Chapter 116: Let’s Run

This centipede was extraordinarily intelligent. Seeing Lu Ming throw a punch at it, it twisted around, and the hundred legs along its sides, sharp as countless blades, slashed toward him.

Lu Ming neither dodged nor evaded. He let the blades rake across his body, sending up a string of sparks, then drove his fist straight into the centipede’s abdomen.

The centipede cried out in pain. Its upper body reared high, and it glared at Lu Ming with scarlet eyes.

“Stay still and let me offer you as a sacrifice. That way, you can avoid unnecessary suffering,” Lu Ming said flatly.

The centipede answered with a sizzling hiss, as though taunting him. The pincers on either side of its enormous mouth snapped open. Its entire body heaved, and it suddenly exhaled with tremendous force.

At once, hundreds of crescent-shaped blades of astral energy shot from its mouth, shrieking through the air as they flew toward Lu Ming with devastating sharpness.

Wang Zeyan and the others were stunned. The centipede’s body was hard as iron, its limbs as sharp as blades and swords, making it exceedingly difficult to deal with. Now it had revealed another such ability—this was simply terrifying.

Lu Ming frowned as well. Clenching both fists, he crossed his arms before his chest and formed a golden barrier of power in front of himself.

The hundreds of astral blades arrived in an instant, striking the golden barrier with a thunderous clangor.

The tremendous impact forced Lu Ming back several yards, leaving a deep furrow in the ground.

After the blades of astral energy faded, Lu Ming was shaken. This centipede possessed even greater intelligence than the giant python. It had actually learned to shape astral energy into attacks.

That move alone would have caused an ordinary grandmaster to suffer badly. Had Lu Ming’s physique not undergone such a drastic transformation, he might have been caught off guard and suffered as well.

Lu Ming glanced to the side. Besides the blades that had struck his shield, more than a dozen had hacked into the ground nearby, carving out pits over ten feet deep, as though shells had exploded there.

The centipede raised its head high and hissed, still wearing an unmistakably provocative air.

Lu Ming sneered when he saw this. “Beast. You think knowing a few paltry tricks makes you invincible? Then take one of mine.”

As he spoke, he thrust out a hand. A blazing spear more than ten feet long condensed in his grasp.

Lu Ming raised the flaming spear high. The fire upon it grew increasingly fierce, and a terrifying power began to gather within its length.

The centipede clearly sensed the danger and abruptly curled in on itself.

At that moment, the flames atop the spear surged once more. Lu Ming shouted, “Take this!”

The spear tore free from his hand and flew toward the centipede.

Burning fiercely, it streaked through the air with a howl, resembling a meteor descending from beyond the heavens as it shot toward the centipede.

The centipede instinctively tried to dodge, only to discover in horror that the spear seemed to have locked onto it. There was nowhere it could evade.

With a shrill hiss, the centipede inhaled deeply, then suddenly exhaled.

A sphere of astral energy, nearly three feet across, rolled through the air toward the flaming spear.

After expelling the sphere, the centipede’s entire body sagged, clearly having exhausted all its strength.

“Boom!”

The spear collided with the sphere of astral energy, unleashing a deafening explosion. The sphere shattered, but the flaming spear did not slow. It pierced straight through the astral energy and slammed into the centipede’s abdomen, carrying it backward until it was pinned against the rock wall beyond the pool.

The centipede immediately began emitting mournful cries, twisting its body and struggling to break free.

But Lu Ming’s flaming spear remained utterly motionless, holding it fast.

The flames upon the spear continued to scorch its body. After a short while, the centipede finally ceased its cries and struggles, its entire body going limp.

Lu Ming beckoned, and the flaming spear flew back into his hand, transforming into flames that flowed into his body. The centipede crashed to the ground and lay still.

Wang Zeyan and the others stared at Lu Ming in utter shock, as though they had witnessed the manifestation of an immortal.

Lu Ming’s abilities were far too astonishing. They had never seen techniques like these before and had already begun to regard him as something beyond human.

At that moment, Lu Ming slowly walked over to the stunned Miao Elai and said expressionlessly, “Your so-called Gu God seems to be finished as well. Do you have any other tricks?”

“You—you, this is impossible!”

Miao Elai’s face was filled with terror and disbelief. How could the Gu God have been killed by an ordinary man? It was absolutely impossible. Even now, he could not accept what had happened.

