The white spider silk had missed its target. But, it retreated and wrapped itself around the trident that Su Gu was about to pull towards him.

　　However, a sudden flash of blue blight fell on the spider silk at an alarming speed before the trident could.

　　‘Snap!’

　　The spider’s silk was severed with a crackling sound.

　　Xiang Zhu stood near the scene of the encounter. She held a multi-colored coral in her left hand, and a short and curved snake-shaped blue blade in her right. The curved blade was emitting a faint-blue radiance. It seemed to be a valuable treasure.

　　It was evident that the spider’s silk had been severed by this curved blade with blue luminescence.

　　The remaining spider silk flashed and submerged in the valley. ‘Bang!’ a loud sound was heard from the woods. A huge shadow jumped out of the woods at the same time.

　　It was a giant spider; it was as tall as a human. Its entire body was covered in large and thick incisive bristles. Moreover, there were black and yellow markings on its back – like a tiger’s stripes.

　　Two venomous fangs protruded from the spider’s mouth. Those fangs were as sharp as a set of daggers. Moreover, they were suffused with a green gleam. The spider had four eyes; all of them were different in size. Its eyes emitted an ice-cold brightness as they stared at Xiang Zhu and Su Gu.

　　“The Tiger-Striped Demon Spider!” Su Gu’s complexion changed. He called out in alarm.

　　“Look at its appearance; it seems to have ascended to the Xian Tian realm only recently. I’m now more determined that we have to obtain the things that are in this valley,” Xiang Zhu said lightly. The snake-shaped short dagger and the multi-colored coral in her hand radiated bright rays of light at the same time.

　　*** ***

　　At some other place in the Central Region…

　　Five barbarian warriors stood in a circle. All of them were Hou Tian consummate-stage warriors. A huge blood-red tiger stood in the center; it seemed as if it had been surrounded by these people.

　　The huge tiger was a Xian Tian level ominous beast. But, one of its hind legs had been pierced by a bone spear. This injury had left the tiger with a pronounced limp.

　　These five people belonged to a vicious barbarian tribe. Their movements were quite flexible. Moreover, their coordination with each other seemed accomplished. They had surrounded the formidable tiger from all sides. The tiger was trying to burst out of the circle repeatedly. But, it was blocked by the five people every time it attempted to flee; no matter how hard it tried.

　　The corpses of four or five barbarians lay on the ground at a nearby place. Blood was still flowing out of these corpses. These barbarians seemed to have received a very painful death.

　　*** ***

　　Everyone was eager to set foot in the Central Region; whether it was the vicious barbarians, the peaceful barbarians, or the sea race. There was only one criterion to enter into the Central Region – they needed to know if they were powerful enough to try their luck.

　　But, the Central Region was piled-up with numerous dangers. Many people succeeded in hunting all kinds of ominous beasts. However, many people fell prey to these ominous beasts, and got devoured by them.

　　A dozens of feet high cave could be seen underneath a black mountain peak in the Central Region. It was extremely dark and moist. Green moss grew over the ground and walls of the cave.

　　A silhouette hid behind a large rock beside the cave. He stuck his head out, and glanced inside the cave. It was Shi Mu.

　　He didn’t seem to be in a good condition. His eyes were tinged with a thick layer of blood, and his complexion looked extremely frail and pale.

　　Three to four days had already passed ever since he had entered the Central Region. And, only two out of the ten allotted days were left for the competition.

　　He had constantly been on the search for the traces of the multi-headed python with the help of the map that he had received from Min Tu. He had explored a number of places. But, he had ended-up empty-handed. This place was the last place on his search-list.

　　Shi Mu looked at the cave. His tightly-furrowed eyebrows slightly loosened-up, and his eyes lit-up brightly.

　　This cave looked like the dwelling place of a snake-sort of an ominous beast. Moreover, a faint pungent smell was coming from inside the cave.

　　The gleam in Shi Mu’s eyes grew brighter. But, he didn’t burst into the cave impulsively.

　　He sucked in a long and deep breath, and tried to calm his mind. After that, he took a step forward, and walked inside the cave.

