Chapter 40: Riding Upon the Flood Serpent’s Head
“Saintess, that sound just now came from deep within the gorge. It seems a demon king resides there.”
“Should we change the plan? I fear we’ve already startled the snake in the grass.”
Several elders of the Luofu Cloud Cavern stood beside Fu Yuying, their faces grave.
The sudden, drawn-out roar had startled them all. But soon after, they identified the sound’s source and origin.
Fu Yuying pondered for a moment, then turned to glance back toward the gorge entrance—where miasma still surged, the depths almost invisible. “No. Quite the opposite.”
“Our target is that Shen Tian.”
“If we’ve startled the snake, we’ve only alarmed the Bureau of Immortal Inspection and the Chilin Guards, making them too cautious to advance.”
“But Shen Tian won’t think that way. He’ll only believe that the appearance of this demon king gives him a greater chance to exploit the situation.”
“So we just need to hold our position. He’ll step into the trap himself.”
“Yes, understood.”
The elders nodded and quickly departed, continuing to carry out the plan.
“When everything was proceeding smoothly, how did we end up disturbing the demon king?”
Once the others had left, Fu Yuying’s brows furrowed. She took out a jade talisman for transmission and contacted Chu Xiuer.
Even she couldn’t explain why she was suddenly worried about Shen Yanzhou.
Was it because of the Shewu Gu?
She comforted herself with that thought.
A moment later, Chu Xiuer’s voice came through the talisman:
“Miss, that sound just now scared me to death! It was like it shook up from deep under my feet—my whole body went numb, my soul almost flew out! I hurried to hide in a crack in the cliff; I’m still hiding there.”
Fu Yuying said irritably, “I asked you for a report, not what you’re doing.”
“Miss, you don’t care about me anymore. You only care about that Shen fellow now.” Chu Xiuer puffed her cheeks.
Fu Yuying rubbed her temples and softened her tone as much as she could. “This concerns the sect’s mission. I can’t let Young Master Shen come to harm.”
Chu Xiuer replied, “Miss, I haven’t seen him, but in this dark gorge, I did find some demon beast corpses. Judging by their wounds, they were slain by a sword master—killed in one strike, the cuts clean, with almost no residual sword energy…”
“My swordsmanship is mediocre, but I can still tell how formidable the attacker was. Tell me, could it be that this Shen fellow is pretending to be weak while hiding some astonishing sword skill?”
Hearing that, Fu Yuying froze.
Shen Yanzhou, a formidable sword master?
But if he had long trained in swordsmanship, his palms couldn’t possibly be so slender and smooth, completely without calluses.
Moreover… he possessed no inner strength or true energy. How could he wield sword techniques?
When she had helped purge the Nether Gu, she had examined his body herself—everything matched the situation of the “false heir” exactly as he had described.
The Demon Suppression King, Shen Jingxiao, had not only made him act as a scapegoat but also planned for him to “die of illness” at the right moment. There was no way he’d have allowed him to learn martial arts or cultivate.
“Could it be some kind of sword talisman or artifact that stores sword energy—usable even without inner strength?” Fu Yuying speculated.
“That, I don’t know. But judging from what I see, that Shen fellow should be fine,” Chu Xiuer said.
Fu Yuying nodded lightly, feeling somewhat relieved.
Everyone had their own secrets. Perhaps this was the very reliance Shen Yanzhou counted on to venture into the gorge alone.
——
At the same time as the Soul-devouring Flood Serpent’s roar shook the entire Hidden Moon Mountain, Shen Tian on the other side was completely unfazed, still pressing deeper into the mountain’s heart.
To him, the appearance of a demon king only meant that Shen Yanzhou’s chances of survival had grown even slimmer.
That was naturally a good thing.
If possible, he would rather remain in the shadows and watch Shen Yanzhou die with his own eyes—without lifting a hand.
The night was deep. As he drew closer to the gorge’s mouth, the wind grew colder, the drizzle thicker, and miasma drifted constantly, casting the place into a gray haze.
Standing upon the crown of a great tree, Shen Tian carefully observed the scene ahead.
“Besides those frenzied beasts, I’ve yet to encounter anyone from the Nether Cult. If I were them, I’d definitely set an ambush along this gorge that leads to the Forest of No Return.”
“To be safe, I’d best hide and observe for a while.”
Many thoughts crossed Shen Tian’s mind.
Having gone through numerous life-and-death trials in the Southern Frontier, he had developed a cautious temperament—never one to take risks lightly.
As he concealed his presence, two figures who had been following him from afar also halted, hiding within the dense canopy of ancient trees.
“This guy’s pretty cautious, huh…”
The bearded man muttered.
“Heh, that just means he’s smart. This path leads straight to the Forest of No Return, and with the poor visibility at night, who knows how many ambushes might be lying in wait,” said the pale-robed man with a soft, almost feminine voice.
“It’s indeed dangerous. A little spider told me that earlier today, there were already many people around here.”
The bearded man closed his eyes, seemingly communicating through some strange means. A moment later, his face turned grim.
The white-robed man’s expression mirrored his. “Most likely the ones slandering our Holy Sect.”
“I’d like to see who dares to be so bold—making us take the blame,” the bearded man said coldly.
——
At the open space at the end of the underground river, the view suddenly widened—as though they had emerged from the mountain’s belly into a suspended galaxy.
Shen Yanzhou opened his eyes and saw that it wasn’t the Milky Way inverted, but rather a black torrent—a Soul-devouring Flood Serpent soaring straight out of the river, coiling into the clouds, and plunging toward the peak of Hidden Moon Mountain.
Its speed was so great that, if not for Lin Qingcang’s manifested obsession shielding him tightly, he would’ve been torn from its back and dashed to pieces by the fierce astral winds.
Even so, Shen Yanzhou had truly experienced what it was like to ride upon a flood serpent’s head.
Even amid the night, the vast heavens, the endless wilderness, and the boundless earth all unfolded before his eyes.
His heart surged with emotion.
Having come to this world, shouldn’t he at least experience what it felt like to grasp the sun and moon and pluck the stars—a grandeur unmatched by any other?
Moments later, the Soul-devouring Flood Serpent landed steadily. Only then did Shen Yanzhou realize that atop Hidden Moon Mountain’s peak floated a small island veiled in thick mist, upheld by an unseen array’s might.
Even in broad daylight, with the best visibility, one standing at the mountain’s summit would never see it.
No wonder the original text had described this cave dwelling as if it were independent of Hidden Moon Mountain itself.
At first, Shen Yanzhou had even wondered whether it might be a separate pocket world, which was why he could never find its entrance.
“We’ve returned here once more.”
Revisiting the old place, Lin Qingcang gazed upon the courtyard and pavilions now overrun with weeds and vines, his expression tinged with complicated emotions.