On the desolate great desert, the wind and sand were incessant, and a howling sound circled in the sky, finally carrying a wisp of sand and flying into the distance.
Suddenly, the calm sky split open, revealing a passage about ten feet wide. Immediately after, a handsome young man in a moon-white robe stepped out from within.
The wind and sand seemed to never stop in the desert, but astonishingly, whenever the wind and sand swept to within a few feet of the young man, they would automatically diverge to both sides, leaving his robes spotless.
Without a doubt, this person was Chen Xiao, who had arrived in Tian Bei a few days ago.
Chen Xiao raised his gaze slightly, and through the slightly hazy space, he could see a rather precipitous mountain peak diagonally below.
This mountain peak rose from the ground. In the center of the peak, there was a rift as if it had been split open by a sharp axe. The rift was about a hundred feet wide, forming a canyon that occupied a vast area.
Within the canyon, wild trees grew in profusion, dotted with green foliage, making it particularly conspicuous and eye-catching when viewed from high above.
"Myriad Snake Gorge..."
After a brief observation, Chen Xiao murmured softly.
This canyon was quite suitable for the Snake-People Race to live in, and it was perfectly adequate as a temporary resting place.
Nodding with satisfaction, Chen Xiao immediately finalized the matter.
For the past few days, Chen Xiao had been traveling alone within the Tian Bei region.
One purpose was to select a suitable place for the Purple Firmament Pavilion and the Snake-People Race to settle, and the other was to try his luck and see if he could find any information about the ruins.
Unfortunately, after personally attending to it, Chen Xiao realized that things were far from simple.
It was within his expectations that he found no success regarding the ruins.
However, the selection of a site for the Purple Firmament Pavilion was not going smoothly either.
In this Tian Bei, there were not many good unclaimed places. The most suitable Qifeng Mountain for establishing a sect had already been occupied by the Wind Thunder Northern Pavilion, and Chen Xiao found it difficult to ask them to move out without any reason.
Although there were no strict rules here, such an action did not align with Chen Xiao's character.
With no other choice, Chen Xiao had to place the location on other alternatives.
As for places suitable for the Snake-People Race to live, Chen Xiao had found four or five. The Myriad Snake Gorge he saw now made him extremely satisfied.
Thump thump thump~
As Chen Xiao was observing, a merchant caravan came into view.
"Everyone be careful, we are about to enter the territory of Myriad Snake Gorge. Tang Si, prepare to have people scatter snake repellent powder along the way. All the snakes in here are informants for the Demon Snake Xia Mang. As long as we don't disturb them, we should be able to pass through smoothly. Also, even if we are discovered, do not act rashly without orders. Those who disobey will be punished by family law! Young Miss, Second Young Miss, you must not show yourselves. That demon snake is insatiably greedy and extremely lecherous. If it discovers you, something bad will happen!"
At the front of the merchant caravan, a leading middle-aged man instructed with a solemn expression.
"Yes!" a group of guards responded in unison.
"Uncle Two, don't worry, we know the gravity of the situation." A slightly heavy female voice came from inside the carriage.
Having received the desired reply, the middle-aged man nodded with a solemn expression, then waved his hand.
"Move out!"
Instantly, the merchant caravan started again and slowly moved into the precipitous canyon.
Chen Xiao, high in the sky, could clearly see that the merchant caravan seemed to be afraid of disturbing the demon snake they spoke of. Even the wheels were wrapped with cloth, and the Black Horned Oxes pulling the carriages had their mouths gagged to prevent them from making noise. The group thus sneaked into the canyon.
On both sides of the merchant caravan, all the guards quietly drew their weapons. With their other hands, they continuously took out handfuls of white powder from their Storage Rings and kept scattering it onto the roadsides.
Amidst this tense atmosphere, they proceeded slowly. When they reached the middle of the canyon, no accidents had occurred, which brought a hint of relief to the faces of the merchant caravan members, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Chen Xiao, who was above, shook his head slightly.
At this moment, the bushes on both sides of the path quickly collapsed, and the movements of some huge snakes could be vaguely seen.
"Damn it, we've still been detected! Speed up and break out!"
Seeing the situation around them, the leading middle-aged man's face instantly turned grim, and he shouted sternly.
In fact, without his order, the experienced guards had already driven the Black Horned Oxes with all their might. The entire caravan rumbled and accelerated, charging towards the front of the canyon like madmen.
"Bang!"
Before the merchant caravan could rush out a thousand meters, giant pythons suddenly sprang out from both sides of the canyon, completely blocking the entire path. Their ferocious mouths hissed, spitting out snake tongues that carried a foul smell. Their sinister snake eyes locked onto everyone in the merchant caravan.
