Episode 9: Golden Snake Valley
The next day, about an hour before dawn, the two were woken up. Both of them were practicing that night, although they didn't sleep, they didn't feel the slightest fatigue. Instead, they felt energetic and their inner power seemed to have strengthened a bit. The two looked inward and surprisingly, after just one night of practice, they had increased their internal power by nearly two years. They were ecstatic in their hearts. It seemed that the innate divine power could gradually be refined from the two black and green balls of energy within their bodies.
From then on, every night the two would regard practicing the innate divine power as sleeping. They discovered that although their cultivation level improved every day, it was not as terrifying as the first night. They thought that advanced techniques were always like that, and the faster you practiced, the slower the progress would be. But they didn't know that that night, due to the shock, they unintentionally reached the highest level of martial arts in the realm of achieving unity between heaven and man. Therefore, they received remarkable results. Although the effect was not significant, the two still persisted in practicing every night. They knew that in any world, only with true strength could one live a wonderful life and be respected.
In fact, the two didn't know that if their slow cultivation speed were in their world, it would be extremely fast. It could directly make the masters of the level jealous to the point of spitting blood. Even the cultivation speed of the masters of the level was not as fast as their current cultivation speed by even a few percent.
In a flash, the two had traveled with the caravan for fifteen days. Every day, apart from chatting with the wolves and learning more information about this world, they also secretly learned some characteristics and methods of the cultivation of the Yuan Shis in this world.
The Yuan Wu world was filled with the elemental energy of heaven and earth. The Yuan Shis continuously absorbed the elemental energy through some techniques and then converted it into elemental power to enhance their cultivation. However, the elemental energy was getting increasingly scarce. If only absorbing it in the air, even if they trained until death, it would be very difficult to reach the level of a Yuan Shi. Therefore, the Yuan Shis in the Yuan Wu world mostly used Yuan Stones for cultivation because Yuan Stones are rich in elemental energy. Generally, the primary Yuan Shis at the Yuan Shi level needed only one per day to cultivate, while a fifth-level Yuan Wei master like the shopkeeper could only refine thirty or forty Yuan Stones per day. Of course, there were better ones. For example, the Yuan Jing given by Yang Mufeng to the shopkeeper and the wolves was pure elemental energy condensed, so it was extremely effective when refined. Therefore, the Yuan Shis in the Yuan Wu world regarded it as a treasure and would immediately refine it when they got it, to avoid being killed and robbed by other Yuan Shis.
Fortunately, Yang Mufeng and Duan Tianyi were generally rather low-key. They knew not to show off their wealth. Otherwise, the two large bags of Yuan Jing would have made anyone with evil intentions want to kill and rob them. But what frustrated the two was that they didn't know how to refine the Yuan Jing. Such a thing couldn't be asked directly to others, otherwise it would be suspected. If the two had a way to refine the Yuan Jing, then the Yuan Jing of multiple types would definitely lead to a sudden and rapid improvement in their cultivation, which was also what the two most desired. So now the two's greatest wish was to be able to create a cultivation technique. They had already tried, but the "Innate Divine Power" couldn't refine the Yuan Jing. They decided that after arriving in the Shaman City, they would go to the Golden Full Pavilion mentioned by the wolves to see if they could buy one.
The caravan was moving slowly under the scorching sun. Vaguely, ahead, it seemed that a huge canyon appeared. Under the scorching sun, it emitted a white and dazzling light. On both sides of the cliff were towering cliffs like two rows of huge white palaces standing in the sky, extremely magnificent.
However, in the canyon, sand waves were surging, and a desolate and fierce air rushed out. Even from dozens of miles away, one could feel a chill running down the spine. The camels all cowered on the ground, not daring to move.
The wolf shouted to the herd of camels, "Everyone be careful. We are approaching the Golden Snake Valley. This is the territory of the Golden Snake Lord. Everyone needs to be on high alert."
Duan Tianyi, who was proficient in Yin-Yang and various strange arrays, immediately recognized that this canyon was a bit strange. The canyon runs east-west, directly facing the caravan. At the entrance of the canyon, there are sixteen circular stone pillars standing at a height of over a hundred meters and a diameter of more than ten meters. At the top of each pillar, there is a stone statue. The statues are all different, some resembling flying eagles, some resembling coiled snakes, and many are creatures that I have never seen before. Judging from their forms, they are unique fierce beasts of this world.
