Velvetfire Scorpion

At the sound, Su Yan immediately concealed himself in the bushes.

From a crevice between the moss and the rock face, a strange, scorpion-like insect covered in fiery red fuzz crawled out.

Its entire body was scarlet, with a pair of pincers and a long, slender tail hook. Its segmented body was about a palm long.

Velvetfire Scorpion.

Su Yan recognized the strange insect at a glance. Wariness stirred in his heart, and he held his breath to watch closely.

The Velvetfire Scorpion crawled out of the crevice and surveyed its surroundings, its pincers and tail hook twitching slightly. Finding no movement, it scuttled swiftly toward the Cinnabar Lingzhi.

Though small, it was quick, reaching the Cinnabar Lingzhi in the blink of an eye.

Its pincers opened and snapped shut, breaking off a large piece of the Cinnabar Lingzhi and stuffing it into its mouth.

In just a few bites, it devoured the whole Cinnabar Lingzhi.

No wonder Uncle Guo Yun injured his arm trying to gather the Cinnabar Lingzhi. Strange insects feed on medicinal herbs and flesh. He had entered its territory.

Watching the Velvetfire Scorpion, Su Yan frowned slightly. It was still too close to the crevice.

This won't do.

Though he had prepared an Iron Wire Fishing Net, throwing it from this distance might give the Velvetfire Scorpion time to duck back into the crevice. Then he would likely come away empty-handed.

Besides, this Velvetfire Scorpion did not look weak.

His eyes flickered, and an idea immediately came to him.

He sent a command to the Darkwater Centipede.

The Darkwater Centipede immediately stirred in the bushes, rustling through the tangled grass before crawling onto a moss-covered rock opposite the Velvetfire Scorpion.

Startled, the Velvetfire Scorpion nearly retreated. But upon seeing another strange insect, it immediately crawled forward, raising its pincers and tail hook in a vicious display.

Had it been some other Savage Beast, the Velvetfire Scorpion might have withdrawn.

But how could it tolerate an invasion of its territory like this?

The Darkwater Centipede waved its antennae, reared up, and hissed.

The Velvetfire Scorpion flicked its tail hook, spraying scarlet mist straight at the Darkwater Centipede.

Though the mist covered only a small area, it moved extremely fast, reaching the Darkwater Centipede in an instant.

Sizzle!

The scorching, fiery poison mist immediately burned the Darkwater Centipede's carapace.

The blow roused the Darkwater Centipede's vicious nature. It charged through the fiery poison mist at the Velvetfire Scorpion.

Though the powerful mist left the Darkwater Centipede's carapace mottled with damage, it was still poison mist, and its fiery poison lost seventy percent of its potency against the centipede.

It could not truly penetrate the Darkwater Centipede's body.

The Velvetfire Scorpion's attack failed, and before it could try anything else, the Darkwater Centipede had closed in and entangled it in a fierce struggle.

Though the two Savage Beast insects were small, their battle was as ferocious as a dragon clashing with a tiger.

Their bodies coiled together, crushing and strangling with tremendous force.

One wielded pincers like blades, the other mouthparts like swords. In the vicious struggle, cracks soon covered both their carapaces, and poisonous blood seeped out.

The Velvetfire Scorpion has entered a rank too!

Su Yan was particularly surprised, but delight soon rose in his heart. If it had entered a rank, refining it would give him another source of strength.

Seeing that both insects had been worked into a frenzy, Su Yan immediately issued a command.

The Darkwater Centipede spat another jet of venom like a black arrow, corroding the Velvetfire Scorpion's carapace with a sizzling hiss.

Then it immediately turned and fled toward an open patch of ground.

By now, the Velvetfire Scorpion's ferocity had been fully unleashed. Seeing the Darkwater Centipede retreat in defeat, it already regarded the other strange insect as a meal on its plate.

If it devoured the Darkwater Centipede, it could advance even further.

The two Savage Beast insects raced along, one fleeing and the other pursuing. Soon, they left the rocky battleground and reached a flat patch of moss-covered ground.

This is my chance.

Su Yan's eyes were sharp and his hands swift. The moment the Velvetfire Scorpion approached, he hurled the Iron Wire Fishing Net he had long held ready.

