Chapter 348: A Familiar Aura? Communicating with a Half-Crippled True Immortal!

Late at night, the moonlight was bright and clear, pouring down like water over the silent forest, draping the woods beneath the night in a veil of gossamer.

Insects chirped from time to time, interspersed with the occasional beastly roar, or the sparse rustle of leaves.

Suddenly, a hiss rang out—it was a snake-type wild beast of enormous size with a bulging crown on its head. It coiled around a deep pool, hissing in challenge at all directions.

Looking closely, among its slender, powerful hind body half-submerged in the pool's water, it was actually guarding an irregularly shaped, blood-colored, crystal-clear crystal!

It was a beautiful creation that seemed not to belong to Ren Jian. Beneath the dim night, it radiated a faint fluorescent glow, and wisps of nearly inaudible energy continuously emanated from within that blood-colored crystal, silently nourishing the snake-type wild beast, granting it even greater strength and vitality.

In the night, pair after pair of eyes glowing with ghostly light kept lighting up, greedily and longingly staring at the blood-colored crystal coiled around by the snake-type wild beast. Their biological instincts told them it was a treasure beneficial to them—that seizing it would make them even stronger!

Precisely because of this, the wild beasts and fierce beasts hiding in the darkness refused to leave. They were waiting for an opportunity, waiting for a chance when one of them could no longer resist the temptation and would step forward first.

"Whoosh~"

Just then, a faint sound of something cutting through the air rang out—it was an eagle-bird with a wingspan of over ten meters. Its gaze was sharp as it circled high above, looking at the snake-type wild beast that had once been nothing more than its prey, now mutated to such enormous size under the nourishment of the blood-colored crystal, and its desire grew all the stronger.

If it seized that treasure, could it too be nourished and grow even larger? From then on stand out among its kind, and win the favor of fewer female birds?

Just as the True Immortal's inner kind-hearted sprout Baichuan spoke, the tender green jade-like sprout trembled slightly, and a voice that was ethereal yet carried a loving fierceness quietly echoed through that world brimming with vitality.

Facing those uninvited guests coveting its treasure, the little snake's fury was finally beyond restraint.

"Does he think you're stupid?" After a long while, the True Immortal finally replied languidly, "Even someone like Baichuan fell to such a state at the hands of the Lingneng Clan, and now he says to besiege the Lingneng Clan? But does he have no other reinforcements?"

Those who can advance to Baichuan—are any of them weak? Are any of them not ones who fought their way out of blood and storms? How could such beings willingly hand the initiative to a mere Earth Immortal like me, whom they once looked down upon?

The gray-haired figure finally stopped its steps, and the seemingly tall and mighty it raised its head, looking at the wild snake that had reared up half its massive body, and spoke indifferently.

Thinking so, the True Immortal took out this jade-like seed and pressed it against its own forehead, which radiated a cold-hot texture, and its consciousness pressed heavily upon it.

However, it seemed the Baichuan in its imagination was somewhat different.

"Is that so..." A faint expression appeared on Tong Yanhu's face, "Then does he know the fate of this subordinate of yours in days past?"

"Hiss hiss!"

"Puff!"

"... Outsider, you've finally come~"

The sprout Tong Yan paused for a moment, then spoke frankly, seemingly entirely unaware that such behavior was exactly like that of some pervert who secretly enjoyed observing others.

"... Now captured by the Lingneng Clan..."

Countless beasts that had been watching began to flee—they finally realized that the giant snake before them was not one they could covet.

At that moment, the man who had spoken earlier gave a soft laugh. After the woman, who had first shown an displeased and puzzled expression, spoke, she seemed to chide him coquettishly.

"... From the very moment you first attempted to descend into this world, I have been watching you..."

"..." The True Immortal fell silent, looking at the other with strange eyes, wondering if the other had been beaten silly by some great being of the Lingneng Clan, to actually utter such nonsense.

In the lightless white night forest, a slender figure gradually stretched out, flickering in and out of sight, as if rejoicing, as if hissing, as if swaying in a dance...

"Wait—!"

The figure raised its head, its eyes focusing and glaring, and an invisible wave instantly swept through. In an instant, the Ice Thorn actually melted away, vanishing completely into thin air.

"Hey, there's no need to be so rough with a little guy~"

"You summoned me here—what for?"

Just then, as this lethal wave was about to sweep over the giant snake, a transparent ice wall, seemingly indestructible, rapidly formed between the giant snake and the invisible wave, blocking this lethal wave for it.

"Where is the specific location?"

Above the pure azure sky, clouds drifted lazily, the spring breeze blew past, causing a hundred flowers to vie in beauty. The fresh air was full of floral fragrance and the breath of life, and clear streams gurgled along... And behind it, a tender green sprout was tenaciously growing. Looking up closely, one could faintly see a small gray mist-like bug stuck firmly to it, seemingly devouring its body.

