At this moment, Li Lin, Li Yun, Han Feiyu, and the others wanted nothing more than to skin Ye Fan and Pang Bo alive. The more they looked at those two smiling faces, the more those grins seemed vile and insufferable — wearing expressions practically begging to be slapped. Of course, that was merely their perception. In truth, Ye Fan and Pang Bo considered their own smiles to be quite brilliantly radiant — every pore on their bodies felt open and at ease, and they were in extraordinarily fine spirits.
“Pang Bo, you are absolutely courting death — I won’t let you off for this!” Li Lin cursed furiously, her beautiful face cold as ice and radiating a terrifying, murderous aura.
Li Yun was equally incensed. This was a completely unprovoked disaster — out of nowhere, a serpent demon was now hunting them all down. He shouted, “Pang Bo, you’re pushing us — even if you are a Fairy Seedling, from this day forward there will be no peace between us until one side is dead. And you — that worthless trash — just you wait. I will personally cut you down with my own hands!”
“Puff!”
A five-colored cloud of poison mist surged forward like a billowing, multicolored robe sweeping over the crowd. Li Lin and Li Yun immediately fell silent and pushed forward with all they had, terrified of being engulfed by the serpent’s venom.
“Ahh…” At that moment, a scream rang out. One of their number failed to dodge in time — and in an instant was reduced to a pool of liquid remains. Even the bones turned an abnormally charred black, corroded to near powder.
Fear gripped everyone’s hearts. This serpent demon was too dreadful — a single breath of poison mist had reduced a cultivator to a skeleton, chilling them to the bone. And what infuriated Li Lin, Li Yun, and the rest most of all was that Pang Bo was running faster than a rabbit — bounding and leaping through the front, leaving them far behind, using them as human shields and rear-guard flesh.
As for Ye Fan — the one they all considered a waste — he was even faster than that, running at the very front, leading the entire group. This sent Han Feiyu and the others into a state of near madness. Even a useless piece of trash had outpaced them — what did that say about these disciples of exceptional talent? Enraged and furious, they could only loathe themselves in silence.
“Slash!”
The old serpent was closing in. The jade horn atop its head erupted in fierce divine radiance, slicing through the sky like a bolt of lightning — with a great “puff,” it split one person cleanly in two. Crimson blood sprayed across the bodies of those nearby, and every one of them felt their souls nearly flee their bodies in terror.
“Ahh…” A female cultivator let out a cry of horrified anguish. The brutal, blood-soaked reality of it all made them feel their own smallness acutely. Before a serpent demon of such power, these people who had only just set foot on the path of cultivation were utterly defenseless.
“Boom — boom — boom!”
The ground shook. The Jade-Horned Serpent’s eyes blazed red as it rolled and crushed through the woodland, rapidly closing the distance on the crowd. In the agony of terror, someone could no longer restrain themselves and let out a string of curses. “Damn it all — how is that trash running so fast? He’s practically out of sight already!”
“That damned waste — how is he outrunning us?” Everyone’s teeth itched with resentment, their hearts desperately off-balance. The one they had dismissed as dead weight was moving like he was flying — skimming across the tips of the grass, practically taking to the air.
“Those two bastards — when I find the chance, I will slice them apart a thousand times over!” Li Lin’s exquisite face was layered with frost — fury and dread intermingled there, and yet there was nothing she could do.
Though these people were cultivators of no small ability, they were nowhere near a match for a serpent demon. As for Li Lin and Li Yun — even with their exceptional talent, they had only joined the Spiritual Void Cave Heaven three years prior. Though their cultivation had advanced at a startling pace, they had yet to cultivate the “Divine Rainbow” and could not ride the air. They, like the rest, could only run on the ground.
Their cultivation levels far surpassed those of Ye Fan and Pang Bo — but their physical bodies were nowhere near comparable to the two who had consumed the sacred fruit. Ye Fan and Pang Bo had undergone a complete rebirth and transformation of their constitutions, far beyond what any ordinary cultivator could match, and this was precisely why they had left the others far behind.
Li Lin, Li Yun, and the rest naturally understood — the Jade-Horned Serpent’s deepest rage was directed at Ye Fan and Pang Bo. It had certainly been those two who had taken the divine herb from beside the serpent’s den, and that was what had unleashed this hunt. The group kept changing directions, trying to diverge from Ye Fan and Pang Bo’s path and shake off the old serpent. But to their maddening frustration, Ye Fan and Pang Bo clung to them like a plaster that simply would not come off. With a few quick flickers of speed — “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh” — they circled back around and continued running at the front of the group.
The group’s lungs were nearly bursting with rage. Even Li Lin abandoned all pretense of composure and dignity, and dropped every shred of her image as a beauty, letting loose a torrent of curses. “Damn it all! Surnamed Pang — and that trash — I, Li Lin, have memorized you both!”
Having been hunted by the Jade-Horned Serpent for so long with their lives hanging by a thread, and now being cursed again and again as worthless trash by Li Lin and the others — even a person of clay would have three parts of fire in them. Ye Fan, too, finally unleashed a torrent of curses. “Your grandmother! Surnamed Li — I’ve memorized you too. But it’s not because I have any interest in you — more like a washboard…”
Pang Bo also turned back to add fuel to the fire. “Surnamed Li, washboard — if you’ve got the energy to curse at us, you’d be better off saving it to deal with the serpent demon behind you.”
