“Not far ahead is the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave. Inside the cave abode, there’s a Snake Demon three meters long, its whole body covered in scales, feeding on humans—extremely vicious! I’ve heard there’s a Sealed Mark in the cave, and I’ve seen it with my own eyes. That’s definitely an Earth-grade Magic Treasure!”
“It’s been eight years. Over these eight years, countless cultivators have tried to obtain that treasure, but all have failed and returned empty-handed.
“If it were before, I wouldn’t dare to go to the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave. But now, with the two of you, fellow Daoists, I believe that if the three of us work together, we can definitely take down that Snake Demon!”
“We don’t need all three of us.” Ning Yin patted Yan Hanzhou’s shoulder, brimming with confidence in him. “He alone can deal with the Snake Demon.”
“Not so! Demon Cultivators have an easier time cultivating than ordinary humans. Moreover, Jiuyi Mountain is a land brimming with spiritual energy, full of natural blessings. That Earth-grade Magic Treasure is sealed here, constantly helping the demon absorb spiritual qi day and night. Over these years, its cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds—now, even cultivators at the Golden Core Stage are helpless against it. If we fail in one strike and anger the Snake Demon, the treasure and its Sealed Mark may both be destroyed, and we’ll end up with nothing at all! So, we must not fight the Snake Demon head-on.”
Ye Shangqiu mysteriously took out a white medicine jar from his Heaven and Earth Pouch, speaking proudly, “This is a Realgar Powder I painstakingly refined. Don’t underestimate it—it’s not the ordinary Realgar Powder I sprinkled on you, Daoist Ning, before entering the mountain. This Realgar Powder is made from twenty-three kinds of spiritual herbs. It’s colorless and tasteless; as long as the Snake Demon ingests it, its cultivation will be greatly weakened within half an hour. At that time, we can work from inside and out, wipe it out in one go, and rid the people of this menace!”
“What do you two think of my plan, fellow Daoists?”
Ning Yin replied coldly, “Not much.”
Ten Thousand Snakes Cave—just hearing the name, you can imagine what kind of place it is.
Ten thousand slippery, cold snakes slithering everywhere—on the ground, in the trees, in the water—wriggling in dense, hissing masses. Just thinking about it made her skin crawl.
If she’d known in advance that the beast they were targeting in Jiuyi Mountain today was a Snake Demon, she wouldn’t have come even if beaten to death.
“No offense, your plan is fine and all, but did you ever consider what if your Realgar Powder doesn’t work? If you anger the Snake Demon, the treasure and its Sealed Mark will be destroyed—wouldn’t we come away empty-handed?” Ning Yin threw Ye Shangqiu’s own words back at him.
“So I think, to kill the Snake Demon, we have to be absolutely certain of victory.”
She looked at Yan Hanzhou with hope. “You can do it, right?”
Yan Hanzhou seemed lost in thought, looking above the creek for a moment, then turning back to Ning Yin, as if calculating something.
Ning Yin felt uneasy under his gaze. “What is it?”
After a while, under Ning Yin’s expectant and anxious gaze, Yan Hanzhou finally said, “Fellow Daoist Ye is right. We must plan carefully and not startle the Snake Demon.”
He turned to Ye Shangqiu and asked, “If, as you say, we only need to make the Snake Demon ingest the Realgar Powder to greatly weaken it, and then work together from inside and out to wipe it out—then the key is for one of us to sneak in unnoticed and make the Snake Demon ingest your Realgar Powder, isn’t it?”
“Of course.”
At the mention of “Snake Demon,” Ning Yin broke out in goosebumps.
When Ye Shangqiu finished, she couldn’t help but interject, “It’s a Snake Demon, but after cultivating for so many years, how could it be so easy for someone to sneak in? I think we should just change locations, target something else. Otherwise, not only will we fail to get the treasure, we might all end up eaten by the Snake Demon instead.”
“Not so!” Ye Shangqiu addressed Ning Yin. “Every being, human or demon, has a weakness. And this Snake Demon’s weakness is you, Daoist Ning.”
“Me?”
“Snakes are naturally lustful. Daoist Ning, you’re beautiful and otherworldly, stunning as a fairy, and most importantly, your cultivation is low, your figure delicate, with no threat at all. The Snake Demon, proud as he is, surely won’t take you seriously. At that time, you can seize the chance to make him ingest the Realgar Powder, and I and Yan Daoist will work together from inside and out to capture him in one fell swoop! What do you think, Daoist Ning?”