Unable to dodge in time, the Velvetfire Scorpion was caught squarely beneath the Iron Wire Fishing Net.

It immediately began struggling, but this was a fishing net. Though woven from iron wire, it was still full of mesh openings.

Its struggles only tangled the net more tightly around its body, making movement even harder.

It raised its tail hook, trying to spray poison mist to burn through the Iron Wire Fishing Net.

But Su Yan had already guarded against this. He swung the Club in his hand, striking the tail hook squarely.

The blow interrupted the Velvetfire Scorpion's attack. It could only splash out a little fiery venom, which corroded quite a few strands of the Iron Wire Fishing Net.

Had this been an ordinary fishing net, it would likely have been burned to tatters already.

Su Yan struck with deftly controlled force, subduing the Velvetfire Scorpion in just a few blows.

He reached down and picked it up. The moment he touched it, the Velvetfire Scorpion's information appeared before him.

[Velvetfire Scorpion]

[Prefers dry, poison-rich environments. Consumes yang-aspected medicinal herbs and enjoys feeding on Poisonous Substances, refining them into fiery poison gathered in its hooked tail. Can release poison mist like flames...]

[Can be refined]

Su Yan had been waiting for this strange insect for a long time. He had already accumulated a hundred jin of beast Blood Essence, just enough to use on this insect, and did not hesitate at all.

With a thought, he immediately began refining the Velvetfire Scorpion.

The Fierce Insect Cauldron trembled slightly, the vicious insect carvings on its body seeming to vie to devour one another.

Sensing the Fierce Insect Cauldron's aura, the Velvetfire Scorpion instantly collapsed, even less able to resist.

It transformed into a streak of white light and vanished into the Fierce Insect Cauldron. Threads of blood and the cauldron's power invaded its body, refining it in the blink of an eye.

[First-Rank Insect Master 19/100]

[Velvetfire Scorpion 1/200 (Growth Stage)]

Su Yan's eyes brightened with delight. He had not expected the Velvetfire Scorpion to already be in its Growth Stage. Though somewhat inferior to the Darkwater Centipede, it would save him a great deal of effort.

The Velvetfire Scorpion is also in its Growth Stage, so its combat strength should roughly match the Skin Refining Realm. Working with the Darkwater Centipede, their poison could probably kill even someone in the Sinew and Bone Realm. At last, I have more strength to protect myself.

He released the Velvetfire Scorpion and examined it carefully. The attacks from him and the Darkwater Centipede had left many wounds on its carapace and pincers.

Still, these injuries could gradually heal inside the Fierce Insect Cauldron, so they were no major concern.

Su Yan felt somewhat reassured. Only half a month remained until the end of the month. With two portions of Insect Essence each day, along with medicinal tonics, he would soon reach major attainment in Skin Refining. When the time came, he would have no fear of the contest for entry into the Inner Gate.

I'll gather the Cinnabar Lingzhi here first, then head down the mountain.

The Velvetfire Scorpion had eaten a considerable amount of the Cinnabar Lingzhi, but some remained. Even if he did not eat it himself, he could use it as feed for the Velvetfire Scorpion.

Su Yan put away the Iron Wire Fishing Net, picked up his basket, and walked over to the cluster of Cinnabar Lingzhi before the rock face.

Many Cinnabar Lingzhi grew on a fallen trunk and the moss-covered rock face, resembling layers of large red flowers.

Su Yan reached out and gathered them all into his basket. Suddenly, he glanced aside in the moonlight and spotted a faint red glow within the crevice.

Had the moonlight not shone inside and drawn out that faint glow, he would not have noticed it even if he had walked past a thousand or ten thousand times.

What is that?!

Su Yan picked up his Broad Saber, wedged it into the crevice, and gently worked it back and forth. When he saw the surrounding rocks shift, he knew he could pry them apart.

He applied force and pried open the loose rocks around the crevice.

The faint red glow was exposed before Su Yan, revealing a clump of fleshy, fiery-red lingzhi.

Leaves like clumps of flesh, a red glow like flames—Flameflesh Lingzhi. No wonder this Velvetfire Scorpion refused to retreat even half a step. It was guarding a Treasure Plant.