"Hehehe, a bunch of fools who don't know the immensity of heaven and earth, trying to sneak past under Xia Da Ye's nose?"
As the snake groups surrounded them, a strange laugh suddenly echoed in the canyon. Immediately, a dark green figure shot out from the bushes and, supported by a pair of green Dou Qi wings, hovered steadily in mid-air, looking down at the merchant caravan.
This person's appearance was extremely strange. It had a human body and limbs, its skin was covered with dense dark green scales, but its head was a ferocious snake head. The characteristics of both humans and Magical Beasts were very obvious.
This was a sign of having taken the Demon Transformation Pill!
"Demon Snake. Xia Mang."
The middle-aged man leading the merchant caravan's heart sank. He then quickly put on a humble smile, walked out of the caravan, took out a crystal card, and said respectfully, "Commander Xia Mang, we are a caravan from the Tang Family of Tian Bei City. This is a small token of our appreciation. We hope Commander will accept it."
"Tang Family of Tian Bei City? Never heard of it."
Xia Mang said with disdain. Tian Bei City had two major families with considerable fame: the Hong Family and the Han Family, both of which had Dou Zong experts. The other small families could only survive in the cracks.
With a snort of contempt, Xia Mang raised his hand and a suction force unceremoniously took the crystal card. He then glanced at it before grinning and saying, "The sincerity is quite good. Not bad. Since you've paid the toll, you may leave."
Just as the Tang family members were showing joy, they heard Xia Mang add, "However, you must leave them behind!"
Following Xia Mang's finger, it was precisely the carriage of the two young ladies of the Tang family!
Upon hearing this, the faces of the Tang family members changed greatly.
"Commander, this is not according to the rules!"
"Heh heh, rules? In this Myriad Snake Gorge, my word is the rule! Since you don't want to leave, then none of you will leave. Stay here and be food for my snake subordinates!"
Xia Mang chuckled, waved his hand, and the blocking snake groups immediately rampaged, launching an attack on the merchant caravan.
These snake groups were all third and fourth-tier. In contrast, even the strongest middle-aged man in the Tang family was only a nine-star Dou Ling. Under the siege of the snake groups, their living space shrank rapidly, and in just a few minutes, they were in a precarious situation.
Xia Mang did not participate in the battle. He was a four-star Dou Huang. Facing these Tang family rookies, he had no desire to make a move.
At this moment, his lecherous gaze was fixed on the carriage. He licked his lips, eagerly approaching, wanting to personally unveil the mystery of his prey.
Noticing Xia Mang approaching, the Tang family members felt their hearts turn to despair.
But at this moment, a figure quietly appeared in everyone's sight, like a ghost, without any sound, making many guards think they were hallucinating at first.
"Alright, alright, the farce ends here."
The light voice fell, causing everyone in the field to freeze.
Not only the guards, but even Xia Mang hadn't perceived how Chen Xiao had appeared. When he saw Chen Xiao, he thought he hadn't noticed such a person among the guards.
After all, sensing the presence of two women in the carriage, his attention had already been focused on the carriage.
"A young brat dares to speak such nonsense, die for me!"
Xia Mang's pupils contracted. With a raise of his hand, a beam of Dou Qi shot out, heading straight for Chen Xiao's face.
"Little brother, be careful!" The middle-aged man instinctively shouted a reminder.
However, Chen Xiao ignored him, looking at the imposing beam of Dou Qi, and did not move an inch.
The guards were anxious, but none of them dared to intercept.
Who blocks an attack from a Dou Huang expert dies!
Seeing that Chen Xiao still did not dodge, they seemed to have already seen the outcome.
But to everyone's surprise, the beam of Dou Qi, before reaching three feet from Chen Xiao, could no longer advance. Then, it strangely disintegrated and vanished into nothingness in an instant.
"What's going on?"
The guards were bewildered. Only a few with sharp minds had a bold guess.
On the other side, Xia Mang's smile instantly froze, his face turned pale, and then he actually knelt down with a 'plop', burying his head deeply.
"Senior, spare me! I did not intend to offend you!"
The sudden change in the situation left all the Tang family guards dumbfounded.
Following that, they finally realized, belatedly, that their guess was correct.
But they still wanted to say that this Xia Mang was unusually adaptable!
Even Chen Xiao couldn't help but laugh at the demon snake.
He had met so many people, but this was the first one who knelt so readily.
"Alright, get up. You are not qualified to die by my hand yet."
Xia Mang, who was prostrating himself, was overjoyed, thinking he had found a way to survive. But as soon as he lifted his deeply buried head, he saw a silver-glowing iron fist rapidly enlarging in his vision.
Then, there was no more.
