"Leave now, and I'll spare your life." Xiao Jue kneaded Qing Lin's small hand, looking at Mo Cheng and saying, "The Yunlan Sect is nothing to me."
A pair of golden dragon wings appeared behind him. Mo Cheng's eyes flashed with fear, then confusion, and finally excitement.
"It's a flying fighting technique!" Mo Cheng laughed heartily. "Thank goodness! Today, not only can I obtain the Green Snake Triple Flower Pupil, but also a pair of dragon wings."
Mo Cheng curled up, and his left arm trembled violently. A fierce dark energy shattered his sleeve. Veins on his arm, exposed to the air, throbbed like tiny snakes. His palm suddenly and strangely widened.
His once normal nails grew half an inch longer and turned a strange black. Mo Cheng's arm had completely lost its human form, looking more like the limbs of a demonic beast.
A faint red hue gradually filled his arm. A moment later, Mo Cheng's entire arm was ablaze, resembling a flaming arm.
"Go to hell!" Mo Cheng stomped his foot hard on the ground, knees slightly bent, and launched himself like a cannonball, hurtling towards Xiao Jue.
As he charged, Mo Cheng's seemingly enormous hand dragged along the ground, his sharp fingers tearing five deep furrows through the solid floorboards.
The onlookers' expressions changed as they watched Mo Cheng's suddenly terrifying power. While some had heard that the Mo Clan could transplant magical beast limbs to replace existing organs, they had never witnessed the profound changes that could result.
"Die, little brat!"
Mo Cheng's face was savage, his eyes glaring with fury. He stomped his foot hard on the ground, his body rocketing towards Xiao Jue's head. His massive hand slammed down fiercely, and the air, shaken by the terrifying force, erupted in a piercing sonic boom.
"Yin Yang Destruction!"
Xiao Jue waved his hand gently, and black and white flames engulfed Mo Cheng. The Executioner Mo, so powerful just moments ago, was now annihilated.
"Gulp!"
Someone swallowed, staring at Xiao Jue in shock. Had the renowned Mo Cheng of the Jia Ma Empire's northeastern province perished at his hands?
"Little brother, can you leave your little sister behind you to me?"
A woman in green descended from the sky. Though her features were obscured by the veil covering her cheeks, the delicate and graceful figure beneath her veil made it clear she was quite the sight.
"Lu Man, the Snake Spirit of the Heavenly Snake Mansion." Xiao Jue grasped Qing Lin's small hand, gazing at her. "Could you please give me a favor and pretend you haven't seen Qing Lin?"
"Is this little fellow's name Qing Lin? Haha, quite good." The green-clothed woman smiled, her eyes fixed on Qing Lin, intensely observing the three faint black dots surrounding his pupils before nodding in satisfaction. She murmured softly, "It's indeed the Green Snake Tricolor Pupil. It seems White Fang's perception was correct."
"But pretending I didn't see this little fellow won't do. I've searched for the Green Snake Tricolor Pupil for decades, and now I've stumbled upon it. Let alone a Dou Ling, even if a few Dou Huangs were here, I wouldn't let you go." The green-clothed woman smiled and shook her head, her tone devoid of any room for negotiation.
"What if it's me?"
A voice echoed in Lu Man's ears. She froze for a moment, then her eyes widened in shock. "Aren't you already dead?"
"If you, a little snake, are still alive, how can I possibly die?"
"Heavenly Fighting Skill: Ghost Possession!"
A flash of white flame erupted from Xiao Jue's body, intensely hot yet chillingly cold.
Lu Man immediately broke out in a cold sweat, gritting his teeth and saying, "Senior, you're here in person! I'll just pretend I wasn't here today."
"Lu Man, why are you so slow? Hurry and take the Green Snake Three-Flower Pupil and leave! I'm still waiting for the Palace Master's reward."
Suddenly, a roar echoed, and a massive beast, nearly ten feet long, suddenly soared towards the sky, casting a massive shadow over a large area of the ground.
The beast was extremely slender, resembling a snake-like demonic beast. Its speed was so astonishing that it swung its enormous tail, seemingly teleporting. In a few flashes, it was within reach of the woman in green.
As the beast approached, its full appearance was fully captured by everyone, and they couldn't help but gasp.
The behemoth, or perhaps a more accurate term for it, a giant snake, was enormous, its body pitch black, with iridescent patterns painted throughout. It looked quite bizarre, and on either side of its body, eight wings, black with a hint of purple, sprouted.
Furthermore, on its head, a single, dark, spiraling horn gleamed faintly purple, evidently carrying a potent venom. Faint iridescent patterns on its skull vaguely formed the outline of a crown. Its triangular pupils, far from bestial, instead held a shrewd, almost human-like cunning.
"Idiot!" Lu Man gritted his teeth and said, "Look at the white flames on him. Doesn't it remind you of someone?"
Hearing this, he swept his gaze across to Xiao Jue, moving slightly. Finally, with a startled exclamation, he stopped on Xiao Jue's body, which was radiating a deep white flame. He said in surprise, "How strange! Why do I feel that the aura of this person is vaguely familiar?"
"That white flame on his body should be a strange fire, right? But I don't know what kind it is. Tsk tsk, what a lucky guy!" The Eight-Winged Black Snake King said in amazement.
"White Fang, how come you don't recognize me after all these years?"
Yao Lao's faint smile echoed in the Eight-Winged Black Snake King's ears. He shook his head and thought for a long time before his eyes widened in shock.
"Lu Man, could he be..."
"Yes," Lu Man nodded gravely, "He should be that person."
The scene fell silent for a moment. Xiao Jue waved his hand and said, "You all go out first. Qing Lin and I will stay."
The other members of the Mo Tie Mercenary Group immediately withdrew. After the others left, Lu Man saluted respectfully and said, "Master Yao, our Tianshe Mansion is the most suitable place to cultivate the Green Snake Three Flower Pupils. This girl named Qing Lin, if she joins our Tianshe Mansion, will definitely become the most powerful person on the continent in the future."
(End of this chapter)