Nine Heavens Demon Snake

Outside the valley.

Zhu Fang felt a sense of inexplicable agitation. He stood up and paced back and forth, constantly peering toward the valley, longing for that thin, small figure to appear as soon as possible.

"Something doesn't seem right. The kid has been in there for so long; logically, he should have come out by now..."

Zhu Fang muttered to himself, his worry fueling a deep sense of unwillingness.

He was determined to obtain the Purple Spirit Grass. He had spent so much time and wealth on this; if he failed now, he might as well be dead.

In any case, he didn't have much time left to live, and he was penniless.

"Damn it, I'm going to see what kind of tricks this brat is playing!"

Zhu Fang spat on the ground, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. With a stomp of his foot, he stepped into the mist.

A faint, translucent layer of spirit armor manifested just in time, shielding him from the encroaching miasma.

However, his spirit armor lacked any golden hue.

As he ventured deeper into the valley, the concentration of the miasma increased, and his spirit armor began to ripple slightly. At first, the fluctuations were subtle, but they soon grew violent, resembling boiling water—the intensity was truly alarming.

Seeing this, the muscles at the corners of Zhu Fang's mouth twitched, and his heart filled with trepidation.

He was only at the first level of Qi Refining, and the power of the Spirit Armor Art he wielded was limited; it could not fully block the corrosive nature of the miasma.

He would be injured sooner or later.

When he finally reached the blue stone and discovered that the Purple Spirit Grass had vanished, Zhu Fang couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, his face turning incredibly ugly.

That little bastard! He would rather die than give the Purple Spirit Grass to him!

The sound of his spirit armor rippling grew more intense, each vibration ringing in his ears. Without hesitation, Zhu Fang bypassed the stone and hurried further into the valley.

In his view, a youth with only peak Innate-stage cultivation could not possibly survive the corrosion of the valley for long while using the Spirit Armor Art. He needed to find the boy's remains as quickly as possible to reclaim the Purple Spirit Grass.

"Not good!"

A sharp pain flared across his skin. Zhu Fang furrowed his brows and sprinted toward the depths of the valley.

Time was running out; his spirit armor could not hold on much longer, and the miasma had already begun to seep through.

Guided by the magical female voice, Chen Changming sprinted through the mist. The pale golden spirit armor on his body rippled violently, emitting constant popping sounds. Although the display was alarming, there were no signs of it collapsing.

The power of the miasma had not increased either.

A moment later.

Chen Changming emerged into a patch of the valley where the mist was thin. The female voice suddenly vanished, and he abruptly regained his senses.

"This is..."

Even with the youth's steadfast mind, the scene before him made his legs tremble.

In the valley, a black giant snake, twenty or thirty zhang long, was coiled around a red bird of equally massive proportions.

The bird was several zhang in size; if it spread its wings, its bulk would likely rival that of the black snake.

A pair of hard, red talons were embedded into the snake's head, and a pair of scarlet snake eyes glared fiercely at the red bird.

What kind of monster was this!

It was too terrifying!

The sight of these horrific monsters, which only existed in myths and legends, left Chen Changming drenched in sweat. He turned to flee.

"Don't be afraid. This snake is already dead."

The enchanting, magical female voice returned. Chen Changming shook his head, only then realizing that the voice was echoing directly inside his brain.

"Who... who are you?"

Chen Changming stared at the red bird in terror, his voice trembling as he asked.

The red bird remained motionless, yet it could transmit its voice into his mind. What kind of supernatural power was this?

"To kill this snake, I have exhausted my very essence..."

The red bird sighed faintly. Looking at the weak human child before it, its heart was filled with unwillingness.

The Nine Profound Demon Snake was too difficult to deal with, and its physical body was incredibly powerful; it had nearly drained the bird dry.

Now, there was not a shred of spiritual power left in its body, and its lifeblood had been depleted by the use of secret arts. It was unable to move a muscle, and only by relying on its severely injured Primordial Spirit could it communicate with the child.

It was like an oil lamp that had gone out, needing just a drop of oil to be replenished so that it could ignite a prairie fire.

Chen Changming retreated slowly.

Could this thing be trying to lure him over to eat him?

In his mind, these legendary monsters were all man-eaters.

"Little brother, you possess Five-Element Mixed Spirit Roots, one of the worst aptitudes in the world. Even if you embark on the path of immortality, you will never achieve anything great. Why not cultivate like my Demon Race and specialize in the path of body refinement instead?"

The red bird spoke slowly, its eyes clear and its tone remarkably calm.

Chen Changming was speechless.

The young man's expression grew increasingly unsightly at this moment; this was not the first person to say something similar. Was his Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root really that terrible?

The repeated blows did not drive the youth to despair; on the contrary, a fire burned within his heart.

He possessed a mysterious phenomenon, so what did it matter if his aptitude was poor?

As long as he was given a chance to step onto the path of immortality, he would cultivate tirelessly, putting in ten or a hundred times the effort of an ordinary person. The youth believed that in this world, all effort... would eventually be rewarded.

"Even if I cannot move, killing a mortal at the Xiantian Realm is still as easy as crushing an ant."

A faint sigh echoed.

Chen Changming froze, stopped in his tracks, took a deep breath, and looked at the red bird. "Senior, what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Big sister is not that old."

A silver-bell-like chuckle rose in his mind.

"Big sister!"

Chen Changming gave a helpless, bitter smile.

This red bird did not seem like the kind of man-eating monster; after some interaction, she felt just like a neighbor's older sister, possessing a sense of intimacy.

She was much better than that Silver-Robed Immortal Master.

"Can you give the Purple Spirit Grass to big sister to heal her wounds?"

"I can!"

Chen Changming did not hesitate, holding up the Purple Spirit Grass and speaking with great determination.

This Purple Spirit Grass was a treasure to a great cultivator like Zhu Fang at the Qi Refining Realm, but to him, it might as well be poison.

If he were to consume it with his meager cultivation, he would likely be severely injured, if not killed outright.

If he could trade it for this monster's trust, Chen Changming believed that Zhu Fang outside would no longer pose a threat to him.

"Stuff the Purple Spirit Grass into big sister's mouth."

The red bird instructed.

Chen Changming agreed, walked over quickly, climbed onto the snake's back, and fed the Purple Spirit Grass into the bird's beak.

After swallowing the Purple Spirit Grass, the red bird seemed to regain some vitality, as if a trigger had been pulled. She blinked her eyes, suddenly opened her beak, and bit off a chunk of snake meat to swallow.

Only two or three breaths after the snake meat hit her stomach, the red bird's mental state improved significantly.

A force emerged from thin air, gently pushing Chen Changming to the side.

Hum...

The red bird's body gave a slight tremor, breaking free from the black snake's coils.

"Nine Heavens Demon Snake, you old ghost, rest in peace. Your hide has performed a meritorious service today. If this Princess survives this tribulation, I will certainly erect a monument for you!"

The red bird sighed softly, her gaze turning cold. Then, a terrifying scene unfolded: as her beak opened, this giant snake, dozens of feet long, was swallowed whole by her.

Watching this brutal scene, Chen Changming felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar; his eyes were dull, and the cold made it impossible for him to breathe.