Chapter 194: Monster Giant Centipede

"Here we are, this is the cave?" Two hours later, Han Li stood on a half-human-height black rock, gazing at the several-zhang-tall cave entrance not far away, muttering to himself.

"It doesn't look special at all!" Han Li didn't rush in headfirst. Instead, he carefully observed the surroundings for a moment. Although time was tight, he couldn't afford to put himself in danger due to carelessness!

The secret cave described in the information indeed looked unremarkable from the outside, almost identical to several wild caves Han Li had seen on his way. There was nothing eye-catching about it. Han Li couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for whoever discovered it originally.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li was certain there were no demonic beasts or people lying in ambush nearby. Only then did he cautiously approach the cave entrance.

The cave entrance was entirely natural, composed of light green rock without any trace of artificial carving or drilling. Han Li reached this conclusion as soon as he entered the cave and glanced at its walls.

Then, Han Li's figure flickered, and he quietly moved deeper into the cave. However, after only a dozen steps, he stopped again. After rounding a corner or two, the surroundings had become pitch black.

Han Li frowned, reached into his storage pouch, and pulled out an egg-sized moonlight stone. As soon as it appeared, its soft white glow immediately illuminated the surroundings clearly. Han Li shook his head helplessly.

His original intention was to stealthily infiltrate the depths of the cave to see if any demonic beasts were guarding it. If so, he planned to deliver a fatal blow covertly, saving himself trouble. But now that the moonlight stone was out, he had become an obvious target. How could he launch a sneak attack like this?

Han Li lightly held the glowing white moonlight stone in one hand. After a moment of hesitation, he used his other hand to activate an Earth-attribute protective shield on himself before cautiously continuing forward, one foot low, one foot high.

Inside the cave, unlike the open wilderness, rapid movement was limited. It was safer to have a layer of protection. Although this greatly reduced his agility, Han Li understood the principle that one couldn't have both efficiency and absolute safety. So, he had nothing to complain about.

The cave was extremely narrow and long. Han Li walked for a full quarter of an hour without seeing any sign of its end. This made him start to grumble inwardly, wondering if he had come to the wrong place, perhaps stumbling upon the lair of some top-tier demonic beast.

Fortunately, Han Li's concern was finally alleviated after he walked several more dozens of zhang and a large corner appeared before him. Faint rays of white light were visible from around the corner, indicating that his target was close.

Seeing this, Han Li was pleased. He quickly put away his moonlight stone and quietly crept forward. Since there was light here, and it was around a corner, it seemed his original plan could still proceed!

As Han Li, stealthily peeking, slowly poked his head around the corner, the scene before him first brought him joy, but then made him secretly sigh in distress.

Ahead was indeed the end of the cave, a natural stone hall of considerable size. It not only had many glittering stalactites but also, on a small purple rock wall deep inside, grew three or four small light-green flowers with single stems and multiple leaves.

These small flowers were about an inch in size, with several petals strangely curled in the same direction, collectively forming a unique shape. From a distance, they looked like several comical little monkeys hanging there, truly amazing!

"No doubt, these must be 'Purple Monkey Flowers.' Although their stems and leaves are green, it's definitely because they aren't fully mature!" Han Li thought with pleasant surprise the moment he saw the flowers.

However, when his gaze shifted to the ground below the purple rock wall, Han Li's expression turned grim. There lay a giant centipede, several feet long. Its dark, gleaming carapace, several-foot-long antennae, and terrifying appearance made Han Li's hair stand on end even before he made a move.

Although he had never killed a venomous insect-type demonic beast, he had long heard much about their notoriety.

According to others, venomous insect-type demonic beasts were far more difficult to deal with than fierce beasts or avian demonic beasts of the same cultivation level. Most of them possessed unconventional yet extremely lethal poisonous arts, capable of instantly inflicting fatal poisons. Therefore, it was best to avoid provoking such demonic beasts if possible!

The centipede before him was so large that it should at least be a mid-tier demonic beast, and it wasn't impossible for it to be a high-tier one. Given its potential level, Han Li couldn't help but gasp, grimacing for a long time.

It wasn't that he wanted to provoke it; rather, this centipede demonic beast had become the guardian of these "Purple Monkey Flowers." If he didn't deal with this giant venomous insect, harvesting the spiritual herbs from the rock wall would be pure fantasy!

