Starting as a Snake: Defying Heaven with Invincibility

Just as Jiang Li was about to grab hold, Xiao Long suddenly sprang up, lunging at Jiang Li like lightning. Caught off guard, Jiang Li was bitten on the hand.

Jiang Li quickly activated his protective True Qi, but even so, a large wound was opened, and blood gushed out.

"A fourth-tier demon beast with the power of a sixth-tier one, and such rapid recovery from injuries—what kind of monster is this!"

A quick look at " will leave you more fulfilled.

Glancing at the wound on his hand, Jiang Li's gaze turned serious. He chased after Xiao Long with his blade, no longer holding back. The Spiritual Qi within him quickly gathered in his palm, turning a faint crimson, the hallmark of the Fire Cloud Sect's Profound-level lower-grade martial art --- the Eighteen Blazing Blade Strikes.

The temperature gradually rose as violent energy gathered wildly. In the face of such a crisis, Xiao Long did not flee. A strange look flashed in his eyes, and then, to everyone's astonishment, he pounced on a piece of braised meat on the ground nearby.

"Gulp!" Xiao Long swallowed it in one bite.

["You consumed meat and gained 5 experience points! You need 18 more experience points to level up!"]

He took another bite, swallowing a wild boar's hoof nearby.

["You consumed a level 1 demon beast and gained 17 experience points! You need 1 more experience point to level up!"]

Jiang Li was baffled. Facing death, he still had the mind to eat?

Though confused, Jiang Li didn't stop his blade.

Eighteen Blazing Blade Strikes! The first strike, Blazing Fire Splits the Mountain!

A scorching wave swept out, carrying intense Inner Qi flames, slashing toward Xiao Long. Xiao Long used Fish-Dragon Shifting to its fullest, dodging the direct strike, but was still grazed by the edge of the blade, blood splattering as a deep cut appeared on his body, nearly severing him.

Xiao Long immediately activated the Azure Dragon Tome, and a scab formed over the wound, stopping the bleeding.

However, the powerful Inner Qi from the Eighteen Blazing Blade Strikes rampaged within him, nearly causing him to explode.

Xiao Long could no longer move an inch.

"Eighteen Blazing Blade Strikes, second strike, Blazing Fire Burns the City!"

As the second strike approached, facing almost certain death, Xiao Long remained exceptionally calm. He had faced death countless times in his past life, long since developing a steady mind in the face of danger.

If this strike truly landed, he would risk further soul damage to forcibly use Soul Control, even if it meant mutual destruction.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed a few peanuts on the ground nearby.

"Just in time!"

Xiao Long opened his mouth and inhaled, sucking all the peanuts into his stomach.

["You consumed peanuts and gained 1 experience point!"]

["Ding! Congratulations on reaching level 5, you need 2000 experience points for the next level!"]

Xiao Long stared ahead, his eyes filled with fierce determination.

"You want me dead? You'll die first!"

Midas Touch, activate!

Jiang Li's blade was raised high, about to strike down, but suddenly he froze.

Everyone saw Jiang Li's body solidify there, and before their eyes, he turned into a golden statue, shining brightly.

"Clang!"

Jiang Li's blade fell powerlessly to the ground, along with his clothes and storage spirit ring, his body vanished.

["You killed a level 10 wild creature, gaining 2000 experience points! Over-level challenge experience bonus 100%!"]

["Ding! Congratulations on reaching level 6, you need 4000 experience points for the next level!"]

["You gained 883 gold coins, current balance is 2180, Midas Touch is now on cooldown."]

Xiao Long breathed a sigh of relief, just in time!

Such a clever and powerful person was indeed terrifying, leaving him alive would have been a disaster, but fortunately, he had the even more formidable Midas Touch. No matter how smart someone was, they couldn't predict he had a system!

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the tavern, an eerie silence prevailed, everyone wearing expressions as if they'd seen a ghost.

A living person had just turned into gold and vanished before their eyes! They had never heard of any martial art capable of such an effect.

"Whoosh!"

A signal flare shot out from Jiang Li's clothes, exploding outside the window, forming a fiery "FIRE" character in the sky. This was Jiang Li's contingency plan; as soon as he died, the signal flare connected to his soul would automatically launch, announcing his death.

Xiao Long was speechless. This person was indeed troublesome, causing problems even in death. Though he had leveled up twice, reaching the sixth-tier demon beast level, his injuries hadn't healed, especially with a remnant of True Qi from the Eighteen Blazing Blade Strikes still within him, suppressed by his Azure Dragon True Qi. If he started moving, that True Qi would wreak havoc on his body, leaving him temporarily unable to act.

He looked at the storage ring on the ground.

[System prompt: You picked up a "lower-grade storage spirit ring."]

He opened the storage ring, finding a large number of lower-grade spirit stones, a total of fifty thousand, and to his surprise, two hundred middle-grade spirit stones, along with numerous herbs.

["Your spirit stones have reached the amount needed to upgrade your cultivation technique. Would you like to upgrade?"]

The system prompt sounded, and Xiao Long was slightly stunned, then immediately clicked "upgrade."@@novelbin@@

["Ding! Your 'Azure Dragon Tome' has reached the second level, consuming thirty thousand lower-grade spirit stones!"]

Xiao Long hadn't expected that spirit stones could be used to upgrade techniques, and it was so simple, just a click to complete.

If he had to cultivate slowly, it would likely take him at least a week to reach the second level of the Azure Dragon Tome.

This system is truly amazing!

With the second level of Azure Dragon True Qi, the remnant Blazing Fire True Qi was quickly destroyed, and Xiao Long's injuries healed by half in a very short time, allowing him to move freely.

He looked around, noticing most people had fled, with only a few hiding in corners, watching him with curious eyes.

"This place is not safe to stay!" Xiao Long immediately dashed out of the tavern.

Activating Fish-Dragon Shifting, Xiao Long's figure turned into a black lightning bolt, swiftly darting through Qingyang Town, reaching the town's outskirts in the blink of an eye.

"Damn"

Xiao Long suddenly felt he was being watched, an overwhelming sense of danger enveloping him.

Whoosh!

A black arrow shot from afar, piercing the sky, aiming straight for his forehead.

It was an arrow!

With his energy locked, dodging was impossible. Xiao Long turned around, fully activating the Azure Dragon Tome, his tail swinging fiercely, executing a Divine Dragon Tail Whip, striking the arrowhead precisely.

Splat!

Blood splattered as Xiao Long's tail was shattered into pieces by the powerful force, exposing white bones. The arrow lost its momentum, embedding itself in the ground at an angle.

Xiao Long's cold gaze fixed on the distance, where a Qi Condensing Realm warrior with a silver longbow stood on the tavern's rooftop, staring back at him.

"I'll remember this arrow, and one day, I'll repay it tenfold!"

Fish-Dragon Shifting flashed continuously, and in the blink of an eye, Xiao Long disappeared from outside Qingyang Town.

Proofreader & Editor: Howard Wong