Shi Hao Shows His Might, the Desperate Shadow Centipede

The Shadow Centipede instantly burrowed underground and fled toward the area behind Hu Liena. It knew this was its best chance to escape; there was still someone watching it like a tiger eyeing its prey.

Even it could not sense how strong that opponent truly was. It only knew that if the opponent really made a move, it would definitely die here.

The moment it broke out of the encirclement, it heaved a huge sigh of relief.

If the Demonic Pattern White Tiger had been more agile, and if it had not known how to burrow underground, it definitely would not have escaped. Of course, breaking out of the encirclement had also consumed most of the centipede's strength.

Everyone was startled.

"Not good, that's Da Wa's direction."

Hu Liena and the other two paled and hurried after it.

The Shadow Centipede was extremely elusive, and its movements were difficult to track. Even the three of them could not handle it, much less a child.

That was right. They instinctively felt that Shi Hao was still not strong. The only reason he could roam the Star Dou Great Forest was because of the Demonic Pattern White Tiger.

Moreover, Shi Hao was too young. The Shadow Centipede was so agile that it might swallow him in an instant. Thinking of this, Hu Liena could not help speeding up, leaving the others behind.

When the Demonic Pattern White Tiger saw this scene, it was not worried in the slightest. Instead, it leisurely followed behind them. It was not concerned that its little ancestor would suffer any losses. Rather, the centipede most likely would not escape. It only hoped its little ancestor would not strike too heavily, or that woman's Spirit Ring would be gone.

Elsewhere.

The Shadow Centipede fled to an open area and poked its head out. After looking around and confirming that it was safe, it finally lowered its guard and rested.

It was very confident in its burrowing ability. After all, it could ignore obstacles on the ground, and it believed those humans would not catch up so quickly.

Suddenly, a small child with a somewhat foolish-looking face walked out ahead. He was playing with something in his hand, though it was impossible to see what it was.

The Shadow Centipede secretly rejoiced. I was just being chased by humans, and now a human cub has delivered himself to me. The only one to blame is this poor child for running into me. I'll repay on you all the treatment I received from them.

But a string of childish voices interrupted its fantasy.

"What are you? Why are you so ugly?"

"Did you get lost?"

"Do you want the egg in my hand?"

The centipede wriggled its segmented body, scraping against the ground with a hiss and rustle as it rapidly moved forward.

Its raised tail was quickly closing in on Shi Hao, yet Shi Hao did not move a single step.

The Shadow Centipede sneered inwardly. A little brat like you thinks you can block my attack? You really don't know your own limits.

"Ugly monster, take my punch!"

With a loud thud, Shi Hao's powerful heavy fist smashed into the centipede's whipping tail, and their forces collided.

Crack... crack! A section of the Shadow Centipede's tail broke off.

This was undoubtedly a tremendous shock to the agile centipede. Its mobility and defense both dropped sharply. It had never expected this child to be so strong that he could break its tail with a single punch.

Having lost a section of its tail, the centipede could no longer maintain its balance properly and staggered toward the ground.

One moment, the centipede was rejoicing that it had regained its balance. The next, it felt as if something had tripped the very end of its body.

It turned its head back and saw that the child had grabbed its body and was swinging it with all his strength. After whirling it around in the air, he threw another heavy punch at the centipede.

After several rounds of swinging and smashing the centipede with his fists...

"Hehe... fun. That's what you get for trying to steal my things."

The centipede had been directly in front of Shi Hao the whole time, unaware that the bones behind the child were faintly glowing and his body had doubled in size. Upon closer inspection, floating runes could be seen imprinted on those bones, making for an extremely terrifying sight.

"Uh... you're done already? Boring."

Shi Hao spoke helplessly. This little centipede was far too fragile. Why did it fall apart after just a few hits? It really could not take a beating.

Hu Liena, who had rushed over in haste, saw the centipede barely clinging to life before her.

Shi Hao stood beside the centipede. Facing the arriving Hu Liena, he pointed at it on the ground with a wronged expression and said:

"Big sister, look at this ugly monster. It wanted to steal my egg. I found this under a tree."

Hu Liena crouched down and quickly pulled the aggrieved child close. Gently stroking his head, she said softly, "Da Wa, it's okay. This ugly monster is about to die. Big sister will avenge you!"

Shi Hao had already withdrawn his Soul Power, and Hu Liena did not sense any Soul Power fluctuations from him.

Hu Liena looked at the dying Shadow Centipede on the ground, then at the lively Shi Hao.

Could this centipede have been defeated by Da Wa...?

The moment the thought surfaced in Hu Liena's heart, she quickly rejected it herself and could not help laughing.

Hu Liena, Hu Liena... just what are you thinking? This is a Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beast. Even an ordinary Spirit King would be no match for it. To deal with a Spirit Beast like this, only Xie Yue, Yan, and I could be confident of doing so.

Could this child possess the strength of a Soul Emperor? Even if he had started cultivating in his mother's womb, it would still be too late...

Hu Liena figured that the centipede must have encountered another Spirit Beast while fleeing and been chased down, ending up in this state. That was the only possible explanation.

At this moment, Yan and Xie Yue, who had arrived late, also reached the area.

The two thought Hu Liena had suddenly unleashed her power and defeated the centipede, so they congratulated her. Hu Liena gave an awkward laugh but said nothing.

"Nana, this centipede looks like it can't hold on much longer. Hurry and kill it. We'll protect you while you absorb the ring."

Yan looked at the dying centipede and could not help reminding Hu Liena.

"Alright!"

With that, Hu Liena stabbed a blade into the centipede's brain, killing it in one strike. She then began absorbing this hard-won fifth Spirit Ring.

However, what puzzled Hu Liena was that the process of absorbing the Spirit Ring was easier than she had expected. After all, this centipede had reached fifteen thousand years, so it should have been rather difficult for her to absorb.

Yet the centipede seemed to desperately want release from the pain it had suffered while alive, as though it was more than willing to be absorbed by her.

Hu Liena recalled the centipede's miserable state. It had probably been Beaten Severely by some powerful Spirit Beast and been left traumatized. That was why it willingly allowed her to absorb it. One could only imagine how violent the Spirit Beast that had Beaten Severely the centipede must have been.

An hour later, Yan and Xie Yue watched as Hu Liena slowly opened her eyes, and they marveled at how quickly she had absorbed the Spirit Ring.