I could barely believe my eyes; the creature actually fled! For ages, the monsters in the Marfa world had been imprinted in my mind as obstinate brutes that would fight to the death rather than retreat. To encounter such an anomaly now was truly unbelievable. It seems the denizens of the King’s Forbidden Ground are not only more powerful than creatures elsewhere, but their minds are far sharper too! Could it be that they actually think? Never mind that for now; I must reach the Forbidden Stone Tower quickly. Ideal With that thought, I recalled my Dragon Shadow Sword and pressed onward toward the East.

Two hours later!

Rumble! Rumble!

A deep, muffled roar echoed from afar! Instinctively, I looked toward the distance and saw a vast, grey expanse rushing toward me from the distant horizon like a furious gale! Ah! What is that! Soon I made it out clearly: a massive cloud of dust rising from the ground, and within the dust, an immensely huge, dark silhouette. Buzz! Buzz! It was accompanied by a roar akin to that of a massive truck engine. Damn it! No way, what a huge wheel! Yes, only now did I finally see that what was hurtling towards me was something resembling an impossibly large wheel! However, I quickly discerned that it was not a wheel at all! Completely black, spinning at high speed, it whipped up dark, swirling circles, making it impossible for me to tell what this inky mass actually was. Yet, the terrifying aura it radiated made it unmistakably clear: this thing would be troublesome! And I was certain it was charging straight for me! I swiftly drew the Dragon Shadow Sword and assumed a fighting stance!

In the blink of an eye, the enormous dark shadow was upon me, yet its speed showed no sign of abating—it rammed straight toward me! Damn it! What the hell is this thing! I quickly shuffled sideways, dodging away nimbly! Whoosh! Sand and stones flew past my side! The fierce gust nearly knocked me off balance. Like a speeding train, the massive dark shape shot far past me in an instant! Screech!! Then, it let out a sound akin to the friction squeal of emergency brakes on a vehicle. The dark shape that had shot far ahead finally halted! Only now could I clearly see what this bizarre colossus truly was! Its pitch-black body was coiled up like a giant wheel, and its surface was covered in rows of alarming, serrated, scale-like armor. This thing was staggeringly large—as big as a small mountain! Its peculiar appearance left me momentarily stunned. Damn it! You’ve got to be kidding me! It was! It was a Black Maggot Worm! Heavens, this impossibly large creature was actually a Black Maggot Worm! Since when did Black Maggot Worms grow this enormous? It stood nearly eight meters tall and was five meters wide! It was practically a colossal rotating wheel! Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch! The giant Black Maggot Worm also stopped moving. Its tightly curled body uncoiled, exposing its brownish underbelly and a massive head. Its pair of fist-sized brown eyes stared at me unblinkingly! The expression was indescribably strange; I could even sense that this creature seemed extremely excited. Whether it was my imagination or not, I felt that the Black Maggot Worm before me didn't take me seriously at all, and its bizarre look was just like that of a child who had found a fun new toy. But I didn't have the leisure to stand here staring contests with it! Since it was willingly exposing its vulnerable belly, I certainly wouldn't be polite! Thunder Battle Qi and Raging Lion Battle Qi were instantly infused into the Dragon Shadow Sword! Swish, swish, swish! Two streaks of Dragon Shadow lightning shot toward the Black Maggot Worm's belly. Crack, crack, crack, crack! The Black Maggot Worm let out a strange cry of delight! Its entire body instantly coiled into a ball! Thump! Rumble! The lightning streaks flew out, slamming into the inky-black hard armor!

