Magic City, Zhou Family Old Residence.
Su Yuan sat there. Although he hadn't gone to the Southern Frontier in person, he knew the situation on Zhou Yu's side like the back of his hand.
That was also one part of the plan devised with the Grey Mirror. So far, everything was under Su Yuan's control.
"Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley..."
Su Yuan's thoughts turned.
Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley was teeming with giant snakes. Forget humans—even other animals that dared to enter would be torn to shreds by the countless serpents.
Of course, Su Yuan had a way to ensure Zhou Yu's safety as he entered Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley alone.
The Transparent Viscous Substance Zhou Yu had made could completely mask his scent when smeared over his body.
It would also give off the scent of a fellow snake, making the snakes in Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley think Zhou Yu was one of their own.
The Transparent Viscous Substance was made using a method provided by the Grey Mirror. It was produced from various medicinal ingredients and specific snake eggs, and was specially designed to fool the senses of the countless snake monsters in Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley.
Of course, the Transparent Viscous Substance only worked on ordinary giant snakes. It wouldn't be much use if he encountered the giant, vicious snakes in Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley—or the two Snake Mothers.
Giant snakes that had evolved to that level no longer relied solely on their sense of smell.
But Su Yuan had a way to handle that, too. Zhou Yu just had to follow his instructions.
Outside Snake Valley, Southern Frontier.
After threatening and warning the eight herb gatherers, Zhou Yu followed Su Yuan's instructions and made his way along the side of Snake Valley.
Thirteen minutes after Zhou Yu started circling the valley, Su Yuan's voice sounded in his ear again.
"Enter Snake Valley from here."
At the sound of this, Zhou Yu stopped at once and cautiously entered Snake Valley.
Rustle, rustle~ As soon as Zhou Yu entered the valley and looked at the scene before him, his breath nearly caught in his throat.
Everywhere he looked, the rocks and ground were covered with snakes. They came in all sizes, thick and thin, and filled nearly half the valley.
"This..."
Zhou Yu's heart pounded faster than ever. Facing so many snakes, even a Dark Force expert would get chills, let alone a Huajin Grandmaster.
But since Su Yuan hadn't told him to flee, Zhou Yu could only steel himself and stand where he was.
A moment later, Zhou Yu realized something was wrong. The countless snakes didn't seem to bear him any hostility.
"Is it because I smeared on the Transparent Viscous Substance?"
Zhou Yu immediately realized the reason.
"Now, walk forward slowly."
Su Yuan's voice came through the Miniature Earpiece again.
At Su Yuan's command, Zhou Yu began walking forward slowly, no matter how uneasy he felt.
As he ventured deeper into Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley, Zhou Yu lost count of how many giant snakes he passed at close range. Yet none of them seemed interested in him, as if they couldn't see him at all.
By then, Zhou Yu had long forgotten to wonder how Su Yuan could know everything happening around him. He had only one thought in his mind.
He had to obey "Sir."
"Stop."
Su Yuan's voice came through the Miniature Earpiece and sounded in Zhou Yu's ear.
Zhou Yu stopped immediately.
There were far fewer snakes here, but Zhou Yu still didn't dare let his guard down.
He was already deep inside Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley. One careless move could doom him.
"There's a hole ahead. Jump down."
Su Yuan said.
"A hole?" Zhou Yu looked ahead and indeed spotted several dark openings.
When he reached one, Zhou Yu didn't ask what was inside. He simply jumped down.
Crack~ As a Dark Force expert, Zhou Yu adjusted his posture the instant he landed, then looked around.
The hole wasn't very deep, and faint light from outside filtered in.
"This..."
Zhou Yu immediately guessed.
The space beneath the hole was probably the lair of the countless snakes in Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley.
"In thirteen seconds, the signal will cut out for two minutes. Stand here and don't move."
Zhou Yu heard Su Yuan's voice again.
Just as expected, a little over ten seconds later, the signal in Zhou Yu's Miniature Earpiece suddenly cut out.
Without Su Yuan's warning, Zhou Yu would most likely have panicked. Strictly speaking, he hadn't merely ventured deep into Snake Valley—he'd come straight to the underground lair, the Snake Den.
Two minutes later.
Su Yuan's voice came through again.
"Keep moving forward."
Zhou Yu steadied himself and headed in the direction Su Yuan had indicated.
He didn't know how much time had passed. The light grew dimmer and dimmer, and the air smelled increasingly rank.
Suddenly, Su Yuan's voice sounded in his ear.
"Stop. Hide behind that rock on your left!"
Zhou Yu did as he was told without hesitation.
