Chapter 62: Dominating the Tianshui Centipede

Bluish-green light reflected off the ceiling of the stone cave, resembling gems of myriad colors embedded within, yet Liang Qu failed to notice the lethal crisis hidden among those gems.

Too concealed, too swift.

Completely merged with the surrounding environment, the black shadow attacked with lightning speed; he could only catch a blurry glimpse of it from the corner of his eye.

Immediately after, Liang Qu felt a weight settle on his shoulder, followed by another black shadow darting out to collide squarely with the incoming one, knocking it away.

When Liang Qu regained his senses, he found the fist that had always rested on his shoulder was gone, leaving behind only six tiny marks from sharp legs.

He hadn't reacted, but the fist had!

The fist and the black shadow landed on the ground together, the carapace striking the stone with a metallic clink.

Seeing the turn of events, the long black shadow turned to flee, but the prepared fist leaped forward, landing before the shadow; it waved its massive pincers to clamp one end of the shadow, and though the shadow curled up attempting to bite back, the other pincer seized it as well, stretching its body out until it was immobilized.

Swinging its six legs, the fist approached Liang Qu, holding the long shadow high between its twin pincers, as if presenting silk brocade to a celestial deity.

The black shadow struggled violently, its midsection constantly expanding and contracting as it desperately tried to bite the fist, but held fast, it was utterly powerless.

Liang Qu reached back to touch his spine, finding it covered in cold sweat; the moment had truly been a fright, leaving his heart pounding.

Calming his racing heart, he crouched down to bring the fist closer to the glowing vines, finally realizing the shadow was a giant centipede, its crystal-clear carapace resembling sapphire, shimmering in tandem with the blue water waves, radiating an aura of danger from head to toe.

A water centipede!

Liang Qu's heart jumped again; he recognized this creature.

A highly venomous centipede living in water, possessing terrifying biting power; once it grew to three inches, a single bite could kill an ordinary person in moments, making it a poisonous insect feared by all.

The one before him measured a full six inches, larger than the span from his thumb to index finger when his hand was spread; even though he had become a martial artist, being bitten would surely not end well for him.

"Fist, you did well!"

Liang Qu reached past the centipede and tapped the back shell of the fist.

Encouraged, the fist held the water centipede even higher.

"Water centipede... can it be dominated?"

Watching the struggling centipede, an idea stirred in Liang Qu's mind.

His cultivation base had surged, freeing up some capacity to dominate a new water beast.

For fishing, the immobile fat catfish was more than sufficient; thus, the focus of domination should now be enhancing his own combat strength.

However, Liang Qu's spiritual strength had only increased by enough for one more "immobile" creature, and not even the current three-and-a-half-meter version, but the Taihua Crocodile from before, which was under two meters.

With such a margin, attempting to dominate a spirit creature was impossible; he would likely suffer backlash and turn into a fool.

That single venomous water insect might be the best choice for now.

Poison.

The most efficient means for the weak to defeat the strong.

The water centipede before him was six inches long; as long as it could penetrate defenses, ordinary martial artists would fare poorly against it. Crucially, its small size meant it wasn't conspicuous like the fist, making it easy to hide, and he could carry it on his person at any time.

Liang Qu searched nearby and found a sharp stone, attempting to cut his finger, but the stone shattered instead, leaving only a shallow wound on his skin.

Hiss, after refining his skin, even ordinary stones were useless.

He would have to find time to buy a dagger from Senior Brother Lu.

Helpless, Liang Qu struggled to squeeze a few drops of blood from the small wound, smearing it evenly on his finger, then ordered the fist to press the centipede flat against the ground.

The six-inch water centipede's back was too narrow, so Liang Qu stacked three fingers in a triangular formation and carved a narrow Water Talisman along its spine.

The Ze Ding emitted a glow.

Instantly, the blood-red Water Talisman overshadowed the shimmering light within the stone cave, slowly seeping into the water centipede's body.

Stimulated, the water centipede curled its body, wrapping from head to tail, its segmented legs closing inch by inch until it became a perfectly round blue bead, rolling down along the low-lying ground of the cave.

A fierce yet bearable stabbing pain surged from the depths of Liang Qu's mind; he crouched on the ground, clutching his head and enduring it.

When he recovered, the spiritual link in his mind was nearly filled; although a sliver remained, that tiny gap could probably only dominate a small fish, making it practically negligible.

What was going on? Did dominating one water centipede take up so much space? As much as a crocodile?

He communicated with the Ze Ding.

【Water beast Tianshui Centipede dominated. Evolution available.】

Tianshui Centipede, not Water Centipede?

Liang Qu was astonished; the names displayed by the Cauldron of Marsh were always the common vernacular, just as the Taihua Crocodile was called Taihua Crocodile and nothing else.

Why was this water centipede called a Tianshui Centipede?

Over the past two days, Liang Qu's reading had focused on the six volumes of the "Annotated Records of Haomu Hall," which he had largely skimmed, yet he had never heard of a Tianshui Centipede.

As if responding to his doubt, the Ze Ding in his mind radiated light.

【Tianshui Centipede: A water centipede nourished by Water Ganoderma and supplemented by martial artist flesh and blood, undergoing mutation. Consuming 1,000 points of Water Marsh Essence allows the Tianshui Centipede to evolve into a Great-Winged Tianshui Centipede.】

Holy crap, one thousand points of Water Marsh Essence!

That was even more than what the fist needed to evolve.

Since the fist was already a spirit creature, did that mean the Tianshui Centipede was also a spirit creature, perhaps even superior?

Liang Qu was overjoyed; he hadn't expected to stumble upon and dominate another small spirit creature. No wonder it was so small yet required spiritual strength comparable to an adult Taihua Crocodile.

The only confusing part was the mention of martial artist flesh and blood.

He knew about Water Ganoderma; besides the head-sized specimen, he had seen many bare roots nearby, clearly small Ganoderma that had been eaten by the water centipede.

Martial artist flesh and blood...

Liang Qu pinched the blue bead on the ground between his index and middle fingers and gave a gentle squeeze; instantly, the bead unfurled, returning to its six-inch length, revealing a hundred-legged centipede with flashing blue armor on its back, gleaming with a metallic luster!

The centipede raised its upper body, its mouthparts ferocious and imposing; upon closer inspection, the areas clamped by the fist showed no damage whatsoever, its shell equally hard as iron.

"Since you are so imposing, I shall call you A-Wei."

The Tianshui Centipede trembled its hundred legs and spun around in Liang Qu's palm.

"Where is that human-shaped thing you ate?"

Through mental communication, A-Wei, now possessing awakened intelligence, easily understood Liang Qu's intent; it rotated its upper body, pointing toward a specific direction inside the stone cave.

By the faint light of the vines, Liang Qu discovered a narrow crack there, requiring one to turn sideways to enter, its interior covered in moss.

Having learned from previous experience, Liang Qu sent the fist and A-Wei in first to scout the path, only attempting to squeeze through himself after confirming it was safe.

He tightened his waist and abdomen, using the slippery stickiness of the moss to slide right in.

The immobile fat catfish stood outside the crack, trying to slide in as well, but failed no matter how it tried; it was too wide, and turning sideways rendered it unable to exert force.

The fat catfish merely floated on the water surface, unable to even reach the platform, sighing at the stone in despair.

Entering the crack, it was extremely narrow at first, but after walking a few steps, one arrived at a tiny space of about two or three square meters, where glowing vines also grew.

Beneath the vines, a moss-covered skeleton sat cross-legged.

The skeleton hung its head, its teeth incomplete and half its jawbone missing, leaving behind an expression of a sinister grin.