Ice Poison Scorpion (Part 2)

As he revealed his swordsmanship, the group immediately realized they had encountered an expert. With a series of thuds, they all knelt on the ground. Yan Chihuo shook his head and asked, "Who are you people? Why must you harvest this Snow Soul Essence, and what is its use? Also, what was that monster you mentioned earlier?"

Xuan Ming steadied himself and said, "Senior, please put away your sword; I truly cannot bear it."

Yan Chihuo shook his head, sheathed his sword behind his back, and said, "Speak quickly."

Xuan Ming replied, "We are from the Black Wind Stronghold at the foot of the Qiong Mountain Range, and our leader is called Tie Wushuang..." As he spoke, he stole a glance at Yan Chihuo, only to see the man appeared completely indifferent. He thought to himself, The leader's cultivation is already at the Body Tempering Middle Stage, yet this person seems entirely unbothered. I must not offend him. He had no idea that Yan Chihuo had just arrived and knew nothing of the Black Wind Stronghold; even if Tie Wushuang were at the Qi Gathering Stage, he would not have cared.

He continued, "We are all disciples of the leader. We were living well at the Black Wind Stronghold, but some time ago, a woman named Ru Shuang arrived and subdued all of us, including the leader, forcing us to come here to dig for Snow Soul Essence."

Yan Chihuo asked, "What does she want with this Snow Soul Essence?"

Xuan Ming said, "We didn't know at first, but later we learned she is a handmaiden to Lady Red Glow and is proficient in the arts of dual cultivation and plucking. Although this Snow Soul Essence grows in bitter, cold places, consuming it makes the body burn with heat. It is said to stimulate the vital energy within the body and is the primary ingredient for refining aphrodisiac-like pills. Our leader led us here to harvest it, but we didn't know there was an Ice Poison Scorpion here with cultivation at the peak of the Body Tempering Middle Stage. The leader led us in a bitter fight against it, and while it killed six of our experts, it was also severely wounded."

Upon hearing this, Yan Chihuo remained calm on the surface, but he was secretly startled. A monster at the peak of the Body Tempering Middle Stage could not be underestimated, even if it were injured.

He asked again, "Do you know a person called the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon?"

Xuan Ming replied, "I have heard of the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon. He is also in the Qiong Mountain Range, but his whereabouts are erratic, and I do not know where he is."

At this moment, a burly man in black said, "Although I don't know where the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon is, I saw him once the day before yesterday."

Xuan Ming exclaimed in shock, "Are you crazy? How dare you say such things?" Having traveled with this man, he did not believe he had actually seen the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon.

The burly man in black insisted, "I truly did see him."

Seeing that he did not seem to be lying, Yan Chihuo asked, "Where did you see him?"

The burly man in black replied, "There is a small town outside the Ice Snow Valley. We passed through there the day before yesterday and saw him."

Yan Chihuo's expression darkened as he asked, "How do you know he is the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon? Have you seen him before?"

The burly man in black said, "Although my cultivation is poor, I have a natural talent: my sense of smell is exceptionally keen. Years ago, he made a deal with our leader, and I saw him once and remembered his scent. When I saw him the day before yesterday, although his appearance was different, his scent had not changed. I didn't realize it at the time, but after hearing your question just now, I remembered immediately."

Yan Chihuo thought it over twice and found no obvious flaws. Just as he was pondering, he heard a strange cry from outside, and the faces of Xuan Ming and the others changed color.

Yan Chihuo was startled, then realized what it was and asked, "Is that the Ice Poison Scorpion?"

Although Xuan Ming and the others had previously talked about killing the scorpion, they had been terrified the whole time. Hearing Yan Chihuo's question, they remembered that a powerful expert was present and hurriedly said, "That's right, it is that monster."

As they spoke, the temple door shattered into pieces with a loud bang. A snow-white scorpion about a zhang long appeared before them, its two front pincers nearly three feet long, and its long, venomous tail measuring seven or eight feet. Two of the men who were standing closer turned and ran the moment they saw it.

The scorpion opened its mouth and spat out a surge of white mist, enveloping one man and instantly freezing him into an ice pillar. Through the ice, one could see the terror still etched on the man's face. At the same time, it swung a pincer to strike another man. That man held a giant axe to block, but with a metallic clang, the pincer pierced through the axe and struck his chest, causing a layer of white mist to surge over him and turn him into a block of ice.

Seeing the Ice Poison Scorpion kill two people in one strike, Yan Chihuo felt a chill in his heart. He drew his long sword with a backhand motion while secretly gripping the Snake Scale in his hand. The others quickly hid behind him. The scorpion, seeing Yan Chihuo as the leader and a formidable enemy, lunged forward, bared its fangs, and spat out another blast of cold air while swinging both pincers at him from the sides.

The scorpion was as fast as lightning; if those two pincers closed, Yan Chihuo would have nowhere to hide. However, in the blink of an eye, he twisted his body like a slippery fish and darted through the gap before the pincers could close. Two people behind him were unable to dodge in time and were enveloped by the cold air, turning into ice pillars.

Yan Chihuo had no time to worry about the others and slashed straight at the beast. A white light flashed on the scorpion's body, and an ice wall appeared in front of it—a low-level ice-attribute defensive spell, turning water into ice. With a loud bang, Yan Chihuo's sword shattered the ice wall, and the Ice Poison Scorpion, realizing the danger, retreated several zhang.

Yan Chihuo did not stop; he leaped into the air, gripped his sword with both hands, and slashed down fiercely. The strike was fast and ruthless, but the scorpion's speed was astonishing. It shifted its body, and the sword struck the ground instead, cracking the earth with a loud crunch.

The scorpion spat out another blast of cold air from the side. Yan Chihuo could not dodge, but he had already prepared himself and immediately cast the Stone Armor Art. A black light flashed, and a layer of black armor appeared on his body. The cold air enveloped him, instantly freezing him into an ice pillar.

The others were terrified, thinking they were doomed, but then they heard a cracking sound followed by a loud bang as the ice on Yan Chihuo's body shattered and flew in all directions.

It turned out that while the scorpion's Mystic Ice Technique was powerful, its injuries had not yet healed, so the cold air had not penetrated Yan Chihuo's body, allowing him to break free. However, the scorpion's reaction was extremely fast; as the ice shards flew, it lunged forward, and the venomous hook on its tail struck toward Yan Chihuo.

Although Yan Chihuo had the Stone Armor Art for protection, this Ice Poison Scorpion was at the peak of the Body Tempering Middle Stage, and even with its injuries, he had no confidence that his armor could withstand this strike.