Spinal Worm

Facing Wang Jiu's aggressive palm strike, Su Ti wanted to gauge his strength as well. He did not dodge and took it head-on.

He stomped both feet into the ground and exerted force. The earth beneath him boomed and shook, cracks spreading as dust billowed up.

The next second, his right hand swelled to the size of a large bowl, cleaving through the air as it shot forward and met Wang Jiu's descending double palms!

Boom!

The palm force of two Inner Refinement Fourth Layer experts collided, and a visible ripple spread from where their palms met.

With an explosion like blasting powder, both men were driven backward by the recoil.

Wang Jiu was forced back three large steps by the rebounding force, but instead of fear, joy rose in his heart.

Judging by the palm force, his opponent was not at Great Accomplishment of Inner Refinement. At the very least, while his strength exceeded Wang Jiu's, it was not by much.

Since he was only at the intermediate stage, Wang Jiu had nothing to fear. The Songyang Sect's Inner Refinement method itself strengthened power, while the qi-and-blood fighting art Songyang Palm possessed domineering palm force and pine-needle-like penetrating power. He had no reason to fear a direct clash.

Su Ti, who had likewise retreated three steps, planted a foot on the ground and stopped himself. Somewhat surprised, he raised his hand and looked at his palm. A ring of dense white dots, as fine as needles, had appeared across the reddened flesh. The bronze-colored skin from his Great Accomplishment Copper Skin Skill was slowly fading.

"Interesting. A single palm can produce penetrating force like needle pricks. If my Copper Skin Skill hadn't reached Great Accomplishment, King Python Hand alone really wouldn't have been able to block that palm."

Su Ti's gaze flickered.

Although King Python Hand had countless variations and could be unleashed through fists, palms, claws, and other hand forms to complement various techniques, its most powerful moves lay in its claws.

Back when Su Ti's Golden Snake Molting was at the Inner Refinement Second Layer, King Python Hand's twin claws had extended like two giant pythons biting down, directly catching and blocking Demon Mountain's two arms. Demon Mountain had been at the Inner Refinement First Layer and protected by external martial arts.

Yet now, when clashing against the Songyang Palm, which specialized in direct confrontation, Su Ti had not gained the upper hand despite being at the same realm. He had only managed an even match through his Great Accomplishment Copper Skin Skill.

Su Ti raised his head and reassessed Wang Jiu. This was his first time encountering such a fierce qi-and-blood fighting art. Though he had not seen many such arts in total—aside from Demon Mountain's Black Fiend Palm, he had only seen his own Longmen's Golden Python Four Forms—Long Yuanzheng had told him plenty about them.

From that palm exchange, Su Ti also determined that this man was not from the local Ancient Martial Arts community.

After Su Ti stepped into Inner Refinement, Long Yuanzheng had explained the local Ancient Martial Arts world to him. At the very least, there was no martial art called Songyang Palm in Nanjiang Province.

This man was a martial artist from elsewhere!

And his target was Uncle's family!

Combining those two pieces of information with what Su Yuwei had previously said about how deep the waters of wealthy families ran, Su Ti roughly guessed the man's origins. He sneered and deliberately asked,

"The Su family sent you to do this. What benefits did they offer you?"

Wang Jiu's expression visibly changed upon hearing this, betraying the unease of someone whose background had been exposed. Then he shouted,

"I'll say it again: go ask the King of Hell!"

With a roar, Wang Jiu no longer wanted to waste words on Su Ti. Both palms shot out together.

His crimson hands seemed ready to drip blood. If time were slowed down and one looked carefully, countless tiny lumps of flesh like goosebumps could be seen rising and falling across his palms, endlessly appearing and vanishing. This was the Songyang Sect's pine-needle palm force.

Qi-and-blood fighting art, Songyang Palm!

Facing those menacing double palms, Su Ti sneered. Killing intent surged in his heart, and instead of meeting them head-on, he lowered his body and vanished.

Wang Jiu lost sight of Su Ti. His double palms struck empty air, throwing his body off balance as he staggered several steps forward.

Shock filled his heart.

"Impossible! His power is clearly from a strength-oriented Inner Refinement method. How can he possibly have this kind of speed?!"

The overwhelming majority of Inner Refinement methods had clear inclinations. The Songyang Sect's Inner Refinement focused on strength, while the Corpse Puppet Sect's method practiced by Lian Wei focused on physique.

Their earlier palm clash had given Wang Jiu the mistaken impression that Su Ti used a strength-oriented method. That was why he had used all his power, intending to defeat Su Ti head-on.

But Su Ti had unleashed the speed of his Inner Refinement method and suddenly evaded him. Wang Jiu's body was off balance; whatever he did now was too late.

