Slaying the Crocodile

Chapter 9: Slaying the Crocodile

This swamp covered an enormous area, and judging by appearances, the giant crocodile had been living here for quite some time. Who knew how it had resisted the temptation of this strange flower and survived? By feeding on the flesh and blood essence of the ferocious beasts lured by the flower, it had actually benefited greatly. Given a little more time, perhaps it could break through the peak of the Houtian realm and join the ranks of Xiantian ferocious beasts.

Chen Lin gazed at the giant crocodile in the middle of the swamp, hesitating. He truly had no confidence that he could win.

Setting aside the terrifying defensive power of the scales on its back, just looking at its enormous jaws and saber-like teeth was enough to imagine how powerful its bite must be. One careless move, and he might lose his head.

First, he had to lure it out of the swamp. Second, he had to keep its enormous jaws from being of any use.

After a moment's thought, Chen Lin opened the Item Exchange System.

"Military Nylon Rope: Extremely strong, low density, resilient, with excellent fatigue resistance and thermal stability (produced at the processing plant of the Second Military District in Miami, Florida, U.S. Army). Death Energy required for exchange: 10 points."

"Passionless Valley Fishing Net Formation: Created by Gongsun Zhi, Valley Master of Passionless Valley. The fishing net is covered in golden sabers and sharp swords. Any enemy trapped inside will suffer the torment of a thousand cuts, their movements severely hampered and escape nearly impossible (from Passionless Valley in The Return of the Condor Heroes world). Death Energy required for exchange: 30 points."

Though it pained him to spend 40 points of Death Energy, Chen Lin gritted his teeth and exchanged for them, thinking of the generous reward he would receive if he succeeded.

Looking at the two objects that had appeared out of thin air before him, Chen Lin tugged at them with all his might. When he found them both intact, he rubbed his chin with a humanlike forelimb and nodded in satisfaction.

Next, Chen Lin quickly set things up at the scene. He went over his plan in his mind several times before finally letting out a breath and fixing his deep-set gaze on the middle of the swamp.

This should be enough to deal with it, right?

The sky was about to grow dark, and Chen Lin dared not waste any more time. He hooked a dead branch with his forelimb, grabbed a thick tree limb, and began hurling it toward the middle of the swamp. The giant crocodile had been enjoying its meal, but the sudden disturbance made it whip around and glare in Chen Lin's direction.

As he kept throwing branches, Chen Lin taunted it, swinging his two giant sickles until they whistled through the air and striking a fierce pose. Though the crocodile was powerful, it was still only a ferocious beast, with very low intelligence. Provoked, and sensing that Chen Lin's cultivation was far weaker than its own, it immediately dropped its food with a low growl and charged out on its thick, powerful limbs.

How fast!

A wave of rancid wind hit him in the face. As the giant crocodile's grotesque features rushed closer, even Chen Lin, who had been prepared, couldn't help feeling startled. It was worthy of its peak Houtian realm cultivation; its strength was no small matter.

Fortunately, he had made preparations. Hooking the nylon rope with his forelimb, he quickly retreated while swinging one end of it with all his strength.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Chen Lin swung the military-green nylon rope with a fierce whir, casting it straight over the giant crocodile!

The crocodile saw the strange object flying toward it and, without a second thought, opened its enormous jaws. It leapt and twisted in midair, clamping down hard on the rope. The instant it landed, it twisted its body, trying to snap the rope in two.

The immense force dragged Chen Lin a step forward, making him stumble. Luckily, the nylon rope was long enough. Chen Lin quickly let out more slack while continuing to swing it.

The giant crocodile was thoroughly enraged by the rope whirling all around it. It rolled nonstop, and with Chen Lin subtly guiding it, it ended up wrapping the rope around its own enormous jaws like a dumpling, binding them tight. For the moment, it couldn't break free.

"Just a ferocious beast, after all. That intelligence... Got it!"

With the greatest threat taken care of, even Chen Lin hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. He couldn't help feeling secretly delighted.

Unable to break free of the rope, the giant crocodile struggled and rolled. Suddenly, it spotted Chen Lin, the culprit, leisurely watching from nearby. It simply gave up struggling and charged at him with a vicious snarl.

Chen Lin turned and ran. The crocodile was thoroughly consumed by rage and pursued him relentlessly.

But as it gave chase, a golden flash appeared, and a fishing net dropped from the sky, landing over it with barely an inch to spare.

