The Dust Settles

The moment the Silver-Ringed Two-Headed Python opened its eyes, Shen Mo felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar!

Not good!

Retreat!

He exploded into motion, pushing his Thunderbolt Quickstep to its absolute limit.

His illusory figure streaked backward like a bolt of lightning.

But it was already too late.

The demon snake had feigned death to lure him close, having long since coiled its strength for a lethal strike!

How could it possibly let him escape beyond a hundred paces?

"Bang!"

It opened its blood-stained maw, pouring out every ounce of its demonic power to form a final Lingbo Water Bullet, which it launched toward Shen Mo.

"Bedrock Talisman!"

Facing the death throes of a beast nearing the second rank, Shen Mo felt a chill in his heart and immediately activated his life-saving talisman.

"Snap!"

The talisman burned to ash, and the shadow of a mountain rose up to shield him.

But this time, the talisman failed to fully negate the power of the Lingbo Water Bullet.

Cracks spread across the barrier like a spiderweb, and under the crushing impact of the water bullet, it finally shattered into pieces.

"Pfft!"

Struck as if by lightning, Shen Mo spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura instantly wilting.

Although the Bedrock Talisman had absorbed the majority of the Lingbo Water Bullet's power, the remaining force was still more than an eighth-stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator could easily withstand.

Thank goodness I wore an inner armor.

He touched the Heart-Protecting inner armor on his chest, feeling a flicker of relief.

The armor had already been damaged, and this strike had only worsened its condition.

Still, it had managed to absorb a significant portion of the damage for him.

Otherwise, that blow would have cost him far more than just a mouthful of blood.

"Since I'm not dead, it's your turn!"

Enduring the pain, he stared coldly at the Double-Headed Silver-Patterned Python and slowly raised his palm.

In his palm, two Separating Fire Talismans flared to life once more.

The beast was finally dead.

Shen Mo had used up all seven of his remaining Separating Fire Talismans.

After burning for another incense stick's worth of time, the Double-Headed Silver-Patterned Python was truly and utterly devoid of life.

"Swish."

He drew his Green Edge Sword and sliced open both of its heads.

Reaching into the pulpy, brain-like fluid, Shen Mo fished out two round, translucent, pale blue crystals.

"As expected, there are demon cores."

Shen Mo looked at the two demon cores in his hand, his face lighting up with joy.

Demon cores were unique to demon beasts, serving as the very source of their power.

Usually, only beasts of the second rank or higher could condense them within their bodies.

The combat strength of this Double-Headed Silver-Patterned Python sat right on the boundary between the first and second ranks.

Shen Mo hadn't known if it had managed to condense a core, so he had simply tried his luck.

It appeared that this Double-Headed Silver-Patterned Python was even closer to the second-rank level than he had imagined.

"These two demon cores should fetch at least ten Spirit Stones."

"And now... the snake gall!"

Slicing open the python's belly, he extracted the gallbladder and tucked it into his Qiankun Pouch.

The gallbladders of serpentine demon beasts were excellent materials for alchemy, and their value was in no way inferior to the demon cores.

After stripping the Double-Headed Silver-Patterned Python of everything of value, he turned his gaze back to the Purple Sun Vermilion Fruit.

This was, after all, the greatest harvest of his trip!

"Finally, it's mine!"

He snapped the Purple Sun Vermilion Fruit off along with its branch and transplanted it into the Grafting Spirit Soil.

"Haa~"

The moment the unripe Purple Sun Vermilion Fruit was plucked, the spiritual energy within it began to dissipate rapidly.

Fortunately, once it was grafted onto the Grafting Spirit Soil, this trend was halted.

"Success."

Seeing that the Purple Sun Vermilion Fruit did not wither despite being plucked prematurely, he breathed a sigh of relief.

After solemnly placing the pot of Grafting Spirit Soil into his Qiankun Pouch, Shen Mo finally had the presence of mind to deal with his disheveled appearance.

"Splash!"

Among the vast fruit trees of the Spirit Field Valley, he found a well.

He prepared to draw some water to wash himself thoroughly from head to toe.

The bitter battle earlier had left his once-pristine white robes stained with blood, sweat, and the brains of the Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python, leaving him covered in filth.

He reeked of a foul, fishy stench.

Since he had not yet reached the Qi Gathering stage and could not use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to condense water vapor to cleanse his body, he had no choice but to wash with water.

After a thorough scrubbing, he finally felt much more comfortable.

"Next, I shall slaughter all those smaller demon snakes as well."

With the Double-Headed Silver-Patterned Python dealt with, the remaining low-level demon snakes were naturally easy pickings.

It took Shen Mo only half an hour to sweep through the area like a gale scattering clouds, hunting down and killing every last one of the demon snakes that had been lurking in the shadows of the spirit fields, too afraid to emerge.

"My footwork speed seems to have become much lighter!"

In the midst of hunting the demon snakes, Shen Mo suddenly realized this.

"Could it be that my Thunderbolt Quickstep has broken through?"

He pondered this, glancing at his information panel to scan the logs for confirmation.

[You successfully activated a Separating Fire Talisman; your internal spiritual energy is greatly depleted.]

[You successfully activated a Separating Fire Talisman; your internal spiritual energy is exhausted.]

[You consumed seven Qi Recovery Pills; the medicinal power rapidly filled the void in your spiritual energy, and your internal spiritual energy is once again brimming.]

[During the heat of battle, you unexpectedly activated a special effect and gained 1 Destiny Point.]

[Facing the fatal strike of the Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python, you were struck with terror; while frantically pushing your Thunderbolt Quickstep, you unexpectedly grasped the secret of the "Swift Thunder Momentum." Thunderbolt Quickstep experience +132.]

[Under the pressure of this trial, your Thunderbolt Quickstep successfully advanced to the Minor Accomplishment stage, its effectiveness greatly increased.]

After carefully reviewing the logs, Shen Mo was overjoyed when he saw the last two entries.

I was so caught up in the intense battle that I didn't even notice my Thunderbolt Quickstep had leveled up!

During this period, Shen Mo had been diligently practicing his cultivation techniques, martial arts, and immortal spells.

Whether it was the Heaven Origin Technique or the Supreme Clarity Sword Technique, he had made significant progress, but the Thunderbolt Quickstep had remained stuck at the entry level.

He had originally thought it would take at least several more months of effort to advance this footwork to the next level.

He had not expected that a life-and-death struggle would provide the opportunity for such a rapid breakthrough.

"The 'Slightly Accomplished' Thunderbolt Quickstep makes my body feel much lighter."

"If I push it to its limit, my speed is at least thirty percent faster than before the breakthrough, though it still falls short of the 'swift as thunder and ghostly as a phantom' speed described in the ancient texts."

After some testing, Shen Mo roughly estimated the effects of the breakthrough and felt a surge of satisfaction.

Outside the Spirit Field Valley of the Zhao Family.

When Zhao Bing and his party saw Shen Mo drifting toward them, they hurriedly asked about the situation.

"The great demon has been slain, and as for the few low-level demon snakes, they have all been wiped out."

"From today on, your Zhao Family may enter and exit the spirit fields at will and plant your crops without fear of being attacked by demon beasts again."

Shen Mo relayed this news to the members of the Zhao Family present.

The entire crowd erupted in cheers, and the Zhao clansmen were overcome with excitement.

"The Immortal Master's great kindness is something our Zhao Family can never truly repay!"

Zhao Bing took a deep breath and bowed low before him. "In the future, our Zhao Family shall erect a Longevity Stele for the Immortal Master to commemorate your grace."