# Chapter 342: Giant Lizard vs. Centipede
Not until the torrent of mud slammed him into the riverbed did Mo Fan truly understand — their "perfect" plan had been undone by nothing more than inexperience.
This experience was, to put it plainly, no more pleasant than being struck all over again by the shockwave from a Commander-class creature's stomp. If a layer of mud and water hadn't already pooled at the bottom, being swept down like that would have shattered him to pieces.
Caught in the roaring, churning mudflow, Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou fought desperately to hold their breath.
Their senses were nearly blasted apart, yet neither dared lose consciousness — heaven only knew where the flood of mud might carry them.
"Cough — cough — cough — cough —"
On the bank of the underground river, Mo Fan dragged the half-dead Zhang Xiaohou onto the rocky shore. They were encrusted in so many layers of mud that they barely resembled human beings.
He kept coughing, trying to force every last bit from his nose and throat. It felt absolutely awful.
Ah Li Man found them quickly. When she saw Zhang Xiaohou lying unconscious beside Mo Fan, she didn't spare a moment's thought — she planted her foot hard into his stomach.
**Pfffft —** Zhang Xiaohou spat out a small column of mud and snapped fully awake.
"Water Control!" Ah Li Man called up her Water Element magic with practiced ease, conjuring countless tiny water droplets that transformed into soft ribbons of water-silk. Under her direction, they glided across the two mud-encrusted figures...
The water-blue Water Control ribbons threaded into Mo Fan's and Zhang Xiaohou's noses and throats, giving them a thorough internal cleanse.
Ah Li Man cast the skill several times in succession before she'd managed to get the two of them looking remotely human again. She gazed at the two battered young men and couldn't help muttering: "Haven't seen anyone push themselves this hard in a long time."
In her view, the two of them had genuinely thrown themselves into the fire. Most people went pale at the mere mention of a Commander — they'd run as far as their legs could carry them, let alone deliberately provoke one.
These two had each baited one. And, almost unbelievably, they'd actually gotten away.
"Brother Fan, next time I'll do the tunneling," Zhang Xiaohou said weakly, finally alive enough to speak.
"You want there to be a next time?" Mo Fan was in no better shape.
Zhang Xiaohou shook his head so fast it was practically a blur.
If he didn't desperately need a Commander-class Remnant Soul, Mo Fan would sooner die than go looking for trouble with a Commander.
**Boom — boom —**
**Boom!! Boom!!**
Tremors kept rumbling from above, as if the thin rock ceiling might give way at any moment.
The two colossal beasts had begun tearing each other apart — those relentless reverberations were proof enough.
"Should we head up?" Zhang Xiaohou asked after they'd rested a while.
"Commander-class monsters don't die easily. They won't settle it without pounding each other to the brink of collapse... Actually — Ah Li Man, you mentioned earlier that there's an Earth Element Spirit Seed here?" Mo Fan asked.
"Yes, it should be in that spot. Unfortunately, we didn't bring any collection tools. Once I break through the rock layer, the Spirit Seed's spiritual aura will start draining quickly." Ah Li Man sounded genuinely regretful.
This Earth Element Spirit Seed was clearly top-grade. Even Ah Li Man's high-tier magic had barely managed to crack through the rock layer — no wonder so many Hunter-mages had made their way here. Getting their hands on one would fetch a serious price.
"Monkey, isn't Earth Element your minor affinity? What are you spacing out for — waiting for the aura to drain completely dry?!" Mo Fan gave Zhang Xiaohou a kick.
"For *me*??" Zhang Xiaohou pointed at himself, disbelief etched across his face.
"Neither Ah Li Man nor I cultivate Earth Element, so who else would it go to? Get moving. Once you've absorbed the Earth Element Spirit Seed, we'll head up and collect the bodies of those two idiots." Mo Fan said.
The misery plastered across Zhang Xiaohou's face vanished without a trace. He bounced off eagerly, following Ah Li Man's directions to go absorb the Spirit Seed.
Wave upon wave of mud surged forward, each one fiercer than the last.
On the western flank of the valley, hordes of Lizard-Skull Giant Demons scrambled up the mountainside one by one, watching the churning black explosions of mud at the lake's center from afar — there was nothing they could do but back away as far as possible.
Being within hundreds of meters of a Commander-class battle was a death sentence. A truly safe distance was at least a kilometer or two.
The Lizard-Skull Giant Demons drooped their heads and kept climbing, looking for all the world like a mass of refugees fleeing a rising flood.
At the center of the lake, patches of solid ground were swallowed one by one, and shockwaves radiated outward in every direction. The two colossal Commander-class creatures had nursed a long-standing grudge in this valley for years. Now, seeing each other gravely wounded, each decided the moment had finally come to claim sole dominion over the western valley — and they stopped caring entirely whether the two humans lived or died. They threw themselves at each other without the slightest restraint.
The Marsh Poison Centipede had dwelt in this valley for sixty or seventy years. Before the Lizard-Skull Giant Demons overran Dongting Lake, it had been the undisputed ruler of the entire region. But over the past decade or two, lizards had spread everywhere — and worse, an Armored-Shell Giant Lizard had seized its home outright, forcing the Marsh Poison Centipede to huddle in a small marsh lake at the far end of the valley.
Their animosity ran bone-deep. Now that they were fighting, neither held anything back. Both understood perfectly that this valley offered an unrivaled fusion of Earth Element and Water Element nourishment — Water Element and Earth Element Spirit Seeds were born here at least once every five or six years. Neither the Marsh Poison Centipede nor the Armored-Shell Giant Lizard could find a more perfect home and cultivation ground anywhere near Dongting Lake.
This valley could only have one Commander.
The Marsh Poison Centipede — driven from its own home and crammed into a miserable corner like a squatter in someone else's house — could endure it no longer. With the Armored-Shell Giant Lizard critically wounded, now was the time to finish it off for good.
Water-violet venom poured rapidly from the Marsh Poison Centipede's pores, saturating the vast expanse of muddy water and seeping into the air itself...
Venom was the Marsh Poison Centipede's supreme weapon. Commander-class creatures a full tier above it in strength would still end up as its meal if that toxin ever found them.
"ROOAAR —!!"
The moment the Armored-Shell Giant Lizard saw the poison spreading, something shifted in its eyes — its ferocity faltered.
Its strength surpassed the Marsh Poison Centipede's by a clear margin. That mountain-like body was no mere decoration, and the armor plating across its back could perfectly deflect the Centipede's razor-edged pincers. The only reason it had never fully driven the Centipede away or destroyed it came down to one thing: the poison.
Knowing how lethal that venom was, the Armored-Shell Giant Lizard drew back, choosing to bide its time.
But the Marsh Poison Centipede seemed to have gone berserk. Its hundred-meter-long body launched forward in a flash, massive jaws clamping directly onto the Armored-Shell Giant Lizard's face, and tore away a chunk of flesh clean from its cheek.
The Armored-Shell Giant Lizard flew into a complete rage. It reared onto its hind legs, both forelimbs seizing two of the Centipede's legs on either side, and wrenched them apart with savage force!!
**Crack!! Crack!!**
Two front legs were ripped clean off. Fluids erupted from the stumps in torrents, gushing like burst pipes...
The Marsh Poison Centipede let out a shriek — and then deliberately sprayed the erupting fluid straight onto the Armored-Shell Giant Lizard's body.
That fluid carried the same deadly toxin.
The Marsh Poison Centipede paid no mind to its severed legs — it still had twelve — and committed fully to this desperate gambit, intent on bringing the Armored-Shell Giant Lizard down through sheer poisoning.