Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent

"Zhuqing, come to our room."

Seeing Zhuqing standing there all alone and forlorn, Xiao Wu invited her to join them in their room.

Zhuqing peered through the gap in the door and saw Li Luo, feeling that something was amiss.

"This... I'm afraid that wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"

"What's wrong with it? Come on, let's go together."

With that, Xiao Wu grabbed Zhuqing and pulled her into the room, then shut the door tight.

Inside Dai Mubai's room.

Dai Mubai pressed himself tightly against the door, observing Zhuqing through the peephole, and watched as she entered Li Luo's room.

"Damn it, this bitch. She acts all high and mighty with me, but in reality, she just latches onto any powerful Spirit Master she sees."

Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, his fists clenched so tightly he longed to rush out, kick down Li Luo's door, catch them in the act, and confront Zhuqing.

You escaped from the Star Luo Empire—weren't you looking for me?

Why are you hooking up with another man? You are my fiancée, mine!

Of course, this was merely Dai Mubai's delusion; he still dared not provoke Li Luo.

Furthermore, Dai Mubai only lusted after Zhuqing's beauty. If he were to actively approach her based on their engagement, it would mean he had to face the struggle for the throne against his elder brother.

Dai Mubai had fled to the Heaven Dou Empire precisely to distance himself from the political whirlpool of the succession, so how could he possibly throw himself back into it?

In truth, this lecherous tiger was simply craving Zhuqing's body; he was base, yet unwilling to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities.

Otherwise, the moment he recognized Zhuqing, he should have confessed his identity and promised to join hands with her to fight against Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun.

But even now, five days after seeing Zhuqing, Dai Mubai still hadn't stated his position. It was clear he didn't want to be responsible and couldn't bear that burden.

Yet, Dai Mubai couldn't stand watching his nominal fiancée throw herself into another man's arms; it gave him the feeling that he was being cuckolded.

Caught in this web of contradictory emotions, Dai Mubai couldn't sleep a wink all night.

It wasn't that he was struggling with whether or not to come clean to Zhuqing, but simply because there was no beautiful woman by his side tonight, and he was feeling sexually frustrated.

In Li Luo's room, Li Luo lay in the middle of the soft, large bed with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong on either side, while Zhuqing lay on a small cot in the corner of the room, her body curled up.

The night passed in silence.

The next morning, the Shrek group gathered downstairs.

Everyone was full of energy, except for Dai Mubai, who sported two large dark circles under his eyes; it was clear he hadn't slept at all.

Last night, Dai Mubai had opened the door a crack every so often to eavesdrop on the movements in Li Luo's room.

Only after hearing no sound would he return to bed, but before long, he would repeat the eavesdropping, over and over, leaving him sleepless for the entire night.

Seeing that his students were assembled, Zhao Wuji ignored Dai Mubai's disheveled state and waved his hand to signal their departure.

The entire journey could not be halted for one person; the sooner they helped Oscar obtain his spirit ring, the sooner they could return to the academy.

The nine of them walked slowly into the forest, with Zhao Wuji taking the lead to scout the path ahead.

Li Luo and Tang San stood on either side, remaining vigilant of their surroundings.

Zhuqing climbed into the trees, weaving through the forest in tandem with the main group's progress.

Oscar continuously produced Recovery Big Sausages and Detoxification Small Sausages in preparation for any unforeseen needs.

Even the usually playful Little Demoness Ning Rongrong became alert.

Only Dai Mubai, looking as if he had indulged in excess, barely kept up with the team, unable to muster any spirit.

The group's footsteps crunched on the leaf-strewn forest path, and a breeze swept through the woods, causing the leaves to rustle.

The party advanced slowly for about two and a half hours.

Just then, Zhuqing suddenly became alert and signaled for everyone to stop.

"Wait, there's a situation ahead."

Li Luo: "What is it?"

"There is a flying snake approaching."

Zhuqing replied.

"Describe the snake's appearance."

Li Luo said.

"Its head has a large, bright red fleshy crest, and it has pale red wings on both sides of its body. Its entire body is pale red."

Li Luo concluded: "It's a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent."

During his years at Notting Academy, Li Luo had spent his days immersed in the academy's library, devouring countless books and gaining a wealth of knowledge.

Later, after establishing a connection with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he had also requested many general and rare texts from Ning Fengzhi, so Li Luo's knowledge of spirit beast theory was now very extensive; naturally, he could identify the spirit beast based on Zhuqing's description.

"Take another close look, about how long is this snake?"

Zhu Zhuqing focused her gaze and discovered the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was flying rapidly toward her, so she hurriedly relayed this information to Li Luo.

"It's about six to eight meters long, and it's flying straight toward us."

No sooner had Zhu Zhuqing finished speaking than the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent appeared within the line of sight of the Shrek group.

Upon seeing the Shrek group, the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent did not dodge; instead, it flew directly toward them, attempting to pass right over the heads of the Shrek members.

It was flying in a state of panic, as if something terrifying were chasing it from behind.

Seeing this, Zhao Wuji took immediate action, activating his Martial Soul Possession as his spirit rings manifested.

Following this, his second spirit ring flickered, and a single Vajra Palm struck the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, knocking it out of the air.

The group surged forward, surrounding the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, which was still struggling and not yet dead.

"This spirit beast is known as a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. Judging by its size, its age is around 1,400 to 1,600 years."

Zhao Wuji looked at Li Luo, and Li Luo, understanding his intent, took the initiative to introduce it.

Oscar's eyes lit up upon hearing Li Luo's introduction; the age of this spirit beast was exactly within the range he could withstand.

"Teacher Zhao, I want the spirit ring from this beast. I saw how fast it was flying just now; after absorbing its spirit ring, I might be able to obtain a decent buffing spirit skill."

Oscar first expressed his gratitude to Li Luo, even though his goddess, Ning Rongrong, paid him no mind and instead stuck to Li Luo all day long.

However, since Li Luo had introduced the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent to him, Oscar knew how to distinguish between different matters and kept his priorities straight.

Zhao Wuji nodded, signaling that Oscar could proceed to kill the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent and obtain the spirit ring.

Oscar drew the dagger he carried with him, raised his arm high, and prepared to strike at the vital point of the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.

Just then, a thunderous shout interrupted Oscar's movement.

"Stop!"

The voice was aged and raspy, sounding as if it had come from an old woman.

The group looked toward the source of the sound and saw an old woman holding a snake-headed cane walking over, followed by a young girl holding an identical Serpent Cane.

"You cannot absorb the spirit ring of this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent."

The old woman's tone was firm and beyond reproach, her attitude extremely overbearing.

The young girl behind her nodded, echoing the old woman's words.

"Grandma is right, you cannot absorb the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's spirit ring, because it belongs to me!"