66: Chapter 66 Returns

Behind the young girl, three others followed.

One was a pale youth whose empty left sleeve fluttered in the wind—his entire arm had been turned into a bloody mist on the spot after being struck by the tip of a giant python's tail half an hour ago.

Another was a round-faced girl, her face covered in tear stains and her body trembling violently; she could only keep running by leaning on the companion beside her. The last was a taciturn youth in gray clothes, his teeth clenched tightly without a word.

Four people.

Originally, there were six.

Two hours ago, they were still six people.

“I... I can't run anymore...” The round-faced girl's legs suddenly gave way, and she nearly collapsed. The gray-clothed youth grabbed her and dragged her along to keep running.

“You have to run even if you can't!” the girl in green hissed. “Stopping means death!”

The round-faced girl shook her head through her tears: “They're dead... they're all dead... Senior Brother Zhang is dead... Senior Sister Lin is dead too... We're all going to die here...”

“Shut up!” The green-clad girl's eyes were rimmed with red, yet she still barked through gritted teeth, “As long as we're not dead, there's still a chance!”

In her heart, she knew all too well that hope was slim.

A Golden Core Great Yao.

In their group, the highest was only at Qi Refining Great Circle; they didn't have a single Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could they resist? How could they escape?

But who could have imagined it would turn out like this?

Their Cangxuan Immortal Sect's trip into the Imperial Sovereigns Legacy Abode was supposed to be a routine training mission.

The instructions issued by the Sect were clear: venture deep into the East District of the Legacy Abode and harvest a 'moonlight grass' at the designated coordinates. It was a Tier 1 High Grade Spirit Medicine, and the guarding Yao Beast was only at the Late Stage of Qi Refining. For their six-person team, it should have been a simple, easy task.

They did indeed find that moonlight grass.

They also indeed encountered that guarding Yao Beast—a Scarlet Chain Snake at the Late Stage of Qi Refining, which they easily slew.

But just as they were preparing to harvest the Spirit Medicine, a sudden change occurred.

That moonlight grass actually began to undergo an aberration right before their eyes.

The leaves gradually turned from silver-white to pale gold, the stem grew over a foot taller, and the aura of the entire Spirit Medicine climbed at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Tier 2 Low Grade.

Mutation.

On the eve of being harvested, the Spirit Medicine had undergone a rare mutation.

From Tier 1 High Grade, it leaped to Tier 2 Low Grade.

In that instant, everyone was stunned. The value of a Tier 2 Spirit Medicine was more than ten times that of Tier 1. If they could bring it back, each of them would receive a wealth of Sect contribution points, which could be exchanged for Cultivation Techniques, Medicinal Pills, and Magical Artifacts they wouldn't even dare dream of normally.

It was during this moment of daze that the One-Horned Giant Python appeared.

A Golden Core Great Yao, likely attracted by the aura released during the mutation of the Spirit Medicine.

“Run!”

Someone shouted, and the six of them fled for their lives.

But they couldn't bear to leave that mutated Spirit Medicine. While fleeing, as if possessed, the round-faced girl reached out and uprooted the moonlight grass, stuffing it into her robes.

And so, the giant python gave chase.

Hunting them all the way.

An hour ago, one Senior Brother was caught by the giant python and swallowed in one bite.

Half an hour ago, another Senior Sister turned to face the giant python to buy them time. She only held it off for a single breath before being crushed into a pulp.

Then, there was the youth's arm.

Now, only the four of them remained.

“Throw the Spirit Medicine away!”

Suddenly, the pale, one-armed youth stopped in his tracks and roared hoarsely. His face was deathly white, blood still seeping from his stump, and he was teetering on the verge of collapse.

“Two people are already dead! If we keep this up, all four of us will die!”

The green-clad girl paused and looked back at him.

The one-armed youth pointed at the round-faced girl, his eyes bloodshot: “She's still clutching that Spirit Medicine in her robes! That Great Yao is chasing the scent of the Spirit Medicine! Drop it, and we can live!”

“No!”

