Chapter 38: The Thunder Crimson Python Emblem

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Thunder Crimson Python Emblem

Ye Xuan looked in the same direction as Qingyu.

He descended from the sky above the desert and landed on the sandy ground, where he spotted an altar surrounded by five hills made of stone swords.

Black chains connected each stone sword hill to the others.

There were five in total, and they appeared firmly embedded in the desert as if they were part of the landscape itself.

Even so, a red sword stood embedded in the center of the altar, as though something about it were unusual.

If that sword were a precious treasure, many cultivators should have come here to claim it already.

However, the reality was different. That alone was enough to make Ye Xuan suspicious.

"A sword is stored on a mysterious altar in such a conspicuous location, where anyone can see it. Are you sure that’s the sword you were talking about?"

[Yes. I recognize it clearly. There’s no mistake. That sword belongs to my clan.]

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment and glanced around the area, paying particular attention to the surroundings of the altar.

If there was an unexpected trap here, it was most likely a formation or an array rather than a combat technique.

However, Ye Xuan’s understanding of formations was still limited.

He couldn’t yet detect formations or arrays, making it extremely dangerous to approach the sword without knowing what he was dealing with.

"I don’t know, Qingyu. But the sword, the altar, and the arrangement of the five stone swords surrounding it all look suspicious."

"If that sword is truly a treasure belonging to your clan, then it should be something valuable in the cultivation world," Ye Xuan explained.

"Yet no one has come to claim it, even though it’s in such an obvious location."

[You’re right. Given that sword’s power, many cultivators should want to obtain it.]

"Exactly. If cultivators had come here, they should have taken the sword already."

[So, what’s your plan, Ye Xuan?]

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment, taking a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

He had no idea what would happen if he recklessly entered the sword altar.

However, if he wanted to determine whether the altar was dangerous, he had to test it.

He touched his forehead and extracted a drop of his soul blood.

Only then could the formation or array within the sword altar detect his presence.

Ye Xuan’s soul blood shot forward and entered the sword altar.

To his surprise, a red formation appeared on the altar’s floor, spreading outward as a brilliant red light illuminated the area.

Red light emerged from the peaks of all five stone sword hills, sending bolts of crimson lightning toward the altar and destroying Ye Xuan’s soul blood.

In an instant, his soul blood shattered and exploded, inflicting a significant backlash that caused Ye Xuan to cough up blood.

"There’s a formation mechanism inside the altar. I can’t determine how powerful it is, so I can’t act recklessly."

[We can come back here later, when you’re stronger, Ye Xuan.]

"Yes, that is, if you don’t mind waiting."

[I’m sad about it, but I don’t mind at all.]

Slowly, the formation runes dimmed and disappeared. The red lights atop the stone sword hills faded as well.

The threat vanished, and the situation gradually returned to normal.

Ye Xuan glanced in another direction and flew away at a moderate speed, leaving the sword altar behind.

Qingyu explained that the Sword Graveyard Desert was vast, with many places they could explore.

He listened to her explanation and had to agree. The desert was indeed enormous, and everything about it felt unfamiliar to him.

After reaching the middle of the desert, Ye Xuan landed again and observed his surroundings.

[Be careful. If I remember correctly, there aren’t any Mortal Beasts here.]

"So the lowest level is the Spirit Beast stage?"

[Yes.]

Just after Qingyu warned him, Ye Xuan faintly heard a sound from the side, accompanied by a hissing noise like that of a snake.

When he turned his head, he saw a medium-sized snake with brown scales resembling the color of sand.

The most distinctive feature was its rattling tail.

The rattlesnake spotted Ye Xuan and let out a loud roar. The young man immediately went on full alert, summoning his lightning sword and gripping it tightly.

"My first monster in this region!" Ye Xuan exclaimed.

He shot forward at high speed and swung his sword sideways, unleashing a slash of fire and crimson lightning.

The attack struck the snake’s body, startling it and forcing it backward.

Ye Xuan was pleased that his attack had managed to injure the creature, but he knew that such power wasn’t enough to kill it.

Simply put, he couldn’t yet determine whether he could defeat the snake or not.

A fierce gust of wind surged from the rattlesnake’s mouth and rushed toward Ye Xuan.

The young man leaped into the air and moved swiftly, using the lightning power within his body.

He darted from one rock to another, continuously evading the rattlesnake’s wind-element attacks.

Ye Xuan let his sword float with the help of qi threads.

Then, he formed hand seals and activated one of the techniques he intended to test that day.

"Mystic Flame Finger!"

A red rune appeared in front of Ye Xuan, unleashing a flaming finger attack.

His flaming finger collided with the powerful gust of wind blasting from the rattlesnake’s mouth.

Waves of qi spread throughout the surroundings, accompanied by powerful gusts of wind.

Ye Xuan shouted as he channeled a large amount of spiritual qi into his flaming finger attack.

Slowly but surely, the power of the flaming finger increased until it successfully matched the strength of the desert wind blasting from the rattlesnake’s mouth.

BLAST!

A massive explosion erupted, sending the rattlesnake flying backward and leaving it severely injured.

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment as the red rune in front of his face faded and disappeared.

Although Ye Xuan had used Mystic Flame Finger, such a powerful combat technique hadn’t left him severely exhausted.

His spiritual qi had certainly been depleted, but Ye Xuan felt that he could still use two or three more Yellow-Grade combat techniques to kill another monster.

"Is it... dead?" Ye Xuan asked.

[It’s severely injured. Your last attack should have been enough to defeat it completely.]

After hearing Qingyu’s answer, Ye Xuan formed hand seals and directed his attack forward.

"Qi Palm!"

A palm-shaped qi attack shot toward the injured rattlesnake.

However, just as the attack was about to hit the creature, Qingyu suddenly stopped Ye Xuan.

[Stop, Ye Xuan!]

Ye Xuan was startled and hurriedly deactivated the technique just before it struck the rattlesnake’s head.

"What is it?" Ye Xuan asked.

Qingyu didn’t answer. Instead, she leaped from Ye Xuan’s neck and transformed into a medium-sized snake.

Ye Xuan remained where he was as Qingyu slithered forward, approaching the rattlesnake.

Curious about what was happening, he moved in a flash of crimson lightning and arrived beside Qingyu, examining the injured creature.

[Please give it some spirit stones, Ye Xuan.]

Since he didn’t know why Qingyu was asking him to do this, Ye Xuan decided to follow her request.

He patted his bag of holding and took out some low-grade spirit stones.

A hundred low-grade spirit stones appeared in the open space around the rattlesnake.

Qingyu hissed and roared. The rattlesnake in front of her immediately devoured all the spirit stones in an instant to recover from its injuries.

The wounds on its body gradually closed and healed. Its condition steadily improved, and the qi aura radiating from it became increasingly stable.

One by one, the low-grade spirit stones crumbled and faded as the rattlesnake recovered.

Its attitude toward Qingyu had clearly changed. The rattlesnake lowered its head as though submitting to her.

"Why is it bowing its head to you?" Ye Xuan asked.

[Before you attacked it with Qi Palm, I noticed the emblem of the Thunder Crimson Python Clan on its forehead.]

[There are only two possibilities: either it’s a beast that serves as a partner to a member of my clan, or it’s a member of my clan itself.]