Chapter 200

The Giant Snake Cave had nine public outward passages, while the secret passages controlled by various big and small forces numbered twenty-three, making a total of thirty-two passages that could be called main thoroughfares; in each passage a huge black snake had burrowed out.

The size of these black snakes could only be described as "terrifying".

Some main passages exceeded a kilometer in diameter; a single head of these black snakes almost took up one-tenth of that diameter, a hundred-meter-sized snake head swaying slightly, with a forked tongue hundreds of meters long flickering in and out, emitting a tremendous "hiss".

These black snakes burrowed into the Giant Snake Cave, slowly raising their upper bodies; their huge, ferocious serpentine forms rose along the cave's rock walls—one hundred meters, five kilometers, one kilometer…

The vault of the Giant Snake Cave reaches twenty thousand meters in height; these black snakes' bodies, when upright, stand two to three kilometers tall, they flick their forked tongues, slightly lowering their heads, their grim green eyes fixed unblinkingly on the countless stunned beings below.

The murderous aura of a top predator at the pinnacle of the food chain spread outward, and the vast Giant Snake Cave fell into utter silence.

Wu Tie and Taotie Nie's battle came to a halt.

The battle between Tie Dajian and his followers and the Taotie clan's army came to a halt.

The Blood Curved Blade's frenzied counterattack against the Golden Dead Spirit likewise ceased.

The various big and small forces that had gathered troops and were rushing to the base of the Blood Curved Blade and the Golden Dead Spirit also all came to a stop.

Wave after wave of powerful soul fluctuations, like ripples on a pond in a rainstorm, rapidly spread outward.

The leaders of the twenty-odd big and small forces in the Giant Snake Cave repeatedly sent messages, swiftly exchanging their views on this bizarre scene before them.

What on earth are these huge black snakes?

Where do they come from?

Moreover, what connection do the names Black Serpent Domain and Giant Snake Cave have with these giant snakes?

The soul fluctuations of several elders—though not strong, they had barely broken through to the Life Pool Realm, were cautious, fortunate enough to have lived long—suddenly became extremely intense.

They howled madly: "It's the giant snakes… it's the giant snakes… they've returned… returned…"

"But that's not right, not right… over a thousand years ago, the last giant snake was also slain—its bones crushed and ashes scattered, leaving no trace."

"How could it be him? How could that be?"

"Legend says the last giant snake actually had an offspring…"

The soul fluctuations of those few elders suddenly solidified; after a while, a faint ripple of soul spread outward: "It's the revenge of the giant snake clan… so many… giant snakes…"

Upon the head of each giant snake emerged several men dressed in splendid attire, with golden hair and blue eyes.

They wore fine armor, held weapons that flashed with dazzling light, looked down upon the myriad beings below with a sneering smile, just as a lofty king gazes upon a ragged band of beggars.

"Vermin, lay down your arms and surrender… the merciful Prince of the Giant Snake will treat you kindly…"

A burly man with a full beard and a leonine face embraced a long-handled great axe, laughing loudly.

This man was clearly also a master of the Life Pool Realm, and among Life Pool cultivators he was an absolute expert—his foundation was extraordinarily solid, his magical power immensely profound; having employed some wondrous sound-transmission secret art, his voice rang like heavenly thunder from the ninth heaven, echoing throughout the Giant Snake Cave.

The Giant Snake Cave stretches twelve hundred li in length and six hundred li in width, and throughout its interior the man's roar reverberated.

The sound waves bounced back and forth off the rock walls, making the entire stone cavern hum with a 'buzz'.

Prostrate on the ground with five limbs touching the earth, Taotie Nie, whose back was being stepped on by Wu Tie and who could not rise, had his eyes flash with strange light as he stared fixedly at the giant snakes, drool trickling from the corner of his mouth: "What a wonderful thing, what a treasure… if I eat them… I will surely eat them…"

The Taotie clan's bloodline enables them to devour all things, especially creatures possessing extraordinary bloodlines, which can directly increase their cultivation, strengthen their bodily strength, and grant them demonic godlike might.

To Taotie Nie, these black snakes are nothing less than supreme elixirs, supreme precious medicines.

The gluttonous devouring desire in Taotie Nie's bloodline blazed like wildfire, turning his eyeballs blood-red and making his whole skin flush with a blood-like red.

For a moment he even overlooked his own predicament, forgetting that he was being stepped on by Wu Tie.

