I've already reached the Nascent Soul stage, and you're saying I didn't time travel?

Chapter 112 The Fourth Stage of Qi Refining!
The moment the light screens appeared in various locations, audiences around the world were stunned:

"What's going on? Why is the light screen showing up?"

"I have a bad feeling about this timing."

"Don't worry! It's just a technical adjustment."

"Where is Qi Shen? Where is Qi Shen?"

"Could it be..."

"Holy crap, it's really out!"

"Damn it, this isn't Qi Shen either!"

"Damn it, I'm calling GG early."

"Don't panic, everyone! We have fighter jets and missiles!"

"Yes! That's right! Faced with humanity's powerful firepower, we can easily subdue any beast, and we will never repeat the same mistake again!"

"It's time to witness the glory of human technology."

……

Within the light screens in various locations, a familiar large lake appeared, the very place where the two giant beasts had fought over the Demon King Fruit not long ago, with charred trees still remaining in the nearby forests.

And now, also near this great lake, the enormous carcass of the Blue Jade Eel that once wiped out the Baltic Joint Exploration Team lies lying on the lakeshore like a train.

Near the body, the newly formed Baltic Joint Exploration Team communicated with each other, seemingly discussing something.

Seeing this, audiences from all over the world were thrilled:

"I already said there would be no problem!"

"See that? We took down that huge monster!"

"Think about how it wiped out the exploration team before, and then compare it with the corpses now. You can only say that what goes around comes around."

"Haha, it's a pity we can't get there anymore."

"How many good things can this blue jade eel produce?"

"I don't know about the others, but the eel rice made with it would definitely be delicious."

"All you ever think about is eating, this is an eel that can generate electricity, and it's not even a real eel. Who knows, it might be able to develop some kind of electric shock weapon."

"There's no need to pay so much attention. It's just a defeated foe of humans. It's nothing but an eel."

"Wait, the wounds on its body don't look like they were caused by bombs, do they?"

"Holy crap, it really is! Could it be that someone else killed it?"

……

As the audience could see, the Blue Jade Eel's fatal wound was clearly a penetrating wound on its head, with pale blue blood gushing out from both sides of the opening. Apart from that, it had no other wounds.

Under normal circumstances, if a human were to launch an attack, it would inevitably have many blast wounds on its body, and even if an armor-piercing bullet were used to blow up the opponent's head, the wounds would never be this small.

This wound, no bigger than a black plum, looks like it was made by some other wild beast.

Other ferocious beasts?

As the audience pondered this, changes began to occur on the scene.

The drone, suspended high in the air, suddenly detected unusual activity from the ground.

Suddenly, a wave of earth rose up in the woods, and some monster was rushing towards them from underground.

Upon realizing this, the group retreated to a nearby hillside with more solid soil while simultaneously launching an attack using drones.

Gunshots and explosions rang out one after another.

However, despite the dense drone attacks, they were unable to harm the enemy.

Because its body is almost entirely underground, with a very good protective layer on the surface, and more importantly, its movement speed is too fast and its agility is too high.

It can even detect the power of external attacks in advance and dodge them ahead of time.

As it moved smoothly, not a single one of the dense explosions landed on it.

When it rushed to the vicinity of the rock formation, it was thought that the hard rock could stop its advance. Unexpectedly, it burrowed into it with unparalleled ease. For a moment, the entire mountain rumbled and the ground shook, causing countless team members to panic.

"My God! What the hell is this?!"

Shocked, everyone hurriedly fled in all directions.

Before they could escape far, a large amount of rock dust suddenly rose from the rock face, followed by a large patch of grayish-brown scales that appeared before them. The scales were covered with hundreds of thin, long spikes of varying sizes. Almost the instant it broke through the ground, those spikes burst out rapidly, carrying terrifying shrieks, shooting in all directions.

Many team members opened fire.

The majority of bullets flew through the air, with only a few hitting the spikes and exploding into sparks, but they did not hinder the spikes in the slightest.

Numerous spikes, like a rain of arrows, swiftly pierced through the bodies of everyone present.

"go to hell!!!!"

One of the exploration team members screamed and fired.

The shell slammed into the spikes that were being fired head-on, sending them flying.

Before he could even feel happy, the spike that had been blown away suddenly regained its flight posture and rushed towards him again, instantly piercing through his bulletproof vest and the 38mm thick bulletproof plate.

"Chase, track..."

The explorers collapsed to the ground in disbelief.

From then on, the entire team was slaughtered, and even the drones flying in the sky were shot down one by one by the spikes, and the scene returned to silence once again.

People around the world were utterly shocked by this horrific scene.

"What's going on? What exactly is happening?!"

"How come those spikes are tracking?!"

"Damn it, even though I saw someone hiding behind a tree, those thorns still managed to curve and kill them."

"What the hell is this guy, a master of group attacks and chicken-killing?!"

