25: Chapter 25 Third-Tier Beast King
"It's over... It's all over..."
Someone collapsed onto the ground in despair, their weapon clattering to the floor.
Faced with a beast tide of this magnitude, never mind those in the Duan Fu Realm, even someone in the Marrow Cleansing Realm would perish on the spot.
"Don't panic! Form up!"
Li Zheng was, after all, a veteran captain with an incredibly strong psychological constitution. He made a split-second decision and roared, "Everyone, listen to my command! Concentrate your fire and charge toward that gap on the left! As long as we get into that main mining tunnel and use the terrain to our advantage, we still have a glimmer of hope!"
"Kill—!!!"
The instinct to survive allowed the crowd to unleash astonishing combat power.
Nearly a hundred Duan Fu Realm experts charged together, their momentum shaking the heavens.
Rays of Origin Qi of various colors exploded within the cavern, severed limbs flew everywhere, and snake blood rained down.
"Ah!" A scream rang out.
A martial artist charging at the very front was accidentally bitten on the calf by a Money Python, and the venom instantly numbed his nerves. Before he could even stand up, several thick snake tails coiled around his body and dragged him deep into the snake swarm in an instant.
The screaming stopped abruptly, leaving only a bone-chilling sound of chewing.
"Don't stop! Don't look back!"
Li Zheng's eyes were bloodshot as his mountain-splitting axe hacked through the wall of snakes, carving out a bloody path.
Lin Fan followed closely behind Zhao Gang, his combat blade turning into streaks of afterimages.
Sword Drawing Art!
With every swing of his blade, a Money Python was sure to die.
But he wasn't using his full strength; he was observing.
"Strange..."
Lin Fan wondered inwardly, "Although there are many of these Money Pythons, they don't seem to be attacking with their full strength. Instead, it's as if they are... herding us?"
That's right, herding.
They were driving everyone in a specific direction.
After a fierce battle and the sacrifice of over a dozen people, the group finally tore open a gap and rushed into a wide main mining tunnel.
Strangely, after they rushed in, the snake swarm behind them didn't pursue; instead, they stopped at the cave entrance, as if there were an invisible boundary there.
"Huff... huff..."
The group collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Everyone was injured, and the air was filled with a thick scent of blood and an aura of despair.
"Why... why aren't they chasing us?"
Li Lu wiped the blood from his face, his voice trembling.
"I don't know. Maybe they're scared?" Wu Sanxing consoled himself.
Just then.
A martial artist holding a tactical spotlight suddenly began to tremble violently, the beam of light shaking as it shone into the depths of the mining tunnel.
"What... what is that..."
Everyone's gaze followed the beam.
The next second.
Everyone stopped breathing.
In the darkness deep within the tunnel, a "small mountain" slowly rose up.
It was a massive Money Python, at least ten meters long and as thick as a water barrel!
The scales on its body were no longer the ordinary dark yellow, but displayed a noble dark gold color. Each scale was the size of a palm, emitting a metallic luster.
It was coiled upon a huge rock, looking down condescendingly at the intruders.
In those huge vertical pupils, there was no ignorance of a beast, but rather an anthropomorphic greed and mockery.
Those vertical pupils stared at the intruders, filled with greed.
"Th... Third-Order?!"
Li Zheng's throat felt tight.
A second-order Money Python was already a nightmare for those in the Body Refining Realm.
Third-order... that was a terrifying existence comparable to a human Origin Sect Realm expert!
It was a true Beast King!
"Run!!! Run quickly!!!"
Li Zheng reacted and roared at the top of his lungs.
But it was already too late.
"Roar—!"
The giant python opened its blood-red maw and let out a roar similar to a dragon's cry.
Boom!
Its massive body launched forward, moving so fast that even afterimages couldn't be seen.
"Snap!"
A Duan Fu Realm martial artist standing at the very front didn't even have time to scream before his upper body was bitten by the giant python.
The teeth-grinding sound of bones shattering rang out.
Blood and internal organs splattered everywhere, covering the people around him.
"Ahhh!"
The crowd completely collapsed.
Faced with such absolute suppression of power, all courage dissolved in an instant.
The crowd cried out as they retreated, but behind them was a dense swarm of snakes, and in front was the terrifying Third-Order Beast King.
There was nowhere to run!
Li Zheng gripped his mountain-splitting axe.
He gripped the mountain-splitting axe in his hand, his blood and energy burning; he was actually going to risk his life.
"You guys go! I'll find a way to hold it off!"
Li Zheng roared and was about to charge up.
"Hold it off, my ass!"
A hand suddenly grabbed Li Zheng's shoulder.
Li Zheng turned around and saw Lin Fan looking at him with a calm expression.
"Captain, playing the hero right now is just throwing your life away."
Lin Fan spoke extremely fast, "Do you want to live?"
"No shit!" Li Zheng gritted his teeth, "But is there any way out now?"
"Yes."
Lin Fan pointed toward the deeper part of the mining tunnel, which was behind where the third-order giant python was coiled, "To survive, one must face death. Run inward!"
"What?!"
Everyone was stunned.
Run inward? Isn't that just delivering ourselves to the Snake King's mouth?
"Trust me."
Lin Fan didn't explain too much. He dropped those two words, his figure flickered, and he actually charged directly toward the giant python that was still chewing on the corpse!
"He's crazy! He's gone mad!"
Someone exclaimed.
But the next second, a shocking scene occurred.
Lin Fan didn't attack the giant python; instead, utilizing the agility of the Ruyi Movement Technique, he slipped through the gaps in the giant python's attacks, dove into the shadows behind the giant python, and sprinted toward the deeper parts.
"This..."
Zhao Gang was dumbfounded.
But he only hesitated for 0.01 seconds.
"Damn it! Wherever Master Lin goes, I go!"
Zhao Gang gritted his teeth, not caring about whether it was third-order or not, and charged after Lin Fan's back.
His life had been saved by Lin Fan; at a time like this, he chose to trust him blindly.
"Let's go for it!"
Li Lu, Wu Sanxing, and Wang Dahai looked at each other, steeled their hearts, and followed closely behind.
Li Zheng looked at those crazy backs, then looked at the giant python that was about to attack again, a trace of struggle flashing in his eyes.
"Fuck it! I'll bet on it!"
Li Zheng roared, "Anyone who doesn't want to die, follow me and charge!"
After saying that, he led the remaining dozens of people and launched a desperate charge, forcing their way past the giant python's very eyes.
The giant python didn't seem to expect this group of "food" to dare to break out in the opposite direction. It was stunned for a moment, then became furious and twisted its massive body to chase after them.
Deep in the mining tunnel.
Lin Fan took the lead, moving with lightning speed.
The reason he dared to run inward wasn't blindly throwing his life away.
Just at the moment he saw the giant python, the Void Breathing Technique in his body suddenly produced a violent palpitation.
A strange, extremely pure energy fluctuation was coming from the deepest part of the mining tunnel.
That was the source of the energy!
"Such dense energy... it's definitely not ordinary ore!"
Lin Fan's eyes flashed with a crazy light, "If I can find that source and utilize that massive energy, I might be able to forcibly break through the bottleneck and step into the Duan Fu Realm!"
"Only by becoming a Duan Fu Realm expert, combined with the Perfection-level Sword Drawing Art, will I have the qualifications to arm-wrestle with that third-order snake!"
This was a high-stakes gamble.
The stake was his life; if he won, he would take it all!
"Look! What is that?!"
Li Lu, who was behind him, suddenly exclaimed.