Chapter 86

Xiao Qidi asked, "Do you want the snake swarm to take us out?"

Ning Jinli nodded. "Exactly, the cliffs on both sides of Zhuiyingjian are too high and steep; no matter how good your martial arts, you can't climb up, but the snake swarm can—look at how they move on the cliffs, it's as if they're walking on flat ground."

Besides, I can feel they're attracted by the blood flowing down the cliff; if I had permitted it, they would have already crawled up along the blood.

Xiao Qidi thought this plan was feasible.

However, judging by the amount of blood flowing down from above the cliff, a large-scale slaughter must have occurred up there, already a river of blood.

And above that is the Tian Shu Sect Main Peak.

I'm afraid this sect has encountered some serious situation.

Although the snake swarm is escorting us, we still need to be cautious.

He especially gave Ning Jinli a warning.

Afterwards, Ning Jinli commanded the snake swarm to gather together, wrapping her and Xiao Qidi in the middle, steadily lifting them.

Countless snakes intertwined, and under Ning Jinli's command they seemed to become a huge black snake comparable to a river, swiftly moving along the cliff while sucking up the blood on the cliff and climbing upward.

With plenty of blood nourishing them, the snake swarm grew stronger as they climbed.

Ning Jinli even felt a strong push from behind; besides the sound of the snakes twisting and rubbing, there was also a whistling wind.

In the blink of an eye, the ground below could no longer be seen.

At this moment.

On the open-air platform of the ancestral hall at the summit of the main peak.

Lu Xingfeng and Ye Zhiqiu both heard a rubbing sound coming from the abyss below.

The ground faintly trembled as well.

"Here it comes… the giant snake is coming!" Lu Xingfeng's eyes lit up with excitement.

Ye Zhiqiu's face turned pale, and she gazed uncertainly at the platform's edge.

Just from this commotion, whatever is about to appear must be a colossal beast.

It seems the sacrificial summoning is real.

And the giant snake is real…

……

"Hahahaha!" Lu Xingfeng's wild laughter echoed through the night sky.

He gripped the shotgun with his left hand, pushed himself up from the ground, staggered to his feet, held his head high and chest out, waiting for the giant snake to climb up.

Under the moonlight, his long robe soaked in blood fluttered in the wind.

Despite his serious injuries, he could still hold on thanks to his formidable internal skill.

Moreover, having successfully summoned the giant snake, this sense of achievement and delight made him even more exhilarated, to the point that he no longer felt the pain.

As the sound of rubbing against the rock wall drew nearer, the vibrations around the platform became more pronounced.

Finally, a huge snake head silhouette emerged from the platform's edge, like a small hill rising.

Because it was backlit by the moonlight, only a rough silver edge coated by the moonlight could be seen.

Faced with such a colossal creature, Lu Xingfeng dared not get too close; he stopped more than ten meters away and looked up.

This was also his first time seeing a giant snake; he was greatly shocked, never expecting that just the head that had emerged would be so enormous, clearly its size far exceeded his expectations.

It's definitely more than ten zhang long! Perhaps… even more than a hundred zhang!

Ye Zhiqiu sat on the ground, so shocked she couldn't speak.

Although she couldn't see the giant snake's appearance clearly, just from the outline she could tell its head was larger than a heavy truck in the modern world.

So… the giant snake's body must be comparable to a train?

No…

It should be wider and longer than a train…

The oppressive presence of the huge creature made Lu Xingfeng dare not act rashly at this moment.

He even felt a bit uneasy in his heart, uncertain whether the secret technique he had learned could truly communicate with it, and then command it.

After a quick thought, he tried chanting the relevant incantation from the secret technique once.

However, the giant snake showed no reaction at all.

It merely revealed its head at the platform's edge, without climbing further or moving.

Lu Xingfeng pondered, wondering if perhaps the giant snake had already gained spiritual intelligence, and he needed to be polite to it before it would help him.

So he knelt down and loudly said, "Great Snake God! Please accept my obeisance!"

Little did he know, the huge snake head he saw was formed by Ning Jinli controlling the snake swarm to gather together.

And Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi were hidden inside it.

This was the plan they had discussed while using the snake swarm's power to climb the cliff.

Because they didn't know what situation they would encounter after reaching the top.

To be safe, they continued to disguise the snake swarm as a giant snake, first to find out what was happening above.

"Snake God?" Ning Jinli muttered softly, "Is this guy treating us as immortals?"

Xiao Qidi said, "When I reached the upper end of the cliff just now, I noticed many patterns carved into the rock wall, likely some kind of symbol, and there were also grooves extending from elsewhere; that blood is flowing down along those grooves. At the time I already thought this might be a sacrificial summoning ritual, and now seeing this person's reaction, it's definitely so."

