Chapter 113: Three Thousand Years of Solitude

“It’s useless to disbelieve.”

Qi Tian, unwilling to get further entangled with Xiao Xue’er, quickly scanned with his divine sense and located Xiao Yan’s body. In the blink of an eye, he grasped it, just about to store it in his spatial pouch.

Suddenly, a vast shadow appeared overhead.

“Who’s there?!”

“Tian’ai Star!”

“It’s you!”

The Venerable Wanxiang’s face was lined with wrinkles, yet the bulging veins betrayed the full extent of his effort.

“An old saying goes that biting dogs don’t bark. Your method is indeed quite clever.”

Without a word, as the Tian’ai Star descended, a Qimen formation simultaneously unfolded, and this sinister technique of avoiding breath cruelly sought to consume flesh and blood.

Qi Tian was about to summon the Tianjian Tower guards who had returned from Wuguo, wielding the serpent-shaped soul treasure he had just obtained.

It was this very artifact that had nearly devoured Xiao Yan’s soul completely; otherwise, with Xiao Yan’s soul blazing with ghost fire, victory would have been uncertain. Moreover, it had granted control over the mountain demon’s ghost fire.

Such a rare opportunity, everything was proceeding smoothly.

Wait... why was there no response?

His five senses had been seized by the Heavenly Secret Art, and instinctively, he tried to break free using the serpent treasure. To resist the divine power of Tian’ai Star head-on would be fatal!

“Hurry up!”

Qi Tian’s eyes widened in alarm. At the critical moment, the serpent treasure within his soul surged out of his mind’s sea.

Transforming its form, a nearly thousand-meter-long ebony serpent, as if truly alive, opened its cavernous maw revealing a swirling black vortex and bit down on the hundred-meter-sized Tian’ai Star.

The divine power-formed Tian’ai Star shrank rapidly in less than half a breath to just one or two meters before being swallowed whole by the earthly serpent.

“What is this!”

The Venerable Wanxiang was instantly stunned, trembling all over, unable to move.

Xiao Xue’er, for some unknown reason, remained unaffected, quietly supporting Xiao Yan’s corpse as she slipped away swiftly.

The serpent’s enormous pupil, the size of a house, turned to look, and within it flickered a playful expression.

Opening its mouth once more, the Venerable Wanxiang, as if resigned, delivered himself into the serpent’s jaws and vanished.

Having devoured a Golden Core Venerable, the serpent’s entire body began to emanate a faint purple glow, as if enriched by some potent elixir.

Its gaze fixed on Qi Tian, the master of Tianjian Tower.

His scalp tingled, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees.

“Please spare me, senior! That Xiao Yan—his corpse surely holds a treasure rivaling the Nascent Soul realm.”

“Oh? Is that so…”

The earthly serpent twirled on the spot and transformed into a human form.

Clad in elegant purple-green celestial robes, wearing a purple-gold dawn crown, and stepping on flying serpent-patterned boots.

Behind him floated a fifth-grade high-tier Ghost Serpent Sword, his complexion pale and lifeless.

His eyes were serpentine, adorned with two metallic snake-shaped earrings.

His features were delicate and extraordinarily handsome, his pale skin lending an air of fragile androgyny.

The only discordant note was the absence of a belt around his waist.

“...Cao Chengyu.”

Thousands of miles away, Cao Chengyu seemed to sense something and abruptly turned to glance toward Chijing, feeling the belt around his waist stir with excitement.

This man was none other than the True Lord of Ten Thousand Serpents who had died three thousand years ago in the Demonic Calamity.

“Three thousand years have passed, and the world has grown filthy once more…”

“Come to think of it, I owe you thanks. If you hadn’t tempted that boy to willingly dive into the Devouring Heaven Serpent Jade, I might have needed fifty more years to regain even a fraction of my strength.”

“...Qi Tian.”

“Senior, there is no need for such formality; it is what a junior should do, what a junior must do.”

“Heh, you’re interesting. At nearly eight hundred years old, mastering both physical cultivation and magic body to reach the pinnacle of the Golden Core is impressive talent.”

“Senior’s praise is too kind; I am unworthy. That... that treasure on Xiao Yan’s corpse truly belongs to the Nascent Soul realm.”

“I know. That artifact will naturally return to my hands. Before that happens, I need a new body.”

The True Lord of Ten Thousand Serpents licked his lips, his eyes burning with desire as he appraised Qi Tian.

“Senior…”

Qi Tian stepped back several paces, his face pale and distressed, unsure how to respond.

“Heh, you should feel honored and offer your body.”

“I began cultivation at six, forged my spirit at ten, formed my Dao body at eighteen, reached the Purple Mansion at fifty-three, broke through Golden Core at one hundred eighty-nine, and attained Nascent Soul at six hundred twenty-one.”

“I was one of the world’s top prodigies.”

“But alas, during the Demonic Calamity, I was betrayed and trapped within Xianyang City.”

“Your cultivation is decent. Give me your body, and within five years, I shall regain the Nascent Soul realm. I can exact revenge, and you can share in the glory.”

“I am no demon; I will take care of your family and wife.”

“You…”

“No, I refuse!”

Qi Tian’s expression hardened as he produced a somewhat worn Spatial Concealment Talisman, brandishing it as a threat.

“This is a fifth-grade talisman. Even if you consume Xiao Yan and the Venerable Wanxiang, your soul won’t be restored to full strength. I am still at the pinnacle of Golden Core.”

“I can self-destruct before you erase my soul!”

The True Lord of Ten Thousand Serpents narrowed his eyes, a cold gleam flashing through them.

“Bold indeed. How about we play a game?”

“If you win, I will let you go. If you lose… you must give me your body intact.”

Qi Tian was stunned but nodded in agreement. The situation was beyond him; who wished to die if they could avoid it?

“It’s a riddle. If you can guess it, I will free you.”

Speaking of his favorite riddles, the True Lord’s mood grew lively.

“Half full, half empty, what is it?”

“...”

Qi Tian’s mind raced, straining to think: half full… half empty…

“No rush, take your time.”

The True Lord folded his arms behind his back and glanced around. He hadn’t noticed before, but now he realized the oppressive yin energy here was terrifyingly dense.

Deep within the clouds floated a massive black cocoon.

Something was brewing.

In truth, with Xiao Yan gone, the position of the Yin Heavenly Son was vacant. Among those refining the Yin Official Seal, the ghost officials were the most likely successors.

Yet because they were busy refining the seal, they couldn’t spare their attention to receive the strongest positional power.

At this very moment, a yin soul at the Qi Nourishing stage drifted over, confused and dazed.

With such strength, it didn’t even qualify to become a ghost immortal, relying entirely on the forced transformation engineered by the former Red Nine Heavens.

Its mind was foggy, clouded by the yin energy.

If Cao Chengyu were here, he would immediately recognize his childhood friend, Ning Sichen.

The True Lord of Ten Thousand Serpents, seeing him approach the Sacrificial Altar, nudged him with interest.

Once the yin soul neared, it was instantly suffused with overwhelming positional power, regaining clarity and leaping in strength to the early Purple Mansion stage. With the abundant yin energy here, as his genuine power grew, the positional power’s blessing would rise accordingly.

When Ning Sichen came to his senses and felt the surge of power, he exclaimed in joy,

“Thank you, senior, for your help.”

“No matter. I am also curious to see how this Yin Sacrificial method will evolve into a place recognized by the Heavenly Dao.”

“Junior will not fail to uphold your trust.”

The True Lord of Ten Thousand Serpents waved his hand and looked toward Qi Tian.