Lin Tian felt an unprecedented pressure in his life—the head and neck of the black snake were almost fully extended, and in that instant, his sharp senses told him that its attack power might far exceed his imagination. His mind went blank, but an irresistible impulse surged in his heart—he had to stop this snake, or he would undoubtedly die.
Without a second thought, Lin Tian flipped over and quickly leaped onto a tree branch, lunging toward the snake's neck and landing a heavy punch. Though his injuries were still severe, the force of his punch was not to be underestimated, perhaps reaching five hundred pounds. However, the result was shocking: the snake merely swayed violently and remained unharmed, its anger radiating as its head jerked back out.
He quickly realized that this battle left no room for error—if the snake's head fully withdrew, it would be almost impossible to stop its attack. Driven by his strong survival instincts, Lin Tian ignored the excruciating pain in his body and threw punch after punch, targeting the black snake's head.
The black snake's counterattack came swiftly. Its body twisted in the air, striking Lin Tian like a whip, each lash carrying the power of a wild beast's tail—immensely strong. With every dodge, Lin Tian was inevitably cut by its scales, and his old injuries reopened, but he continued to press on, attacking the snake's body without hesitation.
Though his body was nearing its limits, Lin Tian persisted with his indomitable will. With every heavy punch, cracks began to appear in the snake's scales. Finally, after a series of intense attacks, the most vulnerable part of the snake's body—the belly—developed a small crack. At last, with a final powerful blow, the once-mighty black snake lost all resistance, falling to the ground and ceasing all movement.
Gasping for breath, Lin Tian collapsed onto the tree branch, his limbs hanging weakly, the searing pain from his wounds almost making him faint. After some time, he regained a semblance of clarity and looked down, suddenly realizing that he had forgotten his dagger. Filled with regret, he instinctively reached for his ankle, and sure enough, the dagger was still there.
Although the dagger had been given to him by the Tian Can Sect, it was merely a common weapon for cultivators, unremarkable even to some outer sect disciples. To ordinary people, the dagger was incredibly sharp, but against the black snake's tough scales, it hadn't even left a scratch. Lin Tian couldn't help but be astonished—its defensive strength was so great that even blades couldn't harm it.
Fortunately, Lin Tian had relied on his sheer strength to kill the snake. Without this formidable power, if he had depended solely on the dagger, he would never have defeated the fierce snake, and he would have had no chance to escape.
"That was close, I almost became a meal in the snake's belly." Lin Tian wiped off the cold sweat, feeling a pang of fear.
However, recalling what Old Li had once said—"The body of a fierce beast is a treasure"—Lin Tian's eyes lit up. He began to move the snake's corpse, not letting any valuable part go to waste. He found the snake's gallbladder and swallowed it without hesitation. The immense medicinal power instantly spread throughout his body, repairing his injured tendons and bones, as though a warm force was continuously flowing into him, greatly aiding his recovery.
He didn't rush to deal with the snake's corpse but instead began cultivating using the techniques from the Lingwu Sutra, harnessing the medicinal energy to accelerate his recovery. As he continued cultivating, Lin Tian felt every bone, every muscle in his body rapidly healing. Meanwhile, he faintly noticed that his vision was becoming unusually sharp, even able to see the texture of leaves dozens of meters away.
Time passed, and after cultivating for nearly half an hour, the medicinal energy from the snake's gallbladder and blood had been completely refined, and his injuries had improved significantly. However, the hunger returned with full force. With no choice, Lin Tian began to process the snake's meat. Though the taste was repulsive, he had no choice but to force himself to swallow it.
He didn't plan to make a fire—smoke in this unknown, primitive jungle could attract fierce beasts and magical creatures, and in his current state, he had no strength left to fight another formidable opponent.
After eating the snake meat, he began to strip off its skin, casually rolling it up and tying it around his right hand to make a simple wrist guard. Although the snake skin hadn't been specially refined, its tough nature was enough to withstand ordinary sword and knife strikes. If he were to refine it into protective gear, it might even be stronger than some low-level magical artifacts.
However, Lin Tian knew that this jungle was far from as simple as it appeared. Deeper within, there might be even stronger magical beasts, or perhaps even legendary spirit beasts. To survive, he would need far more power.