　　He was walking very cautiously so that his footsteps didn’t produce the slightest sound.

　　The walls inside the cave seemed to be made-up of a kind of smooth and glossy black rock.

　　Shi Mu’s hopes rose and his face sparkled with happiness as he saw the insides of the cave.

　　It started to get darker once he had walked almost a hundred feet inside the cave. It soon turned completely dark.

　　However, Shi Mu’s eyesight was extremely powerful. So, the darkness didn’t have any effect on him.

　　The cave’s path was extremely complicated due to its endless twists and turns. It was stretched downwards. Shi Mu continued to walk downwards for a quarter-of-an-hour. But, there was no sign of any end.

　　However, his face didn’t reveal an impatient look. He held the hilt of his black blade in one hand. His other hand had slipped into his pocket, and held a few magic charms.

　　The cave turned towards one side, and came to an end. A very spacious area could be seen there.

　　Shi Mu stuck close to the cave’s wall, and peeked to look inside.

　　The large and open area seemed to be a natural formation. A huge stalactite also hung from the ceiling.

　　The air inside was much heavier and humid than outside. Water droplets kept on falling from the ceiling in a continuous manner.

　　There was a medium-sized puddle in the cavern. The puddle sent out a light ‘dong’ sound whenever a water droplet fell into it.

　　Suddenly, Shi Mu’s expression changed; his face started to gleam with an ecstatic look. He saw a gigantic black python inside a hollow nest beside the pool. It was more than a hundred feet long.

　　The scales on the python’s body had a flame-like red pattern on them.

　　Shi Mu was overwhelmed with exhilaration; so much so that his body started to quiver.

　　The flame-like pattern was another sign of a multiple-headed python.

　　But, his expression changed as his eyes fell on the black python’s head.

　　He saw that it was a gigantic multiple-headed python. It had three massive heads. But, all of its eyes were closed. Its bulky body was rising and falling in a continuous manner.

　　Shi Mu broke out in a cold sweat. Soon, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his body. A hesitant look was revealed on his face. He began to retreat by following the route that he had come from.

　　He finally stepped out of the cave, and rushed to the forest that was almost a hundred feet away from the cave. He heaved a sigh of relief. But then, his eyebrows tightened.

　　He had come across several multiple-headed pythons so far. But, this python was so huge that it had far surpassed his expectations. It was the three-headed vicious python that possessed the strength of the Xian Tian middle-stage beast.

　　Shi Mu could barely deal with a Xian Tian primary-stage double-headed python with his current level of strength… despite the variety of hidden means he had at his disposal. But, there was no way that he could confront a triple-headed python that was a Xian Tian middle-stage beast.

　　His body was still trembling. He had been very lucky that the three-headed python was in a deep slumber. Otherwise, it would’ve been hard to say if could’ve gotten out of the cave alive.

　　He looked extremely perplexed. He was weighing the pros and cons of confronting this python.

　　The chances of his success were on the lower side if he chose to fight. In fact, he might end-up losing his life.

　　Was he supposed to give up? He had limited time in his hands. Moreover, it would take a great deal of time to look for another multi-headed python. Also, it was almost impossible to find any other python based on the information that he had gathered.

　　Princess Huo Wu had promised him that she would ask an Earth-Grade powerhouse to foist a seal on him. But, the totem on his body was now on the brink of an eruption. So, it was impossible to return to the union for help. Moreover, there was no guarantee that the union would provide an Earth-Grade powerhouse to sort out this issue even if he returned.

　　He was staying in the Holy Mountains from the past few days. So, he had gained a lot of information about the totem curse and the matters related to it from Min Tu.

　　The seal imposed by the Earth-Grade powerhouse could suppress the strength of the totem curse as per Min Tu’s knowledge. However, most of his Real Qi and spiritual power would also get sealed-up along with the curse. So, he’ll have to lead the life of an ordinary person even if he survived.

　　“No!”

　　The trace of hesitation that had been flickering in Shi Mu’s eyes gradually receded. An unprecedented firmness bloomed across his face.

　　He had promised his mother that he would grow up to be a true martial warrior. He couldn’t let her down or disappoint her.

