Leveraging Influence

Yuan Ming's pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly leaned back.

The next moment, a splash erupted on the river's surface, and a huge, ferocious snake head shot out of the water, opening its cavernous maw to bite at Yuan Ming.

Fortunately, Yuan Ming dodged in time and wasn't bitten. The snake's head, followed by its ten-zhang-long body, surged upwards. Its tail, lifted out of the water, swept horizontally, smashing hard into Yuan Ming's lower abdomen.

"Bang!"

A sharp pain shot through Yuan Ming's lower abdomen, and he was sent flying by a tremendous force, crashing through three old trees before finally stopping.

He struggled to his feet, a coppery taste filling his throat. He immediately realized that this water python, which had launched a surprise attack, was far more powerful than the Boa Constrictor he'd encountered earlier.

He had felt somewhat confident when dealing with the Boa Constrictor, and due to his concerns about the drawbacks of the Fur Transformation Technique, Yuan Ming hadn't transformed. He had wanted to try killing the Fierce Beast using only his human strength, but that was no longer an option.

He formed a hand seal, channeling the magical power within him, and transformed into a ferocious White Ape.

After steadying himself, he noticed that the water python that had emerged from the river was entirely black, covered in diamond-shaped scales. Its raised head bore a spirally black horn, and its eyes glowed a blood-red, filled with a bloodthirsty light.

"Is this... a Unicorn Viper Python?" Yuan Ming asked with a hint of hesitation.

He had only seen its depiction in the "Illustrated Guide to Common Fierce Beasts" that Zhao Tong had given him. The drawing only resembled it by about half, but the textual description and comparative features were largely consistent.

If it really is that creature, then this is going to be troublesome, Yuan Ming sighed inwardly.

Just then, the black viper python attacked, slithering towards him with its head still held high. Its cavernous maw opened from above, spewing something at Yuan Ming.

A stream of thick purple smoke erupted from its mouth, rolling towards the ground and instantly engulfing an area of ten zhang. The plants within withered and turned dry.

"Possesses poisonous gas that can wither all vegetation and corrupt blood qi. The venom from the back of a Fire-fluff Frog can counteract it," Yuan Ming recalled the book's description, his mind immediately making the connection.

Even if this creature wasn't quite a mid-tier Level 1 Fierce Beast, it was close, and far more troublesome than an ordinary Boa Constrictor.

Yuan Ming quickly retreated, dodging the encroaching poisonous smoke.

"Roar..."

Just then, a powerful beastly roar echoed, accompanied by a strong gust of wind that instantly accelerated the spread of the purple smoke, soon covering an area of a hundred zhang.

No matter how fast Yuan Ming fled, he couldn't outrun the wind and was immediately enveloped.

He instinctively held his breath and tried to escape outwards, but the surrounding purple smoke not only obscured his vision but also corroded the vines hanging from the trees.

Even the branches of the ancient trees turned dry from its effects. Yuan Ming attempted to climb several times, but as soon as he grabbed a branch, it would decay and break, sending him falling.

"This is troublesome now," Yuan Ming frowned, gripping his long sword tightly and scanning his surroundings.

At that moment, the ground beneath him suddenly trembled, and a dark shadow shot past, creating a gust of wind.

Sensing danger, Yuan Ming quickly raised his sword to block.

With a "clang!"

The Azure Fish Sword's blade struck the unicorn viper python's scales, sending sparks flying.

The immense force once again pushed Yuan Ming back. Although not as disheveled as last time, the breath he had been holding was dispersed, and he involuntarily inhaled the purple poisonous smoke.

The moment the smoke entered his mouth, Yuan Ming's mouth and throat felt a burning dryness, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of fire. It was painful and hoarse, extremely uncomfortable.

Yuan Ming quickly held his breath again, focusing on his surroundings.

Within the swirling poisonous smoke, a black shadow lunged again. Two red lights glowed within it – not the viper python's body, but its head charging towards Yuan Ming.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming immediately tensed his arm, his muscles bulging. Magical power surged from his dantian, pouring into the Azure Fish Sword.

As the unicorn viper python's head drew near, he raised his arm high. The sword in his hand glowed with a bright green light, and he slashed down directly between the two bright red "lanterns."

The unicorn viper python's massive head, though appearing to charge recklessly, was controlled with extreme precision.

The spiral horn in the center of its head struck out like a spear, colliding directly with Yuan Ming's sword.

A metallic clang echoed, sending ripples of sound.

The sword in Yuan Ming's hand was almost knocked from his grip by the immense force. The unicorn viper python was also jolted, forced to shake its head to dissipate the impact.

However, Yuan Ming steadied himself a step faster. With a few "stumbling" steps, he rushed forward, gripping the Azure Fish Sword with both hands. He spun his body in a wide arc, swinging the sword horizontally at the unicorn viper python's abdomen.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

As sparks flew, a splash of blood appeared.

Yuan Ming's powerful strike had managed to cut a gash into the unicorn viper python's scales.

"If I can wound it, there's still a chance," Yuan Ming rejoiced inwardly.

However, before he could celebrate, the situation took a sudden turn for the worse.

