Snake Valley

Beyond the great doors lay pitch-black darkness. A vast, chilling wind swept through, carrying bone-piercing cold. An ordinary person who came here would need no punishment at all—they would immediately tremble in terror, as if they had entered hell.

Su Hao strode forward, circulating his magical power. At that moment, a fierce gust suddenly shot toward him, carrying a sinister, venomous aura.

Su Hao spun around and abruptly shot out his hand, catching the incoming object. It was somewhat cold, and from its struggles, he could tell that it was a snake.

He blew out sparks, illuminating the surroundings. The thing in his hand came clearly into view: it was a black snake as thick as an arm, yet around its neck was a multicolored band, dazzlingly bright.

This was a Seven-Colored Blood Venom Snake. Though only a fifth-level Qi Condensation demonic beast, its venom was incomparably vicious and could poison even a seventh-level Qi Condensation demonic beast to death. Once contaminated, the toxin would enter the bloodstream and rot the entire body away. It was extraordinarily deadly.

Swish, swish, swish!

Just as Su Hao identified the snake, fierce winds surged in from all directions. Chilling auras enveloped every side of him; who knew how many venomous snakes were attacking at once.

"Not bad. The grade is just a little low."

Su Hao muttered. Once he understood his situation, his expression returned to its usual calm, without the slightest trace of fear.

He activated his technique, and flames immediately burst from the pores across his body, cloaking him like armor and radiating terrifying heat.

The venomous snakes that came into contact with the flames immediately hissed and shrieked before falling to the ground. Yet as they died, even more venomous snakes surged forward like moths rushing into a flame.

This place was called Snake Valley. Countless venomous snakes lived here, and having gone without sunlight or flesh for years, they had long been ravenous and exceptionally savage. Upon encountering someone who entered, they naturally pounced in a frenzy.

Su Hao strode ahead beneath the flames. As he went deeper, more venomous snakes attacked from all around, and their levels rose as well. The flames around his body were already finding it difficult to hold them off.

The snakes had reached the sixth level of Qi Condensation!

"Hmph!"

Suddenly, Su Hao gave a muffled grunt. A sharp pain shot through his calf as a venomous snake bit him, injecting a stream of icy poison into his body, where it merged with his blood.

This was not a mistake, but something Su Hao had done deliberately. The Seven-Colored Blood Venom Snake's venom was immensely toxic, yet the poison within it was also a supreme treasure for strengthening the body. It was of great use to Su Hao.

Moreover, Su Hao possessed an Innate Dao Body. Though it had yet to fully mature, ordinary poisons were still incapable of taking his life.

"Sixth-level Qi Condensation is just right."

With a cold laugh in his heart, Su Hao immediately circulated the Heavenly Demon Art. The sound of howling wind arose within him as the poison entering his body was actually drawn along and circulated.

Coming here was not punishment to Su Hao at all, but an immense stroke of fortune.

For his Supreme Heavenly Demon Art to break through to the seventh level of Qi Condensation, he had to condense the Heavenly Demon Dharma Body. Cultivating Dharma and body together was the path he would walk in the future.

The snake venom here was precisely suited to that requirement.

This was also why Su Hao had not fiercely resisted when he learned that he was being sent into Snake Valley.

At the same time, he frantically swallowed the spirit stones on his person, driving the Supreme Heavenly Demon Art beyond its usual limits and causing those spirit stones to be refined at a furious pace.

And under the stimulation of these toxins, Su Hao's refinement of spirit stones was actually several times faster than usual.

More venomous snakes lunged in to bite him. Under Su Hao's deliberate control, while ensuring that he remained within his limits, he allowed some of the snakes to sink their fangs into his body. As the snake venom was refined, it continuously strengthened his flesh.

At the same time, he swept his gaze around, searching for an exit. The instant Su Hao entered this place, he had detected the aura of an array. The space within was far from as vast as it appeared; there had to be a mist array here.

Following the knowledge in his mind, he made his deductions. Then, abruptly, he raised his head and looked upward.

Above him was a void of darkness, impossible to see clearly.

Yet from time to time, faint glimmers flickered in the void overhead, like stars blinking.

There was something strange about this place.

But those in the Qi Condensation realm could not fly through the air. Even if there was a path above, how could he get out?

Su Hao fell silent. After carefully considering it, he took talisman paper and cinnabar from his storage bag. With a grand sweep of his brush, he infused them with magical power, and a spirit talisman took shape.

Lines of patterns covered the talisman. Upon closer inspection, their shape resembled swirling gusts of wind.

Once the spirit talisman was complete, Su Hao fiercely stomped the ground, sending his body soaring fifty meters into the air. At that instant, the talisman paper in his hand immediately ignited, and a swirling gale appeared, wrapping around Su Hao's body and lifting him another fifty meters.

At a height of one hundred meters, Su Hao felt a barrier above his head, as though there were a thin membrane there. He immediately circulated his magical power and blasted upward. At once, a cracking sound rang out above him, and a fissure appeared. Light shone through it, connecting to the outside world.

Whoosh!

Su Hao dropped back to the ground. That fissure was far too small to allow him through, but having discovered the exit, he was completely at ease. Leaving was no longer a problem.

"Once I reach the seventh level of Qi Condensation, breaking the barrier here will be simple."

Su Hao refined spirit stones and devoured snake venom. His flesh and magical power grew in tandem, while time swiftly slipped away amid this cultivation.

Xiao Wuji finally returned on his flying sword, his face brimming with excitement. "After exerting the strength of nine oxen and two tigers, I've finally gathered the Hundred Beast Blood. I can open the East Gate's inheritance ground now. With Su Hao's talent, the inheritance he obtains surely won't be poor. There is hope for the revival of my East Gate."

With such thoughts in mind, he entered the Spirit Creek Sect and arrived at the East Gate.

The East Gate had already taken on an entirely new appearance. The stone houses had been built with considerable skill, and Xiao Wuji's eyes showed satisfaction when he saw them. He smiled. "Those two brats haven't been slacking off after all. They even knew to plan out their own doghouse. Mm, not bad. My exhausting efforts to find Hundred Beast Blood for them weren't wasted."

The more he looked, the more satisfied he became. He strode inside, but before he could speak, the courtyard gate opened and three people rushed out in a flurry.

Lin Yaoyao, Xia Xiaojiu, and Meng Xianxian all wore anxious expressions.

Lin Yaoyao hurried forward, dropped to his knees with a thud, and said, "Elder, save him! Brother Hao has been locked in Snake Valley by the Law Enforcement Hall. It has already been three days and three nights."

Buzz!

The smile on Xiao Wuji's face immediately vanished. The words Snake Valley made his expression change drastically. Not a single disciple who entered that place had ever come out alive. He asked in a deep voice, "Why?"

Lin Yaoyao was single-minded, and in his anxiety, he wasted far too many words without managing to explain things clearly.

Xia Xiaojiu cut him off. "I'll explain. This is what happened..."

Point by point, Xia Xiaojiu described everything clearly—from Lin Yaoyao being beaten, to Su Hao going up the mountain for revenge, to Liu Dao making things difficult and sending people to hunt him down, and even the later appearance of the Law Enforcement Hall.

Meng Xianxian added, "The most urgent matter is to go to Snake Valley immediately and open the passage. We don't know whether Su Hao is still alive."

"Seeking death! Do you take my East Gate for fallen and destitute, with no one left who can call the shots?!"

Xiao Wuji flew into a rage, his expression incomparably grim. His aura erupted, and half the sky actually turned crimson.

His fury set the heavens ablaze!