Chapter 18
Si Lan slept deeply this time, but he had another nightmare.
In the dream, he couldn’t perform any magic, couldn’t make a sound, and was chased by a sinister and terrifying snake-headed creature. No matter how hard he tried to escape, he couldn’t get away. In the end, he was devoured by the creature, his body slowly corroding, turning into a pool of blood.
He was awakened by the small white dragon in his arms, his head filled with momentary confusion. Si Lan looked around, and the disciples of the Profound Spirit Sect and the Enchanting Serpent Clan were still resting. His two disciples were quietly meditating nearby.
He touched his sore left cheek and looked at the small white dragon in confusion. “Why did you suddenly hit me?”
The small white dragon gave him a disdainful look.
Initially, it had intended to drink Si Lan’s blood, but it noticed Si Lan’s abnormally fast heartbeat, as if he was having a nightmare. Seeing him in distress, it used its claw to wake him up.
Sometimes kindness goes unappreciated.
“My Lord, is everything alright?” Quze heard Si Lan’s voice and opened his eyes, asking.
Si Lan touched the dragon horn. “It’s nothing.”
Dragons, aside from having impenetrable scales, generally did not allow people to touch their horns. But this Si Lan repeatedly touched Haowei’s dragon horn.
Haowei was about to explode with anger.
Enduring humiliation for just a sip of blood was truly a heavy burden.
Quze got up, went to the stream to fetch some water, and came back to give some to Si Lan and Xie Li to drink.
The small white dragon observed Quze, who was busy, and narrowed its golden eyes slightly. It was quite interesting to see how this person, who seemingly had sinister intentions, took care of Si Lan so meticulously. He even did a better job than a servant, which explained why Si Lan didn’t suspect him.
The disciples of the Profound Spirit Sect and the Enchanting Serpent Clan woke up one after the other. Despite a peaceful night, they now faced each other in a renewed state of confrontation in the morning.
Seeing that they were about to engage in a dispute again, Si Lan spoke first, “If everyone’s injuries are mostly healed, let’s return to the Profound Spirit Mountain today to assess the situation.”
“Lord Si Lan, we of the Profound Spirit Sect can go back on our own. There’s no need for them to accompany us,” Xu Yi said, casting a cold glance at the two-headed snake.
Before Si Lan could respond, the two-headed serpent sneered and said, “If it weren’t for finding the Snake Mother, do you think we’d bother going to that wretched place?”
“You…”
Upon hearing such insolent words, the disciples of the Profound Spirit Sect immediately drew their longswords, intimidating the two-headed serpent. The small serpentlings extended their forked tongues, their eyes filled with anger.
Si Lan shook his head with a hint of helplessness and said, “I see you’re all in good spirits. Let’s set out now.”
After speaking, he paid no further attention to them and directly used magic to fly towards the Profound Spirit Mountain. Quze and Xie Li followed by his side.
At this moment, Xie Li felt a bit scared and thought that the human realm was too dangerous. He wanted to return to the demon realm. However, Quze and his master chose to stay, so he reluctantly clung to a piece of Si Lan’s robe with a mournful expression.
When Si Lan landed on the Profound Spirit Mountain, he saw that the mountain had been split in half. One half had been shattered into pieces, with huge rocks crushing the Qiong Lou Jade Pavilion, turning its once vibrant beauty into smoke and dust. The other half of the mountain was stained with the fresh blood of the Enchanting Serpent Clan, and the crimson stains had long since dried, resembling brown scars etched on the surface of the rocks.
The air around was filled with the pungent smell of snake blood mixed with debris, creating an eerie and unpleasant atmosphere.
In this world, there were countless complexities and karmic entanglements, making it challenging for people to navigate.
Si Lan couldn’t help but feel a sense of contemplation. The Immortal who once saved the common people ended up succumbing to his own darkness.
He wondered if Lou Yu thought about his Profound Spirit Sect and his path in the final moments. Perhaps he did but ultimately chose to abandon them.
“Master, Master, they are here!”
A sudden scream interrupted Si Lan’s thoughts. He immediately flew towards the direction of the voice and found a corner of a red wedding dress exposed under a pile of rocks.
