen growth rings. Judging by its age, it was at least twenty years old, perhaps even older!

At that level, it was already a spiritual herb, something even Flesh Refining martial artists would fight over until their heads were broken and blood flowed.

"Spiritual herb!"

Qin Ming forced down his excitement.

Just when the willows had grown dark, another village appeared among the flowers! He had thought the cooked duck had flown away, only for the wounded roe deer to lead him to a lingzhi!

Although Qin Ming didn't know the price of lingzhi, he could make a rough guess. One this large would be worth at least a hundred taels of silver.

An innocent man becomes guilty by possessing a treasure. The most important thing now is to become a martial artist. If I sell it, I'll only draw attention and bring fire down on myself. I'd better keep this lingzhi and use it to break through the Skin Refining Realm.

Qin Ming took out his pig-slaying saber and prepared to dig up the lingzhi.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch it, a foul, fishy stench rushed out of the hollow and hit him in the face.

Alarm bells rang wildly in Qin Ming's heart, and his scalp prickled.

"Damn it!"

His expression changed dramatically.

A spiritual treasure couldn't possibly be unclaimed. How had he forgotten that?

Qin Ming hastily pulled his hand back and brought his pig-slaying saber across his body.

Clang! A black shadow slammed into the pig-slaying saber with the sound of metal striking metal. The tremendous force drove Qin Ming back three steps, leaving his palm tingling.

When he looked closely, he saw that it was a giant centipede more than a foot long!

The centipede was purplish-black all over, with an oily sheen. Three bright red stripes ran along its back, stretching from its head to the tip of its tail.

Its head was broad and flat, and its two hooked fangs glimmered with wisps of chilling purple qi in the sunlight. Threads of translucent venom dripped from them. The foul smell drifted into Qin Ming's nostrils on the cold wind, and he couldn't help feeling dizzy.

"Poison! What potent poison!"

Qin Ming held his breath and retreated quickly, his face grave.

"How did this centipede get so big? Could it have grown like this from eating the lingzhi?"

Qin Ming's mouth went dry.

Looking closely, he saw that the centipede's color was indeed remarkably similar to that of the lingzhi.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

The centipede crawled over the rotting dead leaves with a faint rustle. It slowly closed in on Qin Ming, seemingly probing him while also driving him away.

Qin Ming didn't rush forward to fight it. Instead, he slowly backed away, one step at a time.

The giant centipede stayed where it was and didn't pursue him.

After retreating about twenty meters, Qin Ming stopped and took out his bow and arrows.

Now that he had found the lingzhi, there was no reason to give it up. Once he killed the centipede, the lingzhi would be his!

"Whoosh!"

Qin Ming abruptly loosed an arrow.

Across the mere twenty meters between them, it struck the centipede almost instantly.

The centipede had never seen a bow and arrow before and didn't know to dodge. The arrow struck it squarely on the back.

The next instant, sparks flew, and the iron arrow bounced away, leaving only a white mark on its scales.

"Damn!"

Qin Ming couldn't help cursing.

The beast's shell was so hard that even an iron arrow couldn't pierce it at such close range. Didn't that mean his pig-slaying saber would be useless too?

"Hiss!!"

The giant centipede hissed in pain and swiftly attacked Qin Ming.

Qin Ming didn't dare take it head-on and hurriedly fled into the distance.

He ran several hundred zhang, but the giant centipede remained hot on his heels. From the look of it, the creature wouldn't rest until it killed him.

"I have no choice but to fight!"

Qin Ming gasped for breath.

The giant centipede was fast. If the rough terrain in the mountain forest hadn't greatly hindered its speed, it probably would have caught him long ago.

Fortunately, while fleeing, Qin Ming had also spotted the giant centipede's weakness.

The scales on its belly were much lighter than those on its back and were clearly not as hard. Moreover, whenever it made a violent movement, the scales all over its body opened and closed as if breathing, exposing the pale pink muscles beneath.

If I can take the chance to hack the pig-slaying saber through a gap between its scales, or stab it into its mouth when it opens it, a single blow will be enough to finish it!

Qin Ming quickly worked out a plan.

It was easier said than done.

The beast had eaten a spiritual treasure and already developed a measure of intelligence. Exploiting its weakness to kill it in one blow wouldn't be so easy.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Qin Ming shot his last few iron arrows.

