The fiery red light on the narrow path fluctuated violently, even producing the crackling sound of burning rock. More terrifying still, a thin layer of red mist clung to that fiery glow—no one needed to be told that the mist contained a potent toxin.
Tang San drew a deep breath. The Clear Sky Hammer materialized out of thin air. His eyes narrowed slightly as his right foot stepped forward half a pace, his left leg bent and lowered into a crouch. The Clear Sky Hammer slid from his palm and skimmed along the ground at breathtaking speed.
The moment the Clear Sky Hammer met that fiery red light, crimson lines spread across its surface. Like a plow, it shoved the blazing glow back, and wherever it passed the fire vanished instantly. The hammer then hurtled along the narrow path toward the bizarre serpent at incredible speed.
A strange scene unfolded. The serpent did not clash head-on with the Clear Sky Hammer. Just as the hammer was about to reach it, the creature's upper body swayed off the edge of the narrow path and plunged into the abyss beside it. The instant the hammer swept past where its body had been, the serpent's head coiled back onto the path, and the rest of its body repeated the same maneuver. In this way it dodged the Clear Sky Hammer's strike entirely.
The fire was gone, but the mist—thick with a sickly sweet, bloody scent—had already rolled in.
"A pearl of rice daring to shine?" Tang San scoffed. A large wineskin appeared in his hand. With a flick of his wrist the wineskin flew out toward the center of the toxic mist. Then, with his other hand, he hurled the realgar he had prepared earlier. The realgar was shattered midair by the hidden force Tang San had left within it, exploding into countless fine particles. Part of the powder struck the wineskin first.
In an instant, a torrent of wine erupted from the skin and mingled with the realgar powder, forming a curtain of realgar wine.
Tang San had once used a similar method to effortlessly neutralize the powerful poison soul skill unleashed by Dugu Yan, granddaughter of the Poison Douluo. The bizarre serpent before him now was far beyond what Dugu Yan could produce, but regardless—it was still a snake.
Any snake venom would inevitably be suppressed by realgar. It might not be enough to cure the poison outright, but using it as Tang San was doing now—to block and disperse the mist—was entirely feasible.
Sure enough, wherever the wine curtain passed, the red toxic mist dissipated without a trace.
Some of the realgar wine even splattered onto the serpent's body.
But to Tang San's surprise, the creature seemed entirely unaffected, showing no sign of damage. Its massive body surged forward all the same, hurtling toward Tang San and Hu Liena with a sudden burst of speed.
The Clear Sky Hammer reappeared in Tang San's grip. He abruptly untied the rope at his waist and shifted from a one-handed hold to both hands gripping the hammer. His voice was low and steady. "Stand still and don't move."
With those words, Tang San's body shot forward, charging straight at the serpent. But after only three steps—on the third—his arms swung the Clear Sky Hammer, his torso twisted halfway around, and he launched a single devastating strike.
Oddly, the blow was not aimed at the rapidly approaching giant snake. Instead, he swung it upward into the air.
Standing where she was, Hu Liena then witnessed a remarkable sight.
Dense black light poured from the Clear Sky Hammer. Tang San's body began to spin with dizzying speed, like a top suddenly accelerated to full velocity. She could barely make out that with each rotation, the hammer struck once, and the aura erupting from his body multiplied geometrically with every blow.
It was as though a massive black vortex was expanding without end.
What impressed Hu Liena most was that even at such furious speed, Tang San's balance never faltered. His feet remained firmly planted on the narrow path. She had no way of knowing that during his earlier hammer training, Tang San had practiced on a round boulder so smooth nothing could grip it, with a two-hundred-meter waterfall pounding down from above. Compared to that, the narrow path beneath his feet now was practically luxurious.
How could his balance possibly fail? Back on the round stone, every rotation had demanded that he step on the exact same point with exactly the same force each time.
The serpent closed in rapidly. Suddenly, it repeated its earlier trick—its upper body swayed off the narrow path once more, apparently trying to slip past Tang San. Given how easily it had dodged the Clear Sky Hammer before, it was clearly capable of doing so.
It seemed the creature had also sensed the terrifying aura emanating from the hammer and wanted to deal with Hu Liena first.
Hu Liena raised her short sword to her chest, her feet crossed with toes pointing in different directions, bracing herself for the incoming attack.
But to her astonishment, the serpent could not make it past Tang San.
The moment its massive body swung off the path, trying to slip beneath Tang San's feet, an enormous force suddenly yanked it back above the narrow path. Its body, over ten meters long, was hoisted high into the air, flung backward by the powerful current of energy.
One had to remember—this serpent's body was as thick as a barrel. How heavy was a creature that size?
And that was not all. Its true strength was terrifying in its own right. The sheer pressure of its aura alone was proof enough that it was far more formidable than the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King they had faced before.