Giant Python

"Mm! Not bad!"

One bite revealed nothing but white flesh—few bones, plenty of meat, and a delicious taste.

Li Yunjing was very satisfied. In just a few quick bites, he polished off the entire fish.

That night, Li Yunjing didn't go to sleep. Instead, he sat cross-legged on a tree branch, quietly meditating and cultivating.

"Chirp, chirp... cluck, cluck..."

Only the insects in the surrounding grass could be heard, their calls ringing clearly through the night.

But as the night deepened, everything around him fell silent once more.

Not a single mosquito or insect called.

"Hmm?"

Li Yunjing's eyes narrowed slightly. He remained seated in meditation, but his whole body had already tensed, ready to spring up at any moment and unleash a fierce strike!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Suddenly, something moved through the plants, its identity unknown.

The sound drew nearer, heading toward the large tree where Li Yunjing sat.

"Whoo, whoo, whoo..."

When it came within thirty zhang, a foul wind swept over him, bending the flowers, grass, and trees and knocking countless leaves and branches to the ground.

Li Yunjing sealed his mouth and nose, no longer breathing.

The wind carried a trace of a stench so foul it was unbearable.

"Hiss..."

A low growl sounded as something began crawling up the trunk.

"Beast!"

Li Yunjing suddenly opened his eyes. In the darkness, they shone like stars.

Driven by his magical power, the Cold Star Sword slashed downward at the thing below!

Only then did Li Yunjing get a clear look.

The thing that had ambushed him was a giant python.

Its body was as thick as a small basin, its gleaming length winding upward for what seemed like more than ten zhang. Its jaws gaped wide enough to swallow a cow whole.

"Clang..."

Li Yunjing's sword struck the snake's head, sending up a string of sparks. Its head was incredibly hard.

Li Yunjing was taken aback. The impact left his sword hand numb.

"How can this thing's head be as hard as a lump of iron?"

The snake's head kept snapping at him. With no other choice, Li Yunjing blurred into motion and flipped off the tree.

"Roar..."

The giant python hissed, then shot down from the tree like a bolt of lightning.

"Crack! Crack!"

Countless branches and leaves snapped beneath its tremendous force, and the entire tree shook.

Then the earth at its roots heaved up into a mound.

Even the root system, almost as large as the canopy, had been torn from the ground by the python's force.

"This beast is incredibly strong!"

Li Yunjing couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath at the sight. At that moment, he was deeply relieved he hadn't tried to meet the beast's strength head-on!

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

The giant python opened its jaws, baring sharp fangs. Its tongue flickered in and out, and a ghostly light glinted in its eyes as it seemed to prepare a lethal strike against Li Yunjing!

Man and python faced off three zhang apart. Li Yunjing had sealed his sense of smell; the stench from the python's mouth had become so overwhelming that he could no longer bear it.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

The giant python began moving, shifting position in front of Li Yunjing. Every so often, it thrust its head forward to test him, apparently searching for the perfect moment to attack.

Li Yunjing slowly retreated, scrutinizing the python from head to tail.

Its body was covered in hard scales, and it seemed to have no weak spots at all.

That left Li Yunjing unsure how to attack.

Even a high-grade magic artifact like the Cold Star Sword hadn't been able to injure it. Naturally, he had to proceed with caution.

They faced off for a quarter of an hour before the giant python seemed to lose patience. It lunged at Li Yunjing, its huge jaws snapping toward him.

"Whoo..."

As the python moved, it whipped up a gale. Countless small trees in the forest were blown over, while dozens of uprooted trees came crashing toward Li Yunjing.

"What a monster! It's practically gained sentience—looks like it's on the verge of awakening an innate divine ability!"

Li Yunjing was startled. To be safe, he took out a Vajra Talisman from his Storage Bag and activated it. A golden bell formed, covering him like an inverted dome.

Then he flicked his wrist again, sending out three Blazing Flame Talismans. They became three fiery serpents that swept toward the trees and the giant python.

"Hiss..."

The giant python seemed to recognize the danger. It twisted its body, dodging the Blazing Flame Talismans' scorching flames, but the fire serpents pursued it relentlessly, as if they wouldn't stop until their task was done.

The python grew furious and hissed again.

"Pfft..."

Suddenly, it opened its jaws and sprayed pale green liquid at the flames!

Amid the stench, a poisonous vapor rose, potent enough to make one dizzy.

The liquid struck the flames with a sizzling sound, transforming them into a strange, emerald-green cloud of smoke.

"Poison!"

Li Yunjing was startled. He flipped his wrist, took a Detoxification Pill from his Storage Bag, and swallowed it.

By now, the giant python seemed completely enraged by Li Yunjing. It let out a terrifying shriek, raised its upper body, and repeatedly sprayed green liquid at him.

"What a fearsome beast!"

Li Yunjing flashed from place to place, circling the giant python. Suddenly, he fixed his gaze on the underside of its belly, where its body was bare of scales.

The Cold Star Sword darted out again and again, shooting forth fierce Sword Qi. It tore seven or eight bloody holes into the python's belly.

The giant python cried out in pain, then lowered its body to cover its vulnerable underside. But the dark-red blood continuing to flow from its wounds made it look weak.

"Heh! So you do have a weakness!"

After wounding the giant python, Li Yunjing breathed a sigh of relief. His earlier worries were gone. Instead, he kept circling the python, harrying it with Sword Qi so it couldn't tend to its wounds.

Before long, the ground had been stained a deep red.

"Earth Spike Talisman!"

Seeing his chance, Li Yunjing finally used his trump card. Three Earth Spike Talismans burst into flame in his hand.

Then three balls of light sank into the earth.

The giant python seemed to sense something was wrong, but its intelligence was too limited to know what talisman Li Yunjing had used—or where the danger was coming from.

To keep the python from escaping, Li Yunjing pressed his attack, repeatedly thrusting the Cold Star Sword Art at its eyes.

Knowing how dangerous that was, the giant python had no choice but to close its eyes and rely on the scales on its eyelids to block the strikes!

"Roar..."

Suddenly, the enormous python sprang up from the ground like a launched projectile, leaping a full zhang into the air!

Its underside was already a mangled mess of flesh and blood.