Its head had been blown up by the puppet. Its consciousness completely dissipated.
After killing the Demon Snake Xia Mang with one punch, the puppet's movements did not stop. It moved like a god of slaughter within the canyon. With every punch, a giant snake fell to the ground with a bang.
In less than a minute, the surrounding giant snakes were cleared away, leaving only corpses and flesh and blood everywhere.
It was only after Chen Xiao had the puppet collect Xia Mang's Storage Ring and Magic Core and other spoils and put them into a Storage Ring that the guards slowly came back to their senses, looking somewhat dazed.
Plop~ Plop~
The sound of kneeling echoed one after another. The carriage curtains were also lifted, and two women, about eighteen or nineteen years old, quickly jumped down and bowed without hesitation.
"Thank you, senior, for saving our lives! The Tang Family will remember this kindness. Please tell us your name, senior. If you have any commands in the future, the Tang Family will definitely go through fire and water!"
The woman who appeared to be slightly older said respectfully.
As cultivators, their appearances were naturally not bad, but compared to women like Cai Lin and the Little Fairy Doctor, they were not on the same level. They could only be considered delicate and pretty.
"All of you, get up. Helping you was just a casual act."
Chen Xiao did not care about any repayment. The Tang Family was not even looked upon by Xia Mang, let alone him.
Saving them was truly a casual act.
After all, Chen Xiao had taken a liking to this place.
Chen Xiao did not consider himself a good person, but he generally did not act against people who were unrelated to him and had no benefit in common. However, towards a greedy and lecherous Magical Beast like Xia Mang, he had no psychological burden.
Therefore, even without the matter of the Tang family, Chen Xiao intended to clear out Myriad Snake Gorge today.
Hearing Chen Xiao's words, the group cautiously got up, trembling with fear, not daring to make a sound. Even looking directly at him was filled with reverence.
Finally, the woman who seemed to be the eldest daughter spoke, "May I know your name, senior..."
"I am the Pavilion Master of the Purple Firmament Pavilion. Of course, you probably don't know me now, but you will in a few months. You should all leave this place. I have taken a liking to Myriad Snake Gorge and need to make some arrangements."
The eldest daughter of the Tang family wanted to say something more, but the middle-aged man beside her tugged at her sleeve.
The eldest daughter immediately reacted, quickly bowed slightly, and dared not say more. She called out to the merchant caravan, looking back repeatedly, and headed out of Myriad Snake Gorge.
Silence returned to the canyon. Chen Xiao, as the master, once again surveyed the territory prepared for the Snake-People Race.
Sensing that there were still a terrifying number of low-level snake Magical Beasts within, Chen Xiao moved his mind, and the Bone Spirit Cold Flame immediately emerged from his body, transforming into wisps of white flames that forced all the snake Magical Beasts to a corner of Myriad Snake Gorge to survive.
These snake groups were also a resource for the Snake-People Race, so Chen Xiao helped them keep them.
The Bone Spirit Cold Flame drifted back, passing over the ground littered with corpses. The moment it made contact, the flesh and blood on the ground were instantly incinerated into nothingness, making the scene look much more pleasing to the eye.
After handling these minor matters, Chen Xiao's consciousness sank into his mind, and he checked the advance information.
[Currently available for advance draw –
Spell Techniques: (0/1)
Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures: (1/1)
General: (0/1)]
[Subsequent draws –
① Read 50,000 scrolls, current progress: 49999/50000.
② Obtain one Bodhi Foundation Establishment Pill.]
Looking at the advance information in his mind, Chen Xiao felt a slight surprise.
During the period from the Northwest to the Central State, he often browsed Dou Skills and Cultivation Techniques. He had been doing the same during his leisure time these past few days. He himself hadn't noticed that the progress of the subsequent draw for Cultivation Techniques had reached the verge of completion.
Without any hesitation, Chen Xiao took out a Cultivation Technique scroll that he hadn't read before. With only one more needed to complete it, no one could resist such a thing.
As Chen Xiao opened the scroll, he couldn't help but become serious.
Although the subsequent draws did not have strict requirements for attitude, improving one's own foundation was something that only had benefits and no drawbacks if done seriously.
While reading the Cultivation Technique, Chen Xiao pondered its advantages and disadvantages.
Unconsciously, his consciousness sank deeper and deeper, and a peculiar aura also diffused outwards.
A figure quietly floated out from the snowy white Storage Ring in Chen Xiao's fingers. It was the Heavenly Flame Honored One, who was residing in the Storage Ring.
Looking at Chen Xiao's peculiar state, the Heavenly Flame Honored One was full of astonishment.
"This is..."
"Sudden Enlightenment!"
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