Chapter 055
Chapter 55: Seven-Ringed Serpent
Facing Shi Zi Chu’s confession and the apologetic look on her face, Yao Ruo Ruo spoke earnestly, “Zi Chu, there is no need to feel sorry. You must have your own reasons for concealing your cultivation.”
As the words left her lips, Yao Ruo Ruo suddenly felt an odd sense of familiarity.
Yan Zhou Bai nodded in agreement, his voice calm as he added, “First, congratulations on achieving the Golden Core. Secondly, as Junior Sister said, you must have your own reasons for not wanting to make this public.”
Everyone has things they do not wish to speak of or cannot speak of. If she does not speak, I will pretend I don’t know.
Shi Zi Chu seemed to relax, a faint smile forming on her lips.
Beside them, Meng Xi Yu cast a cold glance at Shi Zi Chu without saying a word. A liar who hadn’t spoken a single truth.
They walked on for a while, and Yao Ruo Ruo looked around, “Why does it feel like the sky is about to darken?”
The mist around them had thickened at some point, and the already dim forest now exuded an eerie, foreboding atmosphere. A cold gust of wind blew from behind, sending a chill down their spines.
“The mist has rolled in,” Yan Zhou Bai said, letting his spiritual sense spread to sense any hidden danger, “It’s about a quarter past noon now.”
Yao Ruo Ruo’s face grew serious and cautious. The outskirts of the Eternal Night Forest were already so dark at noon. How dark would it be by evening?
“Detoxification pill.” Meng Xi Yu’s cold voice broke the silence. “The mist could be caused by miasma.”
Everyone knew that miasma was poisonous.
Yao Ruo Ruo handed a fifth-rank detoxification pill to Shi Zi Chu and instinctively moved to place herself between Shi Zi Chu and the potential danger. Though she knew that Zi Chu wasn’t weak, that didn’t stop her from wanting to protect her!
After swallowing the detoxification pill, Shi Zi Chu moved to stand behind Yao Ruo Ruo. Her calm and composed aura exuded a subtle, reassuring power. Yao Ruo Ruo, feeling a bit uneasy, slowly began to relax.
“An early Golden Core Seven-Ringed Serpent.”
The cold voice startled Yao Ruo Ruo, and she shivered.
Shi Zi Chu raised her hand and gently patted her arm. “I’ll go.”
“The Seven-Ringed Serpent is extremely venomous, and its scales are hard, offering high defense.” Yao Ruo Ruo spoke with concern, “And with the mist, it could affect you. Shouldn’t I go instead?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Zi Chu, but she just didn’t want her to get hurt!
The Seven-Ringed Serpent usually measured about five meters long, not large in size, but incredibly fast. To kill it, one of two methods was needed: either using defense to turn the tables or being faster than the serpent.
“Trust me,” Shi Zi Chu said, then swiftly moved around Yao Ruo Ruo and shot forward like an arrow toward the Seven-Ringed Serpent.
She was experienced in killing serpents by targeting their weak spot.
Watching her figure vanish into the mist, Yao Ruo Ruo’s face tightened with worry and concern.
“There’s more than one.”
Meng Xi Yu’s icy voice rang out.
From within the mist came Shi Zi Chu’s calm voice, “I know.”
It wasn’t until Meng Xi Yu spoke that Yan Zhou Bai sensed several more Seven-Ringed Serpents. He turned and looked at the man standing a step away.
Sect Master Meng was a mid-Nascent Soul stage sword cultivator. Normally, his spiritual sense would be less sensitive than his own, yet it was always Meng who detected the spirit beasts first.
Meng Xi Yu glanced at Yan Zhou Bai, his cold gaze seemingly asking if there was something on his mind.
Yan Zhou Bai, not one to hide his thoughts, directly voiced his curiosity. “Sect Master Meng, have you cultivated soul force?”
Meng Xi Yu nodded slightly.
Yan Zhou Bai understood, turning his attention back to the battle ahead without further comment.
“Five Seven-Ringed Serpents, one of them is late-stage Golden Core.” Yan Zhou Bai extended his hand to stop Yao Ruo Ruo from moving forward. His calm voice carried an undeniable trust in Shi Zi Chu. “Junior Sister, she is not as weak as you think.”
