Chapter 40: with translation of chapter title

Boom—

Vast swaths of trees were toppled and snapped, and in this almost barbaric head‑on charge, its speed was not slow at all.

On the contrary, Yunhe, even after using the Swift Travel Talisman, could not fully pick up speed because the mountains were thick with undergrowth and tangled branches.

"How is it still keeping up?"

After running a stretch, Yunhe noticed that the commotion behind him had not faded; instead, it showed signs of drawing nearer.

He suddenly turned his head to look.

But he discovered that, besides the huge gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion behind him, there was also a person!

Zhou Shouxin!

He was drenched in sweat, and a hideous wound on his body kept oozing bright red blood.

Clenching his teeth, he followed closely behind Yunhe.

Seeing his posture, it was clear he intended to let Yunhe share the scorpion's attention in a desperate bid to survive.

As Wei Qingfei's deputy, his conflict with Yunhe was over; as long as Yunhe didn't seek trouble with him later, he had no desire to provoke Yunhe either, since there were no remaining interests between them.

This choice had nothing to do with what came before; it was purely the option he believed most likely to let him survive when faced with death.

He noticed Yunhe's gaze directed at him.

Zhou Shouxin's eyes hardened.

He actually turned around abruptly and faced the gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion head‑on.

The gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion certainly wouldn't indulge him, sweeping its massive pincer across.

Crack!!

Then came a crisp sound.

Zhou Shouxin's low‑grade magical artifact long sword snapped into several sections at the sound.

At the same time, Zhou Shouxin spat out a mouthful of blood with a 'puff', and his whole body was slammed straight into the dense woods.

Hiss!!

The gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion let out a long roar, its black eyes locking onto Yunhe ahead.

Seeing this, Yunhe's face darkened, he cursed silently, and fled again.

Originally, having obtained the technique from the Demon Beast Body, his Earth Escape Technique had already gotten off the ground.

First, Yunhe's spiritual roots lean toward metal and water, so casting earth‑based escape is slow to begin with, and his escape speed is even slower.

Second, this gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion itself burrowed out of the earth; using earth to escape might as well be delivering himself straight into its mouth.

However.

Without Zhou Shouxin drawing its attention, the gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion now focused entirely on Yunhe, and its speed actually increased a bit.

"No way, I can't outrun it like this!"

After running another stretch, Yunhe realized he could not escape.

Since he couldn't get away, he made a swift decision.

He swept his hand across his waist.

A azure seven‑foot banner suddenly appeared.

As he poured Spiritual Power into it, he whipped it sharply backward.

The azure‑green silk‑like lash, flexible as a wandering snake, wound and coiled toward the gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion.

Sizzle!!

The gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion's strength is great, its defense even greater; the azure‑green lash from the Azure Wood Banner could hardly inflict any significant damage on it.

It could only bind.

But in less than a breath, fine cracks appeared all over the azure lash, and it looked like it was about to break free.

But Yunhe's assault did not end there.

His other hand unfolded a fan with a 'pop', and strands of red Spiritual Power twined around it.

He then swung it violently.

Boom!!

Scorching flames swept outward.

Fire rode the wind, wood kindled the flame.

Instantly, terrifying blazing flames erupted over the gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion's body.

The sky‑reaching blaze even lit up the surrounding forest shade, and in an instant the originally cool mountain temperature rose considerably.

Beasts instinctively fear fire, and low‑level demon beasts are no exception.

However, what surprised Yunhe was that, amidst the rolling inferno, the gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion showed hardly any signs of injury besides its constant hissing and struggling!

Merely, its originally black carapace glowed red in the fire, with threads of demonic power flowing across it, making it appear quite sturdy.

Tsk!

Yunhe gave a soft tsk.

"As expected, it's protected by demonic power."

The defensive power of this gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion's carapace is probably on par with a top‑grade defensive magical artifact.

Bang!!

The gold‑thread black‑shell scorpion's tail lashed out violently, kicking up gusts of wind while scattering the flames.

Whoosh—

But just as it escaped the blazing flames, it was instantly washed away by surging black water.

Black Water Banner!

Yunhe's face was solemn, he gripped the black small banner, infusing Spiritual Power to obtain black water with a corrosive effect.

This was the first time he had driven this small banner since obtaining the Black Water Banner.

No way, the Black Water Banner is a demonic cultivator's Magical Artifact; practicing its use in the market could easily get him arrested as a demonic cultivator, and even outside the market, traces might be found.

Today was the first time he used it, and he somewhat understood why Wei Qingfei had pressed this banner into the bottom of the box that day.

Magical power consumption was enormous!

With his current Cultivation Base of Qi Refinement Fifth Layer, driving the Black Water Banner not only felt noticeably sluggish, but the consumption of Magical Power far exceeded several times the combined total of the Azure Wood Banner and the Wind and Fire Fan.

But the effect was still there.

The golden-thread black-shelled scorpion emitted a hissing sound as the black water washed over it.

The demonic power entwined on its carapace rapidly dissipated under the corrosion.

But it was only demonic power.

The black shell remained utterly unmoved, and even after being stained with water, it felt somewhat smooth like a mirror.