Si Lan used magic to move the rocks, gradually revealing the faces of Lou Yu and Yun Lan. Their bodies were protected by an array, preventing them from being disfigured by the impact.
At this moment, Lou Yu and Yun Lan were wearing wedding attire, with Yun Lan leaning against Lou Yu’s chest. They appeared peaceful, like a pair of lovers who had embraced their fate.
Si Lan had previously speculated that Jiuying might want Lou Yu’s body, but he didn’t expect Lou Yu’s body to still be here. Whose body did Jiuying want?
Suddenly, a sentence Yun Lan had said echoed in Si Lan’s mind, “I’m sorry for bringing you here; I had no other choice. My only wish in this life is to marry my senior brother.”
At that time, he was in a hurry to take Yun Lan away and didn’t think about the meaning of her words. Now, upon careful consideration, it seemed he understood why Yun Lan had apologized.
Perhaps the body Jiuying wanted wasn’t Lou Yu’s but his own.
For a moment, Si Lan didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. He never expected his original form, the “wild chicken,” to be so popular.
Xu Yi and the other disciples knelt beside the bodies of Lou Yu and Yun Lan, their eyes red and teary.
As the sky gradually darkened, dark clouds rolled and thunder and lightning appeared in the distance, indicating an impending rainstorm.
In a solemn tone, Si Lan said, “Xu Yi, please bury Lou Yu and Miss Yun Lan as soon as possible.”
Xu Yi nodded with teary eyes and made a solemn vow by their bodies, “Master, I will seek vengeance for you!”
Heavy rain poured down, transforming the world into a misty gray.
The disciples of the Profound Spirit Sect, enduring the rain, carried out a joint burial for Lou Yu and Yun Lan.
Lou Yu’s soul was given to the Moth King, while his body stayed with Yun Lan, fulfilling their karmic debt in this lifetime.
However, his ordeal was not successfully transcended.
On the other side, the Enchanting Serpent Clan, braving the rain, searched for the Snake Mother’s aura. They scoured the entire Profound Spirit Mountain but found no trace of her.
The Tong Dan bead indicated that the Snake Mother’s aura was nearly imperceptible, hanging by a thread of life.
The two-headed serpent held the Tong Dan bead tightly, sitting dejectedly on a pile of rubble. They couldn’t save the Snake Mother, and living no longer seemed meaningful. The small serpentlings lay limp beside the two-headed serpent, seemingly feeling that snake life had lost its meaning, drooping their heads.
After Si Lan had handled Lou Yu’s affairs, he returned to see a group of snakes, both large and small, looking disheartened.
“Is there any trace of the Snake Mother?” Si Lan inquired.
The two-headed serpent shook its heads.
Even though they had used the blood of the Enchanting Serpent Clan to forge the Tong Ying, why hadn’t Jiuying released the Snake Mother yet?
Si Lan contemplated, “I know where the Snake Mother was previously kept. Let’s go there and see if we can find any clues.”
Upon hearing this, the two-headed serpent’s eyes lit up. “Good.”
Si Lan beckoned his two young disciples to follow him. He didn’t know what Jiuying planned to do, but he had a feeling that the enemy might come to them, so he needed to ensure the safety of his two young disciples.
The waterfall on the Profound Spirit Mountain had also been split in two, with the water flow diverted. The creek bed was now filled with bare, smooth pebbles. Si Lan used magic to move a massive stone, revealing a dim, hidden passage in front of everyone.
The disciples of the Profound Spirit Sect exchanged bewildered glances, surprised to discover such a hidden passage despite having lived on the Profound Spirit Mountain for so long.
“How can there be such a passage?”
“Could our master have really captured the Snake Mother and kept her here?”
“It wasn’t our master who did it; someone controlled him,” Xu Yi coldly interrupted the discussions of his junior disciples.
The junior disciples lowered their heads, and the atmosphere remained silent.
At this moment, a harsh, mocking laughter broke the silence.
“Heh.”
Xu Yi turned around in anger and saw a young man among the small Enchanting Serpent Clan members. His neck was wrapped in gauze, and he stared coldly at Xu Yi.
Xu Yi frowned and examined the young man before realizing the familiar, unpleasant aura emanating from him. He recognized the black-robed youth as the two-headed enchanting serpent.
