Chapter Ninety-Five: The Giant Python

The Blood Escape Talisman carried Wu Fangling to a bamboo grove. She coughed up another mouthful of blood, and the loss of her blood essence had grown even worse. If it was not replenished in time, even her lifespan might be damaged.

“Damn Lin Yi. When I return this time, I will make sure you never know peace.”

Wu Fangling wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, hatred flickering in her eyes.

To her, so long as she could take revenge on her enemy, no underhanded method was too vile to use.

Yet in the next instant, the corner of her eye caught a faint golden palm imprint.

“This is...”

Wu Fangling suddenly remembered the final palm strike Lin Yi had unleashed, but she had paid it no mind then. Trusting in the speed of the Blood Escape Talisman, she believed his attack could never possibly reach her.

Who would have thought that this palm strike would follow her ten li away.

Run!

She tried to evade it, but the palm imprint struck her chest in an instant.

With a wet burst, Wu Fangling was sent flying backward. Her heart shattered. She twitched twice on the ground, then died with her eyes wide open, filled with unwillingness.

...

Jia Yueru was fleeing in panic, turning back again and again, terrified that Lin Yi would appear behind her the next second.

Bang.

Suddenly, her head crashed into a solid chest. She looked up, and there stood Lin Yi.

“D-don’t kill me.”

Jia Yueru said in terror, her weak and seductive appearance enough to stir pity in most hearts.

Especially among young men, few could resist her charms.

But before her stood a cultivator who had lived for over a thousand years.

“You unfilial beast, betrayer of master and ancestors. You deserve to die!” Lin Yi said coldly.

“No, it wasn’t me. It was all my elder sister forcing me. If you let me go, I’ll do anything you want.” As she spoke, Jia Yueru tore off her clothes, leaving herself half-covered, her allure all the more intense.

Lin Yi gripped her snow-white throat, his gaze utterly cold.

“Sorry. I have no interest in you at all.”

With that, he tightened his fingers. The light in Jia Yueru’s bright eyes gradually faded away.

After dropping her body, Lin Yi stirred his mind and sensed that Wu Fangling was already dead.

“Self-made misery, unable to live.”

He looked at Jia Yueru’s corpse and sighed softly.

He had avenged Miao Caifeng, but what use was that? The dead could not return.

Lin Yi took the storage pouch from Jia Yueru’s body. It was the lowest grade of storage magic item, and yet even so, it was extraordinarily precious.

After opening it, he saw that the space inside was about one cubic meter. Aside from some pills, there were also several dozen low-grade spirit stones and three grams of medium-grade spirit stones.

Not much, but still an unexpected windfall.

“Next.”

Lin Yi fixed his gaze on a direction, and with a light leap, his figure was already several hundred meters away.

Grandmaster Ye was hiding inside a cave.

Short in stature and skilled in disguise, he could blend seamlessly into his surroundings. Even a Grandmaster of the same realm would find him difficult to discover.

“Hah... who exactly is this young man? How can he be so terrifying?”

Grandmaster Ye pressed himself tightly against the cave wall, holding his breath so completely he looked like nothing more than a stone.

Tap, tap, tap.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps.

Grandmaster Ye hurriedly suppressed his heartbeat to the lowest possible level, letting it move only once every minute or so.

“How long do you intend to keep hiding?”

Lin Yi’s voice rang out by Grandmaster Ye’s ear, making his breathing instantly turn ragged.

Without a second thought, he dashed toward the outside.

But after taking only one step, a figure suddenly appeared and kicked him hard in the chest.

Bang.

Grandmaster Ye was sent flying, his body embedded deep into the mountain wall.

“Cough, cough.”

He coughed violently twice, terror flooding his eyes.

“Relax. I’m not killing you for now,” Lin Yi said flatly.

Even a clay figurine has a temper. The Blood Oath Alliance had sent assassins after him several times in succession, so Lin Yi intended to give them a very special gift.

Otherwise, he would have killed this man with a single palm strike from the start.

“Really?”

A flash of delight appeared in Grandmaster Ye’s eyes, though the wariness in his heart did not loosen at all.

“Hmph.”

Lin Yi gave a faint snort.

Grandmaster Ye immediately felt a jolt in his chest and coughed up another mouthful of blood.

“If I wanted to kill you, do you think you could still run?” Lin Yi asked.

Grandmaster Ye was no fool, and he certainly did not believe Lin Yi was some kind of compassionate saint. In a hoarse voice, he asked, “What do you want?”

“Nothing much. I just want you to carry a message.”

“What message?”

“I hate trouble. That is all you need to tell them. Now get lost.”

Grandmaster Ye gave Lin Yi a deep look, climbed down from the mountain wall, and hurried away at top speed.

Lin Yi returned to the valley and opened the storage pouches on Qin Yong and Grandmaster Mo as well.

In total, he gained nearly a hundred low-grade spirit stones, more than ten grams of medium-grade spirit stones, along with some spirit herbs and rare minerals.

As expected of Grandmasters, their wealth was quite substantial.

