Zhang Chen stared at the enormous creature in front of him, jolted in shock. It was a very, very large snake, the likes of which he was sure he had never seen before.
The Great Snake was thirty meters long, as thick as a truck, falling from the top of the cave’s stalactites and crashing into the water, causing a huge wave.
Luckily, in Zhang Chen’s Dharma Eye, it was merely an ordinary Great Snake, with none of the peculiar characteristic airflow.
"Why are you shouting! Don’t forget you are a deity!" Zhang Chen was startled by Fox Spirit’s scream and reprimanded a bit irritably.
"The Dragon Qi here is pervasive; any serpentine creature residing here will invisibly undergo a mutation, evolving. Although this Great Snake is ordinary, it’s likely not far from becoming supernatural." Utilizing Dragon Qi sensing, Zhang Chen detected numerous Great Snakes within the cave, perhaps even dozens, while small snakes were countless.
"It seems my chance has come. I’ve now thought of a way to get closer to the coffin." Zhang Chen directly activated his skill, witnessing the Great Snake opening its mouth, then leaping to dive directly into the snake’s abdomen.
"What are you doing?" Fox Spirit’s voice was full of surprise: "Could it be that life is unbearable, and you want to feed yourself to the snake? I don’t think you’re that kind of fool."
Zhang Chen ignored Fox Spirit’s jabber and directly manipulated the Great Snake to swim toward the Crystal Palace.
In the water, he could use the stream to sense the shape of the palace outside, not worried about blind navigation.
He was already pondering how to approach the coffin inside the Crystal Palace.
The Great Snake swam in the water, constantly nearing the Crystal Palace, the river teeming with snakes of all sizes, resembling a snake nest.
It’s conceivable, with Dragon Qi converging here, how many snakes were instinctively drawn. Gaining even a sliver of Dragon Qi hugely benefits snakes.
Not only was the lake outside the Crystal Palace heavily populated with serpentine creatures, but as the Great Snake submerged, swam toward the Crystal Palace’s interior, countless snakes appeared in its sensing.
There were many snakes, beyond ordinary reasoning in size, but still lacking in scale. Sometimes, a beast’s robust body doesn’t ensure a breakthrough.
This reflects how difficult it is to garner Qi.
Zhang Chen hid inside the snake’s belly, feeling the powerful pressure and undulation from the viscous cavity, seemingly aiming to crush him. Quickly, he drew on water vapor, icing himself into a large frozen block, impermeable to the snake’s movements.
Upon entering the Crystal Palace, Zhang Chen was somewhat surprised; though there was vapor inside, there was no water flow, quite peculiar. Such waterproofing is impossible even in the twenty-first century.
The Great Snake traversed the Crystal Palace, Zhang Chen sensed the life within, his pupils constricted; the palace was packed with snakes, reminding him of a previous life film called Human-Snake Battle.
Regarding locating the Crystal Coffin, Zhang Chen wasn’t confounded. Based on previous digs of the True Dragon Tomb called ’Ying,’ the densest snake areas were likely closest to the Dragon Seed.
In truth, Zhang Chen guessed correctly. Following the snake dense path, the Great Snake navigated into the Crystal Palace without hindrance, straight into one of the lower palatial halls, finding a Crystal Coffin quietly placed inside. With a thought, the snake’s abdominal muscles undulated, expelling Zhang Chen’s ice block.
Zhang Chen now feigned death, completely encased in ice, transformed into a large frozen block, his breath and heartbeat vanished. Then he maneuvered the snake nearer to the Crystal Coffin, intending to use its strength to lift the coffin lid.
Open the Crystal Coffin, and he’d have a chance to see Prince Pingbian, Zhang Shicheng’s body, potentially marking it with Soul Hook skill.
Under Zhang Chen’s command, the snake tried to crawl towards the Crystal Coffin; yet, ten meters away, its body collapsed, disregarding further commands, refusing any movement.
"Long Wei? Is there True Dragon’s pressure suppressing the snake?"
Zhang Chen pondered it, stopping any forceful actions, silently releasing the snake’s control, calmly strategizing his next move: "Now my task is to wait!"
"Wait for the Dragon Seed inside the coffin to transform into Walking Flood Dragon, breaking out. That’s when I’ll mark its soul." Zhang Chen contemplated secretly.
As for what happens if he fails?
It never crossed his mind; he hadn’t considered the possibility of failure!
At the very least, pulling out its soul, nobody could affect each other, granting him time to escape.
"Maximizing profit requires confronting a transforming Dragon reaching midway, vulnerable in semi-life, pulling the soul then, and feasting on its essence before meticulous Yang God scrutiny."
Of course, Zhang Chen had other contingencies. At this point, ice wriggled, forming a Weak Water mask, which he wore.