Chapter Ninety: The Giant Python Guarding the Spiritual Medicine

The seven-leaf purple wisteria was one of the main ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, and it was also one of the spiritual herbs Chu Xiner still lacked.

She had only intended to scout the valley to see whether anyone lived there and whether it would be suitable for opening a cave dwelling. She had not expected such an unexpected windfall.

Yet the smile on the girl’s face had scarcely blossomed before her expression turned grave as she looked toward the pool at the center of the valley.

Sensing the presence of a stranger, the beast in the pool let out a hiss and raised its head, spitting out a crimson forked tongue.

It was over sixty feet long, its entire body covered in black scales, its waist as thick as a water barrel, its teeth sharp as blades. It was a monstrous serpent, and its aura was no weaker than that of the bald man, Lu Hong.

Beasts had rough skin and thick flesh, making them far more troublesome than cultivators. Now that she was faced with a serpent beast on the verge of reaching the second rank, Chu Xiner could not afford the slightest carelessness. But she was unwilling to give up those two stalks of seven-leaf purple wisteria.

In truth, she did not even need to ponder whether to stay or leave, for the serpent, seven to eight meters long and thicker than a barrel, had already burst from the pool, bringing with it a stinking gale as it charged toward the valley mouth. Its target was clearly her, the outsider.

Wealth is sought amid danger. Damn it, let’s go all out!

The valley was small, and at the serpent’s speed it would be upon her in only a few breaths. Chu Xiner did not hesitate long. As she descended lightly to the ground, she slapped her storage pouch and drew out her mid-grade magical sword, the Vajra Sword.

With a ringing cry, the Vajra Sword blazed with spiritual light and slashed fiercely down at the serpent’s head. Crude and thick-skinned as the beast was, if that mid-grade artifact struck true, it would surely split flesh and draw blood.

But matters were not so simple. A fierce wind erupted around the serpent’s body, and its whip-like tail lashed out with such force that it collided head-on with the flying sword, producing the clear clang of iron against iron.

"Damn it!"

Chu Xiner felt the Vajra Sword she controlled knocked wildly aside by the impact, nearly beyond her control. As for the serpent’s tail, its scales had only been cut with a shallow scratch.

Such an injury meant nothing to a beast of such rough hide and thick flesh; instead, it only roused the serpent’s savagery.

Hissing, it reared its head and sprayed venom at Chu Xiner, while its massive tail came crashing down again.

Facing the serpent’s frenzied counterattack, Chu Xiner did not dare be the least bit negligent. She retreated to avoid the venom, and a thick, water-blue shield appeared around her body.

But that was not all. Her hands continuously formed incantation signs, and while the Vajra Sword whirled and struck, a willow-leaf blade was also drawn from her storage pouch.

A gray shadow flashed as Xiao Wenzi flew out of the spirit beast pouch as well, circled to the serpent’s flank, and sent wave after wave of wing-blade light at it.

In truth, when facing a powerful enemy, concealing one’s form and launching a sneak attack was the very best strategy.

Alas, during this period he had only drunk the blood of a single lowly cultivator, and after repeated battles, the system coins he had saved up were nearly exhausted. He still needed to exchange for medicinal pills and cultivate while Chu Xiner was in seclusion.

Fortunately, there was only one serpent beast, and with its huge body, so long as he could strike those copper-bell-sized eyes, victory should not be difficult with Chu Xiner’s assistance.

Xiao Wenzi’s plan was excellent: use his nimble body to ambush the beast’s eyes, blind it, and leave it grievously wounded. But the serpent reacted with startling speed.

The instant the blade light drew near, it sensed danger, swiftly shifted its head, and shut its eyelids in time.

Bang, bang. The wing-blade light struck the scales on the serpent’s head, producing the clash of iron against iron, yet it caused little injury. Only one blade ray grazed its eyelid, cutting a bleeding wound.

