<h4>Chapter 49: Escape from the Serpent''s Belly</h4>


    Tian Sha made arrangements and, with his junior brothers, shed swiftly towards the direction of Qiu Long in the distance.


    Seeing Tian Sha leaving Yun Qian behind, Bei Qingsi frowned but didn''t say anything. Yun Qian awkwardly flew back to the mountain peak.


    "Zhongshan is not dead! Quickly, save Zhongshan!" Tian Ling''er shouted, tears streaming down her face as she struggled against Bei Qingsi''s restraint, as if she wanted to break free and rush down to find Zhongshan.


    "Ling''er, Zhongshan is beyond saving," Yun Qian immediately said to Tian Ling''er.


    "I don''t believe it! Zhongshan will be fine!" Tian Ling''er shouted.


    However, Bei Qingsi shook her head and sighed deeply. Her heart was in turmoil. She wished Zhongshan dead, hoping it would bury the past, yet she also hoped for him to miraculously survive. His death would relieve her of her worries about their past, but for some reason, she wished for him to escape, feeling conflicted inside.


    "No, Zhongshan is not dead, he can''t be dead," Tian Ling''er continued to insist.


    Indeed, Zhongshan was not dead, just as Tian Ling''er said. At this moment, Zhongshan was indeed alive. If the Great Red Snake had attacked him directly, he might have died, but instead, it swallowed him whole.


    As soon as he entered the belly of the Great Red Snake, Zhongshan felt darkness surrounding him. His body slid through a slippery passage beforeing to a stop in a fleshy chamber.


    But this flesh was only soft enough to allow passage; in the blink of an eye, it turned as hard as diamond, relentlessly contracting and contorting, as if to crush himpletely. Moreover, there was arge amount of corrosive liquid that irritated his skin, causing Zhongshan sudden pain.


    It was the stomach, the stomach of the Great Red Snake.


    Zhongshan immediately identified the ce. Facing life and death, he wanted to retaliate quickly, but the massive muscles of the stomach rendered him immobile.


    Heavenly Demon Body Tempering Technique!


    Quickly employing the Heavenly Demon Body Tempering Technique, Zhongshan''s nearly crushed bones quickly braced themselves, but the pressure from the stomach muscles was still too much, and Zhongshan struggled in agony.


    Crimson Phoenix Mist!


    Arge amount of Crimson Phoenix Mist surged out in all directions, rushing into the body of the Great Red Snake.


    No, the corrosive power of the stomach acid was too strong.


    What to do?


    Contain!


    Zhongshan quickly controlled his storage bracelet, rapidly absorbing everything from the stomach, regardless of what it was. Whether it was stomach acid or other residue, he didn''t care, as long as he could escape.


    Arge amount of stomach acid was quickly absorbed into the storage bracelet. Even Zhongshan felt something like a small wooden box being sucked into the bracelet. Did the snake eat everything, even wood?


    Strange thoughts shed through his mind, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the excruciating pain from the squeezing muscles of the snake''s stomach. Even with the Heavenly Demon Body Tempering Technique, Zhongshan felt like his whole body was being crushed.


    Crimson Phoenix Mist, arge amount of it, surged towards the Great Red Snake. The snake, underground, suddenly turned its eyes red, writhing ufortably, and struggling frantically. Its whole body became restless.


    Although it had been affected by the world''s greatest aphrodisiac, the Great Red Snake''s stomach strength remained unabated, still squeezing Zhongshan relentlessly.


    All the stomach acid had been stored in the storage bracelet, but the squeezing force continued to increase. Zhongshan widened his eyes, red veins popping out, and gritted his teeth. He exerted all his strength because he knew that at this moment, any rxation would immediately result in him being crushed into pulp, and that would mean certain death.


    Under the immense pressure, Zhongshan was nearing his limit. It felt like with just a little more force, he would copse entirely.


    Veins bulged all over Zhongshan''s body as he clenched his teeth, driven by an intense desire to survive, struggling fiercely.


    "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"


    With a mighty roar, Zhongshan''s body suddenly expanded again, and he felt his strength surge once more.


    Heavenly Demon Body Tempering Technique, second stage.


    Triple the strength, triple the power. Finally, in this most critical moment, Zhongshan broke through. As a notorious figure, he quickly revealed his ferocious side. His arm shook fiercely, and Nightmare, the greatsword, was instantly grasped in his hand. He ruthlessly shed at the stomach of the Great Red Snake.


    The Great Red Snake was already affected by the Crimson Phoenix Mist, and its entire body was in chaos. It writhed madly underground, its path no longer clear, just wildly thrashing about. At the moment when it was suddenly cut in the stomach, the Great Red Snake suddenly surged upwards in pain.


