Translator: CinderTL
The death of their companion did not frighten the poisonous insects; instead, it made them more cunning. They dispersed, swarming Song Wen from all directions.
Seeing this, Song Wen abandoned his sun-chasing spear, realizing it was like using a cannon to kill mosquitoes—a wasteful expenditure of Spiritual Power.
With a wave of his hand, he unleashed several streams of Spiritual Power, attempting to incinerate the insects with raw energy.
However, the moment these streams traveled more than thirty feet from his body, they flickered like candles in a gale, extinguished by the violent gale.
Song Wen shook his head, sensing the situation growing troublesome.
While the individual strength of these insects was negligible, their sheer numbers posed a threat. If he allowed them to batter his protective shield unchecked, even his abundant Spiritual Power would eventually be exhausted, leading to his defeat.
Abandoning his attempts to deal with the insects, Song Wen focused entirely on resisting the gale, determined to break through the strongest currents in one sustained effort.
Once he escaped the canyon's confines and the gale's fury, the insects would pose no further threat.
Just then, a venomous creature over ten feet long, with a hundred legs, a pair of wings, and a pitch-black, centipede-like body, emerged from the lower reaches of the canyon. It surged against the gale, its dark eyes gleaming with delight as it spotted the swarm of insects filling the sky.
The double-winged centipede opened its massive jaws, and a silver-white silk thread shot forth, instantly piercing through a poisonous insect.
The thread continued its sinuous path, skewering one insect after another, eventually forming a long string of impaled creatures.
Song Wen had already slain hundreds of poisonous insects with his spear, yet they showed no fear. However, the moment the double-winged centipede appeared, they reacted as if facing a natural predator, flapping their wings frantically and fleeing deeper into the canyon.
After piercing through over two hundred insects, the thread suddenly retracted, dragging the impaled creatures toward the centipede's gaping maw.
Without chewing, the centipede swallowed the entire string of insects whole, gulping them down like dates.
Having devoured over two hundred insects, even the most delicious meal can become tiresome. The double-winged centipede turned its gaze toward Song Wen.
The moment the centipede appeared, Song Wen felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy, sensing immense pressure.
This creature possessed at least late-stage fifth tier strength.
Moreover, it was completely unaffected by the gale, giving it a significant home-field advantage and making it exceedingly difficult to defeat.
With a flap of its translucent wings, the double-winged centipede shot toward Song Wen like an arrow released from a bow.
Simultaneously, it opened its grotesque jaws, and the silk thread shot forth once more, aiming directly at Song Wen.
Song Wen channeled his Spiritual Power, pouring it into the sun-chasing spear like a surging flood.
The sun-chasing spear erupted once more, unleashing a hundred-zhang-long spear beam that swept across the incoming silk threads with the force of a raging storm.
Despite their seemingly weightless appearance, the silk threads possessed astonishing strength and razor-sharp edges.
The threads pierced directly into the spear beam, tearing it apart as easily as brittle glass. The beam shattered into countless shimmering fragments that vanished into the air.
Song Wen felt a tremendous force surge through the sun-chasing spear, numbing his arm and splitting the flesh between his thumb and forefinger, causing blood to trickle out.
Most of his Spiritual Power was being used to resist the gale, leaving him unable to unleash the spear's true power.
The threads' lingering force continued its assault, slamming violently into the black protective shield conjured by the Spirit Guard Umbrella.
Boom!
A deafening roar shook the air.
The black shield trembled violently, on the verge of collapse.
Song Wen desperately channeled his remaining Spiritual Power, barely managing to stabilize the faltering shield. Yet the threads' relentless impact sent him spiraling out of control, swept up by the gale like a leaf caught in a raging current.
The threads arced through the air, regrouped, and surged toward him once more.
Song Wen glared at the rapidly approaching threads, a fierce glint in his eyes. Abruptly, he retracted the Spirit Guard Umbrella.
In this gale, the double-winged centipede was proving too formidable to handle.
Moreover, the fierce gale made it impossible to predict where he would be swept. If he were carried too far from the route marked on the map, even if he eventually escaped the double-winged centipede, he might not be able to find the correct path and would ultimately become lost in the miasma-choked core of the Rotting Miasma Ridge.
In an instant, a silk thread pierced Song Wen's skull.
A hundred zhang away, Song Wen's figure suddenly reappeared.
As soon as he materialized, he immediately summoned the Spirit Guard Umbrella to shield himself from the raging gale. Simultaneously, he activated his movement technique, darting toward the opposite side of the canyon.
The double-winged centipede, momentarily confused by this turn of events, reeled in the 'corpse of Song Wen' with its silk threads. When it discovered that it was merely a desiccated husk devoid of flesh and blood, it erupted in fury. Spreading its wings, it gave chase.
Song Wen's expression grew grave. The violent gale severely disrupted his divine sense, limiting the range of his Life Substitution Art to a mere hundred zhang.
The canyon stretched for a thousand li. Even if he exhausted all his Substitute Puppets, he wouldn't be able to escape its confines.
"I must deal with this double-winged centipede," he thought. "Otherwise, crossing the canyon safely will be nearly impossible."
With this resolve, Song Wen abruptly changed direction, charging straight toward the double-winged centipede.
The centipede continued to spit silk threads at him.
In response, Song Wen unleashed a torrent of Thunder Magic from his hands, forming a massive silver sword that crashed down upon the incoming threads.
The lightning was also affected by the gale.
The gale tore at the lightning, rapidly weakening its power.
By the time the lightning collided with the silk threads, its force had diminished to less than half its original strength.
The silk threads easily shredded the lightning, scattering it into countless tiny sparks that were then swept away by the gale.
However, the lightning had slowed the silk threads' advance, allowing Song Wen to close within a hundred zhang of the double-winged centipede.
Repeating his earlier tactic, Song Wen ceased channeling energy into the Spirit Guard Umbrella, allowing the silk threads to pierce him. He then activated the Life Substitution Art, teleporting himself directly above the centipede's head.
Grasping his spear with both hands, Song Wen unleashed a blindingly cold light from its blade and thrust it violently into the double-winged centipede's right eye.
Sensing the imminent danger, the double-winged centipede twisted its body violently, attempting to evade the fatal strike.
But Song Wen's meticulously planned attack was not so easily avoided.
With a soft spelch, the spear pierced the centipede's right eye with unerring accuracy, drawing a spray of dark green blood.
As Song Wen prepared to twist the spear and crush the centipede's skull, he suddenly heard a sharp, whistling sound behind him.
The double-winged centipede had arched its tail, revealing another sharp, black stinger that lunged toward Song Wen's lower back.
Fortunately, Song Wen had already activated the Spirit Guard Umbrella, and the stinger struck the protective shield it had conjured.
A tremendous force slammed into him, sending Song Wen hurtling forward uncontrollably.
Seizing the momentum, Song Wen swept his spear forward, instantly severing nearly half of the double-winged centipede's head.
With half its skull gone, the double-winged centipede looked even more grotesque. Its remaining left eye glared venomously at Song Wen before it flapped its wings and fled swiftly with the gale.
(End of the Chapter)
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