A fierce gust swept in from his side. From the corner of his eye, Wang Jiu saw a black afterimage whipping toward him like a steel lash.

In that instant, he desperately tried to raise his arm to defend himself. But his attack had missed, and it was far too late to defend. With a crack, the blow struck the crook of his elbow.

Crack.

A burst of agonizing pain shot through Wang Jiu's arm. His face turned pale. Almost instantly, his years of experience told him that without using his qi-and-blood fighting art to take that blow, the joint in his forearm had likely fractured.

Only then did Su Ti withdraw his right arm, which had nearly doubled in length. Several cracking sounds rang out as all its bones and joints snapped back into place.

What he had just used was Double Python Whip from the Golden Python Four Forms, though he had altered the method of force and turned it into Single Python Whip.

Though the Golden Python Four Forms had only four moves, its variations were limitless. Different methods could be used according to different situations; it all depended on the user's precise control.

After shattering Wang Jiu's forearm joint with one strike, Su Ti strode forward. His palms flew out in a continuous barrage, pounding toward Wang Jiu like a machine gun!

Earlier, when Wang Jiu had wanted to clash palms with him, Su Ti had chosen to evade. Now, however, things were completely different!

Wang Jiu's right forearm joint was fractured, and his reflexive instinct was to avoid Su Ti's attacks. But he was slower than Su Ti and could only take the attacks head-on.

Moreover, with his fractured right forearm, Wang Jiu's face grew paler and paler with every palm he received. Cold sweat seeped out as his steps retreated, constantly dispersing the force.

When the enemy retreated, Su Ti advanced. He pressed his advantage without mercy, his palms striking in an unbroken chain.

After more than ten consecutive palms, there was no opportunity for Wang Jiu to catch his breath or adjust. No matter how he retreated and dispersed the force, the fracture in his right arm joint kept worsening beneath the relentless assault.

Finally, at some unknown palm strike, Wang Jiu's right arm cracked. Flesh split open, and the white bone of his arm pierced through the skin, snapping apart completely.

His right forearm broke like sugarcane. Wang Jiu screamed, and the rhythm of his defense collapsed.

Just as Su Ti's King Python Palm was about to strike him, Wang Jiu shrieked.

"Lian Wei, help me already!"

Boom!

A black afterimage that had been waiting for this moment suddenly shot out and directly wrapped around Su Ti's back, locking his arms tightly in place.

Lian Wei's twisted neck stretched out from behind Su Ti, an eerie smile hanging on his face.

"Didn't expect it, did you? I'm not—ah!"

Before Lian Wei could finish speaking, a black shadow shot skyward with a boom. Su Ti threw a kick over his shoulder, striking him directly in the face!

As Su Ti's toes connected with Lian Wei's face, it instantly caved in. His nose bridge snapped and sank into his face. In an instant, his face looked like a dye shop had exploded across it, red, white, and purple mingling together as tears streamed down his cheeks. He flew backward.

A savage gleam erupted in Su Ti's eyes. He had kicked behind his own shoulder—an angle of attack that an ordinary person could never achieve.

Even most Inner Refinement martial artists could not do it. Only warriors with agility-oriented Inner Refinement methods might manage it, but the resulting loss of strength meant their attacks were weak.

But Su Ti relied on his perfectly balanced physical abilities. Not only had he struck Lian Wei's face from an unbelievable angle, he had also unleashed all the strength in his body. Even Lian Wei, with the physique of an Inner Refinement Third Layer practitioner and external martial arts protection, was severely injured in a single blow!

Kicking Lian Wei away was not the end!

For the moment Lian Wei grabbed Su Ti, Wang Jiu had ignored his injuries and lunged forward.

Dragging his broken arm, he leaped into the air. With his left hand, he launched a full-force Songyang Palm without holding anything back, aiming straight for Su Ti's face!

Su Ti was simply too strong. Wang Jiu and Lian Wei could not defeat him head-on, so Wang Jiu had no thought of fleeing. He only wanted to severely injure—or even kill—Su Ti in the instant Lian Wei held him down.

But he never expected Lian Wei's restraint to last so briefly. He had been kicked away the instant he seized Su Ti. With Wang Jiu hanging in midair and unable to borrow any force, an extremely ominous feeling surged through his heart.

Su Ti raised his left arm and swung it around his shoulder. In an instant, it turned into a black whip-shadow that lashed at Wang Jiu!

Qi-and-blood fighting art, Single Python Whip!

Put simply, Single Python Whip was a whip-hand created by an Inner Refinement martial artist's qi-and-blood-enhanced dislocation.

