A tremendous beastly roar rang out.
It shook heaven and earth, leaving countless fierce beasts trembling in terror.
They scrambled to flee in every direction.
Taiyi concealed his aura and cautiously made his way toward the source of the roar.
Far in the distance.
Before a stretch of bare cliff.
He spotted an enormous snake, pitch-black from head to tail, with fearsome scales and a body as thick as a water vat. At least a hundred meters long, it resembled a sprawling mountain range-a staggering sight.
It was confronting a massive Golden-Eyed White Tiger, roughly ten meters long, whose presence was intimidating.
Behind the black giant snake.
Stood an enormous cave.
A green radiance streamed out from within.
Even the air carried faint waves of fragrant medicinal scent.
"What is that?" Taiyi's pupils sharply contracted.
Chapter 5: Snatching Food from the Snake's Mouth, Expanding the Bitter Sea
"There's no mistaking it. That must be some rare treasure or a medicinal herb of considerable age!"
Behind an inconspicuous cluster of rocks.
Taiyi cautiously poked his head out and gazed toward the cave behind the two confronting beasts. Green light swirled from it, accompanied by waves of medicinal fragrance, and his eyes burned with anticipation.
The two beasts possessed astonishing auras. Ordinary cultivators of the Bitter Sea Realm likely could not contend with them.
He silently weighed whether he could profit from their clash.
"Roar-"
At that moment.
Seemingly intimidated by the black giant snake.
The Golden-Eyed White Tiger growled, slowly backing away with wary eyes.
Yet it did not seem entirely cowed by the giant snake's might.
Golden light flashed over its body, and it suddenly lunged forward.
Its sharp claws gleamed coldly as they slashed toward the giant snake's belly like blades.
It intended to rip the snake open.
"Clang!" The black giant snake was equally ferocious. Black light flashed over its enormous, armored head as it slammed viciously into those claws.
The impact sounded like clashing metal, sending sparks flying.
The Golden-Eyed White Tiger was driven back and slammed into the ground, caving it in. The earth shook violently, and a great cloud of dust rose.
As though enraged, it roared repeatedly and scrambled awkwardly to its feet.
"Boom..." Immediately afterward, the black giant snake displayed terrifying speed.
It became an enormous black afterimage and charged, seeking to coil around the Golden-Eyed White Tiger completely.
Yet golden light shimmered all over the Golden-Eyed White Tiger, and it moved even faster, swift beyond compare.
It pushed off with all four paws, cracking the earth as it leaped into the air.
A streak of golden radiance blazed over its right claw.
It slashed straight down at the black giant snake.
"Roar..." Blood sprayed.
The giant snake's right eye was clawed open, leaving a horrifying wound deep enough to expose bone.
As though its savage nature had been fully unleashed, it lashed its enormous head with wild ferocity, sending the unprepared giant tiger flying.
But the giant tiger had not lost all ability to fight and stubbornly charged again.
It darted around from every direction at astonishing speed, seeking to hunt down the black giant snake.
The black giant snake likewise opened its cavernous, bloody maw, revealing sinister fangs. Threads of black venom dripped continuously, corroding the ground with a sizzling hiss.
The sight made the scalp prickle.
Soon, the two enormous beasts launched into a fierce battle, each wary of the other.
"Boom... boom..."
Neither would yield.
They collided again and again with savage force.
The giant tiger suffered broken bones and torn tendons, blood spilling from its mouth and nose. It was a wretched sight.
But the giant tiger's claws had also torn through the black giant snake's scales in several places, leaving it drenched in blood and horribly wounded.
"Boom... boom..."
The earth rumbled.
Shattered rocks flew, and ancient trees snapped.
Gusts of tremendous wind ravaged the surroundings, making it difficult to remain standing.
The two immensely powerful beasts fought in a deadlock. Both had suffered considerable injuries and were far weaker than when the battle began.
Seemingly afraid of destroying its own cave and damaging the medicinal herb inside, the black giant snake, which held a slight advantage, gradually and deliberately shifted the battlefield.
Their battle carried them hundreds of meters away, into the forest far from the cliff.
"This is the moment!" Neither the Golden-Eyed White Tiger nor the black giant snake was moving the battlefield any farther.
The Golden-Eyed White Tiger was drenched in blood, its attacks growing increasingly feeble. It seemed close to collapse, merely making a desperate last stand.
The black giant snake was likewise bloodied, but its injuries were lighter, and victory was within its grasp.
Taiyi had silently crept around behind the cliff.
Unable to wait any longer, he unleashed the supreme footwork he had barely mastered through tireless practice day and night-the Sun God Movement Technique, which had appeared in his mind alongside the complete scripture of the Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm after he successfully opened his Bitter Sea.
His entire body became a dazzling streak of golden light as he shot forward.
He plunged into the cave.
"Roar-"
Just then.
The Black-Armored Giant Snake noticed something amiss and flew into a rage.
Its enormous, lantern-like eyes were chillingly cold, filled with boundless, sinister killing intent that made anyone who met them feel plunged into an ice cellar, cold from head to toe.
Like a creature gone mad, it abandoned the defeated Golden-Eyed White Tiger, which was still making its desperate last stand.
It charged toward the cave, heedless of everything else.
Taiyi moved incredibly fast and soon reached the end of the cave.
He discovered a radiant Spirit Plant with nine emerald-green leaves, brimming with vitality.
A flower bud on the verge of blooming hung from it, releasing an unusual, enticing fragrance.
Without stopping to determine what medicinal herb it was, he uprooted it without hesitation.
But at that moment, his hairs stood on end, and a powerful sense of danger surged through him.
"Rumble..."
Amid the thunderous noise.
He saw the cave plunge into darkness.
An immense black bulk drew steadily closer.
Without a second thought, his Bitter Sea blazed with golden light, radiating scorching heat like a furnace.
Streaks of golden divine marks blasted outward.
"Boom, boom..." The cave was mercilessly blasted through.
At the very instant the black giant snake arrived, opening its terrifying, bloody maw to bite down.
He transformed into a streak of golden divine light.
He shot out, escaping by a hair's breadth.
"Roar..."
The black giant snake roared in utter fury.
Its enormous body smashed the cave into rubble.
It charged recklessly onward, relentlessly pursuing him.
Had it not been badly wounded and drained by the prolonged, brutal battle.
Appearing savage but in truth utterly exhausted and quite weak.
Its speed far below its peak.
Taiyi likely would never have escaped.
"Boom... boom..." Great masses of rock and lush, towering ancient trees were smashed and snapped one after another.
Yet the blood-soaked black giant snake, terrifying in its might, could only watch the streak of golden light accelerate until it vanished into the cold depths of the forest.
It could not catch him at all.
It roared in frustration.
It smashed through great swathes of rock as though crazed.
When it returned to the cave, the giant tiger had already vanished.