Chapter 220: Silver-Scaled Wire Snake – A Battle of Primal Power
With his current level of cultivation, Liu Yi had already determined the distance between himself and this monster. But since he had other things to do, he paid it no mind, thinking that a fight between beasts had nothing to do with him. Yet now, he could no longer focus on his own tasks, as the grayish-white giant monster blocked his path.
Caught off guard by its sudden appearance, Liu Yi instinctively stepped back two times. Under the sunlight, he stared at the monster before him and thought to himself, “Is it a snake?” Before him lay a grayish-white snake dozens of feet long, with an impossibly thick body, ferociously white teeth revealing its fangs, and a foul smell emanating from them. Its dark green eyes were fixed intently on Liu Yi. Its massive body was even larger than the ice dragon he had seen before—in the eyes of this giant snake, Liu Yi was not even as big as its head.
To Liu Yi, though this monster was huge, it shouldn’t be as terrifying as that ice dragon. At least the ice dragon was a creation of the wise, a divine dragon evolved over thousands of years. Although this monster was fierce and ugly, it was still just a beast and shouldn’t be too difficult to deal with.
But these were just Liu Yi’s thoughts. If Ye Luojianmu were here, he would surely tell Liu Yi to run away as fast as possible. In the Netherworld, beasts are divided into demon beasts, spiritual beasts, and divine beasts. Divine beasts are the highest rank and the most ferocious. Some even possess special abilities. The grayish-white giant snake before Liu Yi was of the divine beast class. Its name was “Silver-Scaled Wire Snake.” Its entire body was silver-gray in color, and it naturally had a pair of fleshy wings that allowed it to fly. It was fierce, brutal, with an average lifespan of around three thousand years.
Although the Silver-Scaled Wire Snake was of divine beast status, it didn’t have any special abilities. Yet its basic abilities were already enough to make ordinary people unable to resist. It was incredibly fast, and its entire body was as hard as iron—no sharp sword could harm it in the slightest. What was most terrifying was its strength. Legends said that a single sweep of its tail could cause mountains to collapse and the earth to split. Its fangs were poisonous, and those bitten by them would die instantly, with no chance of survival. Thus, despite lacking special abilities, the Silver-Scaled Wire Snake was regarded by the people of the Netherworld as one of the four greatest fiends. No one dared to provoke it, nor did anyone want to tame such a divine beast.
At that moment, Liu Yi didn’t know any of this. In his eyes, the giant snake was simply a beast with well-developed limbs. After all, it was just a beast, so he didn’t think much of it. His left hand already gripped his long sword tightly. Having failed to tame the ice dragon the previous day and now encountering this strange snake to cause trouble, he wanted to vent his anger.
Just as Liu Yi was about to take action, a violent sound of tearing through the air came from behind him, accompanied by a hurricane. Before Liu Yi could turn around, with a loud “bang,” two mountains suddenly appeared ten feet to his left and right. He watched the gray giant snake in front of him while also staring at the two mountains that appeared out of thin air.
But Liu Yi immediately realized something was wrong—those two mountains were devoid of trees or grass, covered instead in black fur. Curious, he began to wonder what was going on when a furious roar echoed through the sky, so loud that Liu Yi’s ears could hardly bear it, producing a buzzing sound. At that moment, he stopped paying attention to those strange mountains and looked up along them…
When he looked up at an angle, Liu Yi realized he was wrong again. Those “mountains” beside him were actually the two feet of a monster above him. He appeared incredibly small beneath this monster, even smaller than one of its toes. Liu Yi stood between the monster’s feet, while the monster above him glared at the grayish-white giant snake before him.
What Liu Yi saw was a black humanoid monster with barbed spikes on its tail, thick as steel whips. There were also black barbed spikes behind its feet. Its entire body was as thick as a mountain peak, and barbed spikes covered both sides of its arms, looking extremely sharp. The monster had no nose, a terrifyingly large mouth with sharp, white teeth, deep red eyes, and huge ears like bat wings. There were sharp horns on each side of its head, giving it a formidable appearance. Roughly estimating, the monster above him was at least twenty zhang tall and over ten zhang wide.
Initially, seeing the grayish-white giant snake had made Liu Yi understand what “giant” meant. Now, looking at the black monster above, he suddenly realized the giant snake had become small—compared to the monster behind him, it was at most one-third its size. The grayish-white snake also glared at the black monster behind Liu Yi, letting out a shrill scream at the same time.
Liu Yi thought to himself, “So those two monsters were fighting in this forest earlier. No wonder the ground was shaking. Especially that monster behind me—it’s as huge as a mountain. Every time it moves, the ground shakes. It’s not so strange after all.”
Just then, the grayish-white giant snake suddenly spread its massive fleshy wings. Its dark green eyes shifted from the black monster to Liu Yi. Instantly, Liu Yi felt a badpremonition—the giant reptile seemed very interested in him. Especially after those eyes stared at him for a while, as if pondering something. Could beasts even have minds?
