CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: NOT ENTIRELY IMPOSSIBLE

Boom!

Tan Xiong swung his staff, sending the Snake Demon flying, rolling over the ground for seven or eight lengths before it finally stopped.

Xu Changge and Duan Li had already been watching for an opportunity to strike. At this moment, they acted decisively. Their twin swords crossed, tearing through the black scales with a sizzle, causing blood to splatter.

The two long swords pinned its tail to the ground, holding it like nails.

The Snake Demon cried out in pain, letting out a sharp wail. Its two heads opened wide in a bloody maw, spewing poison mist, while its tail shook violently as the heads lunged backward to attack.

The Snake Demon had tough skin and immense power. Its sudden outburst almost allowed it to break free. Xu Changge and Duan Li exerted all their strength, clinging to the sword hilts as their blood surged, heat rising above their heads, their faces flushed red.

Seeing the Snake Demon turning to attack, they held firm, refusing to retreat, keeping the long swords pinned into its tail.

"Hit it now!"

Lu Lingxi moved with extreme speed, her body weaving as if a storm passed through, her sword blade flashing like a bolt of lightning, precisely piercing into the bloody maw of the Demon Snake in an instant.

As the Demon Snake was spewing poison mist, Lu’s sword blade pierced upwards, the Three-foot Sword Qi shot through from the upper jaw into the brain, then violently twisted.

The Snake Demon recoiled in pain, half of its head suddenly exploded, with blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.

Despite this being Lu Chengfeng’s first time fighting alongside the others, his combat experience was very rich. Seeing Lu Lingxi attacking the Snake Demon’s right head, he decisively stabbed the left.

Lu Lingxi’s Three-foot Sword Qi was both high in skill and courage, managing to penetrate the Snake Demon’s mouth with precision from within. But Lu Chengfeng had only a mere foot of Sword Qi and could not manage such a feat.

Lu Chengfeng quickly came up with an idea, nearly an instant after Lu Lingxi, the Cold Cicada Sword moved like a White Rainbow across the sky, instantly piercing into the eye of the Snake Demon’s left head.

Squish!

Though he targeted the most vulnerable part, Lu Chengfeng felt as if he was piercing into a rock. Without pausing, he fiercely unleashed Sword Qi, twisting it within the eye socket.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The heavily injured Snake Demon erupted in fury, its tail exerting immense force, tearing a bloody wound and breaking free from the swords, its right head limply dangling and bleeding profusely.

The left head, now blind in one eye, shrieked madly, releasing a poison mist. The Black Wind on its body rampaged, stripping a layer of soil from the ground.

As the massive creature thrashed about, trees in the forest were snapped by its tail, and the spread of poison mist caused plants to wither. Combined with its piercing cries, the area turned extremely dangerous.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Xu Changge and Duan Li’s long swords were flung from their hands, tearing the skin of their palms. Their bodies were thrown several lengths away, just managing to flip and stabilize themselves before crashing into a tree.

Lu Lingxi succeeded in her strike and quickly withdrew, her iron-left-blue suit spotless as if she was a celestial being.

However, Lu Chengfeng faced more trouble. Just after penetrating the Snake Demon’s eye, the massive beast began its furious rampage.

Its head swung fiercely, knocking Lu Chengfeng backward with a jolt, shaking his internal organs, causing him to see black and spew blood before rolling far over the ground, covered in mud and blood.

Fortunately, his Profound Iron Armor protected him, alongside his Inner Strength to guard his organs. Despite his messy appearance, he only suffered minor injuries.

"Damn monster, just die!"

While the others fought, Tan Xiong held his bronze staff, building up power. The Yellow Dragon Peak lineage practiced the Yellow Dragon Hidden Sword True Technique, with its specialty in accumulating force.

The bronze staff in Tan Xiong’s hand, in reality, was a rare treasure. With a flood of Inner Strength, it unleashed a fierce, unmatched sharpness, far sharper than ordinary Treasure Swords.

After a brief moment of build-up, a yellow aura enveloped the staff, seemingly inconspicuous yet brimful of cutting power, moving silently through the air.

Squish!

The staff struck fast and hard, landing on the snake’s crucial spot. One hit split its flesh, causing blood to splatter. The nearby snake body nearly severed into two.

Yet, the Snake Demon’s Life Force was incredibly tenacious. Despite such severe injuries, its vitality remained robust, and it roared with one head, cloaked in Black Wind, retreating into the depths of the swamp.

"Stay!"

Tan Xiong spun the bronze staff, striking the head with a heavy blow. Before it hit the ground, he swung again, sending it flying once more.

With a furious shout, the bronze staff, now surrounded by yellow light, smashed the intact snake head into pulp, leaving a mess of blood and shattered white bones.

Even with both heads blown to bits, the snake body continued to writhe. From the wound crawled countless small venomous insects.

"This thing is truly troublesome!"

Tan Xiong frowned, "Go gather some firewood to burn the snake body. Otherwise, the disciples coming to clean up afterward might get harmed."

Lu Chengfeng rose from the ground, took a deep breath, and circulated his Inner Strength. The circulation of Jade Wave True Qi eased some of the pressure in his chest.

"Are you alright, junior brother?" Lu Lingxi approached and asked. During the battle, this junior apprentice brother displayed remarkable combat experience and skilled Swordsmanship, sharper than many True Disciples who’ve been training for years.

She had to look at him anew, realizing that within a few years, this junior brother would surely rank among the Seven Heroes, with a limitless future ahead.

For someone with talent, she naturally held respect.

"Senior sister, I’m fine, just a slight shock to my insides. Some breath regulation and I’ll be alright," Lu Chengfeng replied, retrieving a piece of deerskin from his sleeve pouch and wiping the blood from the Cold Cicada Sword blade before sheathing it with a clang.

"That’s good. You focus on your breathing. We’ll gather firewood," Lu Lingxi proposed, knowing this was his first beast tide campaign and he was a freshly joined junior brother.

"Thank you for your concern, senior sister. I’m fine," Lu Chengfeng answered, feeling a shiver looking at the venomous insects crawling from the snake’s body. "Let’s burn the Snake Demon’s body and insects soon."

"Alright, take care. If you feel unwell, rest first," Lu Lingxi advised before quickly gathering firewood.

Soon, they piled up a stack of wood. Unfortunately, the swamp air was damp, leaving the wood cold and damp too. Without Duan Li’s Thunder Fire, it couldn’t be ignited.

When they saw the snake body and insects burning in the raging fire, making sizzling sounds, sparks burst occasionally, releasing thick black smoke into the air.

"We’ll rest here briefly. After this wood burns out, we’ll inspect the snake body remains and then leave," Tan Xiong instructed, after which they each found a place to sit around the fire.

Lu Chengfeng found a large stone, swept away dirt and insects with a flick of his sleeve, then sat cross-legged to regulate his breath.

...

Meanwhile, at Houde Square, Cai Zhang once again met Qiutong’s maid. After relaying Lu Chengfeng’s message, the maid went inside to report, leaving him anxiously waiting outside.

After an unknown amount of time, a graceful silhouette appeared through the window, and a cool voice emerged, "An interesting person indeed. I wonder what he looks like. If there’s a chance to meet... If he pleases the eye, it wouldn’t be out of the question!"