    "Boom~~~~~~~~~~"


    In its confusion, the Great Red Snake burst out of the ground, sending arge tree flying from its roots.


    "Bang~~~~~~~~~~"


    The snakended in a forest, its body writhing wildly, its tail swinging rapidly, destroying arge number of trees and vegetation in the forest. The forest became chaotic in an instant.


    "Annihte!~~~~~~~~~~"


    With one final roar, under the tripled force, Zhongshan swung his sword fiercely at the abdomen of the Great Red Snake. With immense strength, he split open the snake''s stomach, and with all his might, he brought out arge amount of fiery red aura, cleaving through the snake''s abdomen.


    "Swoosh~~~~~~~~~~"


    With a loud noise, the sword split open the snake''s belly, and strong light instantly flooded in from the outside.


    The stomach ruptured, and the muscles of the stomach seemed to lose strength in an instant, bing soft.


    Zhongshan quickly squeezed out of the abdomen, apanied by arge amount of snake blood flowing out.


    A gaping hole appeared in the belly of the Great Red Snake, and arge amount of content flowed out. At this moment, the Great Red Snake seemed to suddenly awaken, turning its head to look at its belly, intense disbelief shing in its eyes. Dead, am I dead?


    The snake''s body continued to writhe, as if making a final struggle, but struggling was futile. The more it struggled, the weaker it became, and its vitality dwindled.


    "Zhongshan~~~~~~~~~~"


    A sudden shout from Tian Ling''er came from a distant mountain peak.


    Originally, Bei Qingsi and Yun Qian had given up, because a thirty-meter-long snake''s strength was close to that of the Golden Core stage, while Zhongshan had only joined the Kaiyang Sect for a little over a year. Even if he wasn''t corroded by the stomach acid, being crushed to death by the stomach muscles was certain. Moreover, now they couldn''t even see the snake, let alone its body. It was unclear where to find it. But Tian Ling''er''s continuous calling made Bei Qingsi feel helpless.


    After everyone had left, when Tian Ling''er suddenly shouted, from a distant valley, a forest, a huge red snake suddenly burst out from underground. The snake smashed arge tree, writhing in agony in the forest, clearly in pain.


    A red snake writhing in pain? Moreover, this big red snake was exactly the same as the one that had swallowed Zhongshan before.


    Seeing the big red snake, Tian Ling''er''s eyes burst with strong excitement, while Bei Qingsi and Yun Qian showed surprise.


    Then, the two of them saw an even more surprising sight. A half-de suddenly appeared from the belly of the big red snake. With a single sh, a huge gash was made in its belly.


    No, the de emerged from the belly, and in an instant, a body rolled out from inside.


    Bei Qingsi and Yun Qian seemed to realize something, taking Tian Ling''er with them as they quickly flew towards the struggling giant snake.


    Seeing Zhongshan survive, Tian Ling''er eximed in joy. Her previous sorrowful tears were quickly reced by tears of excitement. She flew to the valley, quickly jumped off Bei Qingsi''s longsword, and rushed towards Zhongshan.


    As for Yun Qian, he drew his longsword and began to attack the severely wounded snake.


    Tian Ling''er pounced into Zhongshan''s arms.


    "You big viin, you scared me to death!" Tian Ling''er cried out, then suddenly a happy smile appeared on her face.


    Just after breaking through to the second stage of the Heavenly Demon Body Tempering Technique, Zhongshan felt somewhat ufortable, his whole body aching as he watched Tian Ling''er crying andughing in his arms intermittently. Zhongshan gently said, "I''m dirty."


    Indeed, Zhongshan''s entire body was covered in the snake''s blood and a strong stench, but Tian Ling''er held onto him, showing no sign of disgust whatsoever.


    "Take him to the side, don''t let the snake hurt him again," Bei Qingsi said.


    Upon hearing Bei Qingsi''s words, Tian Ling''er hesitated for a moment. Yes, Zhongshan was injured and couldn''t be hurt by the snake again. She picked up Zhongshan and rushed towards a safer area.


    Watching Tian Ling''er like this, Zhongshan smiled faintly. For some reason, the cold heart that had been dormant for many years suddenly felt warm.


    Bei Qingsi followed behind, watching Tian Ling''er holding Zhongshan with immense joy. For some reason, Bei Qingsi suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.


    Dealing with the severely injured snake, Yun Qian alone was enough. Sure enough, as Zhongshan was brought to a safe ce, Yun Qianpletely killed the Great Red Snake.