Chapter 116 - 3: Acting Simultaneously (Part 2)

The snake’s eyes glinted with a deep, cold light as it watched everyone rush out of the cave.

Feng Mingyou followed close behind. Having worked together before, the moment he got the signal, Spiritual Water surged in his left hand. He raised his right hand in a grasping motion, and an illusory teacup appeared.

He swiftly poured the Spirit Water into the illusory teacup and quickly formed a seal with one hand.

"I have a tea, called Clear Spirit. I invite you to have a taste."

As mist rose, he ran out of the cave, just in time to meet the giant python’s deep, cold gaze.

The giant python’s last shred of reason allowed the rising tea to flow directly into its mind.

The deep, cold snake eyes instantly regained their clarity. The cold glint disappeared, and they stared at the teammates rushing out one by one.

"Good thing we found a Tea Dao expert. Otherwise, we’d have to unleash Hek Tuan and then run for it!" Hua Wei said, looking at the giant python with some trepidation as he rushed out.

Apparently, the two of them had cooperated more than once and had a profound understanding of Hek Tuan’s state after his transformation.

Then, he too immediately vanished into thin air.

After running out of the cave, Feng Mingyou and Yuling didn’t stop at all. They leaped straight into the trees, creating distance and hiding themselves.

Zhang Deming rapidly tossed out seeds. Although there were plenty of plants around, they weren’t as good as the materials he had prepared.

Of course, he could also cast the Technique without seeds, but that would double the Spiritual Power consumption.

Ling’er hesitated for a moment as she formed an Ice Cone, then turned to look at the cave.

The moment everyone was ready, the Mother of Hundred Poisonous Scorpion shot out of the cave, flying through the air into the combat zone and coming to a standoff with the giant python.

In terms of size, the giant python that Hek Tuan had become was quite a bit larger than the Mother of Hundred Poisonous Scorpion.

At that moment, the surrounding vines began to grow wildly. The Mother of Hundred Poisonous Scorpion raised its two pincers, which glowed with Spiritual Light, and directly swept aside the encroaching vines, snapping them.

"Careful, this is a Tai Chi Demon Beast! It’s just in a Weak Stage from laying eggs, so we should be able to take it."

Zhang Deming said quickly as soon as they engaged.

"Even if we wanted to run, we probably couldn’t get away." Hua Wei flashed out at this moment, striking at the scorpion’s eyes again.

The Mother of Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s two pincers couldn’t react in time, but it blocked his attack simply by closing its eyes.

Hek Tuan also made his move then. With a speed that defied his enormous size, his snake tail shot out like lightning.

He lashed out with his tail. The Hundred Poisonous Scorpion, busy fending off the others’ attacks, couldn’t react in time and was struck squarely by the blow.

Instantly, the scorpion sacs on the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s body were hit, and the young scorpions exploded outwards like raindrops.

Everyone instantly activated their Spiritual Shields to avoid being hit by the rain of scorpions. It would be embarrassing to get taken down by the poison of a baby scorpion by accident.

After the scorpion sacs on its body were burst, the Mother of Hundred Poisonous Scorpion stiffened for a moment.

"CHIRP CHIRP..."

It opened its mouth and let out a strange cry. The young scorpions that had landed on the ground began to move rapidly in a formation.

Ling’er’s expression changed. While continuously firing Ice Cones, she said:

"Be careful! These young ones aren’t just a burden. This Mother Scorpion probably didn’t advance to the Tai Chi realm through its poison."

"The reason it’s weak is likely because it underwent a mutated advancement, taking the path of an Alien Species Summoning."

At Ling’er’s words, everyone’s expression changed.

Mutated advancement. Those words represented trouble, but they also meant the target was powerful.

As the countless young scorpions regrouped at its feet, the Mother of Hundred Poisonous Scorpion actually exploded.

It too turned into countless young scorpions, the same size as the ones beside it.

This sudden change left Hek Tuan, in his giant python form, dumbfounded.

When all the young scorpions merged, the swarm, like a tide of insects, surged together and re-formed into an even larger Hundred Poisonous Scorpion.

However, while it appeared to be a single entity, it was no longer a solid whole.

The densely packed young scorpions formed a Hundred Poisonous Scorpion that resembled an amalgamation.

While the giant scorpion was assembling, every lash from Hek Tuan’s python form only took out a few of the young. The swarm would just surge and instantly reform.

Hua Wei’s Assassination Techniques were even more useless; they were completely countered.

