Mu Qingyan had always prided himself on being fearless since childhood, but faced with such a primordial beast of the highest order, even he couldn't help but feel a chill of fear. Grabbing Cai Zhao's hand, he tried to pull her away, but she stood her ground, her face filled with urgency. "Qian Xueshen will do it!"
"He wanted to perish together with them anyway. He got what he wished for," Mu Qingyan said dismissively.
"And we just watch him die?!"
Mu Qingyan considered knocking the girl unconscious. "If we leave quickly, we won't have to see how it ends."
"You go ahead. I'll find you at the foot of the mountain," Cai Zhao refused to explain further, shaking off Mu Qingyan's hand and dashing forward.
Mu Qingyan's hand hung empty in the air, speechless. "...Do you even believe that yourself?"
The gaping mouth of the ice cave was bottomless. Peering over the edge, Cai Zhao saw nothing but darkness. At its center stood a towering ice pillar, around which the giant serpent coiled. Disturbed from its slumber, the beast was furious, its vertical emerald pupils glowing with a terrifying light.
Duan Jiuxiu and his two companions, along with Qian Xueshen, clung to the ice walls at varying heights. Among them, Duan Jiuxiu was the quickest and most skilled, so he hung closest to the ground.
Having long dwelled in the dark depths of the ice, the serpent's vision was poor. It slowly turned its massive head, as if searching for the living beings that had disturbed its rest. Cai Zhao lay flat at the cave's entrance, not daring to move a muscle.
As everyone held their breath, the serpent's head turned halfway and finally stopped before Duan Jiuxiu.
In a flash, Cai Zhao understood—when Duan Jiuxiu had beheaded Zhou Zhiqin earlier, fresh blood must have splattered onto him, leaving a scent that attracted the serpent. A sense of satisfaction washed over her, feeling that karma had come full circle.
As the serpent's head drew nearer, a wave of bone-chilling cold swept over them. Sweat beaded on Duan Jiuxiu's forehead as he silently cursed Zhou Zhiqin and Cai Zhao. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Qian Xueshen hanging less than two zhang below him, his face alight with the joy of vengeance fulfilled.
Filled with hatred, Duan Jiuxiu channeled energy into his right arm, sending a half-length ox-tendon whip flying from his sleeve. It coiled around Qian Xueshen and flung him straight toward the serpent's gaping maw—just as the beast slowly opened its abyssal jaws, revealing two fangs as thick as tree trunks.
Seeing Qian Xueshen about to become the serpent's chew toy, Cai Zhao had no choice but to leap down. The silver chain on her left wrist shot out, yanking Qian Xueshen away from the serpent's jaws, while she swung her blade with all her might, striking the beast squarely on the side of its neck.
Seizing the moment, Duan Jiuxiu scurried up the ice wall like a gecko. Just as the wavering sky seemed within reach, a familiar figure appeared above him. A cold voice rang out, "Elder Duan, would you kindly roll away?"
A powerful kick landed squarely on Duan Jiuxiu's face, numbing half his body as he plummeted into the abyss. Fortunately, his right hand still had some strength left, and he clawed into the ice wall, slowing his descent.
Cai Zhao, holding Qian Xueshen by the collar with her left hand, drove her blade into the ice wall with her right, sliding downward as well. After delivering the kick, Mu Qingyan caught sight of the fluttering hem of the girl's robe as she fell.
With a sigh, Mu Qingyan felt he wasn't just acting like a righteous sect member—he was practically a merciful bodhisattva or a divine savior, deserving of a pig's head offering on an altar every day. Sighing once more, he leaped down after her. On his descent, he noticed Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei struggling to climb up the ice wall. With a flick of his sleeve, he casually swatted them back down.The giant serpent was an ancient beast of prey, its body covered in scales harder than iron armor, impervious to ordinary weapons. However, the Bright Sun Blade was a rare divine artifact, said to have been tempered with blazing sunlight during its forging, making it the perfect counter to this ice-crystal serpent that feared heat.
As the blade cut into its flesh, the serpent writhed in agony, its massive tail thrashing about with the force of a raging storm. Each strike shattered the surrounding ice walls, sending enormous chunks crashing down like hail, forcing the six who had just landed to crouch low.
Amid the violently shaking ice cavern, Qi Nong, Hu Tianwei, and Qian Xueshen tumbled across the ground, while Mu Qingyan pulled Cai Zhao to her feet. Only Duan Jiuxiu managed to anchor himself to a protruding ledge on the ice wall with a bullwhip rope.
This ice cavern was like a primordial abyss, over two hundred zhang deep, as if they had plummeted straight into the heart of the mountain. The opening they had fallen through was now just a tiny speck of light far above. Strangely, though, the cavern was not entirely dark—its walls shimmered with a faint, flowing glow, like rippling water.