How could Liu Yi know that after thousands of years of cultivation, a divine beast had already acquired wisdom, differing from humans only in appearance, while its other abilities far surpassed those of humans?
Sure enough, after the grayish-white snake stopped observing, its body suddenly moved. Its huge wings generated a strong wind, and its entire body shot toward Liu Yi like an arrow. At the same time, its gaping maw opened wide, releasing another wave of foul-smelling breath.
Although the giant snake was not as large as that black monster, it was still much bigger than Liu Yi. At this moment, Liu Yi didn’t dare hesitate. His vital energy automatically surged when danger arose, and he instantly raised it to the twelfth level. Using his right foot to push off the ground, he quickly left the surface and flipped backward. As he flipped, he gently moved his right wrist, and the moment he landed, the black long sword was already drawn. A flash of light appeared in the center of the snake’s head, accompanied by the sound of metal colliding. Upon landing, Liu Yi sheathed the sword back.
The gray-white giant snake, despite being hit in the center of its forehead by the blade of the “Sorrowful Dream” sword, wasn’t injured—only a white mark remained on its forehead. Liu Yi was shocked; it was incredibly hard. This reminded him of the Guardian Bone Dragon from the human world’s demonic sects. But after all, this snake had a physical body. Though its body was hard, the sword’s edge still left a mark on its forehead. Yet, given Liu Yi’s cultivation level and the sharpness of the magic sword, only a mark could be left, showing just how difficult this snake was to deal with.
At that moment, the gray-white giant snake seemed to feel pain from the strike. Despite missing its target, it didn’t stop, letting out a shrill howl. Then, its huge flesh wings generated a gust of wind as it lunged at Liu Yi again. Its speed and strength were so great that by the time Liu Yi could catch his breath, it had already reached ten feet away.
Liu Yi was alarmed. Just as he prepared to use his vital energy to dodge, the gray-white snake’s green eyes suddenly widened, and its rapidly moving body stopped instantly, as if someone had forcibly halted it. Liu Yi glanced back—yes, someone had stopped it, but it wasn’t a human. It was that mountain-like black monster. The monster’s barbed claws on its left hand extended, and with its immense strength, they dug deep into the snake’s tail, anchoring it to the ground. The once-fast-moving serpent could no longer move an inch.
Looking at the giant black monster, Liu Yi felt grateful. It might have looked ugly and terrifying, but compared to the snake attacking him, it seemed much more adorable. Perhaps from pain or anger, the gray-white snake let out a heart-wrenching howl. But the black monster didn’t stop its actions because of its cries. Its huge right claw grabbed the snake’s tail and began spinning it violently.
Now, the gray-white snake was like a toy, forced to spin by the monster’s immense strength. Then, with a roar, the black monster threw the snake out, sending it straight at a thick ancient tree in the distance. With a loud crash, either due to the monster’s overwhelming force or the snake’s extremely hard body, the tree broke in half. Another crash followed as the snake’s body was crushed beneath the trees.
Seeing the snake crushed under the massive tree, the black monster seemed pleased; it kept jumping and letting out excited cries. The ground shook violently with each of its jumps, even starting to crack, while its claws kept slapping the ground, the sound like thunder that made one’s ears ring. Watching the battle between the two monsters, Liu Yi thought to himself, “If I use the Blood of Fury to lure these monsters to Tearsless City, even Ye Luoxiong, with his extraordinary abilities, would have no chance of winning. But… seeing how fierce the fight between those two giants already was, if too many are lured there, it might harm Tearsless City as well.” Liu Yi wasn’t afraid at the moment. Even if both monsters posed a threat to him, he could still run. With his current level of cultivation, few beasts could catch up to him. So, he stayed to observe, trying to come up with a foolproof way to drive the beasts back. At that moment, the ground stopped shaking. Liu Yi instinctively glanced at the huge black monster. He was sure that if the ground hadn’t been shaking, the monster would have stopped moving. Indeed, the mountain-sized black monster walked toward the grayish-white giant snake, its red eyes scanning left and right as if pondering something. The distance between them grew smaller. The grayish-white giant snake lay motionless under the thick tree, but Liu Yi felt something was off, though he couldn’t pinpoint what. When the black monster reached behind the gray snake and prepared to bend down and grab its tail with its right hand, suddenly, the snake’s body moved. Its thick tail swished like a whip and struck the monster’s body fiercely. Only then did Liu Yi realize what was wrong. His “Sorrowful Dream” sword was extremely sharp, and his vital energy was incredibly powerful—yet they couldn’t hurt the grayish-white snake. How then could the snake have been crushed by the ancient tree and become motionless? This was clearly a plot—the snake must have been pretending to be dead. Realizing this, Liu Yi quickly raised his head and shouted, “Be careful!” Though Liu Yi was small, his voice was very loud when his vital energy was activated in a moment of urgency. The black monster turned its head to look at him. By then, the snake’s tail had already swung. By the time the monster turned to defend itself, it was too late. With a loud “bang,” the massive tail struck the monster’s body hard. Although the grayish-white snake was several times smaller than the black monster, the force of its tail strike was astonishing. Unable to resist, the black monster was hit full force and flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the ancient trees behind it. But it wasn’t over. The immense force kept pushing it backward, knocking down tree after tree. After seven trees fell, the black monster finally stopped moving. With another shake of the ground, its huge body collapsed to the ground.
