Time seemed to stretch and contract in the moment before impact. Wei Shen saw the massive jaws of the "Crimson Magma Serpent" descending upon him like the gates of hell, and he felt the scorching heat emanating from them burning the air, nearly melting his skin despite all his preparations. In his eyes, there was no fear, only a focus as cold as frost and an unyielding iron will—a will that had gambled everything on this single strike.
"Either I pierce your defense… or I turn to ash. There is no third option."
In a fraction of a second, with a speed that surpassed the instinct for survival, Wei Shen made a near-impossible move. Instead of trying to retreat, he pushed his body forward and slightly to the side, twisting his torso at an unnatural angle.
His dagger, infused with all the "Blood Qi" he possessed from the peak of the ninth level, pierced the soft spot under the serpent's neck. He felt the dagger sink through the thick scales, then penetrate the tough flesh, creating a deep, painful wound. At the same time, he felt the serpent's upper jaw slam into his shoulder and chest with immense force, not as a full bite, but like a blow from a glowing rock hammer.
His dagger broke.
A muffled sound of shattering bone was heard, and Wei Shen let out a suppressed groan of pain as he was thrown through the air like a rag doll, slamming hard against the rocky cave wall tens of meters away, then falling like a discarded heap to the ground.
The mythical beast let out a horrific roar of pain and rage, a roar that shook the entire volcanic cavern and sent rocks falling from the ceiling. The blow hadn't been fatal, but it was incredibly painful, and more importantly… it was humiliating. But the worst part for the serpent was not the physical wound itself.
It was the "Blood Qi" that Wei Shen had injected into its body.
The moment this cold, venomous, and corrosive Qi entered the serpent's fiery body, it began to wreak havoc. It was like a drop of black venom cast into a lake of pure magma. The "Blood Qi" began to devour and corrode the serpent's "Fire Qi" from the inside, a malignant disease spreading rapidly, causing unbearable internal pain.
The serpent's flames began to flicker irregularly, and the color of the lava in its glowing veins started to change, tinged with unsettling black and purple lines.
The battle had now entered a new, terrifying phase: a war of attrition between two wounded beasts.
With great difficulty, and in pain that nearly made him lose consciousness, Wei Shen pushed himself to his feet. His left arm was clearly broken, and he felt that several of his ribs were shattered. Blood was trickling from his mouth, and every breath he took was like a knife stab in his chest. The heat-resistant leather wrappings on his body were charred and torn, the cold ointment had completely evaporated, and he felt painful burns on his exposed skin.
"The beast… has an internal wound," Wei Shen thought, panting, the "Blood-Devouring Stone" inside him pulsing with a cold hunger. "My Qi… is working. It's poisoning its energy from the inside. I just need… to buy some time."
The serpent was now in a state of mad frenzy. It thrashed and struck randomly with its massive tail, shattering rock pillars and launching rivers of liquid fire in every direction. Its attacks were no longer focused, but were an expression of blind pain and rage.
Wei Shen began to move, limping noticeably, using the chaos to his advantage. He hid behind massive rocks, dodged the flying streams of magma, and watched his wounded opponent. He didn't have the strength to launch another direct attack now. He had to wait, to let his "Qi venom" take its effect.
With every passing minute, the serpent grew weaker and more confused. Its roars became less powerful, more pained. Its movements became slower, and the flames it spat became less intense. It stumbled around its lair, like a wounded king dying slowly on his throne.
Wei Shen saw his opportunity slowly taking shape. He knew he had one last attempt. He had consumed most of his "Blood Qi" in the first attack and in protecting his body from the devastating blow.
With his one good hand, he picked up his second ivory dagger, which had fallen nearby. It was still warm from the heat of the cave.
He waited for the moment the serpent turned towards him, opening its mouth in a final, desperate attempt to unleash a stream of flame, but only black smoke and a weak hiss came out. Its internal energy had been completely corroded.
In that moment of absolute weakness, Wei Shen launched himself.
It was not the speed of the ninth level, but the speed of absolute will. He dragged his broken body across the scorching rock floor, leaped onto the pained beast's back, and ran along its spine, which resembled a small mountain range, avoiding its sharp scales.
He reached the serpent's massive head, and with all the strength he had left, and with all the remaining "Blood Qi" he had mustered in his good arm, he plunged his ivory dagger up to the hilt into the wound he had previously made in its neck.
This time, there was no resistance.
The dagger sank deep, reaching the beast's brain or its central nervous system. The giant body of the "Crimson Magma Serpent" gave one last, violent shudder that shook the entire cavern, then it stilled completely.
The fiery glow faded from its scales, and the magma in its veins began to cool and turn to dull black rock.
The king of the Lava Caves was dead.
Wei Shen slid off the serpent's lifeless body and collapsed to the ground, nearly unconscious. He had pushed himself to his absolute limits, and beyond.
He remained in this state for long minutes, between consciousness and oblivion, listening only to the sound of his ragged breathing and the distant sound of magma flowing in the volcanic river.
But his will would not let him surrender.
"The spoils…" a faint voice whispered in his mind. "The reward… must be secured."
With an effort that surpassed human endurance, he began to crawl towards the beast's carcass. Every movement was torment. He used his dagger to begin cutting into the serpent's thick chest, a task that would have been arduous even at his full strength.
After long, painstaking work, he finally reached what he was looking for. The serpent's heart. It wasn't an ordinary heart, but like a huge gem, nearly the size of his head, made of "Flame Crystal," and still pulsing with a faint heat and pure fire energy. This was a legendary forging material and an immense source of power.
Then, he collected what he could of the serpent's blood, which was still hot and dense, carrying the essence of a beast at the peak of the ninth level. Finally, he extracted the "Beast Core," which was the size of his fist and glowed with a deep crimson-red color, like a small sun.
He placed all these priceless treasures into his "storage bag." He had succeeded. He had completed the mission.
But he was on the verge of death.
"I must get out of here," he thought, feeling his consciousness begin to fade. "I must return… to the city… to get the reward… and the pills…"
He began the impossible journey back, dragging his broken body out of the Lava Caves, across the barren gray lands. Every step was hell. He would fall, then crawl, then rise, then fall again, driven only by that indomitable will and the image of those pills that might be his only hope for healing.
Would he survive? Would he reach "Blackrock City" before his vitality completely collapsed? Or would this forest, which had offered him so much power, become his final grave?
Wei Shen, or what was left of him, stood at the entrance of the cave and looked at the distant horizon where the city lay, then looked at his body, which was bleeding and in agony.
"The reward… is guaranteed," he muttered with a bloody smile. "Survival… not yet."
And with one staggering step, he began his final journey towards salvation… or damnation.