After walking barely three hundred meters, a faint screeching sound reached the ears of Li Chang'an and Ye Xuan. With each step forward, the sound grew sharper and more piercing.
"They're coming. Stay alert," Li Chang'an said calmly.
With a flick of his wrist, ten steel needles, each about twenty centimeters long and razor-sharp, appeared in his hand.
These needles had been custom-forged by a top-tier blacksmith. Li Chang'an had kept them tucked away in his storage soul tool for just the right occasion.
Ye Xuan blinked in confusion. She didn't know what "they" were. But the moment Li Chang'an launched those needles, she saw ten blood-red bats fall from the distant black mist.
He knew they were coming ahead of time?
Before she could even process that thought, more blood-colored bats surged out of the darkness—and by then, Li Chang'an already had another handful of steel needles ready.
Although he didn't specialize in hidden weapons, Li Chang'an's terrifying spiritual power and raw physical strength gave each needle deadly precision and force. Every throw was a guaranteed kill.
Despite the overwhelming number of bats, his reaction speed was even faster. He threw the needles five at a time, maintaining a pace of one volley per second.
The swarm of bloodbats was thus forcefully held back by Li Chang'an alone.
Ye Xuan had prepared to fight, but seeing how effortlessly he handled the situation… she realized her help wasn't needed at all.
Still, Li Chang'an was just one man. As they advanced slowly, a few bats slipped through the barrage.
This time, Ye Xuan didn't need instruction. Her first and third soul rings lit up as her shadow grew dense and solid.
It began to expand—growing into a towering three-meter-tall shadow giant. The hulking figure raised its massive hands and began swatting down any bats that slipped past Li Chang'an. Each blow turned the creatures into paste.
"Impressive martial soul. Keep it up," Li Chang'an praised casually.
This was his first time seeing her Shadow Spirit in battle. He'd assumed it was mainly for stealth and infiltration, but its combat ability was far beyond his expectations.
---
To be honest, these blood-colored bats were nothing more than a warm-up—but they had numbers on their side. What followed was a drawn-out battle of attrition.
Fortunately, both Li Chang'an and Ye Xuan were immensely powerful. The bats, though numerous, couldn't match their endurance. Eventually, the swarm thinned, and the battle drew to a close.
As they reached the edge of the thinning black mist, a sudden psychic shriek pierced the air. A massive figure loomed in the distance.
Just ahead, hanging beneath the narrow bridge, a gigantic creature revealed itself—its dark-golden body faintly glowing under the ambient red light.
It was over four meters long, with two enormous claws gripping the path's edge. Each claw was over a meter wide, embedded deep into the stone.
As the remaining bloodbats shrieked, the dark-golden beast unfurled its wings—a terrifying ten-meter wingspan—and let go.
It soared into the air.
A massive bat, but what was most horrifying… was that it had three heads.
The remaining bats quickly swarmed behind it.
The Bat King… had arrived.
Just as Ye Xuan registered what was happening, Li Chang'an's figure blurred. He leapt into the air, and a pitch-black axe appeared in his hand.
His martial soul.
Ye Xuan's eyes widened. Despite seeing him fight so many times, she had never seen him actually use his martial soul during a battle. This was the first time.
And the aura it emitted… was terrifying.
Li Chang'an leapt high and brought the axe down toward the Bat King's heads—but the beast was faster. Its wings opened wide, taking it higher, while the bloodbats launched a simultaneous assault from behind.
"Fly? Fly my ass."
Li Chang'an snarled and flung the Pangu Axe like a black shooting star, then summoned the Donghuang Bell, enveloping himself in a protective barrier.
SWOOSH!
The Pangu Axe sliced cleanly through the Bat King—splitting it down the middle, perfectly symmetrical.
The incoming bloodbats slammed into the bell—and were annihilated on impact.
The Bat King disintegrated into a rain of blood, lifeless before it even hit the ground.
It probably never imagined it would be split in half by a single axe.
Despite everything that had just happened, only thirty seconds had passed.
Ye Xuan stood there, stunned.
That Bat King's power likely rivaled a high-level ten-thousand-year spirit beast—and it had just… died. Instantly.
As for the swarm? None lasted more than a heartbeat against the bell.
And he didn't even use a soul skill.
"Let's go," Li Chang'an said, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward. The system had already pinged with rewards—but the real reward was the look of pure shock on her face.
That alone was… satisfying.
---
A few steps later, Li Chang'an suddenly stopped.
His spiritual sense had picked up something ahead—the serpent.
Glowing red eyes watched from the shadows, its dark red body coiled across the narrow path.
Though the full size of the creature was unclear, one thing was certain:
It was massive.
The snake's crimson eyes burned brighter than the Bat King's had. Its head and back were lined with nine grotesque bulges, each resembling a pulsing, blood-filled mushroom cap.
Its belly was grotesquely swollen. Its body easily spanned over ten meters.
Li Chang'an didn't hesitate.
He pulled out a skin pouch from his soul tool—realgar wine.
He had come prepared.
As they approached, the monster serpent let out a chilling cry—eerily like a baby's wail. The nine bulges on its back began glowing gold-red.
At about twenty meters, the serpent struck first.
A crimson flame burst from its mouth, shooting forward along the ground. It clung to the narrow path and surged toward them.
Dodging was impossible on such a narrow ledge.
The flame wasn't just fire—it carried a toxic red mist, potent and deadly.
Li Chang'an sneered.
"You think that's impressive? Watch this."
With a flick of his wrist, the wineskin flew through the air and burst open mid-flight, forming a curtain of realgar mist that met the flame head-on.
Realgar, the ancient nemesis of all serpent venom.
While it might not cure poison, it was more than enough to counter it.
Sure enough, the red mist vanished the moment it touched the realgar.
Even some of the liquid splashed onto the serpent—but it showed no reaction.
As expected. This was The Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent , a monster among monsters. It would take more than realgar to hurt it.
But Li Chang'an was ready.
If one axe wasn't enough, then two would do!
The blade of the Pangu Axe was suddenly coated in extreme cold, a thin mist of pure ice essence.
Ultimate Ice vs. Fire—let's see who's hotter.
Li Chang'an leapt forward and swung his axe straight into the flame.
The crimson fire split cleanly in two, and the sides froze solid where they met the ice.
No time to rest.
He summoned ultimate Thunder, the Pangu Axe now crackling with lightning.
The electrified blade wrapped around the serpent, and it began writhing violently, clearly in pain.
Li Chang'an dashed to the side—targeting the seven-inch mark—and with a single clean slash, tore open the serpent's hide.
Inside was a large, glowing crimson core.
Sever the core, and the serpent dies.
Time taken: one minute.