In a perfect world, you start by relying on your own strength.

A cold glint flashed in Shi Geng's eyes, and he snorted coldly, saying, "As a sacrificial spirit, you should be protecting the living beings of this land. Instead, you have sided with evil and become its accomplice. Today, I will eliminate this scourge!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he twisted his wrist, channeling all his terrifying power into the precious sword in his hand. The sword flashed like a bolt of lightning, slashing straight at the onrushing centipede.

Clang!

A piercing clang of metal rang out, the runes on the surface of the precious sword shone brightly, and the sharp blade energy pierced straight through the carapace, tearing a deep, bone-revealing crack in the thick shell of the centipede.

Dark green sap slid down from the wound, and the moment it hit the ground, wisps of white smoke rose up, a pungent odor filled the air, and the ground was corroded into a deep pit.

The intense pain caused the centipede to let out a sharp hiss. Its massive body writhed wildly, and its hundreds of long legs swept across the area, bringing a foul wind and a menacing shadow. All the surrounding rubble was whipped into flying splatter.

Its ferocity surged even more after being injured, and a thick green poisonous mist spewed out from the opening and closing of its venomous jaws, enveloping Shi Gen like a dark cloud.

Shi Geng frowned. With his current powerful physique, he could remain unharmed even if he faced the poisonous fog head-on. However, he was truly unwilling to let the foul fog touch him.

Shi Geng raised his hand and waved it, causing the power of heaven and earth within his body to surge out, transforming into a solid, invisible barrier that stood in front of him.

The swirling poisonous mist crashed into the barrier, hissing and constantly being worn away and purified, unable to get even half a step closer to Shi Gen.

The centipede's massive body stiffened, its enormous head lowered slightly, staring at Shi Gen with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

What's wrong with this human child in front of me? Suddenly, he's giving me an intense sense of crisis.

You must know that he is an ancient species with the bloodline of the Thousand-Eyed Demon Centipede, and his cultivation has already reached the Spirit Transformation Realm.

This realm is a crucial watershed moment in cultivation, where the soul merges and becomes one, and combat no longer relies on brute force, but evolves into the power of intent and magic.

But now, the realm and bloodline it was so proud of were being threatened like never before by this human child.

The centipede roared angrily, its spiritual energy surging wildly, completely abandoning any intention of close combat.

Suddenly, a blinding divine light burst forth from between its brows, forcibly stirring the spiritual energy in the surrounding world. The air currents surged like a raging tide, all converging towards its brow.

With a buzzing sound, a beam of eerie green light shot out from between the centipede's eyebrows and headed straight for Shi Gen.

A beam of eerie green light shot through the air at lightning speed, corroding the air in its path with a hissing sound.

Shi Geng stood still, and with a wave of his hand, the inner world barrier in front of him shimmered with light. The pillar of light crashed into the barrier and exploded with a bang, and green mist flew everywhere, but not even a trace of it could penetrate.

The centipede was terrified at the sight and hurriedly activated its bloodline power. Its body swelled slightly, and strange demonic patterns appeared on its carapace. Hundreds of long legs danced and intertwined, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy to condense into countless green beams of light, which shot towards Shi Gen in a overwhelming manner.

Shi Geng narrowed his eyes slightly, gripped the knife with one hand and slashed forward horizontally. Runes on the blade shot into the sky, and a blade aura that swept across the heavens and earth roared out.

The blade energy condensed into a clear, cold moon, sweeping out with a chilling icy power. The green light that filled the sky was instantly frozen by layers of frost, frozen in mid-air.

With a swift movement of his feet, his figure transformed into a blur, instantly appearing before the centipede. He raised his long sword high in the air, its sharp edge aimed directly at the luminous divine light between the centipede's brows, exuding a chilling killing intent.

"Certainly!"

A cold glint flashed in Shi Geng's eyes. With a mighty swing, the blade of his long sword, carrying a bone-chilling coldness, crashed down.

Frosty spiritual energy surged down along the blade's edge, causing the surrounding air to condense into tiny ice flowers.

Sensing the deadly danger, the centipede began to writhe desperately, its massive body struggling to escape.

An invisible force intertwined from all directions, firmly imprisoning it on the spot. Its massive body remained motionless, like a cold stone sculpture. Only its compound eyes were filled with fear as it watched helplessly as the chillingly sharp longsword cleaved down upon it.

The longsword, carrying icy spiritual power, crashed down, striking heavily the radiant light between the centipede's brows.

A crisp cracking sound suddenly rang out, and the emerald divine light dissipated in response. The long sword slashed downwards, its sharp edge cutting through the thick scales, and icy spiritual energy rushed into the body through the wound.

The enormous insect body trembled violently, its countless legs twitching incessantly, yet it remained imprisoned in place by the power of the inner world.

The biting cold quickly spread throughout its body, and a thick layer of ice rapidly condensed on the surface of its scales. In the blink of an eye, this ancient remnant species at the Spirit Transformation Realm was completely frozen in place.

A moment later, as the light in the centipede's eyes completely disappeared, its massive, mountain-like body crashed down, devoid of any life.

Shi Geng glanced at a huge rock in the distance, where the bandit leader was lurking in the shadows, secretly watching.

Seeing that his most powerful ally had been killed by Shi Geng in just a few rounds, the bandit leader was terrified and turned to flee.

But a cold, sharp light flashed through the air, so fast that it left him no time to react. In the instant the light flashed, his body and head were separated, blood gushing out. He didn't even have time to scream before he fell straight to the ground.

The bandit leader stared wide-eyed, dying with his eyes wide open, unable to close them in peace. For half his life, he had wielded his precious sword, roaming freely, slaughtering villages, committing countless atrocities, and leaving his sword stained with countless blood debts.

Who would have thought that he would eventually die by the very sword he had been with day and night? What an ironic ending.

Shi Geng raised his hand and waved it gently. The treasured sword in his hand and the huge corpse of the centipede were all taken into his inner world. The power of the origin of heaven and earth surged and flowed around it, and began to slowly decompose.

"It's gotten a little bigger."

Shi Geng's mind sank into his inner world, gazing at this ever-expanding space, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

He secretly estimated that after refining the treasured sword and the corpse of the centipede, the territory of his inner world could be expanded by about ten more feet.

During this time, he continuously nourished himself with the precious bones of ferocious beasts. Now, his inner world is completely different from what it used to be. Compared to the area he first opened up, it has doubled in size, reaching a radius of two hundred feet.

After observing for a while, Shi Geng withdrew his mind from his inner world and glanced at the surviving villagers beside him.

The entire village was almost completely slaughtered by the bandits, leaving only an old man, some children and women, and three able-bodied men.

When everyone saw Shi Geng looking over, they all knelt down and bowed repeatedly to him.

The sole survivor, an elderly man, choked with emotion as he spoke, "Thank you so much for saving our lives!"

Shi Geng raised his hand to signal everyone to stand up, then gently shook his head, his tone tinged with regret: "Get up, everyone. I was ultimately too late."

Looking at the village reduced to ruins, the surviving villagers all looked somber. The joy of surviving the disaster was mixed with a bit of grief. Several women bowed their heads to wipe away tears, and children tightly clutched the hem of their elders' clothes. The atmosphere was extremely heavy.

Although they survived, the village was destroyed, and the villagers suffered heavy casualties, leaving only a tiny spark of life.