A Living Person Must Be Found, A Dead Person Must Be Recovered; The Beautiful Snake Scheme!

Alive to see the person, dead to see the corpse; the White Jade Beauty Snake stratagem! Black Wind Rift, garrison forward base.

The deep Black Wind Valley was dominated by rugged, precipitous mountains, and that eerie rift to the spirit world bloomed precisely at the canyon's deepest point.

Utilizing the terrain, the garrison had established simple yet sturdy bases on the cliffs on both sides of the rift, echoing each other like a pair of pincers gripping a throat.

Commander Lou Ming stood before the observation port of the command post, his sharp gaze sweeping over the troops assembled below.

This batch of men were all new recruits who had just reported for duty, mostly fresh graduates from the nation's top martial arts universities, with an average cultivation level reaching the professional tier.

One must understand that to be assigned to a mission area like the Black Wind Rift was proof enough that they were all prominent figures who could hold their own in their respective universities—yet here, such "prominent figures" numbered over three hundred.

Lou Ming's brow furrowed slightly: "The headcount is wrong. Why are a few missing?"

An officer immediately stepped forward to report:

"Report! The third squad encountered an interception by the 'Blood Blade' mercenary group upon arrival. A small-scale conflict broke out, and they may be delayed by several hours."

Lou Ming let out a cold snort, his eyes filled with disgust:

"Hmph, these hyenas. The moment they smell a hint of blood, they can't wait to rush up and take a bite. They are becoming increasingly unscrupulous."

He paused, then continued to press, "What about the others? The two sent from Jiang City should have arrived yesterday according to the plan."

The adjutant's face turned somewhat grave as he whispered: "Sir, the two special envoys from Jiang City did indeed set out yesterday and entered the designated route."

"But at present... we have temporarily lost all contact with them."

He hesitated for a moment before adding, "Their route required them to pass through the traditional habitat of the Thunder Cloud Eagle King."

"And according to monitoring, an exceptionally violent beast riot broke out in that area last night. I fear..."

Lou Ming's expression darkened. After a moment of silence, he ordered in a voice devoid of emotion:

"Treat it as a battlefield disappearance. Notify their original units to make follow-up arrangements."

"Sir," the adjutant said, his voice lowering with visible difficulty, "among those two, the background of one... seems to be deeply connected to Grandmaster Wang Anguo."

"If we treat them as casualties so directly, is it... perhaps not quite appropriate?"

The words "Grandmaster Wang Anguo" caused a flicker in Lou Ming's eyes.

That was the former head of the Black Wind Valley garrison from two terms ago, a senior with immense strength and prestige whose influence still resonated within the military to this day.

Lou Ming clicked his tongue and rubbed his brow, silently cursing the trouble.

One could not ignore a Grandmaster's face; the proper posture had to be maintained.

"In that case," he issued a new order, his tone decisive.

"Immediately dispatch an elite reconnaissance squad to search along their designated route."

"Alive to see the person, dead to see the corpse. At the very least, we must demonstrate that attitude."

(To distinguish between them, the clone will be called Chen Yan, and the original body will be called Chen Xiaoyan.)

It took Chen Yan some time to adapt to this body.

Unexpectedly, the clone condensed by [Mirror Flower Water Moon] was modeled entirely after his original soul appearance, rather than his current infant form.

The perspective has suddenly become higher; it's still a bit hard to get used to... Chen Yan thought to himself.

He pushed the [Shadow Concealment] divine ability to its limit.

The aura, heat, and even his presence around his body almost vanished, as if he had truly merged into the shadows of these ruins.

The pressure radiating from the giant snake before him was nearly identical to that of his father, Chen Kefa.

Fortunately, his proficiency in the [Shadow Concealment] divine ability was nearing perfection, so avoiding this beast's perception was an easy task for him.

At this moment, the behemoth, currently in the midst of molting, still exuded a terrifying aura that made one's heart palpitate, yet it remained completely unaware of the threat mere inches away.