"It's not just about killing chickens. Think about how that blue jade eel died."

"Holy crap, even a powerful blue jade eel couldn't stop it? Are the power of each of its spikes really that strong?!"

"How are we supposed to fight this? They're all hiding underground, and they're very alert. Are we supposed to launch bunker buster bombs?"

"Even bunker buster bombs might not be enough to kill it. It moves too fast underground, and its scales are too strong. Just now, when its scales were exposed, it was bombarded at close range, but it was completely unharmed."

"What can we do? We can't just ignore this guy, can we? It's roaming around underground. With such an elusive assassin, who can safely set up a base on the island?"

……

The public fell silent for a moment.

Even the joint command is now facing a difficult decision.

Bomb them; they might not necessarily kill you.

If we don't bomb them, not only will the exploration team that perished this time face enormous risks, but other exploration teams in the vicinity will also be at great risk.

After informing nearby exploration teams to move away from the area and using high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft to continuously monitor the target area, the on-site think tank immediately began discussing solutions.

Before they could reach a conclusion, new screens of light appeared all over the world.

Seeing the newly appeared light screen, everyone finally understood why what had just happened had occurred.

Because Qi Xuan also encountered that strange underground beast.

"Holy crap, how could I be so unlucky? How could I run into this?"

"Even if Qi Shen is an unparalleled grandmaster, I don't think he can handle this thing. This thing is too overpowered."

"Indeed, just thinking about those spikes firing in a volley, I can't think of any other way to deal with it except to tough it out."

"You have to be able to withstand this! The physique of a Supreme Grandmaster is strong, but Lan Yu's physique is not bad either, and he can even be insulated from lightning. In the end, he was still pierced through on the spot, didn't he? You guys don't think that Qi Shen's skin is thicker than Lan Yu's eel skin, do you?"

"Let's get out of here, hurry up and get out of here while they're eating and don't have time to pay attention to you."

"Speaking of which, this thing looks a bit like the one it ate?"

"They do look somewhat alike. Their overall appearance is quite similar. I remember the one that got eaten had previously fought with the Six-Clawed Black Serpent for the Demon King Fruit."

"So, the Blue Jade Eel also fought with the Six-Clawed Black Serpent for the Demon King Fruit. Could it be that this guy is the Six-Clawed Black Serpent's ally? Or is it an enemy that came specifically to hunt down the Six-Clawed Black Serpent?"

"Something's not right. It killed the blue jade eel but didn't eat it. Why is it eating its own kind that looks a lot like it instead? Is there some reason behind this?"

"Anyway, whatever the reason, let's get out of here, Qi Shen! Before they even notice you, run as far away as you can!"

"Holy crap, he actually charged at the beast!"

"Please, please, don't do anything stupid! Please don't do anything stupid!"

……

No matter how much the audience shouted, Qi Xuan still walked towards the spiky ground crocodile that was feeding not far away.

Spiked Earth Crocodile and Spiked Demon Pattern Crocodile—these two monster names sound very similar, and in fact, they are quite similar.

They are the same species. The Spiked Ground Crocodile should be considered a variant of the Spiked Magic Crocodile, a product of their evolution.

When the Spiked Demon Crocodile undergoes an evolutionary transformation, the demonic patterns on its body will disappear, its size will change slightly, its scales will provide higher defense, its claws and teeth will become sharper, its projectile spikes will be able to track targets over a certain distance, and it will also greatly enhance its original burrowing ability, transforming it from simply burrowing into an earth-moving ability similar to Earth Escape.

Although the speed of earth-moving is far slower than that of earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of escape technique), it is still comparable to the speed of a typical third-tier demon beast moving on the ground.

Their only methods of evolution, besides consuming the Demon King Fruit, are consuming mature individuals of their own kind.

This is why the Spiked Demon Crocodiles would kill each other and devour the corpses of their own kind.

In general, after its evolution, the Spiked Demon Crocodile has become one of the top predators, and cultivators of the same level often find it difficult to defeat it.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why the monk who was killed by it earlier would perish.

Yes, the original owner of the [Nangong] token died at the hands of this spiky ground crocodile. That's why he tracked it down here.

This also shows that the time since that cultivator's death should not have been more than two hundred years.

Because the spiky ground crocodile in front of them looked very old and was almost at the life limit of three hundred years.

Under normal circumstances, the lifespan of a Spiked Demon Crocodile is generally around 150 years. Before the age of 100, they will try to evolve as much as possible. If they cannot evolve, after the age of 50, due to the gradual aging of their bodies, even if they obtain the Demon King Fruit, it will be difficult for them to undergo a transformation.

After evolution, their lifespan will double, reaching three hundred years.

Even with an extra 150 years of lifespan, they might not be able to successfully break through to the fourth tier.

