Word Count: 2,708 Words
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"Xiao Yan!"
Hiss hiss!!
The massive Ancient Heaven Demon Python suddenly erupted into motion. Its jaws yawned wide and torrents of pitch-black poison mist spewed forth. The noxious fog twisted into colossal serpentine forms that barreled toward everyone with murderous intent.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Those black, poisonous serpents lashed out like mountain ridges. Each strike reverberated with the fury of an awakened ancient bloodline. The Ancient Heaven Demon Python's strength was truly not to be underestimated.
In an instant it shattered the Covering Sun Cloud Formation Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran had erected together. Even Cai Lin in her true form and Little Fairy Doctor were unable to withstand the impact. Both were driven back by the overwhelming force.
Little Fairy Doctor slowly opened her mouth and summoned the Heavenly Flame Poison Pill. A giant Thousand-Eyed Night Zhen, its entire body wreathed in Ghostly Poison Flame, materialized beside her.
Screech!
A shrill cry cut through the air as all thousand eyes on the Night Zhen's body snapped open at once. Thin beams of poisonous light lanced from every eye. The black poison mist recoiled as if it had met its natural nemesis, then dissolved completely under the crisscrossing beams. Only then did the situation finally stabilize.
"Xiao Yan, are you alright?"
A flash of seven-colored radiance streaked across the sky as Cai Lin hurried to his side. Xiao Yan shook his head slowly. The Vajra Glass Body dissolved, his frame shrinking back to its normal size. The Three Thousand Burning Flame and Yin-Yang Twin Flame circulated of their own accord, quietly mending his internal injuries.
The Ancient Heaven Demon Python's strength was indeed formidable. Coupled with the advantage of a sneak attack, its strike had inflicted no small amount of damage.
Yet he paid his wounds little mind. His gaze grew grave as he focused not on the python itself, but on Qing Lin standing atop its massive head!
Clad in a flowing jade-green dress, long hair streaming behind her, Qing Lin stood poised upon the Ancient Heaven Demon Python's crown. Her emerald eyes now flickered with a sinister crimson, her expression cold, her gaze utterly indifferent.
Hiss hiss—
The Ancient Heaven Demon Python coiled docilely at Qing Lin's feet like a loyal slave, lifting her in a gentle arc. More giant pythons crawled out of spatial rifts and took up positions around her, coiling protectively as living walls.
What truly made Xiao Yan and the others tense, however, was not these snake slaves but the enormous serpent silhouette looming behind Qing Lin.
"It's the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent's soul body."
A giant serpent with nine ferocious heads seemed to press down upon the surrounding land. The illusory figure's dark-red body looked as though it had been forged from blood congealed over countless years. Just one glance was enough to feel an indescribably vicious, sky-piercing baleful aura spreading outward.
Gurgle, gurgle—
The Ancient Heaven Demon Python's pupils suddenly shrank. At the end of the cavern, the rock wall exploded outward with a thunderous crack, revealing a stretch of jagged crimson rubble. At its center lay a pool roughly thirty feet across, filled to the brim with scarlet liquid. Bubbles rose and burst on its surface, releasing waves of exceedingly dense energy.
Here and there, beast bones floated on the blood's surface. From the look of it, the violent Heaven Demon Python had been tossing ferocious beasts into this pool for a very long time.
"That's the blood pool the Ancient Heaven Demon Python has been condensing for a thousand years!"
The energy emanating from the pool was even more terrifying than Xiao Yan had expected. He couldn't help suspecting that once the Ancient Heaven Demon Python's cultivation reached its limit, it had planned to rely on this Heaven Demon Blood Pool to evolve to Rank 9!
Savage greed flashed in the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent's eyes the instant the blood pool came into view!
The previously tranquil Heaven Demon Blood Pool boiled violently. Countless bubbles surged upward and burst. Wild, violent energy howled within the churning blood. Faint, thunder-like rumbles echoed from the depths and rolled outward in waves.
With a reverberating boom, Qing Lin's toe tapped lightly against the void. Her figure transformed into a streak of green light as she shot straight toward the blood pool, dragging the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent's soul along with her.
'This thing wants to absorb the Ancient Heaven Demon Python's blood pool to forge a body?!'
Xiao Yan's heart sank. He hadn't expected the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent to retain such power even while sealed by the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. It had been dead for who knew how many thousands or tens of thousands of years, with only a shred of soul remaining, yet it could still break through the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils' restraints!
These primordial magical beasts that had once dominated the continent truly each possessed their own terrifying methods.
"Help me hold off those snake slaves," Xiao Yan said to Cai Lin and the others as he unfurled the Ancient Phoenix Wings behind him.
Cai Lin caught his arm before he could move. Her beautiful eyes searched his face, complicated emotions flickering in their depths. "Be careful."
