Silver Winged Centipede

After resting in the valley for a night, the next day, the various small teams left the valley one after another, heading to the deeper mountains and forests for exploration.

Lu Xiaotian and his group were also in a hilly area covered with weeds at this time, maintaining vigilance of their surroundings while searching for potential Spiritual Materials.

A month, neither short nor long, passed in the blink of an eye as the adventure team searched far and wide. Along the way, the team directly killed any Spirit Insects or Spirit Beasts they encountered, dividing the valuable parts of their bodies. They all harvested some Spiritual Grass and Spirit Beast pelts; as for Yao Cores, they were not common. However, they did encounter several large Yao Beast hordes, narrowly avoiding them.

Living outdoors day after day, the team members had all become much thinner, and Luo Qing's pointed chin beneath her melon seed face was even sharper.

Wang Yuan waved a banana leaf as large as a fan in one hand, while the other hand tugged at her collar. Whether intentionally or not, she would occasionally reveal a tantalizing glimpse of snow-white skin and cleavage underneath.

"This vixen."

Whenever this happened, Luo Qing's delicate face would flush, while Wang Yuan would simply chuckle, unbothered.

Fan Qing, holding a Fly Whisk, stood atop a hill and surveyed the surroundings. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he had still found nothing. After another while, Fan Qing descended the hill with a blank expression.

Lu Xiaotian was toying with a small, black-green fruit called a Smoke Fruit. It was a low-grade Spiritual Material that only appeared once every ten years. It had no offensive power, but when stimulated by Spiritual Power, it could release a cloud of black smoke, obscuring the user and preventing enemies from attacking effectively. Over the past month, he had leveraged his advantage as an Alchemist to refine many Pills along the way. Combined with the Spiritual Grass he discovered, his harvest was quite substantial. Among them were over a dozen types of Spiritual Grass required by the Green Pill Palace and Lingxiao Palace, but he was still a considerable distance from completing his Sect mission.

Seeing Fan Qing's dark expression, Lu Xiaotian chuckled inwardly. It had been several days since they had found any trace of the Silver Winged Centipede, so it was no wonder he was losing patience.

A few days later, Fan Qing leaped down from a towering treetop with a look of ecstatic joy on his face.

"Finally found this beast, let's go!"

Soon, the team crossed a mountain stream and discovered a cave nearly as tall as a person beneath a small, unremarkable hill.

The hill was no different from the other hills, except for the withered, barren patch of land beside it where nothing grew. There were fine centipede footprints in front of the cave.

"Such potent poison," Lu Xiaotian exclaimed in surprise. This poison was so strong that even a Blood Clearing Pill couldn't neutralize it.

"Heh heh, a single bite of venom from a Silver Winged Centipede can easily kill a cultivator at the Qi Refining Great Perfection stage, and be fatal within an hour. But I've come prepared. This is an antidote Pill specifically for the Silver Winged Centipede. Take it before we surround it, and you'll be safe."

Having found the Silver Winged Centipede's lair, Fan Qing was in high spirits and distributed an antidote Pill to everyone.

"Even an ordinary Silver Winged Centipede is a peak second-tier Yao Beast. Those with Yao Cores are even rarer, and their unleashed Strength is no different from a third-tier Yao Beast. Given its potent toxicity, how should we surround and kill this Silver Winged Centipede?"

Lu Xiaotian asked gravely. Deep down, he didn't expect to find this Silver Winged Centipede. Although the materials from such a powerful Yao Beast were valuable, they weren't particularly relevant to his Sect mission. He could earn a large amount of Spirit Stones through alchemy as well.

If Fan Qing couldn't come up with an effective plan, he wouldn't risk his life. Having stayed in Moon Gazing City for so long, he was no longer ignorant of these low-level Yao Beasts.

"The Silver Winged Centipede is a Fire Element Yao Beast, incredibly strong, and capable of short-distance flight. It's even harder to deal with than an average third-tier Yao Beast. Even a cultivator at the Late Qi Refining Stage can't do anything against it. Once it returns to its cave, we'll have no chance of surrounding it, so we must intercept and kill it before it returns to its cave."

Fan Qing had clearly made arrangements long ago and began giving instructions to the group.

He Tuozi and Wang Yuan would be responsible for delaying its movements. Then, he himself would be responsible for injuring the Silver Winged Centipede's wings, rendering it unable to fly short distances. After that, the team members ambushing near the cave would swarm it.

"Remember, once my fellow Daoists and I start restraining the Silver Winged Centipede, everyone immediately unleash your strongest Means and attack its joints and vital points. Otherwise, this beast will go berserk, and even I won't be able to control it. If the ambush fails, given this beast's cunning, it probably won't come out of its cave for a long time, or it might even burrow away to another place. Even without the Yao Core, this beast's poison sac, shell, and sharp teeth are worth one to two hundred Spirit Stones each. I won't take a single cent and will give it all to you. If there are centipede eggs in the cave, that's another windfall."

After assigning the tasks, Fan Qing, still uneasy, continued to admonish and entice them.

