Chapter 11: The Last Crimson Thunder Python

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: The Last Crimson Thunder Python

They looked confused, their eyes darting between one another as the man spoke about the white snake in his hand.

One of them stepped forward, bowed his head, and asked directly.

"Forgive us, Clan Chief. But who is Senior Sister Qingyu?"

The man looked ahead again, taking in all of them, including Ye Xuan, who stood there wounded.

The qi serpent’s grip had been enough to hurt him, even though the man had used only a small part of his strength.

"All of you, go back," the man said. "I want to speak with this human."

The snake people glanced over at Ye Xuan. They obeyed and walked out of the hall, leaving Ye Xuan alone with Qingyu, who was still on the man’s palm.

"Senior Sister Qingyu has already explained everything to me ."

Wincing in pain, Ye Xuan pressed his hands together and thanked the man.

Why does everyone keep treating Qingyu like some ancient senior?

I’ll ask later. Right now, I need to heal.

Ye Xuan’s focus was on recovering. He only needed to wait and ask the man’s permission to cultivate.

But before he could speak, his body collapsed to the floor and he coughed up a lot of blood. His vision blurred and his heart pounded.

The man saw how badly Ye Xuan was hurt. He even watched Qingyu leap from his hand and slither quickly across the floor to Ye Xuan’s side.

Ye Xuan turned as the white snake returned to him, its eyes fixed on him.

"Qingyu..."

The man stepped forward until he stood right in front of Ye Xuan. He reached out and sent red spiritual qi from his body flowing into the young man.

"I apologize for your injuries. Sit down and cultivate."

Ye Xuan obeyed and sat cross-legged to meditate. His hands formed a seal and his cultivation technique activated.

The natural spiritual qi flowed into his body, along with the man’s qi. His recovery went quickly, his internal injuries began to heal, and his strength returned.

Within minutes, a surge of spiritual qi suddenly spread through the hall. Ye Xuan finally opened his eyes and felt no more pain in his body.

Realizing this, Ye Xuan stood at once and bowed to the man, thanking him for helping him recover.

"Senior Sister Qingyu told me everything. If you hadn’t been there, she might have stayed locked in that formation."

"May this junior ask a question, Clan Chief?" Ye Xuan said.

"You keep calling Qingyu Senior Sister. Could Qingyu be from the Blazing Flame Serpent Clan?"

"No," the man said. "She isn’t part of our clan."

"She belongs to the Crimson Thunder Python Clan."

"Crimson Thunder Python?"

I feel like I’ve heard that in the sect’s records.

"That’s right," the man said, looking at Qingyu, who was crawling up to Ye Xuan’s neck.

"I heard that the clan was attacked by a human sect and many of them were captured. I thought I would never see them again."

"But fate had other plans. You, a human named Ye Xuan, managed to save her."

"I didn’t save her. We agreed to help each other. I healed her. She brought me out of that chasm beneath the altar," Ye Xuan said.

"Is that so? But Senior Sister Qingyu didn’t tell me that."

Ye Xuan glanced at Qingyu, who was once again on his neck. He looked ahead and asked the one thing that had been confusing and nagging at him all along.

"What is your name, Senior?" Ye Xuan asked.

"I’m Yan Jin. I’m the chief of the Blazing Flame Serpent Clan."

The young man pressed his hands together and bowed his head, then asked another question, thinking that Yan Jin, as chief of the Blazing Flame Serpent Clan, might know something about the questions piling up in his mind.

"I have many questions about Qingyu, Chief Yan Jin."

"About the seal on her body. What kind of seal is it? Can Chief Yan Jin help break it? And what effect does it have on Qingyu?"

"Senior Sister Qingyu did tell me about the seal. I haven’t examined it yet," Yan Jin said, looking at Qingyu.

"Would you mind if I examined your soul, Senior Sister Qingyu?"

Qingyu shook its head, a simple signal that it didn’t mind at all.

Yan Jin touched its forehead and released a thread of his golden soul awareness, which shot into Qingyu’s forehead.

Both of them closed their eyes together. Ye Xuan could only watch, unable to do anything.

A boom of spiritual qi startled Ye Xuan. His attention snapped back to the front, where the man opened his eyes and sighed softly.

"I saw a sealing array in Senior Sister Qingyu’s dantian. I’m not skilled in formations and arrays, but I can tell you that this sealing array is intricate."

"It has many runes, a strong qi aura, several qi swords circling it, and the array is large, suppressing her qi consumption," Yan Jin said.

"It’s safe to say that the sealing array was planted by a cultivator from that human sect."

"I’m afraid that if we don’t study the array’s characteristics, destroying it would be the same as blowing up her dantian."

"You’re bonded to her now. Only you can help her. Perhaps, in the future, you can destroy the sealing array with your own understanding," Yan Jin explained.

Ye Xuan was silent for a moment, then turned to Qingyu and raised his hand, gently stroking the white snake’s head.

Progress toward breaking the seal was already visible, with only 90% remaining, but he would have to do much more to lower the seal’s strength percentage.

So it only reduces the seal’s strength. Once the percentage drops to 0%, the risk of backlash when destroying the seal would be far lower than it is now.

I need to start studying formations and arrays to help Qingyu in the future.

At least some of the old questions in Ye Xuan’s mind had been answered. Now he had just one last question about Qingyu.

"I understand Qingyu came here to meet you, Senior. But after you two talked, was there another reason she came?" Ye Xuan asked.

Yan Jin glanced over briefly, and Qingyu nodded. Slowly, Yan Jin turned back to look Ye Xuan in the eye.

"There was," Yan Jin said. "She asked me to help the two of you form a Blood Pledge."

"A Blood... Pledge?" Ye Xuan asked.

"We usually do it to unite two partners, two souls, two cultivations. With a Blood Pledge, the two partners can help each other, including in cultivation."

"Help in cultivation? Unite two partners?" Ye Xuan asked, falling silent for a moment.

The expression on his face changed completely, filled with shock as he realized what a Blood Pledge meant.

"Wait! Unite two partners? Isn’t that... dual cultivation?"

"Yes, you humans call it that, but we take it in a broad sense," Yan Jin said.

"B-But why...? I mean, she’s a spiritual beast, isn’t she? Is it even possible for a spiritual beast to marry a human?" Ye Xuan asked, stunned.

"It’s possible," Yan Jin said.

"Right now, her form is still a white snake. But when her power fully returns, you’ll thank me, Brother Ye."

Ye Xuan was silent for a moment, then turned to the side and briefly met Qingyu’s eyes. In the end, he cleared his throat and nodded.

"Forget about the meaning of the Blood Pledge. If I can help her with it, that’s enough."

"Good," Yan Jin said.

"Come with me!"

"Where?"

Yan Jin smiled faintly, "To the place where the Blood Pledge is performed."