Caught squarely in the Fishing Net Formation, the crocodile was startled. It thrashed violently, trying to escape the net's grip, but the more it struggled, the tighter the net cinched around it. For now, it couldn't break free.

As it struggled, the giant crocodile no longer had any attention to spare for Chen Lin. It rolled about, sending fierce gusts of wind howling as rocks shattered and mud splattered everywhere, leaving the area in utter chaos.

"This is bad. The Fishing Net Formation can't pierce its scales at all!"

Chen Lin had planned to wait until the crocodile wore itself out before finishing it off. He hadn't expected its scales to be so frighteningly tough. The net had pierced its soft belly, leaving it bloody and mangled, but it couldn't break through the defenses on its back. And those wounds clearly weren't enough to kill it.

"Whoosh!"

Chen Lin darted into motion, unleashing the full power of his Houtian cultivation. Shattered stones and rotten branches went flying everywhere!

A flash of emerald light, streaked with strange red markings, suddenly appeared and tore through the air!

His two giant sickles shifted through three moves in a single stroke, whipping up fierce gusts of wind. They left several afterimages as they hacked down hard on the crocodile's nostrils, striking at a vital point!

Its belly, eyes, and nose! Those were the giant crocodile's weak points!

The crocodile's millstone-sized body writhed and twisted. It could sense Chen Lin's attacks, but the Fishing Net Formation kept it from breaking free. For a time, it could only take the blows head-on!

"Hiss!!"

The hard shell around its nostrils was its weakest point compared to the rest of its body. After repeated heavy strikes, it began to crack. It let out a terrible screech, but its dark green eyes only grew more bloodthirsty and savage. Its giant tail rose high like a guillotine blade, then swung around and slammed toward Chen Lin's head!

Chen Lin didn't dare let his guard down and dodged aside.

The crocodile tried to pursue him, but the Fishing Net Formation still bound its body, making every movement difficult.

A cruel glint flashed in Chen Lin's eyes as he raised both giant sickles once more.

"Whoosh!"

Blood-red patterns swirled around the sickles, radiating a sinister, terrifying chill. The sharp, hooked barbs at their tips flashed with an emerald glint, then shot forward amid a series of thunderous air-piercing cracks!

A savage glint flashed in the crocodile's eyes. Its giant tail swept across once more, but Chen Lin folded his martial arts into his footwork. His body feinted, then he sprang aside and stepped forward, darting in close before thrusting both sickles toward the crocodile's eyes, fast as lightning!

"Bang!"

After nearly half an hour of fierce fighting, Chen Lin paid a terrible price but managed to gouge out one of the crocodile's enormous eyes. Then he drove his sharp sickle deep inside and twisted it around wildly. His innate ability, Blood Absorption Healing, activated, greedily devouring the crocodile's flesh and blood essence.

"Bang!"

At last, the crocodile's millstone-sized body stiffened. The muscles beneath its belly shrank rapidly until it looked like a dried corpse. The madness and savagery in its remaining eye dimmed in an instant. A wisp of black smoke as thick as an index finger drilled into Chen Lin's body and was absorbed by the Main God Coffin.

It was actually worth a full 23 points of Death Energy! Enough to make up for a whole day's hard-won gains from fighting!

But Chen Lin was badly injured too. His right sickle was bent at a bizarre angle, as though broken, and one of his wings drooped, battered and tattered. His belly had also been struck by the giant tail until it was bloody and mangled; it felt as if all his internal organs had been knocked out of place.

Enduring the agony, Chen Lin struggled to the edge of the swamp. Nearby, he tied the nylon rope to an ancient tree so large that several people would have to join hands to encircle it. He secured the other end firmly around his body, then slowly made his way to the middle of the swamp and picked the Rotten Bone Corpse Phosphorus Flower.

"Ding!"

"Side quest complete. The system is issuing your reward."

Climbing out of the swamp, Chen Lin looked at the three yellow pills the size of longans that had appeared out of thin air before him. He knew these had to be the so-called "Foundation Strengthening Pills."

"Beginning the second system reward. The contractor may randomly draw one advanced martial arts manual. Would you like to draw now? Yes/No."

"Yes."

Chen Lin wasn't very interested in martial arts manuals. After all, he had the body of a ferocious beast now, and his meridians were worlds apart from a human's. He could only use some of the techniques, so he hadn't expected much.

"Drawing... Draw complete."

"Congratulations, host. You have obtained an advanced martial arts manual: Dragon-Elephant Wisdom Art."