Chapter Twenty-Five: The Venomous Scaled Serpent at the Peak of the First Tier

Song Yufeng and his junior sister Zhou Ruoyu were both disciples in the Qi Refining stage of the Falling Feather Sect. This time, they had left the sect to gather medicinal herbs, and while passing through Nanshan City, happened to overhear rumors about a demon mosquito.

However, by the time the two of them eagerly rushed to Kaoshan Town, Xiao Wenzi had already departed, and even the faint traces of demonic energy left behind had dissipated.

Fortunately, their main goal was to pick spiritual flowers and herbs in the mountains, so searching along the way did not hinder their plans.

Along the journey, the two saw quite a few rookie cultivators, but most of them were too weak and dared only to search along the mountain’s edge.

Since so many people had failed to find anything, Song Yufeng was certain the demon mosquito must have fled deeper. He and the young girl at his side did not linger at the outskirts, but instead soared on beams of light, cutting through the sky toward the heart of the Southern Heaven Mountains.

Swish, swish, swish—

Arcs of fine wind blades flew out, slicing leaves to shreds and scoring marks across the treetops.

The demon energy Xiao Wenzi had restored the night before was once again exhausted. Just as he was drinking the juice of some wild berries and preparing to return to his tree hollow for cultivation, he suddenly sensed something and looked up sharply into the distance.

More cultivators were coming, and not just one. Keenly sensing danger, he immediately dropped to the ground, burrowed into a pile of thick dead leaves, and held his breath, restraining every trace of his demonic aura.

The beams of light halted above the forest, revealing a pair of young cultivators—a man and a woman. The male cultivator was no more than twenty, with a handsome face and a carefree air; the beautiful girl appeared seventeen or eighteen, dressed all in white, ethereal and extraordinary.

"Senior Brother Song, we've been searching for most of the day and still haven't found any trace of the demon mosquito. It seems he truly has awakened intelligence and knows how to avoid calamity… Wait, is that Purple Swallow Grass? And Cloud-Lover Flower too! Judging by their age, we could refine high-quality Gathering Qi Pills—this is wonderful!"

As she spoke, the white-clad girl spread her spiritual sense outward, suddenly pointing ahead in delight.

"You're right, those are indeed over a hundred years old. It seems our trip wasn't in vain after all..."

Having found neither the rumored demon mosquito nor any useful spiritual herbs for so long, Song Yufeng had begun to feel disheartened.

Now, suddenly learning that there were so many spiritual flowers and herbs just outside the valley, he lost all interest in searching further and naturally overlooked Xiao Wenzi, who was hiding not far away beneath the dead leaves.

As they spoke, the pair rode their flying artifacts forward again. As they neared the patch of flowers and herbs in the clearing, Song Yufeng slowed, gesturing and sending a message: "Junior Sister, be careful."

The girl in white nodded. She, too, remembered what the elders had said: generally, wild spiritual herbs and flowers had no owners, but those that had grown for many years might be guarded by demon beasts.

Staring at the dozen or so herbs with purple-red leaves, shaped somewhat like swallows, and at the spiritual flowers with drooping buds nearby, Song Yufeng extended his spiritual sense farther.

Zhou Ruoyu did the same, but as a tenth-layer cultivator, her spiritual sense couldn't reach the valley pool where the Venomscale Python was coiled, and she detected nothing.

"Junior Sister Ruoyu, there don't seem to be any demon beasts guarding these herbs and flowers. Let's start digging."

Zhou Ruoyu was at the tenth level of Qi Refining, and Song Yufeng’s cultivation wasn’t much higher.

After quite a while, confirming that it was "safe," the brother and sister floated down into the forest, lightly patted their storage pouches at their waists, took out jade boxes and herb spades, and carefully approached the Purple Swallow Grass and Cloud-Lover Flowers.

Suddenly, just as Song Yufeng had dug up two or three herbs, his expression changed dramatically. He looked up toward the valley, horror in his eyes.

A fierce wind howled, sand and stones flying. Demonic energy lashed the trees aside. From the mouth of the valley, a giant python several zhang long burst forth, racing toward the patch of Purple Swallow Grass.

Though they had failed to sense the Venomscale Python lurking in the valley pool, this beast had already reached the peak of the first rank, no weaker than a pseudo-Foundation Establishment cultivator. It had, however, detected Song Yufeng and Zhou Ruoyu.

"Not good! It's a peak first-rank Venomscale Python!"

Watching the monstrous serpent, its body covered in black scales, surging toward them, Song Yufeng’s face turned ashen and he cried out in shock.

A peak first-rank demon beast was comparable to a pseudo-Foundation Establishment cultivator; even if he and his junior sister joined forces, victory was far from certain.

He hadn’t expected such misfortune. With the spiritual herbs right before his eyes, he was loath to retreat, and his hesitation cost him the best chance to escape.

The Venomscale Python whipped up a foul wind and debris as it crashed through the undergrowth, jaws gaping as it lunged at Song Yufeng.

"Junior Sister, help me!"

Song Yufeng was not about to await his doom. While unleashing a magical weapon to attack the python, he called out to the white-robed girl beside him. But the result nearly made him cough blood.

The junior sister, to whom he’d always shown ambiguous affection, had fled at the critical moment.

Hearing the commotion from afar, Xiao Wenzi quietly crawled out from the dead leaves and drifted toward the scene of the fierce battle in the woods. He knew those two cultivators must have provoked the demon beast in the valley.

With the two locked in a life-or-death struggle, blood would surely be spilled; this was another opportunity for him.

Demon beasts were powerful to begin with, and the Venomscale Python’s scales were extremely tough. With only eleventh-layer cultivation, even wielding a low-grade flying sword, Song Yufeng stood no chance.

By the time Xiao Wenzi arrived, Song Yufeng was already being forced back, utterly outmatched.

Finally, seeing no hope of escape, Song Yufeng made a desperate last stand. As the Venomscale Python shattered his protective aura and bit his head off, his sword pierced up into the python’s lower jaw.

Had he been even a fraction faster, the sword might have skewered the python’s head outright. Even so, the grievously wounded serpent thrashed and howled in pain, blood flowing everywhere.

However, its vital points were unharmed. The beast quickly regained its composure, swallowed the remains of Song Yufeng, and raised its head in a furious roar.

Watching from a distance, Zhou Ruoyu saw the python still alive and strong enough to devour her senior brother. She sighed and turned away.

After driving off Zhou Ruoyu, the Venomscale Python’s aura gradually weakened. It hastened back toward the valley without sparing so much as a glance at the insignificant Xiao Wenzi.

“Well, well, mutual destruction—so much blood, I can’t let this go to waste.”

Xiao Wenzi eyed the ravaged forest, caring nothing for whether the young cultivator or the demon python survived. The blood splattered on the leaves was all that mattered to him.

The area, being so close to the python’s lair, was deserted—neither wild beasts nor other demon beasts dared approach. Xiao Wenzi easily floated to a blood-soaked leaf, extended his proboscis, and took a deep, satisfying draw.

Buzz—

Whether it was the python’s blood, Song Yufeng’s, or a mixture of both, Xiao Wenzi didn’t know. After a single great gulp, his body swelled larger than before, a fiery current surging through him like a mountain flood. It was a sensation far stronger than any he’d gotten from rock-spirit juices.

Instead of worrying, Xiao Wenzi was elated. He immediately began to cultivate the Blood Spirit Art. The wounded Venomscale Python had surely retreated to heal and wouldn’t return soon, so there was no danger in staying to train.