Chen Yan kept a string pulled tight in his heart...

The brutal scene of the slaughter from last night was still vivid in his mind. Having hidden within a painting to observe, he had long since grasped the terror of this beast.

Even though the creature was in poor condition due to its molting, his innate caution would never allow him to approach and risk danger lightly.

Yet, Chen Yan caught a sense of instinctual, almost scorching desire emanating from the creature.

Opportunities to eat the meat of a beast snake don't come often...

A thought darted into his mind without warning.

He quietly took out a simple wooden brush, infused his spiritual power into the tip, and sketched in the air.

In an instant, a lifelike beauty snake appeared amidst the broken walls and ruins.

Even to Chen Yan's discerning eye, this snake from the painting could be called a peerless beauty among its kind.

The snake's body was as white and moist as jade, glowing with a soft luster.

Its scales were so delicate they seemed carved from the finest mutton-fat jade, flowing with a gentle sheen in the dim light.

Its curves were fluid and graceful, its head raised slightly, and a pair of pupils dotted with light colors carried a hint of anthropomorphic charm and vivacity.

As it flicked its tongue, it silently emitted a strange, bewitching aura.

Chen Yan controlled this "White Jade Beauty Snake," causing it to slither silently to a distance neither too far nor too close in front of the Earth Scale Python.

It swayed its body gently, performing all sorts of graceful postures in an attempt to capture its attention.

I refuse to believe you won't be tempted!

However, he had underestimated the ferocity of this vicious beast.

It was currently mired in the pain and weakness of molting, and having just ascended to the throne of this territory by stepping over corpses after a bloody slaughter, its inherent malice was several times greater than usual!

The vertical pupils of the Earth Scale Python suddenly locked onto the "kindred" that had suddenly intruded.

With a flash of cold light, its blood-drenched maw, lined with sharp teeth, lunged forward to bite, a foul-smelling wind carrying killing intent rushing toward him.

Chen Yan instantly maneuvered the White Jade Beauty Snake into a sharp dive, barely dodging the lethal strike.

The python's jaws snapped shut on empty air, grazing the scales of the White Jade Beauty Snake.

"Hiss—ha!"

Having missed its mark, the Earth Scale Python let out a sharp hiss from its throat.

The sound was a mixture of the pain from its unhealed molting, the fury of a prey escaping, and a hidden desire for destruction capable of tearing everything apart, causing the rubble of the surrounding ruins to rattle and fall.

Completely disregarding the molting process, the Earth Scale Python thrashed its massive body wildly!

With it going berserk, the dilapidated factory building, already on the verge of collapse, could no longer hold up!

Rumble—!

The load-bearing structures snapped, and the roof and walls collapsed with a teeth-gritting screech, countless massive concrete blocks and steel bars raining down like a downpour!

"Holy crap!" Chen Yan exclaimed, never expecting such an outcome!

He instinctively unleashed Godly Movement at full power, his figure flickering rapidly through the gaps in the falling debris to evade.

Although he avoided the major boulders, a flying brick grazed the corner of his clothes, leaving a conspicuous smudge.

His figure appeared in a relatively safe corner, looking somewhat disheveled.

With this movement, the effect of Shadow Concealment was completely broken.

His aura and figure were now fully exposed before the Earth Scale Python, which had just stopped struggling and shaken off the rubble, looking even more scarred than before!

Man and snake locked eyes.

The air was thick with an awkward atmosphere and swirling dust.

Chen Yan looked into the Earth Scale Python's vertical pupils, which were filled with violence, pain, and... a hint of confusion, and let out a dry laugh.

He tried to ease the tension, pointing at the White Jade Beauty Snake, which had dissipated into a puddle of ink due to the collapse.

"Uh... considering I drew you a pretty wife, can we just pretend nothing happened?"

"If you still want one, I can draw another!"

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