Wa Wa stood there dazedly; she too was shocked by the enormous bodies of the black snakes, and even more so by the content of the lion-like burly man's words.

"Prince of the Giant Snake?"

"Is this a scene from 'Prince's Revenge Chronicle'?"

"Has the former Giant Snake Cave, even the supreme ruler of the Black Serpent Domain, the last bloodline, returned?"

Wa Wa glanced at Taotie Nie, then at the huge black snakes, and a strange thought suddenly welled up in her mind—compared to the Prince of the Giant Snake, who is weaker and who stronger between him and Taotie Nie?

Not knowing what Wa Wa had thought, her face suddenly turned pink and her body trembled slightly.

Even Wa Wa, whose gaze was like water, actually 'forgot' to remind Taotie Nie to seize the chance to break free from Wu Tie's suppression… at the very least they could summon the Heavenly Divine Implement, which would greatly enhance Taotie Nie's strength.

Wu Tie was also startled by the enormous size of those black snakes.

But he certainly hadn't forgotten the Taotie Nie under his foot; his body remained still, he lightly raised the White Tiger Split with both hands, then thrust the spear fiercely into Taotie Nie's back.

Taotie Nie, lying prone with drool continually dripping from his mouth, suddenly had his pupils shrink to pinpoints.

As extreme danger approached, Taotie Nie let out a low growl; he flipped his right hand, and a pitch-black bone shield—about eight feet long, three feet wide, and half a foot thick—suddenly appeared in his grasp, which he placed behind him backhanded.

The White Tiger Split struck the bone shield.

With a clear 'ding' and sparks flying, the spear tip penetrated the bone shield three cun deep; Wu Tie had already channeled strength into both arms, forcibly pulling the White Tiger Split back.

This was another divine weapon shield forged from Taotie bone.

Wu Tie's bones all over his body tingled intensely, grew hot, and trembled.

The amount of Taotie bone used in this shield far exceeded that of the long spear and nine magic knives by a great deal.

Wu Tie's bones were calling for this bone shield, and Wu Tie, as always, maintained his respect for 'fine food'.

He gripped the White Tiger Split in one hand and slammed his left fist hard onto the shield with a crisp 'pa'; the shield shattered into countless dust motes scattering away, while a stream of light as thick as dozens of water jars roared forth, continuously pouring into his left hand.

The heavy punch shattered the shield and also slammed into Taotie Nie's spine.

With a tremendous boom, Taotie Nie was nearly flattened by Wu Tie's fist. His frame was fairly sturdy, his vertebrae emitting a chaotic series of 'cracks'; despite this, he endured the heavy blow, suffering only minor bruises and not having any bones broken by Wu Tie's punch.

Taotie Nie let out a fierce roar, finally grasping his situation; he jerked his head upward to look at the vault above.

A beam of icy azure light about three meters in diameter descended from the heavens.

Wu Tie instinctively sensed the immense danger looming overhead.

He exerted all his strength, stamping heavily with one foot onto Taotie Nie's head, then pushed off backward with a violent rebound, the White Tiger Split dragging heavily across Taotie Nie's back in its wake.

The razor-sharp White Tiger Split tore open Taotie Nie's back, cleaving one of his vertebral bones into two pieces, and even splitting the bones of his skull with ease.

Before the blood could even spurt, the azure cold light enveloped Taotie Nie's body.

Taotie Nie's wounds healed at breakneck speed, vanishing without a trace in an instant; immense power surged within him, his whole body igniting with bone-chilling icy flames, he slowly levitated aloft, his light-blue armor and garments shattering, replaced by a heavy set of armor pieced together from exquisite profound ice shards that clung to his form.

"Wu Tie... you deserve to die." Taotie Owl looked at Wu Tie with a blank expression, his tone ice-cold as he lowly growled.

Just then, the White Tiger Split, following momentum from behind, dragged him over; when the sharp spear blade cut through his spine and skull, Taotie Owl truly felt the shadow of death.

At that moment, he almost pissed himself.

Fortunately, his body was extremely solid, his physiological functions extremely powerful, and his pride let him barely control his muscles, so he didn't actually urinate.

Taotie Owl had never hated anyone this much in his life.

"I'll slice you piece by piece and slowly eat you bit by bit." Taotie Owl looked at Wu Tie, who had returned to Sun Zuo's side, and said word by word: "I won't crudely gulp you down raw; I'll chew you slowly and swallow you gently, letting you personally feel the terror of being eaten by me..."

