Martial Peak

Chapter 1761, Tail Crown Snake

Luo Lan acted carefully and swiftly, not daring to remain close while unaware of what dangers were lurking about.

While Luo Lan wrapped the Origin King Realm master’s body in her Saint Qi and retreated back, Ni Guang reached out to pick the cockscomb-like spirit flower.

However, the moment his hand touched the flower, a sudden change occurred.

From behind Ni Guang, the originally flat ground bulged up and a flat, triangular snake head shot out like lightning towards the back of his neck.

The entire process was dizzyingly fast and came with no prior warning signs. When the snake head drilled out from the ground and struck Ni Guang, Yue Xue’s beautiful face paled and she called out in alarm, “Uncle Ni, be careful.”

But before she could even finish her words, the snake head had bitten Ni Guang’s neck.

Xue Yue’s expression changed dramatically!

Seeing this scene, how could she not understand how the previous Origin King had died here? Obviously, like Ni Guang, the moment his attention was attracted to the cockscomb-like spirit flower, this snake-type Monster Beast had seized the opportunity to launch a fatal attack.

She was worried about if Ni Guang was safe; after all, he too had been focusing on the spirit flower at this moment.

However, Ni Guang was Ni Guang after all. Without even mentioning his powerful cultivation, just knowing that this place held hidden danger, how could he not be prepared? When he was preparing to pluck the spirit flower, he had maintained a high level of vigilance against accidents, especially paying attention to protecting the back of his neck, so this sneak attack was doomed to fail.

*Ding...*

A clinking sound rang out as a spark of light appeared on Ni Guang’s neck. Receiving this blow, Ni Guang’s whole body seemed to be hit by a strong force and he was knocked forward.

Releasing a low yell, while mid-air, Ni Guang forcibly twisted his body, waved his hand, and sent out a palm behind himself while using his other hand to grab the spirit flower.

The backhand blow of a Second-Order Origin King was not to be underestimated and a fierce strength slammed into the head of the snake that struck him in the next instant, rendering it unable to attack again.

However, when Ni Guang finally managed to grab hold of the spirit flower, his expression suddenly changed, “This is...”

He felt a different tactile sensation from this spirit flower, one that did not resemble that of a plant but rather something cold and slippery, just like a living creature.

Realizing this, he decisively let go!

At that moment, the spirit flower, which had been giving off a pleasant fragrance all along, suddenly flickered and released a green light that pierced towards Ni Guang’s palm.

Immediately, the surrounding air was filled with flying sand and rocks, while Ni Guang’s cold snorts and the hissing sounds of a snake rang out.

Soon after, Ni Guang leapt out of the engagement zone and stood mid-air, his expression extremely solemn.

When Yang Kai and the others looked over, they were all surprised.

As the dust gradually settled, they were finally able to clearly understand what this trap had been all about.

Where the cockscomb-like spirit flower had previously stood, there was now a ten-metre long snake as thick as a baby’s arm, constantly coughing up blood.

There was no discernible aura coming from this snake’s body, and if one wasn’t looking at it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have been able to realize it existed. What’s more, there was a cockscomb-like protrusion on its tail.

The spirit flower that everyone had seen before was surprisingly the tip of this snake’s tail, the only part of itself it had revealed while its main body remained buried underground.

Anyone who attempted to pluck the ‘spirit flower’ would be attacked by it.

“Tail Crown Snake?” Ni Guang’s eyes lit up as he called out the name of this Monster Beast.

He had extensive personal knowledge and was a high-ranking member of the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. Thus, he had access to many ancient books, otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to identify this supposedly long-extinct Monster Beast.

“Tail Crown Snake?” Luo Lan frowned as she somewhat admiringly looked at Ni Guang, “This Mistress has never heard of such a beast, so it seems there are many long-forgotten existences in this Severed World.”

None of them could identify what the dark shadows they encountered before in the underground ravine were and simply figured they were existences similar to Yin Souls, but this was completely different. The other three present had never even heard of the Tail Crown Snake before.

The Severed World seemed like a vast, unexplored world to them.

Ni Guang smiled, “Don’t worry, while the Tail Crown Snake is dangerous, it’s not very strong. Its greatest advantages are its concealment and sneak attack abilities. Since its sneak attack has failed, it’s nothing more than prey for this old master.”

Saying so, he rushed straight at the Tail Crown Snake.

He did not use any powerful methods and instead simply approached the Tail Crown Snake and fought it barehanded.

Yang Kai observed silently and soon concluded that this Monster Beast only had Ninth-Order strength. At such a level, it was no match for Ni Guang, even if it possessed an ancient bloodline. From the time it leapt from the ground, trying to bite Ni Guang’s neck, until it was caught by him, the Tail Crown Snake only managed to struggle for about ten breaths. Once Ni Guang caught it, he flicked it fiercely, like a long whip, while pouring his powerful Saint Qi into its body.

Cracking sounds rang out from the Tail Crown Snake as it straightened out and then slumped to the ground, dead.

