"Boom!"
Sensing danger, Xu Chuan instinctively retreated a few steps.
Then he saw the spot where he had just stood explode, dirt flying, and a dark shadow burst from the unearthed soil.
At the same time, a foul, pungent odor spread out.
As soon as Xu Chuan smelled it, he felt dizzy.
"Poisonous!"
Xu Chuan's expression changed, and he immediately sealed his mouth and nose with his Yuan force, pulling away from the area.
Only then did Xu Chuan have a chance to see what was in front of him.
He saw that in the very spot he had just been, a seven to eight-zhang long centipede monster, covered in legs, was staring intently at him.
The surrounding poisonous gas was emanating from its gaping maw.
Had Xu Chuan not sensed the danger just now, he would likely have fallen into the centipede monster's mouth by now.
This centipede monster exuded a power far greater than any he had encountered before.
Its pair of blood-red eyes revealed naked killing intent.
As long as Xu Chuan dared to take another step forward, it would definitely attack.
"At least a Nascent Qi third-stage monster, or even stronger."
Xu Chuan carefully sensed its presence and immediately grasped the centipede monster's strength. For a moment, his expression turned grave.
This was no ordinary minor demon beast from the outer regions in the Body Tempering realm.
This was a true Nascent Qi realm cultivator, even stronger than Xu Chuan's current cultivation.
However, Xu Chuan did not show any fear because of this.
Instead, a strong fighting spirit emanated from him.
Since advancing to the Nascent Qi realm, Xu Chuan had not encountered any truly formidable opponents.
It was a perfect opportunity to use this giant centipede to test the limits of his strength, to give him more confidence, and prevent him from faltering when facing enemies.
After analyzing the pros and cons, Xu Chuan prepared to strike.
As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm.
Xu Chuan pushed off with his feet, generating immense force that instantly caved in the ground beneath him.
Using this recoil, Xu Chuan shot towards the giant centipede like a human rocket.
"Roar!"
Seeing Xu Chuan charge forward, the giant centipede roared and instantly turned into a dark blur, lunging at him.
A pungent wind carrying potent poison swept towards him.
Xu Chuan did not dodge, but instead threw a punch directly at the centipede's head.
"Bang—"
In the instant of confrontation between man and beast, neither gained an advantage, and both were sent flying back.
Xu Chuan felt as if his fist had hit a steel plate, the immense recoil numbing his arm.
"Peak Nascent Qi third-stage, just one step away from breaking through to Nascent Qi fourth-stage. No wonder it's so arrogant."
"This Qingling grass is likely the key to its breakthrough."
With a single exchange, Xu Chuan immediately judged the giant centipede's strength.
The centipede monster, having taken Xu Chuan's punch, was also not unharmed. The plates on its head were cracked, leaking some green blood.
Where it dripped onto the surrounding plants, wisps of white smoke immediately rose, and within moments, the vegetation was corroded away.
"Such a venomous beast!"
Seeing the toxicity of the giant centipede's blood, even Xu Chuan couldn't help but gasp.
Xu Chuan began to be cautious; being touched by this thing would be unpleasant.
The giant centipede was also enraged by Xu Chuan's attack, but the injury to its head made it hesitant to clash directly with Xu Chuan again for the moment.
So, it opened its maw and spewed a mouthful of black poisonous mist at Xu Chuan.
Xu Chuan swiftly dodged, and the black poisonous mist landed on the ground, directly corroding a small pit.
Failing to hit its target, the centipede monster grew more furious, and streams of poisonous mist continued to assail Xu Chuan.
Xu Chuan had no choice but to keep dodging.
In just a few breaths, dozens of pits of various sizes had been corroded into the ground by the poisonous mist.
"Damn it, you think you can fight dirty, huh?"
Xu Chuan's face darkened. This detestable beast was playing dirty, constantly spewing poisonous mist. He could only dodge and had no chance to retaliate.
Fortunately, not long after, the centipede monster's strength waned, and it could no longer spray any poisonous mist from its mouth.
