(Cough! We've tried our best today—our whole day has been packed with constant activity. Six thousand words truly feel like the limit! In fact, the more we try to write, the slower we seem to go. And we're not willing to water down the content to maintain the quality of each chapter. So, dear readers who've been patiently waiting for updates, please hold on to your 5000-word chapters. That's the real support we need from you—thank you so much, Wan Yu!) "Here it is—the mountain cave?" After two hours, Han Li stood on a black rock about shoulder-high, gazing at the several zhang-high entrance some distance away, murmuring to himself. "It doesn't seem particularly special, does it?" Han Li didn't rush straight in but instead took a moment to carefully observe his surroundings. Though time was pressing, he couldn't afford to be careless and put himself in danger. The cave described in the documents indeed looked unremarkable from the outside—almost identical to the wild mountain caves he'd passed along the way—showing no distinct features at all. It was indeed impressive how that person had originally found their way here—this truly made Han Li admire them. Only after a cup of tea's worth of time did Han Li feel certain that there were no hidden beasts or human ambushes nearby, and then he carefully made his way toward the entrance. The entrance was entirely natural, composed of pale green mountain stone with no trace of artificial drilling or carving. Upon entering and glancing at the walls on either side, Han Li immediately reached this conclusion. Then, Han Li moved swiftly, silently fading into the interior of the cave. However, after only a few steps, he halted again—beyond a couple of bends, the area had grown dark and shadowed. Han Li furrowed his brow, reaching into his storage pouch and pulling out a moonstone the size of an egg. As soon as the gentle white light emanated from it, the surroundings became clearly visible. Yet, upon seeing this, Han Li shook his head in resignation. His original intention had been to move silently into the deep part of the cave, checking whether any beast was guarding it. If so, he would deliver a decisive blow from behind, avoiding any unnecessary fuss. But now that the moonstone had appeared, he had become an obvious target. How could he possibly launch a surprise attack? Holding the pale moonstone gently in one hand, he hesitated, then used the other hand to cast a protective earth-based shield over himself. Only then did he continue forward, stepping with one foot low and the other slightly shallower. Inside the cave, the narrow space limited the fluidity of his movements compared to the open wilderness. Having a protective layer on his body gave him greater peace of mind, though it did reduce his agility. Still, he was well aware of the trade-off between fish and bear's paws—there was no need to complain. The cave was exceptionally long and narrow. After walking for half a moment, he still hadn't seen any sign of the end. This began to make him uneasy. He couldn't help but wonder if he had stumbled upon the wrong place, perhaps even the lair of some top-tier beast! Fortunately, his concern was allayed after he had walked another few dozen paces. Upon reaching a large bend ahead, the doubt vanished. A faint glow seemed to seep from that corner, clearly indicating that his destination was now within sight. Seeing this, Han Li felt a surge of relief and promptly tucked away the moonstone in his hand, then moved silently toward the spot. Since there was already light visible and the location was at a corner, his original plan could still proceed as intended. These small flowers were only an inch or so in size, with several petals curling strangely in the same direction, collectively forming a unique shape. From a distance, they looked like a group of comical, amusing little monkeys hanging there—truly astonishing! According to others, poisonous insects and beasts are far more troublesome than their fierce, powerful mammalian or avian counterparts, often mastering specialized, highly damaging toxin-based techniques that can instantly kill even the most resilient. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, it's best to avoid encountering such creatures altogether. This particular giant centipede appears to be at least mid-tier, possibly even high-tier. Such a situation naturally leaves Han Li gasping for breath, his teeth clenched in discomfort for quite some time. Now, it's not Han Li who is seeking confrontation—it's this massive venomous creature that has already become the guardian of these "purple monkey flowers." Without eliminating this large, deadly pest, any attempt to harvest the medicinal herbs from the stone wall would be nothing but a dream. Han Li steadied his breath, slowly retracting his head, making every movement as gentle as possible to avoid disturbing the seemingly still-sleeping giant centipede. He pressed closely against the stone wall, furrowed his brows, and quietly pondered