Yuan Ming once again commanded the soul crow to fly a little further, his eyes keenly observing the scene, his heart chilled at the sight.

The Snake King in front of him was indeed not the same one as before; it was larger in size, with a hook-shaped single horn growing from its forehead, and four bulges erupting from its abdomen, indicating it might soon shed its snake form to transform into a Flood Dragon.

The Snake King that had earlier engaged in combat with Xiao Bai and the others was now barely alive, lying in the poison miasma behind them.

That Snake King's body was almost half destroyed, with blood flowing continuously, and its head was particularly badly injured, with half of its skull shattered, but it was not dead yet. Its mouth was slightly opening and closing, as though it was breathing control to heal.

"There are two Snake Kings here? The White Night Alliance was mistaken in their intelligence; otherwise, it wouldn't have ended so tragically," Yuan Ming sighed to himself.

The Single-Horned Snake King was far more powerful than the previous one, with its strength and the potency of its green poison liquid at least doubled, capable of easily corroding rocks to create huge pits several feet deep. The poison it released would rapidly evaporate upon hitting the ground, forming a green poisonous fog.

What was most terrifying was the single horn on its forehead, which could shoot out a gold ray with incredible penetration power. Xiao Bai and Huan Shi did not dare let it hit them.

But after all, both were Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and even though they had already been poisoned, they still coordinated well, skillfully using various spells and magic artifacts. They were not defeated for the moment.

Xiao Bai controlled a golden flying sword, while Huan Shi urged the bronze shield into action. Sword Qi surged, and the shadow of the shield flipped and spun on the defensive, effectively blocking wave after wave of the Single-Horned Snake King's attacks.

However, the cave was filled with poison miasma, and even though they were both wearing items that protected against the poison, they could not fully shield themselves. The green toxic aura on their faces slowly intensified, impeding their movements more and more.

The Single-Horned Snake King's narrow pupils flashed with bloodthirsty excitement as its attacks became increasingly vicious.

Yuan Ming paid no attention to the battle inside the cave, his eyes fixed on the severely injured Snake King, discreetly commanding a Black Toad that was lurking underground to move toward the fallen Snake King.

With two Foundation Establishment presences in the cave and two Second-level Fierce Beasts, to avoid detection, the Black Toad traveled from five feet deep underground, taking some time before it arrived beneath the Snake King.

A Purple-Black Demon Vine silently emerged from the ground, stabbing like lightning into the head wound of the Golden Flower Snake King, sinking deep into it.

The wounded Snake King, while breathing control to heal, suddenly suffered a sneak attack to the head, couldn't help but emit a pained howl.

"Now is the time!"

A black shadow shot out from the ground beside the mouth of the Golden Flower Snake King, "whooshing" into its gaping jaws, while the Purple-Black Demon Vine retracted lightning fast, also disappearing into the snake's mouth.

The series of events unfolded as fast as lightning, and it was only then that the Golden Flower Snake King reacted, attempting to investigate the black shadow that had entered its body.

In that moment, it felt excruciating pain in its lower abdomen, as if sharp knives were stabbing through its organs.

The Snake King roared in agony, its thick tail wildly whipping at the surrounding area, cracking open the stone floor and sending dust flying everywhere.

Xiao Bai, Huan Shi, and the Single-Horned Snake King all sensed the commotion, and amidst hesitations, the fight paused.

"What was that black shadow just now? Could there be someone else nearby?" Xiao Bai and Huan Shi retreated a distance, both shocked and relieved.

When the second, stronger Snake King had abruptly appeared, they had already given up on achieving their initial goal and only hoped to escape with their lives. However, the Single-Horned Snake King, enraged by the severe injury to its companion, furiously clung to them, not giving them even the slightest chance to flee.

Although they had still been coping, they were already in despair. Now, with this unexpected turn, there might be a chance to escape.

The Single-Horned Snake King glanced at its companion but did not approach. Instead, it roared and charged at Xiao Bai and Huan Shi even faster than before.

"Dodge quickly!" Xiao Bai shouted, darting to one side, while Huan Shi hastily moved to the other.

Xiao Bai, with his deeper cultivation, could just barely resist the snake poison inside him, but Huan Shi was increasingly unable to suppress it. Suddenly overwhelmed by the venom, his steps faltered.

The Single-Horned Snake King, with spiritual intelligence on par with ordinary cultivators, saw this and immediately abandoned Xiao Bai, pouncing towards Huan Shi. Its thick tail struck out with astonishing agility, and a golden shadow flashed before him in an instant.

Huan Shi had no time to dodge and could only raise the bronze shield in front of him.

There was a loud "clang" as the tail smashed against the shield.

An overwhelming force struck, denting the smooth shield and flinging it to the side.

Huan Shi, too, was sent flying by the impact, crashing onto the ground like a sack, falling unconscious.

"Second brother!" Xiao Bai cried out in alarm, quickly turning back in attack mode.

His golden flying sword shot forward, heading straight for the Single-Horned Snake King's head with brilliant Sword Qi so bright it was nearly blinding.

The Single-Horned Snake King opened its mouth and spat out a fist-sized white round orb, surrounded by astonishing fluctuations of demonic power, colliding with the golden flying sword.

With a thunderous "boom," a fierce demonic power explosion filled the cave, whipping up a violent wind that engulfed the figures of both the Single-Horned Snake King and Xiao Bai.

The distant soul crow could no longer see the situation inside, hearing only "bang bang" collision sounds.

A few breaths later, a white figure was flung out, crashing heavily into a nearby mountain wall and embedding there. It was Xiao Bai.

He now had blood clots all over half of his body, his right arm was bent at an odd angle, the green snake poison on his skin had doubled in intensity, and he lay motionless, having passed out.

