Chapter 77: The Final Stand

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Final Stand

He glanced at Long Ning, then lowered his gaze toward the pouch, a strange expression slowly appearing on his face.

’This is...’

However, Li Jian quickly pushed the thought aside.

Whatever he had found could wait.

They were in the middle of a life-or-death situation.

After a brief search, he found a small jade bottle tucked into the inner compartment.

He pulled it out and held it up for her to see.

"This one?"

Long Ning nodded weakly.

"Yes. Give it to me."

Li Jian opened the bottle and found a single dark green pill inside.

A faint medicinal fragrance escaped from it, carrying a trace of spiritual energy.

He carefully handed it to her.

Long Ning swallowed the pill with some difficulty.

After a few moments, a faint green glow spread across her abdomen, and the purple hue around her wound seemed to stop expanding.

Her expression relaxed slightly, though the pain hadn’t disappeared.

"It worked," she murmured. "At least... it’s slowing the poison."

Li Jian let out a quiet breath of relief.

That was good news.

However, before he could say anything, a furious hiss suddenly rang out from the clearing.

Both of them turned toward the sound.

The enormous snake had noticed something was wrong.

Its crimson eyes swept across the battlefield before suddenly shifting toward Li Jian and Long Ning.

Li Jian’s expression stiffened.

’Damn it! It noticed us!’

The snake’s crimson eyes locked onto Li Jian and Long Ning.

A deafening hiss erupted from its throat as its demonic aura exploded outward, sweeping through the clearing like a violent storm.

The surrounding trees shook, and dust billowed into the air.

"Not good!"

Chen Lei, Wang Hun, and Zhang Zhao immediately realized what was happening, but they were already exhausted from the prolonged fight.

The snake’s enormous tail swept across the ground.

BOOM!

The three men were caught in the terrifying shock wave and sent flying in different directions.

Chen Lei crashed into a boulder, spitting out another mouthful of blood.

Wang Hun tumbled across the ground with his sword still clutched in his hand, while Zhang Zhao barely managed to protect his needles before slamming into a tree.

Before any of them could recover, the snake turned its head toward Li Jian.

Its crimson eyes burned with murderous intent.

Then it lunged.

BOOM!

Its enormous body surged forward, crushing bushes and tearing up the earth as it rushed straight toward him.

Li Jian clicked his tongue.

He immediately drew his sword, gripping the hilt tightly as he stared at the approaching beast.

Despite having prepared himself for this possibility, he couldn’t help swallowing nervously.

The snake’s aura was far more intimidating up close.

Its massive jaws opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, while its curved horns seemed ready to impale anything in its path.

’Damn it. I knew this wouldn’t be easy, but isn’t it a little too eager to kill me?’

He quickly assessed the distance between them.

’Too close.’

There was no time to retreat, and even if he tried to dodge, the snake’s enormous body could easily sweep him aside.

Li Jian tightened his grip on his sword.

’Well, there’s no point running now.’

His eyes narrowed as he prepared to channel his spiritual energy into the blade.

’It’s do or die!’

Just as the snake was about to reach him, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

Li Jian paused.

"Hmm?"

Before he could turn around, the hand pulled him backward.

And a slender figure stepped past him.

It was Long Ning.

Despite her pale face and the poison still coursing through her body, she had forced herself to stand.

Her right fist was clenched, and a faint purple glow flickered around it.

Li Jian’s eyes widened.

"You recovered?"

Long Ning ignored him.

She took a single step forward and swung her seemingly delicate fist toward the approaching enormous snake’s head.

Her movements were far from the explosive speed she had displayed earlier.

The poison had weakened her, and her spiritual energy was still sluggish.

Yet, the moment her fist moved, the air around it began to tremble.

A thread of purple lightning flickered across her knuckles.

In the blink of an eye, countless strands of lightning converged around her fist, illuminating her pale face with a brilliant violet glow.

Long Ning gritted her teeth, pouring every bit of spiritual energy she could muster into the attack.

"Purple Lightning Fist!"

BOOOOOOM!

Her fist collided with the snake’s head.

A violent explosion erupted across the clearing, sending a shock wave through the surrounding trees.

The earth beneath Long Ning’s feet cracked, and the enormous snake’s head was violently knocked to the side.

Its body twisted as it let out a furious, agonized hiss.

For a moment, even Li Jian could only stare awe.

’What an intense power...’

The snake had just sent three cultivators flying with a single attack, yet Long Ning had stepped in front of it and struck it head-on despite being poisoned and severely injured.

More importantly, the force behind that punch was still terrifying.

But then, Long Ning’s body swayed after the attack.

