Black Journey to the West: The Imposter Star Lord

Chapter 84 Escape! (Third Update)

"That beast is insane! Why is he coming to me when there are so many golden incense sticks to fight for?!"

Cao Xing immediately sped up.

But that aura was getting closer and closer, moving even faster than him.

"Hiss hiss~"

A crimson figure peeked out from the woods, its two vertical pupils staring at the information on the mirror of light ahead, a look of confusion in its eyes.

I clearly only sensed a wisp of potential for dragon transformation, so how come it's just a little guy in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage?

Could it be that he possesses some special treasure?

Thinking of this, the giant snake wriggled, easily crushing the surrounding mountains and forests beneath its body. Its figure appeared and disappeared in the forest, covering a distance of a thousand meters in an instant.

[Hahaha, this kid's done for! Those beasts from the Spirit Saint Palace have their eyes on him!]

Cao Xing's displayed strength drew the attention of many, and when they saw him being targeted by the giant snake, they couldn't help but gloat.

[Oh no, this kid's finished.]

[A Golden Core cultivator has personally come after him; this kid probably won't be able to escape.]

This giant serpent from the Spirit Saint Palace is no pushover; it devoured several demon cultivators who came with it in order to advance its cultivation level.

[What a pity. It's just that they chose the wrong sect. If they had joined the Sanqing Temple, they wouldn't be hated by so many people.]

Even now, people in the dark market have started placing bets on whether this kid can survive this ordeal.

Many viewers in the live chat expressed their regret for Cao Xing.

After all, Cao Xing's methods are quite remarkable. If he can cultivate to the Golden Core Realm in the future, he will have a chance to become a Human Immortal, or at the very least, a Ghost Immortal.

"Huh!!"

On the rooftop of Qiongshan Tower, Xin Tianjun and his two companions showed surprise upon seeing this. Jin Langjiang, standing nearby, said, "Isn't this going too far?"

Their intention was to put some pressure on Cao Xing, since this kid's methods were extraordinary and he was most likely a descendant of the Star Lord.

Unexpectedly, they had attracted the attention of that long snake.

Xin Tianjun calculated with his fingers, and saw strands of golden silk wrapped around his fingertips. As his fingertips moved, various kinds of information began to converge.

After a moment, Xin Tianjun frowned and said, "The giant snake in the Spirit Saint Mansion has an unusual origin. It is an ancient mythical beast with the bloodline of a viper. However, its bloodline is impure and too diluted. If it cannot find an opportunity, it may never be able to transform into human form in this lifetime."

The viper is considered a relatively rare species among ancient mythical beasts.

It is said that this beast is born as a snake, and can transform into a jiao (a type of dragon) after five hundred years, a dragon after a thousand years, and has the potential to advance to the yinglong (another type of dragon) after ten thousand years.

However, this strange beast is so rare that even Xin Tianjun has never seen it before.

"So, the key lies with this kid?" Jin Lang's heart skipped a beat, understanding Xin Tianjun's unspoken meaning.

"Hmm, perfect. If that's the case, we might as well take a look. If this boy is truly a descendant of the Star Lord, we'll intervene after he recites the secret incantation. If not—" Yang Wenhui's lips curled into a sinister smile.

Vipers are known for their venom. If they were to seize the right opportunity, they could transform into dragons, which would be perfect since they would be missing a mount at that time.

While the three gods were chatting, Cao Xing had already been caught up by the giant python.

The two were only a few meters apart, but Cao Xing plunged headfirst into the ground.

"Hiss hiss hiss!!!"

Realizing that Cao Xing was hiding underground, the giant snake flicked its tail and lashed out fiercely at the other side.

With a loud "crack!", a visible storm surged through the air, destroying everything in its path and shattering the surrounding vegetation and rocks.

Cao Xing, who was hiding several meters underground, suddenly felt the earth energy around him surge, and the earth energy gathered around him felt like it was about to be dispersed.

Sensing something was wrong, Cao Xing stopped running forward and instead began to dive down.

You have the power to strike from a distance, so let me see how deep you can strike.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

The red-scaled python raised its tail high and brought it down heavily, each slam causing the ground to shake violently, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth were splitting apart. The enormous commotion attracted even more onlookers.

When they saw the earth sink the moment the snake's tail fell, everyone in the incense gathering couldn't help but show expressions of astonishment.

Fortunately, there was a geomantic network beneath Qiongshan Mountain that reshaped the landscape and was not connected to the Qiongshan Incense Festival. Otherwise, with the giant crimson python causing such a ruckus, the entire Qiongshan Incense Festival might have been shaken to its core.

[Hit him! Smash him hard! Shake him to death!]

[Heh heh, this kid is probably not one of the hidden main forces of the Upper Temple. It's a pity he's so flashy and doesn't know how to bide his time; he's provoked this serpent. He's going to be in deep trouble this time.]

[Does this snake not have a brain? If you keep smashing it like this, how long will it take? That kid relies on the earth's energy for support; you should cut off the surrounding earth's energy first.]

[Yes, yes, it would be best to set up the Boiling Yuan Formation to directly blast away the earth's energy in this area.]

The barrage of comments was like a rainstorm.

Some applauded, while others offered suggestions.

Many people wished that Cao Xing would die at the hands of the Red-Scaled Python.

