Chapter 21: Reunion After Many Years

"Brother Woodchild," the Formless True Man on the opposite warship said with a cupped-fist salute, then added with a smile, "Brother Ji Ning is here too. To meet in the vast Yushan Great Swamp is truly fate. When we return to the Yinglong Guard garrison, we must gather for a chat."

"Naturally! Brother Formless, Brother Dongxu." Ji Ning also returned the salute. "You two seem so at ease—you must have already collected enough Wanxiang demon corpses and heads."

"At ease?"

The two Wanxiang cultivators across from them exchanged glances. The white-robed Dongxu True Man gave a wry smile. "Brother Ji Ning, where do you see ease? We nearly died not long ago. We're just resting for a few days before hunting more Wanxiang demons. After all, three months is still plenty of time."

"You haven't collected enough either?" Ji Ning was surprised.

"Either?" Dongxu True Man exclaimed in astonishment. "Do you mean you two haven't either?"

Though puzzled by Ji Ning's words, Woodchild nodded in agreement. "Yes, not yet."

"Actually, we once nearly killed a Skygreen Serpent," Ji Ning said with a sigh. "But it was too slippery and got away."

"Skygreen Serpent? You encountered one too?" Dongxu True Man was startled.

Ji Ning looked at him with curiosity.

Dongxu True Man quickly added, "We encountered one too—twice, in fact. That Skygreen Serpent is indeed cunning and very slippery. Killing it is no easy task."

"Where did you encounter it?" Ji Ning asked.

"The first time was to the north, about two hundred thousand miles away." Dongxu True Man didn't hide anything. "We met it again three days ago, near the Demon Lotus Mountain area, about a hundred thousand miles to the northeast."

Ji Ning shook his head with a sigh. "It seems we are truly fated to encounter the Skygreen Serpent one after another. I wonder if it's the same one. Well, my fellow disciple and I still need to hunt Wanxiang demons, so we won't linger. We'll gather again when we return to the garrison."

"Agreed." Formless True Man and Dongxu True Man both saluted.

Soon the two warships parted ways.

...

On that warship, Formless True Man laughed. "What a coincidence—they encountered a Skygreen Serpent too."

"Earlier I worried that the Dragon Head warship might have hidden Wanxiang cultivators lying in ambush," Dongxu True Man said. "But now it seems the Black-White College disciples are indeed extraordinary—proud and unwilling to stoop to such things."

"Yes, after all, it's the Black-White College." Formless True Man nodded.

They had remained vigilant all along.

But revealing the matter of the Skygreen Serpent had no effect on them, so they didn't care.

...

Inside the Dragon Head warship.

"To the Demon Lotus Mountain area?" Woodchild looked at Ji Ning in confusion. "Brother, what are we going there for?"

"Back in my homeland, I fought a Skygreen Serpent, a Xiantian lifeform, many times. Through those battles, we developed a bond," Ji Ning said with emotion. "Later, it left Mount Yan, and I don't know where it went. Now that I hear there's a Skygreen Serpent here, I want to see if it's the one I know."

"Oh." Woodchild understood. "Skygreen Serpents are divine beasts, rare even among divine beasts. So few exist—maybe this one is the same as the one from your homeland."

"Or maybe not." Ji Ning said. "But since we have nothing pressing, let's go take a look."

"Alright." Woodchild immediately steered the Dragon Head warship northward, teasing, "Brother, come on, tell me about your past with that Skygreen Serpent."

"I'll tell you." Ji Ning began recounting some tales from that time.

...

Demon Lotus Mountain was a peak covering dozens of miles, shaped like a blooming lotus. Legend said the mountain was mysterious—no one who entered ever came out alive. At least the demons in the surrounding area dared not approach it.

The Demon Lotus Mountain area was vast, and because the natural energy was especially dense there, many demons had gathered on the peaks around it.

More demons, more energy, more treasures!

The Skygreen Serpent naturally planned to settle there.

In a wilderness within the Demon Lotus Mountain area, massive formation flags suddenly appeared at various positions, covering a hundred miles around.

"Not good!" A small green serpent hovering in midair looked around, then flicked its tail and turned into a streak of light, trying to escape.

"Skygreen Serpent! You still think you can flee?"

A voice boomed like thunder. At one of the formation flags, a giant with green skin, three zhang tall, appeared. His eyes gleamed with eerie green light, his aura overwhelming.

"Skygreen Serpent, surrender."

"Stop struggling."

"Resist, and you'll die worse."

Voices rang out one after another.

At each formation flag, figures appeared, all radiating demonic auras. There was a seductive woman in white fur, a fierce black giant, a tall, sinister man. At a glance, there were over a dozen Wanxiang demons.

The small green serpent looked around, then transformed into a green-clad girl with rosy lips and white teeth, her face full of panic. "You must be Dragon Whale King," she said quickly.

