Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Century-Old Serpent

When Xiao Ding heard Yue Yurou say her master had discovered a divine artifact, he couldn’t help but feel a jolt of surprise. Could it really be something extraordinary?

If it were just some rare finds that people in the martial world often boasted about—like centuries-old ginseng, ancient lingzhi mushrooms, precious jade, or rare meteorite iron—Xiao Ding would not have cared in the least. In the Luoxia Mountains, medicinal herbs that had grown for a hundred years were not exactly abundant, but not rare either; they were simply hard to find. On their journey, he and Yue Yurou had come across quite a few herbs that were several decades old, even if none had reached the century mark.

As for jade or meteorite iron, Xiao Ding had no idea what use such things could possibly have, or how much they might be worth.

But as the leader of a martial sect with a long and storied history, Master Yuxiazi’s judgment and experience were not something Xiao Ding doubted. What’s more, the Jade Purity Sect was renowned for its expertise in alchemy and medicine, and its members’ ability to identify herbs far surpassed that of ordinary people. Yuxiazi would never mistake a simple hundred-year-old ginseng root, worth only a couple hundred taels of silver, for the divine artifact of Luoxia Mountain.

So, upon hearing Yue Yurou’s words, Xiao Ding was naturally startled and intrigued.

He glanced at the summit’s terrain. The gathering had taken place on an open patch, the ground covered in snow, long since stained crimson with blood. Beyond that lay the forest, its depths unseen, blocking their view.

“Let’s head deeper in,” Xiao Ding suggested.

In truth, night had already fallen, and venturing into the mountains at this hour was hardly wise. No one knew what dangers might lurk within the woods. But aside from entering the forest, there was no other path forward—unless they wished to descend the mountain.

Now that the divine artifact was said to be so near, how could they possibly leave without seeking it out?

They hadn’t gone far into the trees when they discovered a small stone hillock in the woods behind. It wasn’t large—perhaps the size of a dozen or so houses. Footprints circled the mound, which they followed to the mouth of a small cave.

Xiao Ding was just about to poke his head inside for a look when he suddenly heard movement from within. Startled, he quickly pulled Yue Yurou back, retreating seven or eight paces before stopping.

At that moment, a massive head emerged from the cave—larger than a washbasin, it was the head of a giant python.

“Climb the tree—quickly,” Xiao Ding whispered.

Yue Yurou didn’t hesitate and scrambled up the nearest sturdy tree.

The snake’s head pushed from the cave, tongue flickering as it tasted the air, searching for prey.

Xiao Ding knew that, though the python’s eyes seemed wide and threatening, its vision was actually rather poor. Like most snakes, it relied on the heat-sensing pits at its cheeks and on its tongue to detect scents and sense its environment.

Seeing that Yue Yurou was already aloft, Xiao Ding gently set down his burden, then slowly began to climb the tree himself. He knew snakes could climb as well, but it still seemed safer in the branches than trying to outrun such a massive serpent on open ground. He was quite certain he could never outpace a creature of that size.

The great snake probed for a while, then fixed its attention in Xiao Ding’s direction, tongue flickering as it watched. Both Xiao Ding and Yue Yurou dared not move a muscle, hearts pounding furiously.

Strange, Xiao Ding thought—why wasn’t the snake hibernating in this freezing weather on the mountaintop?

The serpent, however, did not advance. After watching them for a time, it drew its head back into the cave and all was still.

They waited a long while, but heard nothing further from the cave. At last, Xiao Ding breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “Miss Yue,” he whispered, “is this giant python the so-called divine artifact your master discovered?”

Such a gigantic snake was indeed a rarity; its size alone suggested it must have lived at least several centuries, if not a thousand years. Calling it a divine creature was not an exaggeration.

“My master only said that she discovered a divine artifact, and not long after, people began to arrive at the mountaintop. So she led her senior and junior sisters out of the woods, only to be drawn into the fighting…” Yue Yurou replied.

“So you’re not sure if the artifact your master mentioned is this snake?” Xiao Ding asked quietly.

Yue Yurou nodded.

Xiao Ding cursed his luck. After so much effort, was the divine artifact of Luoxia Mountain really just a giant python?

Still, judging by the size of the beast, it might truly be extraordinary—perhaps it had even achieved a semi-spiritual form. If it had cultivated an inner core, that would be priceless indeed.

Yet such a dangerous divine creature was best avoided at all costs.

Xiao Ding was pondering their next move when suddenly, the sound of commotion drifted from the far side of the forest. It seemed yet more people had arrived at the summit.

He quickly slipped down from the tree, found a branch, and swept away the footprints he and Yue Yurou had left in the snow. Then he retrieved their bundles, slung them over his shoulders, climbed back up, and hung the packs securely on a sturdy limb.

On the other side of the woods, the clamor rose and fell; another group had evidently reached the summit. But the two factions did not immediately clash. Instead, they seemed to be in heated discussion.

From this distance, Xiao Ding couldn’t make out what they were saying. He could only sit in silence on the branch, exchanging nervous glances with Yue Yurou.

At last, whatever was decided, the crowd began to make their way toward the stone hillock.

Suddenly, Xiao Ding noticed a snake’s tongue flick out from the cave entrance, only to vanish again. The python was lying in wait just inside.

The newcomers followed the trail of footprints to the stone mound.

“Well, look at that—there’s a stone hillock right in the woods!”

“Hall Master Wu, don’t tell me you think this stone mound is some sort of divine artifact too, ha ha!”

“You jest, Deputy Chief. I simply found its appearance rather curious, nothing more…”

“Actually, there might be something odd about it. So many people died outside the woods—maybe they’d already found something, which is why they fought to the death!”

“If there really was a divine artifact here, surely someone would have taken it by now…”

“Likely so. Even the Three Fiends of the Sky Net Sect died horribly here—they must have encountered a truly formidable foe…”

“I noticed the eldest and youngest of the Three Fiends seemed to have died of poisoning. Could it have been the Poison Sect?”

“Deputy Chief, there’s more than one sect in the martial world skilled in poisons…”

“So you’re saying it wasn’t the Poison Sect who killed the Sky Net men?”

“I didn’t say that. I only mean that aside from the Poison Sect of Jiangzhou and Miaojia, there’s also Tengshe Island in Yuezhou, and the Tang Clan of Shuzhou, all renowned for their use of poison…”

Hearing this, Xiao Ding’s heart skipped a beat. He realized he had overlooked something. The outside corpses must be the two black-clad men he’d killed with his poisoned needles. And from the state of the dead, these men below could already deduce the manner of their deaths. If someone familiar with the Soul-Stealing Tube saw the bodies, they would surely guess the Three Fiends had fallen to Tang Clan weapons. Had he unwittingly brought enmity upon the Tang Clan?

Xiao Ding gently parted some dense leaves and peered down through the snow-lit darkness. He could see two groups at the foot of the stone mound, each in tight-fitting garb—some in red, some in white—clearly representing two different sects. The ones addressed as Hall Master Wu and Deputy Chief both wore cloaks and carried weapons, their bearing marking them as leaders.

He was watching intently when suddenly, from near the cave, someone shouted, “Uncle Master—help!”

Everyone turned toward the sound. At the cave mouth, the massive head of the python was visible, its jaws wide as it swallowed a man whole…