The Nine-Headed Hydra
It's important to note that magical beasts generally have much stronger physical resilience than humans, including various innate abilities that surpass those of humans. Typically, a first-order magical beast can easily maintain an undefeated status against a human fighter with Yuanqi. Consequently, a fourth-order magical beast, when encountering a King-class fighter, can still pose a significant challenge. Additionally, many magical beasts possess innate skills that humans simply cannot counter, which become increasingly powerful as the beasts advance in level. Generally, magical beasts below the third order are somewhat manageable, but facing one of the fourth order or above, the common choice for most people under any circumstances is to avoid confrontation. By this level, regardless of the type, magical beasts have developed a certain degree of intelligence. Although they only gain the ability to speak human languages at the fifth order, the cunning and danger presented by a fourth-order magical beast are in no way inferior to those of human fighters. For a King-class fighter, defeating a fourth-order magical beast is very difficult... extremely difficult... and even a slight misstep can lead to immediate downfall. After all, the innate abilities of magical beasts, along with their terrifying physical resilience, are not something just anyone can achieve. The creature they now faced was a fourth-order magical beast... With their current strength, although they were not necessarily afraid, they must not forget that outside, there are still two Emperors and seven Kings who could rush in at any moment...
"A fourth-order magical beast, a fourth-order magical beast... Sister Gong, with your extensive knowledge, do you know what kind of magical beast this is?" Li Yi asked in a low voice. Gong Wushuang furrowed her brow and replied, "I didn't see clearly, but I feel like it's some kind of serpent... However, to my knowledge, there isn't any serpent-like magical beast like this..." She hadn't finished speaking when another harsh roaring sound came, and then they saw that triangular head lunge at them again! This time, there was a faint sheen on the head, emitting a strange light... Li Yi shouted, "No, dodge quickly..." The two figures swiftly retreated, but the massive head followed, only to be fiercely repelled by a surge of Gong Wushuang's fighting aura.
"Clang—" A clear sound rang out, Gong Wushuang's strike landing as if on metal, but it seemed to awaken something in the cave. Suddenly, the dark cave lit up, a dim blue light cascading down from the ceiling, just enough for them to clearly see the fourth-order magical beast that had appeared... Its body was like a massive pillar, covered in thick scales that gleamed with a blue sheen under the light from above, making it look even more eerie. At this moment, the two finally confirmed that the creature in front of them was indeed a serpent-like magical beast, and a fourth-order one at that... Li Yi looked up, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth, "It's so big... Damn... And what about these lights? Another seal?"
Gong Wushuang shook her head, "No, it seems the ceiling was originally inlaid with moonlight stones, but this place has been unvisited for many years and covered in dust. Our fight just now must have shaken off the dust covering them... Alright, let's not think about this now and figure out how to deal with this guy." Li Yi bitterly smiled, "How to deal with it? Even if I elevate my power again in this place, or use a technique of Baihu's level, I might not kill it but end up burying ourselves... Unless..."
He hadn't finished speaking when they saw the giant serpent, previously hidden in darkness, now fully exposed in their view. Its lower body was coiled up, blocking the stone door behind it, while its upper body rose high, with over a dozen pairs of eyes seemingly glowing, eerily watching them. Wait... wait a minute... Over a dozen eyes!? Li Yi's mouth twitched as he followed the snake's body upwards, seeing a bifurcation in its upper part leading to a massive snake head. Although he hadn't counted precisely, Li Yi was sure that there were definitely more than ten heads! "Damn it! What on earth is this? Don't tell me you don't know what kind of odd-shaped creature this is?"
Gong Wushuang's voice suddenly turned bitter, "I think I know what this is... I've always heard that deep within the Naga Mountains, there's a magical beast known as the Nine-Headed Hydra. The higher its strength, the more heads it has... And each head possesses a unique innate ability... It's said that even at the fourth order, a Nine-Headed Hydra is more difficult to deal with than a fifth-order common magical beast... Simply because each of its heads is equivalent to an ordinary magical beast, but when grouped together, it's like facing a bunch of King-class fighters at once."
Li Yi snorted, "Nine-Headed Hydra? I bet it has more than just nine heads..." Before he could finish, one of the heads lunged at them, its huge mouth opening and closing, even stirring up gusts of wind! Li Yi didn't even think of defending; he just swiftly dodged to the side!