his complete strategy for dealing with this formidable beast. With the power of several top-tier artifacts, he could rely on sheer force and charge forward—just by summoning the golden brick talismans, he was confident of flattening the beast with a single strike. However, after this battle, his spiritual energy would likely be significantly depleted, making it difficult to maintain his peak condition. The journey ahead would still be long—danger would surely increase—and since he couldn't afford to spend another full day meditating to restore his energy due to time constraints, he wasn't particularly eager to sacrifice so much of his energy for this victory. After a moment of thoughtful contemplation, a bright idea struck him. Before taking action, he carefully glanced at the serpent-like creature, observing that it remained still and unmoving in its original position, which gave him peace of mind. With a gentle smile, he then vanished into the darkness of the path he had come from. Not long afterward, he returned, bright and cheerful once again. The protective aura around him had vanished, and instead of making any stealthy moves, he now strode confidently, turning the corner and entering the hall where the centipede beast was stationed. Given the magnitude of his movement, if the centipede beast hadn't noticed, it would surely be no mere beast but a truly dull one. Thus, the large creature, measuring a zhang in length, immediately raised its head in alertness, its two thick, elongated antennae swaying vigorously, and emitted a series of eerie, hissing sounds that sent a chill down one's spine. Seeing this, Han Li said nothing. He simply raised his hand, and several small fire balls shot out swiftly, striking precisely the beast's head with a series of sharp explosions. After the flames subsided, Han Li clearly observed that the head of the centipede beast remained dark and glossy, with not a single mark left on its outer shell—remarkably so. He was left astonished. Indeed, it seemed that those who had spoken of the difficulty in dealing with such toxic insect-type beasts were quite correct. This creature was truly formidable. Although the giant centipede had not been injured, it had been completely incensed by Han Li's recent provocation! With a sharp split of its two sharp fangs, a surge of crimson venom erupted from its mouth, pouring forth in a furious, overwhelming wave toward Han Li—seeming destined to dissolve him entirely into the toxic mist. Naturally, Han Li did not remain motionless, allowing even a single droplet of this evidently potent poison to touch him. Freed from the burden of his protective shield, he lightly tapped the ground with his foot, swiftly retreating from the hall at a pace just slightly faster than the venom mist, then turned and fled back toward his original path, as if genuinely afraid of the creature's toxic breath and scrambling to escape. The giant centipede, of course, would not let Han Li go so easily. With a rapid flurry of movements across its countless limbs, it surged out of the hall like the wind, matching Han Li's speed perfectly as he dashed away. This left Han Li, who had just turned around, utterly astonished. He quickly added a few more strides, only then managing to push the centipede beast a safe distance away and vanish into the passage. The massive centipede emitted a low, guttural hiss and without hesitation followed closely behind. Having traversed this passage countless times, it was far more familiar with it than Han Li, and within a short while it had caught up, clearly spotting Han Li's back figure. Excited by this development, the centipede beast moved its limbs with even greater vigor, charging ahead with fierce determination. At that very moment, Han Li suddenly halted, turning around to smile warmly at the beast, no longer hurrying forward—seeming completely to have abandoned the idea of fleeing. As a result, the giant centipede swiftly closed the gap and reached only a few dozen paces away from Han Li. Just as it was about to tear the small figure before it into fragments with its fangs, a sudden, intense pain surged through its abdomen, causing it to halt mid-motion and then roll helplessly on the ground, writhing in agony. Black toxic blood poured out rapidly from beneath it, flooding the ground in thick streams. It turned out that, without realizing it, the most vulnerable part of the giant centipede—the abdomen—had been neatly severed by an exceptionally sharp blade, completely opening it up. Such a devastating wound explained the creature's profound suffering. Meanwhile, Han Li, standing by, naturally did not miss the opportunity to finish off a falling foe. With a simple hand movement, a circular beam of golden light and a blue, shimmering flying dagger shot forth, directly slicing toward the giant centipede's two thick, long appendages. (To be continued... For more updates, please visit the website. More chapters available. Support the author. Support official reading!)