Mutant Python

Stealing a glance at Xiaolongnü beside him, Li Wei felt a slight pang of guilt. This time, he had reopened her wounds. Although the woman's identity hadn't been revealed at the time, anyone with discerning eyes could see the clues.

The only thing we can do is help her find Yang Guo as soon as possible to make amends.

Li Wei summoned the Black Paper and looked at the cave where Yang Guo was. It was only about a hundred miles away, and he could reach it in a day if he rode at full speed.

Li Wei had seized a large amount of gold and silver when he wiped out several bandit strongholds, so buying a few good, fast horses was not a problem.

After purchasing the horses, the five men mounted their swift steeds and, without delay, headed straight for the cave.

The next morning, Li Wei saw the large area of yellow rocks. The rocks here varied in size, some as high as tens of feet and covering hundreds of meters, while others were as big as a fist and could be picked up with a single grab.

According to the original game storyline, Yang Guo should be rescued first before Xiaolongnü can be recruited. However, Li Wei reversed this order, thus gaining cultivation points as a reward, but at the cost of increasing the difficulty of the "The Return of the Condor Heroes" quest by one level.

Where exactly will this increased difficulty manifest itself?

Li Wei hasn't figured it out yet. All he needs to do next is find Yang Guo, then take him and Xiaolongnü back to the Ancient Tomb to obtain the Book of Heaven, "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

Upon opening the Black Paper, Li Wei saw that the cave was less than 100 meters away from their location.

After navigating around several huge rocks, Li Wei finally saw the cave.

It's much bigger than what's described in the game.

At least, a train carriage could easily drive in. As you approach, you can hear the whooshing sound of the wind, carrying a stench so strong it could make someone faint.

"If I remember correctly, once you enter the cave, you'll encounter a battle with a serpent. You have to kill the serpent first to continue the story," Li Wei licked his lips.

Back when I played the game, I had a unique way to deal with the giant snake. I'd have Zhang Wuji tank in front, Duan Yu unleash the Six Meridian Divine Sword from behind, and the main character provide support. Eventually, we'd wear down the snake, which had over 200 health points. But this isn't a game, and I'm not that Xu Xiaoxia. With my current abilities, I can handle even a sect leader-level expert, so dealing with a giant snake shouldn't be a problem.

With that thought in mind, Li Wei took a deep breath and led the four of them into the cave.

The cave was dark, but after a while, I could see some things clearly. Inside the cave, there were scattered droppings of some unknown animals, which were the source of the stench. The cave walls were covered with all sorts of strange rocks, and the wind blowing out from there naturally made a 'whooshing' sound.

After walking a while further in, Li Wei suddenly heard a scream.

This gave him a jolt of excitement. He wondered if the sound was coming from the eagle snake. He walked another ten meters or so, rounded a small bend, and then peered out. Li Wei was immediately stunned by what he saw.

Ahead was a huge cave, as big as two basketball courts. A giant Condor, standing over two meters tall, was currently locked in fierce combat with an even larger python.

However, the giant eagle was clearly no match for the python; its feathers were falling off, and it was obvious that it could not hold on for much longer.

Eagles are natural predators of snakes, but this python was far too enormous. At a rough estimate, it was at least several dozen feet long, as thick as a gasoline barrel, and its enormous tongue was almost the size of a wild boar.

Upon seeing this, Li Wei's head buzzed, and he immediately understood what the 'difficulty increased by one level' mentioned in the mission meant.

This giant python, if judged by martial arts levels, is basically halfway to the Grandmaster level; in other words, it's a near-Grandmaster level python. Indeed, facing a near-Grandmaster level python, this mission is significantly more difficult.

As Li Wei peered at the giant python, he was horrified to discover that after Divine Condor the divine eagle back, the python suddenly turned its head, its cold, serpentine eyes fixed on him, before charging forward.

"This is bad," Li Wei thought to himself. He remembered that in the game, as soon as you entered this cave, a battle would begin.

Unexpectedly, the same thing happened in the mission world.

Before he could react, Li Wei shouted "Dodge!" and leaped to the side. The giant python crashed into the stone wall with a loud bang, shattering the rock into dozens of pieces.

"This monster's head is too hard!" Li Wei thought to himself, but he was quick to act and threw a punch that hit the snake.

With a muffled thud, the sensation in Li Wei's fist told him that the python's hide was almost as tough as iron armor; no wonder it could shatter rocks.

The four Xiaolongnü, including Little Dragon Girl, also used their martial arts skills to help Li Wei fight against the giant python.

With the Sunflower Divine Skill activated to its maximum, Li Wei unleashed the Level 2 Nameless Fist, leaping up and smashing it down on the snake's head.

Bang

The python hissed in pain, its tail lashing out with lightning speed.

"Not good"

Li Wei only had time to raise his arm to protect himself before being struck by the lightning-fast tail and sent flying more than ten meters away.

