"That was merely a Zombie under the Immortal's control. If he were to strike personally, the Two-Headed Python would have died on the spot," Tang Jinchuan murmured in awe.

Beside him, Wang Jiangang and the rest of the survivors—who had harbored lingering doubts about the Immortal's true strength—nodded in fervent agreement.

*Roar!*

With one of its heads reduced to bloody mist, the Two-Headed Python thrashed, unleashing a deafening, agonized shriek. As the pain subsided into pure rage, its remaining two reptilian eyes locked onto Chu Xuan. The golden slits burned with savage, unadulterated killing intent.

It unhinged its jaw to lunge, but a compact, lightning-fast silhouette materialized out of thin air. The figure ruthlessly drove a pitch-black spike, radiating a terrifying aura, straight into the beast's massive torso.

*Yin-Fire Thorn!*

*BOOM!*

A geyser of dark, freezing Yin-Fire erupted skyward. The blast sheared the Two-Headed Python cleanly in half from the waist down, sending a torrential rain of shattered flesh and boiling blood scattering in all directions.

The sheer brutality of the ambush left the onlookers paralyzed with shock.

*Where did that thing come from?!*

"Earlier, the Immortal called out for 'Little Tiger' and 'Little Leopard.' He must have summoned two Zombie subordinates at the same time," someone muttered.

"No wonder! The first one was a hulking brute—a vanguard. This new one is small and lethal—an assassin!"

"Is this the true power of an Immortal?!"

Whispers rippled through the crowd, thick with reverence. This monstrous Two-Headed Python, a nightmare that had nearly slaughtered their entire Awakened squad, had just been butchered by two of the Immortal's undead thralls.

The disparity in power was suffocating.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Two blurs of motion flickered as Little Tiger and Little Leopard reappeared at Chu Xuan's flanks. Little Tiger stood tall, practically radiating pride at having executed his master's will. Beside him, Little Leopard crouched low, happily chewing on a torn chunk of raw snake meat.

Chu Xuan gazed down at the ruined Two-Headed Python with clinical detachment.

The beast was missing a head and the entire lower half of its body. Thick, dark blood gushed from its severed stump in a relentless tide. Yet, incredibly, it still drew breath. Its vitality far exceeded his initial calculations. While the psychic energy wielded by these apocalyptic mutants was fundamentally inferior to true Spiritual Qi, its capacity to bolster physical life force was nearly on par.

*Hiss!*

The python's remaining eyes glared at Chu Xuan with venomous hatred. It knew its life was forfeit; its current consciousness was nothing more than the final, desperate flicker of a dying ember.

But it was consumed by rage. If it was going to die, it would drag this arrogant human down to hell with it!

Unhinging its jaw, the Two-Headed Python violently regurgitated a torrential wave of Yin-Fiend Qi. It was burning its very core, expelling every last drop of the toxic, soul-corroding miasma in a suicidal bid to annihilate the uninvited guest.

Watching the sky darken with the suffocating Yin-Fiend Qi, a strange, almost mocking smile crept onto Chu Xuan's face.

"A parting gift?"

To a demonic cultivator practicing the *Blood Fiend Demon Refining Sutra*, this deadly miasma wasn't a threat. It was a premium tonic.

He had just spent days meditating within the Yin-Fiend Soul-Stealing Grand Array, gorging on this exact energy to rapidly break through to the second level of Foundation Establishment. While the python's personal reserves of Yin-Fiend Qi were somewhat impure, biomass was biomass. It could be refined.

Chu Xuan didn't even bother to raise a barrier. He simply circulated the *Blood Fiend Demon Refining Sutra* and allowed the corrosive black fog to swallow him whole.

A twisted sense of vindictive satisfaction flashed in the python's eyes.

*Fool!*

To stand there and let the Yin-Fiend Qi wash over him—he clearly had no idea how terrifying the corrosion was. The beast rejoiced, knowing it had successfully dragged the damned human into the abyss.

Below, panic gripped the survivors.

"What's happening? Why did the Immortal let that evil Qi swallow him?"

"He didn't even flinch. He just stood there like he wasn't afraid."

"Are you blind? He was probably scared stiff! There are no Immortals—he's just a high-tier Esper who got cocky!"

The crowd descended into frantic speculation.

Song Dayi swallowed hard. "Can he survive that? The concentration of that evil Qi is lethal..."

Wang Jiangang hesitated, his confidence wavering. "The whole area was flooded with that stuff earlier, and he stayed right on the edge of it. He must have a countermeasure."