Seeing this, Duan Jiuxiu inwardly despaired. Trapped in the serpent’s lair with the beast still lurking, how could he possibly escape?
"Ahhh—!" Qi Nong suddenly let out a piercing scream, while Hu Tianwei gagged in horror. Both wore expressions of indescribable terror.
By the cavern’s eerie glow, they realized this was not just the serpent’s nest—it was also a horrifying pit of bones.
The uneven, massive circular pit was piled high with layers of animal and human remains. From the skeletal fragments, it was clear the serpent had feasted on everything from birds and snow eagles to hares, roe deer, and snow leopards. Most terrifying of all were the scattered human remains. The older bones, long bleached white, were bearable, but the more recent corpses—those the serpent had gnawed clean—were preserved almost intact by the freezing cold of the cavern.
Qi Nong had landed right beside a half-eaten corpse, its frozen, wide-eyed face mere inches from hers. Even for someone as ruthless as her, it was enough to shatter her nerves. Hu Tianwei, meanwhile, had rolled into a pile of skeletons stripped of flesh by the serpent, his face smeared with frozen blood and gore, nearly making him retch.
Cai Zhao wasn’t faring much better, leaning against the ice wall as she fought back nausea. Qian Xueshen, though pale-faced, burned with vengeful fervor, keeping him strangely exhilarated. Only Mu Qingyan remained unfazed, even offering what he thought was comforting words: "This place is much better than the Sacred Sect’s Sacrificial Immortal Cliff. At least it’s so cold here that the bodies don’t rot. If we were at the bottom of the cliff, you’d step on slippery eyeballs or even slimier, rotting brains—you wouldn’t even be able to stand properly."
Cai Zhao turned green. "Please, stop talking!"
The six pressed themselves against the cavern walls until the serpent’s frenzy subsided and the hail of ice chunks ceased. Only then did they dare to peek out.
The ice rain had stopped, but the enraged serpent lunged at them with its gaping maw. Just as they braced for battle, Qian Xueshen suddenly hurled a small porcelain vial at Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei’s feet.
The vial shattered on the hard ice, splattering shards and a thick, pale-yellow liquid. Both Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei were hit with a few drops. At first, they thought it was poison, but there was no pain or burning. Before they could question it, the serpent’s blood-red tongue flicked toward them.After several rounds of aimless attacks, the giant serpent seemed to have locked onto Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei, its massive head relentlessly pursuing only them. Despite their considerable cultivation, the two narrowly avoided being swept into the serpent’s maw by its crimson tongue several times. Fortunately, as the serpent chased them, Mu Qingyan and Duan Jiuxiu continuously struck its underbelly from the side with palm strikes. Otherwise, they would have long been frozen into ice corpses by the beast’s chilling breath.
Yet the serpent’s body was enormous and sinuous, coiled in seven or eight loops on the ground. Now fully extended, it left the group with nowhere to hide.
Cai Zhao struggled to hold back Qian Xueshen, who kept trying to lunge forward. “You go up first! We’ll follow shortly!”
Qian Xueshen sneered as he wrestled against her grip. “Drop your righteous act! Why bother saving someone like me?!”
“You’re not a bad person. You don’t deserve this.” Cai Zhao’s face was tense.
Qian Xueshen nearly laughed himself to tears. “I’m not a bad person? I’m actually not a bad person? Hahaha… Are you blind?!”
“I’m not blind,” Cai Zhao insisted stubbornly. “I’ve figured it out—why you released the White Fur Hou on our first night in the mountains, and why you went to such lengths, even risking letting your enemies escape, to place the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva right in front of me!”
Putting herself in his shoes, she realized that for Qian Xueshen, the deeper his enemies ventured into the snowy mountains, the better it was for him.
On their first night in the mountains, they were still close to the base. If the White Fur Hou had terrified the cowardly Chen Fuguang and Jin Baohui into fleeing downhill in panic, wouldn’t Qian Xueshen’s plan have been ruined?
As for the jade vial of saliva in the frozen corpse’s hand—that was Qian Xueshen’s deliberate arrangement.
The two White Fur Hou had attacked Lan Tianyu and Dongfang Xiao, forcing Hu Tianwei and his disciple to flee for their lives. Naturally, Lan Tianyu would cling tightly to Hu Tianwei, while Zhou Zhiqin would prioritize caring for the injured Dongfang Xiao. Left with no one else to rely on, Jin Baohui would instinctively gravitate toward Mu and Cai.
When the second ice cavern quaked and everyone scrambled for shelter, Jin Baohui would inevitably end up with Mu and Cai.
And that frozen corpse? It was specifically placed for Jin Baohui.
