Chapter 757 - 687: Killing Qi???

Chapter 757: Chapter 687: Killing Qi???

Tu Xiao’an thought for a moment and asked, "When did you enter Skeleton Mountain?"

"I entered four days ago," Song Ao replied honestly, not daring to delay.

"The War Relics of Skeleton Mountain have appeared. Do you know about it?"

Song Ao was shocked. "The War Relics have appeared? Where are they?"

Tu Xiao’an frowned, his face showing his displeasure. "You entered the mountain four days ago. I just got here and I already know. How could you not know?"

"Besides, Skeleton Mountain has been so strange today. Are you playing dumb with me?"

’This guy isn’t being entirely honest.’

Song Ao hurriedly explained, "Sir, although I ascended the mountain four days ago, Skeleton Mountain is shrouded in thick fog all day, making it impossible to get my bearings. I’ve been trapped in this part of the forest for two days now."

"Also, Skeleton Mountain is massive. Even if the War Relics did appear, if they didn’t appear in this area, how could I possibly know?"

"A few hours ago, I did notice something strange about Skeleton Mountain. The oppressive aura grew stronger and the fog grew thicker. But I was trapped here with my path blocked by this Little Green Qilin Dragon King, so I truly know nothing about the War Relics."

Tu Xiao’an was very disappointed. ’So this guy knows even less than I do.’

’He foolishly got lost on Skeleton Mountain and then stumbled upon the Little Green Qilin Dragon King’s lair.’

Suddenly, a thought struck Tu Xiao’an: ’Could Luo Ziyun also be lost and unable to find her way out?’

’Maybe it’s not as serious as I imagined.’

’If she’s just lost in the thick fog and can’t get down the mountain, with her power, she shouldn’t be in any real danger.’

Tu Xiao’an’s main worry was that Luo Ziyun had triggered the War Relics, then entered and couldn’t get out.

Skeleton Mountain itself was already so dangerous. If she was inside the War Relics, it was easy to imagine it would be a life-or-death situation.

"Sir, every word I’ve said is the truth. I really didn’t know the War Relics had appeared, much less where they are."

Seeing the disappointed and displeased look on Tu Xiao’an’s face, Song Ao grew anxious.

’Clearly, if this man decided to kill me, there was no chance I’d survive.’

’The man had killed the Little Green Qilin Dragon King as easily as crushing a bug. Killing me would be even simpler.’

’Perhaps a single glance would be enough.’

"You can go. You’re on your own now."

Tu Xiao’an knew Song Ao probably wasn’t lying. Getting lost on Skeleton Mountain was perfectly normal; anyone who entered would get lost.

"Thank you for saving my life, Sir." Song Ao breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to say more, but the other man had already started walking forward, and a flash of disappointment crossed Song Ao’s eyes.

’This Skeleton Mountain is too dangerous. Even for a War God like me, there’s no guarantee of survival. It would be far better, and much safer, to follow a supreme expert like this man.’

’A true powerhouse. The perfect backer to have.’

’But from the looks of it, the man didn’t give a damn about my War God status and had no intention of letting me tag along.’

Watching Tu Xiao’an almost walk out of sight, Song Ao felt unwilling to give up. Gritting his teeth, he ran after him. "Sir, are you looking for the location of the War Relics?"

Tu Xiao’an, not expecting Song Ao to follow, turned to glance at him and said flatly, "I’m looking for someone."

He didn’t know if Luo Ziyun was trapped in the War Relics or just somewhere on Skeleton Mountain.

So saying he was looking for someone was more accurate.

"Sir, Skeleton Mountain is full of thick fog and countless dangers. It won’t be easy to find someone here. Why don’t you let me come with you? An extra person means an extra pair of eyes."

"Not necessary."

Tu Xiao’an rejected him outright. ’This one-eyed guy is so ugly. Why would I want him around? He’s an eyesore.’

’Besides, I already have a Skeleton Monster following me.’

’My eyes have suffered enough.’

"Sir, please just let me follow you," Song Ao persisted, his skin thicker than a castle wall.

’Is this guy really that shameless?’

’And he calls himself a War God. Sigh!’

Tu Xiao’an said impatiently, "Suit yourself. Follow if you want, but if you run into any danger, I won’t save you again."

"I understand," Song Ao said with an awkward smile, realizing his little scheme had been seen through.

’No matter. As long as he lets me follow, that’s all that matters.’

