Chapter 79: Mandrake Snake

The next morning at dawn, the group continued along the outer rim of the Star Dou Great Forest, searching for a suitable Third Soul Ring for Tang San.

They labored all morning but still found nothing. Near noon, the weather grew increasingly stifling, and the group couldn't help feeling restless, since the Star Dou Great Forest has a tropical rainforest climate, and the heat is normal.

"Stop!" Zhao Wuji barked low, and everyone instantly became alert; the surroundings suddenly fell silent, and a faint rustling sound clearly reached their ears.

Faintly, the air seemed to acquire a hint of fishy odor, not strong, even carrying a faint sweet taste and tea fragrance.

Tang San twitched his nose and said confidently, "There's poison."

In his previous life, Tang San was a poison specialist, and his knowledge of toxins is no weaker than Yang Wudi's! Yu Tianyun did not doubt his words.

The rustling sound did not last long; soon the poison appeared before everyone.

It was a snake-type Soul Beast, over ten meters long, its whole body jet‑black green, its girth as thick as a python's, especially the neck, extremely robust, indicating its weak point was not the usual seven‑inch spot of snakes. Its triangular head made it clear it was a highly venomous snake, and it moved with great speed.

Tang San immediately recognized it; he was more familiar with this Soul Beast than anyone, because his first Soul Ring came from this kind of beast—it is the Mandrake Snake, an extremely terrifying snake-type Soul Beast.

After recognizing this Mandrake Snake, Tang San felt a surge of excitement. The Mandrake Snake is a rather powerful Soul Beast and fits his Lan Yin Cao Martial Soul perfectly; if the age is suitable, absorbing its Soul Ring would greatly boost him and further amplify the paralysis toxin and resilience attached to his first Soul Ring.

Tang San immediately shouted, "Everyone, don't act rashly. This is a thousand‑year‑cultivation Mandrake Snake, an extremely terrifying venomous snake-type Soul Beast; we must never let it get close. Snake-type Soul Beasts are usually afraid of fire, and the Mandrake Snake is no exception. Fat one, use your first soul skill, Phoenix Fire Line, to suppress it from a distance. I'm not afraid of its venom; I'll kill it, and perhaps it can become my Third Soul Ring!"

As Tang San finished speaking, he stepped with Ghost Shadow Mirage steps, approached the Mandrake Snake, and his both hands turned a luminous jade‑white.

Xiao Wu watched Tang San with deep worry, but did not rush forward; her soul skill was unsuitable against the Mandrake Snake, and she had no toxin resistance at all.

The rest of the Shrek group also did not advance; without sufficient toxin resistance, fighting the Mandrake Snake would be extremely dangerous.

Ma Hongjun, hearing Tang San say he didn't need to engage up close, breathed a sigh of relief and honestly released his first soul skill to suppress from afar.

Zhao Wuji crossed his arms, stared at Tang San, and would intervene only when Tang San was in danger; at the same time he said to Oscar, "Little Oscar, prepare some antidote sausages for me; after all, this is a thousand‑year‑cultivation Mandrake Snake, and if Tang San can't handle it, I'll have to step in myself."

Oscar, hearing this, quickly recited a soul incantation, using soul power to create a batch of short antidote sausages, and handed them all to Zhao Wuji.

After receiving the sausages, Zhao Wuji approached Tang San, who was near the Mandrake Snake; his jade‑white hands fluttered like flower butterflies, continuously flinging various hidden weapons, each strike aimed at the Mandrake Snake's eyes, mouth, nostrils, and other weak points.

Seeing Tang San unleash his full firepower, Zhao Wuji couldn't help but shiver, recalling how Tang San had dealt with him before; his steps to advance halted.

The Mandrake Snake is not so easy to handle; not only is it extremely fast, but its scale armor is exceedingly hard, and ordinary attacks cannot break its defense. Yet a single bite would certainly be fatal, and even exposure to its poisonous mist would have severe effects.

Relying on the Tang Men Absolute Art—Ghost Shadow Mirage, Mysterious Jade Hand, Purple Extreme Demon Eye, Control Crane Capture Dragon—Tang San continuously attacked the Mandrake Snake, and the battle remained deadlocked. If another Great Soul Master, or even a Soul Elder like Dai Mubai, were to kill the Mandrake Snake, they would likely still be bitten and perish together.

Yu Tianyun watched Tang San's fighting figure and couldn't help silently praising him in his heart—not for Tang San himself, but for Tang San's Tang Men Absolute Arts; he was truly envious of Tang San's martial skills.

Not to mention anything else, the value of Xuan Tian Gong and Purple Extreme Demon Eye definitely exceeds a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!

Xuan Tian Gong can even enable those without soul power to cultivate soul power, and Purple Extreme Demon Eye is also an extremely rare method for cultivating spiritual power! Anyone from Douluo Continent would desire the absolute arts in Tang San's hands.

But Tang San is also very clever; he always keeps these Tang Men Absolute Arts hidden, never teaching even his closest companions.

Yu Tianyun, though envious, has no way; unless Tang San voluntarily gives them, he would rather die than pass on the Tang Men Absolute Arts to others.

Unless Yu Tianyun can read Tang San's memories, there is no way to obtain the Tang Men Absolute Arts.

At this moment, the one‑versus‑snake battle in the forest intensified to a fever pitch.

The Mandrake Snake was thoroughly enraged; its scales lit up, the jet‑black green scales covered with a faint purple glow, its speed suddenly surged, and in the blink of an eye it broke free from Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line and lunged at Tang San.

But Tang San showed no panic; a cold, fierce smile curled at his mouth corner, and with a flick of his right hand, he drew a special bow‑crossbow from the Twenty‑Four Bridges Moonlit Night.

Then, stepping with Ghost Shadow Mirage, his body swayed slightly, shifting three feet away. The jade‑white left palm emitted a flickering blue light, inhaling and exhaling, and his body, aided by Ghost Shadow Mirage, changed position once more.

The Mandrake Snake felt a sudden suction from the side of its head, its head turning uncontrollably; at that moment, as it lunged at Tang San, its mouth was wide open, about to close.

Countless arrows, emitting a faint blue glow, seemed to appear out of nowhere, just as the Mandrake Snake's head turned, at the instant before its mouth closed.

Puff!

All those arrows shot straight into its mouth, fired by the strange bow‑crossbow Tang San had triggered.

The Mandrake Snake's over ten‑meter‑long body stiffened for an instant.

The next moment, the Mandrake Snake's body rolled and convulsed violently on the ground; sand and stones flew, and wherever its hard body swept, both shrubs and saplings were battered as if by a tornado, branches and leaves shattered and scattered.

As the saying goes, centipedes die without stiffening; insects, snakes, lizards, and the like, when they die, their bodies thrash uncontrollably unless their bodies are shattered.

Only after a long time did the Mandrake Snake finally cease moving; a pale violet Soul Ring slowly coalesced, floating above its body, indicating it was completely dead! (End of Chapter)