The journey was marked by constant stops and sudden accelerations, leaving behind several chaotic battlefields.
Ahead lay a crossroads—
a point where man and tiger would part ways.
The canyon split into two paths.
Ye Qiu climbed the canyon wall, while the tiger charged straight in.
As they approached the entrance, Ye Qiu dismounted. Using small trees and shrubs clinging to the canyon walls as footholds, he quickly climbed upward.
The tiger continued deeper inside.
It was bait.
And the anaconda followed, exactly as planned.
The plan was simple—
but simplicity was enough.
Standing on the high ground, Ye Qiu gazed down at the massive python that had completely entered the canyon. A trace of excitement flickered across his face.
Without hesitation, he brought the tinder in his hand close to the fuse beside him.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion echoed through the canyon.
The pursuing anaconda froze, then twisted its body violently. The path it had entered from collapsed as rocks and debris rained down from both sides, sealing the exit.
"Hiss—!"
Its instincts screamed danger.
The anaconda immediately turned, rushing toward the opposite end of the canyon.
Unfortunately for it—
It was fast.
But Ye Qiu was faster.
And the fuse burned even faster.
Boom!
Another deafening explosion rang out.
The second exit collapsed as well.
The anaconda came to a halt, a towering wall of rubble now separating it from the tiger.
The trap was complete.
"Looks like everything's going smoothly," Ye Qiu murmured. "Now all that's left is the final step. Please… don't die."
He clenched the tinderbox in his hand.
His goal wasn't to blow it to pieces—
Only to push it to the brink of death.
When he saw the anaconda trying to climb over the rubble, Ye Qiu no longer hesitated.
He ignited all the remaining fuses buried throughout the canyon.
"Hiss—!"
The anaconda smelled death.
Its massive body twisted wildly as the ground trembled.
A series of explosions roared through the canyon. Even with the stone walls acting as barriers, the sound carried far into the forest, startling flocks of birds into the sky and sending nearby soul beasts fleeing in panic.
Even the tiger trembled.
If not for Ye Qiu's illusion control, it would have fled long ago.
Ye Qiu's ears rang violently, but he didn't dare slow down. His only fear was that the thousand-year-old serpent might already be dead.
As long as it still had a breath left, that would be enough.
All the explosives were gone—there could be no failure.
Reaching the canyon floor, Ye Qiu found the anaconda completely buried beneath the rubble.
Only when the blood-red glow in his eyes deepened, tinged faintly with purple, did he finally pinpoint its location.
Calling the tiger over, man and beast worked together, clawing through stone and debris.
"Holy crap—!"
Ye Qiu froze as a blood-soaked snake head suddenly emerged before him.
One of its eyes had been destroyed by flying debris. Its scales were shattered and peeling away, its once-majestic body reduced to a pitiful state.
But—
It was still alive.
With its remaining eye, the anaconda glared at Ye Qiu with pure hatred. It struggled to lift its head, its blood-stained tongue flicking weakly one last time.
"Hiss—"
Ye Qiu felt a trace of pity.
But only a trace.
"This is the world we live in," he said quietly. "Soul beasts spend thousands of years cultivating, yet humans surpass them in mere decades."
"That… is your tragedy."
He raised his gaze.
"Now—let's see if this works."
The Sharingan activated.
Ye Qiu's gaze locked onto the anaconda's remaining eye.
The dying serpent's mental defenses were shattered. There was no resistance at all. Its eye reflected Ye Qiu's image as illusion took hold completely.
At Ye Qiu's command—
Sacrifice.
The anaconda went still.
Just as disappointment flickered across Ye Qiu's face—
A faint purple glow bloomed from the serpent's body.
Light surged outward and enveloped him.
Ye Qiu burst into laughter.
"Haha… it worked!"
"My first purple spirit ring!"
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