Honestly, if I hadnât gone to the Outer Heaven, hadnât seen missile rain, hadnât seen tactical nuclear warheads washing the earth, Huangfu Yi would probably have rushed along to snatch the âMeteorite Ironâ, âEmperorâs fluidâ, âHeavenly Materials Treasuresâ during the great calamity.
But having witnessed the heaven beyond the heaven, he naturally wouldnât blindly rush in and eat nuclear radiation dust...
Knowing what âmeteor showerâ is is one thing, but understanding why nuclear warheads appear in the Taiji Realm is another. Even with âInsightâ and âTaiyinâ initially grasping the basics, for Huangfu Yi to comprehend the profound, world-class mystery of gods and ghosts would be too challenging for him.
Fortunately, Huangfu Yi is resilient and determined. After being momentarily dazed by the abrupt changes in the heavens, regaining stability in his Daoist Heart, he quickly returned to the Righteous Path.
Whatâs happening in the sky is temporarily beyond his control. Even if he wants to stand against it, the time hasnât come yet. For now, he just needs to do what he can right in front of him.
Into the cave, demons must be slain!
Indeed, slay the demon, the size of this big centipede here, at the very least can eat a person per meal, and there are masses of them, densely packed in thousands, if left to harm the land, both armies preserving their strength, ignoring the situation, theyâre likely to devour all living beings within a thousand miles in merely weeks.
Thus, taking advantage of many centipedes being attracted by the meteor to compete for the Emperorâs fluid, with the demon cave temporarily empty, Huangfu Yi plans to enter the cave solo, burn the centipedeâs nest in a blaze, cleanse the egg sacs and larvae thoroughly, although it may not cure entirely, it could at least suppress temporarily.
So Huangfu Yi prepared thoroughly, switched to the Five Immortals Sword Qi to shield against poison, activated the Magic Artifact and used Earth Tunneling Technique to sneak into the insect cavern. However, unexpectedly, scarcely traversing several miles in the canyon, Huangfu Yi unexpectedly ran into a wall.
The digging cap from Crane Temple is truly a treasure, having evaded twice from chasing, yet at this moment, it suddenly malfunctioned, leaving Huangfu Yi surprised, trying to feel around, encountering a barrier with a texture of gold and iron-like, not sure if itâs copper wall and iron wall or underground mineral deposits, reluctantly venturing to a centipede hole to surface.
Peering out, this cave is apparently drilled by centipedes, damp and slippery, heavy with Demon Qi, the hollow is breezy, presumably leading to the outside gap on one end, the other slanting downward further into the cave. However, this path was dug by centipedes for passage up and down, being narrow and slender, difficult for upright walking, and seems to have severed some mineral vein, obstructing the Earth Tunneling Technique, requiring a detour.
Estimating that the following path downward necessitates an all-out combat, Huangfu Yi smeared the Iron Rod with sword light shining, glancing up, couldnât help but be startled.
Where he ran into isnât any iron wall! Itâs a giganticââcentipede!
Goodness, a single segment of its armor is as massive as a treasure vault door! Glancing up, segment after segment, resembling a buried train underground, winding and coiling, straight into the crust, might be over a hundred zhang long!
Darn, excavated to the centipede ancestor... But why isnât it moving, seems dead?
Huangfu Yi examines carefully, poking with sword light... unleashing full power of Yangming Yaoguang Five Immortals Sword Light! A full thrust! Break!
Thankfully, it broke, because inside itâs hollow, it was merely a layer of the centipedeâs molt; although the sword light was sharp enough to break defense and penetrate armor, chopping a few more times could carve out a hole, upon Huangfu Yi peering into the shell, he seemed to enter the subway tunnel of Yangjingbang, the distinct skeletal hollow resembling a straight path slide to the deep crust.
The monsterâs true form is incomprehensibly large, hard to believe, even if placed here for slashing, might not even harm a hair. Moreover, centipedes molt only after growing, an already shed skin being so hard, so massive, who knows how many years itâs been since, what development it has reached now...
Rationally speaking, upon seeing such scale of molting, should immediately retreat now, head into the mountains, seek loggers, Sword Immortal-like experts to slay demons. But recalling the dispute between the two not long ago, Huangfu Yi found himself unable to move.
Whatâs the use?
Reckoned now, all the cultivators in the world, attracted by âMeteorite Iron Emperorâs Flowing Magma,â absorbed in the atmosphere of calamity, who would care about the underground insects?
Moreover, truthfully, having travelled so far already, thereâs nothing one canât understand.
Born into chaotic times, drifting along, involuntarily.
Canât manage oneâs own affairs well, who would bother about othersâ trivial matters?
Demons canât be fully slain, devils canât be completely exterminated, humans too, never cease dying.
In a year with heavier rain, flooding of the Gen River could kill tens of thousands, before the Immortal Gods above, human life, barely worth mentioning.
Ultimately, oneâs matters should be done by oneself, not seeking this person or that person constantly, not relying on any grand justice figure or righteous partner descending from heaven to bear for you.
However...
Such a Demon God, just relying on oneâs strength, can it be endured...
So what then, what of it?
Canât defeat, canât withstand, so you ignore?
Being weak, thus need to flee, yet seek Immortals, ask grandmother, find others to intervene?
Huangfu Yi, is your Dao only limited to this?
"...Canât be limited to this!"
Out of nowhere, stirred by inner monologue, whispers from the Divine Court!
In a moment of fervor, gritting teeth, stomping foot, with a loud shout! Relying on a fleeting burst of courage, he leaped into the centipede shell!
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Directly sliding down the spine, plunging headlong into the abyss!