Chapter 27: How Is This Any Different from a Venomous Snake Lurking by Your Bedside?

These questions had no answers for now, and Song Xuanqing didn't dwell on them. He returned to cultivating the Minor Soul-Split Art.

The soul-split's cultivation had stalled ever since it reached one-eighth of the main body's power.

The soul-split was incapable of using the Divine Art: God-Merge, and at one-eighth of the main body's strength, it possessed roughly the power of someone just entering the second tier of the Martial Path.

For the past two days, Song Xuanqing had been pondering how to increase the soul-split's strength, or at least reduce the drain on the main body.

The sun sank in the west, and the moon rose above the treetops.

When Song Xuanqing finally ended his cultivation session and looked up, it was already late night.

Outside the temple, the night was desolate and the moonlight cold and pale. The entirety of Song Family Village had long since fallen into slumber.

And yet, at this hour, Xuanmo still hadn't come to see him?!

It was nearly midnight already.

In the past, Xuanmo would arrive at the temple by nightfall at the latest, and usually showed up at dawn.

But today, there was still no sign of her at this hour?

She hadn't asked for leave yesterday, either.

Song Xuanqing found it mildly strange, but quickly put it out of his mind.

Perhaps the cat had been held up by something.

Without giving it further thought, he continued his cultivation.

Until just past midnight.

A sleek black figure darted into the temple, carrying with it a faint, lingering smell of blood.

It was none other than the fashionably late Xuanmo.

The moment she entered, Xuanmo panted and said, "My lord, this little demon is late today — I hope I haven't held you up?"

Song Xuanqing broke off his cultivation and looked over with a furrowed brow.

The temple was dim, but it did nothing to impair his vision.

On the prayer cushion sat the black cat, nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding darkness.

But unlike usual, a chunk of flesh was missing from her left hind leg, exposing a raw, blood-red wound beneath the fur.

The smell of blood was coming from there.

Song Xuanqing frowned. "Nothing was held up, but what happened to your hind leg? Did you get into a fight?"

He hadn't even finished asking before Xuanmo could no longer hold back her grievance. Her expression turned indignant as she launched into her complaint.

"My lord, this little demon was just about to tell you about that!"

"I had actually set out at dawn to come find you, but who would have thought — the moment I reached Back Slope Hill, a snake-demon blocked my path!"

"And do you know why that snake-demon stopped me? It was because you had me leave my aura around the village, so the snake-demon assumed this whole area was my territory and that the mortals in the village were livestock I was raising for blood!"

"That snake-demon actually had the gall to ask me to spare a few mortals for it to eat!"

"I was furious on the spot, and we came to blows!"

"That snake-demon is at the Late Body Tempering Stage — slightly stronger than me — so I couldn't beat it. It bit a chunk out of me, but at least I managed to drive it off temporarily. After that, I spent some time healing, which is why I'm only arriving now."

Xuanmo grumbled and cursed as she recounted the whole affair.

Song Xuanqing's eyelid twitched. His mind jumped immediately to the man-eating snake-demon from Liu Family Village.

His expression darkened in an instant.

Just a few hours ago, he had been thinking that the snake-demon had simply not crossed his path yet — but if it ever did, he would absolutely deal with it.

And now, that snake-demon had turned up right in his Domain?

And had even gotten into a fight with Xuanmo over wanting to eat people.

A little snake-demon at the Late Body Tempering Stage — just as he had guessed, its cultivation wasn't particularly high.

Song Xuanqing's face went cold as iron. He glanced at the wound on the black cat's hind leg, his voice like frost.

"This god is aware of the situation. You won't suffer this injury in vain. As for that snake-demon wanting to eat the villagers — it depends on whether it has the life to do so."

"Do you know where that snake-demon is now? As it happens, this god's hands are itching. I'll use that snake-demon to warm up."

The soul-split's cultivation had hit a wall anyway — might as well use the snake-demon to test its limits.

The soul-split could leave the Domain's boundaries, as long as it didn't go too far.

Hearing that Song Xuanqing intended to personally deal with the snake-demon, Xuanmo's eyes lit up with eager anticipation.

That snake-demon had bitten a chunk out of her — she was absolutely holding a grudge.

Given Song Xuanqing's strength, she had no doubt he could kill a snake-demon at the Body Tempering Stage.

