Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent

The group searched all morning but found nothing except a few Ten-Year Soul Beast rats.

Wang Xingyu crouched and pressed his Blue Silver Grass into the soil. Its roots burrowed underground, and the Soul Power fluctuations within two hundred meters spread out in his mind.

From Nuoding Academy to Shrek, his perception range had grown from dozens of meters to two hundred as his Soul Power increased. The roots underground were denser than those above, and the Soul Power fluctuations were clearer.

But he still found nothing.

Irritated by the sun, Dai Mubai swiped a claw at a Soul Beast rat in the nearby grass, only for Wang Xingyu and Tang San to stop him at the same time.

"They're no threat to us. Soul Beasts grow very slowly, so let them grow. There's no need to kill them for no reason," Wang Xingyu said. Tang San nodded.

Dai Mubai withdrew his tiger claw and muttered, "All right, all right, for the sake of you two. Why do I feel like a villain standing next to you?"

Ma Hongjun chimed in from behind, "You've got a villain's face to begin with." Dai Mubai turned and glared at him, and Ma Hongjun immediately ducked behind Xiao Wu.

After they had gone a little farther, Wang Xingyu suddenly stopped. The Blue Silver Grass on the ground trembled faintly. "There's movement, up ahead!"

Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu set off almost at the same time, bounding up the tree trunks in a few leaps. Xiao Wu's voice came from the canopy. "It's a snake with wings!" Zhu Zhuqing added, "About six or seven meters long, with a cockscomb on its head."

"A Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, around fifteen hundred years old. It's a great fit for Oscar," Wang Xingyu blurted out.

Oscar's eyes lit up. "You even know that?"

Of course I do. I've read the script.

"Go." Wang Xingyu ignored his question. "Ning Rongrong, give Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing a speed boost." Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lit up, and two rays of light fell on Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing. Their speed surged, and they chased after the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.

Xiao Wu caught up first. She used Moon Shadow to shift sideways to the serpent's flank and kicked it in the belly.

Zhu Zhuqing came in from the other side, raking her cat claws across the serpent's body. But the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's skin was extraordinarily slick. Striking it was like stepping on an oiled stone slab: not only did they barely break through its defenses, they nearly slipped and fell themselves. They attacked again and again, but never managed to do any real damage.

"It's too slippery!" Xiao Wu landed and shook out her hands.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had already spread across the ground. Several vines wrapped around the serpent, fine barbs growing across their surfaces.

The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's slick skin gave even the barbs nothing to catch on. With a twist, it slipped straight out of the vines. Just as it was about to break free, Ning Rongrong's second ray of light fell on Dai Mubai. "First: strength!"

Dai Mubai activated White Tiger Vajra Transformation, and his tiger claw, wreathed in earth-yellow Soul Power, slammed down, smashing the serpent to the ground.

Wang Xingyu's Blue Silver Grass wound around the serpent alongside Tang San's vines. He activated Life Drain, trying to draw away the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's Soul Power. But the serpent was too slippery and kept twisting, greatly reducing the rate of absorption.

The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent recovered a little and began struggling violently again, its slick skin letting the vines slip off one by one.

Dai Mubai gritted his teeth and gathered strength in his tiger claw for another blow. His last strike had landed, but it hadn't fully subdued the serpent.

Zhao Wuji stepped in. Gravity Enhancement spread out, pressing the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's entire body against the ground. Its struggles abruptly weakened. Dai Mubai's tiger claw stopped in midair, and he glanced at Zhao Wuji.

Zhao Wuji folded his arms. "Just in case, so you don't waste too much time here. You lot aren't up to it-you can't even handle a Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

Oscar drew a small knife from his waist and walked excitedly toward the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. Its body pinned immobile by gravity, Oscar crouched down, aimed at its head, and was about to stab.

"Wait!"

A voice came from behind them. Everyone turned to see two people emerge from the woods. In front was an old woman with a head of white hair, leaning on a snake-headed cane. Behind her followed a girl of sixteen or seventeen, with a green snake coiled around her waist.

Snake Granny, Chao Tianxiang, and her granddaughter Meng Yiran. Wang Xingyu sighed inwardly.

He had used his Blue Silver Grass to find the target faster than in the original story, but he hadn't expected these two to show up right on time anyway. The inertia of the plot really was extraordinarily strong.

As Snake Granny walked, she revealed her Soul Rings. Six rings rose from beneath her feet, and the pressure of a Soul Emperor spread through the woods. She planted her snake-headed cane on the ground without speaking. Just standing there, she made the air around her grow heavier.

Zhao Wuji glanced at her without so much as a snort. Seven Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet: two yellow, two purple, and three black. The imposing presence of a Soul Saint pressed back without ceremony.

Ma Hongjun poked his head out from behind the others, glanced at Snake Granny's six Soul Rings, and muttered, "Only a Soul Emperor?"

Snake Granny's gaze swept toward him, and Ma Hongjun immediately ducked back.

