Chapter 29: It Seems We Have Nothing to Discuss
Chapter 29: It Seems We Have Nothing to Discuss
"Wuzhu, come out and face me!"
The voice echoed across the Green Mirror Pool.
The group of snake demons gathered at the water's edge finally snapped to attention.
They fixed their gazes on Song Xuanqing, who stood atop the water's surface, their expressions hostile.
The hissing of flickering tongues and the rustling of slithering bodies filled the air without pause.
A chaotic surge of Demonic Aura closed in on Song Xuanqing from every direction.
Song Xuanqing's expression didn't change. He paid it no mind whatsoever.
Not a single one of those snake demons had reached the Spirit Gathering realm, and few had even made it to the second tier, the Bone Refinement Stage. They were nothing but a rabble, and Song Xuanqing didn't spare them a second thought.
His target was the great snake demon — Wuzhu.
Song Xuanqing's shout had produced some effect after all.
The pool's surface, previously calm, soon began to ripple and churn.
It was as though something enormous lurked beneath, on the verge of breaking through.
At the same time, an aura more powerful than all the snake demons on the shore combined began to rise from the depths of the pool.
It climbed toward the surface at a breathtaking speed.
The snake demons that had been itching to move a moment ago froze in place, not daring to stir.
In one breath, the surface of the pool shattered!
A snake's head, as large as a full-grown water buffalo, burst through the water!
Dark blue-black scales shimmered with the water's light, and where sunlight struck them, iridescent colors seemed to flow and dance.
As the serpentine body rose, a massive shadow fell over Song Xuanqing.
By the time it stopped, roughly twelve to fifteen meters of snake body had emerged above the waterline — and by the look of things, at least as much again remained submerged.
What an enormous snake!
How many pots of snake stew could you make out of this thing?
Song Xuanqing was inwardly astonished, though his face remained perfectly composed.
He tilted his head back to study the colossal snake demon before him, its body a uniform dark blue-black.
It did indeed appear to be short of the Late Spirit Gathering realm.
Having confirmed the great snake demon's Cultivation for himself, Song Xuanqing felt a slight easing of tension in his chest.
And while Song Xuanqing was sizing up Wuzhu, Wuzhu was sizing up him in return.
Before long, however, contempt and disdain surfaced in those murky green serpentine eyes.
Here was something that had a human shape but was not human — and whatever it actually was remained unclear.
Its aura suggested only the early Bone Refinement Stage.
Aside from the mystery of what it was, Wuzhu found its Cultivation genuinely beneath notice.
As for what Song Xuanqing actually was, Wuzhu didn't particularly care.
After all, the gulf between their respective Cultivations was as vast as a chasm.
What was there to worry about?
If anything, it was the other party that should be questioned — how did someone of a mere Bone Refinement Stage dare to come alone to the Green Mirror Pool and summon it out?
And upon seeing it, to show not the slightest trace of fear.
Wuzhu spoke first. It opened its serpentine maw and gave voice to human speech.
"Who are you? You have trespassed on this King's territory uninvited. What business do you have with this King?"
As it spoke, it bent its enormous, oppressive head slightly toward Song Xuanqing, killing intent glinting in its eyes.
"If you cannot give this King a reason that satisfies, this King will eat you alive!"
Song Xuanqing's expression didn't waver. He was not the least bit intimidated.
"Your snake demons trespassed on my Domain without permission and tried to eat my people. Naturally I've come to your door to have a word with you about that."
The moment those words fell, the green-banded serpent — which had been behaving itself in Song Xuanqing's grip on its vital spot — seized the opportunity and immediately began wailing at the top of its lungs.
"Ancestor! Ancestor, you must stand up for me! You don't know what happened…"
The green-banded serpent poured out its grievances in the serpent tongue, embellishing the story with every dramatic flourish it could muster.
Song Xuanqing's face was expressionless. He had no intention of stopping it, and let the green-banded serpent cry and complain to its heart's content.
