Chapter 573

Boom! Without a word, Cai Lin fired a shot from the Sky-Slicing Vessel, blasting a massive hole through the Huang Quan Shan Mai, revealing the Di Xia Shi Jie beneath.

As a ruthless emperor, Cai Lin had fought countless battles since ascending the SnakeTribe throne, leading her people to slaughter countless enemies—all to one day emerge from the Desert and lead her subordinates to a better life!

"My subjects, once our ancestors lived upon this fertile land—this was our homeland! The chance to reclaim our ancestral soil lies before us!" Cai Lin's voice surged with passion; mere words sent countless SnakeTribe warriors into a frenzy.

"Wooohhh!!!"

"Kill, kill!!"

The already fierce and battle-hardened SnakeTribe warriors roared in unison, blood qi surging skyward—especially the eight tribal Commanders of the SnakeTribe Empire. Since the founding of the Yan Alliance, these eight chieftains had followed their Queen across south and north, slaying countless foes, and naturally amassed vast resources and rewards, their Cultivation Realm rising swiftly.

Among them, Yue Mei and Mo Ba Si had even reached Eight Rank; the other tribal chieftains were all at Seven Rank Peak.

Fully transformed, Mo Ba Si roared: "All warriors, follow me—kill!"

At that moment, Mo Ba Si's tribe could no longer contain themselves; with a thunderous roar, they surged toward the Di Xia Shi Jie beneath the Huang Quan Shan Mai. To conquer land, to earn glory—today was the day!

The more you kill, the more you gain!

"Heh, Mo Ba Si still has no patience," chuckled Yue Mei, her sun-kissed skin glistening, clad in revealing attire, her figure blazingly alluring, every glance and smile radiating irresistible allure.

Yet she had not fully transformed, retaining her original SnakeTribe form, like Cai Lin.

Yue Mei narrowed her eyes, flicked a finger—and countless female SnakeTribe of the Mei Snake Clan gripped curved blades, their Spiritual Qi Wings unfurling behind them, streaking with light as they leapt from the Sky-Slicing Vessel, flying through the breach into the Ming She Earth Vein.

The other tribal chieftains and Snake Race members who had joined the Tian She Fu surged in almost simultaneously, scrambling to enter. After all, if they earned merit in this battle, the rewards would be immense. Men die for wealth, birds die for food—this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Wuuuuu!! As Cai Lin led countless powerful figures in their assault, the complex terrain of the Huang Quan Shan Mai's underground world echoed with war horns as one SnakeTribe settlement after another sounded the alarm.

One by one, SnakeTribe members rose into the air from their respective tribes. Surprisingly, here, SnakeTribe dominated—indeed, most of the Nine Underworld's Ming She tribe bore the form of SnakeTribe!

Yet their tribal scale dwarfed Cai Lin's current SnakeTribe Empire by far.

"Yan Alliance. Mei Du Sha Queen!" The Clan Leader of the Nine Underworld's Ming She tribe, Yao Xiao Tian, his eyes turned icy cold. We didn't come to you—you dare come to us to die?!

"Since you attacked first, even if I kill every last soul of the Yan Alliance, Dan Tower and Gu Clan can't blame me!" Yao Xiao Tian's eyes turned blood-red, veins bulging on his face.

He had long wished to personally cross Zhong Zhou and obliterate the entire Yan Alliance with Saint Might—but alas, Xiao Yan was the Pill Gathering Champion. If a demonic Saint beast crossed Zhong Zhou to kill Xiao Yan, it would ignite a full-scale war between humans and beasts across the Dou Qi Continent—he could not bear that consequence.

That was why the Yan Alliance had desperately wanted Xiao Yan to win the Pill Gathering—after all, the Champion meant the pinnacle of Alchemist status, the highest-tier talent imaginable. Indeed, Xiao Yan could drive the advancement of pill alchemy across the entire Dou Qi Continent.

Territorial disputes? Dan Tower didn't care. But Xiao Yan must not die.

"Though not of the Ancient Heavenly Snake Bloodline, the Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent blood can still strengthen our lineage. Since you've come to us—then we'll take it!"

"All Ming She Guard, listen! Kill every invader on sight!"

Yao Xiao Tian waved his hand, his voice deep and commanding—a Saint Might instantly spread across the entire Nine Underworld's Ming She tribe. Then, one after another, aura signatures of Dou Zun level surged upward, appearing across the Di Xia Shi Jie, as countless massive Snake Race beings stirred the earth like subterranean dragons rising.

Instantly, countless whistling sounds erupted from within the mountain range, powerful auras exploding outward, bursting from the Di Xia Shi Jie and soaring toward the Sky-Slicing Vessel.

