"Ookook! Ookookook!" The mother ape raised its head and gave a mournful cry.
The leaves of the tree rustled.
Several of the fleeing apes had returned, and when they saw the Titanoboa's state, their eyes gleamed with a savage light. Pounding on their chests, they roared and began to slam the Titanoboa with their muscular arms.
"Hissss!!!"
The pain-stricken boa's writhing body fell from the tree.
Thump!
Its massive body striking the ground caused a tremor.
Ye Xi was caught off guard by the Titanoboa's fall and fell with it, and his entire body exploded with pain signals.
Fortunately, Ye Xi was on top of the Titanoboa when it hit the ground. If it had been the other way around, he would have probably been crushed to death by the Titanoboa's heavy body.
The Titanoboa swung its thick tail, trying to throw Ye Xi off, but at this moment, the apes mercilessly continued their assault, jumping from the tree and slamming their fists into the Titanoboa.
The Titanoboa rolled its body, avoiding these numerous attacks. It opened its mouth and swung its tail to fight back, but after suffering that fatal wound, it was no longer as powerful or as agile.
Seeing this, the apes pursed their lips and whistled into the jungle.
A little while later, several more apes emerged from the thick jungle, swinging on vines.
Seeing that several apes were fighting the Titanoboa, their courage returned, and they began to lunge at the Titanoboa. The more cowardly ones stayed in the back and picked up large rocks to throw at the boa.
Even though the Titanoboa was many times stronger than these apes, its heart had been stabbed, and the pummeling of so many fists had badly worn it out.
The Titanoboa began to think about retreat.
"Ookook! Ookook!"
More and more apes ran back.
The Titanoboa saw that the situation was getting bad and moved its body toward the jungle.
The apes continued their merciless pursuit, and one ape picked up a large rock and flung it at the boa.
This rock struck near the boa's eyes, and blood began to flow out of the wound. The boa was enraged, and when it saw that more rocks were coming, it savagely swung its thick tail.
This rage-infused blow blasted a stone to pieces.
But the giant boa had only managed to destroy one stone. Several stones struck its head, breaking through the scales and exposing flesh. Several of the bolder apes rushed up to the boa's body, punching with their fists and tearing with their teeth.
Being injured by all of these puny things that it normally paid little regard to caused the Titanoboa to raise its head and angrily roar. Its large eyes filled with blood, turning even more red and terrifying, and it crazily shook its body, successfully shaking off the apes.
The boa's head lashed out like a bolt of lightning, its crimson maw closing over an ape. The top and bottom halves of its mouth came together, instantly dividing the ape at its waist and causing blood and organs to drip to the ground.
With the apes temporarily pushed back, the situation fell into a momentary standstill.
When the boa was fiercely shaking its body, Ye Xi had been swung around it with it, and his body was occasionally suspended in the air. He needed to focus all his strength into holding on in order to not be flung off, and the nearby tree branches lashed his body like whips, leaving a host of bloody scars.
And when the giant boa was biting an ape in half, Ye Xi suddenly felt as if the triangular bayonet had loosened.
Several drops of the ape's blood splashed on his face, but Ye Xi didn't care. He focused all his attention on the bayonet. Now that he focused, he could tell that it really had gotten loose!
As the giant boa raised its head to coldly stare at the apes, Ye Xi planted his feet on the snake's body, stood himself on the snake's head, and viciously stabbed the bayonet deeper inside!
"Hiss!" Intense pain caused the giant boa's cry to shift octaves, and its body stiffened as it began to roll around on the ground.
The apes came back to life, their bloodlust provoked. Rather than using stones, they used their fists and teeth to fight to the death.
The intense pain from its heart made the boa give up on any thought of defense. Ignoring the apes and the one human hanging from its body, it fled into the distance.
With bloodlust in their eyes, the apes doggedly pursued.
The boa slithered along the ground even more quickly.
The apes still hanging from the boa were all thrown off, but Ye Xi was deathly afraid that if he was thrown off, the boa would turn around and attack him to avenge the fatal injury that had been inflicted on it. Thus, he refused to let go of the bayonet.
The winds howled past his ears as Ye Xi maintained his death grip on the bayonet, his body being tossed around here and there.
Intentionally or not, the boa was traveling through shrubs, the branches and thorns sweeping across Ye Xi's body. Gradually, his body became covered in blood. Ye Xi lowered his head to prevent the branches from slashing at his eyes.
The triangular bayonet was a weapon designed to cause bleeding, and as the boa constantly moved its body, more and more blood gushed out of the wound.
But the Titanoboa had no intention of stopping, slithering forward as if its life depended on it.
After slithering for some time, the boa finally began to slow down. The cries of the apes that had been thrown off could be faintly heard in the distance.
"Hisss!" The boa cried out as it picked up speed again, trying to throw off the apes, but its heavy injuries made this impossible. The cries of the apes drew closer and closer.
A cave suddenly appeared up ahead, and with a swing of its tail, the boa entered.
"Ookook!" The apes jumped down from their trees, only a few steps from entering the cave.
