Chapter 295 - 283: Thunder Sound Fist
Chapter 295: Chapter 283: Thunder Sound Fist
Zhao Lin had shouted a warning because he noticed that the locust’s Essence Soul had never floated out.
This meant one of two things: either the locust was still alive, or... it had been dead all along!
But the demon insect’s head was gone. How could it possibly be alive?
His mind raced, and he thought of a possibility: the Whip-Thread Python!
The Whip-Thread Python was a parasitic demon insect that specialized in inhabiting the bodies of other demon insects.
This insect was slender and long, its surface covered in fine, glossy black scales. It resembled a long whip, hence its name.
Once a Whip-Thread Python entered a demon insect’s body, it would suck its brain dry, killing it, then coil itself, ring by ring, around the host’s spine.
The amazing part was that even though the host was already dead, the Whip-Thread Python could control its movements through the spine, making it seem no different from when it was alive.
Moreover, unlike other parasitic demon insects, after a Whip-Thread Python took over a host’s body, it wouldn’t frantically devour its essence and blood. Instead, it would carefully maintain the body.
The Whip-Thread Python was a high-grade Tier One Demon Beast. Though it lacked intelligence, its instincts were sharp, allowing it to seek advantages and avoid harm. It possessed incredible survival abilities, and its host would become even stronger after death than it was in life.
Only when the body it inhabited could no longer contain it, or when it found a better target, would the Whip-Thread Python change hosts.
Not only that, but the Whip-Thread Python was also a demon insect capable of evolution, growing stronger by constantly changing hosts.
If it successfully changed hosts more than five times, it could evolve into the more formidable Golden Threaded Python, a Tier Two demon insect.
Zhao Lin had learned of this type of demon insect while reading, and at the time, he had even considered whether he could absorb its Essence Soul, but ultimately decided it wasn’t suitable for him.
Now, seeing no Essence Soul float out of the locust’s body and recalling its strange behavior in the distillery earlier, he immediately made the connection to the Whip-Thread Python.
The Whip-Thread Python couldn’t survive exposed to the air for long. If its host’s body was destroyed, it had to find a new one as quickly as possible.
And the closest "living thing" to it right now was Dong Lingcheng.
Dong Lingcheng was still oblivious. Without turning his head, he asked, "Be careful of what?"
Before the words were even out of his mouth, Zhao Lin saw a black "leather cord" over twenty feet long silently emerge from the headless locust’s chest.
Tong Mu, Li Sancai, and Zhu Cong, who had just walked out of the distillery, saw this and their jaws dropped, leaving them utterly speechless.
Although Zhao Lin had guessed correctly, seeing the Whip-Thread Python with his own eyes still made his skin crawl.
It was hard to imagine that something so long had been hidden inside the locust’s body.
The Whip-Thread Python crawled out of the locust’s corpse. Its head rose more than half a foot, as if sniffing the air, and then its body shot out, hurtling toward Dong Lingcheng.
Although Dong Lingcheng didn’t know what was happening behind him, Zhao Lin’s warning had put him on guard, and he immediately sensed the unusual movement.
He made a grasping motion in the air with his five fingers, then quickly opened his hand, casting a Wood Element protective magic on himself.
In an instant, a transparent barrier of Spiritual Power enveloped him.
But he was a step too slow...
With a gleam of silver light, the Whip-Thread Python was already on Dong Lingcheng’s back. The protective barrier closed, just in time to clamp down on it, trapping a small section of its body inside while the rest remained outside.
But the Whip-Thread Python’s body was slippery and tough. After a brief delay, it continued to writhe forward inch by inch, its sharp, slender head piercing into Dong Lingcheng’s spine.
A cultivator’s spine was where their Spiritual Root resided; even the slightest damage could affect the release of their Mana.
Dong Lingcheng felt a sharp pain in his back, and then his body stiffened. The Mana within him was on the verge of scattering.
He gritted his teeth, simultaneously strengthening his protective magic to stop the Whip-Thread Python from burrowing deeper, while struggling to retrieve a magic artifact from his storage pouch: the Green Wood Sword.
He hadn’t used a magic artifact when killing the locust earlier because although magic artifacts were powerful, they weren’t as effective against Low Tier demon insects as magic that could attack in multiple forms.
Dong Lingcheng couldn’t see the Whip-Thread Python, but a sweep of his Divine Sense had already told him exactly what kind of demon was attacking him.
Grasping the Green Wood Sword, he swung it back to strike.
HISS...
The Whip-Thread Python was knocked high into the air, but it didn’t break in two. It remained firmly embedded in Dong Lingcheng’s back.
One strike, two strikes, three strikes...
As Dong Lingcheng swung his sword, his heart sank.
