Chapter 312: Silk Asserts Its Might

What made it even more uneasy was this: Jiang Fan was already prepared. With a thought, the Sorrowfrost Sword on his back swiftly unsheathed and flew to his feet. He stepped onto the flying sword, using its momentum to launch himself high into the sky.

Only then did the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede notice. Stretched taut between two large trees in the air ahead was a transparent thread, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. Its pupils sharply constricted. It tried to dodge! But its massive body made evasion impossible. And stopping was even more out of the question! To strike Jiang Fan down in one blow, it had activated its innate ability, increasing its speed tenfold. Due to the immense inertia, it couldn't stop at all!

It let out a piercing shriek. The next moment, its entire body passed directly through the Heavenly Mountain Silkworm Thread. Immediately afterward, with the thread as the dividing line, its upper half flew forward, while its lower half plummeted to the ground.

Thud! Thud! Two consecutive dull thuds echoed. The two halves of the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede's body crashed to the ground one after another. Each half writhed wildly, flattening a section of the forest. From its front half, the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede let out a shrill, agonizing roar that reverberated through the mountains and forest.

Jiang Fan had barely landed on a tree when the deafening shriek disrupted his spiritual energy. His body trembled violently. He nearly tumbled down. Fortunately, Xu Yining, seeing the danger, plunged her sword into the tree, providing a stable point for both of them to brace themselves. Only then did they regain their balance. From their elevated position, they looked down at the continuously shrieking Copper-Scaled Black Centipede.

As time passed, the centipede's tail section became completely still. The upper half gradually fell silent as well. Only a faint undulation of the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede's abdomen could be vaguely seen. It was clearly near death. It struggled to lift its head, gazing in Jiang Fan's direction. Its bloodshot eyes revealed a strong sense of unwillingness. It had actually fallen for a trap set by a mere human! Such a deep unwillingness! Its head slowly slumped, and the undulation of its abdomen gradually faded. It appeared as dead as could be.

Xu Yining felt as if she were dreaming. "A mid-stage Core Formation demon beast, killed?"

Jiang Fan flickered a few times, retrieving the Heavenly Mountain Silkworm Thread. He shook his head. "Killed by me? Not quite. It was its own carelessness that cost it its life. If it had been even slightly more vigilant, it would have been much harder to trap." He paused, then looked at the Heavenly Mountain Silkworm Thread in his hand with unconcealed delight. "Of course, the power of this Heavenly Mountain Silkworm Thread was also a major contributing factor."

Ordinary threads simply couldn't achieve such an effect. They would either snap from the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede's impact or fail to cut through its copper-colored scales. Only the Heavenly Mountain Silkworm Thread was both sharp and resilient. He was growing fonder of this item.

Xu Yining gazed at Jiang Fan with admiration. It wasn't just admiration for Jiang Fan's quick thinking. It was also for his humble character. Shadow Guard One spoke as if it were nothing, but how many people could truly accomplish such a feat? Even if others were given the Heavenly Mountain Silkworm Thread, who could calmly set a trap in such a perilous situation? Who could repeatedly and narrowly evade the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede's attacks? And who could perfectly bait it into launching its fatal strike? All these factors combined led to the successful slaying of the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede. It was far from being as simple as the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede's carelessness.

She stared at Shadow Guard One, muttering in a daze, "You truly are humble. Quite like an old acquaintance of mine named Jiang Fan." She recalled Jiang Fan being the same—always a humble gentleman. Never arrogant or complacent, always modest and understated. Why hadn't she seen his good qualities back then?

Jiang Fan felt a pang of guilt and changed the subject. "We should leave quickly. This is a dangerous place."

Xu Yining snapped out of her reverie. The commotion caused by the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede here was truly earth-shaking. If there were other beast kings nearby, they would have surely noticed this location by now. Her expression hardened. Just as she was about to leave, she glanced at the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede and asked, "Aren't you going to take its materials?" This was a mid-stage Core Formation beast king, after all. Even a single scale was valuable.