“I’m afraid she’ll get hurt!” Yao Ruo Ruo frowned, voice tinged with concern. “Senior Brother, I don’t want Zi Chu to get hurt.”
Yan Zhou Bai seemed momentarily stunned, an odd expression flashing across his face as he looked at Yao Ruo Ruo.
Is there any experience that doesn’t come with injuries?
“To grow stronger, injuries are inevitable,” Meng Xi Yu’s cold voice cut through, “Miss Yao, don’t treat her like a fragile porcelain doll.”
Shi Zi Chu’s resilience… Why am I saying all this?
Meng Xi Yu’s words, spoken with familiarity, made Yao Ruo Ruo glance at him.
Seeing his icy, unapproachable profile, Yao Ruo Ruo couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Sect Master Meng and Zi Chu didn’t seem familiar with each other, and the two hadn’t exchanged a word along the way. So why did Sect Master Meng speak as though he understood Shi Zi Chu so well?
Unable to make sense of it, Yao Ruo Ruo decided to focus her attention back on Shi Zi Chu.
Yan Zhou Bai, however, paid no mind to this and kept his focus on the battle.
There were six Seven-Ringed Serpents in total. For Shi Zi Chu, this was a test in itself.
Within the mist, Shi Zi Chu moved gracefully, dodging effortlessly. The six serpents, their venomous fangs bared, couldn’t even touch the hem of her robe.
“Ssss!” A sharp hiss rang out, sounding like it came from a serpent in pain.
Yao Ruo Ruo extended her spiritual sense and saw Shi Zi Chu’s delicate fingers stripping the scales from the serpent’s weak spot!
Seven-Ringed Serpent scales were known for their high defense, yet here Shi Zi Chu was, removing them with her bare hands?!
In the next moment, the tough scales in Shi Zi Chu’s hands became a weapon, piercing straight into the serpent’s weak spot.
The serpent instantly collapsed, its body falling to the ground.
Yao Ruo Ruo stood there, dumbfounded.
Snake blood sprayed up, splashing across Shi Zi Chu’s face. With a powerful twist of her core strength, she avoided another serpent’s attack, her graceful movements weaving through the mist. Aqua-blue silk threads shot through the remaining serpents.
Yan Zhou Bai’s brow lifted slightly.
Whether in speed or strength, she had advanced quickly. She must have never slacked off.
The five serpents, pierced by the aqua-blue silk threads, writhed in a frenzy, struggling as their blood stained the silk threads red.
The tardy star gem suddenly appeared, meeting Shi Zi Chu as she held the serpent’s scales.
The serpent’s body stiffened, clearly wanting to flee.
“Star gem.”
The soft voice sounded almost like a death sentence to the star gem.
Upon seeing the bloody scales in Shi Zi Chu’s hand, the star gem’s own scales seemed to ache in response.
Yao Ruo Ruo blinked, her eyes wide, then blinked again to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.
Looking at the serpent coiled around Shi Zi Chu’s wrist like a golden bracelet, she said, “Isn’t that Young Master Jiang’s spirit beast?”
Shi Zi Chu nodded and cast a dust-dispelling spell on herself.
“Zzi!”
In a flash, Shi Zi Chu yanked Yao Ruo Ruo aside. Where they had been standing moments ago, a pool of venom now sizzled into the earth.
Yao Ruo Ruo watched the dirt corroding into a deep pit, a chill running through her.
Shi Zi Chu flicked her finger, and several water-blue silk threads pierced through the serpents’ heads, pinning them to the ground and rendering them immobile.
Yan Zhou Bai and Meng Xi Yu walked over, seeing that the two were unharmed. Their gazes turned curious as they looked at the serpents suspended in midair by the aqua-blue silk threads.
“It looks like a combination of water control techniques and puppet arts,” Yan Zhou Bai remarked, stepping closer for a better look.
Shi Zi Chu’s delicate fingers touched the serpent’s scales. With a hiss, she tore off a section of the scales.
The Seven-Ringed Serpent, in agony, thrashed its body as blood dripped from its wounds onto the ground.