Twenty seconds later, the sound of scales scraping against the ground reached him. Zhou Yu couldn't help looking up. A giant snake, two meters thick, was slithering toward him from the direction he had come.
If he hadn't been hiding there, he would most likely have run straight into it.
Even with the Transparent Viscous Substance smeared over his body, Zhou Yu felt the giant snake would have noticed him.
Fifty seconds later.
"Get up and keep heading forward."
Only when Su Yuan's voice sounded again did Zhou Yu dare to stand and continue onward.
After that,
Zhou Yu proceeded through the bottomless Snake Den in fits and starts.
Each time he stopped, he managed to avoid one or more giant, vicious snakes.
Or perhaps those giant, vicious snakes were avoiding Zhou Yu. Every time, they just missed him.
Zhou Yu's emotions lurched like a roller coaster. They never settled for a moment.
At last,
two hours later,
Zhou Yu reached the bottom of the Snake Den.
There were no other snakes here—not even a single giant, vicious one.
Zhou Yu glanced around, then suddenly stopped breathing.
At the very bottom lay a colossal creature, almost indistinguishable from its surroundings.
"Is that even a snake?"
Zhou Yu's mind went blank. The colossal creature was seven or eight meters thick, many times larger than the giant snake beasts he'd encountered earlier. Even more incredible, two bulges rose faintly from its head, as if something fearsome were about to emerge.
"Don't be afraid. The Snake Mother is asleep and can't detect you."
Su Yuan's voice came through.
"The Snake Mother? Is this the legendary Snake Mother?"
Zhou Yu snapped out of his daze.
Before Zhou Yu could think any further,
Su Yuan's voice came through again.
"Do you see that Blood Lingzhi to your front right?"
"To my front right?" Zhou Yu looked in that direction and indeed saw a Blood Lingzhi no larger than his palm, its entire surface as red as if drenched in blood.
"Go over to it," Su Yuan said.
Zhou Yu immediately walked toward it, even though the legendary Snake Mother lay right in front of him.
Standing before the Blood Lingzhi, Zhou Yu didn't act rashly.
Instead, he quietly waited for Su Yuan's next instruction.
Time passed.
At the bottom of the Snake Den, Zhou Yu faintly made out a breath so long it seemed impossible.
"Is the Snake Mother breathing?"
Zhou Yu swallowed.
Each breath lasted an astonishingly long time. The interval between an inhale and an exhale alone was ten minutes.
Inhale, exhale.
Exhale, inhale.
After waiting a full seventy minutes,
just as the Snake Mother's final breath was ending,
Su Yuan, far away in Magic City, gave the order. "Pick the Blood Lingzhi now and put it in the jade box."
The reason he'd chosen this moment to pick the Blood Lingzhi was that removing it at any other time would wake the sleeping Snake Mother.
In other words, the Blood Lingzhi originally belonged to this Snake Mother. It had chosen to sleep here for the sake of the Blood Lingzhi.
Under these circumstances, whoever picked the Blood Lingzhi would alert the Snake Mother.
Only at the end of the Snake Mother's seventh breath, when the new breath hadn't entered and the old breath hadn't left, could it lose awareness of its surroundings for ten minutes while in a critical stage of sleep.
Only then could the Blood Lingzhi be picked without drawing the Snake Mother's attention.
Whoosh~ The moment Su Yuan gave the order, Zhou Yu reached for the Blood Lingzhi, plucked it, and put it in the jade box he'd brought.
"Should I head back now?"
Zhou Yu looked toward the way he had come.
"Keep going toward the front left. Thirteen meters ahead, there's a passage. Crawl inside and climb straight up."
Su Yuan's voice came through.
Without hesitation, Zhou Yu followed Su Yuan's instructions.
Whoosh~ When he reached the narrow passage, Zhou Yu climbed inside without a second thought and started crawling upward.
The trip up was much faster than the stop-and-go journey down. There were no giant, vicious snakes near the narrow passage.
Thirty minutes later,
Zhou Yu finally reached the surface and saw the scenery of Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley.
"I made it out?"
Zhou Yu was dazed.
Along the way, he'd lost count of how many giant, vicious snakes he'd passed at close range. He had even come face-to-face with the legendary Snake Mother.
And yet he'd miraculously survived what should have been one deadly situation after another.
The giant snakes had ignored him.
The vicious snakes had paid him no mind.
The Snake Mother had never woken up, allowing him to take the Blood Lingzhi.
All of it brought a saying to Zhou Yu's mind—
When the time came, even "Heaven and Earth" would lend their strength.
But who was "Heaven and Earth"?
Before you continue