Looking at the giant black beast lying on the ground in the distance, Liu Yi felt a bit worried. After all, this beast had been helping him, and after such a severe blow, it must be seriously injured. That gray-white giant snake didn’t seem like a friendly creature; it surely wouldn’t give up until the beast was killed. But what could he do? Acting now might not guarantee victory, but it would definitely delay his return to Wulue City. In his desperation, Liu Yi reproached the black beast, “Why are you so stupid? I told you to be careful. What am I doing here?”
Just as Liu Yi finished speaking, a furious roar came from ahead. Liu Yi looked in that direction. Who else could it be but that black beast? He tried hard to see if the beast was badly injured, but despite his efforts, he couldn’t spot any wounds on it. Liu Yi exclaimed, “It’s harder than iron.”
The black beast then acted as if possessed, slamming its right hand onto the ground with a loud crash. The ground shook violently, and the immense force sent trees rising from the ground and falling everywhere. The area had originally had dense trees, but after that blow from the beast, it was now completely flat.
As the beast finished its movement, its huge and clumsy body leaped suddenly, heading straight for the gray-white giant snake. Though the beast was large and appeared clumsy, its leap was surprisingly agile—covering ten zhang in one jump. Its massive body, like a mountain, blocked out the sun as it rushed toward the snake.
Liu Yi’s eyes lit up as he thought, “So that’s how it is. Sometimes, the difference between speed and strength is very clear. When the gap between them is too large, strength must confront strength. Just like when I tried to attack that gray-white snake with my sword—the gap between offense and defense was too great, so I couldn’t harm it. But now, this black beast, also possessing strength, doesn’t rely on speed or the sharpness of its weapon; instead, it uses its huge body and its own strength as weapons.”
The black beast even changed its posture mid-air. Instead of landing on its legs, it retracted its feet and used its enormous buttocks to land, right on top of the snake’s body.
Liu Yi thought to himself, “Good, using its own advantage.” Although it was a battle between beasts, Liu Yi saw something unusual here. That huge buttock might well be the beast’s advantage. Its body was already massive, and by concentrating its strength and using the momentum of its fall, along with that vast area of its buttocks, it was only natural that it would crush the snake.
It seemed the gray-white giant snake also understood the sheer force of that pressure—far beyond what a mountain could represent. If it were crushed properly, it would be destroyed. In panic, the snake spread its wings wide and tried to flee, but it was too late. Though its massive body’s falling speed couldn’t compare to that of a meteor, it wasn’t something the snake could easily dodge.
With a bang, the ground trembled once again, and Liu Yi’s body swayed as well. Looking around, dust filled the air, and stones rolled everywhere. A large pit over ten zhang wide had formed on the ground, with that huge, somewhat wooden-looking monster sitting atop it. Between the pit and the monster’s rear was the tail of that gray-white giant snake.
This giant snake was rampant in this vast wasteland, but if it encountered a creature of such size, it could only be crushed. In pain, the gray-white snake suddenly coiled tightly, and its dozens-of-zhang-long body wrapped around the black monster like a twisty rope.
Liu Yi was shocked. This was the nature of snakes—such a giant snake, with such a tight wrap, meant an immense amount of force at play. If this continued, the monster might be strangled to death in no time.
The gray-white snake was inherently cruel; it wouldn’t let go just because it had wrapped around the monster. As it circled up to the monster’s upper body, it suddenly opened its gaping maw, its ferociously white teeth aiming straight for the black monster’s throat. Regardless of whether those teeth were poisonous, just one bite would surely cause the monster’s blood to gush out.
Without further thought, Liu Yi quickly turned his right hand and placed it on the sword hilt. Guided by his true energy, he summoned the Light Dragon. As the black sword emitted a white glow and a dragon’s roar sounded, a beam of light appeared right behind the giant snake’s head.
Although the Light Dragon wasn’t very strong, it was extremely fast. By the time Liu Yi drew his sword, it had already struck the snake’s back of the head. The powerful true energy summoned the Light Dragon, and its incredible speed gave the sword extra force. Though it wasn’t enough to deal a fatal blow to the snake, the pain made its head tilt backward.
Liu Yi wanted to strike again, but suddenly, his true energy surged violently toward his heart. Alarmed, he realized it was the backlash of his killing desire—he couldn’t use his true energy anymore. But at this critical moment, if he didn’t act, the black monster would be strangled to death by the snake. Yet continuing to use his true energy might mean being consumed by his killing desire.
In desperation, Liu Yi shouted at the black monster, “Hit it, idiot…”