The eyes were almost the weakest part of a serpent beast’s body. Though the injury was not severe, its bloodthirsty gaze nonetheless locked onto that detestable little mosquito.

It opened its maw and spat forth a half-meter-wide gush of foul venom, enveloping Xiao Wenzi’s thumb-sized body completely. Clearly, the serpent intended to destroy that annoying little thing first.

Yet in a flash, the figure split and four or five identical mosquitoes appeared.

Two or three were instantly melted away beneath the venom, but Xiao Wenzi, the one farthest away, spread his wings and darted off like a gray shadow to the other side, continuing to send wing-blade light toward the dazed serpent.

Having broken through to the seventh level of the demonic aura realm, and with the aid of his Shadow Beast Art, he could transform into five in a single breath. It was indeed rather intimidating.

Pfft.

Blood sprayed everywhere. Since the serpent had been stunned by the sudden multiplication of his form, Xiao Wenzi seized the chance to ambush it. The enemy’s right eye could not evade the wing-blade light and was finally pierced through.

Pain drove the serpent into a frenzied hiss. Its iron tail lashed wildly, and though it failed to strike Xiao Wenzi, it sent trees and rocks outside the valley flying in all directions.

Boom, boom, boom.

In an instant, the valley mouth was filled with swirling sand and shattered stones, thunderous crashes echoing without end.

Xiao Wenzi’s display was extraordinary, and Chu Xiner immediately felt far less pressure. At the very least, after the serpent’s right eye was injured, most of its attacks were directed at Xiao Wenzi, and Xiao Wenzi was always able to evade them swiftly with his secret art.

Ordinary beasts did not possess any truly formidable innate divine abilities; they could only rely on the instincts of their powerful bodies in battle. As for the monstrous serpent before them, it had not yet broken through to the second rank, so no matter how fierce it was, it could not compare to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

If one were to name the only respect in which it surpassed a cultivator of the early Foundation Establishment stage, it would probably be its hard, defensive scales.

Chu Xiner controlled two mid-grade magical artifacts and deliberately struck at its weaknesses. Even in direct collisions, she could still wound it; let alone now, when it was injured and in a frenzy, its defenses instantly slackened.

Pfft, pfft. Seizing the opportunity, Chu Xiner controlled the golden sword and the willow-leaf blade to strike the serpent’s abdomen in turn. First, amidst a spray of blood, the willow-leaf blade cut open the vital region, and then the golden sword drove straight through, disemboweling it.

Suffering grievous injury, the serpent let out a despairing hiss before finally collapsing.

Huff...

Though the battle had not lasted long, once she confirmed that the serpent beast was truly dead, Chu Xiner still felt a wave of exhaustion. The blue shield around her flickered and vanished, and she let out a long breath.

The serpent’s realm was low, and it had not formed a demon core, which was a rather valuable material. But its scales, fangs, and venom were all good things; even if she had no use for them herself, she could take them to the market and sell them.

Thus, after a brief period of regulating her breath, Chu Xiner began stripping the beast’s skin and sinews.

Soon, several fangs several inches long, gleaming with a pitch-black luster, appeared in the girl’s hands. They were indeed the serpent’s sharp teeth.

These things contained potent poison, so Chu Xiner carefully placed them into a jade case to seal them away, then stored them together with the serpent scales, sinews, and the jade bottle holding the venom inside her storage pouch.

After finishing all this, Chu Xiner controlled her flying sword to slice the serpent’s flesh into pieces and toss them into the stream nearby to be washed away. Then she stepped toward the valley where the seven-leaf purple wisteria grew.

"Mm... these two stalks of seven-leaf purple wisteria are nearly three hundred years old. It seems they were not dug up, likely because this serpent beast was guarding them.

Of course, it’s also possible that the cultivator who found them thought they were not old enough and did not bother to harvest them."

Arriving beside the cliff wall, Chu Xiner studied the spiritual herbs before her closely. She quickly reached a conclusion, though her face was full of hesitation.