"Don't move."
Yu Xiaogang reached out to stop Tang San, though the back of his hand was trembling. "The Datura Snake is no low-year beast."
Tang San stared at those icy yellow snake eyes, his right hand already touching his short blade. "Teacher, is this the soul beast we were looking for?"
"Yes."
Yu Xiaogang swallowed, his eyes fixed on the patterns along the snake's body. "But this one exceeds our expectations. It's at least four hundred years old."
Tang San did not retreat. "Teacher, the limit for a first Soul Ring is four hundred and twenty-three years."
"That is the theoretical limit."
Yu Xiaogang turned to look at him. "Don't think about that now. Stay alive first."
The Datura Snake gave them no chance to continue discussing it.
Its tail swept across the ground, sending dead branches and rocks flying into the campfire. Sparks scattered, throwing the camp into chaos.
Yu Xiaogang immediately shouted, "Sanpao, attack its eyes!"
Luo Sanpao puffed up his belly and charged forward.
"Fart like thunder, Heaven-Shattering Earth-Rending Luo Sanpao!"
A yellow wave of gas surged toward the snake's head.
The Datura Snake tilted its head, and the poisonous gas brushed past its scales. Its tail then swept sideways, striking Luo Sanpao directly.
Luo Sanpao flew into a tree trunk. Yu Xiaogang groaned as well, his face turning ugly.
Tang San rushed over to support him. "Teacher!"
Yu Xiaogang shoved him away. "Don't worry about me. Snake venom!"
The Datura Snake opened its mouth and sprayed out a cloud of poison. The blades of grass that touched it quickly turned black.
Tang San grabbed Yu Xiaogang and dragged him backward, firing sleeve arrows in rapid succession.
With several clinks, the sleeve arrows struck the snake's scales, leaving only shallow marks.
Yu Xiaogang clutched his arm. The skin there had already turned purple. "Attack its eyes, its seventh inch, the inside of its mouth. Its outer scales are too hard!"
Tang San nodded. Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track unfolded beneath his feet as he circled the tree trunks and shifted positions.
The Datura Snake followed his movements, its massive body crushing through the campfire and pressing blackened charcoal into the mud.
Ji Yuan hid beneath his sole, his senses firmly locked onto the snake's vitality.
Four hundred years.
Its venom, toughness, and vitality were all fat enough.
But he did not make a move.
Tang San had not yet reached his limit.
While dodging, Tang San threw Bone-Piercing Needles, aiming straight for the snake's eyes.
Forced back, the Datura Snake raised its head. Its forked tongue flickered, and its attacks grew more frantic.
Yu Xiaogang leaned against a tree and shouted through gritted teeth, "Tang San, don't let it drag this out. The Datura Snake has greater endurance than you!"
Tang San replied, "Teacher, can the short blade pierce its mouth?"
"It can, but getting close to its mouth is courting death!"
Tang San did not answer. He turned around the tree trunk with his body pressed close to it, and Blue Silver Grass shot from his palm, wrapping around a branch beside the snake's head.
He used it to leap upward, dodging the sweep of the snake's tail. The hidden weapons in his sleeve fired continuously, forcing the Datura Snake to open its mouth and bite at him.
Ji Yuan watched coldly.
Not bad.
This blood bag truly deserved to be called the child of destiny. He did not even have his first Soul Ring, yet he had managed to contend with a four-hundred-year soul beast for this long.
The stronger, the better.
Tang San's foot slipped as he landed. The mud trampled apart earlier by the wolf pack made him lose his balance, and the Datura Snake seized the opening, its head charging low along the ground.
Tang San held his short blade across his chest, but the snake's head sent him flying. His back slammed into a tree trunk, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Yu Xiaogang tried anxiously to stand, but the poison weakened his legs, and he fell back down.
"Tang San, retreat! Retreat over here!"
Tang San pushed himself up against the tree trunk. "Teacher, you've been poisoned. You can't retreat."
Yu Xiaogang shouted angrily, "I told you to retreat, not play the hero!"
Tang San wiped the blood from his lips, his eyes becoming even darker. "If we can't retreat, then we kill it."
Ji Yuan sneered beneath his sole.
Easy to say.
Only those who could kill it had the right to say that.
The Datura Snake sprayed poison again. Tang San held his breath and retreated, but the toxic mist slipped in along his collar. His movements began to slow, and the short blade in his hand became unsteady.
