Chapter 102: Wang Shen

Xu Yuan had rushed halfway when suddenly he saw the flame surge up from the ground—he muttered, “Here it comes!”

Xu Yuan shifted direction; the fire wheel roared as flames surged, rolling straight toward the still-invisible Snake Pole.

The Snake Pole flickered into view, then instantly reared its upper body high—its head rose two zhang above the ground.

Xu Yuan charged into it, calm and composed, thrusting his spear forward with a sharp *ding* that struck the Snake Pole’s body, while his foot twisted sideways, turning the fire wheel to circle behind it.

But the Snake Pole’s tail whipped around, tapped the carriage, and pried open the door!

The first Snake Pole shot out with a *whoosh*, twisted swiftly, and coiled itself tightly around the carriage!

Xu Yuan froze, turned back—and saw the first Snake Pole raising its head, revealing a sly smile.

The second Snake Pole before him showed the exact same grin, its body suddenly shifting, making Xu Yuan’s spear slip away.

The second Snake Pole twisted again, and the several yin soldiers circling Xu Yuan were all entangled by it.

The Snake Pole tightened—each yin soldier screamed and shattered into nothingness!

Immediately, another “flame” drifted in from afar, then a fourth, a fifth… Soon, Xu Yuan saw nine such flames surrounding him.

Only the first two Snake Poles were visible; the rest remained hidden.

Xu Yuan spat out his sword pellet, which flew out and struck the second Snake Pole with a *ding*—then bounced back.

Indeed, its body was as hard as iron; his current sword pellet couldn’t pierce it.

Nine Snake Poles circled Xu Yuan constantly; his expression grew grim—he suddenly understood: They guessed I’m a Fate Cultivator? They know I have the “See Fate” technique.

Demons are truly cunning.

But a demon should have only one “fate”—why nine flames?

The nine Snake Poles suddenly all appeared at once, speaking in unison: “You’ve fallen for our trap!”

One shot upward, coiling around the spear.

Two plunged downward, each wrapping around a wheel.

The rest swayed their bodies, aiming to entangle Xu Yuan’s soul.

Snake Poles don’t entangle people—they entangle souls—but they can also bind artifacts.

No matter how many tricks you have, I’ll bind one for each.

Xu Yuan was instantly trapped in despair.

Qin Ze hovered dozens of zhang in the air, finally laughing freely: “What other tricks do you have? Where’s that hunger-inducing fate you used? Don’t hold back—or you won’t get another chance. You know full well it won’t work anyway, don’t you? Hahaha.”

His wounds were severe; though the ten-zhang human skin on the ground couldn’t reach him, it kept hurling massive boulders.

The thing possessed immense strength—each boulder was launched like a catapult.

If Qin Ze so much as blinked, he’d be crushed on the spot; his frustration burned deep.

Now seeing Xu Yuan cornered, victory within grasp, he finally felt vindicated.

The Locust Witch hissed coldly at Bai Lao: “You’ve lost—I told you I’d wipe out your village, and I will!”

I won’t kill you yet—I’ll keep your dog life alive so you can watch my children and grandchildren devour every last person in Wangxiang Village, one bite at a time!”

Lu Zhengyan roared, swinging his great saber nine times in succession—each strike fiercer, more brutal than the last—until the final blow cleaved Ceng Si clean in two.

Without pausing to catch his breath, Lu Zhengyan dragged his saber and sprinted toward Xu Yuan: “Young Master Xu, I come to aid you!”

One Snake Pole twisted its body, turning its head backward—ready to coil around Lu Zhengyan.

Its mouth dripped venom, its eyes gleaming with hunger: “A seventh-rank Wu Xiu’s soul—excellent nourishment. Let me devour him…”

But Xu Yuan’s sword pellet suddenly curved, shooting straight for the Snake Pole’s eye—forcing it to stagger backward.

The Snake Poles erupted in fury, all lunging at once: “Then we’ll eat you first!”

Their bodies were as hard as iron—even Lu Zhengyan’s slash couldn’t kill them outright.

Xu Yuan shouted to Lu Zhengyan: “Senior, don’t come closer.”

Xu Yuan pulled out a new object and spoke to the Snake Poles: “You’ve fallen for my trap.”

He dropped the object onto the ground.

The Snake Poles tilted their heads—it looked like… human internal organs?

No!

More like an external elixir!

How could there be such a grotesquely shaped external elixir?

Snake Poles never cared how many tricks you had—they’d bind one for each.

One Snake Pole shot upward—but the moment it touched the earth, a strange power surged outward like a tidal wave, spreading rapidly in all directions.

Then the ground roared—and suddenly rose up!

The earth turned into seawater; the nine Snake Poles were instantly submerged without warning!

The Snake Poles weren’t alarmed—they had earth-dodging abilities of their own; the second one had arrived precisely this way.

They still swam swiftly through the earth toward Xu Yuan.

Then suddenly—they couldn’t move!

The earth had turned into a massive, solid rock.

The nine Snake Poles were sealed inside.

The Snake Poles weren’t worried—wasn’t this just being crushed by stone? Smash the rock, and they’d be free.

But when they strained, they realized it wasn’t as simple as they thought.

The rocks were impossibly heavy—as if the entire earth pressed down upon them!

The weight grew heavier.

Their iron-hard bodies couldn’t withstand it—they slowly flattened, their bodies cracking and shattering…

The stealthy demon had never imagined it would die this way!

And what puzzled the Snake Poles even more: How could such an “external elixir” exist? What kind of bizarre thing was this?!

Xu Yuan had intended from the start to lure out all nine Snake Poles.

And he needed them around him.

Because Wang Shen’s spleen elixir had a thirty-zhang range—if they were too far, they’d escape, grow wary, and the next time he used this trick, it wouldn’t hold them.

The spleen’s great power was better suited for defense—it was Wang Shen’s gift to Xu Yuan for survival.

At the instant the nine Snake Poles died, Xu Yuan finally understood why they had nine “fates.”

These nine bodies weren’t cultivated by the Snake Pole itself.

It spotted a fellow demon, coiled around it, devoured its soul, then usurped its body and transformed it into one of its own.

Like soul possession.

So the “fate” was actually the fate of that stolen body.

And Snake Poles were born with the ability to split their mind nine ways.

But even all nine Snake Poles together had never seen a Dan Xiu like Wang Shen.

Wang Shen had forged her entire body into countless external elixirs—her current form was stitched together from them, which is why she sometimes fell apart into scattered parts.

She did this to extend her life a few more years.

Wang Shen had no children; she had always treated Lin Wan as her own daughter, wanting to stay longer to help Little Mo.

Another fifth chapter!

I haven’t been this diligent in years…

I’m asking you all for subscriptions and a few monthly votes.

My new book’s monthly vote rank is around twenty—let me climb a little higher, okay?

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(End of Chapter)