Wang Xingyu stepped forward, closed his fan, and cupped his fists in greeting. "So you're Senior Snake Granny of the Peerless Dragon Snake. I've long admired your name."

Snake Granny's gaze fell on him, and she looked him up and down. Zhao Wuji also turned his head and took a closer look at her, his brows twitching slightly-it really was her. The name Peerless Dragon Snake was no small one in the Soul Master World; he simply hadn't expected to run into her here.

"Oh? You know me?" Snake Granny's voice was hoarse but full of vigor.

"Who travels the Soul Master World without knowing the names of you two seniors?" Wang Xingyu spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, giving her face without sounding servile.

"Since you know us, that makes things easier. My granddaughter and I found this snake first and chased it all the way here from the south side of the forest. Look at the wounds on its body. My granddaughter inflicted them all with her Serpent Cane. Please let us have the snake."

Ma Hongjun went over for a look. There were cracks in its scales where the tip of the cane had struck, and its belly was black and blue. They had indeed been left by the Serpent Cane. He turned and nodded to Zhao Wuji. "It's true."

Zhao Wuji stepped forward, his tone a few degrees more polite than usual. "Senior, I also brought my disciple here to hunt for his Third Soul Ring. You did find this snake first, but we were also the ones who subdued it. What do you say to-"

Wang Xingyu cut him off. "How about we follow the Soul Master World's rules? In a situation like this, each side sends one person to duel, and the winner gets the Soul Ring. But we'll have to send Tang San. Oscar is a food-system support, so he can't fight."

Before Snake Granny could speak, Meng Yiran frowned. "I'm level thirty, and he's only level twenty-nine. Can he beat me?"

Tang San stepped forward, his voice steady. "It's fine."

The corners of Wang Xingyu's mouth curled up.

Tang San stopped suppressing his Soul Power, and his presence surged. He broke through the level-thirty bottleneck in an instant, sending Soul Power fluctuations rippling in every direction. Oscar and the others cried out in surprise, and even Zhao Wuji gave him a couple of extra glances.

Meng Yiran froze for a moment, then snorted. "What good is a breakthrough you just made?"

Tang San didn't answer and walked to the center of the clearing. Meng Yiran uncoiled the green snake from her waist, spun the Serpent Cane in her palm, and attacked first.

Her First Soul Ring lit up, and the scale patterns on the Serpent Cane's surface suddenly glowed. Trailing ghostly green Soul Power, the cane chopped down at Tang San's head. Tang San didn't meet it head-on. He activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, leaving an afterimage behind him.

The Serpent Cane struck the afterimage and smashed into the ground, kicking up a spray of torn grass. Tang San circled to her side, Blue Silver Grass emerging from his palm. Blue Silver Strangulation. His First Soul Ring lit up, and the Blue Silver Grass wound around her legs and waist, tightening sharply.

Meng Yiran struggled but couldn't break free. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was far tougher than ordinary Blue Silver Grass, and the barbs on the vines gripped her clothes and skin tightly.

She suddenly stopped struggling, and her Second Soul Ring lit up-Serpent Body. Her legs abruptly became soft and boneless, and she twisted like a real snake, slipping out through the gaps in the vines.

Her joints could twist at will and her muscles could contract as she pleased. No matter how tight the entanglement, it couldn't hold a snake with no fixed shape. After slipping free, she rose again, her snake tail swaying gently against the ground and a hint of smugness on her lips. "Your Blue Silver Grass can't bind me."

Tang San didn't continue using Blue Silver Grass. His opponent's Serpent Body state had a natural resistance to entanglement, so using vines again would only waste Soul Power. He shifted his feet and activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track again, leaving three afterimages around Meng Yiran.

Meng Yiran swept her cane across, dispersing the afterimages one by one, but Tang San's real body had already circled to her side. His right hand formed a claw, and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon reached straight for the middle of the Serpent Cane.

Meng Yiran reacted swiftly, pulling the Serpent Cane back. The snake-head carving on its butt end bit toward the back of Tang San's hand. Tang San neither dodged nor retreated. His five fingers closed firmly around the shaft, and the snake head bit the back of his hand, but a layer of jade-white light shimmered over his palm. He had already activated Mysterious Jade Hand, and the fangs couldn't pierce it at all.

Without pausing, Tang San used Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon and grabbed the other end of the Serpent Cane. Meng Yiran's lips curled up. "There's a deadly poison on it. You're grabbing it bare-handed-don't you value your life?"

Tang San's voice was flat. "Poison doesn't work on me." As he circulated Mysterious Jade Hand, a layer of jade-white light appeared on his fingers, and the snake venom couldn't penetrate at all. Each holding one end of the Serpent Cane, they unleashed their Soul Power at the same time and began a direct contest of strength.

Comparing poison resistance and depth of Soul Power with the king of cheats, Wang Xingyu thought, silently shaking his head.