Chapter Fifteen: The Colossal Behemoth of the Wilds

The thunderous rumbling continued, the ground swaying like the faltering steps of a drunken old man. Ye Dong gazed out and saw, atop the blazing altar, three colossal serpents as thick as massive wooden barrels slowly emerging. Their cavernous jaws were agape, black tongues flickering, and their bodies shimmered with glossy scales as they slithered relentlessly around the altar, lending the scene an air of utmost eeriness.

Confronted with this bizarre spectacle, even the battle-hardened Xiao Li could not help but swallow nervously. "Aren’t these three snakes a little too big?"

Ye Dong broke out in a cold sweat. "Did we somehow cross into a primordial wilderness?"

Liang Lingzhi’s eyes widened, and she shook her head rapidly. "No, I think it’s them who crossed over from the wilderness to here!"

Beside them, Nian Xue frowned deeply and began to chant, "O mysterious laws of heaven and earth, source of all energies. After endless cultivation, grant me divine power. Open my celestial eye, reveal the origin. By urgent decree!"

With her celestial eye awakened, she gazed at the three giant snakes and was taken aback. "How could those three, with their limited power, summon such monstrous creatures?!"

Xiao Li lowered his voice, asking, "Nian Xue, what do you see?"

Nian Xue replied quietly, "These three are nothing like the small snakes we killed before. Be extremely careful—they will devour men alive!"

Xiao Li nodded repeatedly. "Understood! Is there any way to defeat them?"

"Blood!"

"Blood?!"

"Xiao Li, gather all your ammunition and equipment!"

Without hesitation, Xiao Li ordered his team to bring all their weapons together as Nian Xue had instructed.

Nian Xue gritted her teeth and called to Ye Dong and the other three. "You four, come here!"

"Alright!"

"I need your blood now—let it drip onto these weapons. Are you afraid?"

Ye Dong said nothing, slashing his wrist at once, and under the firelight, his blood fell, drop by drop, upon the modern weapons—a scene both tragic and heroic.

Seeing this, the others did not hesitate to add their own virgin blood. Soon, the weapons of the Ninth Squad were all stained red.

Nian Xue fixed her gaze on Xiao Li. "Remember, your task is only to hold back the three giant snakes. While we’re engaged in the ritual, do not attack unless I give the order. Act rashly, and your lives will be at risk!"

Xiao Li nodded firmly, quickly distributing the weapons and signaling his team, who split into three groups and began to stealthily approach the altar.

Nian Xue drew a deep breath, then turned to the four whose bleeding had stopped. "The true trial is before us. Are you ready?"

Ye Dong smiled and nodded. "From the moment we promised Xiaoting we’d clear her name, we’ve been ready, haven’t we, brothers?" As he finished, he extended his right fist.

Liang Lingzhi, Xiao Bao, and Da Chun each reached out their fists, touching them to Ye Dong’s, exchanging smiles. "We’re ready!"

Nian Xue’s heart surged with emotion. "Good! We will surely vindicate Xiaoting!" Her small, seemingly frail fist joined theirs. "Once the gunfire starts, we charge!"

Ye Dong’s eyes blazed. "The five of us—one life!"

"Five people, one life!"

"Da-da-da-da!"

The gunfire of Xiao Li’s team erupted!

The three giant snakes, far from enraged by the intrusion, seemed delighted, rolling their massive bodies forward in attack.

Xiao Li’s team fired machine guns in a desperate attempt to block the serpents, carving a path for Nian Xue’s group to charge the formation.

Nian Xue called out, "Thanks, Xiao Li!" With a wave of her delicate hand, she led the four of them toward the torch-lit altar.

Amid the raging flames, the leading sorceress, Master Qinglin, spoke coldly, "So you’ve finally come, little girl!"

Heilin sneered wickedly, "You actually made it this far—impressive. But this is where it ends!"

Huanglin’s smile was equally sinister. "If you join us, we’ll spare your life today. What do you say?"

Nian Xue swept her eyes over them and spat, "Who wants to consort with three heretics like you? Today, we will enact justice—prepare to die!"

The senior sister laughed madly. "With just you lot? Ha! Hahaha!"

Ye Dong and his companions were unsettled by her eerie laughter. Xiao Bao muttered, "I think she’s on drugs!"

Da Chun nodded. "And she’s overdosed!"

Ye Dong speculated, "She seems possessed!"

Liang Lingzhi agreed. "Ordinary people couldn’t do something this depraved. Let’s not dwell on it—take your positions!"

Nian Xue whispered, "Hurry, positions!"

