Nine-Headed Ancient Heavenly Snake

The pressure on their souls vanished instantly, and Xiong Zhan, Zi Yan, and Qing Lin all breathed a long sigh of relief, their faces still showing lingering fear. The attack from the Soul Devouring Demonic Tree had been far too bizarre and difficult to defend against.

Lin Ming gracefully landed back beside the three, his breathing steady. He looked at them and asked, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, my head is just still buzzing a little." Xiong Zhan shook his big head.

Zi Yan patted her chest. "This damn tree is so annoying, it's more tiring than fighting!"

Qing Lin shook her head gently, indicating that she was alright, and looked at Lin Ming with eyes full of admiration.

"The Soul Devouring Demonic Tree usually only appears in extremely yin places, growing by devouring souls. The fact that such a large area exists here suggests that quite a few powerful individuals perished in this Corrosive Poison Mire, perhaps even..."

Lin Ming gazed intently into the depths of the swamp, where the sky seemed shrouded in an ominous dark red.

Having cleared a major obstacle, the four dared not linger and continued along the established route.

As Lin Ming passed by the ashes of the Mother Tree, his eyes flickered, and he extracted a crystal from the ashes. It was only the size of a pigeon egg, completely black, yet gleaming with a strange Soul Light.

"The Soul Devouring Demonic Tree Heart Core? That's a rare soul-type material." Lin Ming murmured to himself, putting it away, thinking it might come in handy for alchemy in the future.

After passing through the core danger zone of the Corrosive Poison Mire, although there were still sporadic attacks from Magical Beasts along the way, they were no longer a concern compared to the Soul Devouring Demonic Forest.

When they stepped onto relatively firm, no longer muddy ground, and when the suffocating stench was gradually replaced by a scorching air carrying the smell of sulfur and burnt flesh, they knew they had finally passed through this oppressive, Corrosive Poison Mire.

Ahead, a mountain range, entirely black and jagged like the Beast Bone, stood majestically. That was the Black Bone Mountain marked on the map.

Beyond this mountain lies the outer edge of the legendary forbidden land where the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix perished— the Fallen Phoenix Abyss!

Passing through the suffocating, Corrosive Poison Mire, the scorching, dry air rushed towards us, carrying a strong smell of sulfur and the dusty scent of some ancient, weathered bones.

The Black Bone Mountain standing before us is completely different from the surrounding Mountain Forest, which, despite their strange shapes, are still lush and green. It is entirely a deathly black color, with jagged rocks and craggy peaks, as if it were a colossal beast whose flesh and blood have been eroded by time, leaving only its skeleton, exuding a desolate and heavy pressure.

"This is Black Bone Mountain? It feels... so oppressive."

Qing Lin gazed at the dark mountain, her delicate brows furrowing slightly, and instinctively clutched her chest.

For some reason, as she approached the mountain, she felt a strange palpitation, and her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils eyes also throbbed with a faint, longing and sorrowful emotion.

"Yes, this is the place marked on the map. It's said that the rocks of this mountain contain a special mineral, making them hard and dark black, hence the name."

Lin Ming explained, then keenly noticed Qing Lin 'Qing Lin unusual behavior and immediately asked with concern, "Qing Lin, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Qing Lin shook her head, her gaze somewhat lost as she looked into the depths of Black Bone Mountain: "It's not that I feel unwell... it's a very strange feeling, like... something is calling to me, right here in this mountain. It feels familiar, yet also very sad..."

"I'm calling you?"

Upon hearing this, Zi Yan also came closer, curiously examining Qing Lin, and asked, "Could it be related to your eyes?"

Lin Ming's heart skipped a beat at this. The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils was the nemesis of all snake-like Magical Beasts. Anything that could trigger its senses must be related to snakes! This Black Bone Mountain... could it be...?

With this in mind, Lin Ming immediately unleashed his Soul Power to carefully scan the entire Black Bone Mountain.

At first, he only felt the hardness and deathly stillness of the mountain rocks, but when he extended his Soul Perception deep into the mountain and combined it with Qing Lin's strange senses to explore, he indeed discovered a faint fluctuation that was extremely hidden, almost integrated with the mountain rocks, yet of extremely high essence and carrying Primordial Aura!

The fluctuations were extremely ancient, and... it seemed there was more than one!

"There's something in these mountains!" Lin Ming's eyes narrowed. "Moreover, it might be related to ancient snakes. Qing Lin's senses are usually right."

Without hesitation, Lin Ming immediately decided, "Since it's on the way, let's investigate. Qing Lin, carefully sense the source of that call; we'll follow you."

"Mmm!" Qing Lin nodded vigorously, closed her eyes, and fully activated the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. The azure Three Flower Mark appeared in her eyes, emitting a faint light, like a compass, guiding the mysterious connection within the mountain.

Guided by Qing Lin, the four began searching for Black Bone Mountain.

Black Bone Mountain is steep and its Shi Jian, making it difficult to scratch with ordinary swords. The smell of sulfur in the air is getting stronger, and you can even see the faint glow of reddish magma in some of the cracks in the mountain.

As they went deeper, Qing Lin's senses grew stronger, and her breathing became somewhat rapid.

"It's just ahead... in that largest mountain hollow!"

With a clear destination in mind, the four of them immediately sped up and soon arrived at a huge valley on the shady side of the main peak of Black Bone Mountain.

The terrain here is relatively flat, but it is covered with jagged black rocks, resembling a Shi Lin.

"The source of the sensation... is right here underground!" Qing Lin pointed to the central area of the mountain hollow, his tone certain.

"Underground?" Xiong Zhan looked at the hard, black rock beneath his feet and said in a deep voice, "Looks like we'll have to dig it up and take a look."