Lu Ming gave a cold laugh.

“There’s nothing impossible about it, you ignorant fool. It was merely a centipede that had cultivated enough to gain intelligence, yet you called it the Gu God. But it seems you have no other tricks left. In that case, go to hell.”

With that, Lu Ming planted one foot on Miao Elai’s chest and twisted hard.

Summoning the centipede had already consumed most of Miao Elai’s cultivation. The centipede had also drained him of a great deal of blood and vital essence, leaving him terribly weakened.

Now, with Lu Ming’s foot coming down, he had no power to resist. He let out a single scream as his chest was crushed apart, and then his head lolled to the side. He was dead.

Lu Ming looked at Miao Elai’s corpse and snorted coldly.

He felt no pity whatsoever for a man so utterly devoid of conscience. He had killed him without the slightest hesitation.

Only then did Lu Ming slowly approach the centipede’s corpse and laugh. “Damn beast. With tricks like that, you still dared challenge me?”

As he spoke, Lu Ming murmured several words in the draconic tongue, and both he and the centipede vanished on the spot.

Wang Zeyan and the others were startled once again. They looked around in every direction, but Lu Ming was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, within the Dragon God Altar, Lu Ming tossed the centipede into the central altar. The power of the Dragon God descended, and the centipede’s corpse was transformed into divine grace.

Without hesitation, Lu Ming exchanged it for planar space. This ability was simply too convenient. Moreover, he still had a piece of jade marrow as a backup, so there was no need for concern.

After completing the exchange, roughly one-fifth of the divine grace remained. Lu Ming considered the matter briefly, then withdrew from the Dragon God Altar.

That small amount of divine grace was not enough to exchange for a body-tempering pill. It was better to keep it. Divine grace was extremely difficult to obtain, and Lu Ming felt distressed whenever even a little was wasted. Besides, he was afraid that if he continued looking, he might use up the remainder as well.

After leaving the Dragon God Altar, Lu Ming reappeared before the others.

As for his coming and going like a ghost, Wang Zeyan and the rest were already speechless. They could only stare at him blankly.

Lu Ming paid them no attention. Instead, he rose, walked to the edge of the pool, and plunged headfirst into the water, disappearing beneath the surface.

“What—what is happening now?” Wang Zeyan asked in terror.

The others were equally bewildered. None of them could understand why Lu Ming had suddenly leaped into the pool.

Only Zhao Bing frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, “The actions of an expert like him are beyond our ability to fathom.”

Wang Zeyan rolled his eyes. “That’s no different from saying nothing.”

At that moment, Liu Shaokun asked from the side, “What do we do now?”

“Why don’t we run?” Lele said anxiously.

So many people had died here, and they had offended Lu Ming as well. Now that the danger had disappeared and Lu Ming had vanished into the pool without resurfacing, this was the perfect opportunity to leave.

Wang Zeyan was tempted as well. If they did not run now, when would they?

Once Lu Ming emerged and settled accounts with them, their fate would likely be no different from that of the grandmaster and the Daoist adept.

“Agreed.” Wang Zeyan watched the pool. Several minutes had passed without any sign of Lu Ming emerging, so he immediately said, “We’re leaving now. I’ve had more than enough of this place.”

Throughout the night, they had endured one fright after another and repeatedly found themselves on the brink of death. If Lu Ming had not displayed such overwhelming power, they would have long since become food for the centipede.

But they had provoked Lu Ming repeatedly and formed a grudge against him. Given his abilities, killing them would be effortless.

Besides, Lu Ming had already killed so many people. If he came back and silenced them as well, that would hardly be surprising. If they left now, they could still make it back in time. Once they returned to the city, they would be considerably safer. No matter how powerful Lu Ming was, he would still have to exercise some restraint.

However, Zhao Bing said, “No. No one here can leave. This gentleman is at least a grandmaster. After something this serious has happened, leaving without his permission will likely bring trouble upon us later.”

Liu Shaokun said, “Would it not be enough for us to return home and hide?”

Zhao Bing shook his head.

“If a grandmaster wants to find you, he will find you eventually. If he wants to kill us, it will be as easy as turning over his hand. After offending a grandmaster, the wisest course is to obtain his forgiveness. Otherwise, we will spend the rest of our lives living in his shadow.”