Ning Yin glared at Yan Hanzhou and Ye Shangqiu. She finally understood—the two were playing along just to make her the one to sneak into the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave.
She pulled a long face. “I. Am. Not. Going!”
“Don’t worry, the Snake Demon is tough, but it’s just a minor demon. With me here, it won’t be able to harm you.”
“I’m not worried about getting hurt!” Ning Yin gritted her teeth. “I’m most afraid of snakes. I can’t even stand to look at them. And you want me to go into the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave? I… I’m not going!”
“You’re afraid of snakes?” Yan Hanzhou’s tone was firm. “That’s perfect. Cultivation isn’t about shutting yourself away—only by overcoming your inner fears can you become stronger. In life-and-death moments, you can unlock your potential. This is a great chance to temper yourself.”
Ning Yin tried to bargain. “Next time I’ll train, I promise. Next time, no matter what demon or monster we encounter, I’ll be the first to charge in. Let’s skip this one, okay? Let’s go somewhere else. Ye Shangqiu, don’t you know other places with hidden treasures?”
Ye Shangqiu was stunned. “Other? What other hidden treasures?”
“You’re asking me? Don’t you know? Like you’re taking the protagonist—” Mid-sentence, Ning Yin stopped herself, suddenly realizing that at this point in time, Si Heyu and Shi Yunzhao were still cultivating in Soaring Cloud Sect, and it wasn’t yet time to go treasure hunting in Xiuxia Town. She instantly felt defeated. “Why does it have to be me? Why can’t you two go?”
Ye Shangqiu replied, “The Snake Demon is male.”
So what if he’s male? Snakes are lustful by nature. You two are pretty charming yourselves—who knows, maybe the Snake Demon likes men!
Silence.
Ning Yin squatted in front of Yan Hanzhou, staring at him with one last shred of struggle in her eyes. “Is it absolutely necessary to go to the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave?”
Yan Hanzhou met her gaze, looking into the depths of her fear and timidity.
He’d always known Ning Yin’s weakness—timid, cowardly, content with the status quo. Since leaving the Soaring Cloud Sect with him, she’d never really seen blood, nor experienced true life-and-death trials. With such a temperament, if not forced, she’d easily retreat.
The Snake Demon was fierce, but with him nearby, and with Ning Yin’s cultivation enough to protect herself, he wouldn’t let her get hurt. If this could make her face her fears and overcome her dread of snakes, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
But—
Yan Hanzhou frowned slightly.
Forget it, if she’s afraid of snakes, so be it.
If they encounter snakes in the future, he’ll just kill them.
“Fine, if I don’t enter hell, who will? I’ll go, I’ll go!” Ning Yin shot to her feet and turned to Ye Shangqiu. “Where’s the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave?”
Ye Shangqiu pointed upstream.
Ning Yin reached out to him. “The Realgar Powder—give it to me!”
Ye Shangqiu quickly handed over the Realgar Powder.
Ning Yin took a deep breath and strode upstream with fierce resolve, pumping herself up as she walked, “It’s just a Snake Demon! I’ll beat him today and make snake stew!”
But the farther she walked, the more her legs trembled.
On both banks of the stream, ancient towering trees blocked out the sun, the air thick with dampness.
The ground was layered with dead branches and decaying leaves.
Every step she took produced a crisp, nerve-wracking crunch. In the twisted branches above, long, eerily colored snakes dangled and slithered through the woods, hissing in a bone-chilling chorus.
Luckily, before entering the mountain, Ye Shangqiu had sprinkled her with Realgar Powder, so the snakes hanging from the branches didn’t approach her.
But for Ning Yin, who was deathly afraid of snakes, just one glance made her want to run away.
She forced herself to suppress her fear and pressed on.
After less than a hundred meters, a cave entrance appeared before her, dark and damp. Just thinking that this might be the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave Ye Shangqiu spoke of, her mind filled with terrifying images of snakes everywhere inside, and she started to breathe rapidly.
Forget it, whoever wants to go to hell can go.
Ning Yin lost her nerve and turned right around.
But before she could leave, a voice thundered, “Who dares trespass in this king’s cave abode!”
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