### Chapter 65: The Pond's Opportunity (Part 2)
The python let out a sudden hiss, its massive tail swinging toward Lin Yi.
*Boom!*
*Crash!*
The entire pond trembled, as if the water had exploded from within. Countless thick bubbles surged upward, swirling into a rapidly spinning vortex before the python's eyes.
Faced with the power of that swing, Lin Yi felt the world spin, his vision blurring, direction lost. In an instant, the massive tail slammed into his body, sending him plummeting toward the pond's bottom. Even with a physique stronger than most low-level cultivators, he couldn't withstand the enraged strike of a Fifth-order python. His blood roiled, a sweetness rising in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His internal organs were shaken, injured by the impact.
Lin Yi's face paled, a sense of mortal danger crashing over him.
If not for the *Sao Bao* robe he wore, that single swing would have either killed him or left him half-dead and unconscious—easy prey for the python.
In desperation, Lin Yi unleashed every ounce of power he could muster: spiritual energy and the strange power from the *Five Spirits Body Tempering Technique* surged through his body simultaneously. It was the second time he'd run two completely different forces side by side—the first had been when the hunchbacked "Lord Luo" struck him with the *Netherworld Twelve Needles*, and he'd frantically channeled his power to counter the poison.
Having done it once, the anomaly between the two forces grew clearer this time. But Lin Yi had no mind to study this unclear change. Struck by the python's tail, he sank rapidly, his churning blood impossible to suppress. Terrified, he focused all his attention on the python behind him, scrambling for a way to survive.
The attacks from the six elders and nineteen disciples were also weakened by the python's enraged swing. By the time they landed on the python, their power was greatly diminished. The churning water knocked them back slightly.
Lin Yi had sunk so deep that the water's resistance grew overwhelming. Blocked by the water, the elders and disciples failed to notice that Lin Yi, far below, hovered on the edge of death.
Pain, the cold of the water, and the ever-looming crisis—Lin Yi had never felt such fear. Death seemed inches away, ready to claim him with a single reach.
The python, enraged that its strike hadn't killed the fragile human in its eyes, shot a murderous glare from its two eyes. It opened its cavernous maw, its body coiling as it dove deeper toward the bottom.
Watching the python draw closer—barely thirty feet away—Lin Yi's heart raced, terror flooding his face.
"Hmm?"
A sudden thought flashed in his mind: the bracelet, and the world inside it he'd stumbled into. In desperation, Lin Yi didn't hesitate. He focused his mind, channeling inner strength to activate the bracelet.
In an instant, five-colored light burst from the bracelet.
Lin Yi's heart leaped. If he could enter the bracelet's world, he'd escape this crisis. Moreover, with this bracelet, he could hide inside whenever he faced an unbeatable foe—no one could touch him.
The thought excited him. His fear of the python faded slightly.
The five-colored light grew brighter. But to Lin Yi's eager anticipation, the bracelet remained unchanged—only the light, fed by his inner strength, grew more vivid.
By now, the python was less than thirty feet away. Another inch closer, and Lin Yi would have to face its fury head-on.
"What's wrong?" The fear he'd just shaken off flooded back instantly.
Last time, when the bracelet activated and the five-colored light appeared, he'd slipped into its world in a flash. But now, twice as much time had passed, and there was no sign of entry. Could it be that the world inside the bracelet wasn't something he could enter at will? Were there hidden restrictions?
The thought chilled him, his last hope crumbling.
Unable to enter the bracelet's world, and with the python so close, fleeing would only buy time and waste more spiritual energy.
"Dammit! I didn't招惹 you! Just took a look around your place, and you're driving me to this?" Lin Yi's face twisted with anger. "Fine! Let this fat worm see how厉害 I am!"
He stopped, spinning to face the python. Slapping his storage bag, he drew the *Kuang Wang* sword—a top-grade artifact—and flicked his wrist, the tip dancing through several sword seals.
