Volume 3 Chapter 33

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Volume 3 Chapter 33: The Next Night (Part 6) – the Fall

Above Xu Qingfan and the others was a dim sky. Secretly watching over them was Xuan Xiu from Penance Valley, quietly floating with his mind replaying all the events of the day as he listened to the group’s discussion, feeling utterly puzzled.

As he was tasked with ensuring the safety of Xu Qingfan and his companions, he had little understanding of the explosion that occurred in the center of Huandao Island. He only vaguely suspected that the other cultivators from Penance Valley were involved.

"Taoist friend, is all well?"

Just as Xuan Xiu was closely observing Xu Qingfan and the others’ discussion, he suddenly furrowed his brow slightly and turned abruptly to see an unknown moment when a Penance Valley cultivator had appeared beside him.

Upon seeing that the newcomer was a cultivator from Penance Valley, Xuan Xiu relaxed slightly and gave a courteous bow to Xuan Nian, asking, "So it’s Taoist Friend Xuan Nian. Everything is normal here, but may I know why you’ve come?"

Xuan Nian smiled gently and said, "Taoist Friend Xuan Xian feared someone might harm the five disciples of Jiuhua Mountain and sent me to join you in guarding them."

Xuan Xiu knew the situation on Huandao Island was peculiar. Hearing Xuan Nian’s words, he had no doubts but was somewhat anxious as he asked, "I rushed to the teleportation array to protect the Jiuhua Mountain disciples, but saw no trace of the other taoist friends. Can Taoist Friend Xuan Nian tell me what happened then? Why did I sense that you were battling many unknown Condensed Core Stage cultivators? Are there others on the island besides us at that level? Were any taoist friends injured in the fight?"

In response to Xuan Xiu’s questions, Xuan Xian sighed, "I can’t explain it all at once. You can learn the details from this ‘recording pearl.’" Saying this, Xuan Nian took a blue pearl from his sleeve and handed it to Xuan Xiu. However, Xuan Xiu didn’t notice that as Xuan Nian lowered his head, a fleeting, mocking expression crossed his eyes.

Xuan Xiu took the "Recording Pearl" that Xuan Nian handed to him, and as soon as he immersed his Divine Sense into it, his body shuddered, and he suddenly looked up to stare at Xuan Nian intently. His face had turned blue without him noticing, and he looked at Xuan Nian in shock and disbelief, slowly saying, "Spirit Poison! You put Spirit Poison in this Recording Pearl!"

If one is not a cultivator from Penance Valley, it is difficult to comprehend the close bond among the cultivators there. They were originally rogue cultivators scattered across the Shenzhou Continent. Though they were free and unrestrained, they had no sect to rely on, making them weak and vulnerable. Without the help of a sect, their cultivation level was also much weaker compared to disciples of major sects.

To explore the mystery of immortality, these rogue cultivators gathered together. After entering Penance Valley, there were no distinctions of rank or age. They shared their insights into cultivation without keeping anything to themselves, and they gave their all to help a Taoist friend achieve a breakthrough in their cultivation level. As a result, their bonds were often even deeper than those between brothers in other sects of the cultivation world.

At this moment, Xuan Xiu discovered that Xuan Nian had laid Spirit Poison in the Recording Pearl to frame him, leaving Xuan Nian in shock beyond words.

Seeing the disbelief in Xuan Xiu’s eyes, a trace of shame flashed in Xuan Nian’s eyes as well. He slowly said, "I’m sorry, Taoist Friend Xuan Xiu."

"Why would you do this? Have you forgotten the words we spoke when we entered the valley?" Xuan Xiu’s heart ached upon hearing Xuan Nian’s admission, yet he suddenly seemed to recall something and urgently asked, "Taoist Friend Xuan Nian, were you forced by someone to do this?"

Seeing that Xuan Xiu still refused to believe it was his voluntary act to harm him, Xuan Nian’s eyes dimmed, and a tinge of regret for his choice crept into his heart. But, thinking about what he stood to gain, Xuan Nian steeled himself and shook his head, saying quietly, "Of course, I remember those words. I wasn’t forced by anyone. I did this to fulfill those words."

When Xuan Nian spoke, his tone was elusive, as if arguing against Xuan Xiu’s words, yet it seemed he was trying to convince himself.

Throughout, Xuan Nian lacked the courage to meet Xuan Xiu’s eyes directly.

Upon hearing Xuan Nian’s words, Xuan Xiu’s eyes were still filled with shock and disappointment, yet he couldn’t utter another word, only continued to stare at Xuan Nian in disbelief.

In the silence, Xuan Nian finally lifted his head after a long while, gazed into Xuan Xiu’s eyes which had turned blue, and spoke softly, "Taoist Friend Xuan Xiu, you may leave now. You may hate me, you may resent me, but one day you will understand that although what I am doing now might seem unforgivable, it is all worth it for the sake of fulfilling our initial promises."

…

Without realizing when it happened, a strange green glow suddenly appeared around the group from Jiuhua Mountain. In the boundless darkness, it seemed as if the stars on the horizon had turned green, eerily strange.

