Feng Hua San Shi (Seventy-Three)

Lin Hao Tian had not expected to be attacked so suddenly and failed to react in time. When he was knocked down, the Glow Mushroom fell from his hand. Its range of illumination had never been very far, and the moment it left his grip, darkness swallowed everything before Lin Hao Tian's eyes. He could not see what had tackled him at all.

Although he did not know what had pounced on him, the pain in his shoulder made him realize that the thing attacking him had bitten him. The excruciating pain drew a low growl from Lin Hao Tian, and he immediately swung his other hand down at the head of the thing clamped onto him.

Overcome by pain, Lin Hao Tian only wanted to break free as quickly as possible, so he put nearly all his strength into that punch. With his skill, the blow was powerful enough to shatter stone, let alone a creature's skull. Amid a shrill scream, the thing biting his shoulder was sent flying by his punch and began thrashing wildly on the ground.

As Lin Hao Tian punched the attacker away, Ying Feng Dao Gu, having heard the commotion, crawled inside and asked nervously, "Hao Tian, what happened?"

"Master, be careful. There's something here." Lin Hao Tian had no time to explain. He rolled to his feet, picked up the saber that had fallen to the ground, and then took out the Heavenly Pearl.

The light released by the Heavenly Pearl was not strong, but it was still better than the Glow Mushroom. Holding it up, Lin Hao Tian slowly approached the creature still thrashing on the ground. When he drew near, he saw a shocking sight: the creature clutching its head and writhing on the ground was a bizarre half-human, half-snake being.