Chapter 6: Essence of sun and moon, big snake in the mountain

The night was hazy, the mountain was pitch black, and there was only the sound of wind blowing through the forest, with occasional insect chirps and bird calls.

Under the faint moonlight, the black-clad girl stood in the distance, looking over.

"Is... is it a person?"

Zhang Fan gathered his courage and asked tremblingly.

"You are lost."

After a moment of silence, an ethereal and melodious voice rang out in the night.

"Follow me."

As she spoke, the black-clad girl turned and walked away.

Zhang Fan looked at the surrounding environment, gritted his teeth, and finally overcame his hesitation and followed.

"Beau... beauty... are you a Daoist nun of Zhenwu Mountain?" Zhang Fan followed behind, deliberately keeping a distance, and asked tentatively.

"Daoist nun is a derogatory term, just like people who don't know magic are called Muggles." The black-clad girl said without looking back.

"Daoist priests also watch Harry Potter?" Zhang Fan muttered in his heart.

However, he had heard Li Yi say that regardless of gender, they could be called Daoist priests, or men could be called Qian Dao, and women could be called Kun Dao.

"May I ask the Daoist name of the immortal..."

"No Daoist name." The black-clad girl's tone remained calm.

"Then how should I address you?" Zhang Fan was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but ask.

Another short silence, and the ethereal and melodious voice rang out in the dark night again.

"Jiang Lai!"

"Jiang Lai... good name, my name is Zhang Fan, I came to..."

Zhang Fan had just reported his name when the black-clad girl suddenly stopped. The mountain road was steep, and Zhang Fan couldn't brake in time, bumping into her. The warm feeling was transmitted through his body.

"Alive..."

At this very moment, the heart that Zhang Fan had been hanging finally relaxed slightly. At the same time, a faint fragrance came from Jiang Lai's body, different from the smell of perfume, but more like the incense of a Daoist temple, which smelled extremely comfortable and made people feel at peace.

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Fan opened his mouth to ask, covering up his wandering thoughts.

Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...

As soon as the words fell, a gust of wild wind suddenly rose, blowing the ancient trees on both sides of the mountain road to bend, flying sand and moving stones, clouds floating, as if a heavy rain was about to come.

"Why did the weather change suddenly?" Zhang Fan muttered.

Just at this moment, Jiang Lai pulled him behind a large blue stone, her ethereal eyes staring straight ahead.

"Hmm!?"

Zhang Fan's heart moved slightly, and he looked over as well. He saw not far away, a desolate and abandoned small earth temple suddenly split open, and a huge pitch-black figure actually rushed out from inside.

"This... this..."

Zhang Fan's eyes widened, simply unable to believe it.

It was a huge black python. Just the head it poked out was the size of an eight-immortal table. The faint moonlight spilled onto the pitch-black scales, shining with a terrifying oily light.

"What breed is this? Can it be raised so big?" Zhang Fan only felt a bit dazed.

The black snake drilled out of the abandoned earth temple, its huge body coiled into a ball. Looking from afar, it was pitch black, like a small hill, and the wind around it became even stronger...

At this moment, it raised its head, facing the moon in the sky, spitting out its tongue, and the temperature of the surrounding air dropped rapidly.

"That... what is that?" Zhang Fan couldn't help but lean closer to Jiang Lai and ask carefully.

"Worshiping the moon... it already has five hundred years of cultivation." Jiang Lai said lightly.

"Five hundred years? This snake has lived for five hundred years?"

Zhang Fan was stunned, only feeling it was incredible.

"The lifespan of animals is calculated by the fullness and waning of the moon as one year..." Jiang Lai's tone was calm, and she said casually.

One fullness and waning of the moon is one month, equivalent to one year for animals. This is why many animals worship the moon, such as foxes, weasels, snakes, cats, and toads.

Calculated this way, a dog can reproduce in 1 to 1.5 years after birth. Calculated by animal time, a 1 to 1.5-year-old dog is equivalent to 12 to 18 years old for humans. So a snake with five hundred years of cultivation is equivalent to about 50 years old for humans.

The lifespan of general snake species is only 10 to 15 years.

"I said how come they always have a thousand years of cultivation... so that's it... so to speak..."

"Is this a demon?"

As soon as the words fell, the black snake's abdomen suddenly expanded, its throat wriggled, making a sound like muffled thunder, and the wind around it became even more violent.

Just at this moment, Zhang Fan saw wisps of silvery-white mist floating from the sky and around the moon, like flowing light gathering, being swallowed and absorbed by the black snake.

Almost at the same moment, the scales all over the black snake's body rose and fell rhythmically, and a fishy smell was secreted from its body.

"Essence of sun and moon!?"

Zhang Fan's heart surged. He had always heard that animals in the mountains practiced by gathering the essence of the sun and moon. Who could have thought that he would see it for real today.

Roar...

Suddenly, the black snake let out a roar, actually somewhat similar to the sound of a cow. It spat out its tongue and turned its head abruptly, staring at the large blue stone not far away.

"It found us."

Zhang Fan's heart skipped a beat. Before he could react, the snake, as big as a small hill, moved. Its huge body crushed a piece of mountain forest, pressing over like a shadow.

Just at this moment, Jiang Lai stood up slowly and actually blocked in front of Zhang Fan.

"You... what are you doing? Run... run." Zhang Fan was stunned.

Boom—

Almost at the same moment, the black snake rushed over. Jiang Lai reached out a hand, her slender arm seeming to contain infinite power, actually blocking the violent monster's impact. The terrifying aftermath spread along their feet, shaking out cracks.

"Is this still a person?"

A thought suddenly arose. Jiang Lai drew a light stroke with her hand, and the black snake flew out like a kite with a broken string. Its huge body actually caused the mountain road to collapse and shatter.

The huge impact caused it to spit out a mouthful of old blood. Immediately after, a ball of milky white airflow flew out from its body.

"Moonlight essence!?"

Zhang Fan's heart moved slightly, and the moonlight essence flew straight toward him. Before he could react, it merged directly into his body.

Instantly, a cool feeling spread throughout his body.

Roar...

Seeing this, the black snake let out an angry roar. Its two green eyes were as scary as lanterns in the dark night. It curled its body, stirred up a wild wind, and rushed toward Zhang Fan.

"Go back!"

Suddenly, Jiang Lai flashed and blocked in front of Zhang Fan. She blocked the snake's impact with one hand and pushed Zhang Fan away with the other. The latter immediately lost his center of gravity and flew backward.

"Jiang Lai..."

Zhang Fan let out a cry and opened his eyes abruptly.

"You can really sleep... stillness meditation actually has a sleep-aiding effect."

Li Yi's voice came from the side.

Zhang Fan was a bit dazed. He was still in the hotel room, his clothes already soaked with sweat. He turned his head to look. Li Yi was lying on the bed playing with his phone. Outside the window, the sky was already bright.

"I fell asleep?" Zhang Fan asked subconsciously.

"Slept like a dead pig, couldn't wake you up. I originally wanted to pull you for a night tour of Zhenwu Mountain." Li Yi glanced at him.

"Who is Jiang Lai? You kept calling this name while dreaming."

"So it was just a dream... looks like I was under too much pressure."

Zhang Fan let out a long sigh, rubbed his swollen temples, and looked out the window, only feeling that today's sunlight was exceptionally bright.

"Now broadcasting a notice..."

Just at this moment, the broadcast in the scenic area suddenly sounded.

"Due to the strong wind last night, the mountain road collapsed. Currently, emergency repairs and risk elimination are underway. The Nanxuan Palace section is temporarily closed. Please detour, no passage."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 7 =====