Lin Hao’s reaction was swift. He threw a punch without even turning his head.

Even without Ling Xiao’s warning, Lin Hao would have sensed it.

Behind him, a Devil Beast was attacking.

The Devil Beast’s timing was perfect. One couldn’t help but suspect it had been lying in ambush for some time.

And that was indeed the case. Ever since dealing with the giant spider, Lin Hao had felt like he was being watched.

His recent actions had been a deliberate ploy.

Relying on his hearing to pinpoint its location, Lin Hao was confident his punch would land.

However, his fist met nothing but air, only managing to shake loose some stones from the cavern wall.

Lin Hao had underestimated this Devil Beast’s cunning.

Ling Xiao froze for a second. The next moment, he felt his body being seized. A rushing wind filled his ears, and his vision went black.

Where Ling Xiao had been standing, Lin Hao saw a long furrow carved into the ground, stretching deep into the tunnel.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Hao gave chase.

At first, Lin Hao moved slowly, wary of potential unknown dangers in the passage.

But after a short distance, Lin Hao’s pace suddenly quickened.

He had realized that the Devil Beast that dragged Ling Xiao away was the dominant predator in this section of the cave. Its foul stench was everywhere along the path.

Suddenly, Lin Hao stopped in his tracks.

The passage opened into a much larger chamber, but it was a dead end, surrounded by rock walls.

And in the distance, Lin Hao saw Ling Xiao lying limp on the ground.

Other than Ling Xiao, the ground ahead was empty.

This only made Lin Hao feel the situation was even more dangerous.

On high alert, Lin Hao scanned his surroundings.

But to Lin Hao’s dismay, the chamber was unnervingly silent.

What puzzled him most was that the furrow that had extended all the way here had vanished.

The corners of Lin Hao’s mouth lifted into a faint smile.

’I already have a good idea what this Devil Beast is.’

’A large snake, or perhaps a python.’

’Based on what just happened, it’s probably planning to use the same trick again.’

’In that case, its hiding place is obvious.’

’Underground!’

Lin Hao closely watched the ground for any movement as he moved with extreme caution toward Ling Xiao.

Despite his exceptional care, he still fell for the trap.

The next moment, Lin Hao felt the ground beneath his feet give way, and he was stepping on air.

SPLASH!

Lin Hao plunged down, landing in water.

It turned out the ground ahead was just a cover; underneath was a pool of water.

Cursing inwardly, Lin Hao found his body ensnared before he could even right himself.

And his guess had been correct; the Devil Beast in the pool was indeed a giant python.

Lin Hao already had experience dealing with giant pythons; the Cloud-Piercing Blood Python was a prime example.

But it was obvious this python in the Demon Suppression Cave was much harder to deal with than the Cloud-Piercing Blood Python.

Lin Hao reached this conclusion after throwing just one punch.

In the pool, the water’s resistance greatly reduced both the speed and power of his punches.

Not only that, but after taking the blow, the python reacted instantly, coiling around Lin Hao and dragging him underwater.

It was a master at using its natural advantages.

It was clearly trying to constrict Lin Hao to death.

Underwater, Lin Hao held his breath, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

The giant python’s tightening coils only intensified the feeling of suffocation.

Even though he was underwater, Lin Hao felt his body burning up.

The feeling of suffocation grew stronger.

The python’s body tightened further. Despite being underwater, Lin Hao’s bones began to creak and pop.

The python’s constricting power was beyond imagination.

But now, the superiority of Lin Hao’s physical body began to manifest.

As it met the intense external force, Lin Hao’s body began to glow with a brilliant, mysterious light that flowed across the surface of his skin.

The next moment, Lin Hao was shocked to find he no longer needed to breathe; the suffocating sensation was gone.

His body... every single pore was breathing!

Though still trapped in the python’s coils, Lin Hao felt a rush of euphoric relief, like he had been saved from the brink of death.

Lin Hao desperately needed a release.

Then, this feeling of euphoria transformed into power—endless power.

Trapped within the python’s crushing grip, Lin Hao clenched his fists and suddenly flexed outwards.

Under the immense strain, veins bulged on Lin Hao’s arms like coiled dragons, teeming with explosive power.

SPLASH!

There was another splash. It was Ling Xiao, who had appeared in the pool with a dagger, intending to help.

However, seeing the scene before him, Ling Xiao was dumbfounded.

When the python had first dragged Ling Xiao away, he had been flung against a rock wall and knocked unconscious before he could even process what was happening.

He was woken up by a large spray of water.

Upon waking, he could only see the python’s body, now visible, now hidden in the pool ahead, along with Lin Hao’s floating hair.

Ling Xiao wanted to help, but he didn’t have a shred of strength.

He could only watch helplessly as Lin Hao was constricted by the giant python.

A full ten minutes passed before Ling Xiao recovered a sliver of strength.

Without another moment of hesitation, Ling Xiao grabbed his dagger and leaped down.

As soon as he entered the water, Ling Xiao saw Lin Hao confronting the giant python with the sheer strength of his arms.

The terrifying thing about a python is its constricting power.

Within its coils, one suffocates.

