Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor

Given the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's docile cooperation, Leian did not make things difficult for it. After clarifying the information he needed, he changed direction and flew toward the north.

Before long, Leian stopped above a silent and gloomy deep valley.

Looking down, he saw a lake several hundred meters in diameter. The water was dark and bottomless, with a thin layer of gray mist swirling over the surface, giving off a faint sense of deathly stillness.

"Is this where the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor resides?"

Leian's expression was grave. The gray mist was so eerie that the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor was likely not simple, and he could not help but feel a sense of vigilance.

According to the Thunder-Winged White Tiger, Saint Realm Magic Beasts, like human Saint Realm experts, had varying levels of strength.

Among the dozen or so Saint Realm Magic Beasts he knew of, his own strength was only in the lower-middle tier, while this Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor was ranked in the upper tier, second only to the overlord of the southwestern section of the Youquan Mountain Range—the Tyrannosaurus Demos!

Leian knew exactly how powerful Demos was. Since the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor was second only to Demos, Leian did not believe the creature had failed to notice him.

Strangely, this fellow had not yet appeared, which was completely contrary to the habits of Saint Realm Magic Beasts; it was truly quite odd.

After a moment of contemplation, Leian shouted directly: "Come out, Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor!"

Boom—

As soon as his voice fell, the water surface exploded with a roar. Amidst the spray, nine ferocious, emerald-green snake heads suddenly broke through the water and lined up in mid-air.

At this moment, eighteen scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Leian.

"Human, state your purpose!"

The Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor truly possessed remarkable intelligence. Instead of scolding Leian and telling him to retreat like the Thunder-Winged White Tiger had, it asked for his purpose.

Leian's gaze swept over the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor's millstone-thick body, his expression turning serious. After a moment of thought, he said:

"My name is Leian. I heard that your strength is formidable, and my hands are itching for a spar."

Upon hearing this, the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor's nine heads began to sway, and a cold killing intent emerged in its scarlet eyes. One of the heads suddenly lunged forward, threatening him without a hint of emotion:

"Are you prepared to die if you fight me?"

Leian raised an eyebrow, feeling even more puzzled. It was said that snake-type Magic Beasts were the most irritable; although this Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor did not hide its killing intent, it was clearly exercising great restraint, and judging by its words, it seemed reluctant to fight.

However, Leian had come specifically for a battle, so he could only silently apologize.

While thinking, he flipped his right hand, drew his long sword, and laughed loudly: "It won't be that easy to kill me. Come!"

As he spoke, his figure flickered, and he charged toward the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor first.

Seeing this, anger finally ignited in the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor's scarlet eyes. Accompanied by a hiss, the calm lake suddenly churned, and a water column as thick as a barrel surged up, transforming into a water dragon that twisted toward Leian to crush him.

This water column was a Water-type magic—Water Tornado!

Water Tornado had no fixed rank; its power was determined entirely by the caster's strength. Given the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor's power, the strength of this Water Tornado was clearly extraordinary; even a Saint Realm expert would likely have their bones crushed if caught inside.

Facing the incoming water dragon, Leian flickered, bypassing it with ease at a speed far exceeding that of a typical Saint Realm expert.

"A mere Water Tornado won't be enough to stop me."

Leian's laughter echoed through the valley, and at the same time, his figure flashed toward the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor like lightning.

As he neared the snake heads, Leian decisively thrust his long sword.

Chi chi~~

The blade, radiating black light, tore through the void. Just as it was about to pierce the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor's skull, an ice shield suddenly condensed out of thin air to block the way.

Seeing this, Leian couldn't help but sneer. Thinking that a mere ice shield could stop his Destruction Battle Qi strike was nothing but a pipe dream.

With a soft "pfft" sound, the black-glowing sword pierced through the ice as if it were solid grease, continuing with unstoppable force to strike the massive, ferocious snake head behind it.

Boom!

With a dull thud, the flesh where the sword tip touched exploded, and a blood hole the size of a wooden basin appeared on the snake head.

"Awoo—"

Suffering this heavy blow, the other eight heads of the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor let out painful roars in unison, while the wounded head withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Judging by its appearance, it would likely not recover for some time.

