Chapter 241: Escape from the Snake's Mouth

The moment she drilled into the throat of the Black Snake, Ye Tinglan conjured a small lotus lamp.

The warm light formed an all-around shield, wrapping both of them inside.

When facing extremely massive beasts, many people think of the tactic of drilling into the opponent's belly, but this is actually an extremely dangerous trap.

Because of such a massive size, the digestive power is on an entirely different level. With a human's volume drilling into the body of a monster that is often dozens of zhang long, one can only be instantly corroded and digested.

Many people's magic treasures are strong against direct damage, but they are not necessarily able to withstand corrosion and digestion; those are completely different damage modes. There are countless people who underestimated the power of such digestion, arrogantly drilling into the bodies of beasts, only to die in a gruesome manner.

Especially for these high-grade life forms, their digestion is no longer passive; they can actively absorb, making it even stronger by countless levels. Just as cultivators actively digest medicinal power, that efficiency is dozens of times faster than passively waiting for pills to be absorbed and digested.

They just love humans arrogantly drilling into their bellies.

Fortunately, the one drilling into the belly this time was Ye Tinglan; her combat experience and the flawless protection of her magic treasures were unmatched in the world.

All the way, only the "sizzle" of stomach acid falling on the lotus lamp shield was heard, yet not even a single pit could be corroded. The sensation inside was like a heavy rainstorm outside while a candle burned warmly inside, with a big sister holding you in a warm embrace, warm as spring no matter how the wind blew or rain fell.

But there were two problems.

First, it was inconvenient to attack outward through this shield; they would have to wait for an opportunity for now.

Second... the protective range of this light was so small; the two of them had to hug each other tightly.

At first, Ye Tinglan didn't feel anything amiss, but after drilling inward for a while, she suddenly realized: was this a bit too ambiguous...

She stole a glance at the little puppy in her arms; the little puppy was staring blankly at her profile, not knowing what he was thinking.

Ye Tinglan was very annoyed; before, saving him and holding him while rolling around was one thing, and in the urgency of saving a life, making an exception, no one felt anything. But now it was different; squeezed together and drilling inward for such a long distance, the feeling was simply unbearable.

His hands were still wrapped around her waist; she didn't know whether she should scold him to let go. It seemed there was no difference; if he didn't hold her, she would have to hold him even tighter so they wouldn't separate, and that sensation seemed even more awkward.

This mere dozens of zhang journey through the snake's belly felt more unbearable than walking dozens of li on a normal day.

Wasn't she just bringing a male disciple out for a "trial," so how did the trial turn out like this?

Lu Xingzhou's blank stare was naturally recalling many fish. In his early years, when his legs were inconvenient, memories of Yuan Muyu holding him to do this and that flashed through his mind frame by frame, overlapping with the extremely similar face before him, flashing so much that it made his heart restless and his mind chaotic.

What made Lu Xingzhou feel even more complex emotions was that those past images were becoming increasingly blurry, while Ye Tinglan's mature and intellectual big sister protection was so real, and the fresh fragrance rushing to his face was refreshing.

Ye Tinglan was Ye Tinglan, not Yuan Muyu.

No matter how she had thought about approaching him before, now her kindness toward him was so genuine.

"Mr., there is something." Lu Xingzhou suddenly spotted light ahead and spoke to remind her.

That voice was right by her ear; her ear could even feel his breath, tingling.

Ye Tinglan's earlobe unconsciously turned bright red; she forced herself not to care, gritted her teeth, and looked forward: "You don't need to say it; I can see."

The two of them quickly reached the center of the snake's belly, where they could see a huge treasure pearl lying in the snake's belly, with a soft light faintly visible.

Besides that, there were some bone fragments.

These bones, no one knew how many years they had been swallowed, yet they had not been completely digested, showing how powerful the owner of the bones had been in life. That was even much stronger than Ye Tinglan, a true "Ancient Immortal."

"This is not something this snake could swallow; it must have died in battle here and had its corpse swallowed by the snake." Ye Tinglan made her judgment: "The fact that this snake can grow protective abilities beyond what it should have is largely related to swallowing the corpses of these Ancient Immortals."

Lu Xingzhou said: "Then this is an Ancient Realm; from it, we should be able to glimpse the blessings of Ancient Immortals."

Both of their gazes fell on that treasure pearl.

Actually, for the Heavenly Yao Holy Land, such blessings were not rare, but no matter how many there were, one could never have too many. Regarding the exploration of Ancient Immortals, even a single thread of clue was good; who knows, it might link to even more.

"This pearl is the source that allows it to survive to this day; it contains extremely strong life-extending effects and is the supreme treasure most desired by cultivators whose lifespan is about to end. If it is ground into powder and extracted to refine pills, it might become the core main material of an Immortality Pill."

There was a type of pill that might not help people cultivate and increase their power, but could make people live forever without aging.

Compared to a single Nine Turn Jin Dan for ascending, this Immortality Pill, though not as awesome, was equally a supreme treasure that everyone coveted.