Just like for many cultivators, Foundation Establishment is a difficult hurdle to overcome.

For many monsters, the fourth tier is also an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome.

The spiky ground crocodile before us, having successfully broken through its own kind and completed its evolution, could be considered a prodigy for its time. However, even after two hundred years of evolution, it still failed to break through that barrier. Now, it is old and frail, its vitality declining, making it even less likely to break through.

Even so, one still has to be extremely careful to deal with it.

As for why they wouldn't let it go even when it was almost dead?
First of all, he is not a beast slave like a cat slave or dog slave, and he has no extra pity for monsters.

Secondly, some materials from the spiky ground crocodile are quite useful, and some can even be used in medicine.

Finally, and most importantly, since the [Nangong] token could lead him to this spiky ground crocodile, perhaps after he kills it, the other party will also record it. That way, when the tribe behind [Nangong] investigates, he can also curry favor with them and avoid them shouting for war as soon as they meet.

In short, he's determined to kill this spiky ground crocodile today!

Even if the Emperor himself came, he couldn't stop him from taking action!

Faced with Qi Xuan approaching on a pig-like back, the Spiked Crocodile stopped eating, turned its head to look in this direction, its dark brown back slightly tense, and even the spikes on it were pointed in this direction, as if threatening that no one should come near.

But Qi Xuan didn't stop; instead, he made Sunday accelerate the charge.

Amidst the ferocious roar of its charge, the Spiked Crocodile didn't hesitate and immediately unleashed its full array of spikes.

Upon seeing this scene, netizens exclaimed in shock, as if they could already foresee Qi Xuan's tragic end, being pierced through and dying on the spot.

But then, something shocking happened.

Faced with countless spikes shooting at him, he only ordered Sunday to carry out the war trampling.

While unleashing the War Stomp, Qi Xuan used a Swift Thunder Talisman in his other hand and immediately swung a dragon spear nearly two meters long.

With the help of the Swift Thunder Talisman, his attack speed suddenly increased by nearly 100%!
Amidst the sharp, piercing whistling sound, the rapidly shooting spikes were all struck, scattered everywhere, but they did not continue to pursue and attack as they had appeared in the light screen earlier.

Because the spiked crocodile that was manipulating it had been trampled and stunned by the war.

Forget about manipulating the spikes, even its movement to crawl underground was halfway halted, with half of its body still above ground.

Although the difference in rank meant that Sunday's war trampling could only delay it for a breath or two at most, it was enough for Qi Xuan.

"Die!"

The dragon spear shot out of Qi Xuan's hand like a battle spear.

The imminent crisis finally spurred the spiky crocodile to break free.

A bright yellow light flashed suddenly.

A sharp spike shot out from the top of its head in an instant.

In an instant, it not only struck the dragon spear that had pierced through, sending it flying, but also continued its trajectory toward Qi Xuan with undiminished force, arriving in front of him almost in the blink of an eye, leaving him with no way to avoid it.

There was a muffled sound.

The Zhu Sha Stone that Qi Xuan had placed in front of him was hit on the spot.

Although it failed to pierce through the extremely hard and heavy refining material on the spot, it still slammed into Qi Xuan, sending him flying.

Qi Xuan staggered back more than ten steps after landing before stopping.

I only felt a dull pain in my chest.

But apart from the dull pain, it did not cause any other damage.

This is not to say that the opponent's attack was too weak; in fact, that attack just now was terrifyingly strong.

Even if the Vermilion Fiend Stone could block the penetrating force, under normal circumstances, the powerful force would still shatter his sternum along with the Vermilion Fiend Stone, or even tear open his chest and abdomen on the spot.

The reason he didn't suffer that level of harm was entirely due to the new ability he gained when he advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refining—

[Manifold].

【Morph】 is a very special and powerful ability. After activation, the spiritual power in his body will seep out and cover his entire body with a thin layer.

Moreover, unlike ordinary spiritual energy which easily dissipates when exposed to the outside of the body, this spiritual energy is tightly bound to the surface of his body due to its ability, which is equivalent to adding an extra layer of defense to his body.

Any external attack must pass through this defensive layer before it can harm him.

And most importantly, once it is determined that the spiritual energy in a certain part cannot withstand the external attack, the force of the attack will be dispersed across the entire defensive layer until the entire defensive layer is completely destroyed, before it will cause damage.

One can imagine how powerful manifolds are.

It's practically like giving him an extra long health bar.

This was one of the reasons he dared to attack the spiky ground crocodile.

Judging from the residual power of that attack, it was probably no less than a normal Tier 3 attack. Since [Misty Form] successfully blocked it, that means—

Second-tier invincible!

Even a Tier 3 fighter isn't invincible!

Having determined his current combat strength, Qi Xuan felt a sense of certainty.

As he was being repelled, Sunday executed another War Stomp to prevent the enemy from pursuing him.

