Bai Qiu had spotted the Two-Headed Hydra Serpent, and naturally, it had spotted him as well.
However, it did not act rashly.
Instead, it let out a hiss and summoned a group of newly recruited underlings.
These so-called “underlings” were, of course, Jungle Vipers.
Watching the Jungle Vipers converge from all directions, Bai Qiu grinned.
With a cold snort, he sneered,
“That saves me the trouble of hunting them down myself! Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear, it’s time for your grand entrance. Roar to your heart’s content!”
He drew out Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear, and a peerless transcendent wind instantly surged around him.
At the same time, he activated the Skyward Battle Armor, causing his aura to soar explosively.
The Two-Headed Hydra Serpent immediately lost its previously indifferent attitude.
It let out a wary hiss as the colors of its two heads shifted, preparing to use attack skills that Bai Qiu was already familiar with.
Although only a few hundred meters separated them, the serpent was still far from its true peak form.
It did not dare approach the overwhelmingly powerful Bai Qiu.
It was utterly incomparable to the thousand-meter-long three-headed serpent he had encountered in the Tower of Heaven.
Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear commanded the raging winds, lifting the Jungle Vipers off the ground and gathering them into a massive writhing ball of intertwined snakes.
The vipers hissed in panic, but they had no means of resistance.
As Bai Qiu thrust his spear forward, immense kinetic force burst from the spear tip, condensed into a single point.
The expanding storm exploded outward, crushing every inch of the Jungle Vipers from head to tail into bloody fragments.
At that moment, the Two-Headed Hydra Serpent had also finished charging its attacks.
A Poison Wind and a Fireball—much weaker than the ones used by its counterpart in the Tower of Heaven—shot toward Bai Qiu one after the other.
Standing his ground, Bai Qiu allowed the winds guided by Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear to sweep past him.
Combined with Wind Manipulation and Mana Release, he dispersed both attacks almost instantly.
Then he swung Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear.
Activating the Wind of Severance, he sliced apart all the surrounding vegetation before unleashing several wind blades imbued with the cutting property’s power toward the serpent.
The Two-Headed Hydra Serpent watched in horror as its Poison Wind and Poison Fire were instantly shattered.
Worse still, the human’s attacks effortlessly broke through its defenses.
The wounds inflicted by the Wind of Severance could not be healed with Regenerative Fluid.
Instead, the destructive energy continued ravaging its body from within.
The widening wounds and mounting pain stimulated its nerves, making it realize that it was no match for this opponent.
It made its decision immediately.
The serpent dove into a mountain ravine, slithered up the opposite side moments later, and fled.
It actually ran away.
“Zheng—!!”
Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear let out a resonant cry.
The Starbreath Wind had reached full capacity, as if telling Bai Qiu that the moment had arrived.
Bai Qiu bared his teeth in a grin.
Noble Phantasm—This is the Breath of the Stars; even true dragons shall bow before it!
Let the storm converge into a single point, and let its explosive force ravage all things!
Converging Piercing Star!
After finishing the incantation, Bai Qiu raised Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear high above his head and hurled it toward the fleeing serpent.
Over a kilometer away, the Two-Headed Hydra Serpent realized it could not escape.
It immediately activated Emerald Scale Shield, intending to withstand the attack head-on.
The moment Converging Piercing Star struck, an immeasurable amount of energy erupted.
The attack drew together the wind mana from a fifty-li radius and consumed 80% of Bai Qiu’s own mana.
Its power was so overwhelming that it flattened the entire mountain peak.
Feeling the tremors beneath his feet, Bai Qiu nodded in satisfaction.
At the same time, he took out a Mana Tomato and a recovery potion, consuming both.
As for the Two-Headed Hydra Serpent that had attempted to tank the attack—
Heh.
It had long since been reduced to ashes.
In truth, there had been no need to use Converging Piercing Star to kill it.
However, after suffering an unexpected setback against a similar creature in the Tower of Heaven, Bai Qiu had completely abandoned the idea of engaging Hydra-type monsters in a war of attrition.
