Orochi! This is the Orochi!

He had never seen the true face of the Orochi before, nor had he heard a description of it from Demi Immortal Qilian or the others. Even so, looking at the eight-headed monster before him, Hua Xiaotian was certain this was the creature that had once plunged Huaxia into chaos.

"O-O-Orochi! Master Qin, is... is that the Orochi?" Hua Xiaotian stammered, his face a mask of horror as he reflexively took a step back.

"If by the great deity Orochi, they meant this beast, then yes, it is," Qin Fan replied calmly.

ROAR!!!

As if on cue, the Orochi suddenly shook its eight heads. It glanced sideways at Qin Fan and Hua Xiaotian, then began to drag its colossal body, changing direction with a dry, rustling sound.

"Master Qin, what’s it doing? It’s not attacking us?" Hua Xiaotian asked, utterly astonished to see it turn away. The Orochi isn’t attacking people? How is that possible?

"After sleeping for so long, it’s hungry," Qin Fan said with an amused chuckle.

Just as he predicted, the Orochi moved. After crawling a few dozen centimeters, it suddenly opened its cavernous maw. A grotesque, long tongue darted out and began rapidly licking up the gory paste of red and white matter on the ground!

GACK!

A wave of nausea washed over Hua Xiaotian at the sight. It’s eating human brains! And it’s savoring every last bit! Even someone like Hua Xiaotian, who had witnessed countless harrowing scenes, found it difficult to control his physical revulsion.

HISS! HISS! HISS!

In the blink of an eye, the Orochi’s grotesque tongue swept across the ground, licking the gory paste clean.

GULP.

Still seeming unsatisfied, the Orochi made a low, rumbling sound. The next moment, its cavernous mouth opened wide again. This time, instead of using its tongue, it lunged forward and bit down on the dead Onmyoji on the ground. There was no sound of chewing; it swallowed them whole. One by one, like a morbid magic trick, it stuffed the corpses from the ground into its belly, right before Qin Fan and Hua Xiaotian’s eyes.

URP!

After feasting on more than forty Divine Level Onmyoji, the Orochi suddenly became incredibly animated. It was a stark contrast to its previous drowsy, starved state. Even the ferocious gleam in its eight pairs of eyes grew more terrifying.

"Master Qin, why... why aren’t we killing it?" Hua Xiaotian asked, trembling as he retreated behind Qin Fan.

To think that even a master of the Gang Realm could be this terrified was a testament to how horrifying the Orochi truly was. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, if Master Demi Immortal Qilian hadn’t told me about it, I would never have believed such a monster could exist in this world!

"No rush. Let’s observe it first. Besides, if we fight it here at the base of Mount Fuji, I’m afraid you won’t be able to get away. It would even be a little troublesome for me," Qin Fan said, his expression grave.

Having consumed over forty Divine Level Onmyoji, the Orochi’s aura was now clearly much stronger than before, which was something of a surprise to Qin Fan. It seems the Demon Beasts of this mortal world share some similarities with those on the Cangqiong Continent after all.

"Then what should we do?" Hua Xiaotian asked immediately.

"We leave. Now. We’ll move the battlefield outside. You are not to get close to it. Observe only from a great distance. Make sure you stay far enough away that you can escape at a moment’s notice!"

Under his Eyes of Golden Flame, Qin Fan could clearly see that this Orochi possessed a Seventh Rank Crystal Core. No wonder Demi Immortal Qilian was so cautious and worried. If this thing is allowed to develop further, I’m afraid I’ll be one of the very few people in this world capable of handling it—if not the only one!

Hearing the rare, solemn gravity in Qin Fan’s voice, Hua Xiaotian’s panic flared anew. A monster that even Master Qin doesn’t dare to underestimate... just how dangerous is this thing?!

"There are still a few left. It probably won’t attack us until it finishes eating those old devils. Let’s go!" Qin Fan whispered, glancing at the Orochi as it slowly crawled toward the bodies of Matsubara Santai and his men.

With that said, he grabbed Hua Xiaotian and shot upward in a single leap, back toward the Heavenly Pit he had punched open on their way down.

SNAP!

Just as Qin Fan’s feet left the ground, the Orochi’s jaws snapped up the bodies of Matsubara Santai and the others.

SNAP!

Still feeling unsated, the Orochi rolled its eight pairs of eyes. Finally, its gaze settled on the opening through which the two humans had disappeared.

ROAR!

The next moment, it let out a furious roar. Its massive tail shot into the air and slammed down hard onto the ground.

RUMBLE!

The entire underground compound established by the Onmyoji at the foot of Mount Fuji began to shake with a world-shattering roar. It was as if it had been struck by a massive earthquake. Earth and stone began to crumble and collapse from all sides.

Meanwhile, the Orochi ignored the debris raining down on its body. Its massive, serpentine form shot upward, charging straight for the opening. The opening was merely three meters in diameter, clearly too small for its colossal frame. But the Orochi’s head, with its eight necks, thrust upward like an unstoppable bulldozer, unbelievably forcing its way through. A shower of dirt and debris flew everywhere as, in just a few moments, it forcibly widened the three-meter hole by several more meters.

ROAR!

As it burst free from the ground, the Orochi faced the moon, now mostly veiled by dark clouds, and let out another earth-shaking roar. With this roar, heaven and earth trembled, the mountain shook, and rocks tumbled down.

After more than seventy years of dormancy, the Orochi, which had once made the entire world tremble in fear, had just announced its return. At the foot of Mount Fuji, under the moonlight, a monster more terrifying than any from a fantasy novel was reborn.

Several hundred meters away, atop a small peak, Hua Xiaotian stood behind Qin Fan, who had his hands clasped behind his back. Witnessing the powerful scene of the Orochi bursting forth from the earth, he asked, "Master Qin, is there anything I need to do?"

"Didn’t I already tell you? There’s nothing for you to do," Qin Fan said sternly. "Fighting this beast would be pure suicide. Just stay put and watch."

Before Hua Xiaotian could even reply, Qin Fan’s figure shot forward. He moved like a phantom among the winding peaks. As if teleporting, he crossed the hundreds of meters separating them in just a few breaths, appearing at the Orochi’s side.

Without a word, his grim face radiating an icy chill, he summoned the Evil Spirit Zen Staff mid-flight and brought it crashing down on one of the Orochi’s heads!

SMASH!!!

The blow, empowered by the True Qi of his Mixed Element Golden Pill, didn’t shatter the beast’s head as it had the heads of the Divine Level Onmyoji. Still, a foul, nauseating blood oozed from the wound. The gash was a ghastly color, and the stench was overpowering.