"Heh heh heh heh..."
"Another bunch has come to die!"
"This time, there even seems to be an aristocratic clan scion among them. Lord Red Radiance, you're sure to be pleased!"
On a cliff that rose like a watchtower, a hundred li from the campsite, stood a figure clad in a blue-gray dharma robe, his entire body shrouded in a cloak.
Cunning and cruelty flickered in his eyes as he turned a reverent gaze toward the enormous spirit creature lying on the hillside behind him.
This spirit creature was actually a gigantic centipede, roughly ten zhang thick and nearly a hundred zhang long!
Its gleaming shell resembled iron armor. Its entire body was dark red, radiating the glow of a red-hot branding iron. Astonishing heat poured from it, scorching the surrounding vegetation until it had all burned away.
Long legs like enormous scythes extended backward, ending in a long, hooked tail that likewise exuded an oppressive, fiery aura.
"Hiss!"
The gigantic centipede let out a hiss like an ancient serpent, seemingly understanding his words and answering in a low voice.
A trace of savage, chaotic energy seeped from its body.
"By my reckoning, those blood morsels should have worked themselves up by now. Lord Red Radiance, if we set out immediately, we'll arrive just in time to eat them fresh!" the figure said with a sly chuckle, though a measure of caution remained in his voice.
The gigantic centipede immediately rose into the air. An enormous storm like a fiery tornado swept up, carrying fierce, oppressive heat as it raced forward.
A hazy, earthy-yellow light lit up around the figure. It seemed to come from some wondrous object refined from a crucial treasured material, possessing the special ability to resist the gigantic centipede's heat. He plunged into the storm as