Slay the Fire Cloud Python

"Hiss~"

The Fire Cloud Python, struck with pain, showed clear signs of agony and fury. Its forked tongue flickered as it suddenly soared into the clouds.

"Smack!"

Its massive body, dozens of meters long, whipped through the air with startling speed and agility, producing a sonic boom.

"Not good!"

Su Shi'er felt a fierce gale rushing at him, leaving him with no foothold. At this critical moment, he had no choice but to urgently activate the Turtle Pattern Shield and the Ice Shield.

The two defensive magical artifacts, one in front and one behind, shimmered with magical light, enveloping his body.

The next second, the colossal form came crashing down.

"Boom!"

With a dull thud, Su Shi'er felt as if he had been slammed by a mountain while sprinting at full speed. His body, out of control, was sent flying backward.

His internal organs ached unbearably, and blood gushed from his mouth.

The moment he hit the ground, Su Shi'er gritted his teeth, using the Wind Calling Technique combined with Shadowless Illusionary Steps to quickly distance himself from the giant python.

When he steadied his gaze, his heart bled.

His top-grade magical artifact, the Turtle Pattern Shield, had shattered completely under that blow, scattering into countless fragments, devoid of any magical light.

Fortunately, the Ice Shield given by Shen Miaoyin, though its glow was dim, showed no cracks at all—perhaps due to the material.

This allowed Su Shi'er to breathe a little easier. If he could preserve this artifact, he could refine it later with the mysterious Pill Furnace, and at worst, it would become another top-grade defensive magical artifact.

He swept up the Ice Shield in one motion, then used Shadowless Illusionary Steps with the Wind Calling Technique to circle rapidly around the giant python. From time to time, he tossed out a handful of attack talismans. This time, he dared not stay airborne recklessly.

Before coming, he had prepared a large stock of talismans. But using them this way, the talismans on him were dwindling fast.

In just a quarter of an hour, he had thrown out no fewer than five hundred attack talismans, if not three hundred.

By the end, only some low-grade first-level or even incomplete talismans remained.

Still, Su Shi'er didn't mind. For him, as long as they could deal even a little damage to the Fire Cloud Python and disrupt its recovery, that was enough.

Seeing that only the last handful of talismans was left, Su Shi'er quickly turned his gaze to Shen Miaoyin in the distance.

"Hey! Aren't you done yet? I can't hold on much longer!"

"Lure it over here!"

At this moment, Shen Miaoyin's face was as pale as paper, her forehead covered in sweat.

Hearing Su Shi'er's voice, she clenched her teeth, took out the last Azure Restoration Pill she had, and swallowed it in one gulp.

Then, she condensed all her true essence into a single hand seal, imprinting it onto the Ice Sword.

The five flying swords shot into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.

"Good! I'm coming over!"

Su Shi'er breathed a slight sigh of relief, hesitated not a moment, and quickly ran to Shen Miaoyin's side.

Behind him, the Fire Cloud Python gave chase relentlessly, but just as it was about to near the sword formation, it suddenly halted. Its bell-like eyes revealed a look of wariness.

"Huh? This thing isn't falling for it? What now?" Su Shi'er frowned and asked urgently.

"How much true essence do you have left? Transfer it all to me!" Shen Miaoyin shouted coldly.

To her, the sword formation was already set; whether the Fire Cloud Python came over or not didn't matter.

The problem was that she had no true essence left in her body, and the pills she used to restore it were all gone.

Without mana, she simply couldn't activate the sword formation.

After speaking, seeing Su Shi'er's hesitant expression, she urged, "Hurry up! Any later, and it'll be too late!"

"This... how do I do it?" Su Shi'er asked awkwardly.

He knew well that he didn't have many options now. But transferring true essence to someone else—he had never done that before.

"Place your hand on my back, and leave the rest to me," Shen Miaoyin said quickly, only then realizing that this kid was still a novice in cultivation.

Su Shi'er did as told, placing his palm on Shen Miaoyin's back. Though separated by a layer of clothing, the soft touch and faint warmth gave him an experience he had never felt before.

But that sensation lasted only a moment.

The next second, a powerful suction came from his palm. His true essence stirred, pouring out uncontrollably as Shen Miaoyin drew it in.

"I didn't expect that with your Qi Refining Stage Four cultivation, you'd have this much true essence," Shen Miaoyin remarked, raising an eyebrow in slight surprise as she felt the true essence flowing from his back.

From her perception, Su Shi'er's true essence was at least a third more than that of other disciples at the same level.

Mixed Spiritual Roots, though painfully slow in cultivation speed, did have their advantages. Since Mixed Spiritual Roots encompassed all elemental roots, once one's cultivation advanced, their true essence naturally became denser than that of other disciples at the same stage.

Su Shi'er had never exchanged notes with anyone, so he naturally didn't know this. Right now, he could only wear a bitter expression. "Leave me some, or you'll drain me dry!"

Shen Miaoyin didn't reply. With the boost of true essence, she had already begun forming hand seals.

A dharma seal shot into the sky, and from within the clouds, five Ice Swords reappeared, spewing frigid air.

As the cold surged, a massive sword shadow materialized once more.

"Frost Sword Array! Strike!"

Shen Miaoyin shouted with resolve, and the colossal sword shadow, radiating astonishing cold, descended from the sky, slashing straight toward the giant python not far away.

The Fire Cloud Python refused to be outdone, rearing half its body upright and spitting a burst of flame from its maw to meet the sword shadow head-on.

It possessed only simple intelligence, yet it understood that this was a life-or-death moment. Its Demonic Essence churned as it mobilized everything it had, clashing with the sword shadow in the sky, neither side gaining the upper hand.

At that moment, Shen Miaoyin let out a muffled groan.

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Blood once again trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her aura became especially chaotic.

She was already injured, and forcing the sword array with her Qi Refining Stage cultivation was an immense drain on her.

"No way! Hang in there, you can't fall!"

Sensing Shen Miaoyin's change, Su Shi'er's heart pounded wildly, panic flooding him.

"I'll go all out!"

Gritting his teeth, he fixed his gaze on the Fire Cloud Python, steeled himself, and flipped his hand to produce seven Soul Severing Nails, flinging them out.

Along with them flew all the remaining attack talismans he had.

At this moment, the Fire Cloud Python was fully focused on resisting the sword array's power and had no time to bother with Su Shi'er's attacks. Nor did it believe that seven tiny iron nails could do it any harm.

"Thud!"

With a dull sound, the Soul Severing Nails, carrying the attack talismans, sank into the wounds on the Fire Cloud Python's body.

The next second, over a hundred attack talismans were detonated simultaneously.

Though they were all defective and of mediocre quality, the explosion happened inside the Fire Cloud Python's wounds.

It was no less than a critical strike!

"Boom! Boom!"

Caught off guard, half of the Fire Cloud Python's body was blasted open, flesh and skin torn apart.

The Demonic Essence it had been frantically channeling also faltered.

Seizing the opportunity, the massive sword shadow, carrying overwhelming momentum, swept across its brow.

The nearly hundred-meter-long giant python was cleaved in two by that single strike, dead beyond any doubt.

"Pfft!"

Having done all this, Shen Miaoyin could no longer hold on. She spat out a large mouthful of blood, her body going limp as she collapsed to the ground.

This battle had left her severely wounded. Now... she didn't even have the strength to move.

In the air, the five flying swords that formed the array clattered to the ground.