"Dad!"

Even though Chen Weishan was incompetent, he couldn't help but shrink back upon hearing his father's angry voice, not daring to act out again. Seeing this, Chen Huaqin sighed and shook his head. "If you really want that kid to step up and get Old Master Xuu to help our Old Chen Family, I'm afraid there's no other way but to make that wretched woman relent."

"Make that wretched woman relent?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Weishan shuddered. A vicious look crept onto his face as he said, "Dad, rest assured, I know what to do. That wretched woman? Humph!"

In his eyes, that woman was nothing more than a country bumpkin, her status utterly lowly. For their Old Chen Family to show such mercy and magnanimously allow her and her son to join the family was already a tremendous gift. How dare she not cherish it? How dare she refuse? She was courting death!

...

ROAR!

Just as the conversation between Chen Huaqin and his son, Chen Weishan, was concluding, Chen Fei, far away in Chengyang County of Northern Mountain City, had finally reached the edge of Emerald Lake and dived into its depths. He remembered the last time he was here; he had nearly been swallowed whole by that filthy Snake Viper. He would have died at the bottom of the lake if not for his timely escape and his master's prompt rescue. The consequences would have been unimaginable; he would have been long dead.

But now, he, Chen Fei, possessed the formidable strength of the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. Even ordinary Mid Innate Ancient Martial Artists were likely no longer a match for him. To say he had completely transformed was an understatement, so he was naturally filled with confidence for today's journey. He *had* to be.

"Luo Zun must have obtained the legacy of some demonic Qi Practitioner, so that poison definitely has a few tricks up its sleeve..." Chen Fei muttered to himself as he plopped into the depths of Emerald Lake.

With his current strength, even without using any medical techniques, there were very few diseases or poisons on Earth that could give him trouble. Not to mention, he had already given his all previously, yet still came up just short. It had almost led to failure at the final moment, with the poison rebounding to invade his own body.

This just went to show how formidable that technique was.

Fortunately, hidden beneath Emerald Lake was a Mid-Grade Human Level Spiritual Herb—the Jinchan Moon Fruit. If he could obtain that spiritual herb, the poison would be trivial.

As he moved deeper into the lake, wisps of faint, foul energy appeared around him like a toxic miasma. In the dim depths, a nauseating and overwhelming sense of oppression, like muffled thunder, rumbled with a low sound, causing even Chen Fei to feel slightly suffocated.

"I must be getting close. But this feeling..." His eyes were locked on the hidden underwater passage at the lakebed. It was shrouded in a dense, foul energy, even thicker and heavier than when he had first come. This made Chen Fei squint, as if he suddenly understood why even his master, at the Innate Mid-stage Peak, had failed to gain an advantage against that monster.

From the looks of it, his initial escape had been incredibly lucky.

Sticking close to the underwater passage, Chen Fei shot upstream at extreme speed. In just a moment, he once again found himself in the subterranean river.

The oppressive pressure that filled the space, making his chest feel tight, was now growing increasingly heavy!

"Hm!?"

In the next instant, his pupils suddenly constricted.

ROAR!

HISS HISS HISS...

Suddenly, a low, piercing hiss echoed through the cave. It was sharp enough to shatter stone and had a terrifying, penetrative quality that made Chen Fei's eardrums ache and his expression change in an instant. A murky behemoth assaulted him, and a terrifying force bore down on his body!

"So it's here."

Immediately, Chen Fei felt his skin crawl, and the hairs on his arms stood on end.

A fearsome Snake Viper appeared in his vision, its gaping maw hissing loudly as it charged him in a frenzy. Its body was massive. From its huge mouth and filthy body, wisps of a nauseating, fetid mist rolled off, and its roars were terrifying.

ROAR!

HISS HISS HISS!

The filthy Snake Viper let out a sharp roar, and piercing screeches resonated through the ripples in the water. Its tail, like a steel whip, slammed toward Chen Fei with the force of a collapsing mountain. It stirred up underwater whirlwinds and raging currents that nearly left Chen Fei unable to breathe.

"Damn it!"

Chen Fei couldn't help but curse under his breath as a boiling, scorching Spiritual Energy burst forth from his body. It formed a radiant torrent that caused the surrounding water to steam and bubble furiously! This torrent finally collided fiercely with the Snake Viper's tail, creating a powerful shockwave that scattered violently in all directions.

HISS! The Snake Viper shrieked in pain, letting out a series of low, frantic hisses. The impact made Chen Fei's chest tighten, and his body slid several meters backward.

