Section Seventy-Four: Old Snake, How to Breed Earth Snakes

At the slightest disagreement, a treasured artifact was unleashed—a round, hollowed-out blue-yellow sphere rose into the air, expanding instantly. The defensive formation activated, blocking the tremendous blow of a superior fifth-grade immortal weapon, yet was forced back three hundred miles.

But the attacker showed no hesitation, relentlessly striking again and activating immortal techniques. The sphere, now over a thousand meters in diameter, emitted more than a dozen dazzling beams of light from its hollowed cavities. Each ray struck the formation, diminishing its power by a third. When the seventeenth beam landed, the protective barrier that once encompassed three heavens and three earths shrank to only three heavens and two earths—a single assault had breached an entire layer of defense.

It was not that the formation was weak, but the opponent’s attack was ruthlessly decisive, aiming to shatter the formation and capture everyone alive.

“Who are you, what sect or star do you hail from, that you dare strike at me? I am Greenleaf, lord of Xiaoye, under the command of the Imperial Serpent of Azure Billows!”

In the critical moment, following Wuyun’s instructions, the little bug compelled Greenleaf to step forward. When Greenleaf appeared, she wore a bowl atop her head, looking entirely incongruous.

The attacker, hearing her declaration, sneered, “So, you’re a subordinate of that ungrateful, traitorous viper who betrayed her sect and murdered her parents.”

“I am Jing Shou, inner elder of the Myriad Crystal Immortal Sect. What do you think of my Gilded Hundred-Hued Sphere? With a single blow, I can shatter your formation!”

Having introduced himself, Jing Shou refrained from further attack—two onlookers were drawing near. Anyone capable of traveling through space for trials was at least a Celestial Immortal of great stature, and such figures rarely meddled in others’ affairs.

The newcomers were two great demons, both late-stage Celestial Immortals—a tiger and a leopard—staring intently at Greenleaf.

“Red Tiger Immortal and Swallowing-Flight Immortal are joining forces. It seems they too are after the Seven Seas Fortress!” Jing Shou mocked. The trio exchanged a few words, and six pairs of eyes flashed with anticipation.

“Not good,” Greenleaf muttered, unleashing the full power of the immortal bowl atop her head. A gigantic image appeared, and then a colossal ox, ten thousand meters tall, stood astride the bowl.

“The dining bowl of the Sky-Charging Ox Clan—mount of the Imperial Serpent of Azure Billows!” Jing Shou recognized it, shaking his round head. With a gesture, the tiger and leopard flanked the ox.

They revealed their true forms, lunging fiercely, dodging the oncoming horns, and biting into the ox’s flank.

A metallic clang rang out atop the bowl, as if pincers had snapped shut.

With Greenleaf restrained, Jing Shou strolled toward the formation, brandishing his treasured sphere, ready to attack—yet in a flash, he vanished.

He had been sucked into the formation.

Jing Shou showed neither anger nor panic, but mocked, “Fools! Break for me!”

Break! Break! Break!

He shouted the word seven or eight times, casting seven different spells, but not one could pierce the formation. Instead, a wave of fear washed over him, and then, his immortal artifact severed its connection with him.

This was not a mere physical break—the bond of mind and soul was snapped. The cherished treasure, painstakingly cultivated, was shattered and dead.

The backlash from the artifact spirit made Jing Shou spit mouthfuls of dark blood, his face full of terror. How could such a close-bound weapon be destroyed so easily and swiftly?

“Return! Return! Return!”

He exhausted all his spells, but dared not approach for close combat—clutching his chest, he retreated a thousand meters.

Having lost his treasure, his cultivation had fallen, and his fighting power was more than halved.

As long as the sphere lived, so did the man; with the sphere destroyed, he was as good as dead. Jing Shou took a deep breath, stabilizing his injuries. When the tiger and leopard were too occupied to notice him, he tossed out a flying treasure and fled.

His greatest reliance was gone—if he didn’t run, he would surely perish.

