After two years of cultivation, Nian Lin had finally stepped into the Fifth Layer of Qi Condensation.
Although the process had been difficult, he was still satisfied.
As usual, whenever he broke through, he wanted to test his strength.
The snake lizard group had become his measure of power over the years.
Every time he advanced, he would challenge them.
This time was no different.
Among them, his true target was not the ordinary snake lizards.
It was the red snake lizard leader.
Although the leader was stronger than him, Nian Lin knew the difference was no longer as large as before.
If he prepared properly, he had a chance of killing it.
With that thought, he left the cave and headed toward the snake lizards' territory.
He passed through bushes and dry forests, moving silently through the darkness.
Along the way, he discovered several groups of snake lizards.
These were not his target.
After a brief clash, he quickly killed them and continued deeper into the territory.
The deeper he went, the more snake lizards appeared.
Nian Lin did not want to waste time fighting them one by one.
He had already prepared a poison beforehand.
This poison would not kill them immediately, but it could paralyze them for a period of time.
Without hesitation, he took out a small container and threw it onto the ground.
Crack.
The container shattered like glass.
A cloud of colorless gas spread rapidly through the surroundings.
The snake lizards inhaled it almost immediately.
Soon, their bodies began reacting.
The younger snake lizards collapsed first.
Then several of the larger black snake lizards also fell.
Nian Lin ignored them and continued moving deeper into the territory.
As if sensing his arrival, the leader finally appeared.
The red snake lizard slowly emerged from the darkness.
Its scarlet scales reflected a faint light.
Its enormous body was far larger than any ordinary snake lizard.
The moment it appeared, the surroundings became quiet.
One human.
One beast.
They stared at each other.
Neither side moved.
A few breaths later, the red snake lizard attacked.
The spiritual energy inside Nian Lin's body immediately surged.
His instincts warned him.
Without warning—
Whoosh!
The red snake lizard shot forward.
Nian Lin immediately dodged to the side.
Boom!
The place where he had been standing exploded.
Mud and broken stones scattered everywhere.
His expression became serious.
The beast was even faster than he had expected.
The red snake lizard continued attacking.
Its tail shattered rocks.
Its claws tore through tree roots.
Every attack carried tremendous force.
Nian Lin did not confront it directly.
Dodge.
Retreat.
Dodge again.
At the same time, he continuously used sword strikes to leave wounds on the beast.
For two years he had studied the movements of the snake lizard leader.
He had observed it countless times.
He knew many of its habits and attack patterns.
Every attack exposed a weakness for a brief moment.
Although the snake lizard tried to conceal those weaknesses, Nian Lin still managed to find them.
The battle gradually intensified.
The snake lizard became increasingly furious.
Suddenly, it opened its mouth.
A strange hissing sound echoed throughout the forest.
Nian Lin had prepared for this attack.
Yet he still failed to avoid its effects completely.
For a brief instant, his body froze.
That instant was enough.
The red snake lizard blurred forward.
Slash.
Blood immediately flowed.
Nian Lin retreated more than ten steps.
A deep wound appeared on his body.
The wound burned painfully.
However, he paid it no attention.
Instead, he launched a counterattack.
He attacked repeatedly.
Again and again.
The snake lizard was gradually forced backward.
Several wounds appeared on its neck and body.
The battle soon entered a deadlock.
Both sides were exhausted.
Nian Lin's spiritual energy was steadily decreasing.
The red snake lizard was also slowing down.
One of its eyes was bleeding.
Cracks had appeared across several scales.
Its injuries were becoming increasingly severe.
Suddenly, the beast let out a furious roar.
All the loose scales on its body instantly stood upright.
Nian Lin's expression changed.
The next moment—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The scales shot out from its body like countless arrows.
They tore through the forest.
Trees were pierced instantly.
Rocks shattered apart.
Everything in their path was destroyed.
Nian Lin had never seen such an attack before.
Fortunately, years of hunting experience allowed him to react immediately.
He rushed behind a large rock.
The scales continued flying forward.
Trees exploded.
Stone turned into dust.
Even the rock Nian Lin was hiding behind was not spared.The rock Nian Lin was hiding behind was not spared at all.
The scales pierced through trees, shattered stones, and cut through everything in their path.
Cracks rapidly spread across the entire rock.
Boom!
The rock immediately exploded.
Stone fragments flew in all directions.
Nian Lin turned his head and looked at the red snake lizard.
Although some scales still remained on its body, most of them had already been launched.
Large sections of its body were now exposed.
Its skin was still tough, but it was no longer as protected as before.
Nian Lin's eyes became cold.
Now that it had exposed part of its body, it was time to kill it.
Without wasting any time, he rushed directly toward the beast.
The distance between them rapidly shrank.
Ten meters.
Five meters.
Two meters.
The red snake lizard opened its mouth.
It wanted to release that strange hissing attack once again.
At that moment, Nian Lin focused all the spiritual energy within his body into the first form of the sword technique.
Stab.
The wooden sword he had carved himself shot forward.
Puchi!
The sword pierced deeply into the exposed section beneath the beast's neck.
The red snake lizard immediately let out a painful roar.
The sword remained lodged inside its neck.
The beast struggled violently and tried to pull away.
At the same time, poisonous gas started pouring out from its mouth.
However, Nian Lin had already prepared for this.
After fighting these creatures for years, he had long become familiar with their poison.
The poisonous gas no longer affected him as much as before.
The moment he saw the gas spreading, he knew what the snake lizard was trying to do.
It wanted to use the poisonous gas as cover to retreat.
Nian Lin immediately moved.
He pulled out the stone dagger hanging at his side.
His body shot forward at full speed.
In an instant, he arrived in front of the snake lizard.
The beast sensed danger and tried to turn its head.
But before it could even react—
Nian Lin thrust the stone dagger forward with all his strength.
Crack!
The dagger pierced through the snake lizard's skull.
The skull shattered instantly.
The red snake lizard let out a miserable roar.
Its huge body thrashed wildly.
Trees shook.
Dust rose into the air.
Gradually, the struggles became weaker.
Then they stopped completely.
Boom!
The beast collapsed heavily onto the ground.
The forest became silent once more.
Nian Lin remained lying on the ground.
His entire body hurt.
His spiritual energy was completely exhausted.
Yet a faint smile appeared on his face.
After two years of cultivation, he had finally killed a true spiritual beast with his own strength.