"Roar~"
Once Gu Sheng left, the Verdant Python seemed to relax somewhat. Its slit pupils, the color of shattered gold, glanced at Gu Sheng, and an unreadable emotion flashed through its eyes. Then it suddenly raised its head and let out a mighty roar. As it roared, gale-force winds erupted, sending sand and stones flying, while the spiritual qi of heaven and earth around them began to run wild.
The clear sky suddenly dimmed considerably. One mass of dark clouds after another, seemingly coming from nowhere, slowly shrouded the heavens.
The sudden change left Gu Sheng and Chu Xin staring blankly at the strange sight in the sky, their faces filled with confusion.
"Boom!"
A thunderous rumble suddenly came from within the dark clouds. Silver lightning darted wildly through them, resembling silver serpents.
"What's going on?"
Sensing the violent energy contained within the dark clouds, Chu Xin turned to Gu Sheng and asked fearfully.
"Could there really be a Dragon Transformation Tribulation?"
Thunderlight flashed and danced chaotically within the dark clouds, while the sound of thunderclaps rang without end. Gu Sheng looked toward the Verdant Python, which had already risen into the air, worry flashing through his eyes.
Chu Xin looked toward the Verdant Python, her gaze filled with concern. "The Dragon Transformation Tribulation! Then Azure Spirit..."
"Rumble~"
A tremendous boom suddenly erupted from within the dark clouds. In an instant, heaven and earth brightened, and a massive silver bolt of lightning shot down from the clouds. It pierced through layer after layer of sky and struck the Verdant Python's ten-zhang-long body with pinpoint accuracy, running straight down from the lump atop its head.
"Bang~"
After being struck by the lightning, the Verdant Python's body trembled violently before crashing heavily to the ground. Before Gu Sheng and Chu Xin could approach, faint green mist seeped out from around the Verdant Python, obscuring their vision.
"Snake venom!"
Gu Sheng walked to the edge of the mist and reached a hand inside, only to feel tremendous resistance. This green cloud was no ordinary mist. It was more like a protective barrier formed from the Verdant Python's venom.
The rumbling in their ears gradually faded. The mass of dark clouds and lightning had come quickly and vanished even faster. Before the thunderous explosions in their ears had completely dissipated, the dark clouds in the sky had already disappeared without a trace. A few breaths later, sunlight once again warmed their bodies.
"How is Azure Spirit?"
Chu Xin patted the dust from her body before coming to Gu Sheng's side.
The two of them had been standing relatively close when the lightning struck. Although they had not faced the heavenly might of the lightning directly, the tremendous impact it brought had shaken the surroundings, and they had borne the brunt of it. They were not injured, but the dust it kicked up had still left them in a sorry state.
"Let's go in!"
Gu Sheng tested the green mist for a while and confirmed that their resistance to poison was enough to withstand it. Looking at the dense green mist around them, he frowned slightly, then slowly took Chu Xin's small hand and walked toward the center.
Gu Sheng and Chu Xin advanced more than ten zhang. Judging that they had reached the place struck by the lightning, their vision suddenly opened up. The area at the center was surprisingly free of even the slightest trace of green mist.
Their gazes immediately fixed on the center. On the ground lay a giant python more than ten zhang long, its entire body charred black and utterly motionless. Wisps of white vapor rose faintly from various parts of its pitch-black body. It looked like a dead snake that had been roasted to a crisp.
"Azure Spirit!"
The moment Chu Xin saw this, her legs went weak. She fell to her knees and covered her mouth as she began to sob.
"Did it fail?"
Gu Sheng looked at the terrifying giant python, its body severely shrunken and its exterior already carbonized. He let out a soft sigh, sadness filling his heart as a faint sting touched the corners of his eyes.
"Crack~"
A faint sound came from the giant snake. Gu Sheng, who had been preparing to collect Azure Spirit's remains, stopped in his tracks. His body trembled violently as he slowly raised his head and looked toward the source of the sound. A flicker of excitement and anticipation appeared in his eyes.
Under Gu Sheng's fixed gaze, the stiff giant python corpse lying limply on the ground suddenly began shedding its charred-black outer layer. The shedding gradually accelerated. In the end, Gu Sheng could vaguely make out something within the python's corpse, seemingly on the verge of breaking free.
"This... is it rising from the dead?"
Chu Xin also noticed the movement by the python's corpse. Looking at this eerie scene, her small mouth formed a perfect O.
Chu Xin had yet to develop much courage. Faced with such a situation, she instinctively thought of Gu Sheng. She had no time for sorrow now. After swallowing nervously, she slowly turned around, staring fixedly at the giant snake as its charred skin continued to fall away, and cautiously hid behind Gu Sheng.
"Boom!"
The giant python's corpse on the ground suddenly exploded with a loud bang. Black scales shot in every direction before instantly turning to dust. At the moment the python's corpse became powder, a vast and terrifying aura suddenly burst forth. At a horrifying speed, it swiftly enveloped the entirety of Iron Arm Ape Mountain.
The instant this mighty aura erupted, all the Demon Beasts near the foot of Iron Arm Ape Mountain grew restless almost simultaneously. Their bodies retreated and fled uncontrollably, as though something terrifying had appeared in that direction.
"Yah yah!"
"Yah yah yah!"
"Yah yah~~"
Outside Ape King Cave, in the lair of the Iron-Arm Apes, all the Iron-Arm Apes became restless at the same time. They keenly sensed a sudden threat—a presence just as powerful as their "king."
"Yah~~~"
Inside Ape King Cave, an Iron-Arm Ape covered in silver fur suddenly opened its eyes. Two golden beams seemed ready to pierce through the mountain cliff and shoot straight toward the foot of the mountain.
"Hiss hiss~"
"Roar roar~"
In a strange canyon on the shaded side of Iron Arm Ape Mountain, where a cold aura lingered year-round, countless giant snakes were entwined together. The moment the python's body exploded, nearly all the giant snakes turned their heads toward the foot of the mountain and hissed continuously, as if welcoming the birth of their king.
"Roar~"
Inside a damp cave at the bottom of the canyon, a ten-zhang-long black python with a lump growing from its head coiled around a huge white plant. It roared and bellowed without pause, as if emphasizing that it was the true king.
Before long, that aura swiftly withdrew into the green mist like a receding tide. Then the nearly twenty-zhang-wide cloud of green mist began to contract, forming an extremely spectacular green whirlpool before Gu Sheng and Chu Xin's eyes.
Gu Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly and stared fixedly at the green mist whirlpool not far away. He held Chu Xin's hand tightly, his palm drenched in sweat. The two of them watched in silence, yet their hearts were filled with indescribable anxiety.
"Whoosh~"
The green whirlpool gradually shrank and was about to vanish. The black dust swept up by the vortex slowly drifted down. At the instant the green mist whirlpool disappeared, a green Light Shadow shot out. It seemed to pierce through the obstruction of space itself, moving so quickly that it caught them completely off guard.
"This..."
Before Gu Sheng could think, a sharp whistle split the air beside his ear. He instinctively raised his hand to shield his front, preparing to meet the incoming impact.
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