Evan Lin was still staring at the two giant characters carved on the stone stele in the canyon.
Meanwhile, behind him, the old yellow ox suddenly let out a series of anxious, restless mooing sounds.
"What the hell is going on?"
Kevin Qin’s face was extremely grim, while Yvette Ye and the others were full of anxiety. Harvey Li looked pale as a ghost, as if he might faint at any moment.
Hiss—
A chilling sound echoed, ringing in everyone’s ears.
Jenna Jiang and the others quickly grouped up, and at that moment, the red light on the detector in Kevin Qin’s hand started flashing even faster.
The detector’s direction switched from front to back, pointing straight at the giant stone stele!
Moments later, everyone saw a huge, pitch-black shadow winding its way up the stele, coiling around it again and again like a massive rope.
Suddenly, on the giant stone, six pairs of eyes glowing with eerie blue light snapped open.
"It’s... a giant serpent!"
Jenna Jiang’s face went pale as she stared at the serpent coiled around the stele, her whole body trembling.
In everyone’s eyes, the massive serpent—hundreds of meters long, with three heads—suddenly straightened up, using the stele as its base.
A foul stench spread from afar, carried by the three-headed serpent’s body, which was covered in pitch-black scales that absorbed all light, leaving its surroundings dim and lifeless.
If it weren’t for the serpent’s eyes—six cold blue pupils glowing on its heads—Kevin Qin and the others wouldn’t even be able to see its true form!
The three ferocious heads now looked down from above, coldly staring at Evan Lin and the group. Its forked tongues flicked out, hissing, and wherever its breath touched, the lush vegetation turned gray-white, instantly becoming a wasteland.
"How... how does something get this huge! What even is this thing?"
Harvey Li clutched his head, utterly terrified by the three-headed serpent before him.
When the three-headed serpent stood upright, it looked just like a skyscraper dozens of stories tall!
"Run!"
Kevin Qin didn’t hesitate for a second—he shouted angrily, and Jenna Jiang and the others acted decisively, instantly channeling their qi into their feet and sprinting forward at full speed.
Evan Lin stood his ground, staring at the three-headed serpent. He noticed faintly that legs were beginning to grow from its belly, and tiny bumps were forming atop its heads.
Legs sprouting from the belly, horns budding on the heads—this beast was about to evolve from serpent to jiao-dragon!
According to legend, after nine transformations, a jiao-dragon can ascend and become a true dragon!
If the monster before them evolved, it would become a three-headed jiao-dragon!
Even Evan Lin had never seen a creature like this before.
"Is this the guardian spirit-beast left behind by Immortal Lord Everlost?"
As Evan Lin pondered this scene, he suddenly felt someone grab his wrist.
"What are you standing around for? We’re no match for that thing! Run!"
Yvette Ye, looking frantic, dragged Evan Lin forward and they took off at a full sprint.
The old yellow ox was mooing nonstop, its hooves kicking up wind as it sped away.
The pitch-black three-headed serpent coiled around the giant stele glared coldly, letting out a painfully sharp roar. Its body tensed, then suddenly launched itself off the stele.
The massive serpent leaped five or six kilometers through the air in an instant. Wherever it passed, the grass turned to black ash and vanished without a trace.
"That serpent’s locked onto us!" Jenna Jiang glanced back, her hair standing on end. Suddenly, she panicked, her face twisting in terror as she shouted back at Harvey Li, who’d fallen far behind: "Run! What are you doing?!"
"I... I... my legs went soft."
Harvey Li stood frozen, drenched in cold sweat as he faced the three-headed serpent. His legs trembled, and as the others kept fleeing, he’d forgotten how to run!
The three-headed serpent, its pitch-black body slithering forward, reached Harvey Li. Without hesitation, its three mouths opened wide and lunged down.
In just one second, Harvey Li was devoured by the three serpent heads.
Evan Lin clearly saw that Harvey Li’s body lost all signs of life even before the serpent’s jaws reached him.
"That serpent’s venomous—everyone, be careful!"
Evan Lin’s warning rang out, and Kevin Qin and the others were so terrified their souls nearly left their bodies, their scalps tingling.
Jenna Jiang had just paused, intending to turn back and help Harvey Li, but seeing this scene left her completely stunned.
Kevin Qin yanked her forward, forcing her to keep running.
Pointing-to-Mystery experts can run at incredible speeds.
After devouring Harvey Li, the three-headed serpent didn’t pause for a second—it launched itself after Evan Lin and the others.
Its pitch-black scales scraped along the ground, making a constant rasping sound.
The old yellow ox ran like the wind, clearly showing it had been chased by this three-headed serpent before.
"This thing’s power—it must have already formed a demon core!"
Evan Lin felt a chill in his heart. He’d expected danger in these ruins, but hadn’t imagined the first beast they’d run into would be this overwhelming.
"Fourfold Sword Circle!"
While running, Evan Lin willed four longswords to appear in front of him.
Yvette Ye, still gripping Evan Lin’s hand, stared wide-eyed—she had no idea where he’d pulled those swords from.
"Go!"
At Evan Lin’s order, the Fourfold Sword Circle spun into action, followed closely by three female spirits.
The Fourfold Sword Circle slashed at the three-headed serpent from four directions, while the three female spirits joined forces to attack one of its heads.
Boom—a deafening crash echoed out.
But neither the sword array nor the three female spirits did any real damage to it.
The three-headed serpent, its intelligence just awakening, raised its heads and opened its jaws. In an instant, streams of pitch-black smoke poured out, trapping both the Fourfold Sword Circle and the three female spirits.
"No good, it’s too strong—this beast must have cultivated here for thousands of years!"
Evan Lin’s heart tightened. With his late Foundation Establishment strength, he was no match for the three-headed serpent!
This was a battle on a completely different level.
If he still had his Immortal Lord’s power, he could have subdued it with a single slap.
But now, as a weak late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, even risking his life wouldn’t make him a match!
"It’s catching up! You all go ahead!"
Kevin Qin saw the three-headed serpent approaching again, its body sweeping up clouds of dust and debris.
He stopped abruptly, ready to stake his life on the fight!
"Damn it, if I die, so be it!"
The out-of-breath members of the Divine Moon Sect saw Kevin Qin stop, and each began to channel their qi, turning back to face the serpent.
"There’s no way to outrun it—this terrain is flat, and we’re no match for that serpent. We might as well fight!"
Once one person spoke up, the others instantly united in determination.
"Sorry, I never expected it would be this dangerous."
Yvette Ye still held Evan Lin’s wrist. "We might die here."
She looked at Evan Lin, her face full of guilt.
But she didn’t notice that Evan Lin’s expression had turned rather strange.