Chapter 52: Phoenix-tail Rooster-crown Snake, Snake Matriarch

Dai Mubai and the others were all shocked.

"Another one?!"

"Xiao Jue's luck is this good?"

Xiao Xian thought silently, can luck be bad? With its nose, there is no Soul Beast within a few kilometers that Xiao Jue couldn't detect, let alone the Sunlight Spore.

"Looks like the next one will be yours, Third Brother!" Ma Hongjun said enviously.

He also wanted to breakthrough.

The Soul Elder's subsidy was a full hundred Gold Soul Coins, enough for him to have a blast.

Oscar had already begun absorbing Soul Rings, and everyone gathered not far from him started to be on guard.

But in an instant.

Xiao Jue returned again, landing on the ground.

In his mouth, he still held a Soul Beast, but this one... was barely alive.

It was a serpentine Soul Beast, with a fleshy crown on its head, a pair of pale red wings, and a tail shaped like a fan.

Its neck was clenched tightly by Xiao Jue's ferocious maw, the long rear half of its body dragged behind, struggling to coil around Xiao Jue, but it had no effect.

Below the dragon-like mouth, the ferocious Purple Light surged into its body, rapidly devouring everything of it.

"Phoenix-tail Rooster-crown Snake?!"

Tang San was somewhat surprised, "This Soul Beast does indeed suit Brother Oscar well, its age range fits too, thirteen hundred to eighteen hundred, but..."

He glanced at Oscar, who was already absorbing Soul Rings.

"How about it, does it suit you?"

"If it fits, act quickly; this Soul Beast is about to die!"

Zhao Wuji patted Tang San's shoulder and urged.

Tang San looked at Xiao Xian with hesitation.

Xiao Xian shook his head, "It doesn't suit you, keep looking. The Phoenix-tail Rooster-crown Snake uses its body to coil around enemies, causing them to suffocate as its main attack."

"Your Third Soul Technique, if you get a coiling type, you'll be useless. Do you intend to use your Blue Silver Grass to perform a Blue Silver coil?"

Xiao Xian was also a bit surprised; a thousand-year-old Phoenix-tail Rooster-crown Snake had actually been encountered by them, but... this one bore no noticeable wounds.

It should be ownerless, right?

Xiao Xian pondered, his expression briefly changing, and shouted, "Xiao Jue, quickly! Tear this Soul Beast apart!"

The Phoenix-tail Rooster-crown Snake had already stopped moving, evidently killed by the erosion of his Third Soul Technique, even beginning to condense Soul Rings, clearly unusable now.

But... the Sunlight Spore that he had let Xiao Jue release was warning him.

In the distance, two figures seemed to be rushing toward them!

Xiao Jue did not hesitate; his huge mouth tore quickly, and the Phoenix-tail Rooster-crown Snake instantly split into several segments.

Xiao Xian tapped his foot, swiftly pulling the Snake's corpse back into the Soul Guide Device.

Then his right palm struck hard!

Whoosh—!

A wildly raging Gale burst suddenly from Xiao Xian's palm!

Dirt, fallen leaves, dust, bark!

Everything flew out wildly, and the lingering scent of the Phoenix-tail Rooster-crown Snake dissipated quickly.

Zhao Wuji's face darkened instantly, "Xiao Xian, what are you doing?!"

A few pieces of bark nearly struck his face.

Tang San, Dai Mubai and the others were also a bit clueless, grimacing, spitting out the dirt from their mouths.

Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong and Oscar, positioned elsewhere, were not affected much.

Xiao Xian did not respond to Zhao Wuji.

He only, while retrieving Xiao Jue, silently looked up toward the dense forest on the right.

After a dozen seconds, two silhouettes leapt out of the right-side forest, appearing before the crowd.

The two were an older woman and a younger girl, both female; the elder looked sixty‑seven, yet her complexion was rosy like a baby's, eyes flashing, and her right hand gripped a three‑meter‑long snake‑head staff, with six Soul Rings pulsating up and down on her body.

Behind her followed a beautiful teenage girl, ear‑length short hair, about sixteen or seventeen, her tight combat outfit hugging her well‑developed figure.

The two appeared suddenly, and Zhao Wuji stared at them intently.