The Mysterious Heaven Skill circulated frantically within him, trying to suppress the poison.
Ji Yuan took the opportunity to siphon away a small amount of his inner force, causing Tang San's stamina to drain even faster.
If it wasn't squeezed dry, it wouldn't yield oil.
Tang San's face turned pale, and a heavy sensation came from his left palm.
The phantom of the Clear Sky Hammer stirred within his sleeve.
He gritted his teeth and pressed down on his left hand. "I can't use it."
Seeing his movement, Yu Xiaogang urgently said, "Don't touch the Martial Soul in your left hand!"
Tang San panted. "I know."
The Datura Snake ignored them. Its body coiled up, then it gathered strength and lunged straight at Tang San.
Tang San used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to evade head-on, but the snake's tail grazed his calf, sending him tumbling aside.
The short blade flew from his hand and slid across the muddy ground.
All color drained from Yu Xiaogang's face. "The blade, get the blade first!"
When Tang San climbed up, the Datura Snake had already positioned itself between him and the short blade.
Its snake eyes were icy yellow, and black-green venom dripped from its fangs, corroding small pits into the earth.
Tang San took a spare dagger from his belt.
This dagger was much shorter than the short blade, making it far harder to stab into the seventh inch.
Yu Xiaogang coughed up black blood. "Tang San, don't fight it head-on. Circle the trees and wait for it to expose its belly!"
Tang San answered, "It won't give me the chance."
"Then make one!"
Yu Xiaogang braced himself against the tree and forcibly recalled Luo Sanpao.
Luo Sanpao wobbled to his feet, his belly swelling a little more.
Tang San immediately understood. "Teacher, can you still have Sanpao attack?"
Yu Xiaogang's face was bluish-green. "He can only block one strike for you."
Tang San looked at him. "That's enough."
The Datura Snake lunged again.
Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth and growled, "Sanpao!"
Luo Sanpao charged toward the snake's head, but before he could fully release his soul skill, the Datura Snake bit into his back and flung him away.
Yu Xiaogang spat blood on the spot, his body collapsing to the side.
The emotion in Tang San's eyes sank. Seizing the instant when the Datura Snake shook its head, he rushed to the side of its body and drove the dagger toward its seventh inch.
The dagger slipped into a gap between the scales but failed to penetrate deeply.
The Datura Snake twisted in pain, its tail wrapping around Tang San's waist and abdomen before flinging him into a tree trunk.
Tang San's body struck the tree, squeezing the air from his lungs. The dagger fell from his hand as well.
Ji Yuan sensed Tang San's condition.
His inner force was nearly depleted.
The poison was spreading.
His bones were unbroken, and his heart meridians could still hold.
He could be pushed a little further.
Tang San knelt in the mud, one palm braced against the ground as he spat out blood streaked with black.
The Datura Snake opened its mouth, and poisonous mist mixed with a foul stench rushed toward him.
Yu Xiaogang lay not far away. He could no longer speak clearly and could only raise a hand to point toward the snake's mouth.
Tang San understood.
Inside the snake's mouth.
This was its final weakness.
He reached for his belt and pulled out the short blade, but his fingers had already gone numb, and the handle nearly slipped free.
Ji Yuan clung beneath his sole, calculating coldly.
If he did not take control now, the blood bag would rot in the snake's belly.
Tang San forced himself to stand, his steps unsteady as his gaze fixed on the snake's mouth.
When the Datura Snake lunged, he did not retreat. Instead, he charged straight toward its open jaws.
He raised the short blade, pouring the remaining inner force of the Mysterious Heaven Skill into his arm.
Yu Xiaogang struggled to shout, "Tang San!"
Tang San heard him, but did not look back.
He wagered all his strength on this strike.
But the Datura Snake was faster. Its venomous fangs were already before him, and the foul, scorching breath made his vision go black.
Ji Yuan finally moved.
The spores parasitizing the edge of Tang San's mind tightened at once, pain piercing deep into his consciousness along his nerves.
Tang San's hand, in the midst of swinging the blade, suddenly lost all sensation of belonging to him.
He tried to cry out in shock and rage, but he could not even control his lips.
Ji Yuan gave him no room to struggle. Short-term Consciousness Deprivation fully unfolded.
Tang San's eyes lost focus, but his body did not fall.
The next moment, he raised his head again, and only greed and savagery remained in his eyes.
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