“Wu wu wu.”

At that moment, Little Red tugged at Lin Yi’s trouser leg with its mouth.

Its injuries had already recovered about seventy to eighty percent under the healing power of true essence.

“You want me to follow you?” Lin Yi asked.

Little Red nodded, then turned and ran toward a certain direction.

Lin Yi did not hesitate, following after it at an unhurried pace.

Before long, the man and fox arrived beside a small lake.

In the center of the lake were several multicolored blossoms, lovely to behold.

“Seven-Color Crabapples!”

Lin Yi was a little surprised. The greatest use of Seven-Color Crabapples was that they could promote the evolution of bloodlines within monsters or spirit beasts.

No wonder Little Red had been able to grow three tails in such a short time. It seemed this was the opportunity behind it.

“You little fellow, you really were hiding something this well.”

Lin Yi smiled faintly.

“Wu wu wu.”

Little Red hugged its head in grievance.

Lin Yi felt that this little fox’s intelligence was truly growing higher and higher. If it ate all the Seven-Color Crabapples here, its wit might not be inferior to that of an adult.

Little Red tugged at Lin Yi’s trouser leg again, then gestured on the ground with its little paws.

Lin Yi understood its meaning at a glance.

“There is a terrifying fellow here?”

Little Red nodded. Its eyes looked toward the lake with both fear and longing.

Seven-Color Crabapples held a powerful attraction for any spirit beast.

Boom.

Suddenly, the water began to boil.

A huge black python emerged from the bottom of the lake. Just its exposed head was already three meters long and as thick as a barrel.

Even more astonishing, two small antlers had grown from the top of its head.

The moment the giant python appeared, Little Red immediately hid behind Lin Yi.

“This python is on the verge of transforming into a flood dragon!”

Lin Yi was somewhat surprised, and now it was clear why Little Red dared not come near.

It was likely that the Seven-Color Crabapple it had eaten before had been snatched only when this python was not paying attention.

This python’s strength was comparable to that of a human half-step Spirit Lord. Its black, scale-covered hide would probably remain unscathed even under a Grandmaster’s full-force strike.

“Good.”

Lin Yi had a thought. He wanted to take this python as a spirit pet, so it could help protect Dou Dou in the future.

Moreover, this python possessed immense potential. Given enough cultivation, it might even transform from a flood dragon into a true dragon.

Hissssss.

The python flicked its tongue, its gray vertical pupils icy cold.

Its gaze passed over Lin Yi and fixed directly on Little Red behind him.

It could sense the bloodline power within Little Red. Instinct told it that if it could swallow this tiny thing in front of it, its transformation into a flood dragon would accelerate.

“Roar.”

Little Red also let out a low growl. Though frightened, it still bared its teeth and made an attacking posture.

Whoosh.

The giant python suddenly opened its blood盆 maw and shot toward Little Red at tremendous speed.

Lin Yi swung a hand back casually. With a bang, the python’s head was knocked sideways.

The giant python shook its head, seemingly puzzled as to why this tiny thing before it possessed such strength.

But very quickly, it dismissed the thought. Right now, it only wanted to tear Lin Yi apart and swallow him whole.

Hissssss.

The python hissed, arched its body powerfully backward, then sprang forward with its mouth wide open, like an arrow loosed from a bow, lunging straight at Lin Yi.

Yet Lin Yi showed no panic at all. He clenched his fist and punched into the air.

A trace of human-like contempt flashed through the python’s cold eyes.

Bang.

Lin Yi’s fist struck the python’s sturdy head.

The giant serpent’s body was thrown backward. Before it could fall into the water, Lin Yi’s figure appeared once again behind it.

Bang.

Lin Yi kicked its body. The python, which had been reeling backward, was sent flying into the air by the kick, then crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

It closed its eyes and lay still, as if dead.

Little Red cried out in delight and strode proudly toward the python, as though it meant to kick a man when he was down.

“Little Red, wait.”

Lin Yi called it back.

Little Red blinked in confusion, but obediently sat down, its three fluffy tails sweeping back and forth across the ground.

Lin Yi came to the python’s side, only to see its tightly shut eyes snap open. The giant maw opened wide and lunged toward him.

The distance between them was less than a meter. Lin Yi could even clearly smell the foul, fishy stench from inside its mouth.

“Wu wu wu!”

Little Red cried out anxiously, then dashed forward on its short legs, angrily trying to bite the python.

But after only two steps, it saw something that made it freeze.

With a gentle wave of Lin Yi’s hand, the giant python seemed to be pinned in place. Its bloodthirsty maw was now less than a fingernail’s width from Lin Yi’s body.

Yet that tiny gap was enough to make the python feel utterly powerless.

“I’ll give you two choices. First, submit and become my spirit pet. Second, be slain by me and become my meal.”

Through his divine sense, Lin Yi directly transmitted his words to the giant python.

Divine sense had many uses: it could manipulate objects at a distance, unleash mystic arts, and also communicate with all things, directly conveying one’s thoughts to others.