Liu Wuniang

Fifth Aunt Liu led the way, while Hu Mang and his mother exchanged glances and frantically typed Morse code behind them.

The only one completely unaware of this is probably Liu Manqing.

However, Liu Manqing was not completely unaware of this. At least she knew that this "Soul-Binding Willow" had broken through the level of Acquired Law Treasure and had begun to approach the innate level.

This "Dragon-Locking Grotto" was a yin-ghostly acupoint created by her mother to nurture the treasure.

It's called the "Dragon-Locking Grotto," but it's actually a snake cave.

The cave was much larger than I had imagined, about the size of two or three rooms. It was an irregular oval shape, with natural rock walls covered with a layer of slippery, dark green moss that felt cool and damp to the touch.

The top of the grotto is not high; you can almost reach it with your hand. It is covered with dense stalactites, and countless snake skins of varying thicknesses are intertwined between the stalactites. Some are dry and brittle, while others still have a moist sheen, as if they have just been shed.

The ground was sunken, like a shallow basin, with a thick layer of dead leaves and snake slough fragments at the bottom. It was soft and slippery to walk on, making no sound.

In the very center of the basin, there is a black millstone with a smooth, mirror-like surface. It is engraved with spiral patterns, and the patterns are filled with dark red material, like dried blood. Dozens of snakes of various sizes are coiled around the millstone.

The snakes were of various colors—some were completely black, some were gray and white, some were dark brown, and a few were entirely green, glowing in the dim light.

The smaller ones were only as thick as a finger, curled up on the edge of the stone slab; the larger ones were as thick as an adult's arm, coiled into circles of snakes, heads held high, their forked tongues flicking gently in and out of the air, emitting a soft hissing sound.

They don't attack people; they just stay quietly in their respective spots. Occasionally, a snake will slowly wriggle, shifting to a more comfortable position, its scales rubbing against the dead leaves, making a rustling sound.

Several snakes saw Liu Manqing and even climbed onto her body, hissing at her. When their eyes met, the rich young lady's gaze also held a cold, indifferent glint.

Hu Mang gasped.

There are several openings of varying sizes in the four walls of the grotto, leading into deeper darkness, but it is unknown where they lead.

The largest opening is about half a person's height in diameter, with its edges worn smooth and shiny, indicating that something frequently goes in and out of it.

On the stone wall at the cave entrance, there was a layer of translucent, thin film-like substance, resembling a snake's shed skin or some kind of secretion, which shimmered with a faint glow under the green light.

A low, persistent hissing sound permeated the entire grotto, the background noise of dozens of snakes simultaneously flicking their tongues. It wasn't loud, but it was everywhere, like countless tiny voices whispering in the darkness.

The fishy smell in the air was so strong it was almost tangible, and when inhaled, it had a slightly spicy sensation, making one's throat feel a little dry.

"Third sister, I've revealed everything to you since I brought you here."

Liu Wuniang turned around and laughed. At some point, her lower body had completely transformed into a snake shape. Her snake tail, as thick as a water bucket, coiled around the millstone, slowly rubbing and turning. With each turn, visible Yin Qi seeped out from the hole in the millstone.

Mama Hu remained calm. Having been born a demon, she had seen all sorts of strange things. She looked around at the hanging snake molts and sighed in amazement.

"So that's why you've been cultivating such a large patch of Ghost Willow. These things aren't easy to raise. It turns out it's to nurture this ghostly lair. And these Underworld passages are somewhat similar to the Yin-Yang Passage we used to use. You've put in a lot of effort over the years."

"Since I have the fortuitous opportunity to live this life again, I should naturally make the most of it. The Dragon Vein now is far too inflated compared to back then. Third Sister, look, I only took advantage of the Spiritual Qi Spirit Vein of this Old Mountain to cultivate Ghost Vein that is not much worse than the dead dragon I saw in the Yu Dynasty's palace."

Liu Wuniang smiled slightly.

The next moment, as her snake body turned, the yin Yin Qi overflowing from the millstone hole suddenly surged. The gray-white mist that had originally been seeping out in wisps suddenly transformed into a thick, almost solidified gray-white column of gas, which gushed out from the hole, as if a floodgate had been opened.

The column of air shot out of the millstone about ten feet high, then suddenly spread out in mid-air, surging, rotating, and condensing, emitting a deep hum that seemed to come from the depths of the earth.

Then, those Yin Qi began to take shape.

A thick, long, winding body slowly emerged from the churning mist. Palm-sized, grayish-white scales condensed from the mist, layering over the body, each scale's edge gleaming with a cold, bluish light. Then, four claws emerged from the mist, their sharp, hook-like tips gleaming coldly in the dim green light.

But this dark dragon had no head; only a shadow shaped like a head hung down.

No head?

Hu Mang was taken aback.

I immediately thought of the Dragon-Shaped Meridian Diagram— a dragon without claws, scales, whiskers, head, or eyes.

Then, he couldn't help but take a closer look at this ghostly Ghost Dragon Vein.

