Chapter 1383: Chapter 1368: Escape
Now the water flows sideways, which also means they are currently in a river.
Song Xiaodong’s perception ability never ceased, constantly sensing the surroundings. In the beginning, it wasn’t a straight downward motion but rather winding, traveling through an unknown depth of tunnels.
There were numerous times when their bodies almost crashed into the tunnel walls, which were lined with sharp stones. The force pulling them was so great that if they hit the walls, even if they didn’t die, they’d be gravely injured.
Even if such collisions couldn’t severely injure them, it definitely required them to be constantly on guard, consuming an immense amount of True Qi—it’s imaginable. They wouldn’t be able to last this long, and drowning was inevitable.
But by using his perception ability, Song Xiaodong was always prepared in advance. So, although at times collisions were unavoidable, Song Xiaodong managed to push away, avoiding injuries.
Qingluan didn’t know just how many times they almost died on this journey.
Extending his perception ability, he detected that the riverbed was three to four meters deep, but above them, there was an area void of water, indicating there was air in the tunnel.
“Splash!”
Song Xiaodong and Qingluan burst through the water’s surface, and Song Xiaodong hastily gulped in large breaths of air, as having oxygen at that moment was even more crucial for him.
Qingluan, unlike Song Xiaodong, wasn’t fully prepared; being suddenly lifted out of the water caught her off guard, but instinctively, she too took deep breaths.
Song Xiaodong tossed both hands, catching Qingluan by surprise and hurling her out.
“You get ashore first, I’ll handle this guy.” Song Xiaodong shouted meanwhile.
Qingluan lacked perception ability, yet it wasn’t as dark as expected; the tunnel walls emitted a faint blue glow, allowing her to see the surroundings clearly.
Although told to get ashore, there wasn’t flat ground on either side, so she clung directly to the tunnel’s stones, hanging there.
From that vantage point, she watched below. By the dim light, Qingluan saw the situation in the river.
This made her involuntarily gasp.
In the river, there was a giant serpent, so massive it sent shivers down her spine. Its body was at least one meter thick, and as for its length, it was impossible to see. Its enormous head, seemingly human-sized, had a gaping mouth that clamped onto Song Xiaodong’s left leg, like a person holding a chicken leg in their mouth.
It seemed to Qingluan that Song Xiaodong’s leg could be bitten off at any moment.
But Qingluan was overthinking it a bit. Even the largest snakes swallow their prey whole; the bite of that gaping mouth, though not weak, was meant solely to grasp, preventing prey from escaping.
At this moment, the giant serpent’s body started to undulate swiftly, wrapping quickly towards the head, intending to constrict Song Xiaodong to death before swallowing him.
This left Qingluan feeling that it was overkill, as the serpent’s body was exceedingly thick, making Song Xiaodong appear minute by comparison.
Still, for the snake, no matter the prey’s size, it always aspires to constrict it to death before eating.
The serpent’s body was like a mountain of flesh; even just pressing against Song Xiaodong would be enough to crush him to death.
Such a terrifying creature shattered Qingluan’s understanding. Wasn’t this kind of thing supposed to only exist in animations or fantasy novels? How could it now appear right before her eyes?
Humans always believe that living on Earth means they know a lot about it, but the truth is, they probably understand less than a tenth of the planet.
Apart from some barely inhabited places on the surface, the ocean depths and the Earth’s crust are areas humanity cannot reach, teeming with mysterious chambers whose contents remain unknown.
Yet, this was all theoretical knowledge. Given the dire situation, Qingluan was utterly at a loss, instinctively shouting: “Don’t let it coil around you, I’ll come down to help you.”
Song Xiaodong darkened his face, aware of the risk, but his leg was caught in the serpent’s mouth with a force too immense for him to break free.
“No need!” Song Xiaodong shouted, moving his body to reach into the serpent’s mouth.
“What are you doing?” Qingluan was startled; was he really going to sacrifice himself to the snake?
Song Xiaodong ignored Qingluan, swiftly standing up, holding something in his hand – a blood-red strip of cloth.
The strip had two prongs at its front, constantly stretching and contracting. It wasn’t a cloth at all but the serpent’s tongue.
“Hey!” Song Xiaodong shouted fiercely, his arm muscles bulging, veins popping, using all his strength to pull, trying to tear the serpent’s tongue apart.
Given Song Xiaodong’s current strength, the force used in this pull was unimaginable; even ox tendons would likely snap under it.
Yet, the serpent’s tongue was incredibly resilient. Although stretched by the pull, it didn’t break.