People dying over the struggle for such supreme treasures was too normal. Lu Xingzhou could already imagine the grudges and fierce battles that occurred here in ancient times, as well as an ordinary water snake lurking at the bottom of the lake that finally snatched a chance, ate the corpse, swallowed the treasure pearl, and grew into its current state.

Ye Tinglan took a deep breath: "Pay attention; if we take this object, the Black Snake will surely be enraged and immediately drive all its power to digest us. My lotus lamp shield might not be able to withstand it for long."

Lu Xingzhou nodded: "Understood; I am prepared."

Ye Tinglan opened the shield slightly, swept her divine sense, and pulled the treasure pearl to her front. Stomach acid corrosion rushed in through the opened gap, but Ye Tinglan opened her aura and drove it all out. At the same time, Lu Xingzhou threw out the last poisonous pill he had refined earlier and hadn't thrown into the lake, tossing it out along with the gastric fluid.

Ye Tinglan glanced at him, secretly thinking this little puppy was so reliable it made her want to pat his head.

"You... are seeking death!"

The Black Snake's roar came, and the entire snake body went into a frenzy; the actively driven gastric fluid churned wildly, constantly washing around the lotus lamp shield. The "sizzle" sound became even more intense, and the barrier was seen shaking and thinning.

Some areas already had pits.

At the same time, the entire snake body rolled violently; the two of them, hugged together inside, were tossed about chaotically, crashing everywhere, like a small boat swaying in a raging sea and wild waves.

Ye Tinglan's expression remained as calm as an ancient well; amidst the surging chaos, she held Lu Xingzhou and charged back toward the snake's mouth. Letting the snake body roll and the angry waves surge, a single flat boat never fell.

She simply refused to go out from the back... what would that become...

For a mere dozens of zhang distance, the snake body's rolling changed from frenzied to powerless; it was obvious that the poisonous pill Lu Xingzhou had thrown out had taken effect. The Black Snake actively driving gastric fluid to digest naturally also caused the poison to be digested extremely fast; the toxin instantly invaded its flesh and blood throughout its body, and the Black Snake was in agony beyond description.

The "sizzle" sound became even closer; the protection of the lotus lamp had reached its final stage.

But ahead was the tightly closed snake mouth; the Black Snake knew the two people inside were trying to escape, and it was also clear that the lotus lamp protection had reached its end. As long as it sealed the mouth and didn't let them out, the two of them would die inside.

As long as they died here, the fallen treasure pearl could still extend the Black Snake's life.

You die, I live.

Ye Tinglan's expression was grim; she calculated whether withdrawing the protection and striking with full force could blast open the snake's mouth without being corroded by snake saliva. She herself could do it, but she didn't know if she could protect Lu Xingzhou at the same time...

No matter what, at this point, she had to try.

The light of the lotus lamp suddenly vanished, replaced by brilliant sword light, piercing the darkness and cutting through the universe.

Lu Xingzhou took out the Dragon Bone.

Basic Wugui Curse Technique — Pain Doubled.

Half snake, half dragon; it also had a dragon vein, so this curse technique using the Dragon Bone as a medium was certainly effective against the Black Snake.

"Aaaah~" A earth-shattering scream of agony rang out; no matter how big a gap Ye Tinglan's sword could blast out, that snake mouth had already opened...

Ye Tinglan, holding Lu Xingzhou, made a sudden leap and had successfully escaped.

Snake saliva covered the two of their bodies; Ye Tinglan opened her magic power protection to block it once, and Lu Xingzhou took out his wheelchair, opened a shield, and also blocked it once. Neither was professionally suited, and both were quickly eroded and corroded, but they had basically blocked most of the snake saliva.

Only a tiny mist fell upon them, dissolving their clothes into tatters, leaving much of their bodies exposed.

"Bang!" Lu Xingzhou, riding his wheelchair, landed on the ground, instead holding Ye Tinglan in his arms; the momentum forced the wheelchair to roll backward continuously.

Not far away, the Dark Serpent rolled in agony on the ground, pressing the earth as if plowed, leaving deep pits everywhere.

Before long, it was dying: "Humans... so vicious..."

"Oh, damn." Lu Xingzhou laughed in anger: "You wanted to digest the two of us, that's not vicious? I just threw a pill at you to eat, and now it's vicious? Who knew a snake so poisonous would fear poison itself; I thought I was giving you a sugar pill."

Ye Tinglan listened with a strange expression as he cursed back and forth with a snake; the wheelchair's backward roll stopped, and the Dark Serpent's rolling ceased as well.

The Dark Serpent, having lived who knows how long, died from the mere poison pill after losing its treasure pearl, already lifeless.

The air fell silent for a moment.

Ye Tinglan paused in silence, then slowly spoke: "When will you let go of your hand?"

Lu Xingzhou's arm had been wrapped around her waist without releasing; she sat on his lap, pressed against his chest, and both their clothes were nearly corroded away.

In this dark secret realm, their snow-white skin shone like moonlight.

Lu Xingzhou noticed, and the boat-wood instinctively stood erect.

Ye Tinglan noticed too; a hand seal had already condensed in her palm. She sneered: "Tell me, if I silence you, would it be as if nothing happened at all?"

(End of this chapter)