As the strange green lights gradually enlarged and became clearer, Xu Qingfan, having used the "Sky Eye Skill," finally saw the scene surrounding their group.

They saw that thirty meters away, nearly a hundred large-bodied pythons had somehow surrounded the five from Jiuhua Mountain and were slowly moving, closing the distance between them and the group. The eerie green light they saw was actually coming from the eyes of these snakes.

These snakes were several meters long, a few feet thick, with green and golden patterns, constantly flicking their tongues with a "hiss… hiss…" sound, looking menacing. They were the "Green Snake Dragons," an advanced human-level demon beast that Xu Qingfan had encountered once forty years ago.

Compared to other demon beasts, although the "Green Snake Dragon" belongs to the serpent family, it is generally more gentle in nature, usually feeding on plants and only attacking other demon beasts to obtain their inner cores, which help them enhance their own ranking abilities. Normally, they pose no harm to humans.

But now, for some unknown reason, these "Green Snake Dragons" had not only surrounded Xu Qingfan and the others but also had a fierce glint in their eyes, as if ready to devour them at any moment.

Even more strangely, in Xu Qingfan’s original impression, the "Green Snake Dragon" was a descendant of the ancient mythical beast Azure Dragon, and its eyes were supposed to be golden. However, the "Green Snake Dragon" he saw now had eyes that glowed with an eerie green, with occasional flashes of red, completely different from what Xu Qingfan had previously known, as if it had undergone some kind of mutation.

"Everyone, be careful, it’s the ‘Green Snake Dragon’!" Xu Qingfan said in a low and serious voice after observing the surroundings clearly. "These ‘Green Snake Dragons’ seem to have undergone some kind of mutation. Not only has the color of their eyes changed, but they also look far more aggressive now."

"What’s going on? How did these ‘Green Snake Dragons’ suddenly appear around us? I didn’t sense anything before," Lv Qingshang said in shock, watching the approaching Green Snake Dragons warily. Before he began meditating, he set up several protective barrier formations around everyone, but he only noticed these Green Snake Dragons when they were about thirty yards away, leaving him feeling incredulous.

Jin Qinghan said coldly, "Let’s not worry about how they appeared. Let’s focus on fending off their attack first. By the looks of it, they don’t have good intentions towards us. Dealing with over a hundred ‘Green Snake Dragons’ isn’t going to be easy."

Feng Qingtian, however, snorted and said, "I don’t think there’s anything difficult about it."

Previously, Feng Qingtian was injured quite a bit in the battle with Deng Tianao from the Liuhe Gate, and it was only thanks to Xu Qingfan’s intervention that he was kept safe. His proud nature had been simmering with anger since then. Now, seeing nearly a hundred ‘Green Snake Dragons’ seemingly intending to attack them, his heart was different from the others, full of a desire to fight and prove himself through this battle.

Most importantly, according to legend, the Flame Phoenix feeds on all the world’s poisonous snakes and pythons. Although he didn’t know if it was true, Feng Qingtian’s cultivated Phoenix Spirit Fire was indeed a nemesis to all snakes, so compared to the others, Feng Qingtian’s expression was the calmest at this moment.

But even so, Feng Qingtian’s face remained extremely serious.

Generally speaking, a human-level advanced demon beast has strength equivalent to that of a cultivator at the Lingji Stage. The five from Jiuhua Mountain, although each possessing unique skills far surpassing an average Lingji Stage cultivator, couldn’t help but feel a concealed panic as they watched nearly a hundred human-level advanced demon beast Green Snake Dragons eyeing them menacingly while drawing ever closer.

Upon hearing Feng Qingtian’s words, Jin Qinghan was about to retort, but Xu Qingfan suddenly spoke in a deep voice, "It’s the ‘Mind Taking Technique,’ these ‘Green Snake Dragons’ are being controlled."

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s statement, everyone was slightly taken aback and turned to look at the glowing green eyes of the Green Snake Dragons, realizing that they indeed exhibited the characteristics of being controlled by the "Mind Taking Technique."

"It seems someone is planning to attack us, but we don’t know which group." Xu Qingfan sighed.

As they spoke, nearly a hundred Green Snake Dragons had swum within three meters of the group, but could get no closer as they were blocked by the defensive barrier set up by Lv Qingshang.

After being blocked by the defense formation, the Green Snake Dragons seemed oblivious and continued to swim towards Xu Qingfan and the others, repeatedly colliding with the barrier. These Green Snake Dragons had incredibly strong bodies, almost as formidable as the Seven-colored Deer. Under their continuous assaults, the defense formation crafted by Lv Qingshang, though powerful, couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

However, Xu Qingfan knew that the true strength of the Green Snake Dragons did not lie in their physical bodies but in their ability to spew potent poisonous fire. Although currently, they were merely using their bodies to collide with the barrier under control, once their controller reacted, they would certainly use their poisonous fire to attack the defense formation. When that happens, under the barrage of powerful poison fire, Lv Qingshang’s defensive barrier wouldn’t last long.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan said to the others, "Once the defense formation is destroyed, we will immediately fly into the sky to resolve the battle there."