"I am." The three-zhang-tall, green-skinned giant's voice boomed like thunder.

Dragon Whale Demon was famous in the Demon Lotus Mountain area. He cultivated a divine body and possessed supernatural powers, making him incredibly powerful. Dozens of Wanxiang demons followed his lead. Even human cultivators wouldn't be foolish enough to provoke him.

"What offense have I committed against you, Great King, to warrant such a formation against me?" the green-clad girl said fearfully.

"Yesterday, you killed my sworn brother." Dragon Whale Demon's eyes blazed with even more intense green light.

The green-clad girl froze.

"Yes, that Violet Mansion Tiger-Head Demon was my sworn brother." Dragon Whale Demon's eyes were filled with murderous rage. "We've known each other since we were ordinary little demons. I never thought he'd fall to you."

"I, I..." The green-clad girl stammered in panic. "I didn't."

"No excuses." Dragon Whale Demon said coldly. "You killed my sworn brother, and I'll make you know what agony means. Everyone—capture her. I'll bind her with Soul-Lock Chains and torment her for ten or a hundred years to vent my hatred."

"Yes."

"Leave it to us, big brother."

"Rest assured."

The dozen or so Wanxiang demons began to close in.

"Kill your grandmother? Dream on!" The green-clad girl, who had been so fearful, suddenly cursed and transformed back into a small green serpent, darting away.

"Flee?" Dragon Whale Demon watched coldly.

The dozen Wanxiang demons immediately blocked her path.

"That Dragon Whale Demon is so treacherous, setting up a formation to seal the void so I can't teleport," the small green serpent cursed inwardly. "This is really dangerous. The Yushan Great Swamp truly is a perilous place, just as my senior brothers and sisters said."

Though she had taken refuge under an immortal demon master,

that master accepted almost any demon without discrimination.

She, a Skygreen Serpent, was somewhat valued, but if she died out here, no one would avenge her. Among demons, it was even more brutal and naked than among humans.

"This Skygreen Serpent is so slippery."

"Even without teleportation, she's still incredibly fast."

"Cold miasma! She's nurtured cold miasma! Everyone be careful."

As the small green serpent fled, whenever a Wanxiang demon closed in, she spat out a mouthful of cold miasma. To Wanxiang cultivators, cold miasma was almost like a divine power—a powerful auxiliary tool. Against weaker foes, it could freeze them to death.

Even against stronger enemies, the bone-chilling cold miasma could slow them down and weaken their strength.

"She can't spit cold miasma forever; she'll run out soon." Dragon Whale Demon watched from afar, seeing the situation clearly. "Just shrink the area, and she'll have nowhere to run. Then she's doomed."

"What do I do? What do I do?"

Under siege, the Skygreen Serpent relied on her cold miasma to slow the other demons and her own agility to escape again and again. But with over a dozen demons closing in, her room to maneuver kept shrinking. At this rate, she would be captured.

"Boom!"

The small green serpent's tail, like lightning, struck the claw of a huge white fox.

Both were knocked back.

The small green serpent's tail flicked in an arc as she continued to flee.

"Flee?" The huge white fox's narrow eyes were full of mockery. "You can't escape."

"Boom!" "Crash!" "Whoosh!"

The Skygreen Serpent was forced to fight the demons again and again. As a divine beast, she was formidable—one-on-one, she could hold her own. But there were over a dozen Wanxiang demons, several stronger than her, and the Dragon Whale Demon, who hadn't acted yet, was far beyond her.

"It seems I'm really going to die this time." The Skygreen Serpent suddenly realized she couldn't escape.

She glanced at the coldly watching Dragon Whale Demon and gritted her teeth. "Better to die than be captured. I'll take a few with me."

"Kill!"

The Skygreen Serpent went berserk.

...

Above the Demon Lotus Mountain area, a Dragon Head warship drifted slowly through the clouds. Ji Ning had been in the area for nearly half a month but still hadn't found the Skygreen Serpent.

"The Demon Lotus Mountain area is huge. Finding a Skygreen Serpent is too hard. Maybe it's already left," Woodchild said.

"Maybe it has."

Ji Ning nodded.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning frowned, looking down into the distance.

"Ripples." Woodchild also sensed it.

The energy fluctuations from a battle among Wanxiang demons were intense; Ji Ning could faintly feel them.

"Let's check it out." Ji Ning said.

"Alright." Woodchild steered the warship quickly toward the source. As they drew closer, the fluctuations grew stronger.

"There." Woodchild pointed below. Through the thin clouds, they could see a fierce battle raging in the wilderness, with auras surging to the sky.

Ji Ning glanced over. "They should all be Wanxiang-level demons. Let me take a look."

With a thought, Ji Ning's divine sense spread out like a flood, covering the battlefield.

...