"I see," Ning Jinli said disgustedly, "The Tian Shu Sect actually engages in this heretical practice of sacrificing living people! So much blood—heaven knows how many they've killed!"

Xiao Qidi added, "If it weren't for you killing that giant snake, we would really have been summoned up here."

Ning Jinli asked, "What should we do now?"

Xiao Qidi pondered briefly, "Let me clarify the situation a bit more and try to test it."

He adjusted his voice and loudly said, "Who is the one kneeling?"

His voice, deliberately lowered and produced by circulating his internal skill through his throat, also carried his innate kingly majesty; in this situation, to Lu Xingfeng's ears it sounded almost like an ancient god's tone.

Lu Xingfeng was shocked once again.

The Giant Snake could actually speak human words!

My guess was right after all; it has already awakened Spiritual Intelligence, truly a Snake God!

It might even have successfully Transform into Jiao, and could become a dragon in the future!

"Snake God!" Lu Xingfeng said reverently, shouting, "I am Lu Xingfeng, the Sect Leader of this Tian Shu Sect, and it is I who offered the blood of four hundred disciples as a sacrifice to summon you, Snake God!"

"Four… four hundred disciples?" Ning Jingli covered her mouth, and a flash of anger instantly rose in her eyes.

Four hundred living human lives!

And they were sacrificed by this guy named Lu Xingfeng?!

Beast!

No, a beast wouldn't do such a cruel thing!

He is not even a beast!

"Kill him, we must kill him." Ning Jingli forced down her anger, grinding her teeth.

Xiao Qidi's eyes also flashed with icy murderous intent, "Wait a moment longer; I want to know what he's planning. And that woman behind him—if she also took part in the sacrifice, I will execute her as well."

"You are the overseer of the Tian Shu Sect?" Xiao Qidi continued to pose as the so‑called Snake God, asking with authority, "As far as I know, the Sect Leader of the Tian Shu Sect is a woman. Why are you deceiving me!"

Lu Xingfeng blurted out, "How could the Snake God know that the Sect Leader is a woman?"

Xiao Qidi replied, "Are you questioning my divine power?"

Lu Xingfeng turned pale with shock, kowtowing, "I dare not! Please forgive me, Snake God!"

Then he hurriedly explained, "Snake God, before your appearance, the Sect Leader of our sect was indeed a woman, but now it is I who holds the position."

"What do you mean by that?" Xiao Qidi asked further.

Lu Xingfeng thought for a moment and said, "Snake God, the person behind me is the former Sect Leader; she has already passed the Sect Leader position to me."

Among the snakes, Ning Jingli strained to widen her eyes, trying to see clearly what the woman collapsed on the ground looked like.

She didn't know why; although she was far away and couldn't see clearly, an inexplicable sense of familiarity arose.

"Is that so? Bring her closer," Xiao Qidi said.

"Come quickly!" Lu Xingfeng barked low at Ye Zhiqiu.

Ye Zhiqiu could only obey.

She struggled to stand, moving like a walking corpse, and came to Lu Xingfeng's side, but instead of kneeling before the Snake God, she tilted her head and stared into the distance.

At this distance, neither she nor Lu Xingfeng could discern the Giant Snake's form against the moonlight.

But Xiao Qidi, with his extraordinary eyesight, recognized that she was indeed the Sect Leader of the Tian Shu Sect he had once met at Xituan Guanyuan.

It seemed the situation was more complicated than he had anticipated.

"Why did you pass the Sect Leader position to him?" Xiao Qidi asked.

In a daze, Ye Zhiqiu vaguely felt the voice sounded familiar, yet she couldn't recall where she had heard it.

She gradually came to herself, repeatedly recalling in her mind.

"The Snake God is asking you a question; answer it properly!" Lu Xingfeng whispered in a threatening tone.

Ye Zhiqiu lifted her head, staring at the Snake God's massive, pitch‑black head.

From the Snake God's behavior just now, it didn't seem to obey Lu Xingfeng as he claimed, simply following his commands after being summoned.

Moreover, the Snake God can speak and possesses a considerable degree of intelligence.

This means whoever can persuade the Snake God, the Snake God will aid that person, or perhaps… help no one.

Then perhaps I am not yet at the brink of despair!

Thinking this, Ye Zhiqiu decisively made a choice and shouted, "Snake God! I have not handed the Sect Leader position to him! He is a traitor of the Tian Shu Sect! He betrayed his master and ancestors, coveting the throne! He summoned you, Snake God, to use you to threaten me! Please, Snake God, discern the truth!"

When the words fell, Lu Xingfeng was stunned.

What is happening!

Now that the Snake God is here, she actually… dares not to cooperate?