With one of its nine heads crippled, the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor was undoubtedly completely enraged by Leian.

In an instant, three of its heads whipped around, their blood-red maws wide open, and thick, dense gray mist surged out toward Leian.

As soon as the gray mist appeared, Leian felt a hint of threat from it. He was startled and retreated rapidly.

The feeling this gray mist gave him was identical to the mist on the water earlier, but the aura of death within it was dozens of times stronger.

"As expected, it's the Laws of Death!"

He had suspected it before, but seeing the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor spit out the gray mist itself, Leian no longer had any doubts.

Before coming, he truly hadn't expected that this Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor was actually a rare dual-element Saint Realm Magic Beast of Water and Death.

Just as Leian was shocked, the mass of gray mist spread at an incredible speed, covering the entire valley in the blink of an eye.

Leian, having been careless, inhaled a wisp of the mist, and a wave of dizziness immediately washed over his brain.

"Soul attack!"

In horror, he hurriedly circulated his Destruction Battle Qi to purge the gray mist from his body.

Just then, countless frost descended, and within a radius of several miles, the temperature plummeted rapidly. Before long, a thick layer of ice had frozen over the surface of the lake.

At the same moment, a layer of ice crystals coated Leian's skin. Having barely regained his senses, he immediately felt a terrifying chill piercing through his flesh and seeping toward his soul ocean.

"Absolute Zero!"

Feeling the bone-chilling cold within his body, Leian instantly recognized the origin of this frigid energy; it was the forbidden water-element spell—Absolute Zero!

The power of Absolute Zero was immense. Once unleashed, the sheer intensity of the freezing temperature could instantly turn an opponent into ice shards, even freezing and shattering their very soul.

Without hesitation, Leian activated his Magic Beast transformation. Purple-black dragon scales instantly covered his entire body, resisting the external cold.

Simultaneously, his Destruction Battle Qi surged wildly, and a sphere of Black Light erupted from within, rapidly obliterating the encroaching frost.

On the other side, seeing Leian covered in frost, a flash of pleasant surprise crossed the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor's cold eyes, and its remaining eight heads lunged fiercely toward Leian.

As a Magic Beast specializing in the Laws of Water, the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor had absolute confidence in its trump card, Absolute Zero.

Since it had comprehended this forbidden spell, no opponent had ever survived after fully enduring the effects of Absolute Zero.

Just as Leian was about to lose his life to the serpent heads, at the most critical moment, Leian moved. In his Magic Beast form, his speed was even greater; with a flash of Black Light, his figure appeared at the side of the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor.

The Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor had never expected Leian to recover so quickly under the effects of Absolute Zero. Caught off guard, it was immediately struck by Leian's sword on one of its heads.

A black sword gleam flashed by, and a half-meter-long gash appeared on the nearest serpent head. The wound was deep enough to reveal bone, and foul-smelling blood sprayed out like a fountain.

Yet another serpent head withered away!

Just as Leian was contemplating whether to subdue this rare Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor, a hoarse voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Stop!"

As the voice rang out, a figure draped in a black robe slowly rose from beneath the water, ascending until it reached the same height as Leian.

Without a doubt, this was a Saint Realm expert!

The opponent was completely shrouded in a black robe from head to toe, making it impossible for Leian to see his appearance. It was only when the figure looked up that a withered, skeletal head came into Leian's line of sight.

The moment he saw this person, Leian's heart jolted violently, and he blurted out instinctively:

"Undead Saint Archmage!"

I think I've caught it. Why do I say "think"? Because I live with my brother, and he took a nucleic acid test two days ago and tested positive.

Let me talk about how I feel right now. The symptoms aren't too severe; I have a slight fever, and my head, throat, and body—especially my lower back—all ache. I also have mild diarrhea. I haven't taken any medicine, and I don't have any either.

Of course, something even more unlucky happened. While rummaging through a drawer this afternoon, I accidentally jammed an old key ring into the gap under my fingernail, about half a centimeter deep. Damn it, it hurts like hell.