"There's no need for that."

Lin Ming stepped forward, his gaze fixed on that area, and slowly raised his hand, gathering powerful Dou Qi in his palm while simultaneously drawing upon the surrounding Space Power.

"Open!"

With a low shout, Lin Ming slammed his palm down!

Below, the large area of rocks and land, as if controlled by an invisible giant hand, began to writhe and tumble violently, then parted to the sides!

The soil and gravel were precisely removed, revealing deeper layers of rock beneath. This was not brute force, but rather the result of exquisite control over the soil, rock, and space, achieving extremely high efficiency with relatively little disturbance.

Zi Yan and Xiong Zhan also stepped forward to help. Zi Yan used her terrifying strength to directly blast away large chunks of rock, while Xiong Zhan used his violent Dou Qi to shatter the Shi Zhen into dust. Qing Lin nervously watched below, pointing out the direction.

With the combined efforts of the three, a huge crater quickly formed. As the surface rock was cleared away, what was revealed below was no longer ordinary black rock, but something deeper, with a dark metallic luster.

That looks like... bones?!

As they continued clearing downwards, more of it was revealed. It was an incredibly thick, sprawling, gigantic skeleton, stretching for an immeasurable distance!

The bones were a dark gold color, and even after countless years of erosion, they still exuded a chillingly hard texture and a powerful aura. And this was only a small part of it!

The four were shocked and quickened their pace of clearing. After nearly an hour, they finally cleared the ravine, revealing the full picture of the enormous creature buried beneath the mountain.

It was a serpentine skeleton that almost occupied the entire huge mountain hollow!

The skeleton was unimaginably enormous, coiled in the mountain hollow like a sleeping black mountain range. But what was most shocking was that at the neck of this massive snake skeleton, there wasn't just one skull, but... nine!

Nine equally massive, slightly different in shape, ferocious and majestic snake head skeletons guard the central trunk!

Each skull had a gaping maw, as if emitting a silent roar. Even though they had perished countless years ago, the Primordial Aura that surpassed all living beings, as well as the chaotic and powerful pressure unique to mutated species, still rushed over, making Xiong Zhan and even Zi Yan feel a chill run down their spines.

"This is... Ancient Heavenly Serpent?!"

Xiong Zhan gasped, his voice filled with disbelief.

"No... no! The Ancient Heavenly Serpent is the supreme being among serpents, but it usually has only one head! This... this is a mutant! Nine-Headed Ancient Heavenly Snake!"

Lin Ming stared intently at the awe-inspiring skeleton, then slowly nodded. "That's right, and it's an extremely rare variant, far surpassing the strength of ordinary Ancient Heavenly Serpent — Nine-Headed Ancient Heavenly Snake! No wonder it evoked such a strong reaction from the Qing Lin Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils."

Qing Lin was already stunned by the sight before her. She stared blankly at the nine-headed Nine-headed Serpent skeleton, her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils flashing uncontrollably, the emerald light flowing and resonating strongly with the skeleton.

A deep-seated sadness, affection, and longing filled her heart.

"It... seems very sad..." Qing Lin murmured, walking forward involuntarily.

Lin Ming's eyes flickered slightly; his Soul Perception was more acute than others.

Deep within this seemingly lifeless skeleton, he detected a faint, almost imperceptible, yet incredibly strong, Soul Fluctuation containing the primordial will of the Nine-headed Heavenly Serpent!

This Nine-Headed Ancient Heavenly Snake still has a wisp of its Remnant Soul remaining.

"Qing Lin," Lin Ming called out to her, "Use your Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to try to 'imprint' this skeleton, especially those nine heads."

Although Qing Lin didn't understand, she believed Lin Ming's words without a doubt.

She took a deep breath, walked close to the skeleton, concentrated all her energy, and fully activated the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils in her eyes!

Buzz--!

A brilliant blue light, more dazzling than ever before, burst forth from her eyes, rippling outwards like water, gently enveloping the enormous Nine-headed Serpent skeleton.

The moment the blue light touched the bones, a strange change occurred!

The once lifeless, dark golden skeleton seemed to have been infused with life, and a faint halo began to appear on its surface.

Immediately afterwards, from each of the nine enormous snake-head skeletons, an extremely faint, almost transparent Soul Projection emerged! These Soul Projection were identical in form to the snake-head skeletons, but more condensed; they struggled, as if awakened from a long slumber.

Nine Remnant Soul swirled and intertwined in the air, eventually managing to coalesce into a relatively complete, yet still incredibly illusory, image of the Nine-headed Heavenly Serpent's Soul Shadow!

Its size was far smaller than in life, and its Soul Fluctuation were extremely weak, but within those nine pairs of serpentine eyes burned an unwavering, indomitable will, as well as an indescribable, complex emotion revealed when seeing the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils —awe, longing, and even a trace of... relief?

After the Remnant Soul of the Nine-headed Heavenly Serpent appeared, it did not show any hostility. Its illusory gaze was firmly locked on the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils the Qing Lin, which exuded supreme serpentine pressure.

Qing Lin was startled by the sudden manifestation of the soul and subconsciously withdrew his pupil power, the blue light in his eyes slowly fading away.

However, just as the azure light completely disappeared, the Remnant Soul of the Nine-headed Heavenly Serpent let out a silent hiss, and its entire illusory figure suddenly transformed into a stream of light. It did not attack, but instead, at an unbelievable speed, it instantly entered Qing Lin's body!

"Ah!"

Upon hearing this, Qing Lin exclaimed in surprise, feeling a surge of cool and immense information and soul energy flow into her body. Strangely, this energy did not cause her any harm; instead, it carried a peculiar gentleness and attachment, converging directly towards her back.