If he could kill it instantly, then he would kill it instantly.
Better safe than sorry.
“Whoosh…”
The dimmed Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear flew back into Bai Qiu’s hand.
Gently stroking the spear shaft, he muttered to himself, “I wonder how much the information on that two-headed serpent can be sold for.”
The Two-Headed Hydra Serpent itself was nothing special in terms of strength.
But it certainly knew how to choose its lair.
At the bottom of the pool lay a millstone-sized stone known as a Five-Colored Radiant Scale Stone.
Five-Colored Radiant Scale Stone
Quality: B
Description:
A treasure-type supernatural item. As long as it remains intact, it continuously emits radiant scale-light in its surroundings. It promotes scale evolution and growth in scaled creatures while also enhancing their intelligence and bloodline purity.
Without hesitation, Bai Qiu picked it up and tossed it into A Yuan’s Contract Space.
“Ouch! What hit my head…?”
Inside the water-filled Contract Space, A Yuan was sleeping soundly when it was abruptly awakened.
It looked at the beautiful stone beside it and used its tail to pull it closer.
“Pillowing my head on this feels really comfortable!”
A Yuan’s delighted mental voice echoed through the contract.
Resting its chin atop the Five-Colored Radiant Scale Stone, it quickly drifted back into a deep sleep.
Bai Qiu smiled knowingly and opened his status panel to take a look.
The experience granted by killing the Two-Headed Hydra Serpent was substantial, causing his experience bar to jump forward by a noticeable amount in an instant. Even so, Level 35 still seemed a long way off.
With all six regions now fully explored, Bai Qiu checked the loot he had obtained.
Most of it was fairly mediocre.
Aside from the guaranteed Monarch’s Proof, nothing else was particularly useful.
However, one item caught his attention because of its name.
Sanctuary Stone (Special Item)
He had never seen this glowing stone before and had no idea what it was used for.
Perhaps he could ask Onipur about it after returning.
By now, it was already late at night.
Not caring whether it was still working hours or not, Bai Qiu directly sent screenshots of the Two-Headed Hydra Serpent’s data to the intelligence department before heading back to the Safe Zone.
The appearance of the Two-Headed Hydra Serpent had given him a sense of unease.
As he traveled back, his brows remained tightly furrowed.
For players, was this leveling event truly a blessing—or was it a disaster waiting to happen?
What if, while all the high-level players were teleporting to the Shattered Celestial Realm to level up, the monsters launched a full-scale assault on the Safe Zones?
What would the consequences be then?
Carrying such worries, Bai Qiu returned to Zone 2233.
He took a simple bath, ate a Fragrant Gathering Fruit, and then sat on the sofa meditating until dawn.
There were now less than five days remaining before the Shattered Celestial Realm opened.
Bai Qiu visited the Sage, Onipur, and handed him the Sanctuary Stone.
From the expression on the old man’s face, it was obvious that the Sanctuary Stone Bai Qiu had just produced meant a great deal to him.
Bai Qiu said nothing and quietly waited for Onipur to process his emotions.
A look of grief appeared in Onipearl’s eyes.
Closing them, he took a deep breath before asking:
“Where did you obtain this item?”
Bai Qiu answered truthfully, “I killed a Two-Headed Hydra Serpent. This dropped after its death.”
“I see…” Onipearl let out a sigh.
“My apologies. I was being presumptuous.”
“This Sanctuary Stone is an heirloom passed down through generations of Sages. It is tied to the operation of the Sanctuary itself and the unlocking of its authority.”
“Obtaining an ownerless Sanctuary Stone allows the Sanctuary’s internal space to be expanded by one million square meters without any conditions.”
In exchange for the disappearance of an entire Safe Zone—and the deaths of all the survivors and support personnel within it—the territory of another Safe Zone could be expanded.
While it was certainly something worth mourning, Bai Qiu was pressed for time and had no intention of letting Onipur wallow in grief.
“Let’s not dwell on all that for now,” he said.
— The end of the Chapter–
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