So what if it's a Baichuan? Right now it's still the one asking me for help. If it doesn't offer an explanation or some benefit, how could it just drag me onto its war chariot for free?

After all, no matter what, it's still a Baichuan. No matter how down and out, a dying camel is still bigger than a horse.

The woman took the faintly glowing blood-colored crystal and examined it carefully.

As the man narrowed his dim eyes in a satisfied soft laugh, his idle slender jade-like hand also hooked and flicked, and from thin air he drew over the blood-colored crystal that the giant snake had been guarding.

"Hmm?"

I, a True Immortal, never do anything without certainty!

To be honest, although I have already prepared to be enemies with the Lingneng Clan, that doesn't mean I have to formally clash with their great beings right now. What I want more at present is, while my split bodies freely gather ability resources out there, to find a way to bring my main body down, rescue the little lizard at the fastest speed, make a big haul in this world, and then use the power of the Ancient Bell to successively shift through space and escape.

After all, we've been chatting for so long—can't there be some practical benefit?

With the appearance of footsteps, the moonlight seemed, out of fear, to draw a cloud over to block its radiance.

A faint aura pounded against the surroundings like waves—it was the giant snake's fury!

But was that current posture because it had been beaten half to death by a great being of the Lingneng Clan?

The Ancient Bell, that mysterious Faba from the Fugitive Fleet, was the confidence that allowed me to keep my main body stationed far away while exploring this place.

The next moment, a cold aura spread out from its body—it was the aura of Ice Frost! The Ice Frost aura born from the flesh-and-blood part within was released without restraint. As the giant snake hissed, wisps of Ice Frost aura suddenly transformed into a cluster of Ice Thorns that shot into the white darkness.

And blast back the heavens-shaking power that left them dumbfounded!

The latter wore a half-mask carved with ornate patterns on one side. As she moved, her slender, graceful figure swayed like a willow branch in the wind. A pair of peach-blossom eyes shimmered with flowing light, her beautiful gaze glancing about—she was like an unparalleled enchanting man.

Overcome by desire, it could finally hold back no longer. Its limited intelligence told it that a snake was ultimately stronger than them, merely their food. Even if it had mutated, how could it possibly attack them, who flew high in the sky?

Feeling the heart-penetrating cold-hot texture, and the aura within it, the man's softly smiling expression froze for a moment, and the next second, without changing expression, he tossed it to the gray-haired woman.

"Moreover, if you wish to rescue that demon dragon, you will inevitably have to visit the Lingneng Clan's main base..."

Watching those two figures still approaching, the wild beast giant snake could finally hold back no longer. As if in fear, as if in threat, it kept opening its ferocious great maw at the approaching towering figure and letting out hisses. Its biological instincts were trembling, as if what stood before it was not a tiny human, but an unprecedented ancient Fierce Beast! And it was opening its ferocious bloody great mouth to swallow it, that weak and powerless little snake.

Beneath the night, the face hidden in the darkness could not be seen clearly—only a pair of eyes shone brightly.

The True Immortal was unclear, but he recalled the abnormal situation when he first tried to enter. "When I first tried to enter, was it you blocking me?"

"Boom!"

"Indeed," Tong Yan didn't mind either. After all, such important intelligence to him—if the other party handed it over directly without asking for anything in return, that would be strange. It could almost be said to be equivalent to handing over all the initiative to him.

Once these words were spoken, the sprout stopped moving, and only after a long while said:

"Tsk tsk..."

Is Tong Yan really that stingy?

"If so, let you come then~"

At once, the complete sound of Ice Thorn mingled with the beasts' startled roars rang out, and the stench of blood grew even thicker.

A streak of afterimage swept past, the sound of torn cloth rang out, the smell of blood wafted forth, and a massive yet small, ferocious snake head bit down on an eagle that had become a dead bird, its eyes brimming with killing intent as it surveyed the pack of beasts hiding in the white darkness around it.

So, its sharp eagle eyes shifted, it spread its wings to end its dive, and a pair of thick, small claws covered in tough, fine, dense scales glinted with faint Sharpness in the night.

Could it always be wanting me, an Earth Immortal, to go defeat the little Lingneng Clan member who stole this world of His?

Gazing at this sprout, a sudden flash of enlightenment crossed Tong Yan's mind — this was not the true master who had summoned him here, but this pitiful Baichuan whose world had been seized by the Lingneng Clan.

The next moment, borrowing the momentum, the instant it drew near the little snake it abruptly folded its wings and thrust out both claws, lunging with a fierce sound of tearing through the air.

Looking at that sprout, tougher than tough, the True Immortal thought rather unkindly that he felt a single light grab from him could snap it in two — though of course the True Immortal guessed that was probably just an illusion.

