Chapter 939: Long Hao

Huang Zhao and Min Tianxi both denied that this was spread by their side, and He Lingchuan believed them for the time being, suspecting the source of the news was the Third Island Master, Yue Pinghe. Besides the Does Bailie people, Yue Pinghe probably least wanted He Lingchuan to be deified, as this would increase the difficulty of his negotiations with him.

These pirates fought the wind and waves, living a life of licking blood from the edge of a blade; He Lingchuan knew very well that to make such people feel awe, he needed to show a "miracle."

A miracle accomplished by his own personal power.

"Yin Serpent!" The lookout sailor pointed at the water and shouted.

The gray mist had dissipated, and one after another, giant python-like figures emerged on the sea, gray and black. The pirates knew very well that these were the former overlords of the deep archipelago, the Yin Serpents.

They had fought such things and knew their terror, let alone dozens appearing together now, each at least twice as large as an ordinary Yin Serpent, their pitch-black, large eyes staring gloomily at them.

This sense of oppression made everyone's scalp tingle, and they subconsciously gripped their weapons.

How much chance of winning was there in a naval battle with such big guys? They had also heard of Island Master He's record of killing dozens of giant Yin Serpents, but that day there was the help of the bright sun, while today was a heavily overcast day.

Today's sea surface was exactly the home field of the Yin Serpents.

Everyone was anxious, but the Yin Serpents did not launch an attack on them, instead accompanying them on both sides of the ship, as if leading them all the way to Mount Qilin.

The human ship and the Yin Serpents traveled in the same direction, only a few zhang apart, yet they were safe and sound. The pirates had roamed the Yangshan Archipelago for many years and had never seen such a strange sight.

They turned to look at the main ship, only to see Island Master He standing at the bow with his hands behind his back, his sleeves fluttering, calm and composed.

The mirror in his bosom was also asking: "Why aren't these Yin Serpents attacking?"

"The Earthly Yin Pulse will erupt tonight; if they dare to offend me, I will come back tomorrow morning to collect the Earthly Yin Qi. How many more six-day cycles can the Yin Serpent clan last?" He Lingchuan laughed. "Besides, the Yin Serpent King has been waiting for me. I deliberately chose an overcast day to come, which counts as showing sincerity."

Accompanied by the giant Yin Serpents, the ship slowly sailed near Mount Qilin.

The Yin Serpent corpses on the beach had basically disappeared; it was unknown how the Yin Serpent King had disposed of them.

Several giant Yin Serpents leaped onto the beach, hissing and roaring at the ship.

He Lingchuan translated: "The Yin Serpent King sincerely invites me to go ashore for a talk."

Min Tianxi worried: "Not appropriate, this is too dangerous."

The sinkhole on Mount Qilin was synonymous with a den of tigers and a lair of dragons.

"If the attitude is right, what's the harm in having a talk?" He Lingchuan said to Min and Huang. "I'll be back soon; you wait here."

The two island masters had to nod and agree.

He Lingchuan then took Zhu Xiuer along, leaving Qiu Hu and the Rongshan disciples behind.

Under the gaze of everyone, one man and one spider jumped off the ship and onto the desert, walking toward the shore one step at a time.

The pirates on the ship looked at each other, all feeling that this scene was something they had never seen in their lives.

Since when could Yin Serpents communicate with humans?

Since when could Yin Serpents welcome humans to the island? Huang Zhao also looked at their backs and whispered to Min Tianxi: "Old Min, what do you think?"

Even from his perspective, He Lingchuan's move looked like courting death.

Walking alone—well, with a big monster, so it's equivalent to alone—into the lair of the Yin Serpent King; was he really tired of living? Wasn't he afraid that the other party wouldn't like him and swallow him whole? "Wait." Min Tianxi also watched intently. "Young Master He always has astonishing moves, but he is actually thoughtful. I think he has already planned it out."

Last time they met at Fish Bone Reef, it was his own carelessness; Young Master He had already designed everything.

After more than ten days of contact, he felt even more that He Lingchuan had a chest full of strategies. How could such a person send himself to death casually?

Huang Zhao's voice lowered even more: "Then we...?"

Even if their dozens of people stayed on the ship, this was still the lair of the Yin Serpents. If He Lingchuan couldn't handle the Yin Serpent leader, they would suffer along with him.

Qiu Hu was clearly staying on the other ship, looking at the two at this moment. Huang Zhao always felt that this kid's gaze was scorching; did he hear something?

"Wait." Min Tianxi had already thought about this question. "Young Master He should be able to return safely; if you run away then..."

No superior could tolerate a two-faced subordinate.

Huang Zhao muttered: "Where do you get the confidence?"

"If you were like me, having seen them kill Yin Serpents like slaughtering chickens, you would naturally have confidence." Min Tianxi said solemnly. "Still the same words, Young Master He isn't crazy; he knows what he is doing."

Huang Zhao nodded, seeing his subordinates behind him peeking and flickering with their eyes, and couldn't help but frown: "What are you looking at?"

"Island Master Huang, should we...?" A pirate gestured toward the sea. Should we slip away?

Huang Zhao slapped the ship's rail and scolded: "What should we do! Everyone stay honestly; Young Master He will be back in a while!"

Qiu Hu heard this, crossed his arms, and snorted.

He Lingchuan and the others landed on Mount Qilin again; the vegetation was still lush, but unfortunately, the mountain forest was too quiet.

Everywhere were giant bamboos up to twelve or thirteen zhang high, either green-skinned or yellow-skinned, with a diameter of over one foot, true "bucket waists."