It could only stare intently at Xu Chuan with its eyes, emitting a hoarse hissing sound.
It seemed to be warning Xu Chuan not to approach further, or it would attack again.
Xu Chuan, of course, paid it no mind.
If you can't spit anymore, isn't it my turn to perform now?
In a flash, Xu Chuan took several rapid strides forward, instantly appearing before the giant centipede and delivering a solid punch to its pair of fangs.
Ten thousand jin of brute force erupted. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, the giant centipede's fangs were directly shattered.
"Aow!"
The intense pain caused the giant centipede to let out a furious howl.
Seeing the giant centipede injured, Xu Chuan pressed his advantage.
His Yuan force enveloped his hands, his fists clenched tightly, and he unleashed a punch that pierced directly through the centipede's carapace, creating a hole right through it.
In pain, the centipede turned its head and lunged to bite Xu Chuan's head.
Xu Chuan dodged and then pulled his hand free, grabbing the giant centipede's tail and slamming it fiercely against the surrounding stone walls.
The impacts sent rocks flying and splattered dark green blood everywhere.
The giant centipede was utterly powerless to resist, being swung back and forth by Xu Chuan and smashed violently against the mountain walls.
He smashed it at least dozens of times, until Xu Chuan was drenched in sweat from exhaustion.
Only when he felt the centipede monster in his hands was barely breathing did he stop.
While the giant centipede had completely lost its ability to move, Xu Chuan punched its head, blowing it apart.
He then directly extracted its demon core, casually tossing the centipede monster's corpse aside.
Only then did he sit on a rock to rest.
Although he was already in the Nascent Qi second-stage, fighting opponents across realms still consumed a significant amount of energy.
Moreover, the beast's scales were extremely tough, and its entire body was covered in potent poison, forcing Xu Chuan to expend a large amount of Yuan force to protect his hands with every strike.
This was why the fight had been so arduous.
This was all thanks to the Xuan Yang Jue providing him with a vast supply of Yuan energy.
If an ordinary Nascent Qi second-stage martial cultivator were to fight this beast, who knew how badly they would be beaten.
Fortunately, the outcome was quite good.
Xu Chuan had a rough idea of his limits, and his confidence grew.
Ordinary Nascent Qi third-stage cultivators would likely be no match for him. He could even contend with Nascent Qi fourth-stage cultivators. If he couldn't defeat a Nascent Qi fifth-stage, he could at least escape.
However, this battle also exposed some issues.
That was his lack of attack methods.
Besides punches and kicks, he had nothing else. If he knew a martial skill or two, or had a suitable weapon, this fight wouldn't have been so difficult.
It seemed he needed to find time to cultivate martial skills.
Coincidentally, he had bought a martial skill called "Crimson Blood Saber Art" from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
Although it was only a middle-grade Yellow tier, it was still better than fighting with bare hands.
Another gain was the demon core of this beast.
Unlike demon beasts of the Body Tempering realm, Nascent Qi realm demon beasts could form demon cores within their bodies.
This demon core was the essence of a demon beast and was of great use to martial cultivators.
Although, due to the demonic energy, it could not be directly absorbed by martial cultivators.
However, it could be directly sold to shops in the city that dealt in demon cores.
The demon core of a Nascent Qi third-stage demon beast like this was estimated to fetch three hundred Yuan stones.
Furthermore, this demon core could be used to refine pills that were beneficial to martial cultivators.
For instance, the main ingredient for Solid Yuan Pills was the demon core of a Nascent Qi realm demon beast.
The higher the grade of the demon core, the better the Solid Yuan Pills refined from it would be.
Solid Yuan Pills could help Nascent Qi realm martial cultivators improve the efficiency of Yuan energy absorption and refinement, and also strengthen their foundation, offering considerable benefits.
In addition, the beast's scales, if intact, would be excellent material for refining armor.
Unfortunately, his methods had been too violent, and the centipede's scales were riddled with holes, rendering them of little value.