Twin-Tail Scorpion (Please Read On)

At noon, the disciples of Branch 2 gathered once more at the camp exit.

Xiao Chen noticed that compared to the morning, around four or five junior brothers were missing. They had presumably chosen to withdraw from the Trial.

That was only human nature. When facing something that could cost one's life, even if the risk was not particularly high, fear was inevitable.

Which was why, sometimes, he truly could not understand what the sect's High-Level was thinking.

After a simple drawing of lots, the disciples of Branch 2 chose different paths into the mountain range one after another.

This was likewise meant to spread them out and prevent too many people from clustering together.

Of course, the sect had not forcibly forbidden the disciples from forming teams.

But at this point, although they were not in fiercely competitive relationships, they all faced the pressure of earning Points in the Trial.

If several disciples traveled together, the Spirit Beasts were not stupid—they would definitely hide.

Then, instead, those disciples huddled together would all fail to meet the Trial requirements.

Thus, although quite a few disciples were worried, more than half chose to act alone, while the remaining minority only formed pairs.

The Flying Rainbow Mountain Range was a completely natural mountain range. Before this Trial began, there had been no trace of human habitation within it, and naturally, no ready-made roads.

This was because the mountain range was filled with dense miasma that carried a certain degree of toxicity.

For mortals, inhaling too much of those toxins would make them ill, or even kill them.

Fortunately, cultivators could rely on Mana to purge the toxins. It only slightly affected their vision, making it impossible to see things beyond a hundred zhang clearly.

Qi Refining Realm cultivators could not yet achieve Spiritual Sense Projection, so they could only slow down to avoid dangers they might encounter.

Under such circumstances, the different disciples quickly spread far apart.

Ye Fei, who had set out ahead of Xiao Chen, was also the first to discover traces of a Spirit Beast.

Following the broken branches, he gave chase without hesitation and soon found a Mystic Armor Turtle at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

After a round of fighting, he relied on the sharpness of his Flying Sword to successfully behead it, earning five Points.

Ye Fei could not help sighing. "This Trial really is no easy task. A single Mystic Armor Turtle actually took me a full two quarters of an hour, and I nearly got injured."

Reviewing the battle and looking at the stones the Mystic Armor Turtle had smashed through, he discovered that these Spirit Beasts seemed to have taken some sort of medicine that had greatly stirred up their ferocity.

In truth, his guess was correct. Before being released into the mountain range, all the Spirit Beasts had been fed specially prepared medicine to awaken their primal savagery.

First, it raised the difficulty of the Trial. Second, it prevented the Spirit Beasts from fleeing midway through.

Otherwise, if a Spirit Beast realized halfway through a fight that it could not win and ran away, things would become rather awkward.

However, this also meant that once injured, the Spirit Beasts would fight to the death, greatly increasing the Trial's danger.

Xiao Chen even came across an injured junior brother who was heading back the way he had come.

"Junior Brother Zhang, how are you? Are you all right?"

"It's Senior Brother Xiao. Sigh, I encountered a Twin-Tail Scorpion by the stream ahead and was careless enough to get stung by it."

"How bad is the injury? I'm fairly skilled with the Water Healing Art. Do you need me to treat you?"

Junior Brother Zhang waved his hand and sighed. "No need. I've already taken a medicinal pill. Sigh, it's just a pity that my thigh was injured, so I can't continue the Trial."

As he spoke, he warned, "Senior Brother Xiao, you must be careful later. It would be best to go around that place and find another route."

"That scorpion's tails are extremely formidable. One can pierce straight through the Golden Light Art, and it possesses boundless strength. The other is incredibly fast and can bypass an Earth Shield to attack the cultivator directly."

"If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have fallen for it and nearly been done in by that beast."

As he spoke, his face turned a shade paler. He was clearly still frightened by the close call.

Xiao Chen cupped his hands in thanks. "Thank you for the warning, Junior Brother. I'll remember it."

After parting with Junior Brother Zhang, Xiao Chen formed the hand seal for the Golden Light Art with his right hand, preparing his defenses.

At the same time, he took a Light Body Talisman from his robes in advance and held it in his left hand, ready to activate it with Mana at any moment.

Though he prided himself on his powerful Spell Power, he ultimately lacked Actual Combat experience. It was better to be cautious.

The Light Body Talisman allowed a cultivator to borrow a trace of wind, lightening the body and enabling rapid movement.

Whether for pursuit or escape, it was an excellent choice.

After walking for two quarters of an hour, he saw the stream ahead, along with broken trees.

With the guiding principle of pinching the soft persimmon first, Xiao Chen decided to spare the Twin-Tail Scorpion for now. He would continue onward first, then consider hunting other Spirit Beasts to gather Points.

Thus, he deliberately chose to detour through the grass on the right.

Whoosh!

The moment he approached the grass, the sound of something slicing through the air rang out.

Xiao Chen instinctively activated the Golden Light Art. A stream of Mana surged from his Dantian through his fingertips, instantly forming a thick layer of golden light over his body.

Clang! Clang!

The sharp ring of metal striking stone sounded in quick succession. A pair of scorpion tails stabbed at Xiao Chen's temples from the left and right, only to strike the golden light.

The Twin-Tail Scorpion had failed to catch up, and under the effects of the medicine, it had been unwilling to leave. It had actually lain in ambush nearby in the grass.

That sneak attack had truly come out of nowhere. Had Xiao Chen's Golden Light Art not been unusually robust, he would have suffered badly on the spot.

Hiss—

A wisp of smoke drifted away as the Talisman in his hand was activated by Mana, transforming at once into a clear breeze that carried Xiao Chen's body.

As he rapidly retreated to open the distance, Xiao Chen kept his eyes on the pitch-black Twin-Tail Scorpion and cast the Fireball Art.

Although he had practiced it few times, perhaps because his Mana circulated quickly, his casting speed was also remarkably fast.

Before the Twin-Tail Scorpion could charge at him, he successfully fired a fist-sized Fireball.

Pfft!

There were no flames as he had imagined, nor were there sparks as expected.

The orange-red Fireball blasted in through the Twin-Tail Scorpion's left side and tore out through its rear right side, flying straight into a boulder several zhang away and erupting in a great spray of sparks.

Huh?

Xiao Chen leaped three steps backward, covering two zhang, before seeing that the Twin-Tail Scorpion had stopped where it stood and no longer moved.

Hmm?

Another gust of wind swept past, carrying the scorched smell of roasted meat.

The Twin-Tail Scorpion was dead?

Just like that?

The cultivation chamber was, after all, a dead thing. Seeing the results of his Actual Combat, Xiao Chen finally gained a clear understanding of his own strength.

So Hextech was this fierce.

Against a Twin-Tail Scorpion at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, he had actually killed it in a single strike.

One had to know that under normal circumstances, directly piercing through a Spirit Beast's shell was extremely difficult.

Even an ordinary cultivator at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, relying on a Flying Sword, would find it hard to penetrate it completely.

But now, Xiao Chen even needed to check whether he had damaged the Points Jade Token.

"Good. The Jade Token is fine."

He retrieved the Jade Token through the wound, casually washed it clean by the stream, and revealed the distinct number five on its surface.

Even though he had known before coming that killing Spirit Beasts would not be difficult for him, the hunting process seemed even easier than he had expected.

"Every Point is worth three Spirit Stones."

At that thought, Xiao Chen's eyes grew fervent. "This isn't a Trial at all. This is practically picking up money!"

Please keep reading; this is really important. Please!