I'll Bite You to Death

Huang Xiao struggled inwardly for a long time, then drew Godslayer and rushed toward the two extraordinary beasts.

Both the Golden-Winged Roc and the giant python saw Huang Xiao, but neither could spare him any attention now. Huang Xiao suddenly leaped onto the python's body, then used Snake-Traveling Tiny Steps to make his way along its barrel-thick coils. He actually managed to keep his footing on its rolling body, and before long, he reached the vulnerable spot seven inches behind its head.

At first, the giant python paid Huang Xiao no mind. In its eyes, such a tiny little human posed no threat whatsoever. But once Huang Xiao reached its vulnerable spot, it immediately grew wary. After all, this was its most fatal weakness.

Huang Xiao naturally chose to help the roc. Whatever else might be said, the Golden-Winged Roc had spent so much time with him without harming him. If the giant python killed the roc, he would probably be killed or swallowed alive as well. He certainly did not believe the python would spare him.

Thus, he had only one choice now: kill the giant python together with the Golden-Winged Roc, or meet his end.

As the giant python rolled faster and harder, Huang Xiao began to struggle, but he used the moves of Coiling Snake Hand to cling tightly to its body. He suddenly discovered that although he was already fairly proficient in Coiling Snake Hand, combining it with the python's method of coiling had given him some insights. Put plainly, Coiling Snake Hand had been created by imitating the way snakes coiled around their prey. It was therefore perfectly natural for Huang Xiao to gain insights from seeing the genuine art of constriction, especially when it was performed by a giant python that had become a monstrous spirit. He benefited greatly from it.

The giant python found that no matter what it did, it could not shake off the human clinging to its vulnerable spot. Gradually, however, it stopped caring. After all, even if this human stayed there, he could not hurt it. Its main concern now was still dealing with the Golden-Winged Roc trapped in its coils.

But very soon, it let out a piercing hiss as a sharp pain shot through its vulnerable spot.

Huang Xiao's strength was barely enough to keep him clinging to that spot; he could do the python no harm at all. But he still had the dagger Godslayer in his hand. He drove the dagger down, only for that first thrust to fail to penetrate.

Huang Xiao was greatly shocked. He knew just how sharp Godslayer was. Back then, with a light thrust into a rock, the entire blade had sunk in, leaving only the handle exposed. Yet now, even with force behind it, the dagger had been stopped by the python's scales. Just how hard were those scales?

Huang Xiao did not give up after the failed strike. He had not used all his strength just now, mainly because he had never expected its scales to be so hard.

On his second attempt, Huang Xiao used every ounce of his strength and finally buried half the dagger in the python's vulnerable spot, making it writhe in pain.

The giant python twisted its enormous body even more wildly. Huang Xiao clutched the dagger's handle in a death grip. No matter how the python thrashed, he held on tight and refused to let go.

Before long, the python stopped rolling so violently, having discovered that the more fiercely it moved, the worse the dagger hurt.

Seeing the python pause for a moment, Huang Xiao exerted himself again and drove the half-buried dagger all the way in.

In its pain, the python's coils around the Golden-Winged Roc clearly loosened somewhat. The Golden-Winged Roc seized the opportunity to peck savagely at the python's body with its enormous golden beak. Each peck tore away a large chunk of flesh, immediately drawing shrill, agonized hisses from the python.

Although these attacks still could not damage its vital parts, the accumulating wounds weakened it considerably. Even so, as things stood, the Golden-Winged Roc still could not free itself from its predicament.

"No!" Huang Xiao suddenly noticed the giant python hurtling toward the nearby rock wall, carrying both him and the Golden-Winged Roc with it. More precisely, he was its main target this time. Because he was at its vulnerable spot, its tail could not reach him, and it could not shake him off either. Thus, it intended to smash him against the wall and kill him outright.

Huang Xiao reacted quickly. He leaped up, landing on the giant python's enormous head. With both hands, he gripped the fleshy crest on top of its head tightly to keep himself from being thrown off.

At that moment, Huang Xiao discovered that the python beneath him was reacting even more violently. Even when he had stabbed it with the dagger earlier, its reaction had not been this fierce.

I can't let it throw me off! Huang Xiao understood very well that if he was flung away, the giant python would surely tear him to pieces.

He therefore dug his hands into the fleshy crest even harder. Unlike the other parts of the python covered in scales, this crest was not hard, but extraordinarily soft.

After nearly two hours of continuous thrashing, Huang Xiao found the strength in his hands dwindling. The intense exertion had left him exhausted, yet the python remained full of energy, showing no sign of weakening.

"I'll bite you to death! Bite you to death!" Huang Xiao had no other way. His dagger Godslayer was still buried in the python's vulnerable spot. In fact, even with Godslayer in hand, he could not be certain he could drive it into the top of the python's head. Without his dagger, he could only use his teeth as a weapon. The only thing he could bite into was this soft, fleshy crest.

Only after biting down hard did Huang Xiao discover that the crest seemed even more fragile than he had imagined. It broke beneath his teeth, and he felt a scalding stream surge into his mouth. Before he could react at all, that hot stream rushed down his throat and into his stomach.

"Mmph, mmph, mmph..." The moment the hot stream reached his stomach, a pain like raging fire scorching him rose within it. Since Huang Xiao's teeth were still locked around the python's fleshy crest, he could only make muffled sounds. Even if he wanted to scream, he could not.

The agony nearly made Huang Xiao pass out, but he still held on, because he knew he could not let himself be thrown off. The python was now struggling even more fiercely, its hisses ringing through heaven and earth. Its enormous tail lashed everywhere with a barrage of cracks. Whether it struck the piles of rocks at the bottom of the cliff or the cliff walls on either side, shattered stones flew in all directions, and the earth shook and the mountains trembled.

I'm going to die. I have no strength left. Whether I fall off and get smashed to death or bitten to death, or get poisoned by the snake blood I swallowed, I'll die all the same. Forget it. I survived falling from this cliff, and Heaven let me live these extra days. That was worth something, Huang Xiao thought. The burning pain in his stomach had already begun to spread. By now, he could clearly feel countless streams of scorching heat rampaging through his body. The pain was no less than having his flesh torn apart while he was alive.

What poisonous blood! Huang Xiao naturally believed the snake's blood was poisonous. Otherwise, how could it cause him such suffering?

Huang Xiao had already reached his limit, and now the excruciating pain inside his body left him unable to muster any strength at all.

With a crashing clatter, Huang Xiao was finally flung from the top of the giant python's head. His body rolled more than a hundred feet across the rubble before coming to a stop.

Hissing, the giant python lunged at Huang Xiao. It hated the human before it to the marrow of its bones. It had never imagined that this human, whom it had dismissed as beneath its notice, would actually inflict a fatal injury on it.