When the black-clad men saw Zhao Ya, they noticeably quickened their pace in kneeling and bowing.
The leader of these men was muttering something under his breath.
"We beseech you, Lord Python God, to unleash your divine might and completely annihilate this person who unjustly invades our Divine Sect and kills our people."
His words were filled with boundless venom and hatred, paired with a hoarse, unpleasant voice that truly sent chills down one’s spine.
However, Zhao Ya remained completely unfazed, even yawning out of boredom, and then leisurely walked past the black-clad men.
"Old man, stop bowing. Didn’t you see that this so-called Python God you worship didn’t even dare to move after seeing me?" Zhao Ya said nonchalantly.
The leader of the black-clad men trembled as he raised his head, revealing an extremely old and wrinkled face.
Yet on this dying face was a pair of youthful eyes.
This feeling was incredibly eerie.
It was as though his eyes had been detached from the flow of time, making them look utterly out of place.
In these extraordinarily young eyes, there was now endless astonishment and fear.
Because, just as Zhao Ya said, he saw the mighty and invincible Lord Python God cower in fear upon meeting this young man.
Especially as Zhao Ya approached it, the giant python raised its head high, its enormous serpentine eyes full of deep apprehension.
This was an expression these people had never seen before, the terror in their hearts imaginable.
"Hiss!"
When Zhao Ya was about twenty paces from the giant python, it suddenly flicked its tongue and let out a tremendous hissing sound.
Not only that, the scales on its body stood erect at the same moment, much like a startled cat with bristled fur, filled with warning.
But the more it acted this way, the more it showed its lack of confidence.
Zhao Ya naturally saw through its façade, so he only let out a cold smile and continued to walk forward unhurriedly.
After only a few steps, the giant python seemed to have reached its limit of endurance. Even though its heart was full of apprehension and fear, driven by survival instinct, it suddenly lunged forward, its huge head smashing down toward Zhao Ya.
As it was still in the air, it opened its enormous maw and sprayed out black poisonous smoke.
Upon seeing this scene, the black-clad men hurriedly retreated, fearing to touch even a wisp of the black smoke.
At the same time, expressions of relief appeared on their faces.
In their view, no matter how strong the young man was, he would have to succumb obediently in the face of the poisonous smoke from the Python God.
There was no other reason; it was simply because this poisonous smoke was the life-smoke that the giant python had painstakingly accumulated.
Extremely toxic and utterly destructive.
Once contaminated, there was no cure.
But just when these black-clad men assumed Zhao Ya was certainly doomed, a light laugh suddenly came from within the poison smoke, and then a hand reached out, pressing onto the plunging snakehead.
Thud!
With a muffled sound, the forward charge of the giant python was forcibly halted by a single hand.
The python let out a pained roar and tried to withdraw, but it was too late.
The hand, like a pair of iron pincers, gripped the scales on its head tightly, making it impossible to move.
Soon after, a calm voice came from within the poison smoke.
"The poison smoke is quite interesting, but besides being rather toxic, there’s nothing else noteworthy about it. What a waste of such good raw materials!"
As the voice spoke, the poison smoke dissipated, revealing Zhao Ya’s figure standing proudly.
The black-clad men almost popped their eyes out, while the elder among them exclaimed in disbelief.
"How could it be!"
Because, far from being poisoned to death, Zhao Ya didn’t even show any signs of being poisoned.
How could they not be shocked!
Hearing those words, Zhao Ya even turned back with interest and smiled at them.
"Why is it impossible?"
With those words, Zhao Ya flipped his arm, and the giant python let out a wail, being forcibly flipped onto the ground.
Thud!
The snakehead smashed heavily onto the ground, causing the hard rock surface to crack into a large pit.
The loud noise reverberated through the cavern, causing the black-clad men to grimace in pain.
The giant python had no strength left to fight back, its snakehead weakly lying in the pit, blood continuously flowing from its eye corners and mouth, making it appear in great agony.
Zhao Ya remained unmoved, slowly squatting down to stare directly into the massive serpentine eyes, speaking lightly.
"And I thought you were something, but with such little strength dare you claim to be the Python God?"
The giant python’s heart was full of grievance.
Actually, its strength was far more than this; the key was that this mountain was its absolute playground, and if it couldn’t fight, it could directly escape.
At that time, burrowing deep into the mountain, no matter how skilled you were, you could not find it.
But the problem was, when it faced Zhao Ya, that natural fear of a lower creature facing a superior rendered it utterly incapable of resisting.
Being able to muster the resolve to attack was already a testament to its considerable strength.
Yet in such a forced overcoming of its instinctual fear, its power was severely reduced.
This is why it was subdued by Zhao Ya with one hand.
At this moment, faced with Zhao Ya’s questioning, all the giant python could do was make a hissing sound.
"I know you are not convinced, thinking I relied on imposing my aura to win, but a loss is a loss, saying anything else is meaningless."
Zhao Ya said lightly, suddenly waving his hand without turning back.