C4 The Terrifying Devouring.
The little girl's cries tore through the air, "No! I want to stay with Daddy! I want to stay with Daddy!"
"Sssss!" Nearby, the centipede cautiously shot a stream of sticky mucus towards the middle-aged man. Chen Fann sprang into action, swiftly pulling the man and girl to safety. Once they were clear, he glanced back to see the mucus had eaten away a pit in the ground.
"This!" The man was nearly petrified with fear. Chen Fann forced himself to stay composed, positioning the man and girl behind him for protection.
Chen Fann then fixed his gaze on the centipede. The giant centipede didn't immediately attack; instead, it summoned fifty of its smaller kin to encircle them.
The giant centipede itself kept its menacing eyes locked on the middle-aged man, its mouth agape, baring its razor-sharp fangs.
"Xiao Qin, be brave. Take the Resurrection Lily and go save your brother," the man urged, pushing the flower into the girl's pocket before trying to pass her to Chen Fann.
But Chen Fann was preoccupied. The Taotie, long dormant within his dantian, had awakened, "It's merely poison. Fight him. With me here, no venom will harm you. This is a good test of your current power."
Taotie's words momentarily stunned Chen Fann, but he quickly regained his composure, his eyes brimming with newfound confidence.
With its venom, the giant centipede was a threat even to a Nascent Soul master; without it, its prowess was akin to a mere sixth or seventh level Qi Refiner.
"Please, young man, take my daughter to safety," the middle-aged man pleaded with Chen Fann.
Unexpectedly, Chen Fann didn't accept the girl. Instead, he firmly stated, "I'll handle the centipede. Get your daughter to a safe distance."
"Handle it?" The man was dumbfounded. Did Chen Fann truly have the means to confront such a formidable creature?
But before the man could process the situation, Chen Fann was already charging at the giant centipede.
The centipede, which had been savoring the anticipation of an easy kill, was enraged to see Chen Fann, an insignificant being, daring to challenge it. It furiously spat mucus at him in response.
Taotie wasted no time. Emerging from Chen Fann's dantian, he exhaled a gust of white Qi, and the mucus that had landed on Chen Fann dissipated as if by magic. Chen Fann, now unscathed, faced the giant centipede head-on and, without a moment's hesitation, landed a punch atop its head.
Chen Fann's fist, charged with spiritual energy, sent the centipede crashing to the ground. But the creature was quick to retaliate with a venomous bite. Chen Fann retreated swiftly, yet not swiftly enough to avoid a gash on his arm from the centipede's fangs.
The giant centipede, seeing it had drawn blood, glinted with malicious delight. Chen Fann, pressing on despite the wound, created some distance before pausing to assess the damage.
Chen Fann's arm bore a long, vivid wound, oozing with fresh blood. Fortunately, he was no mere mortal but a cultivator at the Fourth Layer of Qi Condensation. Such an injury was minor for him; a few days of rest post-battle would see him fully recovered.
"This creature has some strength, it seems," Chen Fann noted, eyeing the giant centipede with a steely gaze. "But without your venom, how could you possibly be a match for me?"
Defeat was not in Chen Fann's vocabulary. Injury only fueled his desire to fight. Resolute, he charged at the giant centipede.
The centipede, intrigued by the seemingly frail human, opened its maw wide and spat a stream of black venom at the oncoming Chen Fann.
"Don't fear, kid. I've got your back. Just go for the kill!" The Taotie within Chen Fann feared no venom.
Bolstered by the Taotie's support, Chen Fann surged forward with courage. He propelled himself off the ground in a powerful leap, while the centipede, eager to attack, aimed its venomous assault at him.
As the venom that would send others fleeing came at him, Chen Fann stood his ground, letting it splash over him. The centipede, believing it had struck its target, had no time for celebration.
To its dismay, the venom that hit Chen Fann simply vanished, leaving him unscathed as if nothing had happened.
The centipede was proud of its venom, shocked to see it rendered ineffective. If it could speak, it would surely be spewing curses. Its venom was potent enough to harm even those beyond the Qi Condensation Stage, yet here it was, utterly neutralized.
Little did the centipede know, Chen Fann harbored a Taotie within, making the centipede's venom as harmless as water.
Chen Fann watched the momentarily paralyzed centipede. He wasn't one to stoop to underhanded tactics against a mere beast. Seizing the moment of its shock, he gathered the Spiritual Qi into his right hand, which began to glow with a powerful green light.
"Your venom is useless against me!" Chen Fann bellowed at the centipede.
Before the creature could react, Chen Fann, fearless of its venom, landed a solid punch right into its gaping maw.
This was no rash act; the centipede's body was encased in tough armor, but its venom-spewing mouth was vulnerable. Targeting this spot allowed Chen Fann to unleash the full force of his power.
From a distance, a middle-aged man and a young girl watched in awe as Chen Fann's fist, unstoppable, pierced through the centipede's mouth and emerged from the armored back.
With that single punch, Chen Fann shattered the centipede's neural pathways. No matter its strength, the creature collapsed and lay still in death.
"Kid, this giant centipede had its own level of cultivation. Use the Devouring Rune I gave you to absorb its Spiritual Energy talent quickly. Once it's dead for good, that energy will scatter to the winds."
Upon witnessing Chen Fann's effortless victory over the giant centipede, Taotie quickly spoke up to remind him not to squander this fortuitous chance.
Without any delay, Chen Fann knew that swift strength was essential for his quest for vengeance. The Devouring Rune was, without a doubt, the quickest path to power.
"Devouring Rune, activate!" Chen Fann commanded, and the enigmatic inscription on his left arm materialized in an instant.