CHAPTER 59: SHOWDOWN WITH THE TEN-THOUSAND-LEGGED CENTIPEDE

Lu Chen received Metal General's message and immediately burst out cursing. "Dammit, you are only lifting the seal now?!"

He quickly recited an incantation and began channeling his spirit qi. He summoned the Twin-Fish Medallion from within the Heavenly Pool and slammed it directly onto the Hunyuan Greatsword. "Slot and strike!!"

The energy surrounding the Hunyuan Greatsword instantly surged, with red and blue lights flaring along its blade.

With the sword's amplification, Lu Chen's combat power spiked, pushing him to the threshold of the Qi Condensation Realm.

The Ten-Thousand-Legged Centipede was so shaken by this surge of power that it stopped its coiling motion and froze midair.

Lu Chen stopped fleeing.

With spirit qi coursing through his body, he launched into the air and charged straight toward the centipede. "Come on then, you overgrown worm! Let's see who's stronger."

He wrapped the vines of the Green Sovereign Divine Tree tightly around the centipede, while using the phantom images from the Golden Snake Nine Variations Art to distract it.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Chen leapt onto the creature's head and struck down with the Hunyuan Greatsword.

With the boost from the Twin-Fish Medallion, the blade's sharpness had increased hundreds of times over. A light slash was all it took to slice open the centipede's defenses.

Lu Chen raised the sword high with both hands, turned the medallion, and a one-zhang-long flame instantly engulfed the blade. "Slot and Strike! Flame Attack!"

"You damned worm, taste the power of the Dragon-Slaying Sword!" he shouted, swinging the fiery blade while silently reciting an incantation. His spirit qi instantly flared to its peak.

The flames enveloping the sword shifted into the shape of a fire dragon. A nascent sword intent, one born of the will to protect the world, began to take form around Lu Chen.

"Haah... Nantian Dragon-Slaying Sword!"

With a thunderous roar, Lu Chen unleashed the technique. He spun the blade downward, gripped it with both hands, and drove it straight into the centipede's head.

The Hunyuan Greatsword pierced through the creature's armored skull, plunging deep into its brain. Foul fluid splattered across Lu Chen's face.

He activated his spirit qi to shake off the filth, then twisted the sword ninety degrees with both hands. The creature's brain was torn and shredded.

Roar!

The whole sequence of movements happened in an instant. The centipede was still dazed and hadn't even reacted, yet half its brain had already been destroyed.

It let out a furious roar and flailed, trying to shake Lu Chen off.

Lu Chen held on tight to the Hunyuan Greatsword, twisting it deeper while summoning the Green Sovereign Divine Tree. Thousands of vines burst forth and pierced into the centipede's brain, draining its life force.

Overwhelmed by the pain, the centipede let out an angry roar and rammed into a massive boulder nearby, trying to crush Lu Chen.

At last, Lu Chen was thrown off. He and the Hunyuan Greatsword were flung to the ground.

As crawling animals with a highly decentralized nervous system, centipedes didn't die immediately, even with a shattered brain.

Sensing the sword's threat, the centipede's eyes darted rapidly, scanning the battlefield.

As it looked around, it caught sight of Nantian Wan'er. Noticing her weak cultivation, the Ten-Thousand-Legged Centipede surged with spirit qi and dove straight underground.

Lu Chen saw it disappear into the earth. He channeled spirit qi into his feet and leapt into the air, eyes scanning the terrain.

He shouted, "Wan'er! Behind you!"

In an instant, the Green Sovereign Divine Tree morphed into a giant shield, placing itself between Wan'er and danger.

At the same time, Lu Chen grabbed the Hunyuan Greatsword and charged toward the centipede.

He once again slashed his weapon and unleashed the Nantian Dragon-Slaying Sword a second time. A dragon-shaped torrent of sword qi, blazing with fire, shot straight toward the centipede.

Sensing the immense power of the strike, the centipede twisted and barely evaded the strike.

Lu Chen quickly reversed his grip on the sword. Spirit qi surged to his ankles, and with each step he took, a miniature Innate Bagua Diagram appeared beneath his feet.

In the blink of an eye, he caught up with the centipede.

He hurled the Hunyuan Greatsword toward the Green Sovereign Divine Tree.

The tree instantly understood his intent. Its countless veins came together to form a large hand, catching the sword tightly and joining the battle against the centipede.

Sensing the centipede's weakened state, Lu Chen rapidly formed a series of hand seals. He drew upon the power of heaven and earth and unleashed the third form of the Golden Snake Nine Variations Art—Flood Dragon's Dive.

Three phantom images appeared in front of the centipede, assisting the Green Sovereign Divine Tree in its relentless assault.

For a moment, the centipede was overwhelmed and pushed back again and again.

Seizing the moment, Lu Chen sat down cross-legged. A glowing palm of spirit qi formed beneath him, lifting him into the air. "You stubborn worm, let's see how you handle this! Heaven-Splitting Six Yang Palms, Frost Sun Lifts The Sky!"

The frigid aura within the Yin Ocean Pearl flowed rapidly toward the top of his head, where an enormous icy sun began to take shape.

With a roar, Lu Chen unleashed the attack. The Frost Sun, infused with the last of his spirit qi, shot straight at the centipede. "Go to hell!"

The icy orb slammed into the creature's skull with a thunderous boom. A chilling force invaded its brain, and in the next instant, its entire body began to freeze.