Two hundred Spirit Stones or so, divided among the remaining eight people, would give each person over twenty pieces. Moreover, Fan Qing was leading the charge, and they wouldn't be the main attackers, thus bearing relatively less risk. Hearing Fan Qing's description, everyone present's eyes lit up.

"Don't worry, Daoist Fan. We entered the mountains together; we're all in the same boat. Do you think we wouldn't put in the effort?" Wang Ping said excitedly, licking his lips.

Fan Qing, as the main attacker, bore the greatest risk. The team members naturally had no objections to Fan Qing's arrangements. They dispersed and took their positions nearby, waiting patiently.

About an hour later, a pungent, foul odor wafted over. The tall grass in the vicinity parted, revealing a centipede with dark, black limbs but a silver-gray back and a pair of silver, fleshy wings. Its raised head alone was as thick as a water bucket, and its mouthparts, with their sharp teeth, were clamped onto a bloody wild ox.

Lu Xiaotian gasped. What a massive Yao Centipede. No wonder even cultivators at the Late Qi Refining Stage wouldn't dare to scheme against it. If not for their meticulous preparation and ambush strategy, they would have had no choice but to flee if they encountered this Yao Centipede in the wild without any antidote Spirit Pills.

The Silver Winged Centipede seemed to sense that the atmosphere around it was off. The instincts of Yao Beasts were often more acute than those of ordinary cultivators. The Silver Winged Centipede, which had paused its movements, released the wild ox from its mouth and spat out a cloud of black mist, the foul smell spreading outwards. The surrounding grass withered at a visible rate.

Lu Xiaotian's eyelids twitched. The direction of the black mist was where Fan Qing was located. This Daoist was indeed formidable. Even after taking the antidote Pill beforehand, the stench alone would be unbearable.

Seeing that there were no abnormalities after the poisonous mist spread, the Silver Winged Centipede bit down on the wild ox again, raising its head proudly and crawling towards the cave. In its perception, no creature could survive its poisonous miasma. This included the bipedal creatures it had encountered several times recently. It had even eaten a few of them; they tasted good.

As the grass parted, Lu Xiaotian finally saw the full appearance of this Silver Winged Centipede.

There were at least a hundred pairs of long legs on either side. Its body, as thick as a water bucket, was over twenty feet long. He wondered how deep the cave was to accommodate such a colossal creature.

"Attack!" At this moment, Fan Qing leaped out from the parting grass. With a wave of his Fly Whisk, the usually soft whisk became as sharp as steel needles, flying towards the Silver Winged Centipede's head and suddenly expanding several dozen feet, binding it tightly.

Suddenly attacked, the Silver Winged Centipede became furious. It violently shook its head and simultaneously bit down with its sharp teeth. The flexible whisk threads were instantly snapped, and dozens of strands were bitten off. Black mist billowed out, and the silver whisk threads visibly blackened and corroded.

"This brute has incredible strength!" Fan Qing's expression changed as he saw the Silver Winged Centipede about to break free.

Just then, two figures, one gray and one purple, flashed past. They were He Tuozi and Wang Yuan.

He Tuozi threw out over a dozen vine seeds. Under the impetus of Spiritual Power, the vines grew rapidly to over ten feet long, firmly binding the Silver Winged Centipede.

Crack

The Silver Winged Centipede rolled its body, and its slender, sharp legs, like Spirit Blades, severed the vines binding it.

"Quicksand Technique!"

"Earth Collapse Technique!"

The Silver Winged Centipede, about to regain its freedom, paused as if stuck in an attractive mire.

Lu Xiaotian, Luo Yuan, and the others rushed out from their hiding places, unleashing spells to attack the Silver Winged Centipede.

"Frost Technique!" "Fire Arrow Technique!" "Golden Spear Technique!" "Earth Spike Technique!" "Fireball Technique!" "Wood Stake Technique!" "Earth Hammer Technique!"

The Silver Winged Centipede's physical strength was astonishing. Its hard and sharp pairs of long legs were no less than low-grade Spiritual Artifacts. No one dared to approach it easily. They kept their distance and bombarded it with spells. In the blink of an eye, over a dozen low-grade spells landed on the Silver Winged Centipede.

Screech—

Even with its astonishing defense, the Silver Winged Centipede was dazed and in pain from such a concentrated assault. It shrieked several times and flapped its wings, attempting to escape the cultivators' encirclement.

"I have been meticulously preparing for this ambush for half a year. How can I let you, beast, escape? Hmph, take this arrow!"

Fan Qing threw away his completely damaged Fly Whisk, took out a Black Iron Bow and a quiver of over a dozen silver-white arrows from his Storage Bag. Fan Qing immediately fired three arrows in quick succession. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The arrows formed a triangular formation in the air and directly struck the centipede's fleshy wings.

Bang! Damaged by the arrows, the Silver Winged Centipede had only flown a few feet high before its twenty-foot-long massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a large amount of dust and grass.

What powerful arrows, likely high-grade Spiritual Artifacts. Lu Xiaotian felt a jolt of fear from the astonishing aura Fan Qing exuded when he shot the arrows. As expected of a Rogue Cultivator who frequented the Moon Gazing Mountain Range, his Means were endless.