The round-faced girl clutched her chest tightly, her eyes full of stubbornness despite her tears. “This is a Tier 2 Spirit Medicine! Tier 2! Do you know how much we can exchange this for if we bring it back? Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Sister Lin are already dead; they can't have died for nothing! We have to at least bring something back!”

“Bring something back? Bring your life back?” the one-armed youth was practically screaming. “What's the use of a Spirit Medicine if your life is gone!”

“Entering a Secret Realm is inherently dangerous!” the round-faced girl shouted back. “We can't just go back empty-handed! If you're so afraid of death, then go by yourself!”

“You—”

“Enough!”

The green-clad girl cut them off sharply. She looked at the one-armed youth, then at the round-faced girl, her lips trembling, yet she couldn't speak.

She didn't know who to listen to.

The one-armed youth was right. If they dropped the Spirit Medicine, the giant python might really leave. After all, it was just a beast attracted by the aura of the medicine; its target wasn't them.

But the round-faced girl wasn't wrong either. Two people had died; if they returned empty-handed in the end, what would those two lives have been for? What meaning would their sacrifice have?

She opened her mouth, about to say something—

Suddenly.

A massive shadow descended from the sky, crashing down ten zhang in front of them.

The One-Horned Giant Python.

Unbeknownst to them, it had circled ahead and cut off their escape route. Its massive serpentine body was coiled in a heap, its pitch-black scales glinting with a cold, eerie luster under the dim light. That head, larger than a human, was held high, its vertical pupils cold as it looked down upon these four ant-like humans.

It opened its massive maw.

A gust of fishy wind rushed at them, the stench so foul the four of them nearly suffocated.

In the next instant, the giant mouth snapped down!

“No—”

Amidst the green-clad girl's scream of terror, the giant python swallowed the one-armed youth in a single gulp.

He didn't even have time to scream before he vanished into that dark, cavernous maw.

“Run! Run in different directions!”

The green-clad girl screamed hoarsely, grabbing the round-faced girl and turning to run. The gray-clothed youth followed closely behind as the three of them split into two directions, sprinting with all their might.

But could they escape?

The Divine Sense of a Golden Core Great Yao had long since locked onto them. No matter which direction they ran, they could not escape its perception.

The giant python turned unhurriedly, a hint of playfulness flashing in its vertical pupils. It wasn't in a hurry to chase, following behind at a leisurely pace like a cat playing with mice.

After chasing for another several hundred zhang.

The round-faced girl finally ran out of strength and collapsed. She struggled to crawl up but could no longer move. She looked back to see that massive figure slowly approaching, those cold vertical pupils, and that maw opening once more—

“No... please no...”

She clutched her chest, trembling. There, the mutated moonlight grass was emitting a faint golden light, faintly visible through her robes.

The green-clad girl and the gray-clothed youth turned at the same time, shielding her.

“Let's give it everything!”

The green-clad girl gritted her teeth and summoned her Magical Artifact—a Flying Sword that was a Low Grade Spiritual Artifact. The gray-clothed youth also took out his Magical Artifact, a rusted iron rod.

The giant python looked down at them.

Like looking down at three ants.

It opened its massive maw, preparing to swallow these three reckless things in one go—

Right at that moment.

A burst of intense golden light suddenly erupted from the round-faced girl's chest.

The golden light was blindingly bright, piercing through her robes, through the cold body of the giant python, and through these deathly silent ruins, shooting straight into the gray, hazy sky.

The giant python's movements froze.

For the first time, fear appeared in those vertical pupils.

Within the golden light, the mutated moonlight grass slowly rose from the round-faced girl's embrace. It suspended in mid-air, its leaves unfolding, its roots swaying, its entire form enveloped in a brilliant golden glow.

Then.

Under the gaze of the three humans and the Yao, it began to transform.

The leaves retracted, the roots coiled, and the stem straightened. The golden light grew brighter and denser, gradually condensing into a blurry silhouette—

Limbs.

A torso.

A head.

Facial features.

The light gradually faded.

A figure stood suspended in mid-air, looking down at the three dumbfounded youths at his feet, and then at the Golden Core giant python that was frozen in place with its pupils constricted.

The golden light dissipated completely.

That face was finally clear.