The Legend of the Flying Centipede!

Yan Ling came out of the storage room holding an old-fashioned notebook.

"Catch."

She tossed the notebook to Li Yao, then lay back on the recliner and went back to her phone.

Li Yao caught it and quickly flipped through the pages.

Most of the early pages were diary entries about everyday things: going to the market, chopping firewood in the mountains.

After thirty-odd pages, Li Yao stopped.

Found it!

His eyes lit up, and he began reading at once.

This was a creature in the Demon Venerable Realm, after all. Knowing his enemy mattered.

Within two or three minutes, Li Yao had finished the account.

"Phew."

He let out a long breath.

"Troublesome."

Seeing his expression, Li Wenbin hurried over. "Young master, what's wrong?"

Li Yao handed him the notebook and leaned back against the sofa, looking exasperated.

"Do you know what's in the mountain behind Heyu Village?"

"What?"

"A flying centipede."

Li Wenbin froze. "A flying centipede? What's that?"

"A centipede demon. Probably in the Demon Venerable Realm."

Li Wenbin's face changed. The Demon Venerable Realm was equivalent to the human Martial Venerable Realm.

Demons were naturally tougher than humans, too. A human martial artist of the same realm could hardly beat one.

"Young master, should we retreat?" Li Wenbin asked cautiously.

Li Yao said nothing. He was still thinking about what he had read.

In Yan Ling's grandfather's day, a story about the Centipede Immortal had circulated in Heyu Village.

It supposedly began more than three hundred years ago, before the Spiritual Energy Revival, when Heyu Village had a different name.

Back then, it was called Yu River Village.

According to the tale, a scholar in Yu River Village had little interest in books or poetry. He preferred raising poisonous insects, the most famous of which was a flying centipede.

It was an unusual breed of centipede, with wings on its back and a deadly venom.

Yet this poisonous creature was remarkably obedient to the scholar. He adored it, and the two were never apart, whether he went into town or slept.

Everyone found it astonishing.

Later, a landowner heard about it and wanted to see the flying centipede for himself.

He went to visit the scholar, but the man was stubborn. Not only did he refuse to show him the creature, he called the landowner a common fool who could not appreciate such a wonder of nature and was unworthy of seeing it.

The more the landowner thought about it after returning home, the angrier he became.

He ordered his men to kill the scholar and bring back the centipede.

Instead, every man he sent died.

The landowner himself died of poisoning overnight, and the poison in his body was the flying centipede's venom.

All the evidence pointed to the scholar. The local authorities arrested him and threw him in prison.

But less than two days later, the scholar vanished from his cell.

Some said he had been an immortal from the heavens, and the flying centipede was his Spirit Pet.

Others said he had escaped into the remote mountains and lived out his days there. No one could agree.

Then, a hundred years ago, the Spiritual Energy Revival came.

A flying centipede emerged from the mountains behind Heyu Village and killed many people.

The military was alerted, but its shell was so hard that no firearm could penetrate it.

Humans had only just begun exploring cultivation. Their strongest fighters were merely Third or Fourth Rank Martial Masters, no match for the flying centipede.

Just as the military prepared to use large missiles, lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky.

Bolt after bolt struck at the flying centipede.

It had no choice but to flee back into the mountains.

The lightning pursued it all the way.

Finally, the centipede burrowed into a towering tree, and a bolt struck the trunk.

The tree burst into roaring flames.

After the fire went out, military personnel entered the mountains to investigate. They confirmed that a centipede corpse was there, filed their findings, and announced that the flying centipede was dead.

Who would have thought the story was true—and that it would turn into a disaster?

By then, Li Wenbin had finished reading the account too.

His face was full of worry.

"Young master, what do we do now?" he asked.

Li Yao thought for a moment. "Uncle Bin, stay here and watch the child. I'll contact the Special Operations Bureau and have them send high-level cultivators to deal with this. Then I'll go up the mountain and see what's happening."

"No!"

Li Wenbin objected the moment Li Yao finished speaking.

"Young master, if you can get the Special Operations Bureau to handle this, there's no need to risk your life. Didn't you say yourself that the flying centipede is probably in the Demon Venerable Realm?"

Li Yao smiled. "Uncle Bin, you know what I'm capable of. Even if I can't beat it, I can get away."

Li Wenbin still refused.

"No. Absolutely not. What if something goes wrong?"

He went on, "If you want to know what's happening in the mountains, I'll go. How could I let you put yourself in danger?"

No matter what Li Yao said, he would not agree.

Li Yao knew words would not change his mind.

He held out one hand. Spiritual Power gathered above it, gradually taking the shape of a broadsword.

Li Wenbin stared, his eyes wide with shock.

"Young master, you... you've reached the Martial Venerable Realm?"

Once someone reached the Martial Venerable Realm, they could shape their Spiritual Power into all kinds of forms.

But something did not add up. If Li Yao had broken through, Li Wenbin would have known.

Could it be...

Spiritual Power Transformation before reaching the realm?

That was the mark of a genius who appeared only once in a century.

Li Wenbin had only ever seen Li Zhiyun do it!

"Uncle Bin, I haven't broken through. But after seeing this, you should trust me, right?"

As he spoke, the system suddenly popped up again.

Ding! The host has taken an interest in the flying centipede. Side quest issued: Kill the flying centipede.

Quest reward: 20,000 Background Value.

Li Yao was delighted. The system understood him better and better.

"Young master! The Li Family has a worthy successor!"

Li Wenbin sighed with emotion and stopped trying to block Li Yao.

He knew that with Spiritual Power Transformation at his command, Li Yao could escape even if he encountered a Demon Venerable Realm creature. If Li Yao wanted to run, it could never hold him.

Even so, he fixed Li Yao with a stern look.

"Young master, be careful. Run the moment you see that demon."

"Remember, nothing matters more than staying alive."

Li Yao nodded.

He turned to leave.

"Big brother, where are you going? It's dangerous out there right now."

Yan Ling, who had been playing on her phone, put it down and looked at him.

"I'm going to kill that beast."