Ye Zhiqiu's cold, angry voice rang through the half‑air.

Among the snakes, Xiao Qidi suddenly felt Ning Jingli trembling beside him, and whispered, "From my brief encounter with the Tian Shu Sect's Sect Leader, she seems not to be a villain; moreover, she once captured the Yu Guo Crown Prince and handed him to me. Rest assured, I will uncover the truth."

Ning Jingli's mind was already a blank.

That cold voice from earlier kept looping in her mind.

Although she hadn't heard it for ten years, it was unmistakably the same as her mother's voice in her memory!

She hadn't expected…

In this world over two thousand years old, she would meet someone whose voice was exactly like her mother's!

"Ye Zhiqiu, you…" Lu Xingfeng whispered angrily, "Did you forget how you promised me? Did you forget what I told you? How dare you…"

Ye Zhiqiu sneered, "The reason you can threaten me is not only because you truly summoned this Giant Snake, but also because you claimed you could command it. Yet now, it seems you lack that ability. So do I still need to be threatened by you?"

Lu Xingfeng's teeth chattered as he clenched them, and, refusing to accept defeat, quickly muttered the incantation from his secret art that commands the Giant Snake.

Unfortunately, there was still no response at all.

"Snake God!" Lu Xingfeng shouted, "I am your loyal servant; I am willing to devote everything to you as a sacrifice! I only ask that you aid me!"

Xiao Qidi said, "So, what the Sect Leader said is all true? You admit it?"

"Yes! I admit it! I would never dare to deceive the Snake God!" Lu Xingfeng declared confidently, "Please, Snake God, consider my loyal sacrifice and help me!"

He is the one who provided the sacrifice; he doesn't believe, and because of that, he still cannot gain the Snake God's favor.

Logically, the Snake God has no human moral concepts.

Whoever offers a sacrifice, it helps that person—that's obvious, isn't it?

Even if the secret incantation fails, does Ye Zhiqiu really think the Snake God cannot tell who the true worshipper is?

Thinking of these, Lu Xingfeng gained more confidence, saying, "If I receive the Snake God's aid and take control of this Tian Shu Sect, I will soon be able to easily grasp the supreme authority of a state's court. By then, let alone four hundred human sacrifices, even four thousand or forty thousand, I can offer them to you, letting you feast to your heart's content."

Originally, just as he admitted it himself, Xiao Qidi had been preparing to have Ning Jinli control the snake swarm to go over and tear him apart alive.

But upon hearing those words, he decided to investigate further.

What does it mean that after taking control of the Tian Shu Sect, one can obtain the supreme authority of a state's court?

"In that case, you seem quite confident about being able to offer me more sacrifices in the future," Xiao Qidi said in a lowered voice. "Tell me, how do you manage that?"

Ye Zhiqiu's heart instantly turned cold.

It's over, I've miscalculated.

It seems that even if Lu Xingfeng cannot drive the giant snake with secret arts, he can still win the giant snake's favor by offering sacrifices.

The Snake God obviously cares nothing about right or wrong, only about the sacrificial offerings.

And such a heinous act of sacrificing live people, she would absolutely never do.

"Reporting to the Snake God!" Lu Xingfeng immediately replied: "Once I take control of the Tian Shu Sect, I can complete the important mission entrusted by the Yu State Court; upon completing the mission, I will become a high official of the Yu State Court! Moreover, with the Snake God's continued aid, I might even become a ruler of a state in the future!"

Xiao Qidi asked: "What mission?"

Eager to prove himself to the Snake God, Lu Xingfeng blurted it all out without hesitation.

After finishing the explanation of the mission, he added regretfully: "Unfortunately, the operation a few days ago failed; we didn't manage to rescue the Yu Guo Crown Prince, and the Xuan Guo king we had captured was lost along the way back..."

"Ah? Snake God!" Lu Xingfeng's eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked loudly: "The few people I sent out and the Xuan Guo king all fell into Zhuiyingjian, which is your territory, right? May I ask if you have seen them?"

At that moment, Lu Xingfeng felt hope ignite in his heart; if Xiao Qidi had survived the fall, he would surely still be trapped there, and all we need is to ask the Snake God for help to bring them up.

"Lu Xingfeng you!" Ye Zhiqiu shouted, her face turning ashen, nearly choking, she clutched her chest and said, "How dare you go behind my back to serve Yu Guo as a lackey? Have you forgotten you are a Xuan Guo person? The current Xuan Guo king, Xiao Qidi, is an unparalleled sovereign, and you actually harmed him?!"

Lu Xingfeng sneered, "Whichever state gives me the greatest benefit, that's whose person I am. As for Xiao Qidi, he's merely a powerless figurehead king; what kind of unparalleled sovereign is he?"