Without worrying about possible ambushes, the four darted to their places, representing Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird, chanting in unison, "Purify the mind and spirit. O Star of the Supreme, respond and adapt. Expel evil, bind demons, safeguard life and body, grant wisdom and clarity, keep soul and spirit tranquil, let the three souls remain, never to be lost."

The three heretics, realizing Nian Xue was about to engage in magical combat, wasted no time. They seized their ritual implements and began chanting, "Green Snake to the cauldron, Black Snake to the left, Yellow Snake to the right. By our blood we offer sacrifice, lend us your power—burn their flesh, sear their bones, annihilate their souls!"

Nian Xue heard their words and scoffed inwardly, "As expected—these evil incantations are all meant to harm!"

She watched as the three sorcerers muttered more incomprehensible spells, then, with blood-soaked left hands, stained their snake-shaped implements red and hurled them at Nian Xue.

Seeing these mysterious and menacing implements hurtling toward her, Nian Xue urgently cried, "No matter what happens, you four must not look away!"

The four nodded fiercely, while Nian Xue intoned, "The infinite heavens and earth, I borrow their power! Bow to the Heavenly King, summon the celestial order, the mysteries of yin and yang, Supreme Lord of Taiyi, by urgent decree!"

She struck out with her palm, and a mysterious light collided with the sorcerers’ implements.

"Boom!"

A blinding flash erupted at the point of impact, illuminating the darkness as if by a flare.

Bandits rushing in for support raised their guns to fire at Nian Xue and her group, attempting a sneak attack.

Strangely, Nian Xue didn’t even glance their way, remaining utterly focused on the magical battle with the three sorcerers.

"Ah!" The bullets from the bandits vanished into thin air, and those attempting the sneak attack suddenly stiffened, collapsing to their knees unconscious.

"Fools!"

Qinglin, furious that the bandits’ attempt had backfired, waved her left hand, sending a surge of evil energy like a ravenous wolf toward the fallen men, mysteriously tearing their souls from their bodies.

The poor souls had no chance to struggle and were instantly thrust onto the altar’s flames before Qinglin.

Those ghostly souls wailed in agony, "Master! Why are you doing this?!"

Qinglin sneered, "You’re half-useless anyway—why not let me borrow your souls to lend us a hand?"

"Ah!!!!!!!"

The shrieks of these spirits echoed across the altar, drawing the attention of the Ninth Squad. Nian Xue shouted, "Xiao Li, don’t worry about us—focus on the giant snakes!"

Xiao Li shouted in response, pulling out his radio. "Ninth Squad calling Officer Li! Ninth Squad calling Officer Li! We’re facing extremely heavy resistance atop the mountain altar! The enemy has three armored giant snakes! Requesting support! Requesting support! Only weapons stained with fresh blood can harm them—remember this!"

Officer Li, upon hearing the call for aid, made a swift decision. With covering fire from his team, he led the Seventh Squad in a breakthrough, step by step closing in on the mountain top where Xiao Li was.

Huanglin, sharp of hearing, caught Xiao Li’s call for help and said angrily, "Sister, I didn’t expect the police to send so many—our men must have been decimated!"

Qinglin chuckled coldly. "If the trash die, just recruit more. That one is their leader, isn’t he? Third brother, he’s yours!"

Huanglin’s sinister eyes gleamed as he whipped out a talisman, chanting quickly, "Release the demon, break the prison, Yellow Snake’s form shatters the cage, slays the jailer, destroys the world of men!"

At the command, the giant yellow snake, which had been fiercely fighting the deputy squad leader, turned its head and lunged at Xiao Li.

The vice-captain, seeing the yellow snake charging at Xiao Li, shouted anxiously, "Captain, look out!"

"Screw you!"

Eyes blazing red, Xiao Li yanked the pin from a high-explosive grenade and hurled it at the approaching snake’s mouth.

"Boom!"

The grenade exploded, ripping a long gash beneath the snake’s left eye.

But the yellow snake seemed impervious to pain, lunging forward with jaws agape.

Nian Xue was alarmed. "This is bad! Xiao Li will be swallowed whole!"

Facing death, Xiao Li stood his ground, gritting his teeth. "Come on, you bastard! Come on!" He fired his machine gun directly at the snake’s wound, refusing to yield.

With the situation critical, Nian Xue bit her finger and hastily chanted, "Spirit-Confining Spell—Earth spirits, take your posts, guard this place, come to my aid—by urgent decree!"

A formless energy appeared from nowhere, pinning the massive yellow snake firmly in place just as it lunged at Xiao Li.

"Second brother, now’s your chance!"

Qinglin stabilized the formation, while Heilin gleefully pressed the ghosts into the flames, chanting, "By blood invoked, by soul sacrificed, spirit serpent emerges, none shall survive—annihilate heaven and earth, destroy this adversary!"