In that instant, Li Wei felt dizzy and disoriented. The powerful impact forced all the air out of his chest, and he crashed into a stone wall more than ten meters away, finally dissipating the force.

After catching his breath, Li Wei looked at his left arm again; it was swollen and bent, and it looked like the bone was broken.

The battle had barely begun when their fighting strength was halved. This was the first time Li Wei had ever been in such a predicament since entering this mission world.

Of Xiaolongnü four, only Xiaolongnü was able to entangle with the giant python thanks to her superb agility. It was fortunate that she was there; otherwise, if it had only been Duan Yu, Linghu Chong, and Zhang Wuji, they would have been killed by the python long ago.

Even so, defeating this giant python was an incredibly difficult task. Everyone, including Xiaolongnü, could only inflict negligible damage with their attacks; it would take at least a hundred such attacks to take down the python.

Each attack from the giant python can cause terrifying damage.

Li Wei quickly joined the battle. Although he only had one hand left, it was enough for him to use the Nameless Fist.

After a while of fighting, Li Wei knew that if this continued, all five of them would definitely die here.

For some reason, Li Wei suddenly remembered the method he used in the game to deal with the giant python.

Suddenly, Li Wei had a flash of inspiration and hurriedly called out, "Brother Wuji, could you please go to the snake's head and distract it, leading it out of this open cave? Once it reaches the narrow section ahead, it will be fine."

Zhang Wuji knew the situation was serious and did as instructed. The Nine Yang Divine Skill was a powerful protective skill, and it came in handy at this moment. Even if he was hit by the giant python, Zhang Wuji could quickly rejoin the battle.

"Miss Dragon, please attack the snake's tail. If it turns around and chases you, run towards Brother Wuji. Be sure to be careful," Li Wei said to the Xiaolongnü beside him.

The latter nodded slightly and then leaped into the air.

"Brother Duan and Linghu Chong, just focus on attacking from both sides. This beast is difficult to maneuver in narrow spaces, so just be careful and you can easily kill it."

Linghu Chong and Duan Yu both nodded and rushed forward.

Seeing this, Li Wei was also uneasy. He didn't know if his BOSS tactic, which he had adapted from an old game, would work, but he should give it a try no matter what.

At first, only Zhang Wuji among the five kept attacking the snake's head. The python, in pain, held a grudge against Zhang Wuji and began to focus its attacks on him.

At that moment, Zhang Wuji turned and ran, and the giant python naturally gave chase. In this chase, the python left the open area and was led into a narrow mountain cave passage, where Xiaolongnü followed.

In Li Wei's plan, if Xiaolongnü hurts the giant python and then attacks her, he would need to take Zhang Wuji and distract it, making sure to keep the python in a confined space.

As for himself, Duan Yu, and Linghu Chong, they were the ones who provided the firepower; their mission was to kill the giant python in the shortest possible time.

As expected, things progressed smoothly just as Li Wei had planned. The python was first lured into the narrow passage, and then attacked from all sides. Every time it tried to retreat, someone would lure it back in.

Thus, what was originally a life-or-death battle turned into a protracted tug-of-war.

In the narrow passage, the python, due to its enormous size, was unable to quickly unleash its tail-whipping attack, which doomed it to failure. After all, no matter how powerful it was, it was still just a mindless beast. After enduring nearly half an hour of relentless attacks from five people, its once-sharp skin was now covered in blood, and its movements were no longer as swift as before. However, despite this, Li Wei and the other four were not unscathed.

Li Wei suffered a broken left arm, Duan Yu had a large piece of skin scraped off his shoulder, Linghu Chong had a deep wound on his chest that exposed the bone, and Zhang Wuji was probably the most seriously injured, but fortunately he had the Nine Yang Divine Skill protecting him, so he recovered the fastest.

Xiaolongnü, on the other hand, was completely unharmed due to the unique movement techniques of the Ancient Tomb Sect; only her clothes were somewhat disheveled.

Panting heavily, Li Wei dodged the python's swing and, seeing an opening, quickly unleashed the 'Cannon Fist' from the Nameless Fist, smashing open the python's skin and piercing its flesh with his fist. Li Wei sneered, spreading his fingers into a claw shape inside, and then yanked hard.

A large chunk of flesh, along with the snakeskin, was ripped off by Li Wei. The splattering snake blood almost drenched Li Wei, and hearing the python's terrifying hiss, Li Wei threw another punch, striking the wound a second time.

Without the protection of its outer skin, Li Wei's punch struck the python's internal organs directly. This punch employed the seven different internal energies of the Seven Injury Fist Li Wei, penetrating the fist and entering the python's internal organs, where they exploded like a bomb. Instantly, the python's spleen was blasted into pieces by these seven powerful internal energies. In a flash, the python seemed to be struck by lightning; its massive body twitched violently before collapsing to the ground, where it remained motionless for moments.