The two-headed serpent wanted to descend into the underground passage, but its true form was too massive, so it assumed a human-like appearance.
Xu Yi wryly warned his junior disciples, “Be careful, don’t break your necks down there; after all, we don’t have two heads like someone else.”
“…” the black-robed youth.
As they proceeded deeper into the tunnel, the light grew dimmer. Si Lan conjured a small flame to illuminate the way and cautioned everyone, “Watch your step.”
The sound of dripping water became increasingly distinct in the confined space, like it was suspended above each person’s ears, causing them to hold their breath and heightening their anxiety.
At the end of the stone path, the first thing they saw was a massive circular platform. Above the platform hung an iron cage covered in runes, but the cage was empty, with no sign of the Snake Mother.
Si Lan remembered that when Song Guang had touched the iron cage last time, the circular platform beneath his feet had instantly opened, revealing a secret chamber that concealed the Snake Mother. He wondered whether the Snake Mother was still in that secret chamber.
He instructed everyone to step back and then used magic to blast the circular platform open, revealing the hidden chamber inside.
Although the secret chamber was large, it was completely empty. They searched the area but found no clues, leaving them with no progress.
Si Lan couldn’t comprehend why the Golden Jade Immortal Box, which was a treasure of the Profound Spirit Sect, was supposed to be somewhere near the Profound Spirit Mountain, yet they hadn’t found any traces in these places.
As he pondered this in the front, he suddenly noticed a dark shadow pass by. He immediately chased after it. Not forgetting to instruct Quze, “Quze, protect everyone!”
“Yes,” Quze replied as he pulled Xie Li behind him.
“What’s happening?”
“What’s going on?”
While the group was still puzzled, another dark shadow suddenly flashed by. It resembled a snake head.
The disciples of the Profound Spirit Sect and the Enchanting Serpent Clan chased after this shadow together.
Si Lan followed the shadow, but as he moved further, he saw a massive stone wall covered with moss and brown stains at the end. The moss seemed to move on its own, and the stains appeared and disappeared, creating an eerie and quiet atmosphere that exuded a sense of strangeness.
“Master… help…” Xie Li’s voice suddenly came from behind Si Lan. Without thinking much, he turned around and walked back toward the sound.
But in the next instant, the path in front of him changed. The passage suddenly veered in a different direction, and a wooden door engraved with snake patterns appeared out of nowhere.
Si Lan examined his surroundings, and his gaze finally fell to the ground beneath his feet. He realized he was standing on the central point of the Yin-Yang Eight Diagrams. He understood that this stone path wasn’t just a path; it was a formation. Touching different restrictions would open different doors leading to different worlds.
The door in front of him seemed to be deliberately luring him.
Si Lan concealed his aura and extended his hand to push the door open. Inside, he saw a stone wall carved with a giant snake head. Its eyes were blood-red, and its fangs were fierce and lifelike, exuding a sense of fear. This snake head resembled the one in his dream, which had devoured him.
In the corner, the Snake Mother was bound by iron chains, lying on the ground, barely conscious.
Seeing Si Lan’s arrival, she slowly raised her head and moved her lips.
However, her voice was too faint for Si Lan to hear. But by observing her lip movements, it seemed she was trying to convey a message, perhaps urging him to escape.
Nevertheless, he thought, “No risk, no reward.”
Si Lan drew his Xuanxin whip and continued to step forward.
At that moment, the stone statue of the snake head suddenly came to life. The snake head swayed slowly, with thin, long eyes, fiery-red pupils that gleamed, and scales between the brows that resembled snow. It extended its snake tongue, which was like a venomous thread, toward Si Lan, approaching him. An immense pressure filled the entire stone cavern, accompanied by the strong hostility exuding from the giant snake, sending chills down one’s spine.
Si Lan couldn’t help but reflect on the fact that this was the last of the Nine-Headed Serpents from ancient times.
The small white dragon in his arms suddenly moved. Si Lan thought it was scared and gently stroked its head to comfort it, saying, “Don’t be afraid; I’m here.”
However, the small white dragon had no fear. It just wanted to go along and see what Jiuying looked like. Plus, it had sensed a familiar aura of malevolence emanating from Jiuying, reminiscent of the person who had disrupted its tribulation. This made it curious about the connection between Jiuying and that person.
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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