Chapter Forty-Seven: Overlooking from Above, Narrow Escape from Death

Han Chong was skilled in both invisibility and earth-burrowing arts, making it easy for him to escape this fiend’s pursuit, yet to encircle and kill such an adversary would be exceedingly difficult. However, when he heard the black fox demon mention the Dragon Saliva Cave, an idea sparked in his mind. If he could lure the fiend inside, then block the exits fore and aft, even with formidable powers, the foe would find it impossible to escape.

The latter, however, harbored a similar thought, scoffing to himself that this youngster was courting death. The cave was sure to be a dead end—once inside, escape would be even harder than in the open. But what delighted him most was watching his prey cornered, terrified and pleading for their life, savoring that fear before slicing flesh from bone, a rare pleasure indeed.

Beneath the waterfall, Han Chong clambered up the cliff, invoking a water-walking spell to reduce the water’s resistance, and in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, reached the entrance to Dragon Saliva Cave. Hissing sounds filled the air as blade-like beams of demon-slaying light shot down in rapid succession. Although his true aim was to lure the fiend into the cave, Han Chong saw no harm in launching a barrage from above to test the adversary’s skills.

“Damn you, brat! Do you want to die?” The masked man saw that Han Chong’s azure light blades carried a righteous aura and packed a powerful punch. Some even grew abruptly larger mid-flight, their might redoubled. What’s more, when he dodged, the blades seemed to adjust course and pursue him. Caught off guard, he failed to evade a few of them.

His hands turned into sharp, green-furred claws, the right gleaming with a deep emerald light, swiping at the oncoming blades. Each struck blade rang out with a metallic clang and shattered. Though pain shot through his claws, he gritted his teeth and endured. Suddenly, however, one blade grew yet larger, and when struck, its power mysteriously doubled. With a shriek, the masked man tumbled from the cliff and plunged into the lake below.

Clambering out of the water, he lifted his right claw to see green blood welling from a deep gash. He glared up at Han Chong, grinding his teeth in rage. “Boy, I’ll make you beg for life and death both, with no escape!”

With that, he spat a glob of viscous green light onto the wound, which swiftly closed as if it had never been. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, he scrambled up the cliff toward the cave entrance like a human-shaped lizard.

Han Chong continued to slash at him, but striking the fiend grew increasingly difficult. This one’s strength was likely on par with the combined might of the One-Horned Demon King and the Black Lotus Cult Master. With no other choice, Han Chong dashed deeper into the cave.

Inside, the cavern shimmered with watery light, stalactites and jade-green vines hanging everywhere, winding downward into endless shadow.

As Han Chong raced through, he spat out a tongue of fire to probe the surroundings. The farther he went, the narrower and more twisting the cave became.

Suddenly, from all around, a strange snorting and snuffling echoed through the cave, sending chills up his spine. He grew even more cautious, keeping a wary eye out for the Fourth Wraith King behind him. Yet, after a long while, there was still no sign of pursuit.

Could it be that the fiend was frightened and chose not to follow? But just as Han Chong glanced back again, a roar burst from behind. A green-furred beast with curved horns and gaping jaws lunged for him, its mouth lined with sharp fangs.

On its face, the beast wore the bronze mask, as if it were fused to its flesh, and it reeked of rank, foul breath. Han Chong cried out as his cold steel armor appeared, yet his shoulder was bitten clean through. The beast thrashed him violently, nearly tearing him limb from limb.

Just as the monster pinned Han Chong with a claw, poised to bite again, Han Chong suddenly vanished, burrowing into the earth. The beast, unwilling to let him go, dug furiously after him, continuing the chase underground—something Han Chong had not anticipated.

Drawn by the scent of blood, the fiend could track his presence, relentlessly digging after him. Han Chong’s right hand glowed with blue light as he used a healing spell to staunch the bleeding from his shoulder, finally realizing that this Fourth Wraith King was an extraordinarily savage pangolin demon. And not an ordinary pangolin, either: this one had curved horns, green fur, a massive body—surely a legendary mutant beast!

With no escape in any direction, and the pangolin’s digging as swift as Han Chong’s own earth-burrowing magic, Han Chong had no choice but to flee deeper underground. The farther down he went, the denser the earth and stone, which might hinder the beast’s pursuit.

He berated himself for underestimating the enemy, never imagining an ambush from behind. The fiend must have tunneled through the mountain to outflank him. Though he managed to stop the bleeding, Han Chong discovered that the beast’s bite was laced with a deadly poison. Fortunately, he possessed a detoxification technique; otherwise, any ordinary person would have been torn apart and poisoned to death before being devoured.

As the scent of blood faded, the pangolin demon gradually lost his trail, and in a fit of rage, dug blindly in all directions to no avail. Han Chong, too, was shaken and enraged. A meticulously planned ambush had gone awry, and he’d barely escaped with his life. Who could have guessed that the fiend was a pangolin demon, adept at burrowing through earth and stone? Even if Commander Wu and the others arrived, they might not be able to handle it. Armored in impenetrable scales, fierce in attack, a master of tunneling, and venomous to boot—the creature had virtually no weaknesses.

As Han Chong’s wound slowly healed, he tunneled toward the cave’s entrance and emerged in the lake beneath the waterfall. Clearly, he’d have to rethink his strategy and wait for Commander Wu and the others before making another attempt.

But suddenly he stopped, eyes wide in disbelief. In the depths of the lake, he spotted an enormous, winding skeleton—at least thirty feet long—the remains of a serpent beast. Approaching its skull, he brushed away the water weeds and found two pronounced bulges atop the head and a pair of fearsome, curved fangs over three feet long.

This python had nearly transformed into a dragon-serpent, yet for some reason lay dead at the bottom of the lake. Han Chong eyed the long, razor-sharp fangs, recalling the agony of the pangolin’s bite. A gentleman takes vengeance when the time is right—if he could drive the serpent fangs into the beast’s body and bind its upper jaw with a demon-binding cord, then even if the fiend could tunnel, it would not escape!

There was no time to lose. Han Chong drew his black sword, gathered his energy, and hacked at the seams along the serpent’s upper jaw. After much effort, he pried the fangs loose and stowed them in his storage pouch.

Surfacing, he saw no sign of the pangolin demon—it must still be searching the cave. Suddenly, shouts rang out from the gorge beyond: Commander Wu and his men had finally arrived. Han Chong raced to the mouth of the valley to meet them.

“Lieutenant Han, you’re wounded?” Seeing the blood on his shoulder, the others dismounted to examine his injury.

“It’s just a scratch. The Fourth Wraith King is actually a pangolin demon, and should still be inside Dragon Saliva Cave behind the waterfall. We must act quickly—today we end this, or else he’ll become a future menace!”

“But if the pangolin tunnels to escape, how can we possibly kill him?” Ouyang Jingguan asked thoughtfully.

“No matter. I’ve found the perfect weapon to counter him—if I can use it, he won’t get away!” Han Chong replied with a mysterious, icy smile.

“Very well, you take command; we’ll follow your lead,” Captain Ning said, glancing at the waterfall in agreement.

By now, the group’s trust in Han Chong was absolute and needed no further explanation.

“Excellent. Wait for him at the cave entrance, and I’ll lie in ambush.” Han Chong led the way back toward Dragon Saliva Cave, the others following at top speed.