Almost instantly, his muscles bulged, a Mighty Golden Bear martial soul possessed him, and seven Soul Rings erupted from his body.

The old woman and the girl's appearance startled everyone, but soon they breathed a sigh of relief—it was only six rings.

Zhao Wuji's ferocious seven Soul Rings were no decoration.

"Friend, is there something?" Zhao Wuji stood in front of the crowd, glanced at the old woman, his tone somewhat gentle.

Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun and the others, familiar with Zhao Wuji's manner, felt a sudden chill in their hearts.

Teacher Zhao usually isn't like this… When did he become so patient with those inferior to him?!

Xiao Xian stood behind Zhao Wuji, unmoving.

He blinked helplessly, looking toward the other Dai Mubai and Tang San.

The old woman, upon seeing the Soul Rings on Zhao Wuji, paled slightly, coughed, and gently stepped in front of the girl beside her, her tone soft: "Respected Soul Saint, have you perhaps noticed a Phoenix-tail Rooster-crown Snake? We are hunting it, and just now saw it flee toward this direction."

Zhao Wuji, being an old veteran, understood instantly.

His expression unchanged, he said, "Did not see it, but sensed it; it swept past from over there."

Zhao Wuji casually pointed a direction, then gestured behind himself to Oscar, who was cross‑legged on the ground absorbing Soul Rings, adding, "My student is absorbing Soul Rings; we will not casually let Soul Beasts approach."

The old woman only then noticed Oscar behind Zhao Wuji; when she saw his face and the Soul Rings he was absorbing… she thought silently, "Student? With that beard, he must be over thirty, only three rings? Still, this lark is quite decent."

She glanced toward the direction Zhao Wuji had indicated, confirming she had not found any trace of the Phoenix-tail Rooster-crown Snake here.

"Thank you, Soul Saint, my granddaughter is eager to hunt souls, so we'll take our leave first!"

The old woman didn't dare to linger, and pulled the girl behind her to dash out again.

After they left.

Everyone's expression turned strange, especially Zhao Wuji, who gave Xiao Xian's shoulder a hard pat.

"You kid, not bad—snatching at the tiger's mouth, grabbing other people's Soul Beasts, and the crucial part is that we haven't even used ours yet!"

Xiao Xian shook his head, helplessly saying, "There's nothing we can do; they arrived too late. If they'd been a few minutes earlier, that snake would have been given to them."

"Continue the watch," Zhao Wuji said gravely, "Oscar is absorbing the Soul Ring; we can't afford any mishaps."

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were somewhat curious about the old woman just now.

They gathered near Zhao Wuji to ask.

Zhao Wuji didn't mind giving them a lesson, and slowly said, "That lady should be the Snake Madam Chao Tianxiang of the World-Overturning Dragon Snake; she herself is a Six‑ring Soul Emperor, but her husband Long Gong Meng Shu should already be an Eight‑ring Soul Fighter…"

"Soul Fighter!!!"

Dai Mubai and the others were startled.

Xiao Wu was also shocked, her face turning pale, and she couldn't help quietly grabbing Xiao Xian's arm right beside her.

Xiao Xian didn't mind, patted her head, then silently glanced toward the direction where the Snake Madam had vanished.

Xiao Jue was far from idle; within several kilometers around, Sunlight Spores were everywhere, fine and dense.

Their bodies, of course, were already stained with quite a few.

Long Gong Snake Madam…

Long Gong wasn't there, only the Snake Madam; most likely Long Gong went after another Soul Beast.

Is that you? That Human‑faced Demon Spider?

Xiao Xian's right palm flashed with violet light, and Xiao Jue reappeared.

"Teacher Zhao, I'll let Xiao Jue go out and see if she can find another Soul Beast for Xiao San."

Tang San's eyes couldn't help but show a hint of emotion; after all, senior brother is the best.

Zhao Wuji glared at him, "This time don't bring me another Soul Master again; you heard it just now! There's likely a Soul Fighter nearby! Long Gong and the Snake Madam have never been apart!"

"Teacher Zhao, rest assured… Xiao Jue is well‑behaved," Xiao Xian immediately assured, then promptly sent Xiao Jue to search along the direction the Snake Madam had fled.

…