A column of blood shot into the sky, and red sword energy, like the sword of the blazing sun, fell into the stone forest with a red flower.
With a boom!
A dazzling mushroom cloud rose, and the entire stone forest was obliterated. Stones flew everywhere, and in the center of the stone forest, a sword-shaped mark appeared.
The giant python's tail was severed, but it did not die. Instead, it fled into the depths of the stone forest.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying exchanged glances and immediately pursued the giant python.
After such a fierce battle, they couldn't let the python escape.
The two combined their swords again and chased after the python, attacking it.
The giant python hid in the stone forest and opened its massive mouth, swallowing Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying. A huge black hole pulled them in, leaving them no chance to evade.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying both fell into a foul-smelling space.
"Ning Beichen."
Luo Yingying called out anxiously.
"I'm here."
Ning Beichen crawled out from somewhere and, following Luo Yingying's call, quickly found her location.
"Ning Beichen, were we eaten by that giant python?"
Luo Yingying asked nervously.
"It seems so. We must be inside the python's belly."
Ning Beichen replied.
"Then what do we do? Are we going to die here?"
Luo Yingying clutched Ning Beichen's clothes and said.
Despite her often mature demeanor, she was still a maiden before her seal. This was why Ning Beichen didn't treat her like a Sect Master.
"Don't worry. If the python hadn't swallowed us, it would have been difficult to kill it. Now that we're inside its belly, it's digging its own grave."
Ning Beichen said.
"Then, should we combine our swords inside its belly and break out?"
Luo Yingying suggested.
"No, wait a moment. I think I just found something inside its belly. Let's go check it out first."
Ning Beichen said.
"Okay, I'll do whatever you say."
Luo Yingying replied obediently, having long forgotten her pretense of being a Sect Master.
"Alright, I'll lead the way."
Ning Beichen took out a powerful flashlight, illuminating the interior of the python's belly.
These high-powered flashlights were very useful, especially for exploration. Ning Beichen had stored a large quantity of them in his Jade Gourd.
Technology changes lives, and this was no empty saying.
With the powerful flashlight, Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying could see clearly inside the giant python's belly.
"Look, it's these things."
Ning Beichen pointed to a pile of light blue crystals and said to Luo Yingying.
"What are these?"
"They should be Starfall Stones. I learned about the Fallen Star Sea from my master's wife before. These Starfall Stones contain a vast amount of gentle and mysterious star energy. Cultivating while holding a Starfall Stone can increase cultivation speed. Many people enter the Fallen Star Sea just to find these Starfall Stones."
Ning Beichen explained to her.
After hearing this, Luo Yingying's eyes widened, and she almost drooled at the sight of the mountain of Starfall Stones before her.
Next, Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying, like two bandits, frantically collected the Starfall Stones from inside the python's belly.
After collecting the Starfall Stones, they combined their swords and cut a gash through the python's belly.
Then, inside the python's belly, Ning Beichen used a move called 'A Sword Astonishes the Wind and Rain'. Countless sword lights turned the python's internal organs into a sieve full of holes. Only then did he and Luo Yingying hastily escape from the python's belly.
The giant python let out an incredibly shrill scream and thrashed wildly on the ground. After a while, it lay on the ground motionless.
"What a shame. The materials of this giant python are excellent, but we can't peel it off. If we could take it back, perhaps its skin could be used to refine magic robes."
Luo Yingying said, looking at the dead python.
"Don't be greedy. Would you dare to wear clothes made from snake skin?"
Ning Beichen said to her with a wry smile.
Luo Yingying imagined herself in a beautiful snake skin outfit and quickly shook her head.
"Alright, let's go and see what the giant python was guarding."
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying left the area and went to where the giant python had been. There, they found a deep pit.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying entered the deep pit and found some mushroom-like fruits. Ning Beichen guessed that the giant python had been guarding these things.
Although Ning Beichen didn't know their purpose, he thought that anything a giant python was unwilling to give up must be a treasure.
So, Ning Beichen collected all the mushroom-like things from the deep pit, and then he and Luo Yingying left the pit.
Next, the two continued to explore this meteorite.
However, apart from the stone forest they had encountered earlier, there didn't seem to be anything else of value.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying didn't leave immediately. Instead, they used the Starfall Stones they had found to cultivate for a period, which significantly increased their cultivation.
"Such good stuff! It's just a pity there's so little of it."
Ning Beichen looked at the remaining Starfall Stones in his Jade Gourd.
These things were treasures, but there were too few of them. If there were more, Ning Beichen felt he might be able to break through the Mortal Transformation realm and step into the extraordinary realm beyond it.
Zhuge Jin and his master's wife were both in the extraordinary realm. Naturally, he, who was in the Mortal Transformation realm, couldn't defeat them.
It could be said that someone in the extraordinary realm could suppress him, a Mortal Transformation realm cultivator, with just a cup of tea.
Therefore, Ning Beichen desperately wanted to improve his strength.
Ning Beichen was no longer the same as when he first arrived. The Mortal Transformation realm was far more powerful than he had imagined. Even though he easily destroyed the Heavenly Dao Sect and some minor factions, it was the Black Flood Dragon that did the fighting. He himself didn't have that ability.
Take the giant python they encountered earlier, for example. If Luo Yingying hadn't come with him, and they hadn't been able to combine their swords, they would have been no match for that giant python.
"Forget it, let's use them for now. The Fallen Star Sea is so vast; there must be Starfall Stones elsewhere."
Ning Beichen, though reluctant, took out the Starfall Stones from his Jade Gourd and used them. After all, improving his strength was paramount. Otherwise, returning might be a luxury for him and Luo Yingying.
Cultivate, continue to cultivate.
Ning Beichen once again immersed himself in cultivation. Only after he had used up all the Starfall Stones did he reluctantly end his cultivation.
This cultivation session had brought him immense improvement, and Ning Beichen was very satisfied.
Zhuge Jin and the Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect were indeed correct. Even with his supreme skills, Ning Beichen couldn't unleash their full power without sufficient cultivation.