The purple lightning around her fist rapidly faded, and she nearly collapsed.

Li Jian quickly reached out to steady her.

"Are you alright?"

As he supported her, he couldn’t help noticing how soft and delicate her body felt in his arms.

Who would’ve thought that such a delicate woman could pack so much power into a single punch?

The contrast was almost unbelievable.

Long Ning looked as though she could barely stand, yet the force behind her attack had been enough to send a demonic beast at the peak of the Ninth Stage of Qi Refinement reeling.

Li Jian glanced at her clenched fist, then back at the snake.

’Just how powerful would she be at her full strength?’

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to dwell on such questions.

Long Ning’s face paled further as she leaned against his arm, breathing heavily.

"It’s... not over yet."

Her voice was weak, but her gaze remained fixed on the enormous snake.

Li Jian’s expression turned serious.

Sure enough, the demonic beast was slowly lifting its head again.

Its scales were cracked in several places, and blood trickled down from the injuries left by Long Ning’s Purple Lightning Fist.

Yet its crimson eyes still burned with murderous fury.

Long Ning clenched her fist, but her trembling arm barely responded.

"Damn it..." she muttered through gritted teeth. "That punch took almost everything I had."

Although the poison-cleansing pill had slowed the toxin’s spread and allowed her to recover a little, it hadn’t restored her strength completely.

That punch had already pushed her weakened body to its limits.

It was the best she could manage under the circumstances.

Long Ning bit her lip as she stared at the recovering snake, unwilling to accept that even after striking it with all her remaining strength, the beast was still standing.

She took a shaky breath before turning her head toward the young man supporting her.

"Hey..."

Her voice was soft and weak, almost drowned out by the snake’s furious hissing.

Li Jian looked down at her. "Hmm?"

Long Ning hesitated for a moment before asking, "What’s your name?"

Li Jian blinked and looked down at the woman leaning against his arm.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

’Damn. Does she really think we’re going to die here?’

He hadn’t even joined the fight yet!

Sure, he was only at the Fifth Stage of Qi Refinement, while the snake was at the peak of the Ninth Stage.

The difference in strength was enormous, and he wasn’t foolish enough to underestimate the beast.

Still, to be written off as a hopeless case so quickly hurt his feelings a little.

With a wry smile, he finally replied.

"My name is Li Jian."

Long Ning nodded slightly, as though committing his name to memory.

"Li Jian..."

She repeated it softly before turning her gaze back toward the enormous snake.

"Thank you for coming to help me. I know we’ve only just met, but you still risked your life to save me."

She paused, taking a shallow breath.

"But... you should run."

Li Jian narrowed his eyes.

Long Ning continued, her voice weak but firm.

"I’ll do my best to distract it. You should use that opportunity to escape."

Li Jian’s eyes widened.

’What? Is she planning to sacrifice herself?’

He looked at the pale woman leaning against his arm, momentarily at a loss for words.

Long Ning noticed his expression and gave him a faint smile.

She then nodded as if she had already made up her mind.

"After all, this was my mistake. I was the one who provoked it and put everyone in danger."

Her smile grew a little more bitter.

"So... I suppose I should be the one to pay the price. This should have been my death from the beginning."

Long Ning slowly pulled away from Li Jian’s arm and stepped in front of him.

She lifted her chin slightly, trying to maintain a calm and composed appearance despite her weakened state.

"Don’t worry about me. Just go."

She even managed a faint, reassuring smile, as though she had already accepted her fate and was perfectly at peace with it.

Then, as if to reassure him further, she raised one trembling hand and gave him a thumbs-up, wearing a confident smile that seemed completely out of place given her condition.

"See? I’ll be fine."

Li Jian stared at her back.

’...Is she trying to look cool right now?’

Before he could respond, a sudden change swept across the clearing.

The enormous snake, which had been preparing to attack again, abruptly froze.

Its crimson eyes shifted toward something in the distance.

A moment later, it turned its massive body around and swiftly retreated.

"What?"

Long Ning blinked in surprise, momentarily forgetting her attempt to look cool.

The snake let out a low hiss, seemingly reluctant to give up, but it continued slithering backward.

Its enormous body disappeared between the trees before either of them could understand what had happened.

Then silence fell over the clearing.

Li Jian stood there with his sword still in hand, while Long Ning remained frozen with her thumb raised.

The two exchanged a glance.

"..."

"..."

For a moment, neither knew what to say.

The three men who had been sent flying were also staring blankly in the direction the snake had disappeared.

After all that fighting, just when things had reached their climax, the terrifying beast had simply... retreated?