“I’m absolutely furious!” Li Lin trembled with rage from head to toe, yet she had no choice but to sprint with everything she had — she could not afford to divide her attention.
Li Yun roared from behind, “You two bastards — you are utterly shameless! I curse you both to a wretched end!”
“Your grandmother — who’s shameless? The two of you have wanted to be rid of us from the start. Fate brought us together today — serves you right to suffer for it.”
Li Lin, Li Yun, and Han Feiyu were so incensed they were nearly beyond words. Meeting these two, they felt as though they had accumulated bad luck across eight lifetimes — and now their lives dangled on a thread.
Aside from Li Lin, Li Yun, and Han Feiyu, the remaining members of the group were clearly giving out. Some were on the verge of tears as they called ahead, “I say, you two junior martial brothers…”
“Who are you calling junior martial brothers!” Ye Fan and Pang Bo were deeply displeased by this form of address.
“My mistake — I mean, you two elder brothers…” Those few called out in tearful voices. “Especially that elder brother waste — why are you running so fast… there’s absolutely no need for you to stay with us. Please, old man, kindly run far away from us — I beg you!”
Ye Fan had been hunted all this time, his life in constant danger, and he was no longer the composed, mild-mannered person he usually was. Hearing this, he immediately fired back, “Your grandmother — who are you calling a waste…”
Pang Bo also turned and shouted, “Didn’t you lot want to get rid of the two of us? Let you have a taste now of what it feels like when your life can be forfeited at any moment.” With that, he opened his legs and poured on the speed — bounding and surging forward, faster than any rabbit, and in the blink of an eye had left the group far, far behind again.
“Thud!”
Among Li Lin’s group, the cultivator at the rear turned a sallow gray — he had inhaled a trace of the venom, and his strength gave out entirely. He stumbled and fell to the ground. The Jade-Horned Serpent came crashing through, and its enormous body crushed the fallen cultivator directly into a pulp of flesh and blood, scattering a spray of crimson. The scene was gruesome beyond description.
“Hiss — hiss!”
The sound of the great serpent’s tongue came next, and then a disciple was caught by some invisible force — dragged backward through the air — and went hurtling straight into the Jade-Horned Serpent’s cavernous, blood-soaked maw.
“Ahh…”
He barely managed to release a single cry of terror and urgency before it was abruptly silenced. With a great “puff,” a spray of blood erupted from between the old serpent’s dense white fangs — and then the person was swallowed whole into the serpent’s belly. In truth, his body had already begun to dissolve in the process of being consumed. This horrifying sight left everyone feeling a chill from the crown of their heads to the soles of their feet.
The gap was narrowing by the moment. The Jade-Horned Serpent no longer spewed its venom and no longer fired divine light from the jade horn atop its head — instead it simply opened its cavernous, blood-red maw, extended its tongue, and used a tremendously terrifying suction force to drag people backward through the air and swallow them whole.
“Puff!”
More blood sprayed as another person was swallowed alive — thin trickles of blood seeping out along its sharp fangs. In the blink of an eye, four or five lives had been lost. Aside from Ye Fan and Pang Bo, only Li Lin, Li Yun, and Han Feiyu remained.
“Pang Bo — and that trash — just you wait! My great-uncle will make you wish you had never been born and grind you to dust!” Han Feiyu screamed — half terrified, half furious. At this point, he was running at the very back, and was clearly about to become the old serpent’s next target.
The old serpent extended its tongue — two to three meters long — and let fall a great puddle of venom, corroding the ground until it smoked and seethed. Its pair of blood-red eyes locked onto Han Feiyu.
“No!” Han Feiyu cried out in terror as his body suddenly felt weightless — seized by an invisible force — and he was lifted off the ground, flying straight toward the serpent’s enormous maw.
In this moment of crisis, Han Feiyu summoned the Green Wood Seal. The treasure seal, weighing tens of thousands of catties, radiated green light as wisps of cyan mist swirled around it, and he smashed it downward with full force.
“Boom!”
The Green Wood Seal struck the old serpent squarely on the head, making it stagger slightly — but it inflicted not the slightest bit of damage. The serpent’s single horn shot out a beam of divine radiance and sent the Green Wood Seal flying, and it crashed heavily into the distance, reducing a heap of boulders to powder.
The Green Wood Seal was not destroyed — after all, it was a weapon personally refined and consecrated by Han Feiyu’s great-uncle, inscribed within the wooden seal with numerous Dao patterns and fortified with all manner of powerful “configurations.” It could not be so easily demolished. Han Feiyu’s cultivation was insufficient — he could not draw out the seal’s true power — and at present he was simply unable to harm the Jade-Horned Serpent.
“Great-uncle… save me!” Han Feiyu screamed in panic as he was sucked up into the air by the serpent demon. At that moment, a jade pendant on his chest flickered with light, forming a curtain of radiance that suspended him in midair, preventing the old serpent from pulling him into its mouth.