Han Li suppressed his aura and slowly retracted his head. He tried to make his movements as gentle as possible so as not to awaken the giant centipede, which seemed to be sound asleep.

He leaned against the rock wall, his brows slightly furrowed, and pondered a complete strategy to deal with the demonic beast.

Relying solely on the power of a few top-tier magic tools and forcefully attacking wasn't impossible. Just activating the Golden Light Brick Talisman Treasure would give him full confidence to flatten the demonic beast with one strike. However, after such a fight, his magic power would likely be significantly depleted, preventing him from maintaining his optimal state.

The road ahead was still long! The dangers he faced would surely increase, and since he was pressed for time, he couldn't afford to spend another half-day meditating to restore his magic power. Therefore, Han Li was quite reluctant to trade a significant amount of magic power for this victory.

After pondering for a while, a good idea suddenly struck Han Li.

Before acting, he cautiously peeked at the centipede, and only when he saw it still motionless in its spot did he relax. With a slight smile, Han Li then vanished into the darkness of the path he had come from.

A short while later, Han Li returned, looking pleased.

This time, his protective shield was gone. He no longer acted stealthily but instead swaggered directly around the corner and entered the hall where the centipede demonic beast was.

With such a commotion from Han Li, if the centipede demonic beast hadn't noticed him, it wouldn't be a demonic beast but a "stupid beast." So, the ten-foot-long giant insect immediately raised its head alertly towards Han Li, constantly waving its two thick, long antennae and emitting strange hissing sounds, a sight that was quite unsettling.

Seeing this, Han Li said nothing. He raised his hand, and several small fireballs flew out at high speed, striking the demonic beast's head and producing a series of explosions.

After the flashes of fire, Han Li clearly saw that the demonic beast's head, where it had been hit by the fireballs, remained dark and gleaming, without a single mark on its carapace. This left him speechless. It seemed some people were right; these venomous insect-type demonic beasts were indeed incredibly troublesome!

Although the giant centipede was not injured, Han Li's provocation had thoroughly enraged it!

Its two sharp fangs parted, and a surge of red poisonous mist furiously erupted from its mouth, rushing towards Han Li with an overwhelming momentum, as if intending to melt him into toxic liquid.

Naturally, Han Li wouldn't foolishly remain still and let even a speck of this obviously incredibly potent poison touch him. Without the drag of the protective shield, he pushed off the ground with his toes and immediately flew backward out of the hall slightly faster than the poisonous mist. Then he turned and fled frantically back the way he came, seemingly in a panicked escape due to fear of the demonic beast's poisonous mist.

The giant centipede naturally wouldn't let Han Li leave so easily. Its countless legs on both sides writhed rapidly, and its body chased out of the hall like the wind, its speed fully comparable to Han Li's frantic sprint. This greatly startled Han Li when he glanced back. He immediately increased his speed further, finally widening the distance from the centipede demonic beast again and disappearing into the passage.

The giant centipede let out a low, strange hiss and followed without hesitation. It had traveled this passage countless times and was naturally far more familiar with it than Han Li. Thus, in a short while, it caught up and clearly saw Han Li's retreating figure.

The centipede demonic beast was overjoyed. Its legs moved even faster, and it charged forward ferociously.

But at that moment, Han Li, who was ahead, suddenly stopped. He turned around, grinning, and looked at the demonic beast, no longer running forward. He seemed to have completely given up the idea of escaping!

As a result, the giant centipede darted to within three or four zhang of Han Li in the blink of an eye. Just as it was about to gleefully tear the small figure before it to shreds with its fangs, a violent pain suddenly erupted from its abdomen. Its body stiffened, and it immediately began rolling on the ground in agony. Then, a large amount of black poisonous blood rapidly gushed out from beneath its body, spilling all over the floor.

It turned out that, at some unknown point, the giant centipede's most vulnerable abdomen had been cleanly sliced open by an extremely sharp blade without it even realizing it, performing a complete evisceration on the demonic beast. Given such a fatal injury, it was no wonder the giant centipede was in such immense pain!

Han Li, standing by, naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to strike while the enemy was down. He raised his hand, and a circular golden light and a gleaming blue flying knife shot out, cutting straight towards the giant centipede's two thick, long antennae.