Chapter 70 - 45: Newborn Kill, Weird Black Stone

Chapter 70: Chapter 45: Newborn Kill, Weird Black Stone

In the sky above an unnamed hill near Xuanzhen Peak.

A streak of blue light shot over from the distance, sweeping above a patch of woods before suddenly retracting, revealing Li Yinsheng and Mu Xiaoyu within. The Cold Bright Sword then descended, and Li Yinsheng led Mu Xiaoyu down from the blade.

Mu Xiaoyu looked around. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but trees. The wild grass beneath her feet wasn’t particularly dense, only reaching her calves. In most ancient forests deep in the mountains, weeds and shrubs could easily grow waist-high.

"Senior Brother, where are the medicinal herbs?" Mu Xiaoyu’s face was full of curiosity. All she could see were trees and grass.

"The herbs aren’t here," Li Yinsheng said without batting an eye. "They are guarded by Exotic Beasts. It would be a bit of a hassle to bring you along, as I’d have to divide my attention to look after you."

Mu Xiaoyu understood. "Are you going to pick the herbs alone, Senior Brother?"

"Yes," Li Yinsheng said, rubbing her head. "Just wait for me here. Once I return with the herbs, I’ll take you for a walk around the mountain."

"Okay!" Mu Xiaoyu nodded.

Li Yinsheng stepped onto the Cold Bright Sword and vanished into the distance in the blink of an eye.

Mu Xiaoyu looked around and spotted a large boulder a few dozen feet away. She walked over, sat down, and pulled a bag of dried plums from her Qiankun Bag. Chewing on the plums, she gazed around, in a fantastic mood. Even though there was no real scenery to speak of, the sudden holiday made everything look wonderful to her right now.

"Look! That blade of grass to my front left, standing a head taller than the rest, is so slender and graceful!

"Look! That tree to my front right, its leaves a shade greener than the others, is so majestic and verdant!

"Look! That white cloud in the sky looks just like a Qiankun roast goose from the Five Flavors Restaurant!

"Look! That giant, pitch-black Python slithering toward me in the distance is so...

"A PYTHON! AAAAAHHHH!!!" she mentally shrieked.

Still mid-gaze, Mu Xiaoyu jolted. She vaulted atop the boulder and hastily shoved the remaining dried plums back into her Qiankun Bag. Simultaneously, the Cold Leaf Sword flew out, landing squarely in her other hand. Watching the pitch-black Python slither toward her, Mu Xiaoyu pointed her sword at it from afar, her entire body stiffening.

She wasn’t afraid of snakes. According to her mother, when she was five or six years old, she had even done something as absurd as catching a snake from who-knew-where and deliberately running around the Prince’s Mansion to scare the servants and stewards. Afterward, naturally, her parents had given her a good beating. Even though she no longer did such things, she was still unafraid of snakes.

But the thing in front of her was definitely an exception.

Gripping her sword, Mu Xiaoyu gulped. She darted a glance at the slowly advancing Python, then threw a quick look at the surrounding trees.

This Python’s body was nearly as thick as the tree trunks, measuring about two feet in diameter. The calf-high grass on the ground couldn’t conceal its massive form. Towering over the weeds, its pitch-black scales shimmered with a multicolored, iridescent sheen beneath the sunlight. As the Python writhed, the vibrant sheen shifted and rippled. When it occasionally encountered a washbasin-sized rock in its path, the black Python merely flicked its tail, sending the stone flying like a tossed ball. The rock smashed into a large tree, leaving it violently shaking and shedding a flurry of leaves.

Its pale yellow, slit-like pupils were locked onto Mu Xiaoyu. Its forked tongue flicked in and out, and a trace of primal hunger for fresh flesh and blood leaked from its narrowed eyes.

After taking several deep breaths to regulate her breathing, Mu Xiaoyu finally snapped out of her daze. Then, she channeled her Magical Power, tightened her grip on the Cold Leaf Sword, and sucked in a breath of air...

Before turning around and running for her life!

Thanks to the physical fitness and stable stance brought about by cultivating the Qingxuan Scripture, she sprinted across the grassy terrain like the wind.

"Only an idiot would fight a thing like this! This Python looks terrifying enough that swallowing a person whole would be child’s play," she thought.

Seeing its fresh prey getting away, a vicious glint flashed through the pitch-black Python’s eyes. Its previously meandering body suddenly coiled and writhed. Surging and dipping through the grass like a fish darting just beneath the surface of the water, it rapidly gave chase after Mu Xiaoyu. It had specifically tracked her down after catching the scent of incredibly delicious flesh and blood while hibernating. How could it possibly let her escape?

Deep within the dense forest.

Sensing through his Divine Sense that Mu Xiaoyu was fleeing wildly without looking back, Li Yinsheng rubbed his temples.

"So she chose to run away after all?" he thought.

Although he had long anticipated this possibility, seeing it actually happen left him torn between laughter and tears.

This pitch-black Python was an opponent he had specifically found for his junior sister. When it came to intelligence and lifespan, demonic creatures like this were basically no different from ordinary wild beasts. However, because its body had undergone a mutation, it could be considered to possess a shallow level of Cultivation. This Python, for example, likely possessed thousands of pounds of sheer physical strength. As the tyrant of this mountain, even ordinary tigers were merely a meal on its menu.

Right after he left, he had quietly extracted a wisp of human scent from his junior sister and delivered it to the hibernating Python. To a demonic creature, human Qi Blood was an excellent tonic. Though they did not understand how to practice cultivation and had little sentience, their instincts still drove them to crave flesh and blood. That was what led to the current scene of his junior sister being chased out of her wits by the giant black Python.

"Ah, Junior Sister, Junior Sister. Don’t think running away will solve the problem," Li Yinsheng murmured with a faint smile.

He had spent the better part of the morning doing more than just wandering around the neighboring mountains to inspect the demonic creatures. After selecting this Python, he had meticulously surveyed the terrain before choosing the exact spot to drop his junior sister off.

He had chosen that location because if one wanted to flee from there, they would almost certainly run toward the direction with the widest field of vision. However, if she kept running in that direction for a little while longer, she would step right into a dead end. Furthermore, he had purposefully made a few slight modifications to the surrounding vegetation, subtly "improving" this dead-end path to make it even easier to traverse.