Scorpion Slaying

The moment they entered Soul-Mystifying Valley, the light around them grew noticeably dimmer.

Murky green poisonous clouds blanketed the sky, swallowing every trace of light from outside.

Only the faint moonlight filtering through the heavens allowed Ye Xiu's group to barely make out the path ahead.

Fang Ye's group followed their map and continued onward, only to notice Ye Xiu at the rear of the group occasionally tossing stones into the ground.

"Senior Brother Ye, what are you doing?"

Fang Ye looked at Ye Xiu curiously, unable to understand his actions.

Ye Xiu coughed lightly twice. "Junior Brother, Soul-Extinguishing Valley is shrouded in poisonous clouds all year round. Though we managed to sneak in under the moonlight at midnight, if we linger too long and the moonlight no longer guides us, shouldn't we leave ourselves a way back?"

Seeing Ye Xiu's cautious attitude, Fang Ye sneered inwardly while agreeing with a smile.

"Senior Brother is indeed thorough. This was Junior Brother's oversight."

After that minor interlude, Ye Xiu's group continued onward. After walking some twenty or thirty li, they saw a massive pit appear before them.

Beneath a blanket of deep-purple, misty poisonous gas, a gigantic venomous scorpion lurked within the pit.

Inside the nest beneath it lay a pile of countless white bones of every kind.

Clearly, for this Soul-Severing Scorpion to grow so large, it had shed no small amount of blood.

Seeing the target of their mission right before them, everyone grew excited.

After all, no one knew how many damned poisonous creatures lurked within Soul-Mystifying Valley. Even though they were only on the outskirts, if they were unlucky enough to encounter high-rank demonic beasts out hunting, they would have nowhere to cry injustice even if they died.

"Junior Brother, Senior Brother isn't familiar with this thing. You decide how we should deal with it."

Ye Xiu looked at Fang Ye before him and involuntarily coughed twice.

Those were exactly the words I was waiting for.

Seeing Ye Xiu so easily hand over command, Fang Ye was naturally overjoyed.

"Senior Brother, the mission issuer wants the venom hook on this Soul-Severing Scorpion, and it must not be damaged. Therefore, even though the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion fears fire, we cannot use fire to attack it."

Hearing Fang Ye's words, Ye Xiu nodded.

It was written plainly in black and white on the mission, so naturally he had no reason to object.

"In that case, we'll have to go up and fight it at close range?"

After pondering for a moment, Ye Xiu asked.

"That is what Junior Brother thinks as well."

Fang Ye nodded. "There are five of us. We'll take turns fighting and wear down this creature's strength first. Once the time is right, we'll attack together and kill this Soul-Severing Scorpion."

The Soul-Severing Scorpion was merely a first-rank demonic beast. In terms of cultivation, it was roughly equivalent to a cultivator at the Qi Condensation Realm.

Though demonic beasts possessed far more savage bodies than cultivators, with five against one and mutual support, it truly could not stir up much of a storm.

Fang Ye was certain Ye Xiu would not object. After all, taking turns in battle was also beneficial to him.

Along the way, Ye Xiu had tried his best to conceal it, but his coughing had never stopped.

With his qi and blood depleted, his body would naturally be weak. Taking turns in battle would give him room to rest and prevent his injuries from worsening.

But Ye Xiu likely did not know that, aside from being extremely vengeful, the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion also had terribly poor eyesight and could only see the person directly in front of it.

They would go up first and launch the first round of attacks. Once the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion reacted, they would shove Ye Xiu out. When it fixed its eyes on him, wouldn't the situation be entirely theirs to control?

As he thought this, Fang Ye opened his mouth to call for Ye Xiu to rest first.

But when he looked up, he saw that Ye Xiu had somehow already charged ahead.

"Junior Brother Fang, stand back and watch. Let Senior Brother first blunt this monster's edge!"

Channeling his spiritual power, Ye Xiu stared at the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion only a dozen meters away, a glint flashing through his eyes.

He deliberately shifted position until he stood precisely to the scorpion's left. Then, driving the Soul-Extinguishing Dagger, he unleashed a full-powered strike!

Crack!

With a crisp snap, Fang Ye and the others saw the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's massive left claw severed cleanly.

Purple venom gushed from the wound, accompanied by the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's furious shriek.

"This is bad!"

Watching the wounded Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion suddenly rear up, its scarlet eyes fixed tightly upon them across from it, Fang Ye and the others felt their hearts sink. They knew things had gone wrong!

Boom!

The enormous scorpion body, nearly three meters long, suddenly rose. With all eight legs exerting force at once, the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion, which had been crouched below, scuttled nearly a hundred meters at a speed too fast for ordinary people to react.

The enormous hooked tail behind it rose high. As green light emerged, it smashed down savagely.

That scorpion hook was the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's trump card, the killing move it kept up its sleeve. Facing its attack, Fang Ye and the others naturally did not dare meet its edge head-on.

They hastily cast their techniques and fled outward, hoping to use the opportunity to widen the distance.

But the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion, having just lost a major claw, was in the throes of rage. How could it possibly let them escape so easily?

Its claws moved, and its huge body pursued them again like a ghost.

Its pincers danced, and any rocks that stood in its way were crushed into powder without reason or mercy.

"Senior Brother Ye, what exactly are you doing? Attack this monster already!"

Fang Ye's heart pounded as he was pursued. The four of them fled in disarray beneath the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's pursuit. If this continued, their entire plan would be thrown off course.

"Junior Brother, hold on a little longer! Once Senior Brother recovers, I will surely help you cut down this monster!"

Ye Xiu, sitting behind and enjoying the spectacle, naturally would not rush in so easily.

Had he not taken the initiative to attack the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion first precisely to divert disaster eastward?

If he did not properly wear down these people's strength now, then if they plotted against him later, things would not be so pleasant.

One scorpion and five people thus became entangled in a running battle.

The difference was that although the people at the front, serving as bait, could barely take turns recovering their qi, whenever they tried to shift the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's target onto Ye Xiu, his long-prepared strike would always ruin their attempt once more.

After who knew how many rounds of fighting, the armor on the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion before them had been hacked into tatters, and it was wounded in many places. It clearly showed signs of being an arrow at the end of its flight. Fang Ye, who had been chased the entire way, finally could not restrain himself any longer.

A vicious glint appeared in his eyes, and then, as though he no longer cared for his life, he lunged at the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion.

"Senior Brother, now! Quickly sever this thing's tail!"

The Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's weak point lay in its tail, and that was also the purpose of their journey. Yet because the scorpion's death throes could easily shatter the tail and leave them empty-handed, enough people had to restrain it at the final moment.

This was the plan they had agreed upon beforehand. Though Ye Xiu had not fallen for their trap as planned, if they did not quickly finish off the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion now, Fang Qiong and the others would be unable to hold on much longer.

The four of them surged forward together. With all their techniques unleashed, they actually managed to forcefully bind the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion in place.

Ye Xiu looked at the tail hook waving endlessly, and a glint flashed through his eyes.

"Break!"

Pouring spiritual power into it, Ye Xiu controlled the Soul-Extinguishing Dagger and unleashed his strongest strike.

The hard hooked tail was forcibly severed at its root. After letting out a shriek, the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's struggles gradually weakened.

As the Soul-Extinguishing Scorpion's body gradually fell still, Ye Xiu dropped onto the ground.

He panted heavily, his face filled with the weakness of utter exhaustion, as though that previous strike had drained every last bit of his strength.