Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Ling Yun attacked without restraint under the surprise attack. Most of the steel nails penetrated the python's thick rough scales. Some of them exited from the other side of the python, but the rest of them were left stuck in its body.

This level of injury was not life-threatening to the python. However, the severity of the pain roused the beast in it. It straightened up and became even taller than Ling Yun.

Its green marble-like eyes were prominent in the total darkness. It constantly flicked its tongue out. Its triangular-shaped head was fixated on Ling Yun while its neck constantly swayed, ready to attack. It was preparing to coil around Ling Yun and suffocate him to death.

This piece of rock was only about three square meters and was slippery from the water dripping from the cliff. Ling Yun didn't want to fight the python at this height. He needed a quick end to this battle, so he had no reservations when he attacked.

Ling Yun overcame the distance between him and the python in the blink of an eye. The python was surprised that Ling Yun dared to dash over. It sprang itself up from the rock high up into the air and got out of the way of Ling Yun's Emperor Brush. It managed to get behind Ling Yun and tried to attack his head from there again.

“You don't know your own place!” Ling Yun stood still and waited until the python was within reach before attacking the python.

Ling Yun accurately inserted the Emperor Brush into the seventh inch of the python where its heart was. A huge chuck of the python's neck was sliced off by Ling Yun. Stinky python blood filled the air. The blood poured out and dyed almost half of the rock red!

The Python gave a sorrowful cry, knowing that it had sustained a fatal injury. It knew that it would die without a doubt, even though its head was still attached to its body. It coiled itself around Ling Yun in a last ditch attempt to bring him with it.

Ling Yun dexterously avoided the wounded areas of the python. He didn't want to be tainted by the stinky blood of the python. However, the python used this chance to coil itself around Ling Yun.

“What brute strength!” Ling Yun lifted his Emperor Brush ruthlessly once again and hit where its injury was. The python's head landed with a loud thud on the rocks. It was dead, but its body remained alive, strangling Ling Yun even tighter than before.

Ling Yun used the Thousand Pounds Landing to steady his body. He used his left hand to grab the headless snake and removed the snake from his body with ease.

“Peng!” Ling Yun slammed the still-struggling snake body onto the rocks. Smiling coldly at the corpse, he said, “What makes you think you can devour me? I've killed snakes a hundred times bigger than you.”

Ling Yun was psychologically prepared to encounter all sorts of monsters at this depth. He was now three hundred and fifty meters deep into the crater, which was already more than a hundred meters below sea level.

Coming to this place alone brought back fond memories of his time in the Cultivation World battling monsters in the forests.

The extremely steep cliff hanging over his head acted like a lid. It blocked all light from the mouth of the crater. There was a thick fog in this absolute darkness which reduced Ling Yun's visibility to less than ten meters.

He hadn't noticed a hole about a meter in diameter in the cliff above him since he had been too preoccupied with observing the bottom of the crater. The python had obviously appeared from that hole.

Snakes were the natural enemies of toads. It was no mystery why there were pythons since there were so many toads at the bottom of the crater.

Ling Yun observed that hole for a while and found that it was just a natural hole that became smaller as it got deeper. Ling Yun lost interest in it since no human could get through.

Am I too nervous? Ling Yun couldn't help but to ridicule himself at his reaction to the python.

Ling Yun's keen senses told him that the crags were not caused by the crater but were perhaps very ancient rough structures molded over time.

Looking up, Ling Yun instantly understood one of the reasons for the appearance of the crater.

“The large cavern existed here before the crater appeared!” Ling Yun deduced. He became even more alert.

Ling Yun didn't believe for an instant that the Crater had been created because of that unprecedented torrential rain in Qingshui City. The torrential rain was probably just an extremely small contributor.

How could such a big hole with walls more than a hundred meters thick be bashed through by that tiny amount of rain?

Ling Yun had to be extra cautious if this Crater had been there for a long time. An ancient closed-off hole definitely had an independent ecosystem if that was the case.

He had encountered such a big python before reaching the bottom of the crater. Only G.o.d knew what hideous man-devouring monsters were sprawling around at the bottom.

There was no use hanging there all day. Ling Yun gave the corpse of the python a glance before leaping down another ten meters onto a smaller rock.

Ling Yun had to be focused and observant. The deafening gush of the river below echoed throughout the crater and masked all other sounds. Ling Yun wasn't sure if he could hear the warning sounds of another encounter.