The giant centipede dodged left and right, then knocked the final iron arrow away with its head.

It reared up and let out a piercing hiss at Qin Ming, its two fangs trembling up and down as though it were laughing and mocking him.

"This thing really has developed intelligence!"

Qin Ming gripped his pig-slaying saber tightly.

His only reliance now was the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique!

The minor mastery Pig-Slaying Saber Technique didn't just increase his striking speed by twenty percent. It also improved his proficiency at separating flesh from sinew and bone.

After slaughtering a pig, Qin Ming always cut the carcass neatly into pieces. That required extremely fine control of his strength and precise angles with his saber.

If the centipede lay still, it wouldn't be difficult for Qin Ming to slip his minor mastery Pig-Slaying Saber Technique through the gaps in its scales and dismember it. But in the present situation, it would come down to luck.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"

The giant centipede scuttled across the ground on dozens of appendages, closing in rapidly. As it drew near, it leaped straight at Qin Ming's face.

"What a chance!"

Qin Ming's eyes lit up.

A beast was a beast, after all. This left it wide open!

Qin Ming used the Pig-Slaying Saber Technique, striking swiftly with the twenty percent attack speed bonus.

"Clink, clink, clink!"

Qin Ming hacked more than a dozen times in succession, but the scales blocked every blow. The impact left his palm numb and split the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, sending blood streaming out.

The good news was that a gash had been cut in the scales on the centipede's belly.

The centipede went mad with pain and opened its mouth, spitting out an arrow of venom.

Qin Ming rolled like a donkey in the dirt, narrowly dodging it.

The venom arrow struck the trunk of a large tree. In just a few breaths, it had corroded more than half the trunk, sending up thick white smoke. A pungent smell made Qin Ming sneeze twice.

That wasn't all. Qin Ming also noticed that when the centipede had spat the venom arrow, a spot on its back had glowed faintly.

"That... could that be..."

Qin Ming's eyes lit up.

It seemed he absolutely had to kill this centipede today!

After spitting the venom arrow, the centipede was noticeably more sluggish.

Qin Ming fought as he retreated, giving the centipede no chance to get close. Although blood was pouring from the split webbing of his hand, the pig-slaying saber in his grip remained steady.

At last, he seized an opportunity. The moment the centipede bared its fangs again, he drove the pig-slaying saber into its mouth with perfect precision, then twisted it hard.

The centipede let out a shriek and died on the spot.

Qin Ming dropped onto the ground, his face pale as he gasped for breath.

Looking at the centipede's corpse, Qin Ming felt a rush of relief.

The centipede probably hadn't broken through to the spiritual beast level yet. At most, it was a half-spiritual beast. Otherwise, the pig-slaying saber in his hand alone could never have harmed it.

Its strength was about the same as Scarface's after taking a pill, still some distance short of a true martial artist's. Relying on the speed bonus from his minor mastery Pig-Slaying Saber Technique, Qin Ming had blocked its attacks time and again, finally finding a chance to kill it in one blow.

Once the vile creature ate the lingzhi and broke through to become a spiritual beast, he wouldn't even have a chance to flee.

At the same time, Qin Ming keenly noticed that the panel was changing rapidly.

[Innate martial art: Pig-Slaying Saber Technique (163/500)]

After killing the centipede, his Pig-Slaying Saber Technique had gained a full twenty proficiency points. This was an unprecedented first!

"The Pig-Slaying Saber Technique's points seem to be related to the difficulty of the kill," Qin Ming said, as realization dawned on him.

After resting briefly, he carried the centipede's corpse back to the tree hollow and used his pig-slaying saber to dig out the lingzhi intact.

Qin Ming restrained his excitement, wrapped up the lingzhi, and left quickly.

This place was close to the depths of the mountains, where fierce beasts roamed. With his current injury, he couldn't afford to linger.

On the way back, Qin Ming unexpectedly found the wounded roe deer lying in the grass, barely clinging to life.

"Looks like even the heavens are helping me!"

Qin Ming laughed, hoisted the roe deer onto his shoulder, and strode away.

He had the roe deer and the lingzhi. This time, he would break through the Skin Refining Realm in one determined push!