Chapter 32 Part 1

Xie Linlang coldly watched the Nine Spirits Sect Master, who had fallen into madness.

At some point, the massive body of the Black Snake had released Xie Linlang and was thrashing painfully on the ground, madly slamming into the surrounding walls.

From the first glance at the Nine Spirits Sect Master, Xie Linlang had judged his condition.

Just like when he himself had failed his tribulation transcendence and become a wisp of remnant soul in Shen He’s Portable Jade Pendant, the Nine Spirits Sect Master’s state was even worse than his had been back then.

The Nine Spirits Sect Master should have had his body destroyed and his divine soul torn apart. Even the Nine Spirits Totem that he had refined as an incarnation outside his body had been thoroughly crushed. He could only hide a trace of his remnant soul in the Demon Spirit Totem and burrow into an unhatched snake egg.

That was how he had escaped the pursuit of the Silent Night Demon Lord and barely survived.

As far as Xie Linlang knew, in normal cultivation sects, the strongest person was not necessarily the sect master. Cultivators at Soul Transformation, Tribulation Transcendence, Great Ascension, etc. mostly entered closed-door death seclusions and rarely appeared.

But the Nine Spirits Sect was different from other sects. Their sect master was the strongest, and also the cultivator with the most totems.

For that Silent Night Demon Lord to so barbarically kill the Nine Spirits Sect Master and destroy the Demon Spirit Totem on his body, one could only say it was well-deserved as the number one on the immortal sects’ Leaderboard.

Yet even if the Nine Spirits Sect Master was left with only a wisp of remnant soul hidden in the Black Snake, Xie Linlang could not kill him with his own strength.

This Black Snake had devoured who knew how many unborn spirit beasts and found who knew how many leftover stored pills and materials in the Nine Spirits Sect Ruins. The accumulated spiritual power nearly overflowed.

Xie Linlang was only at Qi Refining Layer 8 now. In a head-on clash, he was no match for the Black Snake at all.

“But you just had to fuse with this Black Snake…”

Normal demon beasts almost never encountered the Heavenly Demon Tribulation before Nascent Soul.

Because demon beasts at Golden Core Stage had only just awakened their intelligence, pure and innocent like infants. All their prior killing and snatching had merely followed instinct and were not within the scope of heavenly law’s reckoning.

If it were just a Late Foundation Establishment snake demon whose strength had reached the Golden Core level, Xie Linlang would have been helpless against it.

But—and this was a big but—the Nine Spirits Sect Master’s remnant soul had fused with the Black Snake, even activating its second head and mutating it into a double-headed snake demon.

The Black Snake was unaffected by the Heavenly Demon Tribulation, but the Nine Spirits Sect Master was certain to be deeply trapped in it, tempted by the Heavenly Demon, and ultimately turned into a strand of pure demonic power for the Heavenly Demon.

“You brought this upon yourself.”

Xie Linlang continuously dodged the rampaging Black Snake body while preparing to check on Le Qingping’s situation.

His strength was too low; he needed Le Qingping’s help to send the Black Snake on its way while the Nine Spirits Sect Master endured the Heavenly Demon Tribulation.

However, when Xie Linlang arrived in front of Le Qingping, he couldn’t help but fall silent.

The woman in the pink dress had collapsed elegantly to the ground in a very refined and graceful pose, her little face deathly pale and her brows slightly furrowed, looking exceptionally pitiable.

In front of Le Qingping, a jade pendant formed a two-meter-square light shield that firmly enveloped her.

From Xie Linlang’s observation, this jade pendant and light shield should have been a Protective Artifact specially refined by a Tribulation Transcendence Realm powerhouse for low-rank cultivators.

In other words, unless a Tribulation Transcendence Realm expert struck with full force, this light shield could not be broken.

But the most ingenious part was that Le Qingping still held a small note in her hand.

The note read: Senior, for the sake of me fainting so promptly and hearing nothing, please wake me up after you’ve settled your grievances! Just pinch the magic formula in the order below to dispel my protection! Please take me with you when you leave! I’m very sensible!

Even with his heart full of anger and hatred, Xie Linlang couldn’t help but chuckle at Le Qingping’s slippery antics.

“…Truly cunning.”

Xie Linlang was about to wake Le Qingping and have her get up to help when a fierce wind assaulted him from behind.

He immediately leaped forward, jumping over the spot where Le Qingping lay “dead,” letting that massive black body smash heavily toward her.

This was a protective shield set by a Tribulation Transcendence Realm expert; he might as well use it as a shield for now, Xie Linlang thought.

As expected, after the massive snake body smashed down, the golden light shield showed no reaction… Wait, no?

A hazy shadow emerged from the surface of the jade pendant, then elongated into the form of an enormous pair of scissors.

With a snip, the Black Snake’s body was directly severed!

Xie Linlang’s eyes widened.

The Black Snake emitted ear-piercing roars and bellows of rage, painfully spewing venom.

Xie Linlang continued hiding behind Le Qingping’s shield, watching as the Black Snake thrashed its body wildly, only to be repeatedly snip-snip severed by the giant scissors. In its agony, the Black Snake opened its bloody maw to bite Le Qingping to death, but then its head was clipped in two by the scissors.

In the end, this enormous double-headed snake demon, at the peak of Late Foundation Establishment and just short of tribulation transcendence into Golden Core Stage, was clipped into many snake segments, piling up into a mountain of snake flesh.

After finishing with the snake meat, the giant scissors circled around Le Qingping with an air of disdain, as if challenging anyone else.

Only after confirming no small fries dared to provoke it did it reluctantly dissipate.

Xie Linlang: “…”

No wonder this girl dared to come down here with him; she had a powerful backer.

Xie Linlang circumvented the Black Snake, whose death had been extraordinarily bizarre, and slowly walked to the smaller snake head at the seven-inch vital spot.

The Nine Spirits Sect Master’s consciousness was still enduring the Heavenly Demon Tribulation; he had no idea that the Black Snake he had nurtured for many years, which had allowed him to cling to life, had already been snip-snip taken care of by some senior from Le Qingping’s sect.

At that moment, the Ditang Flower on Xie Linlang’s shoulder suddenly rotated gently and floated above the bisected black snake head skull.

Xie Linlang was stunned. The Soul Lamp was a protective treasure from an ancient demon god; could it be…

The yellow Ditang Flower spun out golden petal shadows that slowly fell above the black snake skull. Faintly, a wisp of soul energy could be seen entering the Soul Lamp.

That should have been a trace of divine soul power left in the Black Snake.

The Black Snake had not yet stepped into Golden Core Stage, so even in death, it couldn’t form a remnant soul to become a portable golden finger.