"This damned beast, its hide is so tough," Chen Fei muttered, gently rubbing his chest where his blood was surging. His face was grim as he watched the enormous underwater monster before him. The Snake Viper was at least seven or eight meters long. Its most terrifying feature was the layer of uneven, pitted material coating its body, which gave off a nauseatingly foul stench. Despite its ugliness, its defensive capabilities appeared to be astonishingly formidable.

Its head was a somewhat flat, triangular, and ferocious-looking snake head. A single glance was enough to make one's limbs go numb and heart tremble. To say nothing of its eyes, which were filled with a bizarre and intensely crimson, malevolent light! Just meeting its gaze made Chen Fei's expression turn grim. The feeling was deeply unpleasant—not only did it make his scalp tingle, but it was also inexplicably oppressive.

"Is this the thing I encountered last time?"

Chen Fei's gloomy eyes swept over the behemoth, and he couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

Last time, if his master hadn't arrived in the nick of time, he likely wouldn't have escaped. He would have met his end in this murky, underwater river.

However, this time... A flash of intense determination crossed his eyes. His dark, crystal-clear pupils stared fiercely into the crimson serpent eyes as he said in a deep voice, "I know you can understand some of what I'm saying. Give me the Jinchan Moon Fruit inside. I need it!"

ROAR!

HISS HISS HISS!

But the only response was the Snake Viper's piercing roar, resonating with a grating screech through the ripples in the water.

In the subterranean river, the fetid wind formed a tornado that viciously slammed against the stone walls of the passage, creating a thunderous rumble and shattering a great deal of the rock.

HISS! HISS HISS! As the fetid whirlwind grew stronger and more intense, the Snake Viper let out another piercing shriek, its blood-red eyes trembling violently.

Immediately afterward, the turbid, foul energy on the surface of its body surged. In the blink of an eye, it condensed into a heavy, profound force that erupted from within it. This power merged with the water of the underground river, creating an astonishing force that made Chen Fei's expression change slightly.

"Looks like negotiations are off the table," he murmured, watching the increasingly frenzied Snake Viper's hair-raising crimson pupils. He uncontrollably slapped his own face a few times, trying to calm himself down. Then he raised his eyes, gazed at the massive monster, and muttered to himself.

He knew very well that a monster like this Snake Viper, with a strength of at least the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, could definitely understand some of what he was saying.

Unfortunately, judging by the current situation, it seemed they were still "unable to reach an agreement."

BOOM!

"Since we can't talk, we won't. I refuse to believe you can drive me away twice."

The next moment, as Chen Fei's low murmur faded, a flicker of flame suddenly appeared. Then, with a wave of his hand, thirteen streams of scorching hot Sword Qi of Sanyang True Fire, carrying a violent sword aura and a formidable sense of power, materialized before the Snake Viper, causing its enormous, blood-red eyes to fill with frenzy and panic.

Clearly, the Snake Viper sensed extreme danger from the power Chen Fei had just unleashed. Yet this danger, instead of forcing it to retreat, only ignited its ferocity!

ROAR!

HISS HISS HISS...

A deafening hiss and a low growl erupted from the Snake Viper's gaping maw.

Its massive body suddenly shuddered. The wisps of foul, turbid energy on its skin seemed to come to life, detaching and transforming into countless small snakes that swarmed toward Chen Fei.

Chen Fei's expression changed abruptly. With a sharp wave of his hand, the scorching Sword Qi of Sanyang True Fire circling his body immediately trembled and, carrying a sharp edge, shot forward!

Two completely different types of power collided above the dim subterranean river. For the instant they met, the space seemed to fall silent.

BOOM!

A deafening, muffled boom exploded out of nowhere, making Chen Fei's chest tighten.

However, he had no intention of just sitting back and waiting for death. He immediately made his move. WHOOSH! His body became a crimson flash of lightning, crossing more than ten meters in an instant to appear behind the Snake Viper. With a gesture, a furiously burning Yanf Sword, radiating immense power, appeared in his hand. He thrust it down toward the Snake Viper's massive body.

At the tip of the sword, streams of searing Sanyang True Fire had already formed rings of high-speed, spinning fire blades. Their frantic rotation gave the strike an even more potent and terrifying cutting force.

HISS!

Instantly, the Snake Viper's massive body convulsed violently. Stinking black blood gushed out like a fountain, drenching Chen Fei. A sharp, agonized shriek soared up, echoing through the subterranean passage, so powerful it felt as if his eardrums were about to burst.

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