"Didn't you notice? You've dealt with the Snake Clan for so long, yet you failed to notice that you... had already been marked by it? It's been following you the whole way."
With that, Xue Fuyao made the Spirit-Mind Purifying Flame burn a little more fiercely.
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could we possibly..."
"Shut up!"
A disciple of the Jimo Household behind them instinctively argued back, only to be silenced by the young man in the lead.
He had indeed felt someone following them along the way, but he had never found any clues and had assumed he was imagining things. He hadn't expected it to be real.
Just then, a rustling suddenly came from all around them.
It wasn't the sound of wind blowing through the grass, but of something hard scraping against it, approaching them at tremendous speed.
The next second, a green snake shadow shot out of the grass, opening its jaws to bite the head of the young man in the lead.
At that hairbreadth moment, a sharp burst of Spiritual Power shot from Xue Fuyao's hand, instantly striking the Snake Demon's head and sending it flying.
The entire process took less than a second.
While everyone else still stood rooted in a daze, Xue Fuyao had already reached the dead Snake Demon's side.
"Tsk, only the Foundation Establishment Realm?"
With some disdain, Xue Fuyao nudged the Snake Demon's corpse with her foot. It had reverted to its original form, its entire body covered in green scales. Her strike had smashed its head to a pulp, leaving its original appearance completely unrecognizable.
Just then, Golden Pupil and Purple Pupil poked their heads out of Xue Fuyao's sleeve. At the sight of the dead green snake on the ground, their eyes widened.
Noticing their