The Datura Snake's Fatal Weakness

Su Yu stopped in his tracks, his gaze calm as he looked toward the gloom ahead.

A thick, foul stench rushed toward them.

The air was heavy with the nauseating scent of rotting flesh and a pungent, fishy sweetness that made one's stomach churn.

The lush green weeds nearby began to yellow and wither rapidly under the assault of this foul wind.

The bushes ahead were shoved aside by a brute force.

With the snapping sound of breaking branches, a dark green venomous snake nearly four meters long lunged out like lightning, slamming heavily onto the clearing in front of the three.

The snake was massive, its thick body as wide as an adult's thigh.

Its entire body was covered in dark green scales that shimmered with a hard, metallic luster in the dim forest light, resembling a suit of meticulously crafted armor.

Most striking of all was its head.

On its triangular snake head grew a fist-sized, disgusting dark red tumor.

The surface of the tumor was covered in uneven ridges that twitched slightly with every breath, looking truly horrifying.

"It's a Datura Snake." Xiao Wu stared at the giant serpent, her tone heavy with gravity. She turned to Su Yu and said, "Looking at the size of the tumor on its head and its length, this is a Datura Snake with nearly four hundred years of cultivation. This guy's scales are incredibly hard; ordinary blades can't cut through them. Plus, its venom is extremely potent. Even a Soul Elder would be paralyzed all over within a short time if bitten once."

The Datura Snake coiled its thick body and raised its head high.

It opened its blood-red maw, revealing two rows of sharp fangs, and its scarlet tongue flickered rapidly in the air, emitting a bone-chilling hiss.

Those cold, yellow vertical pupils stared fixedly at the three humans, filled with cruelty and greed.

In its eyes, these three tender-skinned children were the perfect lunch for today.

Without giving the three any time to catch their breath, the Datura Snake whipped its tail against the ground.

The hard, muddy earth was gouged into a deep trench by the strike, sending dirt and gravel flying in all directions.

Using this massive recoil, the Datura Snake's huge body launched into the air, turning into a dark green blur as it opened its venom-filled mouth to launch a lethal strike at the three.

The speed of this attack was extreme, carrying a foul wind as it instantly closed in on their faces.

Tang Wu was, after all, only a six-year-old girl. Although she had just awakened her mutated Blue Silver Grass, she had never experienced such a life-or-death struggle.

Facing this hideous and terrifying giant snake, her face turned pale, and her once-rosy lips instantly lost their color.

Her large eyes were filled with terror, and her body instinctively took a half-step back, her hands clutching Su Yu's sleeve so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Standing on the other side of Su Yu, Xiao Wu saw the Datura Snake charging over and, far from being afraid, let out a cold snort.

"A mere four-hundred-year-old snake dares to act arrogant in front of me!" A flash of ferocity belonging to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast crossed Xiao Wu's eyes.

She didn't take this Datura Snake seriously at all.

The muscles in her right leg tensed instantly, and the soul power nearing level ten within her body surged through her meridians, gathering entirely into her right foot.

Xiao Wu stomped her right leg on the ground, assuming a standard attack stance.

She prepared to charge head-on and use her formidable physical strength to kick the head off this crawler, letting it know what a gap in power truly meant.

Just as Xiao Wu was about to erupt and deliver that lethal kick, Su Yu moved.

Su Yu did not summon his martial soul, nor did he retreat to dodge.

He simply reached out his right hand calmly and pressed it firmly onto Xiao Wu's shoulder.

His movement seemed casual, yet his palm carried an irresistible, steady force that forcefully halted Xiao Wu's impending charge.

With her shoulder pressed, the flow of soul power in Xiao Wu's body stalled instantly.

She turned her head, full of confusion, and looked at Su Yu: "Why are you stopping me? Let me finish this disgusting thing with one kick."

Su Yu stared calmly at the Datura Snake, which was already lunging through mid-air, and said, "This snake's age is nearly four hundred years, just reaching the limit for a first soul ring. Furthermore, its poison attribute and toughness make it perfectly suited to be Tang Wu's first soul ring."

Hearing Su Yu's words, Xiao Wu paused, then immediately understood his intention.

She withdrew the soul power from her right leg and stepped aside somewhat reluctantly, crossing her arms over her chest to watch the show.

Su Yu turned his head to look at Tang Wu, who was still clutching his sleeve, his tone gentle yet filled with ironclad determination: "Xiao San, since you swore to become strong to protect me, now is the time to prove your resolve. I want to personally test our combat coordination."

Tang Wu shuddered at Su Yu's words.

She looked into Su Yu's deep, trust-filled eyes, and the fear in her heart miraculously began to fade.

"Brother Yu, I... can I do it?" Tang Wu's voice still trembled slightly.

"With me here, you won't be hurt." Su Yu gave a crisp promise.

These words were like a sedative, allowing Tang Wu to calm down completely.

She let go of Su Yu's sleeve, took a deep breath, and a faint golden light emerged on her fair, delicate hands.

Accompanied by the surge of soul power, a crystal-clear mutated Blue Silver Grass with golden veins on its leaves grew from her palm.

The vines of the Blue Silver Grass danced in the air, radiating vibrant vitality.

At this moment, the Datura Snake had already lunged to within reach.

Su Yu stood where he was, and a brilliant golden light erupted from the depths of his eyes.

The light shone like two miniature suns within his pupils, carrying an aura of rules that stood above all things.

Eye of Truth, fully activated.

In Su Yu's vision, the flow of time around him seemed to slow down.

The Datura Snake's aggressive charge was broken down into frame-by-frame slow motion in mid-air.

Su Yu's gaze pierced directly through the hard, metallic-sheened scales covering the Datura Snake's body.

The tightly packed muscle fibers beneath the scales, the thick bone structure, and even the dark green venom flowing slowly within its poison glands were all presented before his eyes with absolute clarity.

A massive amount of data flashed rapidly through Su Yu's mind.

He clearly saw the weak points in the Datura Snake's muscle contractions and the gaps at its bone joints.

Xiao Wu, who had retreated to the side, caught a glimpse of the golden light swirling in the depths of Su Yu's eyes.

In that instant, she felt her very soul tremble.

The pressure contained within that radiance was more terrifying than any Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast she had ever encountered; it felt as if it could see through all the illusions of the world and reach the very essence of things.

Xiao Wu swallowed hard, her awe of Su Yu deepening once more.

Su Yu's gaze swept rapidly over the Datura Snake's body, finally locking firmly onto a spot three inches below its abdomen.

There lay a scale slightly duller in color, and the muscle tissue surrounding it was much looser than elsewhere.

The Eye of Truth instantly provided the most precise judgment.

Golden light swirled deep within Su Yu's eyes as the Eye of Truth instantly saw through the muscle texture beneath the Datura Snake's hard scales, precisely locking onto its fatal weak point and the gaps between its scales.