The ground beneath Yuan Ming suddenly shook violently, and the earth and stones cracked open, revealing a gap.

Before he could react, he fell downwards into the opening.

Immediately afterward, half of the viper python's body, which had already coiled beneath the ground, became visible through the裂口. As soon as Yuan Ming fell, it tightened its coils, wrapping around him.

Yuan Ming's heart went cold. Had this viper python set a trap for him?

His body tightened, and immense pressure squeezed him from all sides, causing his chest bones to creak. Bile rose in his stomach, and his throat felt a bitter dryness.

"Such immense strength," Yuan Ming thought inwardly, his own power beginning to erupt as he tried to force the viper python's coils apart.

However, the moment he resisted even slightly, the viper python's strength doubled. The grinding sound of his chest bones intensified, the suffocating pressure in his chest grew, and his breathing became labored.

He forcefully broke free the arm holding the sword, gathering strength with one arm as he attempted to swing and strike.

But at this moment, the poison gas he had inhaled began to take effect. The circulation of his vital energy and blood within his body suddenly became sluggish. Although he could still mobilize his magic power, his physical strength began to rapidly diminish.

As the Unicorn Viper Python tightened its constricting grip again, Yuan Ming felt his arm go limp. He could no longer hold onto his long sword, and with a twist of his wrist, it clattered to the ground.

In the face of absolute power, Yuan Ming felt despair for the first time.

Seeing that Yuan Ming's armament had been disarmed and he was showing signs of exhaustion, the Unicorn Viper Python stopped constricting its body. Instead, it raised its head and slithered around to face Yuan Ming.

A pair of blood-red eyes gazed down at him, surprisingly containing a hint of human-like emotion.

Yuan Ming read hatred, resentment, contempt, and cruelty in them.

It was clear that this Unicorn Viper Python was entirely different from the Fierce Beasts he had encountered before. Not only did it possess immense strength, but it also had a high level of intelligence.

Yuan Ming's blood energy was stagnant, and his strength was draining severely. He struggled to control his arm, fumbling around his body.

The Unicorn Viper Python, thinking he still had some trick up his sleeve, immediately tightened its coils once more.

"Urgh..."

Yuan Ming let out a pained groan, his body involuntarily tensing.

The viper hesitated no longer. Its massive head lunged towards Yuan Ming, its mouth opening wide as if to swallow the delicious meal before it.

Bound by its coils, Yuan Ming was unable to dodge. He could only form a hand seal with one hand and utter a low command, "Rise."

In the next instant, a green halo of light appeared in front of the Unicorn Viper Python. Large wooden thorns shot up from the ground, thrusting upwards.

After advancing to the third level of Qi Refining, his Wood Thorn Technique had also improved significantly. He could now cast it without touching the ground, and its casting speed had increased considerably.

However, the power of the Wood Thorn Technique was limited. It was unable to penetrate the Unicorn Viper Python's scales. It merely pushed its body upwards, causing no damage.

The Unicorn Viper Python's body was suddenly lifted, causing it to lose some balance. Its head brushed past Yuan Ming's side, missing him.

But Yuan Ming's hand had already accurately pierced the wound on its abdomen.

The Unicorn Viper Python cried out in pain and immediately recoiled. Yuan Ming's hand, which was embedded in the wound, was pulled out.

Blood splattered. The Unicorn Viper Python became enraged and once again opened its bloody maw, lunging to bite Yuan Ming.

This time, Yuan Ming did not cast the Wood Thorn Technique again, nor did he dodge. Instead, he stared intently at the Unicorn Viper Python and began counting aloud, "Three, two, one."

As he finished counting, the viper's head, which had been lunging down, suddenly froze mid-air.

In its blood-red eyes, its gaze flickered. First, there was a brief moment of stillness, followed by a look of struggle. Then, it actually loosened its coils around Yuan Ming and collapsed onto the ground, thrashing violently.

Yuan Ming fell to the ground, coughing dryly. He quickly rolled forward, picked up the Azure Fish Sword from the ground, and turned back to look at the Unicorn Viper Python.

He saw its body twisting and writhing on the ground. Its tail thrashed wildly in all directions, kicking up clouds of dust and snapping several old trees.

The splashing gravel and flying wood chips dispersed much of the surrounding poisonous smoke.

Yuan Ming endured the intense pain, forcefully channeling a stream of magic power to stimulate his blood circulation. Gripping his long sword, he charged towards the Unicorn Viper Python, which was still struggling on its own.

He dodged the viper's wild tail sweeps, leaped up, and landed on its body.

Yuan Ming's gaze swept over the Unicorn Viper Python's abdomen, and he saw that the wound there had widened considerably. Inside, numerous black, vine-like things were growing rapidly, burrowing into the viper's flesh.

"Good thing I didn't just throw it away," Yuan Ming thought with secret delight.

Just moments ago, while evading the Unicorn Viper Python, he had inserted the piece of tumor that had once parasitized the Black Bear into the viper's wound.

That thing looked like a stone, but upon encountering blood, it would absorb it voraciously, then revive and vie for control of the host's body.

And now, it was the critical moment for the Unicorn Viper Python and the Blood Soul Vine to battle for control of the body.