More than twenty golden incense sticks—if this kid were to go back, even if all those were just small pieces of incense, combined with the original points from the Upper Temple, it would be enough for the Upper Temple to comfortably advance to the third round.

This means that among the forces they bet on, there is always one that has been squeezed out by those above.

The remaining forces, apart from Shangfangguan, all have thousands, or even tens of thousands of lives at stake. No one wants Shangfangguan to survive the second round.

This naturally included Jin Yuan Dao Ren.

Indeed, the Golden Origin Daoist, who had originally hoped that Chen Xiang could advance to the Golden Core stage and even succeed in seizing the incense, completely lost his composure after experiencing the previous round of thousands of people being harvested.

Now he couldn't wait for these disciples to die. He didn't care about the opportunity to become an immortal or their lives. He didn't care about any of it.

He did this simply because, in an attempt to recoup his losses, he placed a bet that the view from above was destined to lose.

Now that the Upper Temple has been defeated, he has lost his chance to become an immortal. When he returns to the mountain, he will inevitably be severely reprimanded by the patriarch, the Upper Daoist.

But if the upper gate successfully seizes the incense, then there will be no chance for him, and he probably won't even be able to save his life.

He doesn't even have a hundred taels of silver on hand right now, and he'll be facing exorbitant compensation later—

Just thinking about this made Jin Yuan Daoist tremble.

He just couldn't understand why, despite all his scheming, he had ended up making himself look like a clown.

After slapping it several times, Cao Xing still didn't emerge from the ground. The red-scaled python seemed to realize that it couldn't force Cao Xing out.

With a sudden jolt, he plunged headfirst into the ground.

This is not an earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique that allows one to escape into the earth), but rather a direct burrowing into the mountain and underground.

Snakes are naturally adept at burrowing, let alone a Golden Core demon.

The red-scaled python's scales writhed, and its enormous body rapidly pierced through the soil like a tunnel boring machine.

When the hard rock and soil come into contact with the scales, they are immediately crushed into dust by the wriggling scales.

Its speed surpasses even Cao Xing's escape techniques.

Now it was Cao Xing's turn to feel a chill run down his spine. If they caught up, he would be trapped like a turtle in a jar. But it would be too late to change direction. They were ahead of him and faster than him, and could easily intercept him.

"If I had known, I should have learned the art of cloud flight before leaving the mountain."

Cao Xing had no time to regret it now. After thinking for a moment, he decisively continued to drill downwards. He was at least blessed with the Five Phases Dragon Transformation Technique, but the giant snake was made of flesh and blood. The deeper it went, the more difficult it would become, and its speed would gradually pull ahead of his.

Cao Xing's idea was correct. After the man and the snake burrowed down more than ten meters, the red-scaled python's speed did indeed begin to slow down considerably.

Haha, still chasing after me? Keep chasing me then?

Noticing that the python was slowing down, Cao Xing couldn't help but feel smug.

However, before Cao Xing's mocking words could finish, he suddenly felt his feet slip, a strong sense of weightlessness washed over him, followed by a bone-chilling cold that instantly engulfed him.

"Thump!!!"

The icy underground river water swept over Cao Xing, washing away all the earthy, yellowish hue that enveloped him.

[Hahahaha! The underground river, this kid's courting death!]

Well, now the groundhog is soaked to the bone.

Keep drilling! Keep drilling down!

Inside the Heavenly Net, the barrage of comments surged. When everyone saw Cao Xing fall into the water, they immediately felt that the situation was settled.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of Earth Escape Technique knows that it is most vulnerable to water and fire.

If it gets wet, it will drown; if it gets on fire, it will die.

Once you encounter someone using Earth Escape Technique, you can't even run away.

"Bang!!!"

At this moment, the red-scaled python also burrowed into the underground river. This python was extremely skilled in swimming; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to cultivate under the tutelage of the Spirit Saint Palace.

Falling into the water is like a fish in water.

The enormous snake quickly submerged into the icy river water.

A pair of vertical pupils quickly locked onto Cao Xing's figure in the river. Cao Xing had stopped running and was now curled up in a crevice in the rocks, staring straight at him.

[Not running anymore? Have you accepted your fate?]

[Why are you still running? Just stand there and beg for mercy. Hand over all the incense sticks and see if they'll spare your life.]

[It would be best to kill him. This kid is incredibly skilled. If given time, he might reach the Golden Core stage in the future, which would be a huge problem.]

[Yes, yes, just kill them outright, and it'll cost the higher-ups a lot of points.]

The viewers in the live chat were eager for the Red-Scaled Python to make its move and tear Cao Xing to pieces.

However, to everyone's astonishment, the red-scaled python stared at Cao Xing without moving an inch.

【Wait, why isn't this snake attacking?】

[Yeah, what are you thinking about? Let's go!]

Why are you staring at him? Kill him!

Everyone was puzzled. Why?

Why isn't this worm making a move? Instead, it's just staring intently at Cao Xing.

In fact, it wasn't that the red-scaled python wasn't moving, but rather that it dared not move.

Cao Xing was huddled in the corner, staring intently at him. When the red-scaled python discovered Cao Xing, it had already intended to swallow him whole.

But as it got closer, a murderous aura that made its scales stand on end gave the red-scaled python a strong sense of crisis.

It seemed that this tiny human in front of me held something that could severely injure me.

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