More than ten minutes had passed. Ling Xiao had assumed that even if Lin Hao wasn’t dead, he’d be on his last legs. How could he not be shocked to suddenly see Lin Hao so full of life and vigor?

The giant python also sensed the danger, and the coils wrapped tightly around Lin Hao suddenly loosened.

If it didn’t let go, it would be torn into countless pieces by Lin Hao’s immense power.

Then, it swung its tail, kicking up a shower of spray.

Then, with a single dive, it vanished from sight.

The two men paused, stunned, then simultaneously dove down.

The pool wasn’t large. For the giant python to escape from it, there was only one possibility: there was a passage below.

Sure enough, when they reached the bottom of the pool, a large, round opening came into view.

Without hesitation, Lin Hao grabbed both sides of the opening, about to pull himself through.

But the moment his hands went through, he was attacked.

This time, he was attacked from the left and right simultaneously.

An immense force surged forward, and Lin Hao’s body was instantly dragged through.

Ling Xiao scrambled through after him. In the murky water, he could vaguely see that Lin Hao’s arms had been seized in the jaws of two giant pythons.

They were clearly trying to tear Lin Hao apart.

Ling Xiao grew frantic. As he was wondering how to help, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

He watched as Lin Hao slammed his hands together. The impact generated immense force. Despite being underwater, an explosive sound boomed out, as if a meteor had crashed into the pool, causing the water itself to erupt.

And in that great explosion, the heads of the two giant pythons were smashed to pieces.

The water was instantly dyed red with blood.

Such raw power was simply beyond Ling Xiao’s imagination. ’This is underwater!’ he thought. ’Water already provides resistance, and that’s on top of the resistance from two giant pythons...’

The more Ling Xiao thought about it, the more terrified he felt. Lin Hao’s physical strength was too shocking.

His jaw hanging open, Ling Xiao only snapped back to reality when he tasted the coppery tang of blood in his mouth.

"GURGLE..."

Ling Xiao finally remembered he was still underwater and scrambled for the surface.

"COUGH! COUGH!"

As soon as he broke the surface, Ling Xiao started coughing loudly.

Then, Lin Hao’s figure appeared.

Patting Ling Xiao on the back, Lin Hao swam towards the shore.

Passing through the opening in the pool revealed a new Grotto Heaven.

A long passage appeared before them once more.

The moment his foot touched the ground, Lin Hao had a feeling this place was even more dangerous than the previous passage.

A more oppressive aura emanated from it.

It was an indescribable, almost illusory feeling.

But Lin Hao didn’t doubt this feeling in the slightest.

Ever since he started cultivating the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, his Spiritual Sense had never been wrong about unknown dangers.

"Senior Brother, look!"

A cry of alarm sounded from behind him.

Lin Hao turned to look and was also stunned.

The pool of water, dyed blood-red, was receding at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Before long, the entire pool had vanished completely.

If the round hole at the base of the rock wall wasn’t still clearly visible, Lin Hao would have almost believed the whole thing had been a hallucination.

Taking two steps toward the rock wall, Lin Hao stopped short and frowned.

He remembered the situation in the previous passage.

Whether it was after he killed the giant rats, giant cats, or giant spider, it seemed the blood had all disappeared.

Lin Hao hadn’t noticed it before, but now it finally came back to him.

When he connected that to how circulating his Cultivation Technique made his True Essence disappear, Lin Hao’s heart skipped a beat as a certain possibility occurred to him.

The mere thought of that possibility made even Lin Hao’s skin crawl.

If that were true, he feared this Demon Suppression Cave would truly become their burial ground.

Seeing Lin Hao’s expression suddenly turn ugly, Ling Xiao thought he was injured and asked with concern, "Senior Brother, what’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing. We’ll set out after we’ve rested." Lin Hao hadn’t planned to rest, but thinking of that possibility, he had to start preparing.

"Okay." Ling Xiao agreed without suspicion.

"The Demon Suppression Cave is very dangerous. I need you, so we’ll set out after you’ve recovered your strength," Lin Hao said as he sat down cross-legged.

Hearing this, Ling Xiao nodded, looking very excited. It was the satisfaction and joy that came from being acknowledged.

To be honest, before entering the Demon Suppression Cave, Ling Xiao had been proud and arrogant, feeling that no other disciple in the sect was his equal.

Although he had tasted defeat at Lin Hao’s hands, he remained unconvinced in his heart.

That was why he had come to the Demon Suppression Cave.

But as soon as he entered, he was caught by a spider, tortured, and nearly became its meal, making Ling Xiao doubt himself for the first time.

Later, watching Lin Hao defeat the giant spider and then kill two giant pythons without his help, Ling Xiao felt even more dejected, though he said nothing.

He felt so useless. In front of Lin Hao, he wasn’t some "number one genius"—he was just a piece of trash.

Lin Hao’s words now gave Ling Xiao the feeling that maybe he wasn’t useless after all.

Seeing his reaction, Lin Hao’s eyes flickered. He had more or less guessed what was going through Ling Xiao’s mind.

However, Lin Hao did not offer any words of comfort.

For a dejected Martial Artist who had lost his confidence, words alone could not return him to his peak.

Lin Hao already had a plan in mind.