The Fire Scorpion

The white spherical object was glowing softly, extremely beautiful. It was as if there were two moons in the sky, sprinkling their glows down on earth at the same time.

It was an egg, one that nurtured naturally born spiritual beings, the holy air of which told of its inviolability.

Groups of demonic wolves stopped at the end of the valley and howled. They seemed to fear the place and were too afraid to come close as if this was the dividing line between two worlds.

"Ancient record shows there was a naturally born divine beast, conceived by the Essence of heaven and earth. The newborn is extremely strong, unmatched by any humans. When they grow up, they become a god-like, terrifying existence."

Han Tian recalled an ancient story. There used to be an almost god-like, naturally born divine beast that had unified the Samsara Continent and left behind a glorious history.

In that era, divine beasts were the overlords, while humans were the slaves, becoming food with no chance of escape. They were living in fear. This dark period was rarely mentioned in history. But the Yan Clan as the top clan in Greendragon had preserved some bits and pieces of this history.

One day, a human teenager finally rose. He went alone to various places, killing the beasts single-handedly. All vicious beasts quaked in their boots at the mention of this teenager. When he finally grew up, he took on the naturally born divine beast. That battle was the most epic of all battles. It shocked the world with the world plunged into great suffering, and the continent broke apart into many pieces.

At last, he killed the divine beast, then using all the magic power he had, he joined the broken continent together, and he died in the process.

A few hundred years passed, and humans grew stronger and rose to the top of the food chain. They ruled the continent with the vicious beast kowtowing to them. Later, people exalted him as Divine-slayer Emperor to commemorate his glorious past.

"I have no idea what this divine beast is going to look like, but it mustn't be allowed to come to this world. Or else, the world will surely plunge back into chaos." Han Tian was worried about the appearance of this egg. He did not know what it would augur. Probably it was a warning to the humans that the beasts were rising soon.

The three of them walked past slowly. This strange thing had left the humans with an indelible trauma. So they could not have been too careful.

Little Tian's eyes were glowing like a pair of moons. It was anticipatory. But knowing the importance of the thing, it did not get too impatient.

Arh-woooo!

The wolf pack was howling behind them as if they were angry, or gloating. When they glanced at the white egg, there was only fear and reverence in their eyes. They then dispersed, devoured the bodies of their own kind, and cleaned up the battle scene.

Demonic wolves were highly reproductive. Such a casualty was nothing for them. Their number would grow back to what it was in two years.

They were a type of extremely vicious beast. They fed on the bodies of their peers to strengthen themselves.

The entire valley returned to normal. The land became even quieter than before. It seemed there was no imminent danger, but the three of them were very careful with every step they took, cold sweat trickling down their forehead. They felt an invisible mountain crushing on them as they came closer. Their breathing and their steps were heavy.

"Damn it! I hate this kind of atmosphere." Han Tian's face flushed. A golden glow surrounded him, but he could not drive away that oppressive feeling. He was getting upset.

The two Divine Herbs swayed in the wind, their translucent glow told of their incredible spirituality, their scent refreshing and soothing.

"It is totally worth the trouble. Little Thing, you get the egg while Wutian and I will pluck the Divine herbs. After consuming them, we are going to achieve a new height in your cultivation." Han Tian's eye lit up as he drooled.

"This place looks strange. Since the naturally born divine beast is so important, it will not be alone. There probably are some vicious beasts guarding it."　

The three got closer and closer. About a hundred feet from the white egg, they felt the pressure become even more unbearable as if a big hand was pressing down on them. Their bodies felt heavy and clumsy and blood Qi surging inside their bodies.

Boom!

Before his voice trailed off, the ground below the white egg suddenly burst open. Violent winds blew and debris flew around. A massive creature was born, and the air was filled with heinous energy.

Their expressions changed, and they stumbled backward. This kind of energy was making them quake in their boots. They could not help but stumbled backward for a hundred feet before they finally halted the momentum and stood firm.

When Han Tian looked up, he got the shock of his life.

"Fire Scorpion!"

It was a giant scorpion, capable of growing to about thirty feet long, body red as fire. An unusual heatwave was permeating the air.

It was extremely vicious with flames dancing on its body. It had ten sharp claws on its belly, arranged side-by-side in two rows. The claws were two-meter-long and glinting in bloody light in the moonlight.

Its narrow tail was twenty feet long with a black light shimmering on the tip, extremely terrifying. There was also a corrosive smell drifting in the air. It was the vapor from its poison, which could eat into flesh and bone, turning them into liquid.

"It is a remnant from the ancient time guarding this place for generations. This thing is nasty." Han Tian frowned big time as he knew how terrifying the poisonous scorpion was.

"I have probably figured out what is inside the white egg. It could be an ancient scorpion undergoing metamorphosis here," said Wutian.

He learned from the parchment that all living things had to undergo reincarnation. But some rare living beings could transcend, getting rid of their old bodies and transforming into a new one as naturally born divine beings.