He had long heard that the Whip-Thread Python’s body was extremely durable—almost impossible to cut with a blade or smash with a hammer. There were even stories of Artifact Refining Cultivators forging them into whip-shaped magic artifacts.
He had thought the rumors were exaggerated, but seeing it today, he knew they were true.
In a head-on fight, Dong Lingcheng could have easily slain it. But now, with his vital point under attack, he could only use twenty to thirty percent of his full Mana.
And after being struck by the Green Wood Sword, the Whip-Thread Python writhed even more desperately, trying to burrow into his back.
A cold sweat broke out on Dong Lingcheng’s forehead.
He knew that once the Whip-Thread Python got inside his body and coiled around his spine, he would lose all ability to move.
Next, it would burrow into his head and suck his brain dry. He wouldn’t survive.
Dong Lingcheng endured the intense pain and looked up at Zhao Lin and the others, his eyes pleading for help.
It sounds like it took a long time to describe, but in reality, everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
Seeing that Dong Lingcheng was about to be completely overrun by the Whip-Thread Python, Zhao Lin quickly assessed the situation.
’Get reinforcements, or handle it myself?’
’It’s too late to call for help now. It would take at least a dozen breaths for the senior brothers on other streets to get here.’
Dong Lingcheng was already faltering. The protective barrier around him was growing fainter and fainter; it would collapse at any moment.
If the Whip-Thread Python burrowed in just a little further, even if they managed to save him, his Dao foundation would be severely damaged. His path of cultivation would be severed. That was a fate arguably worse than death.
The thought flashed through Zhao Lin’s mind, and he made his decision in an instant. He lunged to Dong Lingcheng’s side and threw a fierce punch!
As he rushed forward, he activated his Turtle Shell Force, enveloping his entire body in layer after layer of protection.
This was a Cultivation Technique he had learned just after entering the Qi Realm, and he had now cultivated it to major completion.
When the Cultivation Technique was active, a layer of energy armor as hard as iron formed on the surface of his body. Even if the Whip-Thread Python turned and tried to burrow into him, it would be held off for a moment.
As Zhao Lin threw his punch, an intensely brilliant white light suddenly erupted three feet in front of his fist. It started as a single point and instantly expanded into a white sphere of light, so bright it was impossible to look at directly.
The appearance of the sphere of light was accompanied by a thunderous BOOM that could pierce clouds and shatter stone.
Thunder Sound Fist!
After Zhao Lin’s martial arts cultivation reached the Primordial Realm, he began to deduce Cultivation Techniques for three unusual attributes: wind, ice, and thunder.
The wind and ice attributes were relatively straightforward; after several years of research, he had successfully deduced methods to cultivate them. But he could never seem to grasp the first principles of the Thunder Attribute.
Later, he thought: ’Since my Thunder Attribute True Qi can’t be cultivated and increased, why not make use of the single strand I already have in my body?’
’Even if I can only throw one punch with it, if that punch is powerful enough, it can be a life-saving technique or a way to turn the tables in a desperate situation.’
In Qiong Province, in Southeastern Great Yue, there was a cliff named Withered Wood Cliff.
Every year, at the turn of summer and autumn, the peak was frequently struck by lightning, which was why there was so much withered wood on the mountain.
Zhao Lin went there during the rainy season and stayed on Withered Wood Cliff for three months, constantly experiencing the power of lightning until he finally comprehended a Fist Skill.
This was the Thunder Sound Fist he used now.
This fist was immensely powerful, and when thrown, it would invariably produce the sound of thunder.
Moreover, when an object was struck with this fist, you would see it shatter before you heard the sound. For this reason, Zhao Lin had named his self-created Fist Skill the Thunder Sound Fist.
Although he could only throw it once, Zhao Lin believed no one could block it.
Unfortunately, after reaching the Primordial Realm, he had no rivals left in the world and had never had the chance to use it in a real battle. He never thought he would have to use it now.
As the Thunder Sound Fist was unleashed, the light was so brilliant that Li Sancai, Tong Mu, and the others couldn’t help but squint or turn their heads away.
The fist struck the Whip-Thread Python’s slender body, simultaneously shattering the protective magic barrier.
Dong Lingcheng’s whole body shuddered, and he slowly collapsed.
The Whip-Thread Python also went limp, emitting a scorched smell, but its head was still clamped tightly onto Dong Lingcheng.
Zhao Lin grabbed the Whip-Thread Python, flung it to the ground, picked up Dong Lingcheng’s Green Wood Sword, and began hacking at it forcefully.
After striking it four or five times with the sword, he still saw no Essence Soul emerge. He clenched his fist and struck it with three consecutive Celestial Frost Fists.
He froze it first, then continued hacking...
After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the Whip-Thread Python finally dissolved into a pile of black sludge, and a wisp of an Essence Soul rose from it.