Divine Tang Era

"call out"

A sharp whistle pierced the dark forest, the arrow spinning as it pierced the monster's body.

"Whoosh..."

The arrow missed its vital organs, but the monster roared. The sound echoed through the mountains and forests, as if it were howling in pain, or perhaps calling to its companions.

Xu Dan sensed something was wrong and drew his bow again, shooting an arrow straight into the heart. The monster screamed and fell to the ground, never to rise again. But it was too late; shouts echoed from the forest. Then, a group of creatures resembling the previous monster came charging from the tall trees in the distance.

"Those mandrills were quite active today."

"At the mine site," Pei Ziye said, hearing a voice coming from afar.

"It's said that someone sneaked into the mandrill's den and stole something," said Song Yingmin, who had been with him earlier.

"I see." Pei Ziye nodded and said, "If those mountain demons get close, warn them immediately. If they ignore you, shoot them dead to prevent any scoundrels from taking the opportunity to infiltrate the mine."

"Yes."

"You're so cute."

Seeing the towering monsters rushing towards him, Xu Dan's face darkened, and he wanted to curse. He quickly drew his bow and shot. Although he had never formally practiced archery, his accuracy was decent, hitting the target six or seven times out of ten. Moreover, the monsters were large, so hitting them wasn't difficult; the challenge was whether he could kill them.

At that moment, Xu Dan had a profound realization: he must go back and learn archery.

With a strength of 100,000 jin, he was no ordinary man. Even if his aim wasn't great, the monsters suffered heavy casualties as he kept drawing his bow and firing.

"Hoo-hoo"

Suddenly, a fierce roar erupted from the monster horde, and the monsters at the front retreated. A giant monster, two or three zhang tall, emerged from the horde, pounding its chest as it charged towards Xu Dan.

How arrogant!

Xu Dan couldn't tolerate its arrogance. He released his long arrow, swift as lightning, transforming it into a black line that pierced the monster's body. The monster seemed oblivious to pain and continued its attack. Xu Dan shot again, with the same result.

"You bastard, I don't believe in superstitions."

Seeing that his arrows were ineffective, Xu Dan took out the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, used the Seven Star Steps to run out of the cave, and charged towards the giant monster.

"Hoo-hoo"

The giant monster also ran away.

The monster was enormous, and Xu Dan was small, so it was impossible for them to fight face-to-face. When they got close, Qi Xing Fei Bu accelerated, suddenly turned around, and came behind him. He stomped his feet on the ground, his body flying into the air, and the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer in his hand danced like a moon wheel, unleashing a wild and unrestrained attack to subdue demons.

The giant monster seemed to know what he was about to do, and suddenly turned its head and threw a punch.

Its sound was like thunder, its momentum like a mountain collapsing, and its vast and boundless power was almost unstoppable.

Xu Dan hadn't expected it to use this move. He increased the power of the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer in his hand, unleashing a torrent of force, like a celestial river hanging upside down, cascading from the heavens. It was like chaotic thunder, threatening to annihilate the mortal world and recreate the chaos of the universe.

"boom"

In the blink of an eye, their fists collided with a loud bang.

Xu Dan's body involuntarily flew back several steps, while the giant monster's fist was smashed apart by the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, the fist shattered, revealing white bones and dripping blood.

"Hoo-hoo"

The giant monster roared in pain and began to retreat.

Xu Dan, however, had no intention of letting it go. While still in mid-air, he used the Seven Star Flying Steps to move swiftly, landing on the monster's head. He gripped the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer with both hands and forcefully slammed it into the center of the monster's head.

"Hoo...woo..."

The giant monster screamed in agony, its head thrashing wildly.

Xu Dan gripped the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer tightly, his body swaying left and right as if being blown by a category 10 typhoon, almost flying away.

After howling for a while, the giant monster finally collapsed, powerless. Xu Dan drew his Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, pulling out the monster's soul in the process, but it was quickly devoured by the hammer. Seeing their giant monster killed, the monster horde scattered in terror.

