The Thorne of Destiny-Chapter 160: Fighting the Rank 4 Scarlet Flame Scorpion

Adrian approached the Fire Vein Origin Stone, and after admiring it for a while, he began mining. He had to work fast, since he couldn't determine when more scorpions would come back to the cavern.

The closer he got to the Fire Vein Origin Stone, the hotter it became. He had already begun sweating buckets due to the sweltering heat. Even with his high affinity with the fire element, he was still facing the danger of being near it for too long.

Thankfully, most of the heat was internalized; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to enter the Cavern if the Fire Vein Origin Stone were to unleash its true power.

Using his Soul rank sword, he began chipping at the rocks holding the Fire Vein Origin Stone in place. The rocks themselves were very sturdy, and even using his sword, he was only able to chip at them a little at a time. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He worked for about two hours while intermittently taking cooling pills. Those were pills that he had prepared for the Crimson realm mystic realm. Like their names, they were able to reduce the temperature of the person taking them.

If he didn't have them, his only option would be retreating to the Blood Star to cool off, which would increase the time he had to mine and increase his risk. However, just as he was shipping away at the rocks, a faint sound rippled behind him.

Soft. Barely perceptible.

One click. Then another. And another.

Adrian's blood froze. Slowly, he turned his head, and what he saw was enough to make his heart leap through his chest.

The Rank 4 Scarlet Flame Scorpion's stinger twitched. Its carapace began to tremble. Its legs scraped the stone. And its aura…

Its aura surged upward like a volcanic eruption. Its eyes snapped open—two blazing crimson coals locking directly onto him.

The poison hadn't killed the scorpion. And Adrian realized instantly—he was in deep, deep trouble.

For one suspended heartbeat, the cavern was silent. It wasn't the silence of peace…but the silence that comes before killing begins. Adrian felt the Rank 4 Scarlet Flame Scorpion's gaze spear straight through him, burning cold and hot at once.

The Rank 5 poison pill was not enough to kill it, and now, he was going to face the consequences.

What Adrian didn't know was that due to the immense internal temperature of the Rank 4 Scarlet Flame Scorpion, the effects of the poison had been mitigated, allowing it to survive what should have been a deadly poison.

Since the poison wasn't made for a beast with the anatomy of the Rank 4 Scarlet Flame Scorpion, it was able to somehow survive the attempt on its life. Now, it had woken up and immediately spotted someone in its territory.

His mind was still hazy, and he could only resort to his primal instincts. The instinct it was feeling now was rage. Rage at the ant that was trying to steal its treasure. It had caught Adrian in quite a compromising situation, close to the Fire Vein Origin Stone. This meant that he was trying to take what was his.

That was completely unacceptable.

Adrian slowly tightened his grip on his sword. He didn't even dare swallow.

The scorpion's stinger rose first—slowly, deliberately—molten venom dripping in a thick bead from its tip. Each drop hissed like burning metal as it struck the stone. Then its pincers shook, blades of crimson chitin scraping together with a metallic shriek that echoed through the cavern.

Then—

CRRRK-CRRRK-CRRRK!

Its legs snapped open. The colossal beast lifted its body, rising from the ground like a mountain unfurling itself.

Adrian retreated a step, his breath coming out as a sharp exhale.

SCREEEEECH!

It let out a loud screech filled with its rage, drowning Adrian in its aura. Pinned into place, Adrian began to feel intense suffocation. However, he was able to somehow steady himself.

However, before he could even blink, the beast charged.

The scorpion lunged, its enormous pincer swinging in a sweeping arc that could bisect a boulder. Adrian rushed forward instead of retreating—closing the distance in a burst of movement that almost scraped the edge of recklessness.

He ducked under the pincer, feeling the heated wind tear over his hair, and struck. His sword rang out as it met the scorpion's carapace.

CLANG!

Sparks spilled across his vision. Adrian's teeth tightened, and his arm shuddered. He finally felt the true strength of the scorpion's carapace. He twisted away a split second before the creature's stinger plunged downward.