But if he killed that snake-demon…

Xuanmo hesitated for two seconds before speaking.

"My lord, that little snake-demon at the Late Body Tempering Stage would certainly be trivial for you to dispatch. But that little snake-demon is not so simple."

Song Xuanqing's brow furrowed slightly. "Not so simple?"

Xuanmo nodded. "That's right. My lord, didn't you find it strange a few days ago that there have been an unusual number of snakes and insects appearing in the village lately?"

Song Xuanqing raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that because the snake-demon has been active in this area recently?"

He had been thinking that killing the snake-demon would solve the problem.

Xuanmo nodded, then shook her head.

"It is because of a snake-demon, yes — but not that little snake-demon at the Body Tempering Stage. It's because of a great snake-demon at the Spirit Gathering realm!"

Song Xuanqing's brow immediately creased.

A short while later, as Xuanmo slowly explained, Song Xuanqing finally understood the full picture.

Several days ago, a snake-demon had arrived in the Falling Glow Mountain Range.

A great snake-demon at the third tier of the Demon Beast path — the Spirit Gathering realm.

It had brought with it countless members of its clan and descendants. The little snake-demon at the Body Tempering Stage was one of that great snake-demon's kin.

The great snake-demon wished to claim territory in the Falling Glow Mountain Range to cultivate, but while the Spirit Gathering realm was no small feat, the Falling Glow Mountain Range was teeming with powerful demons — no shortage of those at the Demon Core Stage or even the Transformation Stage.

The great snake-demon lacked the strength to compete, yet refused to submit to the more powerful demons of the Falling Glow Mountain Range. So it led its clan to the outer fringes of the range to claim territory there.

Song Family Village and the surrounding villages, which bordered the outer edges of the Falling Glow Mountain Range, naturally fell within the great snake-demon's sphere of influence.

Xuanmo said, "My lord, snake-demons as a species are notorious for holding grudges. If you kill that little snake-demon at the Body Tempering Stage, there's no telling whether the great snake-demon will set its sights on you in revenge. Perhaps you don't fear it, but this little demon felt you should know the full situation."

Song Xuanqing: "…"

If it were just a little snake-demon at the Body Tempering Stage, he wouldn't give it a second thought.

But a great snake-demon at the Spirit Gathering realm — that was a different matter entirely.

Song Xuanqing had estimated his own strength: without using God-Merge, his main body was roughly at the early Spirit Gathering realm; with God-Merge active, roughly at the late Spirit Gathering realm.

But he was well aware that he lacked combat experience.

If that Spirit Gathering snake-demon was at the early stage, things would be manageable. But if it was at the late stage or even peak, that was a different story.

The situation had suddenly become far more complicated. He had assumed it was just a little snake-demon at the Body Tempering Stage — something he could dispatch with a wave of his hand.

But lurking behind it was a great snake-demon at the Spirit Gathering realm.

After a moment of contemplation, Song Xuanqing asked, "What exactly is that Spirit Gathering realm snake-demon's cultivation level?"

Xuanmo replied, "I've heard it's at the mid Spirit Gathering realm, close to breaking through to the late stage. That's precisely why the great snake-demon hasn't left the Falling Glow Mountain Range — it refuses to submit to the demons there, and is simply waiting to break through to the Demon Core Stage."

Mid Spirit Gathering realm?

Song Xuanqing let out a quiet breath of relief, then asked, "Where exactly is that great snake-demon's territory?"

Xuanmo said, "On the western rear slope of Wolf's Head Mountain, at the foot of the mountain — in a deep pool called Green Mirror Pool."

Song Xuanqing's eyelid twitched. A sense of unease immediately washed over him.

"So the great snake-demon's territory is separated from Back Slope Hill by nothing more than Wolf's Head Mountain?"

The edge of his current protective Domain was Back Slope Hill.

And between Green Mirror Pool — where the great snake-demon resided — and Back Slope Hill, there was only Wolf's Head Mountain in between.

Wolf's Head Mountain was large enough, but the fact that his Domain and the snake-demon's territory were separated by just a single mountain felt deeply unsettling no matter how he thought about it.

How was this any different from a venomous snake lurking right beside your bed, watching you with hungry eyes?

Xuanmo scratched her ear. "Well, when you put it that way… that's not wrong."