Xu Dan walked over to the big monster and looked at it; it looked like a mandrill.

They had just shot down a mandrill, and now they had killed another one; the forest was filled with the stench of blood.

Xu Dan sensed something was wrong, so he quickly collected the mandrill's corpse, went back into the cave to tidy up, and left this troublesome place.

Soon, the beasts that had come smelling blood, finding no food, roared loudly. They then turned and attacked the approaching animals, and chaos erupted in the forest, a melee ensued, the stench of blood growing even stronger.

After this incident, Xu Dan dared not stay in the cave.

The rain had just stopped, so I found a big tree to use as a temporary shelter. I was so focused on fighting the mandrill that I forgot about grilling the kebabs, and all the leopard meat on them was burnt and inedible.

Helpless, Xu Dan could only take out the big meat bun again and start eating it.

He wasn't destined to enjoy a life of luxury.

To be honest, the big meat buns actually tasted pretty good. Xu Dan ate them with gusto, completely unlike how he had eaten them blandly before. But as he ate, a few drops of water dripped down, as if it were raining again.

I looked up and was almost scared to death.

A giant snake head stared at him with merciless eyes, its pupils bulging, clearly showing its hostility.

Xu Dan was so frightened that he jumped down from the tree. "Thud!" He felt like he stepped on something. Looking down, he realized it was an egg. Looking around, he saw that the dense forest was covered with snake eggs, which were covered with a thick layer of pine needles and were almost invisible unless you looked closely.

Because the snake egg was on the other side of the tree, and Xu Dan came up from the front, he didn't see it at all.

The nine-eyed python, coiled around a tree, blends in with its color, making it even harder to spot.

Xu Dan had just fought with the mandrill and, without realizing it, had wandered into the territory of the nine-eyed python. His feelings were a jumble of emotions; he didn't know what to say. He straightened up, as if sensing something, and looked up at the nine-eyed python, which was flicking its tongue and looking down at him, saying, "If I said it wasn't intentional, would you believe me?"

The nine-eyed python responded directly with its gaping maw.

A foul stench assaulted his nostrils, and Xu Dan hurriedly jumped up a nearby tree. The nine-eyed python opened its mouth and spat out a stream of venom. Xu Dan dodged it, and the venom landed on the trees and grass, creating a puff of white smoke. The trees and grass quickly withered.

So poisonous.

Xu Dan frowned. He thought, "I just rested and ate in the tree, and I just stepped on an egg. Why are you so persistent and ruthless?"

The nine-eyed python didn't answer, but slid down from the tree and chased after Xu Dan. Despite its large size, it was very agile.

Seeing it chasing after him, Xu Dan quickly jumped to another large tree, his feet moving swiftly using the Seven Star Flying Steps, with faint starlight flowing around him as he darted between the trees in the forest. The Nine-Eyed Python, being clumsy, had limited speed and was soon left behind.

Xu Dan didn't leave. He turned around, went behind the Nine-Eyed Python, and threw a punch.

With immense strength, the power to subdue demons, and awe-inspiring might, it shook heaven and earth.

In an instant, a surging fist intent roared out like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting. Behemoth opened his eyes, wielding his double-edged axe, and let out an indomitable, unwilling, and unrepentant roar. With a single, wild swing, he cleaved down. "I will make this sky no longer obscure my vision; I will make this earth no longer bury my heart; I will make all living beings understand my will."

A fearless and powerful force descended upon the head of the nine-eyed python.

Unaware of what was happening, the nine-eyed python turned its head, opened its mouth to bite, and its tail lashed out with a whooshing sound.

Before its head even arrived, its tail swept across, striking the fist. The two collided, and the tail exploded. The fist's momentum didn't diminish; it continued its assault on the nine-eyed python.

"boom"

With a burst of fist intent, the double-edged giant axe slashed wildly down, splitting the nine-eyed python's head in two.

The gaping mouth and vertical pupils slid open in disbelief, leaving behind a pool of blood.