"Cough, cough. Little Grand-Uncle is truly fierce!"
"And truly ruthless!"
Unafraid of the mountain collapse and the swirling dust, he continued his charge. Their admiration for Xu Xian had reached its peak.
Because of this, fear began to sprout in the hearts of the many core formation cultivators.
Half of the mountain had collapsed.
The auras of several nascent soul stage experts permeated the moonlight. Xu Xian saw a figure flying backward from the collapsed mountain.
"Nangong Ning."
He did not hesitate, decisively abandoning his assault on the remaining gold-grade demonic cultivators. He controlled Wait to pierce through the sky-filling dust and smoke, catching her steadily.
"Are you alright?"
"Cough... Little Grand-Uncle."
"Don't speak yet."
Xu Xian didn't delay. With a few quick leaps, he arrived behind the defensive wall formed by the sword intent of the five disciples.
Nangong Ning's aura was currently in disarray. She was a mess, her face as pale as paper, and the corner of her mouth was stained with crimson.
One hand clutched her chest while the other tightly gripped Ningyue. Blood slid down her arm, trailing along the blade and splashing onto the ground in steady droplets.
If Xu Xian hadn't been supporting her, she would likely have struggled even to stand.
She stared fixedly at the smoke ahead, her eyes filled with wariness and resentment.
"How are you doing?"
"Not dead yet."
Song Qingshu was half-kneeling on the ground, supporting himself with his sword. He forced his head up and asked weakly, "Where is Ruan Zhong?"
"I don't know," Nangong Ning said.
Xu Xian also looked toward the place where the smoke was boiling, asking cautiously, "What exactly is the situation?"
Nangong Ning lowered her gaze, her expression pained.
The others cast expectant, anxious looks her way.
Recalling everything that had just happened, Nangong Ning subconsciously tightened her grip on Ningyue and said hoarsely, "Initially, Junior Brother Ruan and I launched a sneak attack on the Blood Infant Patriarch and heavily wounded him. I personally tore open his dantian and knocked him into the blood pool. Then, Junior Brother and I worked together to pin down that Old Ghost, and we were just about to kill him... but the Blood Infant Patriarch I knocked into the blood pool somehow crawled back onto the sacrificial altar. He actually swallowed that beast core whole..."
Everyone was shocked.
Xu Xian's brow furrowed. "That beast core was so huge. How did he swallow it? How could he contain it?"
The others shared the same doubt.
They had seen that beast core. Including the red crystals, it was as big as a house. Even the core nucleus inside would be as large as an ox.
How could something that big be swallowed just like that?
Nangong Ning bit her lip and said, "It isn't human..."
Xu Xian froze.
The others were stunned.
"Hmm?"
Nangong Ning said heavily, "It's a giant snake... a snake demon..."
Hiss!
Everyone gasped. Even Xu Xian's eyes were filled with disbelief as he mentally communicated with the book spirit.
Why hadn't the Pupil of Insight seen through the other party's species?
Logically, it shouldn't have failed.
Little Book immediately provided an answer through their mental link.
Normally, if the opponent were merely a fifth stage snake demon, it would definitely be able to see the true form. Since it couldn't, there were only two possibilities.
The first was that the target's true strength or the original realm of its main body exceeded the great ascension stage. This was because the current Pupil of Insight specifically could not see through existences above the great ascension stage.
The second possibility was that the target had been possessed by a powerful soul. In that case, it also wouldn't be able to see through it.
Based on a comprehensive analysis, it leaned toward the latter.
Xu Xian realized belatedly, "No wonder... no wonder I saw it had vertical slit eyes. This fellow really isn't human."
Yecheng. Cangwu. Demonic cultivators. And now, a demon had been mixed into the fray. It was truly getting lively.
If he hadn't committed a few horrific massacres in his past life, he probably wouldn't have had the 'luck' to encounter such a situation on his very first mission. Xu Xian couldn't help but wonder if his transmigration meant his karma was too great, and the Heavenly Dao had noticed him, thus arranging this tribulation to wipe him out.