By the mountain streams, such giant bamboos often rose from the ground, forming a forest, which was very spectacular.

This was also the most common sight in the Yangshan Archipelago.

The leaf walls woven from bamboo branches were even airtight.

A Yin Serpent was waiting in the bamboo forest, and seeing He Lingchuan approach, it turned to lead the way, walking neither fast nor slow.

The route was toward the southwest.

He Lingchuan followed behind it, strolling leisurely.

He had earned himself an amulet, otherwise, how would he dare to venture deep into the Yin Serpent den? Last time Dong Rui took the Punishment Dragon Pillar to Alfalfa Island and succeeded in testing it, which also verified He Lingchuan's warning to the Yin Serpent King: besides him, there were others who could absorb the baleful energy of the Earthly Yin Pulse.

If the Yin Serpent King dared to harm him, it should wait for He Lingchuan's companions to come for revenge! By then, it would be the end of the Yin Serpent clan.

This was He Lingchuan's confidence in entering the Yin Serpent den alone.

After half a shichen of climbing over mountains and passing through pits and caves, the man and the spider slowly approached the sinkhole.

The Earthly Yin Qi led them along a shortcut; otherwise, they would have spent far more time than this to get here last time.

Standing at the edge of the sinkhole, one could increasingly feel the magnificence of this geological wonder. He Lingchuan had been to Zhu Xiuer's demon nest and had also attended lectures at the Questioning Immortals Hall in Panlong City—the Questioning Immortals Hall itself was a massive sinkhole, but compared to the sinkhole before him, "Bai Yuan," it could not be mentioned in the same breath in terms of either size or depth.

Over a hundred zhang away, on the other side of the sinkhole, there were waterfalls and springs falling a thousand feet, the sound of water like thunder, and mist permeating. Seeing this white silk, He Lingchuan knew the origin of the name "Bai Yuan."

The leading Yin Serpent walked here and climbed down along the thick vines on the cliff.

Zhu Xiuer immediately said, "Come onto my back."

He Lingchuan climbed onto the spider's back, already familiar with the process.

Then the giant spider moved its eight legs, flying down the rock face.

It didn't need to climb vines to go down the cliff; it just walked down the mountain rock at ninety degrees.

The deeper they went into the sinkhole, the more secluded the surroundings became. The bottom of the deep pit, where sunlight could not reach, was filled with exotic flowers and plants.

The leading Yin Serpent continued to descend, but Zhu Xiuer stopped on a huge stone platform:

"Something is coming up from below."

This solid rock protruded outward, basically parallel to the bottom of the pit, and it was also what blocked the sunlight shining into the deep pool.

As soon as Zhu Xiuer finished speaking, he also distinguished another movement masked by the sound of the waterfall: clanging, as if something heavy was dragging on the stone.

After a dozen breaths, a huge figure turned onto the platform from below: a Yin Serpent.

The one that led He Lingchuan here earlier was four zhang long, already a monster rarely seen on the ground; but compared to the Yin Serpent before his eyes, it was like a kitten beside a fierce tiger.

It only climbed up half its body, which was eight zhang, and a section of its tail was still hidden in the darkness, so its specific length was unknown.

This Yin Serpent's form was no different from its peers, but its snout was longer, its nose protruded, and even fine whiskers grew from its jaw.

More peculiarly, two bulges protruded from its head.

At first glance, He Lingchuan actually felt it looked like a blurry version of... a dragon?

Zhu Xiuer's voice sounded in his ear: "Heaven-endowed. In another hundred years, perhaps it will cultivate into a Yin Dragon."

Her tone was not without envy.

While the spiritual energy of heaven and earth weakened, some spiritual objects could rely on special living environments to always live better than other monsters.

The Great Fire Spirit of Xushan was like this, and now this monster deep in the sinkhole was also like this.

But this Yin Serpent's scales were not as oily and shiny as its offspring's; instead, they looked old due to wear and scars, and even the area around the scales was faintly white, like pebbles washed by the riverbed year after year.

This was an old fellow.

And no one could ignore that there were several long chains on its back! Two chains pierced the Yin Serpent King's shoulder bones, and the other two were likely nailed to its ribs, making dull sounds as it moved.

This was the strange sound He Lingchuan and the others had heard earlier.

He was also exceptionally surprised; what kind of magic treasure could withstand the corrosion of Earthly Yin Qi and lock this Yin Serpent King for so long?

But looking closely, the chains were neither gold nor iron, but glowing white with a bone-like texture throughout, and even the part near the Yin Serpent King's shoulder bones was slightly yellow—it had four hands, so it had an extra pair of shoulder bones compared to a snake monster.

This was... a bone chain? What kind of creature's bones could withstand the destruction of Earthly Yin Qi and the struggle of this Yin Serpent King?

The giant thing before his eyes spoke first: "We have lived here for a long time; why do you harm my offspring?"

It did not roar like before, but both of them, holding the Tianke Treasure Scroll, could hear its suppressed anger.

He Lingchuan asked back: "How should I address you?"

"Long Hao." The monster said heavily. "Blue Spirit Mountain, overturning the sea, Yin Dragon lineage."

"My surname is He; you can call me Island Master He." He Lingchuan cupped his hands and bowed to it. "I took over the Yangshan Archipelago from the Does Bailie."

"Island Master He?" The Yin Serpent King Long Hao laughed instead of getting angry. "You and I had no grudges in the past; why do you want to seize the foundation of my clan?"

He Lingchuan looked up at it: "If I visited peacefully, would it be possible to see you?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 940 =====