Duan Tianyi quietly told Yang Mufeng, cautioning him to be careful. If any danger really occurred, he should first protect his own life. The two of them reached an understanding. Neither of them was a selfish person who only cared about their own lives. They knew in their hearts that even with their meager cultivation, they would hardly be able to help in any situation. Besides, giving out the essence energy was also an act of repaying the life-saving kindness.
All the Yuan Shis in the camel caravan drew out their curved swords and stood in a state of readiness, prepared to deal with any possible crisis at any time. The entire caravan was divided into five teams of Yuan Shis, each team consisting of fifteen Yuan Shis. The leader of each team was the Yuan Shi with the highest cultivation level, most of them were at the level of eighth-grade Yuan Shi or above. The first and second leaders even reached the terrifying level of third-grade Yuan Wei. They were all called Tiger Leader and Leopard Leader. Among the five leaders, Wild Wolf had the lowest cultivation level. The other two leaders had also reached the peak of Yuan Shi cultivation and were just one step away from breaking through to Yuan Wei and becoming a powerful individual in their own right. However, Wild Wolf was the oldest and most experienced in the caravan, so he was appointed as the leader of the third team. In situations like this, even high cultivation levels wouldn't play much of a role. It all depended on the experienced Wild Wolf leader.
It was only about two miles from the Golden Snake Canyon. However, the canyon gradually became quiet, as if warning everyone that there was a huge crisis lurking in the front part of the canyon.
Wild Wolf roared, "This is the first gate of the Golden Snake Canyon. Brothers, raise your curved swords and summon your dimensional beads, and charge together!"
Suddenly, the voices resounded loudly. Dozens of Yuan Shis simultaneously summoned their dimensional beads, powerful cosmic energy rushed in from all directions, enveloping the entire caravan in a colorful aura of cosmic energy.
One hundred meters, fifty meters, twenty meters...
At the moment of entering the canyon entrance, everyone's heads felt as if they had been struck by lightning, buzzing loudly. On the camels, Duan Tianyi and Yang Mufeng felt dizzy and their chests churned, almost vomiting. However, this situation lasted for less than ten breaths before everyone regained consciousness.
Before entering the valley, the wild wolf introduced this Golden Snake Valley to the two of them. There was an ancient grand array set up at both the entrance and the exit of the valley. However, due to the long passage of time, the power of the array had weakened significantly. Although it was weak, those who were rash and attempted to break through would almost surely die without achieving the level of a Yuan School master. The array at the entrance was called the Soul Capturing Array by the wild wolf, which was actually an array that affected the souls of the Yuan School masters, causing them to go crazy and lose their sense of self. The array at the exit was called the Soul Taking Array by the wild wolf, which was also an array that affected the souls of the Yuan School masters. However, this array directly attacked the souls, and if the soul was not strong enough, the Yuan School master might be stripped of their soul and die a violent death.
Although the danger was great here, compared to the Golden Snake King, this was already very safe. According to the wild wolf, the Golden Snake King was the hegemon of the vast desert area within a few thousand miles. Saying that he was the hegemon actually meant that he was a bandit who specialized in looting and robbery. The Golden Snake King not only had a terrifying level of eight Yuan School master cultivation, but also had a younger brother, the Silver Snake King, who was a five-level Yuan School master, and twenty Yuan School master-level commanders. He had a force of five thousand Golden Snake soldiers, and all of them were masters of the Yuan School level or above. The influence of this force directly affected several cities near the desert.
The Golden Snake King and the Silver Snake King, the brothers, were both extremely lustful individuals. Many female Yuan School masters in the nearby cities were brutally humiliated and died by them. Sometimes, in order to obtain a certain beauty, they would even fight fiercely, and the destruction of a family was a normal occurrence. Fortunately, there were several forces in the Shaman City that were not inferior to them, so they were able to enjoy peace and become the most prosperous and safest city within a few thousand miles.
After entering the Golden Snake Valley, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yang Mufeng looked astonished and said, "What an amazing array! Fortunately, we made it through."
The wild wolf's expression was somewhat solemn. "It would be best if we didn't encounter the Golden Snake Army. Everyone, pay attention. If this section of the valley goes smoothly, it will only take half a day to pass. Now, everyone, take a rest for a moment. In a quarter of an hour, we will set off."