KRRSH!

The venom melted into the stone like acid through paper. Red smoke drifted upward. Adrian sprinted across the cavern floor, trying to create distance—but the scorpion was far faster than its size implied. Its massive bulk scuttled after him, legs striking the stone like hammers.

Then it reared its body and swung both pincers at once. Adrian cursed. They were coming too fast. Instead of dodging sideways, he leaped forward—directly between them.

The pincers slammed shut behind him with the force of falling boulders. Adrian landed on the scorpion's mandible, sliding across its front, sparks trailing behind his boots.

For a brief moment, he was face-to-face with the beast. He gazed into its eyes that were like pits of molten hatred. Its mandibles cracked open, intending to bite him in half.

Adrian thrust his sword upward, stabbing into the joint beneath its eye. However, it was not deep enough. The scorpion jerked away too quickly—but deep enough to draw a spurt of glowing, molten blood.

The beast shrieked in rage.

Adrian kicked off its head, flipping backward as a torrent of venom spat from its maw. The venom hit the floor in front of him, completely melting the stone into pieces of rubble and molten slag.

HSSSSSS!

Adrian exhaled sharply.

"That… was far too close." He muttered to himself, retreating even further, as he was wary of the scorpion spewing venom at him.

Rank 4 beasts, similar to Nascent Soul realm cultivators, had crossed a fundamental threshold set by the Heavens. The gap between a Golden Core realm cultivator and a Nascent Soul realm cultivator wasn't merely the distance of one realm.

Even geniuses known for fighting above their realm would find it exceedingly difficult to bridge this gap. Only the best of the best would be able to fight on equal ground with them.

Even then, beating them was a whole different matter. The same went for beasts that reached Rank 4. From Rank 4 and above, they begin developing intelligence that far surpasses their basic primal instincts.

A Rank 4 beast would have the intelligence of a six-year-old child. That was just when they entered the Rank. The potential for them to increase their intelligence was greater the higher they increased their ranks.

Along with the increase in their intelligence, their abilities also increased. While normal beasts only had Qi increase their physical bodies, beasts at Rank 4 and above were capable of wielding them to fire devastating attacks.

Similar to the martial skills of cultivators, beasts who manage to reach Rank 4 would be able to use their own 'martial skills.'

For a beast like the Scarlet Flame scorpion, whose stinger already had an attack equivalent to the power of a martial skill, it was an added boon that put them above other beasts and gave them an edge when fighting those of the same rank.

The molten venom it spewed from its mouth was one such attack. Only it, among its whole brood, was able to perform this attack. The others were limited to using their stingers.

The scorpion's fury reached a fevered pitch. Flames seemed to burst beneath its carapace, its aura rising in an angry surge. Heat swept across the cavern in suffocating waves. Adrian shielded his face as the temperature skyrocketed.

The beast slammed one massive pincer into the ground—

BOOOOM!

The impact sent a shockwave crawling across the cavern floor like a crimson ripple. Adrian was caught mid-step—sent flying backward as the ground heaved beneath him. He hit a stalagmite shoulder-first and gritted his teeth through the jolt of pain.

The scorpion didn't let him recover, and its stinger shot forward like a bolt of lightning. Adrian had only a breath to react.

He spun sideways; however, his reaction was too slow. The stinger grazed his rib, and the molten venom that was still dripping from it tore through his side.

Adrian staggered back, pressing a hand to his burning flesh. Venom sizzled against his skin—tiny drops, but enough to eat away at the outer layer.

He sucked in a sharp breath, letting out a muffled groan.

"Damn it—"

Before he could even complete, the scorpion lunged again, giving him no chance to process the injury. Adrian lifted his sword in a defensive arc. The pincer slammed into the blade with bone-rattling force, sending Adrian skidding several meters.

He ground his boots into the stone to stop himself.

His arms trembled, and strength leaked from his muscles. This fight was becoming more dangerous by the second. However, there was a silver lining.