　　Moreover, he had given his word to the Demon Witch of the Tian Yin Sect that he would become a strong Xian Tian Warrior before he reached the age of thirty. Then, he would visit the Tian Yin Sect to look for her. So, he couldn’t resign to the fate at this point of time.

　　A flash of understanding appeared on Shi Mu’s face. He quickly explored the forest in the vicinity of the cave. Then, he stood in a spacious place for some time.

　　“Here it is!” he murmured to himself. He then took out a small package from his clothes, and opened it. There were some magic charms, spiritual stones, and other stuff inside the package.

　　Shi Mu had prepared these things beforehand so that he could hunt a multiple-headed python in a smooth manner. He had prepared these things very meticulously. But now, he had to deal with a three-headed python that was already at a Xian Tian middle-stage. So, it was unclear if these objects would play a substantial role at this juncture or not.

　　Shi Mu bent down and brushed away the fallen leaves from the ground. Then, he started to draw a formula. He gradually sketched out a magic spell with complex formulas on the ground.

　　He had finished drawing the formula after an hour. His forehead was slightly perspiring.

　　He didn’t know the appropriate method to deal with the three-headed python. He could only rely on some magic spells, strategies, and traps. He drew a plan so that he could lure out the python at that place. Then, he would use these external forces, and would try to find some favorable chances to defeat the enemy.

　　He found a shady place, and sat down on the ground with his legs crossed. He then fished out a pill from his clothes, and started to meditate.

　　Shi Mu had restored his magic powers to the optimum by the time the sun slid down the western mountain. He then stood-up, and went to the magic spell that he had drawn as a trap. He examined it carefully. After that, he started to advance towards the cave. He finally stopped near the cave’s entrance.

　　The sky had become completely dark by that time. A bright round moon hung in the sky with countless sparkling stars.

　　He took out a Body Lifting Charm, and pasted it on his body. This Charm was drawn on a patch of animal skin.

　　A layer of blue light bubbled-up, and enveloped his entire body. He felt that his body had become very light. He was now all-set to enter the cave.

　　Suddenly, he was startled. The image of Yan Luo – the human skeleton – appeared in his mind without any reason.

　　He had summoned it a long time ago. But, he had almost forgotten about it.

　　He hesitated for a moment. Then, he started to recite an incantation.

　　A cloud of black Qi emerged on the ground in front of him. Then, a slender and short skeleton emerged before him. It was shorter than it used to be.

　　The skeleton was clad in a dilapidated bone-armor. It held a long bone blade in its hand. The blade was half the height of its own body. A faint-green soul flame was sparkling in its eyes.

　　Shi Mu opened his eyes wide, and stared at the skeleton.

　　The skeleton looked vigorous and powerful… like a true warrior. Was it really the same tattered, frail, and small skeleton that he had met before?

　　He circled around Yan Luo in an inquisitive manner. His eyes were tinged with a surprised expression.

　　He then stimulated his spiritual power, and swept it over Yan Luo. He was delighted to perceive that Yan Luo’s strength had reached the primary-stage of the Hou Tian realm.

　　“I haven’t seen this skeleton for a long time. But, I didn’t expect that its strength would rise so alarmingly in these years…”

　　Shi Mu was profoundly amazed in his heart.

　　Yan Luo’s strength was barely equivalent to the seventh or eighth layer of Bone Tempering when Shi Mu had summoned it for the first time. It had been extremely sluggish back then. Moreover, it had no fighting ability. In fact, it was far below an ordinary warrior at that time.

　　Yan Luo’s bones were greyish-white in color. Its right arm and head were different from the other bones in its body. This rendered a translucent and sparkling sensation to its persona.

　　Yan Luo looked blankly. Its eyes slowly moved and looked at Shi Mu.

　　Shi Mu and the skeleton gazed at each other for a moment. Then, Shi Mu wrinkled his eyebrows.

　　The green soul flame in Yan Luo’s eyes revealed a faint hint of fluctuation. It seemed as if it was emotional for some reason.

　　But, this feeling faded away when Shi Mu examined it more closely.