"Don't worry. It's just the soul of a stupid snake. I'm a master soul-catcher." Xiao Yan flashed her a brilliant grin. The Ancient Phoenix Wings snapped once, and his figure blurred into a streak of light that plunged into the cave's depths.
Cai Lin's jade-like hands clenched as she watched his retreating back. She had wanted to accompany him, but her current strength would only hold him back. Given her temperament, which was completely opposite to that of Little Fairy Doctor, she preferred to stand at the front rather than quietly support from behind. Being unable to do so left a bitter taste in her heart.
'Just wait,' she vowed silently.
…
Xiao Yan pushed his Ancient Phoenix Wings to their limit. An ancient phoenix's illusory figure seemed to trail in his wake as he tore through the air, diving deeper into the mountain. By the time he reached the inner cavern, the Heaven Demon Blood Pool had coiled itself like a giant blood python, wrapping around Qing Lin from all sides and encasing her in a cocoon of scarlet.
The Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent, originally half-transparent, now looked increasingly substantial. Its dark-red body grew ever more solid, the color deepening as if awakening from a long slumber.
A grave look flashed across Xiao Yan's eyes. He had examined the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent's soul body before and believed that, under the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils' suppression, it wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble. Now, reality was slapping him across the face.
As Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength swept toward her, Qing Lin's eyes suddenly snapped open. The entire cavern trembled violently. The Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent's soul released a thunderous roar at Xiao Yan, as if warning him not to interfere with its resurrection.
"Hmph, looks like you really think you're something special. I only spared you before because I didn't want to waste a Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent soul." Xiao Yan snorted coldly. With a thought, he activated the Emperor Soul Technique. Terrifying Spiritual Strength surged outward, flooding the cave.
He was now cultivating a Low Tian Class Soul Training Method. His Heavenly State Spiritual Strength far surpassed that of ordinary souls at the same realm.
A living Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent might still have been qualified to challenge him. But a magical beast soul that had been dead for countless years daring to contend with the Tenth Tianzun?!
"Today, I'll capture you for the Hall of Souls!"
"Asura Descent!"
Xiao Yan's hands flew through a flurry of seals as his Spiritual Strength condensed. The three-faced Asura climbed out from the abyss. Having passed the second tribulation, both its demonic and sacred faces were now fully solid, its presence many times stronger than before!
With a thought, the two side faces of the Asura statue opened their eyes. Twin beams—one of pitch darkness, one of blazing gold—erupted forth and instantly enveloped the entire cavern.
The overwhelming might of Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength sent the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent's soul reeling in shock!
Back when they first encountered each other, Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength had also reached the Heavenly State, but it was nowhere near as formidable as it was now!
The Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent had calculated countless possibilities, yet it had missed one crucial detail: Xiao Yan's Asura Soul Reaping Technique had already advanced to the Two-Faced Gaze stage. Even if it had not yet reached High Tian Class, it had unquestionably stepped into Intermediate Tian Class!
Hiss hiss!!
The Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent shook its nine ferocious heads. All eighteen demonic pupils along those heads turned blood-red. Most bizarre of all, within those crimson eyes, patterns identical to Qing Lin's activated Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils appeared.
Blood-red light flared, pushing back against Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength, resisting being dragged into the Asura Illusion Realm.
The two powerful forces collided and wrestled for dominance. The resulting spiritual storm made the entire mountain shudder. Massive slabs of rock broke loose from the cavern ceiling and crashed down!
Though Xiao Yan faintly suppressed the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent by harnessing the Asura Soul Reaping Technique, he still couldn't drag it into the Asura Illusion Realm to be executed—not in a short time!
A direct spiritual attack carried too much risk of injuring Qing Lin's soul as well. He had to completely peel the serpent out first.
"Qing Lin! Wake up!"
Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed as his Spiritual Strength carried his shout deep into her mind. His voice boomed like thunder within the cave, echoing through the depths of Qing Lin's heart.
Qing Lin's body trembled at the call. The green in her eyes rapidly intensified.
The shout also made the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent's massive body jolt. A flicker of struggle surfaced in its blood-red pupils. Now it faced suppression from Xiao Yan on one side while simultaneously needing to keep Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils locked down on the other. It was truly being attacked from both front and rear!
Hiss hiss hiss!!
The Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent realized it had miscalculated. It had assumed that by occupying Qing Lin's body, Xiao Yan would hesitate to act and refrain from any attack that might harm her. It had never imagined he would possess such terrifying Soul Techniques, capable not only of striking souls directly, but also of suppressing and forcibly extracting them!
