There were many sharp spikes attached to it!
That was the cause of its injuries!
This attack had cost Li Yunjing three "Earth Spike Talismans." The giant serpent’s massive body had taken the full brunt without wasting any of the talismans’ power.
With a loud bang, the ground seemed to tremble slightly. In an instant, countless birds in the forest took off in fright.
The serpent’s body also fell back to the ground.
Although this creature was somewhat intelligent and immensely powerful, it had never truly attained the Dao and thus could not fly.
The serpent went berserk, its blood had already pooled into a small puddle underneath it.
The beast keenly sensed danger and instinctively wanted to escape, to distance itself from this terrifying human.
"Beast! Do you think you can come and go as you please?"
Li Yunjing sneered, his silhouette flickered. He was much faster than the serpent and engaged it once more.
The serpent went on a rampage, constantly attacking. Its massive body smashed through the forest, breaking trees and causing devastation everywhere.
But as time passed and dawn approached, the serpent’s strength waned, and its movements grew slower. Finally, it collapsed to the ground, motionless.
"Good riddance! I never thought it would take so long to kill one serpent!"
Once he was sure the serpent was thoroughly dead, Li Yunjing stepped forward and used the "Cold Star Sword" to carefully carve out the serpent’s scales.
He had already witnessed the formidable nature of the serpent’s "Copper Tendons and Iron Bones" during the battle.
The scales provided the strongest defense.
These scales were top-grade materials needed for crafting high-grade and even top-grade magical artifacts.
Li Yunjing wouldn’t squander such a valuable creature.
It was a massive undertaking; he had underestimated the difficulty of dismembering the serpent.
It took him three full days just to collect a thousand scales into his storage bag.
As for the serpent’s tendons, meat, blood, gallbladder, eyes, teeth, and poison sac, Li Yunjing didn’t leave any of it behind. After looking at the clean-picked bones, he gritted his teeth and took away some of the hardest parts.
This creature was simply too big.
If it weren’t for the four storage bags from Senior Brother Han and the others, he wouldn’t have been able to collect everything.
Now, only two and a half days remained until the task’s deadline.
Li Yunjing had to quicken his pace and continue his journey.
"Red Sun Valley" was a hot, desertified valley.
The entire valley had no greenery, not even water sources. The cultivators in the valley had to fetch drinking water from nearby rivers.
As for any spirit plants, it was naturally impossible for them to grow in such an environment.
So, the "Shenxiao Dao Sect" needed to transport grains and spirit plants to the "Red Sun Valley" at regular intervals to supply the sect’s stationed cultivators.
Why did such a barren valley attract "Shenxiao Dao Sect’s" attention and require stationed personnel?
Because the "Red Sun Valley" contained a multifaceted ore vein.
Besides producing spirit stones, the vein also yielded refined iron, red copper, primordial yang stones, red flame soil, and other valuable resources.
These resources were excellent materials for refining magical artifacts and even had the potential to yield rare materials for crafting spiritual artifacts and magical treasures.
Precisely because of this medium-sized, comprehensive ore vein, the "Shenxiao Dao Sect" had dispatched a team to guard and mine it.
Of course, such a mine was insignificant to "Shenxiao Dao Sect".
The sect wasn’t just a dominant power in the Great Ming Dynasty but was also an overlord throughout the Southern Heaven Continent.
It controlled numerous spirit veins, and in several enormous ore veins, the sect’s Nascent Soul ancestors personally oversaw operations—those were the true treasure troves.
The "Red Sun Valley" was quite lower-tier in comparison, supposedly maintained by a few stewards at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Not even a single Golden Core Realm elder had come.
Its low importance explained why outer disciples were assigned to transport supplies; not even one sect’s flying ship or vessel was dispatched.
The remaining 500-mile journey was not deserted.
Upon leaving the mountainous region, Li Yunjing saw numerous small villages along the way.
Seeing the wisps of smoke curling up, Li Yunjing showed an expression of appreciation. A month ago, he was still an ordinary mortal. Who would have thought that in just over a month, he would feel so distant from these commoners?
Without disturbing the villagers, Li Yunjing continued on his way, head down.
This time, Li Yunjing did not slack off, making all haste to travel, finally reaching a crimson valley on the morning of the sixth day.
The valley looked like the mouth of a gourd, narrow at the front and wide within. The entrance was very serene and silent.
"Is anyone here? I am a servant disciple of the ’Shenxiao Dao Sect,’ Li Yunjing, delivering supplies under the sect’s orders."
Standing outside the valley, Li Yunjing did not rush in. This place was unlike the sect, where things were relaxed.
Such a critical location must have tight security, and unauthorized entry was surely forbidden.
Li Yunjing certainly didn’t believe there was no one guarding here.
The "Shenxiao Dao Sect’s" disciples weren’t some disorganized rabble.
Li Yunjing’s shout echoed through the valley, resonating and spreading far.
Such a loud voice was bound to be heard, so Li Yunjing stood at the entrance, waiting for someone inside to respond.
"A servant disciple? How could a servant disciple come here?"
In an instant, several puzzled voices sounded, and Li Yunjing felt seven or eight gazes studying him from the shadows.
These were obviously the personnel on duty guarding the entrance.
They seemed very curious as to how a servant disciple had come here. Their gazes, unmistakably inquisitive, scanned him several times before retracting.
By this time, two outer disciples in blue Daoist robes had appeared at the entrance.
"Your identity token!"
One of the outer disciples demanded coldly.
"Senior Brother, here is my identity token!"
Li Yunjing did not hesitate and immediately handed over his servant disciple token.
After a thorough inspection, the outer disciple’s expression softened significantly.
He looked at Li Yunjing and asked, "You’re the only one? Since when can a servant disciple take on supply delivery tasks?"
"Sigh! Of course, it wasn’t just me. But along the way, we encountered danger, and four senior brothers perished. In the critical moment, they entrusted ten ’Hundred Treasures Pouches’ to me, emphasizing repeatedly that I must deliver the supplies."
Li Yunjing sighed mournfully, his eyes misting as if tears were about to fall.