From a distance, Jing Shou watched, leaving Red Tiger Immortal and Swallowing-Flight Immortal feeling as if they’d been duped. What secrets did that formation conceal?

Swallowing-Flight abandoned the ox atop the bowl and hurled several mighty spells at the formation. But as the formidable spells struck, an ancient, unassuming immortal sword appeared.

“A second-grade immortal sword!” Swallowing-Flight’s heart sank. Clearly, where the Imperial Serpent’s aide appeared, there was more to the story—were they also after the Seven Seas Fortress?

He glanced back, and Red Tiger grasped the situation. Both unleashed two immortal treasures each upon the formation and withdrew to a safe distance.

Yet the seventh-grade immortal artifacts made not a ripple on the formation—confirming their suspicions.

Thus, like Jing Shou, the two concealed themselves at the edge of a nearby asteroid, observing.

Inside the formation, all seemed calm, but chaos reigned.

Within, the devastation was immense. After the immortal sword of Dread and Hatred cleaved through the immortal artifact, countless round cavities whirled chaotically, their attacks disrupting the formation’s defenses. Even the safest node was struck by several beams.

It was absolute bedlam.

Old Bear Three leaped late, and a beam cut across, slicing his foot in two. He hastily sewed it with silken threads, using his cultivation to dispel the baleful energy hindering its healing.

The Battle King fared worse—his proud, thousand-life Prajna Divine Art was pierced through the chest, and even his Immortal King’s leg bone was left with a hole.

Only Greenleaf and Long Yi, oblivious to their dignity, leapt and shrank their forms to evade unpredictable danger.

As the formation fell into chaos, Wuyun continued to threaten the snooping little leopard with the Sword of Dread and Hatred. Unexpectedly, the opponent was startled and struck back with a stray immortal artifact, catching them off guard.

At last, the jade-seal coffin holding the Sword of Dread and Hatred was unleashed by Wuyun, reminiscent of a deathbed’s final board. Reluctantly, he used it to envelop two immortal artifacts—inside, twenty-four dragon-shaped energies appeared, tearing apart the two seventh-grade immortal treasures.

The shattered artifacts disintegrated, half absorbed by the jade seal, half expelled—promptly mending the formation.

After retrieving his treasures, Wuyun lamented his dwindling immortal power. He glanced at the battered formation core and, seeing that Yue Qi and the others were unharmed, felt much relieved. He summoned back Greenleaf, still balancing the Earth-Quaking Bowl, and lapsed into contemplation.

For the moment they had the upper hand, but danger lingered. Jing Shou, having lost his life-bound treasure, would not let the matter rest, and the tiger and leopard were a persistent headache.

He gestured for Old Bear Three, who was muttering about escape, to be silent and said, “We cannot leave now. The formation’s core is in disarray; without its power to carve open space and escape, our only hope is to find this so-called Seven Seas Fortress amid the confusion and slip away.”

To seek fortune in peril, to find safety in adversity—Wuyun comforted the weeping Yue Qi, his resolve firm.

“Even if we fled now, when the Ten-Tailed Immortal King discovers the pursuing Air-Traveling Cloud Ship is empty, he will surely search the opposite direction. We are already exposed. We must repair the formation—if we can restore it to Seven Heavens and Seven Earths, even the Immortal King will not terrify us!”

Wuyun, fully aware of the formation’s capabilities, gave his assessment. Rather than retreat, the formation advanced, deepening Jing Shou’s suspicions from afar—he became convinced that the Imperial Serpent of Azure Billows had dispatched an Immortal King.

Swallowing-Flight’s doubts about the second-grade immortal sword only reinforced this conclusion. With his life-bound weapon destroyed, everything now made sense.

Amid truth and illusion, Greenleaf was left in the open, wielding the Earth-Quaking Bowl like a handmaiden clearing the way. Behind her, the Sword of Dread and Hatred loomed in a vague, menacing presence.

Not only did the three combatants feel fear—even other hidden immortals and demons in the surrounding void were astounded. Could it be that an Immortal King had come to reclaim the Seven Seas Fortress?