"Helpless, I must trouble this broken body to meet you, Sir; please do not laugh at me..."

"Why do you look at me like that?" Apparently stared at for too long by the True Immortal's strange gaze, the little sprout swayed in some confusion and said.

Thinking it over in his mind, Tong Yan also stared fixedly at this sprout, waiting for the other's answer.

By then, once he obtained LV6-level ability, before transferring and fleeing, as long as he was given just a little chance to catch his breath, it wouldn't take long for him to fight his way back!

"Subordinate?" The sprout's gently swaying tender body paused, and only after a long while did it realize which one Tong Yan was referring to. "... Is Sir perhaps speaking of that demon dragon?"

"Yes, in this realm I have already lost all control; being able to know of you is only thanks to that initial connection with the world..."

Only then did the sprout Baichuan finally understand why the True Immortal's gaze had been so strange. After a light laugh, He said: "Sir has misunderstood; the ancestor of the Lingneng Clan in this realm is no longer present, there is only a newly-promoted junior Baichuan..."

It was time to make contact with this legendary former World Lord — just what manner of existence Baichuan truly was.

The woman ignored the little snake's wary display of threat, and drew close to the little snake's side. Strangely, the little snake that had been incomparably wary just a second ago truly calmed down at her words the next second, and even lowered its long, bump-covered head to let her stroke it.

However, this time the sprout Baichuan did not answer, and instead said: "Sir's questions seem rather numerous..."

Of course, his purpose in doing so was neither fear of the Lingneng Clan, nor purely to argue with this Baichuan — he merely wished to tell the other party that he was no pushover. Now that he knew where his subordinate was, he had plenty of options to choose from!

The great snake retreated unknowingly for a moment, then came to its senses, and in mortified fury spat out another massive volley of Ice Thorns.

The True Immortal asked again.

Isn't this a joke? The only ones who can defeat a Baichuan are Baichuan. No matter how powerful he, an Earth Immortal, might be, he is only invincible among Earth Immortals.

The sprout Baichuan said no more, seemingly stumped by the True Immortal's argumentative behavior, and only after a long while said faintly: "Non-aggression is unacceptable..."

"Non-aggression is unacceptable? Going there doesn't mean I can't sneak in, does it? Or is it that you..."

"Hiss!"

After a long while, a barely audible voice rose: "A wonderful, unfamiliar aura..."

The True Immortal nodded.

Elsewhere, after putting away that seed representing a Baichuan and soothing the somewhat panicked crowd, the True Immortal finally returned to his great hall.

The True Immortal cut off the other's words, like an argumentative sort, deliberately picking holes in what the other said.

Under the moonlight, two figures — one ahead, one behind — incomparably tiny compared to the many beasts walked out of the pitch-black forest. The latter had long grey hair and wore a tight mask that revealed only his eyes; behind the mask, those indifferent eyes were like a still well without ripples, as if the deadly wild breeds that would be fatal to ordinary people were no different from common cats and dogs to him.

Saying so, that enchantingly demon-like woman only then sauntered past the grey-haired masked man and stepped forward. "Little ones, be good~ otherwise big sister can't save you either~~ Come, come let big sister pet you~~"

Previously answering whatever he asked was simply because he had a request of him, taking the initiative to reveal a bit of information to force open the situation, that's all.

But just then, a crisp sound of footsteps abruptly rang out from within the forest. Those footsteps carried a strange rhythm, as if each step landed on the heartbeat of every beast. The fleeing pack froze, and some of the weaker ones even had their hearts burst and died.

"Oh~ you, are you afraid of me?"

The wild-breed great snake narrowed its snake pupils, its eyes full of wary gravity, and loosened the eagle corpse held in its mouth. Its crimson forked tongue flicked in and out ceaselessly, as if nervous and afraid.

"Why?"

"You're waiting... no, you know me?" The True Immortal raised a brow and asked a question. He truly hadn't expected that a dignified Baichuan would actually pay attention to him, a mere Baichuan, and even ask him for a favor.

The True Immortal was stunned, never having expected to be discovered by the other from the very start — was it because this world originally belonged to the other?

The sprout Baichuan was like a question-answering robot, responding to every question Tong Yan asked.

The next moment, a voice like delightful celestial music echoed in his ears, and the entire world seemed to rejoice. Baichuan was indeed Baichuan — even a mere gesture carried unfathomable might.

In an instant, as if something had been activated, the True Immortal felt the scene before his eyes begin to blur and rapidly change. Countless color blocks interwove, pieced together, and shifted. When he focused his gaze once more, a world brimming with vibrant life appeared before his eyes.

One step... two steps... three steps...

"Surround and attack the Lingneng Clan!"

(End of chapter)