Chen Zhou felt something was off when he heard the voice, so he immediately turned around to look behind him. What he saw shocked him.

A huge snake head appeared in front of Chen Zhou, blinking as it looked at him.

At this moment, Chen Zhou was no more than five meters away from the snake's head. Because the snake was huge, Chen Zhou looked very small in front of it. Chen Zhou roughly estimated that the snake was ten times as thick as him.

"What is this thing..." Chen Zhou muttered involuntarily, genuinely frightened by the enormous creature before him.

Chen Zhou stood there blankly, staring at the enormous thing, completely forgetting what he had just been about to do.

I had clearly scanned the cave with my true energy before entering to make sure there were no living creatures there, but I never expected such a huge snake to rush out at this moment.

“This is a spirit beast,” Elder Ren said without changing his expression.

Chen Zhou knew this was a spirit beast, of course. Now that the giant snake was right in front of him, Chen Zhou could clearly feel the immense true energy within it. The snake's strength was probably no less than that of the gray lion.

"Roar..." The giant snake roared to the sky, its eyes filled with anger. This outsider had disturbed its rest.

"Run!" Elder Ren said without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhou turned and started running. Only while running did he realize that he had left his Healing Spirit Array scroll inside the cave!

There's no escape now; Chen Zhou must go back and retrieve the scroll.

However, if Chen Zhou chooses to go back, he will inevitably clash with the giant snake, which is exactly what Chen Zhou wants most right now, as it would not only delay him but also potentially cause him to get injured.

Chen Zhou really just wanted to be a carefree, laid-back person, so why did he have to suffer so many misfortunes?

I clearly scanned the cave with my true energy and found nothing inside, so why did a giant snake suddenly appear?

"This giant snake has the ability to conceal its presence, so it's normal that you can't detect it with your strength," Elder Ren replied, having overheard Chen Zhou's thoughts.

Chen Zhou chose to return immediately. He hadn't gone far, so he turned back and quickly reached the cave entrance again. Strangely, the giant snake didn't chase after him. When Chen Zhou reappeared at the cave entrance, it was slowly turning its head. Suddenly, it stopped and turned its head to look at Chen Zhou who had returned.

The great god was covered in thick blue scales, and his eyes were cold, but now they were filled with more anger.

The snake didn't hold it against the young man for offending him the first time and let him go. But the young man actually came back. Was he here to die?

Chen Zhou took out the Heavy Edge Sword from his storage ring. It had been a long time since he had taken out the Heavy Edge Sword. He channeled his true energy into the Heavy Edge Sword, and the connection between the Heavy Edge Sword and Chen Zhou grew stronger and stronger. Without saying a word, Chen Zhou rushed forward.

From afar, Chen Zhou saw the Healing Spirit Array lying quietly on the ground at the cave entrance. His goal was simply to retrieve it and then make his escape.

This belongs to Chen Zhou, and Chen Zhou doesn't like the feeling of having his things taken away from him.

Moreover, it was a giant python that knew nothing.

The giant snake opened its mouth and slowly exhaled a breath of purple true energy, its target being Chen Zhou.

This purple true energy first tightly enveloped itself to form a ball of true energy, and the next second, when the python spat it out, it had completely turned deep purple.

Upon seeing this color, Chen Zhou knew that this attack must be poisonous.

"Form and Intent Cloud Sword," Chen Zhou said softly, already wielding his heavy-bladed sword to meet the attack. Chen Zhou's figure shifted rapidly, and even the giant python couldn't pinpoint his exact location for a moment.

The purple energy ball eventually focused on a fleeting image of Chen Zhou before landing on the ground. Chen Zhou clearly saw that the energy ball began to corrode the ground upon impact.

This shows just how potent the purple energy ball spewed by the python was. Chen Zhou was still shaken and hesitated to approach the python. He didn't know what tricks it had up its sleeve, so he certainly didn't dare to advance rashly.

The Xingyi Cloud Sword technique can temporarily confuse the giant python, and Chen Zhou is also rapidly approaching the python. The current situation seems to be in Chen Zhou's favor.

But at that moment, the python's eyes slowly turned blood red. Chen Zhou felt a burst of bright light emerge from the snake's eyes. He immediately closed his eyes. Chen Zhou was still using the Xingyi Cloud Sword, but at this moment, he realized that he could not move.

Chen Zhou barely opened his eyes to look around, only to find that he had turned into a stone man.

Only Chen Zhou's eyes were not encased in stone; his entire body was completely covered in stone.

Petrochemical?

Chen Zhou never expected that this giant python would have the ability to petrify, and he didn't even have time to dodge.

Chen Zhou was petrified. The python did not hesitate. The next second, a huge snake tail slammed towards Chen Zhou, covered with sharp purple true energy.

"Bang!"

The snake's tail slammed heavily onto Chen Zhou, shattering the stones on his body. Chen Zhou was sent flying, barely managing to stabilize himself in mid-air with his inner energy, but he still couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

Just as Chen Zhou was preparing to continue his counterattack, he unexpectedly discovered that his clothes and even his entire chest had turned purple; Chen Zhou had been poisoned.

Chen Zhou recalled the snake tail carrying purple true energy from earlier and immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.

This giant python's true energy carries a deadly poison!

Chen Zhou stood there excited, but the more excited he became, the more difficult it became for him to move. Chen Zhou thought the python was going to launch another attack, but to his surprise, the python turned its head and disappeared into the cave.

Chen Zhou collapsed to the ground in agony.

"This giant snake thought it had victory in its grasp! That's why it crawled into the cave. It seems there's something in this cave that it values ​​highly. Spirit beasts are indeed intelligent; it was afraid you were using a diversionary tactic," Elder Ren analyzed from the side.

Chen Zhou thought that Ren Lao's analysis was very reasonable, but the problem now was that even if he didn't have another attack, he was still doomed! He didn't have the antidote to decipher it, and his true energy had no effect on the poison.

Just as Chen Zhou was in pain, the root of the poisonous tree in his dantian came into contact with the flowing poison, and Chen Zhou immediately felt much better.

The roots of the poisonous tree are absorbing that deadly poison!

"The root of this poisonous tree also has the effect of detoxification?" Chen Zhou said in surprise. He was poisoned quickly, and the detoxification was also quick. In just a few minutes, Chen Zhou's chest had returned to its original skin color.

Not only was Chen Zhou's poison cured, but he also discovered that his true energy had increased significantly out of nowhere.