Zhang Deming’s vines didn’t accomplish much, and Ling’er’s Ice Cones weren’t faring any better.

The enemy’s ability to instantly break from one into many, and then from many back into one, immediately put the four of them at a complete disadvantage.

What was even more infuriating was that even though it was an amalgamation, once it finished reforming, it wasn’t the type to just fall apart at the slightest touch.

The complete Hundred Poisonous Scorpion amalgamation possessed considerable strength.

Moreover, during every clash with Hek Tuan, Zhang Deming could clearly see that on the surface of the amalgamated Hundred Poisonous Scorpion, all the small scorpion tails stood on end like bristling hairs.

During the collisions, sparks flew from the scales on Hek Tuan’s tail.

If his defense wasn’t decent, he probably would have been stabbed into a sieve and died from the poison by now.

But watching the snake tail that was constantly giving off sparks, Zhang Deming was also worried that he wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

And once they lost Hek Tuan, their powerful meat shield, it wouldn’t just be a matter of being suppressed anymore; the fight would basically be over.

Several times, Zhang Deming’s entangling vines were poisoned by the dense, hair-like Tail Needles on the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s body, causing the vines to immediately lose their original toughness.

Therefore, Zhang Deming spoke up directly, "Hek Tuan, try to bind it."

Hearing this, Hek Tuan immediately slithered forward like lightning and, in an instant, tightly bound the young scorpion amalgamation.

As expected, the scales on his body defended against the dense, hair-like scorpion tails.

When he tightened his constriction, his scales made a sound like steel wire scraping against a metal plate, exceptionally sharp and piercing.

Before they could even worry if his scales could hold, the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion amalgamation dispersed like quicksand, escaping the bind, and reassembled itself once more.

Seeing the enemy assemble and disperse at will, everyone’s hearts sank.

It was obvious that single-target attacks had no effect on this thing. With a grim expression, Zhang Deming glanced around.

In the distance were Feng Mingyou and Yuling, and nearby was Hua Wei, who was completely countered and basically just a bystander.

He shook his head. ’It seems I won’t be able to keep my skills hidden on the very first day.’

"I heard a rumor that says: a thing not of one body cannot be of one mind."

"Ice Technique: Ice Array Needle Rain!"

Both Zhang Deming and Ling’er paused at the same time and looked at each other.

At this moment, with the full activation of the ’rumor’, Zhang Deming’s Hidden Breath Skill lost its Concealment effect, revealing his strength as a Late Stage of Apprentice without a doubt.

Ling’er’s display was even more exaggerated. As her Spiritual Power surged, her feet lifted slightly off the ground.

Her beautiful hair danced, rippling slightly. The churning Spiritual Power made her clothes flutter around her as if in a wind, though there was none.

Her entire temperament underwent an earth-shattering change, making her seem like a goddess of Ice and Snow.

A cloud, similar to one from the Little Cloud Rain Skill, slowly appeared in the sky. But upon closer inspection, one would realize it wasn’t a cloud at all, but was made of countless, densely packed Ice Needles.

The power of a Tier Two Technique, combined with the strength of a Peak Apprentice, was on full display.

"Oratory? A Tier Two Ice Technique? Both Inner Sect Disciples?!!!"

Hua Wei cried out in astonishment, looking at the two who had transformed in an instant.

With strength like this, they were definitely Inner Sect Disciples, no doubt about it.

But why were disciples like them messing around with a group like theirs?

’Was there some kind of misunderstanding?’

’Or did I join the wrong team?’

’This isn’t a team of unwilling washouts, struggling for the resources to advance to the Tai Chi realm.’

’Is this a team of big shots experiencing life among the common folk?’

To the side, Feng Mingyou and Yuling silently exchanged a look. Both were quite calm; it seemed they each had their own suspicions.

Following the activation of Zhang Deming’s Word Spirit, the unified Hundred Poisonous Scorpion amalgamation instantly showed signs of disarray.

Many of the young scorpions fell off the amalgamation as if it were shedding.

Those that remained gathered together had lost their cohesiveness.

It was now just a pile of quicksand barely held together, the kind that would lose a chunk with every movement.

At this moment, Hek Tuan, still in his python form, snapped out of his brief shock and began rapidly lashing with his tail.

The Hundred Poisonous Scorpion amalgamation was instantly scattered, and unlike before, it didn’t regroup like quicksand.

Just then, after a brief moment of brewing, the Ice Needles in the sky finished forming.