"Mei Du Sha Queen! Qi San Hua Tong?!" Above, an old man with a fully crimson venomous snake coiled around his shoulder fixed his gaze fiercely on Cai Lin and Qing Lin aboard the Sky-Slicing Vessel, coldly barking.

The Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent Bloodline of Cai Lin and the Qi San Hua Tong of Qing Lin—how could the Nine Underworld's Ming She tribe not know them? They had become thorns in their hearts, tormenting their sleep and meals.

Yet these Nine Underworld's Ming She elders never imagined the Yan Alliance would launch a preemptive strike! Was this suicide?!

"No matter your Yan Alliance's background, today you all must perish!" A gray-haired elder beside him roared.

"Heh, if you'd stayed in Zhong Zhou, we'd have been powerless against you—but you dared come to Shou Yu? Then don't blame us!" Another elder sneered coldly. If they could kill Qing Lin and seize the Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent bloodline, it would be a monumental boon for the Nine Underworld's Ming She tribe!

"Ming She Guard, seize this one!" the gray-haired elder roared.

"Yes!"

At the elder's roar, space rippled instantly—dozens of Dou Zun-level warriors emerged from Space. Some were from the Nine Underworld's Ming She tribe; others were Snake Race dwellers of the Huang Quan Shan Mai.

Figures clad in serpent-scale armor darted forth, flickering in a few blinks, appearing around the Sky-Slicing Vessel—dozens of auras locked Cai Lin and Qing Lin in place.

"The Nine Underworld's Ming She tribe's depth is truly formidable—each of these Ming She Guard radiates immense power, and their movements show near-perfect synchronization," Xiao Yan, watching from afar, scanned the nearly hundred Ming She Guards, a flicker of surprise crossing his mind.

This was a disciplined elite of Dou Zun warriors! Together, such a force could rival a Half-Saint!

Xiao Yan's gaze fixed on the old man with the crimson venomous snake coiled on his shoulder—he sensed this man was a Dou Saint, and his Cultivation Realm surpassed his own, reaching One-Star Dou Sheng Late-Stage.

Without doubt, this man was the Grand Elder Yao Ce.

Grand Elder Yao Ce instantly sealed the space around Qing Lin—Dou Saint spatial sealing was overwhelmingly powerful; even if Qing Lin had grown stronger with her Qi San Hua Tong, she could not break it.

Clearly, the Nine Underworld's Ming She tribe had planned how to counter Qi San Hua Tong—they intended to strike swiftly with overwhelming force. After all, Qi San Hua Tong was ineffective against opponents far stronger than oneself.

But this was without Xiao Yan's aid.

Sensing herself locked, Qing Lin's eyes flashed a sharp gleam. These years, she had traveled south and north with Cai Lin. Though before Xiao Yan she remained that timid little maid, to her enemies she was a nightmare!

"Useless. I am a One-Star Dou Saint. Your Qi San Hua Tong has no effect on me."

Qing Lin's emerald eyes lifted to Yao Ce in the sky, utterly calm. Her red lips whispered: "Come out."

The moment she spoke—CRACK! The earth cracked as if shattered, countless fissures appearing in an instant. A colossal Qi San Hua Tong unfurled across the land.

The Qi San Hua Tong was immense; with a resonant hum, torrents of black light erupted, followed by a series of PENG sounds as thick black mists surged upward.

"What is this?!"

"Poison mist?!"

"Aaaah!!"

"What monster! There's a monster underground!"

In that instant, a sky-covering cloud of poison mist erupted from the Qi San Hua Tong's space—those magical beasts caught within suffered terribly. In mere moments, even their screams were cut off as they dissolved into the poison; the once-lively land was instantly corrupted.

ZHENG! From within the black mist, eighteen pairs of crimson-glowing, inverted-triangle serpent eyes opened.

"What monster is this?!" Grand Elder Yao Ce's expression turned stunned. As a Nine-Rank Magical Beast whose bloodline had regressed to the Ancient Heavenly Snake, he now felt fear!

His Ancient Heavenly Snake Bloodline screamed warnings within him—flee! That thing was the ancestral enemy of their kind! Their ultimate predator!!

In that instant, a dark shadow flashed through the mist—its speed was absurd, like a bolt of black lightning, piercing straight through. It was a Sea Giant Python!

The black python's body was colossal, stretching like a river, like a mountain range.

The black python burst through the mist, jaws wide open, lunging at Grand Elder Yao Ce—its destructive force and impact were terrifying!