The Single-Horned Snake King leaped out of the dust, a huge wound on its neck, half its body dyed red with blood, but still agile in its movements. It moved quickly to the side of the injured Snake King.

At this point, it was not concerned with the life and death of Bai Ye and Huan Shi but was trying to rescue its companion.

However, the Black Toad was hiding inside the injured Snake King, and though the Single-Horned Snake King was formidable, it was helpless and could only fret anxiously by the side.

...

Yuan Ming, watching from a soul crow nearby, heaved a silent sigh.

Even with Bai Ye and Huan Shi joining forces, they were easily defeated. The power of the Single-Horned Snake King was indeed tremendous, likely having reached the Second Rank Upper Stage. Although Yuan Ming's control over the Black Toad temporarily spared them from its venom, he figured they would hardly escape with their lives today.

Yuan Ming had a favorable impression of Bai Ye and Huan Shi. If he could, he would rescue them, but it was a pity that his own power hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage, so he was forced to stand by and watch.

He focused on driving the Black Toad to devour the demonic power of the severely injured Snake King.

The aura of the Black Toad surged, already at the peak of Level 1 and still rising.

The stout body of the injured Snake King had shrunken by nearly half, its struggles growing weaker as its body continuously dried out and its aura became fainter.

In contrast, the Black Toad's power continued to advance by leaps and bounds, already far exceeding the capacity of a Level 1 Fierce Beast.

"Just a bit more, only a little more, and it will reach the realm of a Second-level Fierce Beast!" Yuan Ming thought to himself.

However, the demon power of the Snake King had been mostly absorbed by the Purple-Black Demon Vine, slowing down the Black Toad's advancement.

At this moment, the Purple-Black Vine touched a chicken egg-sized white orb, identical to the one that the Single-Horned Snake King had just sprayed out.

"Could this possibly be the Snake Pearl formed from the Snake Gallbladder, as Huan Shi mentioned before!" Yuan Ming rejoiced silently, promptly using the Purple Vine to pluck the pearl.

As the Snake Pearl was removed from the body, the already dying Snake King trembled, and the last bit of life finally dissipated.

From the Single-Horned Snake King's eyes shot a tangible fury, as the golden light on its forehead surged, and a thick, arm-sized golden beam blasted forth, aiming straight at where the Black Toad was.

Unperturbed, the Black Toad activated the Earth Travel Talisman, flashing through the thin snake skin and burrowing into the ground.

Just as its figure vanished, the golden beam arrived ferociously, effortlessly slicing the shriveled snake body in two and carving a giant crevice dozens of feet long into the ground, but it didn't touch even half a toe of the Black Toad.

"Roar..." The Single-Horned Snake King roared up to the sky in rage, its tail angrily beating the ground, causing broken rocks to fly and dust to rise in a cloud.

Yuan Ming controlled the Black Toad to dive into the ground, stopping only after reaching seven or eight zhang deep, then swallowed the white Snake Pearl.

The Snake Pearl contained most of the Golden Flower Snake King's demonic power, but it was tightly locked inside the pearl. If an ordinary cultivator had found it, utilizing it would have been a hassle.

But since the Black Toad had merged with the Demon Vine and awakened an ability to devour, it could easily refine the pearl.

The Purple-Black Demon Vine entangled the white Snake Pearl, and a huge surge of demonic power flowed into the Black Toad's body, causing its aura to continue its meteoric rise. A few breaths later, it broke through its bottleneck and reached a new realm.

Nature's spiritual energy flooded in from all directions, causing the internal organs, muscles, and skin of the Black Toad to undergo a radical transformation, strengthening continuously. The Purple-Black Demon Vine residing within also writhed incessantly, quickly becoming more resilient.

The Black Toad's body swelled as if inflated, with all its poison sacs vanishing from its back, replaced by a dozen purple patterns, which looked much more pleasing than before.

Those poison sacs didn't disappear; all of the potent venom flowed into a certain part within the Black Toad's body. The surging demonic power also moved there, condensing into a Purple-Black Round Orb.

The aura of the Black Toad soon stabilized, and a vast imposing force erupted, in no way inferior to that of the fallen Snake King.

"Could it have advanced to a Second-level Spirit Beast!" Yuan Ming's eyes flickered with a trace of delight.

A Second-level Fierce Beast was on par with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and he finally had a capable ally.

"Speaking of which, with this spirit beast's breakthrough to Second-level, wouldn't it resist the Beast Taming Rune?" He suddenly remembered something and felt for the Beast Taming Rune within the Black Toad.

His worries did not materialize; the Black Toad did not resist the rune inside it and remained docile, obeying his commands.

Yuan Ming breathed a sigh of relief and sensed the divine skills of the Black Toad.

The Purple-Black Round Orb inside the Black Toad was indeed its inner core, much like the Snake Pearl of the Snake King, formed by the condensation of all its demonic power. Once fully stabilized, it could be used as a magic artifact.

Each demon beast's inner core had different abilities. The Golden Flower Poison Python's Snake Pearl was indestructible and could be directly used to smash enemies. The Black Toad's inner core was different, with abilities more inclined toward extreme poison.

Containing the Black Toad's toad poison, the Purple-Black inner core's toxicity had greatly increased compared to before, and its usability also expanded.

In addition to releasing poison, the Black Toad's inner core also had the ability to absorb other deadly poisons and store them within, to be released when necessary.

"It can absorb deadly poisons, too? Let's give it a try..." Yuan Ming thought, controlling the Black Toad to open its mouth and inhale.

The green poison mist in the Snake Cave, along with the billowing Poison Miasma, swirled into the ground like a whale taking in water and merged into the Black Toad's inner core.

The originally Purple-Black surface of the inner core began to show specks of green, acquiring an added layer of eeriness.

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