Ni Guang stretched out his forefinger and condensed his Saint Qi into a blade before cutting into the belly of the snake. Plucking out a small, pearl-sized snake gall, Ni Guang unceremoniously popped it into his mouth before chewing and swallowing then letting out a cheerful laugh.

It was unclear what kind of magical effects Tail Crown Snake’s gall had, but from how happy Ni Guang looked, it was probably of great benefit to him.

After finishing all this, Ni Guang left the body of Tail Crown Snake to the side and said lightly, “This Monster Beast doesn’t have a Monster Core so its most valuable part is its gall. In ancient times, cultivators who repeatedly consumed such snake galls were supposedly able to gain protection against all kinds of poisons. Unfortunately, there is only one here, but... better than nothing.”

Saying so, he then came over to Luo Lan’s side and examined the corpse, sighing a moment later, “So it was Tong Lei!”

He was obviously referring to the dead man in front of him.

“Senior Ni knows him?” Luo Lan asked.

Ni Guang nodded lightly, “We’ve met before. In the past, the two of us made a few transactions, but that was many years ago. I did not expect that he would be killed by a mere Ninth-Order Monster Beast. In this place, it seems even the slightest negligence can be fatal.”

In the outside world, how could an Origin King die from the attack of a Ninth-Order Monster Beast? Ninth-Order Monster Beasts were only equivalent to Origin Realm cultivators, so once an Origin King released their Domain, ordinary Ninth-Order Monster Beasts would not even be able to get close to them, but in this Severed World, even Ninth-Order Monster Beast couldn’t be taken lightly.

“Xue Yue, collect his ring,” Ni Guang ordered lightly.

Xue Yue nodded, bent down, and took the Space Ring from this Tong Lei’s hand, not even checking its content before storing it away.

Neither Yang Kai nor Luo Lan said anything.

Yang Kai’s strength was low and he did not contribute anything this time, so he was not qualified to receive any of the spoils. As for Luo Lan, Ni Guang had warned her earlier that even if she followed them, he would not guarantee she received any gains, so she had no right to accuse him of being unfair here.

“Let’s go, everyone must be extra careful from now on. Don’t approach anything that seems out of place carelessly,” Ni Guang exhorted and turned around to leave.

“Please wait a moment,” Yang Kai suddenly seemed to think of something and quickly released a Golden Blood Thread from his fingertip towards the corpse of the Tail Crown Snake.

The three others stopped and watched this scene curiously, wondering what Yang Kai was going to do.

They saw the Golden Blood Thread instantly submerge into the Tail Crown Snake’s body, and then, accompanied by some faint squirming movements, the Tail Crown Snake’s corpse was rapidly sucked dry, and its physique withered, leaving behind nothing but an empty skin.

After a short while, the Golden Blood Thread, which radiated a golden and red light, returned to Yang Kai’s hand.

Ni Guang looked at the Golden Blood Thread in Yang Kai’s hand thoughtfully and asked, “Kid, is that a Secret Technique... or an artifact?”

He felt strange and conflicting fluctuations from the Golden Blood Thread, and while it gave the appearance of an artifact, it also exuded a strong vitality which made it seem like a living thing, quite a strange combination.

“It’s something between a Secret Technique and an artifact,” Yang Kai smiled slightly and explained casually.

His Golden Blood Threads were condensed from the essence of his own Golden Blood, so strictly speaking, it was a type of Secret Technique, but it also had the characteristics of an artifact that could be refined and reused repeatedly, so it was difficult to classify.

“Strange!” Ni Guang slowly shook his head. He had lived for many years but had never seen such a weird Secret Technique. However, the world was vast, so it didn’t surprise him that much. In any case, it did not seem to pose any threat to him so there was no need to worry. After thinking about it for a moment, he asked again, “This thing can swallow the physical essence of the Tail Crown Snake, right? Does it undergo some kind of change after doing so?”

“En,” Yang Kai grinned before sending a command with his Divine Sense that caused the Golden Blood Thread floating above his palm to distort and transform into a Tail Crown Snake.

The Tail Crown Snake transformed from the Golden Blood Thread was exactly the same as the one that everyone had seen before, the only difference being its colour. The true Tail Crown Snake was a light brown colour while the one in front of Yang Kai was golden red, the two colours seemingly blending with one another.

“It can assume the form of the beast it absorbed?” Ni Guang’s eyes flashed, “Could it be that your Secret Technique is now equivalent to that Tail Crown Snake?”

“Almost,” Yang Kai nodded before recalling his Golden Blood Thread.

This was one of the Golden Blood Thread’s transformation techniques, the Blood Beast!

A Golden Blood Thread could swallow the essence of a Monster Beast and then transform into its appearance before its death while retaining all its abilities. The Blood Beast was a very powerful Secret Technique.

The cultivator who created the Golden Blood Thread Secret Technique was a true genius. Unfortunately, neither that cultivator nor the cultivators of Demon Blood Temple who carried his Secret Technique forward were able to condense that much Blood Essence in their bodies. Even the beautiful female Religion Master from Demon Blood Temple was only able to condense two Demon Blood Threads after spending a lifetime gathering Yang to supplement Yin to make up for her vital essence.

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