DONG! A thunderous crash echoed as Yao Ce hastily summoned Space Power, fusing Spiritual Qi with space to form a spatial barrier. KRAK! The python's jaws clamped onto the barrier.

SSSS! In the next instant, two more colossal black pythons erupted from the mist—one to the left, one to the right—colliding with a BOOM, shattering Yao Ce's defense in an instant.

"Beast, cease your madness—Yellow Spring Finger!"

With a thunderous boom, the Dou Saint's Heavenly Rank Dou Technique unleashed power like Heavenly Might—in an instant, heaven and earth changed color. Yao Ce's finger struck downward, and his body suddenly blazed as if a midday sun had risen; space shattered at once, unleashing endless Space Turbulence, and an supreme authority pressed down. In that moment, Yao Ce's finger transformed into the Yellow Spring!

From the utmost heavens to the deepest Yellow Spring, when the Yellow Spring falls, all souls return to their origin—none dare defy it. One finger becomes the Yellow Spring, judging life and death of all things—beneath that finger, only death remains.

A deep yellow finger, hundreds of zhang in size, slammed toward the three Sea Giant Pythons. Though the pythons were enormous, the Yellow Spring Finger was no smaller.

Sssss!! The three black Sea Giant Pythons let out furious roars; a black light surged from their throats, and in the next instant, they spat forth a jet of pitch-black energy beams—three beams shot straight at the Yellow Spring Finger.

Boom! The Yellow Spring Finger collided with the black energy beams, instantly generating a terrifying shockwave. The massive, dense energy blast hurled everything nearby into chaos—instantly, the vegetation, trees, and even beasts on the Huang Quan Shan Mai turned to ash.

The collision of a Dou Saint was this terrifying!

Sssss!! Three more black Sea Giant Pythons burst forth from the black mist, spitting black beams. Six black pythons now spat energy beams in unison—their power fused instantly, unleashing a force equal to the Yellow Spring Finger!

"What?!" Elder Yao Ce's eyes widened in shock—he was a One Star Dou Saint, and his Heavenly Rank Dou Technique had been blocked! Even Clan Leader Yao Xiao Tian could not have stopped it so easily!

"What kind of Snake Race is this? Even Elder Yao Ce's Yellow Spring Finger has been blocked!"

"Impossible! No Snake Race in Shou Yu is stronger than Elder Yao Ce!"

The next instant—puff, puff, puff—three more black Sea Giant Pythons flew out before everyone's astonished eyes. These three pythons guarded Qing Lin and instantly shattered the space-binding technique Elder Yao Ce had cast.

Nine in total!

When the black mist cleared, everyone finally saw—it was not nine Sea Giant Pythons, but a single colossal black Fierce Beast with nine heads!

"Nine-headed… entirely black… its emergence blanketed the air in poison mist… Could this be the legendary Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake—the most vicious and brutal among the Ancient Heavenly Snakes?!"

The second Elder of the Nine Underworld Spirit Python Clan, clad in gray robes, showed a look of terror—he had seen this Fierce Beast in his clan's Ancient Texts!

In a sense, this too is an Ancient Heavenly Snake, but utterly unlike ordinary ones—the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake is a mutated bloodline. Its essence blood differs from that of the Ancient Sky Serpent Essence Blood, containing a unique dark, violent factor that cannot be used to enhance bloodline power.

Xiao Yan himself had expended great effort to purge the violent nature from the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake bloodline.

Yet the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake is stronger than even the Ancient Heavenly Snake King!

"Impossible!" At that moment, space rippled and warped—Yao Xiao Tian emerged from Space, unable to remain seated any longer upon sensing the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's presence, he stepped out of his palace.

When he saw the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake, even Yao Xiao Tian's face turned deathly pale—as if he had seen a ghost—his expression filled with utter disbelief.

"Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake… and a Nine Rank Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake! You're only a Dou Zun—no matter how powerful your Qi San Hua Tong, you cannot control a Nine Rank Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake!"

Though Qi San Hua Tong is powerful, it is not invincible—it has its own limits, capable only of controlling Snake Race beasts with weaker bloodlines. Bloodlines too strong cannot be controlled at all.

The Ancient Heavenly Snake King, the Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent—impossible to control. And certainly not the mutated variant, the most vicious Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake.

"No—this Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's eyes are not those of a Snake Slave controlled by Qi San Hua Tong!" Elder Yao Ce's eyes narrowed—he noticed something amiss.

All Snake Slaves controlled by Qi San Hua Tong have their eyes replaced by Qi San Hua Tong, trapped in illusions from which they cannot escape. But this Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake possesses its own consciousness and thought—it is not a controlled Snake Slave!

(End of Chapter)