Inside the cave where the others paid their respects to Tian Ming.
At some point, a pool several yards across had been dug in the center. It was filled with thick, blackish-red liquid, with the corpses of countless poisonous creatures such as Blood-Eyed Toads and Purple-Striped Centipedes bobbing within it.
Under the lamplight, it looked eerie and terrifying.
Scarlet Tiger and He Gu each carried half of the Devouring Essence Python's corpse. Astral Qi surged through their arms as they hurled the massive carcass high into the air before smashing it heavily into the pool.
Splash!
Turbid waves exploded upward, and the liquid in the pool splattered everywhere. Scarlet Tiger and He Gu hurriedly dodged, terrified of getting even a single drop on themselves.
The Devouring Essence Python's enormous corpse nearly filled the entire pool.
"Hiss... hisss..."
At that moment, fine crackling sounds rang out. The scales on the corpse's surface whitened and softened at a visible rate, peeling off in sheets. Immediately afterward, its flesh began dissolving inch by inch as well.
Wisps of black vapor curled up from the pool, while the liquid within grew ever darker.
Several hours later, the Devouring Essence Python's flesh had completely dissolved, leaving only a stark white skeleton floating in the pool.
A black-robed figure silently appeared beside the pool.
Tian Ming stood with one hand behind his back, while the other held a single horn.
The horn was covered in dense patterns. Even after being severed, faint motes of light still circulated across it.
The Devouring Essence Python could devour a warrior's True Essence and Astral Qi, its fierce reputation renowned far and wide. All the essence of its body was concentrated in the horn atop its head.
It was said that golden liquid lay hidden within the horn, possessing an