Chapter 30: Initial Success, Heavenly Tribulation Approaching

In the endless snow, only a snake devoutly worshipped the moon; if anyone saw this scene now, they would surely be startled.

Unfortunately, aside from that crescent moon, no one could see such a scene.

As he gradually entered a state of fulfillment, Ye Qin felt the crescent moon above drawing ever closer, as if it were enveloping his entire serpentine body.

That icy sensation felt as if his whole body were submerged in water, and as if an invisible hand were stroking from above—utterly blissful.

Ye Qin's entire body, even his bones, was stained with a silver sheen, emitting a different light.

After an unknown span, Ye Qin slowly opened his eyes; the silver moon had vanished, replaced by a gloomy sky.

"I didn't expect the night to pass so quickly."

Ye Qin couldn't help muttering to himself; that icy feeling left him craving more, wishing the sky would darken at once.

However, winter days are short and nights long; waiting for the moon to rise would likely be around five or six.

He returned to the cave, planning to wait until night to resume his contemplation and absorb the moon's essence.

For several days straight, he rested by day and cultivated by night, like a bat that sleeps by day and flies by night; Ye Qin's lunar contemplation had begun to show results, yet it was only superficial, lacking true spirit.

Just as when he first contemplated the White Bone, Ye Qin did not rush, proceeding step by step—after all, you can't become fat in one bite.

He had thought life would remain peaceful like this, until that day, when a muffled thunder shattered the calm.

"Boom—"

In a daze, Ye Qin felt as if he heard some summons.

He seemed to sense something and crawled out of the cave; the wind and snow had ceased, but the sky was dark and terrifying, thunder rumbling, making the whole earth tremble.

"How could there be thunder in this season?"

Gazing at the sky above, Ye Qin couldn't help murmuring to himself.

Ye Qin disliked thunder, probably because his former self had once nearly been struck by lightning and turned into a desiccated snake; though it didn't make him panic at the sound, a deep‑seated aversion left him somewhat uneasy.

He saw the sky burst with purple light, instantly ripping open a bottomless fissure, like the eye of judgment scanning the land.

"Boom!"

A startling thunderclap exploded beside Ye Qin's ear, seeming to graze his head; he could even feel the lightning's power within it, and his serpentine body twitched involuntarily.

He saw a bolt of purple lightning strike a nearby stone over half a person tall, shattering it into fragments instantly.

Ye Qin regained his composure, gazing at the lightning close at hand, and involuntarily narrowed his eyes.

He had the feeling that the lightning was aimed at him.

What followed only confirmed Ye Qin's suspicion.

Another bolt of lightning struck nearby, deafening, as if the Heavenly Dao were enraged.

Ye Qin felt an inexplicable palpitation in his heart—the first time since his rebirth as a snake that he experienced panic.

Know that even when he once faced his mortal enemy, the Eagle Falcon, in a life‑or‑death moment, he had never felt fear.

Why would these lightning bolts be directed at him?

Ye Qin's bright red tongue seemed to sense his master's vexed mood, quivering nonstop as his heart pounded hard, as if it might break free at any moment.

His snake tail slapped the nearby large tree, sending countless snowflakes fluttering down.

Ye Qin grew more restless and uneasy.

What could be the cause of this sudden lightning?

Could it be that his cultivation has provoked such phenomena?

After thinking it over, this seemed the most likely explanation.

As for why it hasn't struck him yet, Ye Qin guessed he hadn't reached that point—after all, he had just broken through the First Realm and entered the Second Realm; if that were enough to trigger a heavenly tribulation, it would still be insufficient.

As the saying goes, you don't use an ox‑cleaver to kill a chicken; only when he truly masters his cultivation will lightning befall him and invoke heavenly tribulation.

Even after understanding this, Ye Qin remained uneasy, watching the lightning fall from the sky and daring not to act rashly.

Meanwhile, seeing the wind and snow cease and the weather improve, Sun Zhenbang and his companions re‑entered the great mountains, hoping to continue uncovering clues about the murderer.

"These past days we've stationed people at every mountain pass, yet no suspicious individuals have been seen descending; therefore the killer must still be hiding on the mountain."

"This time we must certainly capture the culprit and bring him to justice—do you all have confidence?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, pack up—we're heading into the mountains right away!"

All police swiftly deployed, splitting into several routes to search; although the temperature has risen a bit lately, the mountain temperature remains relatively low.

There are few places on the mountain where one can hide, so the police focused on searching mountain streams and caves—those spots that could conceal a person.

But after half a day of searching, there was no result whatsoever; in the vast mountains, not a human shadow, not even a ghostly trace could be found.

Sun Zhenbang decided to let everyone rest briefly, then continue onward into the deeper mountains.

Several young police officers took the break to chat there.

One of them, Xie Yixuan, affected an air of mystery: "I don't know who killed those two poachers; I have a friend who is a forensic medic, and he told me their cause of death was quite strange."

Upon hearing this, his companions instantly became interested: "How was it strange?"

"I can't put it into words; in short, it doesn't look like a human did it, but rather——" Saying this, Xie Yixuan deliberately lowered his voice, whetting his companions' appetites.

"If it wasn't a human, who else could it be? We came up the mountain precisely to catch the killer."

"Don't keep us in suspense—spit it out."

Faced with their urging, he cleared his throat and then said: "It was a desiccated snake!"

Hearing this, the others couldn't help but roll their eyes.

"You're just blowing hot air here—claiming a snake did it, why don't you go up to heaven?"

"Exactly—be careful that Team Leader Sun hears you; he'll chew you out, you slack off all day doing nothing but spooky nonsense, and he'll confiscate all your novels!"

Seeing the others disbelieve him, Xie Yixuan flared up: "Come on, I'm absolutely serious—my forensic friend even showed me the report."

"The corpse was found to have snake scales and DNA; at the crime scene, we saw no weapon, no third‑party fingerprints or traces—if it wasn't a desiccated snake, who else could have done it?"

"If you ask me, we also shouldn't go up the mountain to catch any criminals; the criminal is just a snake, what's there to catch? But Team Leader still doesn't believe it; if you ask me, his thinking is still too old-fashioned, we need to broaden our horizons!"

Xie Yixuan spoke with great enthusiasm, failing to notice his companions frantically making eye signals.

"What's wrong with your eyes, did they cramp up? Everything I said is true; if you don't believe me, next time I'll bring the report for you to see, then you'll know how weird it is."

"Sure, next time when you have a moment, bring it over for me to look at."

A low male voice came from behind him.

Xie Yixuan instinctively replied, "Sure, when I get back I—"

After seeing clearly who was standing behind him, Xie Yixuan's voice cut off abruptly, his expression somewhat panicked, he whispered with his lips, "Sun, Team Leader, how did you come here?"

(End of chapter)