Battle Snake

Qian Bing took in Pidgeotto's miserable state. Though his heart ached, there was nothing he could do.

After all, he was only a level-fourteen Soul Master. Even though Pidgeotto had briefly gained combat power beyond the Soul Master stage under the First Soul Ring Skill's enhancement, it could only barely trade offense and defense with the Mandala Snake and remain undefeated for the moment.

But under the current circumstances, it was simply impossible for Pidgeotto to win, let alone inflict any serious damage on the Mandala Snake.

At that moment, the rear half of the Mandala Snake's body suddenly lashed heavily against the ground like a whip. Its entire body curled and sprang, shooting toward Pidgeotto like an arrow.

Pidgeotto reacted quickly. Especially after shrinking, its agility had improved considerably, and it immediately spread its wings and rose into the air.

Yet the distance between them was ultimately too short. Although Pidgeotto avoided vital areas such as its head and neck in time, the flying Mandala Snake still clamped its jaws tightly around Pidgeotto's left chest.

Chirp!

Pidgeotto cried out miserably in pain, beating its wings fiercely as it climbed toward the sky.

Beneath the full moon, the intertwined shadow of Pidgeotto and the Mandala Snake resembled a bird-shaped kite dragging a rolling pin beneath it... rising higher and higher.

Pidgeotto carried the Mandala Snake through the air, speeding, spinning, diving, circling... performing all manner of difficult aerial maneuvers in an attempt to shake off the Mandala Snake biting its body.

But the snake's jaws had locked on exceptionally tightly, and no matter what it did, Pidgeotto could not throw it off.

Meanwhile, the spot on Pidgeotto's chest where it had been bitten turned blackish-purple, and with its intense movements, the poisoned area spread rapidly.

Before long, it had expanded from the size of a palm to a large patch the size of a basin.

Qian Bing vaguely saw Pidgeotto's wounds, and his concern turned into anguish. He raised his head and shouted toward the sky:

"Pidgeotto! Vigorous movement will speed up the spread of the venom! Come down quickly!"

Qian Bing actually knew very well that, with his current strength, he could not deal with a three-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake alone.

The reason he had dared to bring Tang San to the Soul Hunting Forest with such confidence was because he had read the novel in his previous life and knew that, in the original plot, Tang San had actually been the main force in killing the Mandala Snake.

He believed that after being possessed by the Soul Ring, Pidgeotto was still slightly stronger than Yu Xiaogang's spirit, Luo San Pao. That was why he was so anxious for Pidgeotto to descend, so Tang San could intervene in time!

But Pidgeotto had its own will and pride. This time, it did not obey Qian Bing's command immediately as it usually did.

Instead, it swept up a powerful gust with its wings, gathering a huge wind blade beneath itself.

When the wind blade first appeared, it was nearly two meters long, just as it had been before. But as Pidgeotto continued gathering strength, the airflow forming the wind blade was continuously compressed.

One point eight meters, one point five meters, one meter... until it finally condensed to just over half a meter, becoming an almost tangible bluish-white wind blade.

Under the moonlight, the airflow at its tip could faintly be seen rushing rapidly, as though it could slice even a sturdy steel blade in two.

The Mandala Snake also sensed the immense threat of the condensed wind blade. Its jaws clenched tightly, but its body began to sway and thrash restlessly.

The next moment, Pidgeotto slashed the fully charged Gust down at the Mandala Snake beneath it.

The Mandala Snake was originally known for its defense and speed, but high in the air, it had lost one of its greatest advantages.

Facing the rapidly descending wind blade, it could not release its bite and dodge. It could only thrash its body frantically, hoping to evade the incoming blade.

In the end, it still managed to twist its body nimbly, shifting most of its vital areas aside and taking the Gust with the section of its body about a quarter of the way up from its tail.

Screech, screech~

The snake scales let out a teeth-grating scraping sound beneath the wind blade's cutting edge.

Soon, some scale powder scattered down, and a faint line appeared where the scales had been cut.

The faint line gradually deepened, and dark-red blood began to seep out...

Finally, the wind blade formed by the Gust completely severed the rear quarter of the Mandala Snake's body!

Hiss, hiss~

Boom!

Gravely wounded, the Mandala Snake released its bite from Pidgeotto's left chest in pain and let out a mournful cry.

The two sections of its body, accompanied by a spray of warm, fishy blood, became two falling arcs and crashed heavily into the forest below.

Seeing this, a trace of joy finally appeared on Qian Bing's face.

But he soon noticed that the trees where the Mandala Snake had fallen began to rustle.

Then, the Mandala Snake, now missing a section of its rear body, slithered out of the woods. Its ruby-like eyes were filled with bloodlust and madness, and the moment it saw him and Tang San, it rushed toward them in a serpentine blur.

Clearly, the severe injury had not frightened the Mandala Snake off. Instead, it had made it even more vicious. At this moment, it wanted to eat people. It wanted to hunt!

The faint smile that had just appeared on Qian Bing's face immediately vanished.

He looked up and saw Pidgeotto diving rapidly toward the ground, but the yellow glow around its body was already flickering in and out. His expression grew even uglier.

Seeing Tang San still observing from the side and casually picking up stones from the ground without making a move, Qian Bing finally lost his patience and reminded him anxiously:

"My Pidgeotto could originally maintain this Soul Ring Possession state for around ten minutes, but that Gust just now consumed too much energy. It can only hold on for another minute or two at most.

Once my First Soul Ring separates from Pidgeotto, it will immediately be recalled into my Spirit Space.

So, you need to get ready to make your move."

"Boss, rest first. Leave the rest to me."

Tang San nodded at those words. After responding, he finally began to act.

He stepped forward and stood in front of Qian Bing. His ear twitched, and with a flick of his right hand, a pebble pointed at both ends shot forward.

With a soft puff, the pebble struck the Mandala Snake just as it turned into a black streak and darted toward them, abruptly stalling its advance for an instant.

Qian Bing's gaze flickered as he secretly guessed, Was that the legendary technique of locating targets by sound?

But that could only be considered an appetizer. What Tang San did next left Qian Bing dazzled.

His hands suddenly began to move continuously. His thumbs curled inward, his palms faced down, and his other four fingers were pressed together and extended forward.

With simple, efficient movements, he sent one pebble after another flying.

Though his Soul Power limited him, and the force behind the pebbles was insufficient to harm the Mandala Snake, they constantly struck and circled around various parts of its body, exerting considerable deterrence.

Qian Bing could not help but marvel inwardly:

What precise technique!

Using the inertia of the arm's swing to launch hidden weapons—this was the Tang Sect's Beginner-level hidden weapon technique, the Flinging Hand Arrow.

This technique was the most straightforward. Though it could not be called exquisite, it was extremely effective at this moment.

Is he probing the Mandala Snake's weaknesses?

A six-year-old child's palms were only so large, and the number of stones Tang San could pick up was extremely limited. He was also throwing them quickly, so before long, the entire supply in his hands was exhausted.

Qian Bing's expression grew even darker. He knew that now, the two of them had truly reached the critical moment between life and death.