Chapter Thirty-Five: The Giant Scorpion King

When he awoke, it was already daylight. Iceflame found himself no longer atop the tree trunk, and even his surroundings had changed completely. Gone were the towering, lush trees, and the knee-high weeds and brambles; instead, he was surrounded by yellow sand, stretching as far as the eye could see—an endless expanse of desert. He was lying flat atop a sandy dune.

"Where is this..." Iceflame’s eyes widened in disbelief as he surveyed his surroundings, now returned to his male form. After a moment, he calmed himself. "Since it’s called the Trial Forest, there must be something unusual about it. Grandpa Mo told me the forest is divided into five regions, each representing a different element. The previous one must have been the wood region, and this must be earth. But is this even a forest? It’s clearly a limitless desert!"

Indeed, as Iceflame observed, there was nothing but sand, confirming the earth attribute, yet calling it a forest seemed a stretch. Perhaps "Trial Forest" was merely a broad designation.

He decided to walk. No matter where he went, everything felt the same—wandering within was like being a headless fly, utterly directionless. But Iceflame was not one to wait passively for fate; though waiting for opportunity might succeed, the odds were slim. He thought it best to wander, perhaps he’d discover something.

Time flowed like water. Iceflame wiped sweat from his brow; he’d been trudging through the desert for half a day. He cursed inwardly, "What a wretched place. A trial? More like torment!"

Suddenly, he stopped, listening intently.

A faint, indistinct rustling reached his ears. As he puzzled over it, the dune beneath his feet shifted, and a hundred meters ahead, the sand began to sink, forming a funnel that spread outward.

Iceflame hurriedly retreated to avoid being swallowed by the sinking grains.

Soon, the sand ceased its descent, and before him appeared a massive inverted funnel, several kilometers in diameter. Iceflame was shaken—such a scene had emerged in mere minutes. As he gaped, a patch of black dots surfaced at the funnel’s center, expanding outward as their numbers grew.

Iceflame looked closely and broke out in a cold sweat—it was not just a few black dots, but countless black-shelled scorpions! Each one was the size of three or four people, crawling from the funnel’s center in a dense swarm. A terrifying sight; even the bravest would falter before such a host.

Iceflame wasted no time. As several black scorpions emerged from the pit before him, he raised his blue sword and struck at them. He had no intention of being surrounded; their venomous stingers were no trifling matter.

Though their shells were hard, these mutated scorpions were, after all, mere creatures—not enough to withstand the blade of his blue sword. With a few crisp cracks, scorpions lost legs or heads, dispatched with ease. The situation seemed promising for Iceflame. Yet, even heroes falter before overwhelming odds. As time passed, scorpions fell in droves, and Iceflame’s only thought was to cut, slash, and stab, ending their lives swiftly. But exhaustion crept in; despite his strength as a cultivator at the Gold Core stage, his inner energy—the true essence and purple aura—had been depleted by the relentless action. He knew he needed a solution soon, or he’d gain nothing from this ordeal.

He had to find the Earth’s Origin quickly and escape.

Iceflame understood this well, and his eyes began to search for an opening. At last, he spotted an unusual scorpion in the distance. Unlike the others, which were all black, this one was yellow, the color of sand itself. Its distinct appearance made Iceflame fix his sights on it; such uniqueness surely signified value.

That scorpion must be the leader. If he could defeat it, perhaps the swarm would retreat. With luck, he might even obtain the Earth’s Origin.

The yellow scorpion was enormous, nearly ten times the size of the others. That such a target had eluded him until now was due to its color, blending perfectly with the sandy landscape—a camouflage not unlike military stealth, inspired by nature itself.

If not for the mass of black scorpions around it, Iceflame might never have noticed it so quickly. But now, the problem was clear: the giant yellow scorpion—let’s call it the Scorpion King—was at the center of the inverted funnel, surrounded by a sea of black scorpions. How could Iceflame possibly reach it?

Suddenly, inspiration struck. He would lure it out. Acting swiftly, Iceflame retrieved several freshly roasted pieces of snake meat from his storage ring. Once revealed, the aroma filled the air, causing a commotion among the surrounding scorpions.

Seeing their excitement, Iceflame knew the meat had caught their interest. Though reluctant, he steeled himself and flung a large chunk toward the funnel’s center.

Perhaps owing to the Scorpion King’s absolute authority, the nearby black scorpions dared not compete for food within its domain, retreating to leave the fragrant meat for their king.

This played right into Iceflame’s hands. Watching the Scorpion King devour the meat, he felt both pleased and pained, then tossed out several more pieces, luring it step by step from the pit.

Soon, the Scorpion King emerged from the sand. Encouraged, Iceflame threw a few more chunks, drawing it farther away.

When the time was right, Iceflame raised his sword and advanced. Blue light flashed, sword energy enveloped the blade, and the sharp long sword struck toward the Scorpion King. "Crack—crack—" Summoning all his strength, his Gold Core contracted in his dantian, the green Wood Essence mist swirling ever faster nearby. After several strokes, deep gashes appeared on the Scorpion King’s backplate, pale green blood oozing forth.

The Scorpion King howled, whirled around, and charged at Iceflame in a frenzy. Fortunately, Iceflame had anticipated this reaction, and leapt into the air, swinging his blue sword straight at it. With all his might, sword energy burst forth, and gravity accelerated his descent.

"Thud—" The blue sword pierced the tough shell, sinking into the softer flesh beneath, then exited through the lower body. The Scorpion King shrieked, struggled a few times, then gradually fell still.

"Dead at last—" Iceflame wiped the sweat from his body, then quickly sliced open the Scorpion King’s shell, extracting an oval core similar to the giant python’s inner pellet, though this one was earth-yellow rather than green.

This must be it—the Earth’s Origin was likely within.

The first thing Iceflame did upon obtaining the inner pellet was flee, for as soon as the Scorpion King died, a frenzied swarm of black scorpions surged toward him in a wild rush.