"Eating people..." Wu Tie looked at Taotie Owl, whose aura had become extraordinarily terrifying, with a strange gaze, and he drawled: "This habit is bad... you need to change it... if you can't, I'll help you!"

Taotie Owl snorted coldly, about to speak, when a voice imbued with immense pressure echoed throughout the Great Snake Cave.

"Lowly ones, former rations of the Great Snake Clan... your master, your sovereign, your final burial place, the great Great Snake Clan... has returned."

A young man wearing splendid armor, handsome and tall, dignified and stalwart, stood atop a great black snake, surrounded by dozens of similarly heavy-armored, blond‑blue‑eyed elite warriors.

The young man roared loudly: "I am Da She Yi (yi), your master, your sovereign... of course, when you are clean enough, I don't mind becoming your final burial place..."

Da She Yi's face writhed and blurred, instantly turning into the likeness of a ferocious black snake, then quickly returning to that of a handsome, vigorous young man.

He took a deep breath, and with arrogance unmatched, he shouted: "We were once betrayed, we were once driven away, but we have ultimately returned... today is a day worth celebrating... so I decide, following the custom of the Great Snake Clan, to hold a joyous blood sacrifice."

Da She Yi waved his right hand, and a strangely shaped whip, its entire surface covered with sharp triangular spikes, cracked with a "pa!" as he flicked a whip crack.

"Today, only half of those inside the Great Snake Cave can survive."

Da She Yi shrugged his shoulders and said lightly: "Give you a day and a night to slaughter to your heart's content, to indulge; in short, after a day and a night, only half of those inside the Great Snake Cave will remain alive..."

"If more than half survive, I will be angry, for you disrespect the Great Snake Clan... so I will personally strike, reducing the living inside the Great Snake Cave to one‑tenth of their original number."

"I know how strong your breeding ability is, you lowly folk... one‑tenth of the population is enough." Da She Yi smiled especially brightly: "Besides, aside from the Great Snake Cave, the Black Snake Domain has so many stone caverns and so many people, as food... it's enough."

Thirty‑two huge black snakes simultaneously flicked out their tongues.

Their bodies suddenly plunged downward; the scarlet, long tongues swept close to the ground, sweeping up large swaths of people, who were rolled up by the viscous tongues and gulped down in one bite.

The black snakes' necks swelled, and faintly one could see great heaps of writhing human shapes slowly sinking down.

"Monster, go die..." Near the black snake on which Da She Yi stood, a Chonglou Realm snakeman screamed shrilly, leapt up, gripped a long, slender curved blade in both hands, and slashed a flash of cold light at the snake's neck.

"Ding!"

A spark flashed across the black snake's scale armor, which was as thick as a grain of rice; the thin curved blade snapped at the waist, leaving not a trace on the armor.

Da She Yi laughed loudly, and he lashed out fiercely with his whip.

With a crisp crack, the snakeman was whipped by Da She Yi into two pieces; his body flew into the air before he could land, and the black snake's tongue deftly coiled and sucked him into its mouth.

Da She Yi laughed loudly: "You still don't understand the power my Great Snake Clan now possesses! You lot, a rabble of the lowly."

Beside the black snake beneath Da She Yi's feet, ranks upon ranks of elite warriors clad in fine heavy armor, wielding various weapons flashing with strange light, their aura refined and deadly, marched in neat, heavy steps like a tide pouring in.

Twenty thousand elite warriors swiftly surged into the Great Snake Cave, forming a line before the black snake beneath Da She Yi's feet, stretching a width of over ten li.

"Whooo~ whooo~ whooo~!"

These sturdy, strong‑aura warriors raised their weapons and shouted in unison.

Nearly a hundred leaders, their armor especially exquisite and ornate, draped in scarlet red cloaks trimmed with gold, each cloak's center embroidered with a pattern of a lush bodhi tree, stepped out from the ranks together.

These commanders, young and old, each bore a dignified bearing, their every gesture exuding exceptional composure and calm.

They stood in a row before the great army, then unreservedly released the powerful energy fluctuations unique to the Life Pool Realm.

Not only are they Life Pool Realm cultivators, but even the casual aura of any one of them surpasses that of the leaders of the major and minor forces inside the Great Snake Cave, being stronger and more massive.

For example, Old Dao Feng—his aura is far inferior to the weakest among these commanders.

"Come on, come on, let the slaughter begin!" Da She Yi yelled excitedly: "Begin the slaughter... begin the Great Snake blood sacrifice... could it be that you want me to act personally?"