"With a loud 'boom,' the spot where they had been standing was now blasted into a large crater. Li Yi, having barely dodged, hadn't yet steadied himself when he suddenly felt a gust of wind from his left. Without time to think, he leapt upwards, his spear thrusting fiercely. 'Ting'—Li Yi's spear accurately hit the snake's head, but the huge recoil slightly shook his figure, causing him to roll awkwardly on the ground before struggling to stand up. Looking to the other side, Li Yi saw Gong Wushuang also being forced to retreat. Although the distance between them wasn't far, under the watchful eyes of the dozen snake heads, reuniting seemed impossible. In an instant, they were separated. If it were said that the Nine-Headed Hydra only had the instincts of a wild beast, Li Yi would never believe it.
'What now!?' Li Yi frowned. Gong Wushuang sighed, 'It seems we can't get past without dealing with this thing... But although I've heard of the Nine-Headed Hydra, I don't know how to deal with it...' Before she could finish, two or three snake heads ferociously lunged at her. Gong Wushuang grunted, a frost shield materializing in front of her, blocking the strikes, but even these few hits pushed her further back. Li Yi watched in alarm; a mere bump from those snake heads was probably equivalent to a full-strength blow from a King-class fighter. Not just Gong Wushuang, even if Balin and Haixin were here, they probably wouldn't fare much better! Knowing hesitation wasn't an option, Li Yi thought quickly, 'Old Coot, does this thing have any weaknesses?'
'I can't know everything; I've never encountered this thing before,' replied The Serpent Venerable swiftly, 'But it's not as strong as you think. If I'm not mistaken, cutting off each of its heads should weaken it... But...' Before he could finish, Li Yi charged towards the Nine-Headed Hydra, his spear chopping towards the base of one of its heads... But just then, the Hydra's many heads suddenly retracted and looked towards Li Yi. Its massive body twisted, the heads rising high and letting out a deafening roar. One of the larger heads seemed to sneer, opening its mouth wide and spewing a fiery red flame towards Li Yi...
'But, if someone targets its heads, the heads will come together to counter that person...' 'Boom'—A massive flame, like a solidified fighting aura, surged towards Li Yi. With his current strength, contact would spell his doom. At that moment, he forcefully twisted to the left, dodging by a hair's breadth before crashing to the ground, singed and scorched.
'Dammit, Old Coot! Why didn't you explain clearly!' Li Yi cursed inwardly. Had he not reacted quickly, he would have been charred! 'Whose fault is this? I hadn't finished speaking! You better be careful; the attack won't end just like that.' As soon as these words were uttered, the fire-spewing snake head retracted, but another head launched a wind blade, followed by the third with an ice blade, the fourth with purple lightning, the fifth with a milky white beam... Various skills bombarded Li Yi simultaneously, making him feel like he was being mobbed by a group of King-class fighters. His figure flickered rapidly, dodging in a phantasmagoric manner, but under such an onslaught, the effect was minimal...
Another flame rushed towards him, leaving no room for escape. Gritting his teeth, Li Yi raised his spear. His fighting aura burst forth, forming a black light shield in front of him. The flame struck the shield, scattering sparks in all directions. Although Li Yi managed to block this attack, the blow from the fourth-order magical beast still shattered his spear with a 'clang,' and he was flung back against the wall, spitting out blood. The many snake heads, sensing Li Yi's weakness, lunged down fiercely in the next instant. But just then, a surge of fighting aura from the left slammed into the snake head. The head shuddered violently from the hit and retracted, its many eyes eerily fixed on Li Yi's direction.
Gong Wushuang swiftly flashed over, standing in front of Li Yi. She took a few deep breaths, evidently also struggling, but her complexion regained some color. She spoke softly, 'This Nine-Headed Hydra probably isn't guarding this place but stumbled upon it by chance... If I'm right, we might have a seven or eight out of ten chance to get inside that door.' Li Yi rubbed his shoulder, slowly getting up, still warily watching the eerie Hydra. He asked lightly, 'What do you suggest?'
Gong Wushuang whispered, 'I noticed that no matter how the Hydra attacks, it dares not approach within three meters of that stone door. There must be something there that restrains it... We can't keep this up; we might as well try to get close to the stone door. The situation might change then!'"