Chapter 117 - 4: Sudden Change

A dense shower of hair-thin Ice Needles rained down.

In an instant, the Ice Needles pierced through the bodies of some of the young scorpions, pinning them to the ground.

The biting cold traveled from the needles, through the wounds, and deep into the young scorpions’ bodies, slowly turning them into ice sculptures.

One by one, the young scorpions were pinned and frozen into statues of ice.

The remaining young scorpions, the ones that had burst forth from the mother’s body, were unaffected by Zhang Deming’s Rumors.

They gathered together once more, but couldn’t seem to form the same kind of aggregate as before. It seemed the *real* young scorpions were the key to forming the collective.

The ones that had split off from the Mother of Hundred Poisonous Scorpion had merely served to amplify the effect.

As the real young scorpions were frozen one by one, the scions from the Mother of Hundred Poisonous Scorpion also began to falter. Under the rain of Ice Needles, a thin layer of frost began to form on their carapaces.

Though not pierced through, their movements began to slow.

"CHEEP CHEEP..."

After another strange, collective screech, the scions that couldn’t be pierced began to fuse together.

The mass of scorpions began to swell, and finally, the Mother of Hundred Poisonous Scorpion reappeared, no longer an aggregate but a single entity.

But it was clearly much weaker, and the spheres of young scorpions that had covered its body were gone.

The rain of needles from the sky was also coming to an end.

The ground was littered with the ice sculptures of young scorpions. Even the surrounding weeds were frozen, creating a magnificent, silver-clad vista.

It possessed a strange, breathtaking beauty.

As the Technique ended, the ice sculptures began to shatter, turning into a field of ice chips and leaving not even a frozen corpse behind.

Ling’er’s levitating body gently touched down. She was panting slightly.

Even for a Peak Apprentice who was on the verge of a breakthrough, casting a Tier Two Magic—let alone a powerful, enhanced version of one—was still a heavy burden.

After all, this was an inherently high-cost Tier Two Technique, not some low-cost support Skill.

The weakened Hundred Poisonous Scorpion, having reformed, fixed its enormous, cold eyes directly on Ling’er.

Vines slithered at Zhang Deming’s side. One shot out and wrapped around the waist of Ling’er, who was still replenishing her Qi.

The corners of her lips curved up unconsciously in a faint, happy smile.

The moment the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion reformed, Hek Tuan shot forward like a bolt of lightning, his tail lashing out like a whip.

The Hundred Poisonous Scorpion showed no weakness, whipping its own tail to meet the attack. It blocked Hek Tuan’s strike with the very tip of its Poison Needle.

The immense power and speed, concentrated on such a small point of impact, instantly shattered the scales on the serpent’s tail.

The Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s Poison Needle pierced straight through Hek Tuan’s massive tail.

Normally, such a small puncture wound shouldn’t have been a major injury for a giant python of his size.

But Hek Tuan’s wound instantly turned black and began to fester.

And his entire person—er, his entire snake—began to writhe violently on the ground.

In a flash, his body shrank, and he reverted to a naked man, groaning in agony.

Zhang Deming controlled a Vine, which quickly wrapped around Hek Tuan and flung him out of the battlefield.

"I have a tea named Antidote. Please, have a taste."

The moment Hek Tuan fell, Feng Mingyou, who had been in hiding, immediately rose. Spirit Water flowed from his left hand while his right hand made a grasping motion, and a teacup materialized.

As he channeled the Spirit Water into the cup, steam began to rise.

Just as Zhang Deming flung Hek Tuan clear, the steam drifted over to meet him. Feng Mingyou leaped up and caught Hek Tuan in mid-air.

After a few quick movements to absorb the momentum, he landed and checked on Hek Tuan. His expression turned grim.

’The poison isn’t cured. I’ve only managed to suppress it for now.’

’With my Cultivation, I’ll need to find a quiet place and spend several hours of painstaking effort to fully purge the poison.’

Seeing the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion had reformed into a single entity, Yuling also moved toward the battlefield. Hua Wei was still nowhere to be seen.

In an instant, Zhang Deming found himself holding the front line.

With his tank down, Zhang Deming’s expression grew stern. Light Wings materialized at his heels.

At the same time, all the surrounding vines rapidly intertwined, forming a massive python of interwoven creepers before him.

It lunged at the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion without hesitation. It didn’t try to strike, but instead went straight for a close-range bind.

The Hundred Poisonous Scorpion swung its Shuang Ao, but the intertwined vines could no longer be severed in an instant.

Many vines were still being cut, but the massive coil didn’t break apart. Zhang Deming could rapidly grow new vines to replace the severed ones.

The Hundred Poisonous Scorpion swung its Shuang Ao, constantly moving to evade the vine python’s attempt to bind it. For its size, its body was remarkably agile.

Seeing the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion tied down, Zhang Deming breathed an inward sigh of relief.

But a moment later, his heart clenched for no apparent reason.

Seeing the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s chilling, dark eyes, a sense of dread washed over Zhang Deming.

’Not good!’

The very instant Zhang Deming realized something was wrong, a dense Spiritual Light flared and vanished on the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s tail, and a jet-black beam shot out.

The incredibly fast, dark ray shot directly toward Ling’er, who was still recovering her energy.

The Vine wrapped around her waist suddenly went taut. Like a whip-crack, it flung Ling’er behind him.

The dark beam grazed past and slammed into the ground nearby.

Instantly, a hissing sound of corrosion filled the air as a large pit was eaten into the earth.

During the brief opening after the scorpion fired the dark beam, Hua Wei’s figure appeared directly above its head.

He stabbed down at the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s eye without a moment’s hesitation.

The slightly stunned Hundred Poisonous Scorpion squeezed its eyes shut again, successfully dodging Hua Wei’s surprise attack.

That momentary delay was all it took. The vine python coiled itself tightly around the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion.

Zhang Deming immediately tightened the coil and, no longer conserving his Spiritual Power, grew more and more vines to reinforce it. The Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s struggles grew feeble.

"Spiritual Eye: Purple Light Enchanting Heart."

Yuling seized the opportunity to activate her powerful control Skill.

Bound by the vines and mesmerized by the spell, the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion was doubly controlled and stood frozen in place.

"Assassination: Broken Bone!"

Hua Wei reappeared, once again stabbing at the scorpion’s eye. As a potent Spiritual Light plunged into the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s brain, Hua Wei retreated like a flash of lightning.

Just like the first, the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion’s eyeball instantly burst, spattering white brain matter.

Seeing this, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. The dust had finally settled.

Looking at the now-silent Hundred Poisonous Scorpion, their gazes fixed on the strange metallic spots on its carapace, the team’s tense expressions finally began to relax.

"That was..." Before Hua Wei could finish, a round, cylindrical object suddenly dropped in front of them.

Hua Wei: "???"

Yuling: "???"

Everyone: "???"

Zhang Deming: "!!!"

Their attention still highly focused from the tense battle, the others instantly stared at the object in confusion.

But Zhang Deming, the moment he saw the familiar object, his pupils contracted to pinpoints.

’What is this...?’

’A flashbang?’

’Or a smoke grenade?’

’Or a stun grenade?’