It wasn't impossible.
After a moment, the collapsed mountain gradually settled. The rumbling faded, and the dust subsided. Moonlight spilled down, and the entire valley remained draped in night, but it was no longer quiet—it was a ruin.
The bamboo forest was broken. The cold pond was gone. Half of a great mountain had collapsed.
Whether they were demonic cultivators or the members of the Wendao Sect, everyone held their breath and stared fixedly at the collapsed peak.
Above what was originally the grotto-heaven, a bloody light shot into the sky, surrounded by malevolent aura.
An ominous feeling loomed over everyone's hearts.
Thump!
The mountain suddenly shuddered, emitting a sound.
Thump-thump!
Thump-thump-thump!
One sound after another, each louder than the last. The ground began to shake violently again.
The group's expressions turned grave, each of them looking as if they were facing a mortal enemy.
In the distance, the mountain swayed. Beneath their feet, the earth moved. Behind them, the wailing of infants made their heads throb with pain.
Suddenly, a blood-mist-covered figure lunged out from the collapsed mountain.
A giant snake rose up under the moonlight. Its scales were pitch black, but blood-red patterns slithered across them. The snake was so massive it resembled a small mountain.
Everyone was startled, their faces twisting in shock. Two more figures lunged out from the ruins one after the other. One controlled a sword, and the other stepped on mist. Both were fleeing in unison; though they were nascent souls, they appeared completely wretched.
The Wendao Sect disciples naturally recognized one of them as Ruan Zhong.
"It's Martial Uncle Ruan."
The demonic cultivators recognized the other.
"It's the Ghost Venerable."
The giant python also noticed the two. A blood-red light shot from its lantern-like eyes. It suddenly lowered its head and opened its massive maw, lunging straight for the pair.
"Master, be careful!"
"Ruan Zhong, get out of the way!"
However, the giant python's speed was as fast as lightning. Its massive mouth descended, cutting off their path forward. The earth sword Zhuhun beneath Ruan Zhong's feet exerted its power to protect its master, allowing him to barely dodge and escape the disaster.
But the one called Ghost Venerable wasn't so lucky. Although his realm was higher than Ruan Zhong's, he was heavily injured. He also didn't have Ruan Zhong's good fortune of possessing a sentient earth sword. Unable to dodge in time, he fell into the giant maw.
Unwilling to die just like that, he struggled, his entire cultivation bursting forth in an attempt to break through the giant snake's mouth.
The giant snake's body writhed, its head held high. Energy gathered from its body into its mouth. After a series of alternating red and black glows, the Ghost Venerable let out a muffled, shrill scream and then lost his breath entirely.
Stunned. Everyone was completely stunned.
Not only were the Wendao Sect disciples dazed, but the demonic cultivators of the Blood Demon Cave were also dumbfounded. The giant snake they had resurrected had destroyed their own leader. Whose side was it on?
"How can this be?"
"What's happening?"
Xu Xian swallowed hard. There was a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. The good news was that this snake demon was not on the demonic cultivators' side. The bad news was that the snake demon wasn't on his side either.
A nascent soul stage opponent had just vanished in such a confusing manner.
"What is it doing?"
After swallowing the Old Ghost, the giant snake raised its head high, standing tall under the moon and facing the crowd. Its massive snake eyes were hazy with blood-mist as it suddenly let out a roar. Its bloody maw looked large enough to swallow a small hill.
"Aow!"
Its roar sounded like a dragon yet wasn't one; it was deafening. Along with it came countless splatters of giant snake saliva. The violent pressure of a King Beast crashed toward the crowd like a battering ram.
All who saw it were shocked. All who heard it were terrified. Their expressions became incredibly unsightly as fear took root. Some of the more cowardly foundation establishment demonic cultivators were so frightened they actually wet themselves.
"Run... run quickly!"
"A beast! Let's go!"
"Master, my legs have gone soft! Save me!"
Rate on N.U.