Because the arm was dislocated, its striking range was greatly extended, nearly doubling its normal reach. And because it struck like a lash, its power was immense.

However, the move required both a windup and a recovery motion, making it difficult to use in a normal exchange. If it was dodged, it became an opening—a double-edged sword that exposed a weakness unless it injured the opponent.

Su Ti only used it at critical moments, relying on it to secure victory.

And now, Wang Jiu had thrown his full-force palm while airborne. He had no time left to dodge.

Terror filled his eyes. The next second, the black whip-shadow struck his chest.

In slow motion, Su Ti's entire arm turned into a whip under the force of Single Python Whip. As it snapped out, all its power layered together with wave-like vibrations, gathering at the very tip of the whip—on the back of his hand!

With a crack, the back of Su Ti's left hand produced a sonic boom as it broke the air, smashing heavily into Wang Jiu's chest.

His chest instantly caved in, and he spat out a torrent of blood. That single lash actually sent him flying backward through the air!

He then crashed heavily to the ground, his whole body convulsing as blood streamed from his mouth.

Wang Jiu had not cultivated external martial arts, leaving his body extremely "fragile." Su Ti's qi-and-blood fighting art had struck a vital point directly, snapping most of the blood vessels around his heart and even shocking the heart into stopping.

Even a mid-stage Inner Refinement expert with powerful internal organs could not withstand such injuries. Wang Jiu convulsed and vomited blood on the ground for a while before soon drawing his last breath.

Su Ti was not surprised by Wang Jiu's death.

What surprised Su Ti was Lian Wei.

His neck was twisted, blood still flowed from the bullet wound in his chest, and half his face was sunken in—yet he was still alive.

"Damn it, that hurt so much!"

Lian Wei was severely injured, yet he could still move freely. But contrary to expectation, he did not charge at Su Ti to seek revenge. Instead, he pounced beside Wang Jiu, lowered his head, and gnawed at Wang Jiu's neck like a wild beast, gulping down his blood.

Even Su Ti was briefly stunned by the sight. He did not move forward, merely continued watching Lian Wei to see what he was doing.

About ten seconds later, when Lian Wei raised his head again, the sunken portion of his face had largely recovered. The bullet wound in his chest had stopped bleeding again, and even his twisted, deformed neck snapped twice and returned to its proper position.

Seeing this, Su Ti was astonished.

"What exactly are you?"

Only now did Su Ti finally understand what Li Shifu had meant by saying he was not human.

Wounds that would have killed a normal person ten times over had not only failed to kill him, but he had even recovered from them rapidly by drinking human blood.

There was no doubt about it. The Lian Wei before him was definitely not human.

If he was not human, then what was he?

"What am I? Heh heh, how could food like you possibly know?"

Lian Wei let out a low, eerie laugh and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. After drinking enough blood, the spine along his back began to writhe like a living creature.

Blood-red patterns like capillaries spread outward from his spine across his entire body.

Lian Wei let his arms hang down, his waist and back arching high. Drool ran from the corners of his mouth, and his expression became savage and crazed, as if he had lost all reason. His gaze toward Su Ti was filled only with greedy hunger.

Boom!

He suddenly charged at Su Ti, moving fifty percent faster than before!

Lian Wei already possessed the strength of the Inner Refinement Third Layer. Although he was not a speed-oriented Inner Refinement martial artist, that fifty percent increase brought his speed nearly level with Su Ti's.

Su Ti's expression did not change. As an additional effect of the Bodhisattva form, his willpower was immensely strong. Even when facing such an inhuman monster, he remained fearless and drove out a palm.

Boom!

Bloodlust appeared on Lian Wei's face as he thrust out a palm as well, meeting Su Ti's double palms, and then—

Then he was sent flying backward even faster!

Though his speed had increased after entering the blood-devouring state, Lian Wei's strength had not increased.

He was not a strength-oriented Inner Refinement martial artist to begin with and was only at the Inner Refinement Third Layer. It was hardly strange for him to be sent flying by one palm from an all-around monster like Su Ti at the Inner Refinement Fourth Layer.

After sending Lian Wei flying with one palm, Su Ti pressed his advantage. With a single stride, he charged forward while his opponent was off balance.

First, a King Python Fist struck Lian Wei squarely in the chest. Amid cracking sounds, Lian Wei's chest rapidly collapsed inward.

Lian Wei spat out a mouthful of blood and laughed wildly, utterly unconcerned with his injuries as he clawed toward Su Ti.

Faced with Lian Wei's attack to trade moves with him, Su Ti remained exceptionally calm. Lian Wei's recovery speed was fast, and he clearly wanted to exchange injury for injury. But why would Su Ti fear that?