Jiang Fan's eyes gleamed. "Of course," he said. "However, I want to wait until it's completely dead before collecting anything."

"What?" Xu Yining was startled. She looked at the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede, which showed no signs of life. "It's still alive?" she asked.

Jiang Fan stroked his chin. "Given its cunning nature, it's hard to believe it would simply die so obediently. We'll find out by testing!" With that, he took out his guqin and played "Tiger Roar, Dragon Chant," sending the melody through the air. The sound waves, like sharp swords, struck the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede's body with force. Its hard scales were marked with faint white lines. It caused no significant damage. However, its vulnerable eyeballs burst open on impact.

The Copper-Scaled Black Centipede, which had been feigning death, painfully lifted its head and let out an enraged shriek. Using its last ounce of strength, it dragged its mutilated body towards Jiang Fan. As it crawled, it hissed and roared. However, this final burst of energy, intended for a dying strike against Jiang Fan, was far from enough to sustain its crawl for long. Before long, its movements became increasingly sluggish. Finally, it lay motionless on the ground. A weak hiss escaped its mouth. In its mind, it uttered its final curse: "You... aren't human..." Even the demon rabbits, renowned for their vigilance in the demon beast realm, weren't as difficult to handle as this diminutive human! Filled with lingering resentment, it finally died.

Xu Yining was startled by the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede's dying struggle. Yet, hearing its exasperated roars, she couldn't help but cast a strange look at Jiang Fan and murmur, "It sounds like it's cursing you." Though she didn't understand the demon beast language, certain emotions were universal among living creatures.

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose. It was more than just cursing him. It sounded quite vulgar. He played another tune, this time blasting the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede's flesh and blood. Only after confirming that the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede was genuinely dead and not feigning anything else, did he descend with Xu Yining.

Circling the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede, Jiang Fan located its inner core. He pried open the iron-hard scales, revealing the flesh underneath. Then, with a thrust of his sword, he extracted the fist-sized inner core. The inner core was filled with a black liquid, visibly a potent venom. Jiang Fan felt a chill. "Fortunately, I didn't get close to it earlier." He surmised the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede had intended to spray him with venom as a final act before dying. "A poison-attribute inner core from a mid-stage Core Formation beast... I wonder if Grand Elder Zhou Qidan would be interested. While exchanging it for that bottle of Poison Dragon Marrow might be a pipe dream, it was still better than arriving empty-handed, wasn't it?"

At that moment, Xu Yining also eyed the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede's corpse with keen interest. It was her first time seeing the corpse of a mid-stage Core Formation demon beast. Its entire body was valuable.

"Take whatever you fancy," Jiang Fan offered.

Xu Yining quickly waved her hand. "No, no, no, this is your spoils of war. I couldn't possibly take it."

Jiang Fan said, "The inner core is enough for me. I can't carry anything else anyway. Just take whatever you can carry."

Hearing this, Xu Yining felt both delight and embarrassment. She carefully selected items from the Copper-Scaled Black Centipede, prying off ten scales and severing the pair of antennae from its head. Finally, she cut off a piece of the most vital spiritual flesh from its back. Only then did she reluctantly stop. These few items alone were enough to burden her with bundles. Gazing at the almost intact Copper-Scaled Black Centipede corpse, Xu Yining's face showed regret. "What a waste," she sighed. "So many valuable things left behind."

No sooner had she spoken than a chilling voice echoed through the dark forest without warning. "If you're so reluctant to leave it, then stay!"

Jiang Fan's blood ran cold! Something was nearby, and he hadn't detected it! What's more, it sounded like human language. Yet, the deep, resonant tone was utterly beyond human capability! He fixed his gaze on the source of the voice. From a patch of shadow, a towering, skeletal behemoth with terrifying sharp claws slowly emerged, its feet treading heavily on the ground! Jiang Fan's hair stood on end! His pupils trembled uncontrollably!

A ninth-level Core Formation beast king, Coldbone!