Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Venomous Crocodile

At this moment, Li Sibai activated his Violet Divine Eyes, scanning his surroundings. Instantly, everything became clear to him. He found himself at the edge of a swamp, where there were few plants—just some patches of weeds. During the entire day, Li Sibai hadn’t spotted a single spirit beast.

Could his luck really be this terrible?

Li Sibai silently lamented his misfortune. It was rare for his strength to increase enough to qualify for the first round of the selection trials this year, yet now he had run into such a bizarre predicament. He blamed himself for not doing his homework in advance, mistakenly wandering into this Doomsday Marsh. After finally coming up with a possible solution, he couldn’t find even one spirit beast, let alone a B-rank one. Sweat beaded on his forehead from anxiety. By now, it was already past noon, and the sun was tilting westward.

Li Sibai decided to stop wandering. He found a slightly drier patch of ground, sat down cross-legged, held the Xuantie Sword in his right hand for protection, withdrew the true energy from his eyes, and, after his vision returned to normal, closed his eyes tightly. He began to circulate the Xuantian Art within him, adjusting his breath and contemplating his next move.

This approach yielded results. The anxiety he had just felt was gradually soothed by the gentle flow of the Xuantian Art’s inner strength, and his mood grew calm. He knew that panicking here would do him no good; he could lose his chance at the trial or even his life at any moment. Only by calming himself could he hope to find a solution.

Li Sibai carefully recalled all the information he had about Doomsday Marsh, but this place was so perilous that few had ever ventured here. The already scarce information that could have reached his ears was even more limited.

He turned things over in his mind, but made no progress. Suddenly, with his eyes tightly shut, Li Sibai seemed to hear a bubbling sound, as if something was swimming toward him.

With his eyes closed, his hearing and smell were now even keener. Though he could not see, he was acutely aware that something was approaching. Judging by the pressure of the wind, it was no small creature. Li Sibai’s heart leapt with joy.

He hoped it was a low-grade Profound-level beast—then he would be fully confident in completing his task. If it were a mid-grade Profound beast, he still had a sixty or seventy percent chance of victory. But if it was a high-grade Profound or even stronger, he would be in danger. Though he had a senior brother or sister secretly protecting him from the shadows, accomplishing the mission himself would then be nearly impossible.

Thinking this, Li Sibai, who had just been flush with excitement, forced himself to calm down once more. He silently prayed, hoping fate would grant him what he wished for.

The creature drew nearer and nearer. Li Sibai kept his eyes closed. In this swamp shrouded with mist, his ears and nose served him better than sight. Besides, activating the Violet Divine Eyes would consume his own true energy, so he resolved to wait—let it come closer and see if he could startle it.

Time seemed to freeze. All around was silence; not a sound could be heard. The creature seemed to sense that Li Sibai was aware of its presence and slowly halted, as if confirming its judgment and preparing to deliver a fatal strike to claim this seemingly delicious, yet hardly attainable prey.

Both remained motionless, searching for any flaw in their adversary, neither willing to make the first move.

Li Sibai was growing impatient. He was running out of time; the effects of the Silverhorn Pill he had taken earlier were fading fast. There was no chance to take another—doing so would expose a weakness, inviting a ferocious attack from his foe.

He cursed inwardly. The Silverhorn Pill was about to lose its effect. Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind signaled that his opponent had lost patience.

With no time to think, Li Sibai swiftly produced an Xuantie Jade-Pure Pill and another Silverhorn Pill, swallowed them both, and circulated his Xuantian Art. As true energy surged into his eyes, he activated the Violet Divine Eyes mode, seeing everything before him with perfect clarity!

But what he saw chilled him to the bone—a ferocious venomous crocodile, jaws agape, lunging at him with the clear intent of swallowing him whole.

Without hesitation, Li Sibai channeled a surge of true energy into his eyes. The Violet Divine Eyes shot out energy directly at the crocodile's own eyes. The beast froze for an instant, and Li Sibai seized the moment to roll aside, narrowly dodging its powerful strike.

He exhaled deeply, studying the crocodile carefully. It was over two meters long, its thick tail alone a full meter, its entire body a sinister purplish-red—undoubtedly due to the toxins of the surrounding environment. Having just crawled from the mire, its body was still caked in mud, and its round eyes now fixed on Li Sibai, intent on not letting its prey escape.

Li Sibai forced a bitter smile—his luck today was truly “exceptional.”

According to the Chronicles of Strange Creatures, this venomous crocodile was exceedingly rare, dwelling in these marshes. Their purplish-red hides indicated the presence of potent toxins, capable of paralyzing foes. They were the true overlords of the swamp, their rank determined by the length of their bodies and tails.

Li Sibai had studied this passage carefully and remembered vividly the revulsion he felt at the sight of these creatures. The one before him was at least two meters long with a meter-long tail—by his reckoning, at least a high-tier B-rank. A flock of a thousand sheep could not express the turmoil in his heart at that moment…

But whatever must be faced, must be faced. Though it was a high-grade Profound beast, it was still within the realm of Profound beasts. In his current predicament, his only chance at survival was to grit his teeth and bring it down. If he let it escape, the mission would be lost for sure.

Resolute, Li Sibai withdrew the power from his Violet Divine Eyes and channeled even more true energy into the Xuantie Sword in his grasp. Golden light flared from the blade, and the surrounding mist seemed to thin. He drew a Xuantian Jade-Pure Pill from his brocade pouch and popped it into his mouth—this pill would boost his recovery for the next ten minutes, a perfect aid against such a formidable foe.

Once everything was ready, Li Sibai did not rush to attack. Instead, he grinned at the venomous crocodile and said,

“Afraid I’ll run, are you? Well, I’m afraid you’ll run too. Let’s see what you’re really made of. Are you ready to take my strike?!”

As he spoke, the Xuantie Sword in his hand burst forth with golden brilliance, and he unleashed a set of Xuantian Sword Techniques upon the crocodile.