Chapter 115: THE LIZARD DEMON(3)

Cui Ahjun did not say anything immediately since there was no need to rush. The journey itself was giving Li Wei more than enough reasons to become dissatisfied.

The group continued climbing for several hours, and the terrain became steeper as the temperature dropped further. Everyone had to conserve their spiritual Qi more carefully because the mountain was far colder near the summit, and the surrounding air carried a chill that seeped into the body despite the protection provided by their cultivation. Li Yan continued moving without difficulty, and the improved sweater kept most of the cold away while his stronger cultivation allowed him to circulate his spiritual energy more efficiently.

Li Hanye remained beside him as they climbed, and the two gradually moved closer to the summit where the lizard demon’s cave was supposed to be located.

They had almost reached the area when the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled, forcing several disciples to stop and look toward the upper section of the mountain.

Another tremor followed, stronger than the first, and several loose stones rolled down the slope. The sound of distant collisions reached them a moment later, making it clear that the shaking was not caused by the mountain itself.

Someone was fighting farther ahead, and judging from the force of the tremors, the battle involved cultivators with considerable strength.

The distance had prevented them from noticing the fight earlier, but the closer they came, the clearer the sounds became.

Explosions echoed across the mountain, followed by the heavy impact of something striking the rocky ground. Li Yan looked toward the cave and considered the situation carefully. If another sect was already fighting the lizard demon, they could wait for the battle to end and then enter the cave to retrieve the treasure while the other disciples dealt with the beast. It would save them from having to fight a rank-nine demon themselves.

That thought changed the moment they moved closer to the battlefield.

A powerful stench suddenly filled the air, and Li Yan immediately recognized it as the smell of poison. The concentration was so strong that even from their current distance, the toxic miasma could be detected.

The lizard demon was releasing venom every time it attacked, and each exchange with the other disciples was causing more poisonous substance to spread around the cave.

The group could not simply walk past the battle and enter the cave. Even if they avoided the fighting cultivators, the poison surrounding the entrance would make approaching the cave extremely dangerous. They would have to deal with the lizard demon first.

As Li Yan studied the battlefield, he began noticing the bodies scattered around the cave. At first, he saw only a few corpses, but as his eyes adjusted to the scene, he realized that the area contained far more remains than he had initially noticed. Some bodies were still fresh, while others had already begun decaying. Bones and old skeletons were scattered among them, showing that cultivators had been dying in this place for a long time.

Li Yan remembered what he had read about high-class demonic lizards inside the mythical space. Their venom was exceptionally dangerous because it did more than cause physical injury. Once the poison entered a cultivator’s body, paralysis would follow almost immediately, leaving the victim unable to move while the venom attacked the dantian and meridians. The poison would then consume the cultivator’s spiritual energy and vitality until the body could no longer sustain itself, which explained why so many corpses had been left around the cave.

The cold made the situation even more difficult for the disciples fighting the demon. They needed to spend spiritual Qi to maintain their body temperature while also using that same energy to attack and defend themselves, which meant their reserves were being consumed much faster than they would have been in an ordinary battle. The longer the fight continued, the greater the advantage became for the lizard demon.

The disciples from the other sect were already being overwhelmed. Their formation had begun to collapse as the lizard continued attacking, and several of them had already fallen to the venom. The remaining cultivators struggled to maintain their defenses while trying to find a way through the demon’s scales, but their movements became slower as their spiritual Qi continued to drain.

Eventually, only one disciple remained standing.

The man stared at the lizard demon before looking at the bodies surrounding him. Whatever treasure was hidden inside the cave, he clearly no longer considered it worth risking his life for. He turned around and fled down the mountain without hesitation, leaving the others behind.

The lizard demon watched him retreat before turning its attention toward the group that had just arrived.

Li Yan immediately understood why the beast had been guarding the cave so fiercely. He had spent a great deal of time studying demonic beasts during his training, and the information he had read about this particular type of lizard came back to him as he examined its movements. The demon was not simply protecting the treasure hidden inside the cave. Its reason for fighting so desperately was connected to something far more important.

High-class demonic lizards were all female, and they were known for guarding their eggs with extreme aggression. Their eggs required approximately five years to hatch, so the mother would remain near the cave and defend them from anything that threatened them during that period. The treasure might have been valuable, but protecting her offspring was the reason the lizard refused to allow anyone near the cave.

Li Yan’s understanding of the situation changed as he watched the beast. From the lizard’s perspective, every cultivator approaching the cave represented a threat to its child, which explained why it had continued fighting despite the number of enemies surrounding it.

The lizard suddenly opened its mouth and released a stream of venom toward the group. Li Hanye immediately shouted for everyone to scatter, and the disciples separated before the poisonous attack struck the ground where they had been standing. The venom splashed across the rocks and began corroding the surface almost immediately, forcing the disciples to keep moving rather than remain in one place.

Another stream of venom swept across the battlefield, and Li Yan used his lightness technique to move away from it. His body shifted rapidly across the uneven ground as he avoided the poisonous attacks, while the other disciples also began dodging whenever the lizard opened its mouth.

The beast gave them almost no opportunity to counterattack. Every time someone attempted to approach, another wave of venom forced them back, and the growing miasma around the cave continued making the battlefield more dangerous.

Li Hanye and Meng Jiali moved to the front, they were the strongest cultivators in the group. They exchanged a brief glance before attacking from opposite sides, forcing the lizard to divide its attention between them. Li Hanye raised his weapon and sent a powerful strike toward the demon’s body, while Meng Jiali attacked from the other side at nearly the same moment.

Both attacks struck the lizard’s scales with tremendous force, yet neither managed to penetrate its defense. The thick scales absorbed most of the impact, leaving only shallow marks across their surface. Instead of weakening the beast, the attacks appeared to enrage it further.

The lizard twisted its enormous body and opened its mouth once again, preparing another poisonous assault as Li Hanye and Meng Jiali immediately shifted their positions.

The battle intensified around the cave, with venom spreading across the rocks, the mountain trembling beneath every powerful collision, and the two core disciples continuing their attacks while finding a way to break through the demon’s nearly impenetrable scales.