Finally, the green-banded serpent shrieked arrogantly, "Ancestor! Kill this insufferable wretch quickly! Afterwards I'll go eat that demon cat, then drag those villagers from the foot of the mountain up here as tribute to you!"
Song Xuanqing couldn't suppress a cold laugh. The hand gripping the green-banded serpent's vital spot tightened by several degrees.
The green-banded serpent immediately wailed even louder. "Ow, Ancestor, save me! This insufferable wretch is going to kill me right in front of you!"
Wuzhu glanced at the green-banded serpent in Song Xuanqing's grip, its eyes utterly unmoved.
The serpent clan reproduced prolifically. Its descendants were too numerous to count, and it had no reason to care about the life or death of one descendant at the Body Tempering Stage.
But… the fact that Song Xuanqing was making a move against the green-banded serpent right in front of it did genuinely irritate it.
A cultivator of the mere Bone Refinement Stage, showing it such utter disregard!
Wuzhu's displeasure mounted. Those lantern-sized serpentine eyes brimmed with killing intent as it spoke in a tone of contempt.
"Put down this King's little descendant, and this King may consider letting you die without too much suffering later."
Song Xuanqing narrowed his eyes, his expression growing cold.
"That little descendant of yours trespassed on my Domain and tried to eat my people. We haven't settled that score yet."
"Release it? If you agree to keep your serpent brood in line — to stop them from eating people over there and from trespassing on my Domain — then I might consider letting it go."
The moment those words landed, Wuzhu reacted as though it had just heard the most absurd joke imaginable. It was so furious it burst out laughing.
"Ha! You insignificant little Bone Refinement Stage ant — do you have any idea what you're saying?!"
"This is this King's territory. You trespassed on this King's territory, and this King already has every reason to eat you alive. And you dare to take this King's descendants hostage and threaten this King?!"
"Hahahahaha! This King hasn't seen someone as outrageously arrogant and ignorant as you in a very long time!"
"Today, never mind those mortals under your protection — you, this King is going to eat you too!!!"
Watching Wuzhu work itself into a frenzy, Song Xuanqing's face remained blank.
"It seems we have nothing to discuss."
As his words fell, Song Xuanqing stopped holding back. His five fingers drove straight through the vital spot of the green-banded serpent, which had been shrieking nonstop.
Blood immediately gushed from the wound at the serpent's vital spot. When he withdrew his hand, all that remained was a gaping, blood-soaked hole.
The green-banded serpent's eyes went wide. In the last moment before death, it stared at Song Xuanqing in disbelief.
It seemed unable to comprehend how, with Wuzhu right there watching, he had truly dared to strike it down.
But it had no time left to think. As its life ebbed away, its consciousness faded with it. Without Song Xuanqing's grip to hold it, its corpse dropped straight into the pool, spreading a bloom of crimson through the water.
Song Xuanqing's action — his attitude — was an unmistakable slap to Wuzhu's face.
Though Wuzhu cared nothing for the green-banded serpent's death, it could not tolerate a cultivator of the Bone Refinement Stage acting this brazenly right before its eyes.
Wuzhu was incensed. It threw open its enormous maw, baring razor-sharp fangs, and lunged savagely at Song Xuanqing.
The speed was blinding — in the blink of an eye, the gaping serpent mouth was right upon him, a wave of fetid stench washing over him.
Song Xuanqing's soul-split possessed only one-eighth of his true body's power, and naturally could not contend with Wuzhu, who was at the Spirit Gathering realm.
He had never intended for his soul-split to be able to fight Wuzhu on equal terms.
And so… as Wuzhu's enormous jaws were about to swallow him whole, Song Xuanqing decisively dispersed the soul-split.
Since he had no physical body to begin with, the dispersed soul-split dissolved into the essence of heaven and earth, dissipating into the world.
The massive serpentine maw snapped shut — on nothing but air.
No — to be precise, it snapped shut on a mouthful of pool water.
Boom!
The snake's head crashed into the water's surface. A tremendous wave surged skyward, and the shore was drenched as though a sudden rainstorm had swept through.