Against an enemy with such recovery abilities, one had to press the attack and kill them in the fastest, fiercest way possible!

So in the face of Lian Wei's claw, Su Ti did not dodge at all and took it head-on!

Scaled Python Armor!

The muscles across Su Ti's entire body rolled like mice beneath his skin, forming a protective layer that constantly surged and erupted with force.

Lian Wei's claw struck Su Ti's body with the dull, dragging sound of claws scraping leather. It failed to break through the defense of his Copper Skin Skill, and the surging flesh across Su Ti's body then rebounded and knocked Lian Wei's hand away!

After blocking that claw, Su Ti grabbed Lian Wei by the neck. The enormous palm of King Python Hand held him as though he were a chick.

Ignoring the hissing, whimpering sounds coming from Lian Wei's throat and the wild punches and kicks striking his body, Su Ti's eyes gleamed fiercely. He used all his strength to raise Lian Wei high, head down and feet up, then smashed him viciously into the ground.

Boom!

Lian Wei's head intimately met the concrete, producing a violent sound. The impact was solid enough to make even the concrete sink slightly, cracks spreading through it!

But Lian Wei truly was a physique-oriented Inner Refinement martial artist. Combined with the external Corpse Body Skill, Su Ti's full-force smash only cracked his skull and did not kill him.

However... even with an immortal body, smashing one's head against the ground like that was enough to leave him dizzy and unconscious for a short time.

But Su Ti did not stop. Still gripping Lian Wei's neck, he bent his knees. The muscles in his thighs swelled, and he leaped two meters into the air, using his own weight as he gripped Lian Wei's neck and hurled him down again.

Boom!

Half of Lian Wei's head smashed into the concrete. His brain ruptured and brain matter spilled out, yet even so, he still did not die!

His hands and feet convulsed wildly, striking Su Ti at random. Instead of being afraid, Su Ti's ferocity only grew stronger.

"Immortal, are you? Then I'll beat you until you die!"

He seized Lian Wei by the neck and swung him left and right, using his waist as an axis. His body moved like a massive pendulum, smashing him down once to the left, once to the right. Booming impacts rang out continuously as he hammered him dozens of times.

After dozens of strikes, the concrete around Su Ti looked as though it had been plowed over by an excavator.

By then, Lian Wei's head had been smashed away entirely. Only a single spine remained in Su Ti's grip at his neck, while the rest of his body hung like a rag doll.

Yet despite having no head left, Lian Wei's body still twitched, his limbs still struggling.

That was not the key issue. The key was that the spine in Su Ti's hand now struggled like a living creature. Su Ti felt as if he were not gripping a spine, but a centipede.

A normal person would have been scared to death at the sight, but Su Ti had already found the key to Lian Wei's immortality.

He immediately stepped on Lian Wei's stomach, grabbed the writhing spine, and pulled hard.

Tremendous force erupted. Accompanied by a teeth-grating tearing sound, the spine, covered in blood vessels and nerves, was pulled out section by section.

Even more terrifyingly, the spine truly was alive, just as Su Ti had judged.

The instant it was pulled free, it began struggling frantically in Su Ti's hands. Seeing this, Su Ti exerted even more force. Before long, he had pulled Lian Wei's entire spine out of his body.

As the last vertebra came free, what finally appeared before Su Ti was a creature like a monstrous worm, pale white and covered in countless red blood vessels and nerves.

It coiled around Su Ti's hand like a python wrapping around his arm, constantly burrowing with its jointed limbs as it tried to enter Su Ti's body, only to be blocked by the Copper Skin Skill.

After that "spine" was pulled out, Lian Wei's body finally lay still like a dead dog.

"What is this thing?"

Looking at the grotesque, horrifying spine in his hand as it continued writhing like a living creature, Su Ti frowned. Curiosity, revulsion, and disgust filled his heart.

First of all, he could be certain that although this thing looked like a spine, it was not a spine at all.

Like a walking stick insect resembling a dead branch, it was merely a disguise.

It was a creature similar to a centipede. Those blood vessels and nerves were its feelers, its entire spine-like body was its torso, and it possessed jointed limbs like bones.

After observing it for a while, Su Ti no longer wanted to study the thing. He grabbed it with both hands and pulled hard, tearing it into two pieces.

Though the spine-worm still struggled after being torn in half, its movements were clearly much weaker.

Su Ti threw it onto the ground and stomped on it heavily several times, crushing it to powder and grinding it into nothing.

Then something unexpected happened. The moment the "spine-worm" was crushed to death, a stream of cool energy entered Su Ti's body through the soles of his feet.

The energy in the modifier began to rise as well.

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