Han Feiyu suddenly recalled — this was the jade pendant his great-uncle had urged him never to be without, and now he saw that it had been left for him as a life-saving measure in moments of mortal danger.
In the distance, atop a mountain cliff, a streak of green brilliance suddenly shot skyward — a figure riding a divine rainbow — arriving in the blink of an eye. The old serpent seemed to sense danger and rapidly retreated, abandoning the suspended Han Feiyu.
Li Lin and Li Yun immediately broke into expressions of relief, and Han Feiyu let out a great cry. “Great-uncle, save me quickly!”
The divine rainbow swept in, green light flashing. An old man — stooped and disheveled with scattered white hair — appeared. He grabbed Han Feiyu in one hand and descended with him to the ground. Li Lin and Li Yun rushed forward to pay their respects.
In the distance, Ye Fan and Pang Bo also halted. The two exchanged a glance, feeling a measure of unease. They wanted to flee at once — but the old man’s gaze swept over them several times, and at that, they no longer dared make any rash moves. A powerful expert capable of riding the divine rainbow — if such a person locked onto them, escape would be impossible. Neither of them moved, standing quietly in place and watching.
This old man was not tall — gaunt and emaciated, and further reduced by his stoop to no more than one and a half meters in height. His white hair hung loose and disheveled, completely obscuring his face so that his features were invisible — only his hands could be seen, dried out and withered as bird claws, skin drawn tight against bare bone, black as crow’s feet.
“Elder Han, thank heaven you arrived in time — otherwise we would all have perished here…” Li Lin and Li Yun stepped forward to pay their respects and said these words, then shot ferocious, venomous glares toward Ye Fan and Pang Bo. “This time, you’re both finished!”
Han Feiyu was even more gnashing his teeth, leaning in close to whisper something to the old man without pause. From the expression on his face, it was clear that he sought to bring harm to Ye Fan and Pang Bo — whenever his gaze swept toward them it was cold, ruthless, and filled with hatred.
Elder Han — as dry and gaunt as a ghost — paid no attention to the three before him. He stared at the Jade-Horned Serpent ahead and kept nodding, his voice deep and hoarse as though he might stop breathing at any moment. “Not bad — very good. The jade horn of a spirit serpent makes excellent refining material…”
The Jade-Horned Serpent had long since developed spiritual awareness. Sensing danger, it retreated rapidly, its tongue flickering as it attempted to flee.
In that moment, the disheveled old man drifted forward like a specter — utterly unwilling to let it escape. The old serpent opened its maw and spewed a cloud of poison mist that swallowed him whole — but a green light flickered, and a cluster of mysterious radiance appeared outside Elder Han’s body, blocking the venom entirely.
“Slash!”
The jade horn atop the old serpent’s head erupted in a blaze of fierce divine light, and several blinding beams of radiance shot out one after another, driving straight toward Elder Han.
“Clang — clang — clang!”
A sound rang out as though divine weapons were crossing in battle. Elder Han, holding a green wood ruler, struck down each and every beam of divine radiance, dispersing them into the woodland below. Sensing the danger, the Jade-Horned Serpent turned and fled at speed, trying to put distance between itself and this man. But Elder Han gave it no further opportunity. From within his desiccated body, twelve streaks of green radiance suddenly erupted — twelve green wood swords expanded rapidly and plunged into the earth at twelve points, forming a cage that trapped the Jade-Horned Serpent inside.
“Shed that jade horn voluntarily. If you dare destroy it, I will flay you alive!” Elder Han’s voice dripped with cold and sinister menace, his gaze icy and pitiless as he bore down on the Jade-Horned Serpent.
The serpent demon seemed consumed by fury — the ferocious light in its eyes blazed intensely, the jade horn gleaming brilliantly, gathering every ounce of its divine power for one final strike.
Evidently, Elder Han was not about to allow it to deliver that strike. The twelve green wood swords erupted in a deep, ghostly jade radiance — the patterns etched along their lengths writhed like serpents and insects — and then all twelve swords blazed with green light, thick with killing aura, and simultaneously slashed inward toward the center.
“Puff — puff — puff…”
Blood sprayed. The twelve green wood swords cut the Jade-Horned Serpent to pieces on the spot — dozens of sections of its enormous body gushed blood like a river, flowing in a steady crimson stream, the reeking stench assailing the nostrils. A blood mist rose, intermingled with drifting waves of poison vapor.
In the distance, Ye Fan and Pang Bo drew a sharp breath. Han Feiyu’s great-uncle was terrifyingly powerful — with a simple gesture he had slaughtered a spirit serpent. The profound, unfathomable depth of his cultivation sent a chill through both of them.
And to think — the old serpent’s body had been extraordinarily tough, capable of crushing towering ancient trees with ease and grinding massive boulders to dust. Its body was hard as divine iron and divine steel. Yet it could not withstand those twelve green wood swords for even a single instant before being cut down in place. Blood pooled across the ground like a river, and this disheveled, stooped Elder Han — with his loose white hair — left both of them feeling wave upon wave of dread.