The boa swung its tail, moving over a giant stone by the entrance with the intent of blocking the cave.
This massive stone was the size of a small house, and it would have taken it some strength to move it even when the boa was in perfect shape, let alone when it was injured.
The ape running the fastest was on the verge of entering the cave. The Titanoboa panicked when it saw that its tail was no good and decided to use its powerful head to push the stone instead.
With a great rumble, the massive stone finally moved over the cave entrance, blocking out the apes. But the snake's great effort caused the wound on its heart to break open, and even more blood flowed.
Ye Xi's entire face was splashed with snake blood.
With the wound widening, the triangular bayonet fell loose, and Ye Xi dropped from the boa's body.
Ye Xi trembled and barely managed to roll to the side, attempting evasive maneuvers. But the boa completely ignored him and slowly crawled deeper into the cave.
The boa was moving extremely slowly now, and its crimson eyes had grown dim from the excessive blood loss.
Ye Xi saw the massive stone blocking the cave and knew that he would be unable to move it on his own.
Ye Xi picked up the fallen triangular bayonet, and his resolve hardened as he followed the boa.
The Titanoboa continued to profusely bleed as it crawled forward.
Ye Xi followed far behind it, thinking that once the boa lost enough blood, he would give it the final blow. Otherwise, if the boa somehow managed to recover, he would be doomed.
Looking around, Ye Xi discovered that he was in a stalactite cave. The ceiling was very high up, and stalactites that had been building up for tens of thousands of years drooped down.
The cave stunk heavily of snake, and he saw the occasional shed snake skin on the ground.
This place was probably the snake's nest.
Suddenly, amid the thick scents of snake and blood, Ye Xi caught a whiff of a strange fragrance.
Ye Xi mustered his courage and took a few steps forward. Deep in the cave, he saw a small white pool. In the center of this pool was a silver-blue flower, half-bloomed and faintly swaying.
This is… Ye Xi's flew open.
This flower's petals looked like they had been made of glass or crystal, and silver wisps of fog mystically circled around them.
It was said that miracle flowers and bizarre grasses grew in this world. They were blessed by nature, and possessed mystical effects. They were difficult to find, and even when found, they were guarded by fierce beasts or strange insects.
Could this be… When he thought of what it was, Ye Xi's eyes began to blaze.
The boa was arduously crawling toward the white pool.
It couldn't last much longer.
Ye Xi saw that the boa was getting slower and slower on the final approach. When the boa was just three meters from the pool, Ye Xi clenched his bayonet.
This miracle flower… was worth fighting for! He could not let the boa eat it!
Just when Ye Xi was about to rush at the boa, the boa suddenly went stiff and stopped moving.
Ye Xi's body tensed, but as he gripped the bayonet and waited, the boa still did not move.
Ye Xi tiptoed forward, keeping his distance as he crept toward the boa's head.
The Titanoboa's crimson eyes were still open, but they were devoid of light.
Ye Xi did not dare to be careless, lunging forward and giving a stab to its brain.
The boa remained motionless.
No reaction even after being stabbed… It seemed that it was really dead.
Only now did Ye Xi completely relax, and as all the tension drained out of him, he plopped onto the ground.
Fighting with the boa and then being dragged around by it had consumed all of Ye Xi's strength. With nothing left to threaten him, his body was instantly overcome by a flood of pain.
There was not a single untouched piece of skin on his body.
Ye Xi bitterly smiled.
It was fine… he was still alive.
Ye Xi looked at the white pool.
A drop of milky water flowed down the stalactite. Drop! It created a ripple across the surface.
Only now did Ye Xi realize that there were many stalactites suspended above the pool, hidden in the darkness.
Was the milky water in the pool created like this, drop by drop? Ye Xi was amazed.
Suppressing his pain, Ye Xi slowly crawled toward the pool.
This milky water seemed very unusual as well.
Ye Xi cupped up some with his hands and drank it.
It was very viscous as it flowed down his throat, and it had a unique fragrance. Without even realizing it, Ye Xi took several more mouthfuls.
The miracle flower was in the middle of the pool, and Ye Xi strode into the pool to reach it.
The pool of milky water appeared deep, but it was actually quite shallow, only reaching his ankles.
Ye Xi's body was covered in wounds, but when they touched the milky water, his skin became incredibly itchy. If not for his tough will, Ye Xi would have already started scratching.
Ye Xi mentally frowned. It seemed that he couldn't stay in this pool for long.
Walking to the center of the pool, Ye Xi plucked the miracle flower together with its stem.
The miracle flower rested in Ye Xi's palm, its silver-blue petals wreathed in silver mist, its green stem like a piece of jade.
Alas, this miracle flower had only been half-bloomed when it was picked. It would assuredly have been gorgeous once fully bloomed.
Ye Xi stuffed the flower and its stem into his mouth. After swallowing it, Ye Xi restrained the impulse to scratch at all the skin below his knees and began to make his way out.
Boom!
But to his surprise, the moment the miracle flower reached his stomach, what seemed like a massive fire ignited within.
Intense dizziness overcame Ye Xi, and he collapsed, unconscious, into the pool.