Others passing that junction might not have noticed anything, but Jin Baohui, with his deep knowledge of the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva, would immediately detect its scent when spilled, alerting Mu and Cai to its presence.
“You arranged for us to get that vial of saliva—not to pit us against Duan Jiuxiu and the others, but so we could achieve our goal quickly and leave your trap behind!” Cai Zhao shouted over the surrounding chaos.
Qian Xueshen’s face froze as if encased in ice, his expression unreadable.
Mu Qingyan leaned against the icy wall, still managing to tease, “Zhao Zhao, are you overthinking this? Since when is this guy so kind-hearted?”
“Then explain why he released the White Fur Hou on the first night! Aside from scaring us, it served no purpose—it only made us wary of the beasts. If he’d waited until the last ice cavern to release them, they might’ve taken down more people!” Cai Zhao yanked Qian Xueshen aside as the serpent’s massive tail swept past.
Mu Qingyan dodged and hurled a head-sized chunk of ice at the serpent. “Because he’s incompetent. Did you think everyone could execute a flawless plan on the first try?”"You're right!" Qian Xueshen used all his strength to shake off Cai Zhao and then charged toward Duan Jiuxiu. When he was about five or six steps away, he hurled a small porcelain vial onto the hard ice, splattering yellow viscous liquid once more.
However, Duan Jiuxiu's martial skills far surpassed Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei's. Even while battling the giant serpent, he effortlessly dodged the liquid without a single drop touching him. With a backhanded strike, he sent Qian Xueshen flying into the wall.
"What is this?!" Duan Jiuxiu glanced at the yellow liquid on the ground, then at Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei, who were relentlessly entangled by the serpent, and seemed to realize something.
Qian Xueshen lay on the ground, spitting blood, and laughed hoarsely. "I extracted it from a thousand female snakes. The moment a male serpent smells it, it goes mad—hahaha..."
Cai Zhao turned her head. "I think he’s quite resourceful." —Wasn’t this just the scent of mating pheromones from beasts in heat?
"Look." Mu Qingyan was intently staring ahead, raising a finger to point. "There seems to be something lodged in the serpent’s neck."
Cai Zhao followed his gaze.
Though the serpent was immensely thick, its body was otherwise supple, able to bend and coil freely—except for a rigid six- or seven-foot section just below its head that refused to flex fully.
Mu and Cai exchanged a glance, their thoughts aligned. Immediately, they flanked the serpent from both sides.
Cai Zhao darted behind the serpent’s head, leaped into the air, and with both hands gripping her saber hilt, slashed downward. A golden-red light split through a line of pristine white scales. The serpent shrieked in pain, and she swiftly flung a silver chain beneath its body. Meanwhile, Mu Qingyan had already leaped down from the icy wall, delivering two full-force Void Severing Palms to the serpent’s neck.
A heavy thud echoed from the serpent’s body, and its enormous head was violently knocked aside. In agony, it thrashed wildly, its tail whipping out. Hu Tianwei failed to dodge in time and was struck, blood gushing from his mouth. Qi Nong was terrified out of her wits and desperately rushed toward Duan Jiuxiu. "Master, save me! Please, save me—!"
Duan Jiuxiu already knew that the two of them were tainted with the female serpent’s scent. Since this was a male serpent, it would pursue them relentlessly. Why would he let Qi Nong near him? He roared, "Get away!" and struck her with a backhanded blow.
Qi Nong, caught off guard, took the full force of the hit. She plummeted from midair, deep red streaks of blood trickling from her nose, mouth, and ears.
Suddenly, the serpent emitted a strange gurgling sound. After writhing violently against the icy wall a few times, it opened its bloody maw and spat out a slimy, sodden mass. Everyone looked down—it was a drenched human!
The person’s limbs and spine were utterly limp, their skin bloated and white, covered in the serpent’s sticky saliva. Yet, they still twitched slightly, emitting faint human groans.
Everyone recoiled in disgust—except for the unflappable Mu Qingyan, who studied the swollen face and calmly said, "It’s Chen Fuguang."
The icy ground was uneven. After Qi Nong fell from the sky, she naturally rolled to the lower terrain. Chen Fuguang, spat out by the serpent, also rolled there, stopping right beside her.
Slowly, he lifted his head, revealing flesh corroded by the serpent’s gastric acids on his face and neck. Qi Nong screamed hysterically—then Chen Fuguang twisted with all his might, opened his mouth, and clamped his teeth onto her throat.
Teeth—the only weapon left to him after all his bones had been shattered.
Qi Nong’s throat made a gurgling sound as her body convulsed violently, blood pouring out in torrents.Chen Fuguang did not release his bite until Qi Nong stopped breathing. After letting out a string of mad, shrill laughter, he collapsed and died from exhaustion.
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