He could only hold the Emperor Brush in his right hand and steel nails in his left as he approached the bottom carefully.

He discovered another two pythons slithering on a piece of rock. They were many times larger than the one that Ling Yun had killed.

Ling Yun did not intend to provoke them as his goal was to get into the Yin Yang Dragon Lock Spell. He eyed the huge rock by the other side and leapt onto it.

Ling Yun was one more light jump away from the bottom.

It had looked a lot smaller when Ling Yun had looked down at it from the entrance of the Crater. Now that he was here, he could see that it was about five hundred square meters wide with a river flowing through a fifth of it. The water gushed from west to east. Ling Yun didn't know where the water came from and where it headed to.

Ling Yun proceeded carefully. He could no longer make out any sound other than the gus.h.i.+ng of water. He paused to determine where the center of the crater was and headed right towards it.

Ling Yun only took steps he was sure of. He covered about three meters with each step which was the maximum extent of his visibility. He didn't invoke the full extent of his Thousand Miles G.o.dly Steps to avoid drawing the attention from any living creatures.

Ling Yun finally reached the last segment of the crater. He glanced around and found that there were indeed many ugly toads the size of footb.a.l.l.s. Most of them were squatting quietly on the rocks.

The pythons didn't seem to live at the bottom of the crater. They seemed to have just ended a round of feasting since there were more toads as he got closer to the center of the crater. There wasn't even a place to stand in the middle.

Ling Yun's vision became clearer as the moonlight finally found its way to him. He had pa.s.sed the area blocked by the lip of the crater.

After a hundred meters or so, Ling Yun walked out from beneath the lip of the crater. His vision returned to normal.

Ling Yun heaved a sigh of relief before climbing at a fast pace.

The scenery before him was true to what he had seen with his divine sense. There was a huge slippery rock and a large fallen tree. Things were in a chaotic state.

The weeds were growing quickly. They could grow anywhere except for on rocks.

Ling Yun stood on a higher piece of rock to have an overarching view of the surroundings. He then started towards the side of Dragon Mountain.

Ling Yun circled around but had yet to find the bodies of Xuan Jiu and Deepa. They had probably been swallowed by the pythons if they weren't in the stomachs of those ugly toads.

Ling Yun frowned at the sight of unexpectedly messy footprints at the side of the Dragon Mountain.

Seems like many people made it to the bottom as well!

At that moment, Ling Yun noticed a white shadow fighting with a tall black shadow at the eastern side of the Crater.

“It's Little White!”

Ling Yun sprinted towards Little White with his Thousand Miles G.o.dly Steps when he realized that she was in distress.

It was a huge python! It was at least twenty meters long. Each brownish-black scale was at least the size of a palm. Its head was as big as a car tire. In the darkness, its eyes seemed like two gleaming light bulbs.

It was impossible for the huge python not to try to eat a spiritual being like Little White.

Little White might have obtained her second tail, but she was helpless against the python. She could only try to escape.

Fortunately, she was faster than lightning and weaved around with agility. Otherwise, she might have been swallowed by the Python!

The python was stunned by the appearance of Ling Yun and flew into a rage instantly. It switched its target to Ling Yun at that moment!

“You're courting death!” Ling Yun took out a Fire Talisman without hesitation and flung it towards the python's head. He shouted, “Come!”

He then skipped out of the python's path.

The scales of the python were harder than armor and were impenetrable by guns. Thus, it didn't even bother with the flimsy Fire Talisman and allowed it to land on its head.

Once Ling Yun shouted the incarnation, the head of the python was immediately set ablaze. The high temperature sizzled its flesh as it wrestled around in pain, trying to put out the fire. It was in vain.

Ling Yun hugged Little White affectionately. She sprang into his arms when she had the chance. “You must have been frightened. I'll feed you some snake heart and gut later.”

Little White was a nine-tailed celestial fox, but she was indeed frightened by such a huge python. She had almost been devoured by the python!

“You're not able to use supernatural powers for now, but you'll be able to soon! Once your third tail sprouts out, you'll be able to transform into a human!” Ling Yun smiled as he told Little White.

After half a minute, the effect of the Fire Talisman ended. The giant python had been burnt badly by the fire and was almost blinded. Nonetheless, it had survived.

It was in immense pain. It twisted its charred head towards Ling Yun and Little White in vengeance.

“You have such thick skin. I'll kill you again!” Ling Yun smiled calmly with four steel nails in his hands. With a flick, he sent them flying straight for the eyes of the giant python!