Lu Chen calmed his spirit qi and recalled the Hunyuan Greatsword. Just as he was about to step forward to check whether the Ten-Thousand-Legged Centipede was still alive, the creature suddenly stirred. A flash of lightning shot out from its glimmering brow.

Lu Chen quickly dodged back, raised the Hunyuan Greatsword, and swung it to block the incoming lightning bolt.

The blast of lightning roared through the air, but the centipede could no longer hold on. Its massive body crashed to the ground before it even managed to unleash its innate divine ability.

Seeing the creature collapse, everyone within the secret realm finally let out a collective sigh of relief.

Atop the cliff, Blindman Lu snorted coldly. "That was too easy."

He was about to trigger an explosion with the spirit qi inside the centipede's body.

However, that move caused the centipede's eyes to snap open. A violet light flickered in its pupils as its body suddenly transformed again.

Its ten-zhang-long, ice-bound form instantly exploded. Brilliant purple light burst forth as a small centipede, only three feet long, shot out from the shattered remains of the original body.

It had gotten much smaller, but the aura it exuded was more than twice as powerful as before.

Staring at the centipede that had seemingly come back to life, Nantian Wan'er quickly warned Lu Chen from behind.

"Lu-gege, I heard grandpa mention this before. This could be the Ten-Thousand-Legged Centipede's true innate ability. It discards its old, broken body and condenses all its cultivation into a smaller form."

Hearing her explanation, Lu Chen immediately recalled Wind Dragon's analysis of such demonic beasts.

This ability was unique to crawling and shell-type creatures. It allowed them to channel all their cultivation power in a single burst, instantly doubling their strength.

But the side effects were brutal. After using it once, their physical body would be destroyed, forcing them to rebuild it from scratch. It was a suicidal move, designed to drag their enemies down with them.

Lu Chen could clearly feel the oppressive aura emanating from the small centipede. It was already approaching the upper levels of the Qi Condensation Realm.

When he compared it to his own conditions, he realized that even at his peak, he wouldn't stand a chance.

Worse than that, he had sustained serious injuries in the earlier fight, and he could utilize less than a tenth of his cultivation. Even with the Twin-Fish Medallion and his pocket world helping him convert spirit qi on the fly, the supply was far from enough.

As the small centipede closed in, Lu Chen shouted, "Hah! You little worm! Let's see if you can chase me through three hundred rounds!"

Without hesitation, he turned and activated his movement technique, darting wildly across the plains.

The centipede was briefly stunned by the sudden turn, but quickly snapped back and began its pursuit.

Nantian Wan'er hid behind a massive boulder, shouting directions to help Lu Chen change course and stay ahead.

Seeing Lu Chen wildly swinging the Hunyuan Greatsword as he ran, she suddenly remembered what Wind Dragon had said about the planetary jade token possessing the ability to control time. She thought this might come in handy in this situation.

With that, she leapt onto the boulder and shouted, "Lu-gege! Use the planetary jade token!"

Hearing her voice, Lu Chen gave a low cry. "Slot and Strike!"

Eggy immediately transformed into the planetary jade token and attached itself to the Hunyuan Greatsword.

Lu Chen looked down at the weapon. The sword now pulsed with blue light, dividing the jade token into eight glowing segments. Each stream of light extended into some unknown depth.

Each segment resembled a button, and the lines of light appeared to be responsive, yet with so many options in front of him, he had no idea what any of them did. "Damn it... I forgot to ask how this thing works! Forget it. If I end up dying, so be it. It's still better than getting killed by this creepy bug."

He closed his eyes and randomly pressed one of the segments. Then, he swung the greatsword behind him.

In that instant, Lu Chen felt a surge of spatial power.

He looked back and saw a portal open behind him, instantly swallowing the pursuing centipede and making it vanish.

"Was that... the Law of Space? And high-tier at that? How is it possible?"

Nantian Xiu, Metal General, and Flame Demon all stared wide-eyed at what had just happened, voices filled with disbelief.

Even Blindman Lu showed a flash of shock before quickly regaining composure. Spirit qi swirled around his fingers as he narrowed his eyes, silently calculating something.

Boom!

A deafening explosion followed. Lu Chen watched as the centipede reappeared over two kilometers away, slamming into the side of a distant mountain.

He stared at the Hunyuan Greatsword in his hand, stunned. "A teleportation formation... and it sent the target two kilometers away? That's insane."

But before the dust could even settle, the small centipede charged toward him once again.

Seeing it once again coming at him, Lu Chen grinned slyly. "Good."

He pressed another segment. This time, his body vanished instantly and reappeared beside Nantian Wan'er.

Realizing where he had ended up, Lu Chen's smile froze. "Wait... no! Wrong one! Crap! Again, quick!"

Seeing the centipede approaching fast from a distance, Lu Chen frantically pressed buttons. In the blink of an eye, he, Nantian Wan'er, and the small centipede were all teleported two kilometers away.

Sensing Lu Chen's unstable aura, the small centipede felt completely mocked. Rage surged through its body as a third eye opened on its forehead. Dozens of lightning bolts shot out at once, blasting straight toward Lu Chen.

Caught off guard by the sudden teleportation and the creature's proximity, Lu Chen barely had time to react. With no chance to dodge, he hastily raised the Hunyuan Greatsword, placing it between himself and Nantian Wan'er.

Boom! Boom!

The lightning strikes crashed down relentlessly, forcing Lu Chen to retreat step by step. But no matter how fierce the attack, the blade's defense held firm.