The Black Water Banner is indeed more effective against cultivators, and its additional corrosive effect is too...

Seeing the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion stride forward under the black water's onslaught, a brutal aura rushed toward him.

The golden-thread black-shelled scorpion, after being stimulated by flames and black water, was now completely overtaken by anger.

Yunhe remained calm and composed.

While fleeing in panic earlier, he had been thinking about how to respond if he were forced to confront the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion.

Moreover, one can panic at any time, but not during battle.

He held the small banner in one hand to block the scorpion's advance, and formed a seal with the other.

Buzz—

Suddenly.

Dense swarms of Red Pattern Spirit Bees flew out from the woods, and another group flew out from the Spirit Insect Pouch.

A red cloud hovered, its shape shifting.

Upon seeing the swarm of Red Pattern Spirit Bees, the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion's eyes showed a hint of human-like disdain.

Noticing its expression, Yunhe's heart stirred slightly.

Looking at the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion's appearance, it seemed not surprised by the emergence of the Red Pattern Spirit Bees. No, it should be not targeting the Red Pattern Spirit Bees specifically, but all bee types.

He immediately drew a conclusion.

There really is a beehive here!

The active thoughts in his mind did not affect his actions.

The seal in his hand changed.

Go!

The Red Pattern Spirit Bees surged, shifting form, toward the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion.

Whoosh—

The golden-thread black-shelled scorpion's massive pincer chopped down, only to find it had struck empty air.

As the pincer fell, the Red Pattern Spirit Bee swarm split in the middle, then swiftly regrouped after the pincer landed.

They tightly and swiftly pounced onto its body.

Just as an elephant finds it hard to deal with a mouse, the larger a creature's body, the harder it is to handle small pests without special power.

But the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion's thought was simple: if it couldn't be dealt with, it would simply ignore it, anyway

Screech!!

The golden-thread black-shelled scorpion, once again pursuing Yunhe, suddenly paused its movement.

In eyes that originally held only brutality and disdain, fear now appeared.

And Yunhe also gradually slowed his steps.

Looking at the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion frozen in place, he flipped his hand and retracted the Black Water Banner.

Both hands together formed a seal.

He fully controlled the Insect Battle Array formed by the Red Pattern Spirit Bees.

Screech!! Screech!! Screech!!

The golden-thread black-shelled scorpion suddenly became abnormally agitated.

Its body incessantly trembled, limbs spasmed, both pincers hammered the ground, and its tail indiscriminately lashed its own body, emitting muffled thud-thud sounds.

It looked like it had gone mad, constantly self-harming.

Because, in the gaps between the solid carapace plates on its body, the narrow seams were constantly being gnawed, torn, and even invaded by individual Red Pattern Spirit Bees.

The golden-thread black-shelled scorpion's carapace is sturdy, comparable to a First Stage Upper-Grade Magical Artifact; even the black water of the Black Water Banner cannot corrode it in the slightest.

But though it is hard, it is merely a collection of carapace plates, not the joints between each plate or the connections in the dismembered parts.

If the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion's demonic power still covered its entire body, the Red Pattern Spirit Bees would probably find it hard to break through.

But its demonic power at this moment has already been washed and eroded by the Black Water Banner.

Without the support of demonic power, the Red Pattern Spirit Bees naturally gained a chance to break through.

As each Red Pattern Spirit Bee kept burrowing into the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion's body, its movements grew increasingly violent, the ground cracked layer by layer, soil flew up, and many trees and shrubs were overturned.

Yunhe watched all this from afar.

The body of a First Stage Late demonic beast is truly strong!

I don't know how long this struggle lasted, but after the golden-thread black-shelled scorpion's body shuddered violently, it collapsed like its essence exhausted, slammed heavily to the ground, and lost vitality.

Even so, its body still twitched from time to time.

Whoosh—

Seeing the situation, Yunhe finally relaxed his breath a little.

He used fire to test the gold thread black shell scorpion's defense, weakened its monster power with the "Black Water Banner", then attacked its weak point with the Red Pattern Spirit Bee—this deviated slightly from Yunhe's plan, but not by much.

Only after the gold thread black shell scorpion had completely calmed did he step forward.

At this moment, the only sound coming from the gold thread black shell scorpion's body was a fine chewing noise from within.

As a First Stage Late monster beast, its meat is still quite valuable, and it should also bring considerable benefit to the Red Pattern Spirit Bees.

What truly made Yunhe value it was its entire body of pitch-black carapace.

These carapaces alone, in terms of defensive ability, surpass a First Stage Middle Grade defensive magical artifact; factoring in the monster power overlay, they are comparable to a First Stage Top Grade defensive magical artifact.

If used to forge an artifact, its defensive power would probably be quite impressive.

What Yunhe currently lacks is a defensive magical artifact and a flight-type magical artifact.

Huh?

He, sensing something, turned his head.

He happened to see Zhou Shouxin, who had struggled out of the tangled thicket, his whole body covered in blood, looking miserable, yet at this moment he stood frozen like a wooden chicken, his face full of shock and disbelief.

Their gazes met.

Yunhe let out a low chuckle and opened his mouth.

You're still alive.

(End of chapter)