Fortunately, the spiky ground crocodile was briefly weakened after bursting out with its yellowish-brown spikes, and Sunday's war trampling brought it under control for a short while.

Taking advantage of the time, Qi Xuan didn't delay any longer. He flipped his hand, took out a longbow, swallowed the Giant Strength Pill, and stretched the bowstring, which had been reinforced with snake tendons, to a full moon. He then dipped the long arrow, which was coated with Soul-Sealing Powder, into the bow and shot it out instantly.

With a fierce whooshing sound, the spiked crocodile, which had broken free again, had no time to react and was instantly pierced through the body by the spiked arrow.

It roared and struggled for a moment, but soon stopped moving under the powerful poison of the anesthetic.

Just as the Spiked Earth Crocodile was about to die, a faint trace of blood essence flew out from its body and landed on the [Nangong] token.

A flash of light appeared on the token, and it changed again.

……

After Qi Xuan killed the Spiked Earth Crocodile, the light screens that had been displayed around the world quickly began to dim.

Countless viewers, still reeling from the shock, couldn't send comments in the sky, so they flocked to the internet to vent their excitement:
"Am I seeing things? The monster died so easily?"

"Killed him with a single arrow? That's outrageous!"

"I knew Qi Shen was strong, but I never imagined he was this strong! Is this the power of a Supreme Grandmaster?!"

"Wait, don't forget Sunday's contribution. In both crucial attacks, it was Sunday who controlled that spiked crocodile in advance, otherwise the outcome would have been very different."

"Indeed, if it weren't for Sundays, once that thing burrows into the ground, even if Qi Shenli could withstand the heavens, he wouldn't be able to harm it in the slightest."

"Most importantly, after the spiked crocodile was stunned by Sunday, even the spikes it shot out lost their tracking ability. Otherwise, if those spikes had been repeatedly attacked, no matter how well Qi Shen wielded his spear, it would have eventually revealed a weakness after a long attack, and he might have been defeated on the spot."

"Damn, I'm so envious! I only thought Sunday was a cool mount, but it turns out it's so powerful too. I'm definitely going to get a Giant-Toothed Demon Boar as my mount someday!"

"When will the island's exploration team capture those giant-toothed monster boars? I'll buy them! I'll buy them, okay?!"

"Don't even mention it. Our entire exploration team was wiped out by the Spiked Crocodile. Even with all the modern weapons, the island is still extremely dangerous, and we have to be very careful."

"After watching Qi Shen's live stream, the United Nations should be able to come up with a solution to deal with the spiked crocodile, right? We can't just let it stay on the island forever, that's too dangerous."

"Indeed, if we can't take down this spiky crocodile, the exploration teams around here won't be able to go any further, let alone establish a base. We must hurry up and kill it!"

"Qi Shen has already given us the method, so hurry up and learn it!!"

……

Netizens from various countries have been urging them to hurry up.

The joint command did indeed refer to the footage of the earlier extermination and formulated a new response plan.

Around the area where the Spiked Ground Crocodile was active, countless engineers sprang into action, digging the ground along the area's blockade line and laying smart mines underground.

Near the surface, a large number of sensors and military-grade optical fibers have been deployed to identify the spiky crocodile's movement characteristics through acoustic vibration modes and multi-mode fusion sensing, and to coordinate with drones for location tracking.

In addition, a large number of high-voltage defense grids and various weapons such as sonic transmitters were deployed.

These arrangements are all to prevent the spiked ground crocodiles from escaping from their original location and causing havoc elsewhere; they are considered preventative defensive measures.

As for attack measures, they are not nonexistent.

A Super Hornet fighter jet, laden with bombs, takes off from the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, which is anchored near the island.

Based on satellite and inertial navigation, after arriving at the designated airspace and confirming the presence of the Spiked Crocodile, Super Hornet immediately began dropping aerial bombs.

Aerial bombs include small bunker buster bombs and small thermobaric bombs.

It basically takes into account both area-of-effect and underground damage.

Even if the spiky ground crocodile manages to burrow underground in time, it will most likely still perish.

Everyone in the command center stared intently at the monitor screen, waiting for the loud explosions to bring news of victory.

But then, a scene that shocked everyone into silence unfolded.

Even before the bombs dropped by the fighter jets were fully airborne, the spiky ground crocodile seemed to sense the danger and prematurely unleashed countless spikes.

Numerous spikes were aimed at the sky, and like rockets, they swiftly covered a distance of over a thousand meters before crashing into the aerial bomb.

Amidst a deafening roar, several aerial bombs exploded in mid-air.

Before anyone could react, a streak of earthy yellow light pierced through countless clouds of smoke and flames, striking the super bumblebee that hadn't yet flown far.

Before the stunned eyes of countless people, humanity's first fighter jet was shot down on the spot!
(End of this chapter)