Tu Xiao’an had the Skeleton Monster continue to lead the way. He walked in the middle, with Song Ao bringing up the rear.

After absorbing the Little Green Qilin Dragon King’s Beast Pill, the Skeleton Monster seemed to be growing more and more sentient.

As they went deeper, the roars of monsters grew more frequent, but for the moment, they didn’t encounter any powerful ones. However, to Tu Xiao’an’s surprise, the surrounding thick fog began to thin, almost to the point of disappearing.

But before Tu Xiao’an could feel happy about it, a faint layer of red mist appeared up ahead.

It was an incredibly eerie red mist, as if the entire forest had been draped in a red veil. It had a hallucinatory quality, suggesting that anyone who plunged deep into it would lose themselves.

"Sir, it seems we’ve reached the second layer of Skeleton Mountain," Song Ao said, looking at the red mist ahead.

Tu Xiao’an was surprised to hear that. "What do you mean?"

"Sir, Skeleton Mountain is actually divided into three zones. Each zone is shrouded in a different colored mist. The outermost, first zone, is the white fog. The second zone is this red mist. We’re now standing at the border between the first and second zones."

"Before I came, the authorities said that if the War Relics were to appear, they would most likely be in the highest, third zone of Skeleton Mountain—the black fog region, also known as the Death Zone. It’s supposed to be extremely, extremely dangerous there."

Hearing this, Tu Xiao’an couldn’t help but think: ’Could Luo Ziyun be in the third zone?’

’She must have entered the mountain for the War Relics.’

’If even Song Ao knew about it, there’s no way she didn’t.’

’Is that woman trying to close the War Relics by herself and make Skeleton Mountain disappear?’

In truth, Tu Xiao’an had never been able to see through Luo Ziyun, from her mysterious appearance at the very beginning until now.

"Are you still going to follow?" Tu Xiao’an asked, looking at Song Ao.

Song Ao answered without hesitation. "You saved my life, Sir. If you’ll have me, I’m willing to keep following."

Tu Xiao’an was a bit surprised to hear this. He had assumed this one-eyed man was following him just because he was afraid of the danger and wanted to latch onto his strength.

But now the fog was gone. They were at the border, which was relatively safe. He could just wait for daylight and leave the mountain.

’There’s really no need for him to keep following me, is there?’

Whatever. If he wanted to follow, he could follow. Tu Xiao’an didn’t really care.

"Keep leading the way," Tu Xiao’an said to the Skeleton Monster.

The Skeleton Monster strode quickly toward the red-misted forest. To it, white mist and red mist were all the same.

In fact, the deeper it went, the happier and more excited it seemed to become.

Tu Xiao’an hadn’t realized that after all this trouble, he had only just made it out of the first zone of Skeleton Mountain. At this rate, when would he ever find Luo Ziyun?

He was getting frustrated. The stranger this damn mountain got, the more terrifying the opened War Relics were likely to be.

It was on a completely different level from the War Relics in Wencheng.

Suddenly, Tu Xiao’an froze, his brows knitting together. "There’s Killing Intent."

He was incredibly sensitive, and this wasn’t the killing intent of a monster.

In his peripheral vision, Tu Xiao’an saw a longsword wreathed in flames stabbing toward him at incredible speed.

It was so fast that even Tu Xiao’an didn’t have time to react.

.............

PS: Today is April 1st, a Monday, so I’m dropping five Chapters at once! As I’ve mentioned, I (Qing Bai) want to finish this novel as soon as possible. But to avoid a rushed, sloppy ending, the schedule is incredibly tight. So this April, I’m going all out. I’m setting a personal goal of five Chapters per day. If I don’t make it, you all can hold me accountable. Normally, I write about 150,000-180,000 Chinese characters per month. If I manage five Chapters daily, that’s over 10,000 characters a day, totaling more than 300,000 for the month—two months of work packed into one.

Honestly, the pressure is immense, and it means I’ll have to pull all-nighters. But I really want to speed things up. At the same time, I want to give you all a satisfying ride in this final arc so you’ll stop complaining about my update speed.

This April, I’ll do my best. It’s been a long time since I’ve asked for your votes or donations. I hope this month, in light of my efforts, you’ll cast your daily votes for *Invincible Snake Emperor* and help the numbers look a little better. An occasional donation would be even nicer.

Also, I hope that in this final stage of the novel, those of you reading on pirate sites will consider coming back to the official release. There isn’t much left, so it won’t cost you much to finish it legally.

Um... just watch and see what I do. Please support me...!