"*Sky-Shattering Ninth Strike: Second Form—Annihilation!*"
Lin Yi roared, and a stunning sword qi sliced toward the python.
Having studied Guan Pu's insights into the *Sky-Shattering Ninth Strike*, his execution of the second form was far stronger than during the outer sect tournament, when he'd used finger seals instead of a sword.
In an instant, a destructive force shrouded the python.
Facing this惊天 sword strike, the already severely injured python ignored its wounds, opening its maw wide and swallowing the sword qi whole before Lin Yi's stunned eyes.
Admittedly, with Lin Yi's Fifth Level Qi Refinement, the power of his *Annihilation* strike couldn't threaten a Fifth-order python. But being swallowed so casually left a bitter taste. Was his sword strike really that weak?
Could even an injured Fifth-order beast be so monstrously powerful—daring to swallow a cultivator's fearsome sword strike outright?
Lin Yi seethed. "Dammit! How dare you look down on my *Annihilation* strike!"
After swallowing the destructive *Annihilation* qi, the python's powerful vitality was instantly eroded. Its injuries worsened. But as a Fifth-order beast, its physical body was far stronger than a human cultivator's; even gravely wounded, it retained its combat power.
Lin Yi had already used much spiritual energy in his descent. The *Annihilation* strike had all but drained him. He had too little left to cast another sword technique, let alone the *Shattering Spirit Technique*.
Now, only the power of the *Five Spirits Body Tempering Technique* remained—channeled into his Iron Sand Palm. But he wasn't arrogant enough to think that could handle a Fifth-order python, comparable to a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Yet the delay had bought time. The twenty-five members of the four sects had caught up, now only five to six hundred feet from the python.
Of course, Lin Yi and the Qi Refinement Level 8+ disciples couldn't detect each other.
But the elders, faintly sensing the python's location, also picked up the presence of another cultivator in front of it. As for who that cultivator was, they couldn't tell.
"Be careful!" Elder Zhao hissed,震惊 (shocked). "Ahead, besides that evil python, there's another cultivator!"
A sudden cultivator at the pond's bottom, present before them—this startled the disciples, who grew instantly cautious.
With no way to tell if the cultivator was friend or foe, caution was paramount.
If that cultivator had also come for the python, they were in danger! Anyone able to stand against a python alone must be at least a Core Formation cultivator. Facing such a being, their twenty-five would only perish. Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators were worlds apart; even Qi Refinement disciples could be killed by a Core Formation expert with a thought.
None of the twenty-five could have guessed that the cultivator was no Core Formation expert, but merely a Fifth Level Qi Refinement disciple—Lin Yi, Dianxuan's outer sect champion, newly promoted to core disciple.
Their caution only deepened Lin Yi's peril. A faster descent might have saved him. Now, he could only rely on himself.
*Bang!*
Lin Yi struck with his Iron Sand Palm. The water before him parted, a vortex forming in the center as the palm force surged toward the python's massive head.
The python swung its tail again, churning up waves that collided with Lin Yi's palm.
His Iron Sand Palm, relying solely on physical strength, crumbled instantly against the python's raw power. Lin Yi watched, horror-stricken, as that force rushed toward him.
The power from the *Five Spirits Body Tempering Technique* only worked with his Iron Sand Palm, and he wasn't arrogant enough to think that could handle a Fifth-order python—equivalent to a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
But the delay had let the twenty-five from the four sects close in, now just five to six hundred feet from the python.
Naturally, Lin Yi and the Qi Refinement Level 8+ disciples remained unaware of each other.
The elders, however, vaguely sensed the python's position—and that another cultivator stood before it. Their identity, though, was anyone's guess.
"Everyone, be alert!" Elder Zhao喝道 (snapped), 压低声音 (voice low). "That evil python isn't alone—there's another cultivator ahead!"
Mud and stones swirled at the pond's bottom. Lin Yi crashed into a rock, spitting another mouthful of blood. His face went deathly pale, his gaze flickering—he seemed at the limit of his strength.