The Seven Seas Fortress was a masterless ninth-grade imperial artifact. Its artifact spirit, once it took control, concealed itself, fearing no Immortal Emperor. In the past, even an Immortal Emperor from the Nine Heavens Star of Radiance had failed to subdue it, followed by twenty-four others, all unsuccessful.

It was not that the ninth-grade imperial artifact was so powerful, but because its fate was bound to its master. Without a master, it lingered, the artifact spirit stubbornly refusing to self-destruct. For an Immortal Emperor, subduing such a soon-to-explode artifact was a risk too great.

“Immortal artifacts are ranked by grade; imperial artifacts from one to nine. The difference in power is not so vast, but grades one to three are supreme treasures, wielded only by the oldest, most reclusive immortals—those who would rather remain in the immortal realm, evading the laws of ascension to the divine realm. Grades four to six belong to the top Immortal Emperors, a step away from their divine tribulation. They all seek powerful treasures in perilous lands to ensure safety!”

Wuyun ate a piece of ox tendon, gathering the surplus immortal energy that surged through his body and sending it into the severely wounded Battle King and Old Bear Three to aid their recovery. He instructed, “When it’s time to jump, just jump. Don’t be thick-skinned—while you live, there is hope.”

The Battle King blushed. Since practicing Wuyun’s techniques, he had grown ever younger.

Old Bear Three, however, was the reverse—his body grew larger, and if not deliberately restrained, would be over four thousand meters in height. He even suspected this was Wuyun’s doing, recalling the time his bear’s heart and flesh were sliced out. Perhaps Wuyun had the same culinary predilections as that Kun Mouse.

After a while, Wuyun continued his lecture, “Nowadays, the most commonly seen imperial artifacts in the immortal realm are grades six to nine—such treasures are reserved for elders and sect leaders. In terms of confrontation, a ninth-grade against a first-grade is like a knife cutting a watermelon…”

Having finished, Wuyun looked ahead at the one blocking their path, helpless. It was a five-headed serpent, a peak Celestial Immortal, only a step away from becoming a Demon Immortal King.

But that was not the main threat—the real concern was the woman riding the serpent, armed to the teeth with fourth- and fifth-grade immortal artifacts from head to toe, perhaps a dozen or twenty in total. Such extravagance could mean only a great sect or a noble clan.

“Is she a relative of yours?”

Seeing Greenleaf unperturbed, Wuyun asked. She nodded, a bit embarrassed. “My uncle.”

Just as the group was about to relax, the little bug quickly corrected, “She has hundreds of such uncles and aunts!”

Swish!

Wuyun paused his repairs, raising the formation—now restored to Three Heavens and Three Earths—and directed Long Yi to shout, “What business do you have blocking our way—?”

Smack!

Ten fifth-grade immortal artifacts—Demon-Binding Chains—shot out from the woman’s hair, which concealed her face, encircling Greenleaf. Then a commanding voice rang out, “I am Feng Qianyu, Second Young Lady of the Renowned Storm Family!”

Her first statement was normal, announcing her status. The second, however, was sheer madness.

“My mount is male, your serpent girl is female—male and female together, yin and yang in harmony. Understand? My mount has a way to breed a serpent clan as powerful as the Imperial Serpent of Azure Billows!”

Long Yi’s face darkened at her obvious intent: to treat Greenleaf as livestock, breeding demon soldiers to guard her clan’s mining veins.

The Demon-Binding Chains coiled around the struggling immortal ox atop the bowl, and the surplus chains tightly bound Greenleaf, yanking her away. As Greenleaf was about to be captured, Wuyun’s deep voice resounded, “Your male serpent has been castrated—how can he breed?”

“What? The serpent my grandmother gave me can’t breed?” Atop the enormous five-headed serpent, Feng Qianyu furiously pounded its head, yet the serpent remained docile, not daring to utter a sound.

“Then lend me your demon serpent for a while. Once she lays eggs, I’ll return her!” Feng Qianyu’s tone was imperious—one could scarcely imagine how such a creature survived to this day.