Exotic Snake

Lu Chuan looked down along the cliff, his heart tightening.

On the rock face below was a ledge about two zhang wide and over ten zhang long, covered in dead branches and fallen leaves.

"Chuanzi," Lu Danian said, his voice grave. "Keep your eyes peeled."

"Mm." Lu Chuan nodded firmly.

Facing an Exotic Snake that could spew venomous mist, he dared not be the least bit careless.

The two found a large tree and securely tied their ropes.

Lu Danian grabbed the rope first and cautiously climbed down, with Lu Chuan following close behind.

After an uneventful descent, both landed on the rocky ledge.

The moment his feet touched down, Lu Chuan's eyes were immediately drawn to a plant on the inner side of the ledge.

Its leaves had long since fallen, and its main stem was extremely long, as thick as a thumb.

But the valuable part of Yellow Essence was its rhizome, buried deep in the soil.

Lu Danian stared at the crevice behind the Yellow Essence:

"Careful—last time I scouted here in winter, that thing was coiled in the rock crack behind the Great Medicine!"

"Even in winter, it's not as active as in summer, but it's still damn dangerous!"

Both of them immediately focused, alert to their surroundings.

The ledge looked calm, but no one knew where that terrifying Great Serpent was hiding.

Even under Lu Chuan's Eagle Eye, he still couldn't spot the Great Serpent.

After a tense standoff, he looked at the piled-up dead grass and withered leaves on the ledge.

A bold idea struck him.

"Dad, waiting around like this won't work. The enemy's hidden and we're exposed—too passive."

Lu Danian frowned. "What do you want to do?"

Lu Chuan pointed at the dry grass on the ground:

"Let's... burn this whole area down."

"First, the flames and smoke will force it out. Second, it'll clear away these annoying dead vines and weeds, making it easier for us to move."

Lu Danian nodded to himself... This was indeed the most effective way to break the deadlock!

"Alright!"

A great fire blazed up on the cliff ledge, thick smoke rising.

Lu Chuan and Lu Danian had already retreated to a safe spot.

As for the Yellow Essence, its tubers were buried deep in the soil, so it wasn't afraid of the brief surface flames.

The fire spread quickly, soon reaching the rock crevice behind the Great Medicine.

Choking smoke poured into it.

"Hiss!"

A spine-tingling hiss rang out!

True to Lu Chuan's expectations, the coiled Exotic Snake was finally forced out!

It shot out from the rock crevice, slithering along dead vines and old tree branches hanging from the cliff face, quickly escaping the fire to a spot the flames hadn't reached.

The Great Serpent was now fully exposed before them.

As thick as a bowl, about two zhang long, its body covered in pitch-black scales. Its triangular snake head was raised high, eyes locked onto Lu Chuan and Lu Danian below.

"Strike first!"

Before the Great Serpent could act, Lu Chuan had already drawn his bow and nocked an arrow. The dark arrowhead mixed with Mysterious Iron shot out instantly.

The bowstring twanged, the arrow flew like a meteor!

"Thud!"

The arrowhead scraped hard across the Great Serpent's body, sending a spray of red blood flying, along with several black scales.

"Hiss—!"

The Great Serpent let out a pained shriek.

Its dull yellow snake eyes locked onto the hunting bow in Lu Chuan's hands, clearly not expecting that thing to break through its tough scales.

But both Lu Chuan and Lu Danian's hearts sank at the same time.

The Mysterious Iron Arrowhead had indeed done its job, but... it had only broken the skin and drawn some blood.

For such a massive snake body, that was far from a fatal wound!

"Chuanzi, this isn't good!"

Lu Danian held a hastily made three-meter-long hardwood fork, his voice urgent.

"This beast's hide is too thick! Even the Mysterious Iron Arrowheads can only wound it this much! Dragging this out will cost us—maybe we should pull back..."

"Dad, don't panic!" Lu Chuan's eyes locked onto the Great Serpent as he swiftly drew another Mysterious Iron Arrow.

"Let me try once more! It has a weak point!"

The Great Serpent paused to regroup, its vertical pupils blazing with murderous intent, clearly enraged to the core.

Its massive body suddenly sprang forward, lunging with lightning speed!

Lu Danian gritted his teeth, thrusting the long wooden fork forward to block the Great Serpent precisely, locking into a struggle with it.

Normally, this front-line blocking duty would have fallen to Lu Chuan, but after Lu Danian had seen his son shoot a drifting dead leaf out of the air from fifty paces away, he had willingly taken on the most dangerous task himself!

The Great Serpent's first strike failed, but it didn't relent, lunging forward again and again.

Fortunately, Lu Danian was seasoned—he angled and levered the fork, never letting the serpent's head get close, man and beast wrestling on the rocky platform.

After repeated failures to break through, the Great Serpent grew visibly impatient.

It suddenly recoiled, its neck swelling, jaws gaping wide, a murky green mist churning deep in its throat!

Now... Lu Chuan, who had been holding his bow at the ready, finally saw his chance!

"Fall back!" As the words left his mouth, Lu Chuan's fingers released.

Hearing the call, Lu Danian stepped back in unison.

Within fifty paces, no arrow missed its mark!

The Mysterious Iron Arrow left the string, streaking straight for the Great Serpent's open maw!

In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the depths of its throat!

"Sss... hkk..."

The serpent's venomous breath, poised to spew, was brutally cut short, and it began thrashing wildly.

The Mysterious Iron Arrowhead burrowed deep on contact, shredding its innards in agony.

After that shot, Lu Chuan gave the Great Serpent no respite—he reached back and drew the last Mysterious Iron Arrow from his quiver.

Seizing the gap as the serpent writhed madly, Lu Chuan now aimed for its belly.

Soon, the bowstring sang again!

The Mysterious Iron Arrow struck with the same ruthless precision.

This arrow punched clean through the fragile belly scales, the entire shaft burying itself inside the Great Serpent's body!

"Sss!"

Struck by successive grievous wounds, especially with its organs shredded by the Mysterious Iron Arrows, the serpent's struggles grew feeble and erratic, its long, thick body gradually going limp.

Finally, after a few convulsions, the Great Serpent lay still.

Those dull yellow vertical pupils slowly lost their light.

Lu Chuan gripped his hunting bow tightly, staring at the massive serpent corpse.

Lu Danian, leaning on the wooden fork, wore a face mixed with lingering fear.

After a full dozen breaths, confirming the Great Serpent showed no sign of life, father and son finally relaxed.

They had won...

Lu Chuan slowly exhaled a mouthful of stale air, then looked at the serpent's body.

"Dad, this Great Serpent... I'm afraid it's no ordinary beast anymore—thick-skinned, fierce, and cunning. Even if it's not a true Exotic Beast yet, it's close. Let's take its body back too."

Lu Danian nodded repeatedly at that.

"Right you are! You've got it! This beast was practically turning into a spirit—no ordinary mountain game could compare!"

To be safe, the two first used the Chopping Knife to hack off the serpent's grim head.

After that, they pushed aside the charred grass ash and began carefully digging for the Great Medicine.

They didn't dare use too much force, afraid of damaging the precious herb. It took nearly an hour to fully unearth the Yellow Essence.

Lu Danian wrapped the Yellow Essence tuber and tried lifting it.

"My god..." he murmured, "This weight... it's got to be at least twenty jin!"

"No wonder it's an old thing that's soaked up a hundred years of sun and moon essence..." Lu Chuan couldn't help marveling either.

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