As soon as the wild wolf finished speaking, suddenly, a series of booming sounds came from the depths of the valley, like thousands of horses galloping. The entire valley was trembling.
The wild wolf shouted.
"Bad news, quickly prepare for battle."
Less than ten breaths later, a force of nearly a thousand people appeared in front of everyone, with a distance of no more than fifty paces. Five tall beasts, resembling neither horses nor deer, were sitting on the backs of five strange-shaped men. The beasts were twice as big as camels. In the middle of the beast was a man in silver robes holding a saber, with a square face, sharp beak, and hooked nose, with a very pale complexion. He wore a silver helmet and emitted a brilliant light. He wore a pair of silver battle boots. Judging from his appearance and arrogant manner, he was the leader of this large group of people. The two men on the sides of this silver group were each over ten feet tall, with all their muscles bursting out, wearing war robes made of animal skin, holding two black round hammers weighing over a thousand kilograms. The more than a thousand soldiers behind them were all wearing red armor, holding shields in their left hands and knives in their right hands, and were very imposing.
"This is the Silver Snake King Lord and the four major commanders of the Red Flag Golden Snake Army. I am the guard of the Shen Family Trading House in Shaman City, currently the third team leader, the wild wolf. Now there is a batch of goods that the old man urgently needs, please do me a favor. This is not an act of respect."
Then the wild wolf ordered someone to bring a large bag of Yuan Stones.
The Silver Snake King Lord slightly raised his lips and coldly snorted, "A mere guard dares to bargain with me. Quickly, call your boss here to speak."
With a wave of his right hand, a silver beam of light flashed out and hit the wild wolf's chest solidly. The wild wolf was immediately thrown back more than ten paces, and his clothes were almost completely shattered by that strike. He vomited a large amount of blood.
"Rude, the Silver Snake Kid dares to hurt my Shen Family guard."
The gentle voice penetrated into everyone's ears with great penetrating power. The Silver Snake King Lord and the four major commanders were slightly surprised. A green disc caught the wild wolf and slowly lowered it.
"Haha... Who is this? It turned out to be Miss Shen Biyao, the most beautiful woman in Shaxing City. I'm so sorry, so sorry!"
"Knowing it was me doesn't give you the right to block the way. Otherwise, you'll be in trouble."
Shen Biyao was dressed in a black tight-fitting dress, with a green robe over it. She held a strange staff in her hand and her face was covered with a thin layer of black veil. She descended slowly from the sky like a fairy-like figure and landed in front of the caravan.
The wild wolf, wounded, hurriedly stepped forward. "Miss, no. They are outnumbered. It's better to hold our ground for now and deal with this later."
Shen Biyao waved her hand, indicating for the wild wolf to be quiet. Immediately, two senior monks came up and helped him down.
The Silver Snake Lord smiled maliciously. "The brothers of the Silver Snake Army have admired you for a long time. Since you have come today, you must show some hospitality as a host. Come to my mountain to express our long-standing admiration."
Shen Biyao said sternly, "Even you don't deserve it. If you want to keep me, show me some real skills."
"Miss Biyao, why do you need to be so demanding? We have no deep grudges against each other. Don't make it seem like it's either you dying or me living. This will hurt our feelings."
The Silver Snake Lord was extremely cunning and took advantage of his words to get some benefits. Even the Tang Tianyi and Yang Mufeng in the caravan felt disgusted. If he had the ability, he would immediately tear the Silver Snake Lord's mouth open with his hands.
Shen Biyao gritted her teeth and her body began to emit an extremely powerful green elemental qi. Nine dimensional beads the size of eggs floated up from her head. They were three green, three purple and three silver. The three green dimensional beads were slightly larger. These were the dimensional beads representing the attributes of wood, attack and speed lightning. Although they couldn't fully unleash the power of the dimensional beads like a senior level master, they could still exert about 50-60% of their power.
Seeing Shen Biyao's and were clearly above his own, the Silver Snake Lord's heart was truly disturbed for a moment. But then he turned around. Shen Biyao was powerful, but she was just one person. However, behind her was the Thousand Red Flag Silver Snake Army and the four generals. Not to mention Shen Biyao, even a senior level master would have to think twice in this situation.