Literary Note The immense impact force stirred up bursts of dazzling electric sparks! Clang! At the moment of collision, the two Dragon Shadows were repelled, soaring high into the air! And the giant Black Maggot Worm’s massive body hadn't even swayed a fraction! Even more terrifyingly, not a single mark of impact was left on its hardened black carapace! "..." Damn it! No way! My mutated Dragon Shadow couldn't even scratch its hide. The scene before me completely surpassed my expectations! This thing's defense was simply too monstrous. Not only that, as it curled up, it let out a strange roar, and then the colossal wheel shape suddenly slammed into me. Without any warning! In a flash, it struck my chest! Oh my god! This thing has such rapid acceleration. Fortunately, my reaction wasn't slow either; I quickly dove sideways, narrowly avoiding the monstrous wheel’s impact. However, it seemed to have anticipated this move! The moment the colossal wheel missed its target, it executed another emergency brake! Then, it turned and rammed again! Damn it! Are you serious! This creature is so huge, yet its reaction speed is this fast! Without even time to right myself, I quickly rolled again! The black colossal wheel instantly crushed the spot where I had just been lying. Dust flew everywhere! And a shocking, five-meter-wide deep trench was left etched into the ground! Oh dear, if I had been a fraction slower, I would have been turned into a meat patty! Even I, accustomed to major storms, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat! Only now did I manage to stand up! I raised my hand and sent two more Dragon Shadows flying toward the colossal wheel! Boom! Hooooom! After a dull thud, the two Dragon Shadows were again bounced high into the sky! Looking at the Black Maggot Worm, not even its skin was scraped! It hadn't even wobbled! Damn it! This defense is too overpowered! My mutated Dragon Shadow had absolutely no effect! How is this fight even winnable! Crunch, crunch! Two impacts missed! The Black Maggot Worm seemed to be growing impatient! It squawked repeatedly! It turned again and charged! For a time, the open desert was filled with flying sand and resounding booms! The Black Maggot Worm seemed determined to lock onto me, relentlessly chasing me! And all I could do, Literary Note, was continuously dodge sideways; I couldn't think of any good countermeasure. It must be admitted that the Black Maggot Worm's defense was incredibly monstrous, and its speed was equally fast! Its agility was utterly disproportionate to its massive body! But my speed wasn't slow either! It managed to evade every single one of its charges successfully! Of course, all I could do was desperately evade, while looking for an opportunity to counterattack with the Dragon Shadow! Alas, its defense was too monstrous; my Six Paths of Dragon Shadow had already struck it countless times without leaving even the slightest mark! For a time, neither of us could gain the upper hand. The Black Maggot Worm had only one attack method: ramming, but it couldn't hit me, and my Dragon Shadow attacks were equally useless against it! Boom! Swish! Another incredibly fast and powerful charge! I seized the opportunity, pushing off and exploding upward, dodging to the side! Screech! The Black Maggot Worm’s massive body stopped again! It was clear that this method of attack was ineffective against me! After all, I was too agile! Heh-heh! I took advantage of this rare chance to quickly regulate my breathing and try to recover stamina! Crack! A thin slit reappeared on the wheel-like body of the Black Maggot Worm, just enough to glimpse a sliver of its brownish belly and a pair of large brown eyes. Its expression was now extremely ferocious! Clearly, it realized that continuing this cat-and-mouse game would yield no result! I was also growing nervous. Facing such a difficult opponent was truly headache-inducing! How on earth could I pierce its defense! Evidently, this behemoth was extremely careful to protect its weak spots, giving me almost no chance to strike its belly! Therefore, to defeat it, I needed an attack power absolutely strong enough to punch through its defensive armor. But right now, my strongest Dragon Shadow attack couldn't even break its skin! Were there any other methods! With this thought, I reorganized the ideas in my mind. My powerful offensive techniques! One Line Three Swords, focusing on continuous point attacks for piercing destructive power! Startling Flash, the strongest single strike condensed using the instantaneous burst principle of the Kaioken! The mutated Nine-Colored Dragon Shadow, strengthened by fused Battle Qi! It seemed none of these were applicable in the current situation! Was there any way to elevate my attack power by another level? The point-to-point continuous attack of One Line Three Swords, combined with the instantaneous burst of the Kaioken, plus the powerful impact of the mutated Dragon Shadow—if I could fuse these three distinctive skills together! Could I create an entirely new technique! A flash of inspiration struck my mind! That’s it! If these three powerful offensive techniques were fused, they would surely unleash far greater destructive power! But how could I achieve that! Fusing all three seemed somewhat forced! However, if I could use the instantaneous burst principle of the Kaioken to control the Dragon Shadow, perhaps I could elevate the mutated Dragon Shadow’s power by another tier! Good! Let me try it! With that decision, I subconsciously circulated both Thunder Battle Qi and Raging Lion Battle Qi, and under the control technique of the Kaioken, the intensity of both Battle Qis instantly surged to the limit! Soon, that familiar sensation of madness and impending loss of control over my body washed over me! I felt like I was about to go berserk! Ah! I couldn't wait any longer; I had to release these two energies immediately! My thoughts raced! The two different types of Battle Qi were simultaneously poured into the Dragon Shadow Sword! Hum! The originally sapphire-blue Dragon Shadow longsword instantly erupted with dazzling multicolored light! The sword body began to tremble violently, beyond my control! Ah! What a potent energy fluctuation! I could hardly believe that this astonishing energy wave was emanating from the Dragon Shadow Sword in my hands! It felt like the sword was about to explode! Wooooo! The Black Maggot Worm before me let out a series of hurried, strange cries! I could even sense the Black Maggot Worm's thoughts of sheer terror and fear! Its massive body recoiled upward without warning—not charging at me, but fleeing into the distance! In a blink, it shot over fifty meters away! Ah! What is happening! Is it trying to run away! I was astonished, but the intense Battle Qi fluctuation in my hand was nearly uncontrollable; I dared not imagine what would happen if I delayed any longer! Without hesitation, I swung my hand casually! Thump! Swish! A flash of light appeared before my eyes! Even in the state of the Eye of Deadly Desire, I couldn't clearly see what Ideal happened! Fifty meters away! Boom! Rumble! The Black Maggot Worm’s enormous body exploded into fragments without warning, like a balloon bursting! The terrifying explosive force stirred up columns of soaring dust, and even from that distance, I was knocked back several steps by the powerful shockwave! After a while, the soaring dust gradually dissipated! What was revealed was an impossibly huge crater! And scattered around were pieces of brown debris of varying sizes! "..." My heavens! What kind of destructive power is this! This speed, this explosive force! It was nothing short of a cannonball! I stared blankly at the Dragon Shadow Sword in my hand, which had long since dimmed. Did I really do that!