While Nian Xue was distracted, a black energy, accompanied by a wailing scream, shot toward the "Child’s Demon-Banishing Array" she had set up, striking it with force.

In that moment of distraction, Nian Xue felt a sharp pain in her chest, her blood surging wildly. She spat out a mouthful of blood, and before her eyes, a crimson rain seemed to fall.

Ye Dong and the others cried out in unison, "Nian Xue!"

Qinglin sneered, "Little girl, you’re just not ruthless enough! Had you struck while my brother was distracted, the advantage would have been yours!"

Nian Xue ignored her derision, clenching her teeth and flinging a handful of "Ghost-Slaying Talismans" into the air.

The talismans mingled instantly with the blood mist in the air.

Nian Xue chanted the incantation for Samadhi True Fire. "Inferno, burn the devils, Samadhi destroys evil, within—thunderbolts, the Thunder God’s hidden name, by urgent decree!"

"Boom!!!!"

The blood-soaked talismans burst into flame without a spark.

With a fierce glare, Nian Xue inhaled and blew at the flames in the air. The Samadhi fire, fierce as a tiger or lion, blazed ever hotter, surging toward the black energy sent by Heilin and incinerating it in an instant.

"Like thunder and lightning, ever-renewing!"

A voice as commanding as the earth itself issued from Nian Xue’s lips, and the endless Samadhi fire, undiminished, surged forth like a divine dragon toward the three sorcerers.

Qinglin was shocked. "This girl is formidable! Third brother, help me, now!"

Huanglin, who had been trying to help the yellow snake escape, saw Nian Xue’s display of power and panicked, hastily withdrawing his magic from the serpent and pouring it all into the altar to help Qinglin resist the Samadhi dragon.

Nian Xue gave a cold, sly smile, her eyes sparkling. "Infinite heavens and earth, I borrow your power! Samadhi to destroy evil, annihilate their forms! Supreme Lord of Taiyi, by urgent decree!"

The raging Samadhi flames, which had been charging toward Qinglin, now shifted and swept down upon the giant yellow snake trapped by the Spirit-Confining Spell.

Qinglin cried out, "No!"

The snake’s agonized shrieks tore through the night sky.

Despite its armored hide, the Samadhi dragon’s flames reduced the yellow serpent to ashes—its soul obliterated.

Qinglin never imagined Nian Xue, gravely wounded, could launch such a devastating counterattack.

Heilin cursed, "That wretched woman tricked us!"

Nian Xue snorted, "Just returning your own methods upon you!"

Suddenly, Huanglin clutched his chest in terror, shaking his head and shouting, "No! Lord Yellow Snake, don’t drag me down with you! No!"

Huanglin’s whole body trembled as he tumbled from the altar, writhing in agony.

Then, abruptly, his cries ceased, and a yellow soul burst from his body.

Ye Dong saw clearly that the soul seemed to be torn apart by some unseen power, its howls even more wrenching.

Nian Xue murmured, "Evil meets its retribution—go to oblivion with your yellow serpent!"

"Senior sister! Brother! Help me! Help me!" Huanglin’s tormented cries faded, then were silenced forever—his soul was utterly destroyed.

Ye Dong and the others were ecstatic. "Go, Nian Xue! Finish them off!"

Nian Xue smiled faintly. "That’s a promise!"

Not only had Xiao Li survived, but seeing Nian Xue’s valor, he couldn’t help but cheer, "Well done!"

Heilin, shaken by his brother’s annihilation, his hands trembling, said, "Sister, our plan’s failed. We underestimated her. I say we—"

Qinglin snapped, "Don’t panic! She’s badly wounded—she won’t last much longer!"

Heilin shook his head. "I’ve always followed you, but not today. I’m leaving this formation—I have no wish to die!"

With that, Heilin withdrew his power and tried to flee.

Qinglin’s beautiful face contorted with rage. "You dare disobey me?!"

Heilin, panic-stricken, replied, "Sister, after all these years, don’t force me to turn against you. Come with me!"

But Nian Xue would not give them time to argue. She chanted quickly, and the Samadhi dragon shot into the air, jaws agape, rolling toward Qinglin.

Realizing Nian Xue intended to leave no survivors, Qinglin tried to placate her brother. "Good brother, help me—your sister swears, I’ll forgive all you said and return your blood essence, alright?"

Heilin’s heart turned cold. "After all these years, I know how ruthless you are! If I stay, I’m a fool—I might yet live if I go now!"

Resolute, Heilin fled the formation without looking back.

Qinglin’s eyes blazed with fury. With a wave of her flag, the giant azure serpent broke free from the Ninth Squad’s entanglement and lunged straight at Heilin...