Within the dim jungle, the fire flickered, and the snake’s eyes flashed!
The smell of blood spread!
“It listened to your…”
Xianghua Lu stared at Li Qingshan, at a loss as for what to say. She had realised a long time ago that he definitely was not a mortal like he seemed on the surface. His strange strength alone was already beyond what most shamans could contend with, but never did she think he could order a snake daemon around.
Li Qingshan stood up and held her by the chin. “You’re not the same as them either. Prepare to set off!”
“Don’t be afraid, everyone. If we kill this remaining daemon of the Snake God cult, the altar lord- no, the holy mother will reward us heavily!” the envoy of the White Lotus cult ordered loudly. He launched an attack first, sending a tusk-like spiritual artifact towards the snake daemon.
The shamans turned hostile too, drawing their weapons and unleashing their shaman arts as they rushed towards the snake daemon while howling out.
With a sweep of its tail, the snake daemon knocked away the spiritual artifact and suddenly opened its huge mouth, spraying out with mist.
“Ah! My eyes!” “It’s a poisonous mist! Back away!”
Among the howls, a shaman called out, “Die, wretched daemon!” Suddenly, he darted out of the poisonous mist, wielding a glowing, meter-long steel blade in his hand. He swung it at just below the snake daemon’s head.
The snake daemon’s colossal body, over thirty meters in length, rapidly wrapped around the shaman. With a splat, it crushed him to pieces. Blood spurted several meters into the air, and the steel blade hurtled away, stabbing into the ground.
“What a bunch of dumb barbarians. That’s a daemon general with an innate ability. If the old man from the White Lotus cult was willing to put his life on the line, then perhaps you still might stand a chance! But he’s clearly only launched a single attack. He’s turned around and fled a long time ago, running away even faster than a rabbit!”
The snake daemon was like a twisted mountain stream as it slithered about rapidly. In a short while, it swallowed over a dozen people. Neither shamans who knew shaman arts or regular barbarians were its opponent. They were unable to keep their fear under control anymore, turning around and fleeing into the trees.
The surging poisonous mist gathered, abruptly turning into mist snakes that darted towards the fleeing barbarians. As soon as they came into contact with the mist, the barbarians would immediately fall dead, and the shamans would get firmly entwined, becoming even more dead than dead a while later.
It’s able to use its innate abilities with such flexibility. Looks like it’s not a regular daemon! I heard the old man mention some Snake God cult. Don’t tell me this snake daemon also belongs to an organisation? That would make sense. Only with the guidance of a powerful daemon can it possess such intelligence, Li Qingshan thought.
He picked up Xianghua Lu and shot into the trees quickly, vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.
The snake daemon raised its head and stared in the direction he had vanished off into for a while before lowering its head again. It seemed to relax. During the moment earlier, it had felt a great sense of horror as if it had run into its natural predator. That was not an opponent it could defeat.
“Nicely done, Big Stripe! The people of the White Lotus cult all deserve to die. These people of the tribes actually abandoned the snake god and joined the White Lotus cult. They well and truly deserve death!”
A while later, a thin, pale-faced man walked out from the forest. After looking around, he nodded in satisfaction. The snake daemon referred to as “Big Stripe” slithered over affectionately and used its head to nudge the man, producing a hiss like it was telling him something.
“What? Three escaped? One of them belonged to the White Lotus cult. We’ll chase them down!”
However, the snake daemon slithered around, refusing to go anywhere. It only constantly hissed away.
“One of them is an extremely terrifying child, as terrifying as your mother. But ma’am Gold Thread is a mighty Daemon General! Alright, we need to go back and report this quickly so that the ma’am can decide what we do!” The man frowned in some disbelief. If the child belonged to the White Lotus cult, would Big Stripe still be alive?
The envoy of the White Lotus cult fled madly, and the trees around him recede rapidly. With his familiarity of the land and using the barbarians as bait, he actually managed to escape. There was not a hint of kindness or amiability left on his face anymore. He cursed viciously.
“Fucking hell. You all remain in the Zi Lotus altar happily, while I have to come out and risk my life! That bitch Xianghua Man must have been colluding with the remnants of the Snake God cult, and that kid is clearly a spy. Once I report this to the altar lord, I’ll have your Fragrant Flower clan completely butchered!”
“Oi, what are you chirping on about?”
The envoy abruptly looked back. Before he knew it, the child called Goldie A’yue was already keeping pace with him with a smile on his face. Xianghua Lu stared at him in disbelief, struggling to believe that a kind, amiable old man could actually say something so vicious.
His heart suddenly lurched. No, I’m definitely not this little bastard’s opponent. What do I do?
“Be careful ahead!” Li Qingshan pointed ahead.
“What!?” A black shadow filled his vision.
With a great thunk, the envoy slammed heavily against a tree before rebounding and landing on the ground. The tree leaves rustled and fell. Although he was protected by true qi such that he did not suffer any major wounds, he felt like his head was spinning. He was covered in leaves and mud, which made him seem miserable.
Li Qingshan planted his foot on his head. “Please continue leading the way and bring us to the Zi Lotus altar!”
The envoy prostrated on the ground. “I’m willing to join your holy cult and become the most loyal servant of sir snake god!”
“The White Lotus cult really is doing worse and worse!”
Li Qingshan pursed his lips. He could remember that the White Lotus cult possessed a technique that could control the minds of people, derived from the Wisdom Imbuement technique. It seemed to be called the “Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple”. Once under the influence of this technique, basically no one could remain unaffected unless they were as twisted as Qian Rongzhi. They would be loyal and utterly devoted to the White Lotus cult. Clearly, the old man still did not possess the right to have the technique cast on him.
Li Qingshan casually picked up his hundred treasures pouch. Opening it up and taking a look, the space inside happened to be tiny. It stored items like food, drinks, and pills, as well as a map made from the hide of some unknown animal. It was not a high-quality item like a mental map, but it was drawn with great care.
He casually passed the map to Xianghua Lu. “Can you understand it?”
Xianghua Lu took a look and nodded. “I can!”
Before she had even finished talking, there was a thunk, and the head under Li Qingshan’s foot was crushed. “Then let’s go!”
“To where?” Xianghua Lu’s heart jumped violently.
“The Zi Lotus altar of the White Lotus cult obviously!”
“I want to go home!” Xianghua Lu choked back her tears. The outside world was far too terrifying!
“Once we reach the Zi Lotus altar, I’ll send you home. Don’t worry, you won’t be in any danger if you stick with me. Let’s find a place to rest up for the night and set off tomorrow!”
Li Qingshan’s heart softened a little when he saw how she was almost going to break into tears. He rubbed her head and spoke to her in a surprisingly gentle way.
Xianghua Lu nodded with teary eyes. Li Qingshan picked her up before spreading his wings and whistling off.
His plan to infiltrate the White Lotus cult had not changed. Otherwise, he would be forced to openly attack and take the Zi Lotus altar. Killing the lord of the Zi Lotus altar was nothing difficult, but he did not want to provoke the entire White Lotus cult just yet. He only had to say that a huge snake had attacked them, and they managed to escape. With Xianghua Lu serving as a witness, infiltrating the place would be nothing difficult. By the time he took back the Asura Field, he could do whatever he wanted.
As a result, there was no need to rush. He had to make the girl calm down first. Only then could she read the map and participate in the lie so that he did not give himself away later on.