Not only had it failed to absorb much of the Ancient Heaven Demon Python's blood pool, it had also consumed a substantial portion of the Spiritual Strength it had painstakingly accumulated. It would now be a very long time before it could emerge again.
Hiss hiss hiss!!
The Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent let out a furious skyward roar, then abruptly plunged back into Qing Lin's body. It hid itself in the very deepest recesses of her soul. Its soul and Qing Lin's soul body had already fused together via the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.
"Dammit!"
Xiao Yan found himself briefly helpless as he watched the serpent burrow into Qing Lin's soul. Forcibly ripping the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent's soul out would inevitably cause her serious harm.
Splash!
The giant blood python lost its controller and collapsed into torrents of blood that rained back into the pool below. Qing Lin's body toppled from mid-air. Xiao Yan flashed forward, caught her in his arms, and wrapped a hand around her slender waist. A moment later, the two of them plunged together into the blood pool with a resounding crash.
The sensation of her soft, seemingly boneless waist pressed against his palm sent a sudden ripple through his heart. He quickly reined in his thoughts and looked down at the girl slowly regaining consciousness in his embrace.
"Qing Lin! Are you alright?"
Qing Lin's long lashes fluttered. She slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Xiao Yan's face, so close their noses could almost touch. She froze. The warmth of his chest, the solid strength of the arm holding her, and the awareness of just how intimately they were pressed together all slammed into her at once. Heat flooded her cheeks, turning them a vivid rose. The blush spread down her swan-like neck and even tinged the tips of her ears.
Then memory surged back like cold water. She recalled losing control, forcing the Ancient Heaven Demon Python to ambush him. The soft haze shattered. Panic and guilt flooded her emerald eyes. Her fingers tightened in the fabric at his chest as tears welled at the corners of her eyes.
"Y-Young Master! Did I... did I hurt you?" Her voice emerged barely above a whisper, thick with self-reproach.
Xiao Yan could guess what was going through her mind. This time, however, he had no leisure to worry about such nuances. He was determined to deal with the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent's soul once and for all!
"That's a minor matter. Relax your mind. In a moment, I'll be entering the depths of your soul." His gaze was deadly serious.
Qing Lin understood instantly. He intended to completely resolve the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent. She drew a steadying breath, though the flush remained on her face, and nodded with fierce resolve. "Young Master Xiao Yan, you don't need to worry about Qing Lin."
She understood better than anyone how terrifying the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent was. She had believed she had fully refined it with the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, only to discover that what she had crushed was merely its surface. A wisp of its consciousness had always lurked quietly within her soul, fused together with her own.
More importantly, she knew that if this matter wasn't thoroughly resolved, she might one day harm him again. That possibility frightened her far more than the thought of her own death.
If it came to it, even mutual destruction would be worth it so long as he remained unharmed!
Xiao Yan could clearly read that kind of resolve in her eyes—a decision that bordered on self-sacrifice.
He could only sigh helplessly. He reached up and flicked her smooth forehead with a finger. "Silly girl. Do you have so little faith in your young master?"
"But..."
"Don't worry." Xiao Yan's hand slid to cup her cheek. "So what if it's fused with your soul? I have my ways. I won't let anything happen to you. That's a promise."
Qing Lin's eyes instantly softened with tenderness at his confident gaze. She leaned unconsciously into his palm and whispered, "Yes, Young Master."
Buzz!
Their eyes met. Golden light burst from Xiao Yan's body, spilling outward until it bathed the entire cavern. Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils slowly rotated. She fully opened her defenses, actively guiding Xiao Yan's Asura-infused Spiritual Strength into the depths of her soul.
Now that Qing Lin had regained consciousness, the snake slaves outside naturally ceased all hostilities. Cai Lin was the first to rush into the cavern. Only after seeing Xiao Yan and Qing Lin safe within the golden-lit blood pool did she finally exhale in relief.
"What happened to Xiao Yan and Qing Lin?" Little Fairy Doctor and the others arrived soon after, worry plain in their voices.
"Xiao Yan is dealing with the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent. Give them some time." Cai Lin didn't know whether Xiao Yan would be able to kill that soul body. She only knew he was currently locked in soul combat.
Such battles were incomparably dangerous. Even the slightest misstep meant the soul would be annihilated completely!
…
Wrapped in Asura power, Xiao Yan's soul body descended into a jade-green space. This was the deepest layer of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, and also the very depths of Qing Lin's soul.
Here, a black-and-red Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent lay coiled, its long body looped upon itself. Its nine heads slowly rose in unison, cold eyes fixing on Xiao Yan with palpable wariness.
Hiss hiss!!
The Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent roared at him, its tone full of dread.
Encased within the three-faced Asura, Xiao Yan hovered above, looking down at the serpent. Judging by Spiritual Strength alone, his current power was clearly superior!