Wang hadn't actually seen Chu Xuan sitting *inside* the Yin-Fiend Soul-Stealing Grand Array; he only knew the Immortal had guarded its perimeter and warned them away. He could only pray his assumption was right.

Tang Jinchuan's gaze remained resolute. "I believe in him. He'll be fine!"

Conversely, Xiong Xing and Li Tiemu felt their blood run cold the moment the black fog consumed the mysterious savior.

"Damn it! Why didn't he dodge?! He was acting so high and mighty!" Li Tiemu gritted his teeth, looking as though he wanted to charge into the sky, grab Chu Xuan by the collar, and scream in his face.

Xiong Xing let out a heavy sigh. "Hold your panic. Let's wait. A man like that must have a trump card."

*Vmmmmm!*

A low hum vibrated through the air. Suddenly, the massive cloud of Yin-Fiend Qi violently contracted, swirling into a tight vortex before vanishing entirely into Chu Xuan's body.

Chu Xuan slowly opened his eyes, a look of mild disappointment on his face. He offered the dying Two-Headed Python a polite, chilling smile. "Is that all?"

The vindictive triumph in the python's eyes instantly shattered into sheer, uncomprehending terror.

*What just happened?*

Its ultimate, infallible weapon—gone? Had this monster in human skin just *eaten* it?!

Wang Jiangang and the Linjiang Army soldiers mirrored the beast's dumbfounded expression. That concentrated evil Qi would melt an Awakened One to the bone on contact. Yet, not only was the Immortal unharmed, he actually looked like he hadn't eaten his fill.

*What kind of monster is he?*

Tang Jinchuan let out a breath, a smug, knowing look crossing his face. "I knew it..."

Li Tiemu, who had been cursing Chu Xuan's arrogance a second prior, froze. His furious expression locked into a comical mask of disbelief. "I... I..."

Xiong Xing burst into hearty, relieved laughter. "See! I told you he had a trump card! He's completely immune to it!"

"You're not bad," Chu Xuan said, nodding with clinical approval. "You possess enough quality to serve as the main soul of my Formation."

The Two-Headed Python roared in humiliated fury. It didn't know what a 'Formation main soul' was, but it understood the utter contempt in the human's tone. From the very beginning, Chu Xuan had never once viewed it as an equal opponent. He was just evaluating livestock.

Emitting a final, despairing shriek, the Two-Headed Python dragged its mangled half-body through the air, launching one last, suicidal lunge. Its cavernous, blood-drenched maw snapped shut, intending to swallow Chu Xuan and the very space around him.

"Time to go."

Chu Xuan didn't flinch. He merely flicked his wrist.

A razor-sharp chain of condensed blood whipped outward with blinding speed.

*Crack!*

The blood-red chain sheared through scales and bone, cleanly decapitating the Two-Headed Python. The massive head tumbled through the air, its reptilian eyes still burning with venomous hatred, completely unaware that it was already dead.

Forming a quick hand seal, Chu Xuan made a grasping motion. With a sickening, ethereal tearing sound, a translucent, white, two-headed soul was violently ripped from the falling corpse, thrashing in his merciless grip.

"Is that... a soul?!" a soldier gasped, his voice trembling with absolute terror.

*Extracting souls!* Ripping the very spirit from a creature's flesh—this was a domain belonging exclusively to gods and Immortals!

Wang Jiangang and his squad stared up at Chu Xuan, their previous gratitude now overshadowed by profound, instinctual dread.

Down below, Xiong Xing, Li Tiemu, and the hardened veterans of the Linjiang Army felt their innate arrogance shatter. Every trace of their Awakened pride was crushed, replaced by an overwhelming, suffocating reverence.

Walking on the clouds! Extracting souls and seizing spirits!

If these weren't the methods of a true Immortal, then what were?!

A tidal wave of bitter regret crashed over Xiong Xing. If only he had swallowed his pride. If only he had acted like the ancient kings of old and visited the Haotai Hotel a third time, begging this mysterious Immortal to aid them against the Two-Headed Python.

If he had, this expedition wouldn't have ended in a massacre. Lin Qiao, a core pillar of the Linjiang Army, would still be alive.

This tragedy was entirely the fault of his own arrogance. His blind pride had paved the way to this slaughter. Standing amidst the ruins and the blood of his comrades, Xiong Xing bowed his head, consumed by agonizing remorse.