"No wonder Little Thing is drooling like nobody's business."

Roar!

The Fire Scorpion's roar filled the air. Its sound wave that could penetrate metal and rock expanded like waves of the ocean, causing the earth to sink.

It had been guarding this place for nearly a hundred years. It was vicious and would turn this land into hell on earth if there was an intruder. No one had ever dared to encroach into this place.

It had been a few years since the last round of killing. It missed the taste of fresh blood and meat. Its eyes looked like a pair of lanterns, the red glow of which formed into clouds and covered the sky.

A blood moon was hanging in the sky, shining down its blood-red glow to the earth, turning the land in the hell of an asura, dark and murky.

They were shocked as blood was oozing out of their ears. The sound wave was terrible and unstoppable. If this kept going like this, it was going to break their eardrums.

They quickly tore a piece of their clothes and plucked their ears. They then lunged out as they had to stop the sound wave. Otherwise, they would end up dead.

Han Tian stepped out and lunged up in the air like a golden dragon. The golden glow on his body was dazzling. A wind formed under his feet and turned into two minor storms.

A long and slender claw came down like the fang of a giant beast. It seemed so sharp that it could cut through anything under heaven. Han Tian failed in his move and was struck down. He crashed to the ground and spurted a mouthful of blood.

Wutian's heart missed a beat. This Fire Scorpion was too nasty. Back then, when Han Tian battled it for several hundred rounds under the possession of Sikong Lie's warring soul. But now, he could not even withstand one round.

"Little Tian!" Wutian shouted.

The two had been sticking together through thick and thin, walking through the valley of death and fighting countless battles. They might not be able to read each other's minds, but at least they had some deep tacit understanding.

Wutian lunged forward as quick as lightning. At the same time, a long and slender claw came down from above, blasting the ground open with rocks and soil flying in all directions. But he had no fear as he charged forward.

Little Tian acted. A black light burst out of its body, turning the place into a pitch-dark space. It then lunged up in the air, breaking through the dark mist, and sank its teeth into the claw.

The Fire Scorpion roared in pain amid a series of crackling sounds. The terrific teeth of Little Tian had bitten through the claw, snapping it from the middle. The broken claw fell to the ground with a loud impact thud.

There was a hint of distressfulness in the scorpion's eyes when it recognized what Little Tian was. The Gobbler might be tiny, but it had incredible strength and extremely sharp teeth. Even a vicious beast like the Fire Scorpion would have to think twice if it wanted to take the risk.

The scorpion roared as if it was questioning Little Tian why it was helping the humans.

Little Tian cawed in reply, pointing at the white egg and gesturing something. The Fire Scorpion instantly became furious, striking down with his claw, igniting the surrounding air. It wanted to kill this tiny beast that was trying to eat the naturally-born divine being.

Little Tian dodged the attack, and the claw hit the ground. The ground shook as a ten-square-foot chunk of the earth was cut and flung into the mountain in the distance, creating a hole in the cliff.

Little Tian's movement was quick. In just a few leaps, it came in front of another claw and sank its teeth into it. Its mouth might be small, not even one-tenth the diameter of the claw, but it was no way less efficient. In just the blink of an eye, the claw snapped and fell.

A tail swung to attack Little Tian. The tip of the tail glinted and stank of corrosive smell. A drop of black fluid from the tip was eating into the ground, leaving behind a corroded pit. Little Tian did not take it head-on. It was agile like a cheetah and leaped beneath the belly of the scorpion, dodging another attack.

This series of attacks happened in just a split of a second.

With Little Tian keeping the Fire Scorpion busy, Wutian lunged up in front of it, then lunged up in the air. Wutian did not exude that kind of striking aura, but he had a kind of will-crushing energy.

The Fire Scorpion roared and its sound wave drowned the air. Wutian was bleeding through his ears, his head ringing. He was on the verge of blacking out. Instead of treating, he thrust his fist and powerful energy shot out of his fist.

This punch was so powerful that it broke a few fangs of the Fire Scorpion and sent blood spurting out of its mouth.

Roar!

The Fire Scorpion was furious. It struck its two claws down. The claws were as sharp as knives and burning with fire. They hit the ground, and the earth cracked as far as the cliff at the far end.

Wutian dodged one of the claws, but not the other. He was struck directly in his chest, the wound of which was through-and-through with blood spurting out uncontrollably.

Seeing what happened, Little Tian cawed furiously. It faded into a streak of black lightning as it charged at the claw, biting and snapping it in the middle. Wutian was freed, and with no hesitation, he frantically bounced back.

Little Tian hesitated for a while before it held up the three broken claws, shot the Fire Scorpion a provocative look, and walked away. It was incredible that Little Tian was not even injured a bit.

The Fire Scorpion was a remnant of the ancient species. After so many generations, its bloodline was no longer pure. Without being at the peak of its cultivation, the Fire Scorpion could do nothing about Little Tian.