Even hybrid monsters have their day

The cave was still the same cave, but the entrance was gone, along with the entire wall that had connected to it. In its place stood a dark, centipede-like creature, covered in black scales that shimmered in the sunlight streaming in from outside. Its long body, composed of countless segments, had a pair of pigeon-toed legs on each segment. This thing was enormous; standing there, it almost completely blocked the exit.

Unlike a centipede, this creature had a large pincer on its head. The pincer snapped open and closed, making a "click-click" sound. Above the pincer were a pair of enormous tentacles. The front half of its long body stood upright, and on either side of the pincer, a pair of dark eyes stared straight at her, their contents gleaming with a dark blue light.

The thing didn't attack her immediately, but merely stared at her, seemingly deep in thought. A powerful aura surrounded it, a faint black mist mixed with a dense demonic energy.

"This thing... could it be the thousand-year-old sand crawler demon that Peng Yuxian mentioned?" Its appearance is very similar to the description given by Dashan. Geng Miaowan pulled back to increase the distance between herself and it, while saying to Xiaobai in her mind, "Didn't it run away? How did it end up in the Green Mountain Sect?"

“I think it’s pretty much that sand crawler demon. I don’t know how it got to the top of Haiyu Peak, but I do know that it…” Xiaobai gave her a resentful look, “Perhaps it was attracted by the demonic energy and evil energy released from your body.”

"What!" Geng Miaowan exclaimed, almost jumping up. "I'm releasing demonic and monster energy from my body! What's going on?"

"Don't ask what happened yet. The most important thing right now is to escape, right?"

The bed wasn't big to begin with, and Geng Miaowan had to take two steps back before her back was pressed against the mountain wall. Her eyes were fixed on the sand crawling insect demon, afraid that it would suddenly lunge forward and snap her in two, while she pondered what to do.

This sand-crawling demon looked incredibly powerful. I was only at the Qi Refining stage; I was nothing compared to it. The exit was blocked again. If I wanted to get out, I'd have to go around it, which was no easy feat.

Just then, the sand crawler demon lowered its head, bringing it closer to her face, stopping less than ten centimeters away. It tossed its head back and forth a few times, and a deep voice sounded, "Why did you smell of him just now, but not anymore?"

"Huh?" Geng Miaowan, who hadn't dared to move an inch, was startled by its sudden sound. She then remembered that it was a sand crawler demon that had cultivated for a thousand years, so it was normal for it to speak human language. She tilted her head to the side and said, "Um, maybe you smelled it wrong..."

"Impossible! I clearly smelled it just now!" Its voice suddenly became agitated, and its body twisted wildly, its glossy black scales rubbing together with a 'squeak' sound. But it sniffed back and forth several more times, yet it couldn't smell anything.

Enraged, the creature turned its head and roared, "Damn it, who are you?!"

In the distance, the sound of bells rang out, each one short and urgent, a warning sound from the Green Mountain Sect in case of an emergency.

On the three peaks of Haiyu Peak, disciples of the Green Mountain Sect had gathered in front of each hall. The alarm bells inside the gates had not sounded for many years. They looked around blankly, not knowing what was happening. How could these ordinary disciples sense the strange changes occurring at the top of the main peak?

The leaders of several peaks within the sect were all at least at the Nascent Soul stage. Sensing the unusual aura emanating from the main peak, they all headed towards the Green Pine Hall. Upon entering the boundary of the main peak, they were immediately met with an aura unlike any they had ever encountered in the Green Mountain Sect. They desperately wanted to find Sect Leader Song Gan to inquire what had happened, but they searched everywhere without success.

At that moment, Song Gan's voice came from the air, "There's something strange happening at the summit. I'll go ahead first."

Everyone looked up and saw the golden-feathered crane carrying Song Gan towards the summit. The group exchanged glances, then took out their magical treasures and followed.

As for Geng Miaowan, she noticed that the sand crawler demon's emotions seemed rather unstable, if its behavior could be called emotions. It seemed very confused, as if it couldn't understand the situation; yet it also seemed extremely angry, as if it might rush up and bite her at any moment.

She said to Xiaobai in her mind, "While the monster's attention is on me, you should quickly sneak out."

"Little girl, don't underestimate me! I, Huangfu Aoxuan, am not the kind of person who would desert in the face of battle!" After saying that, Xiaobai jumped onto the bed, stood next to Geng Miaowan, and stared at the sand crawler demon. She looked quite imposing.

"Are you crazy? You haven't recovered yet, are you rushing to your death?" Geng Miaowan angrily kicked its rear end.

"Hehehe, little guy, are you rushing up here to die?" The sand crawler demon laughed contemptuously when it saw the little white creature jump out.

Little White spread its four legs, its fur standing on end, assuming a fighting stance. "You're getting ahead of yourself. When I was out in the game, you were still nowhere to be seen. It's still uncertain who's going to die." At the same time, it said in Geng Miaowan's mind, "I'll hold it off for a bit. You run when you see an opportunity."

"How can I leave you here to die?" Geng Miaowan was immediately moved when she heard this. She thought that she had only known Xiaobai for a little over a month, yet it was willing to protect her with its life.

“I’ll be in big trouble if you die,” Xiaobai said. “You run out first. It’s not hard for me to escape on my own.”

Okay, Geng Miaowan decided to take back her praise of it.

After hearing Xiaobai's words, the sand crawler demon indeed shifted most of its attention to Xiaobai. "I didn't expect it to only have some cultivation. I'd like to see who lives and who dies!"

"Of course I'll live, and you'll die," Little White said, barking arrogantly.

"Then let me crush you, you little reptile, first before dealing with that little girl!" The sand reptile demon was immediately enraged. It arched its body and its large pincers reached out to clamp down on Little White.

"You're the reptile, aren't you?" Little White said, nimbly dodging its attack while simultaneously casting a spell on it. The spell traced a beautiful arc through the air as it flew towards the sand reptile demon, disappearing the instant it touched its scales.

"Hahaha..." The sand crawler demon laughed wildly, "How much ability did I think you had to dare to talk such big words? Turns out you're just a little brat who hasn't even fully learned any magic yet."

It immediately abandoned all restraints, stood up, curled its tail, and aimed all its strength at Little White.