It is said to be dragon-shaped, but it looks more like a snake. Its claws are phantoms formed from Ghost Qi energy, and its scales are also formed from condensed mist. It looks fake and not as solid and heavy as a real Dragon Vein. Moreover, it has no head, and the part above its neck is a blurry mist.

Without a head, there are naturally no Dragon Eye; only a shadowy outline hangs there, like an unformed embryonic head.

The only resemblance is in the "dragon whiskers".

Upon closer inspection, the "dragon whiskers" really do look like them.

But Hu Mang soon discovered that this "dragon whisker" was also a fake!

Those two "dragon whiskers" were not whiskers at all, but two bundles of snakes formed by dozens of black snakes intertwined together. They hung down from the sides of the Ghost Dragon's neck, each as thick as an adult's arm, covered with fine black scales that gleamed coldly in the dim green light.

The black snakes intertwined, twisted, and crisscrossed, their heads peeking out from the bundles and then retracting, their tongues flicking in and out of the air with a soft hissing sound.

No wonder he thought they were all living things; they didn't seem like them at all.

"Back when we were 'Xi-Yi,' we explored the Ghost Dragon Vein for the Ghost Lord. You really remember quite a bit."

After wandering around for a while, Mama Hu finally came to her senses, her tone filled with complex emotions.

Exploring the Ghost Dragon Vein? The Hu Mang squinted.

You're quite the hider, aren't you? Isn't your main job to subdue the remnants of five dynasties?

"My little skills are nowhere near as good as yours, Third Sister. I can't even conjure a dragon shape, but yours is amazing. You've already put Dragon Eye on your little python. Back when you were on the Xie Household's northern expedition to the Central Plains, you must have learned quite a bit, right?"

Liu Wuniang chuckled, her snake-like eyes flashing wildly.

"..." Mama Hu

During the Liang Dynasty, she was still a young lady, spending her days eating, drinking, and having fun, being fed by Xie Xianyu, and then continuing to eat, drink, and have fun.

What can she possibly learn?

Oh no, she's quite good at studying Buddhism.

Seeing that Mama Hu remained silent, Liu Wuniang, thinking she had a plan, smiled and said:

"Actually, I had my suspicions before. All the things you leaked, Third Sister, were related to the Dragon Vein. And back then, you kept saying you wanted to revive the Xie Household head, but your real purpose was probably to get a closer look at the Dragon Vein, right?"

No, my mother is a true goddess of pure love.

Hu Mang continued to complain in his mind.

"Third Sister, don't worry. I've investigated secretly. Although the New Heavenly Gate has now been nationalized and the Private Dragon Vein is under the control of the state, back in the Old Heavenly Gate era, which of those 'Celestial Person' didn't secretly raise some private dragons? Compared to them, my actions are just small-scale."

"My idea is simple: since we were resurrected because of the changes in the Dragon Vein, only by continuously studying and comprehending the Dragon Vein can we prolong our lives and even achieve immortality. What do you think?"

"..." Mama Hu remained silent.

"Especially after Second Brother Huang's death, I became even more convinced of this idea. You know, the concentration of Spiritual Qi in our current era is hundreds of times that of the past, but that old thing was supposed to die, so he died. The so-called thousand-year-old monsters and ten-thousand-year-old spirits are just outsiders talking nonsense. For beasts to become spirits and live for more than a hundred years is already considered to be defying fate. If we don't think of some way, how long do you think we can live?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Mang used his "Tribulation Eye" to examine Fifth Aunt Liu, and sure enough, beneath that still-attractive snakeskin, he saw an old and decaying body.

Beneath the originally plump flesh was a skeleton, seemingly wrapped in a thin layer of skin.

Although the Law Power flowing through the meridians was still abundant, it contained a faint trace of death energy, like a wisp of turbid water in clear Law Power —not obvious, but definitely present.

That well-maintained face was covered with fine wrinkles in the eyes of the Tribulation Eye, like cracks in a dried-up riverbed. The eye sockets were slightly sunken, and the surface of the eyeballs was covered with a turbid grayish-white film. The color of the lips was not the healthy light red that appeared on the surface, but a pale and dry grayish color.

Although the skin on her neck and the back of her hands was well concealed by Law Technique and makeup, the Tribulation Eye could clearly see the loose, inelastic wrinkles, like the bark of an old tree.

My mother often looks down on this person as "Old Lady Liu," so this snake spirit must be much older than my mother.

No wonder they don't go into beauty and skincare; it's not only their major but also their age.

Moreover, the beauty industry's pursuit of immortality truly reflects their commitment to their original mission.

Seemingly sensing Hu Mang's gaze, Liu Wuniang immediately turned her head, twisting it 180 degrees, and looked at Hu Mang with longing.

Hu Mang grinned and immediately withdrew the "Tribulation Eye." He couldn't help it; it was too gruesome to look at.

"As for Little Python, the five years you sent it overseas were probably for the purpose of secretly modifying the Dragon Vein, weren't they?"

No, I'm a true civil engineering god, the kind who's been grinding dust for five years straight.

The God of Pure Love and the God of Civil Engineering exchanged a glance and said in unison:

"Fifth Aunt (Fifth Sister), you're so knowledgeable! You even noticed that."