157: Chapter 157 Green Snake Enters the Secret Realm
At this moment, by the mountain stream of the Secret Realm.
The floodwaters had receded, and the mountain peaks on both sides were covered in a thick layer of ice.
At the bottom of the mountain stream's ice layer.
A faint blue, bottomless fissure cracked open in the ice.
Cold air and ice shards continuously spewed out from it.
This was precisely the entrance to the Secret Realm.
By now, most of the Cultivators gathered in Green Snake City had congregated here.
Among them were Elder Li's Clone, the Crimson-Tailed Burning Flame Crane, and some Nascent Soul Cultivators Xu Qing didn't recognize.
The rest were all fellows at the Golden Core Stage.
Many of them were known to Xu Qing, as they all lived in Green Snake City after all.
But there were also many who had rushed over from other places after the Secret Realm opened.
Xu Qing did not know them.
“Hmm?”
Xu Qing felt multiple gazes sweeping towards him and turned his head to look.
It was a group of fellows dressed in black.
Gathered together, their numbers were not low, including both Golden Core and Foundation Establishment stages.
They remained silent, seemingly belonging to the same Sect power.
“Goddess!”
A red-haired loli approached.
Damn it, it was the Crimson-Tailed Burning Flame Crane.
Why was she greeting the green snake? She clearly just wiped away some drool—did she really think the green snake couldn't see it!
“Greetings, Senior Crane.”
Xu Qing, of course, met her with a smiling face; greeting her was the priority.
He would let her keep her tail feathers for a while longer.
Behind the Crimson-Tailed Burning Flame Crane followed a black-haired, golden-eyed youth, acting with great respect towards the demonic crane.
He was likely of the Yao Race as well.
“Goddess, I heard you have some green snake saliva wine that has the effect of extending Lifespan and Healing injuries, reputed to be one of the four great immortal medicines.”
“It is not green snake saliva wine, it is green snake wine!”
Xu Qing solemnly corrected the demonic crane's statement.
If this continued, he would become a textbook pervert of the Cultivation World alongside that flood dragon king who produced ambergris wine.
“I know, I know.”
“Could you spare a few ounces of that green snake saliva wine? This Yao Race junior of mine failed his Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage, damaging his Dao foundation. We've tried all sorts of immortal medicines.”
“The other three of the four great immortal medicines are hard to come by, so we wish to seek the Goddess's green snake saliva wine for a try.”
“green snake wine, it's green snake wine!”
Xu Qing corrected her again. This demonic crane was going too far.
Sighing deeply, the green snake cast his gaze toward the youth beside the demonic crane.
Black hair, golden eyes, and a set of black robes.
Like the Crimson-Tailed Burning Flame Crane, his Transformation was complete, retaining no features of his original form.
[Yao Beast] Thunder-Flame Goshawk
[Dao Cultivation] 900/999 years (Dao Cultivation damaged)
[Realm] Late Golden Core Stage/Perfection Golden Core Stage (Realm dropped)
[Skills] Flight lv7, Wind Blade lv5, Demonic Fire lv6 (lv7), Lightning Law lv6 (lv7), Self-Healing lv5, Flame Resistance lv5, Lightning Resistance lv4, Armor Break lv5, Thunderstorm lv4, Bathed in Fire lv5, Fire Feathers lv5, Concealment lv5, Divine Sense lv6 (lv7), Void Tear lv5, Beast Taming lv2, Healing lv4, Swiftness lv6, Sharp Talons lv5, Saber Technique lv5, Vicious Beast lv3, Auspicious Beast lv2, Might of the Vermilion Bird lv1
[Divine Ability] Great Strength lv5, Purple Flame lv5, Purple Lightning lv6
“Greetings, West River Maiden.”
“I am Bai Shi.”
Bai Shi bowed slightly to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing also bowed in return.
“What Sister Crane says is true. This hawk is willing to pay a price in exchange for the green snake saliva wine.”
“It's green snake wine, green snake wine!”
Xu Qing corrected him yet again.
These two birds—how could they be so incapable of understanding snake-speak!
As expected of a snake's natural enemies, they were inherently at odds in every aspect.
“What are you willing to trade for it?”
“I heard the Goddess seems quite interested in Materials rich in Yin Qi.”
“This hawk is willing to trade this item.”
Bai Shi flipped his hand and took out a palm-sized toad skin.
The surface of the toad skin was bumpy, and both Yin Qi and Death Qi were incredibly dense within it.
“This is the skin left behind by a Yin King Toad with a thousand years of Dao Cultivation after its passing.”
“Because it passed away due to its Lifespan being exhausted, it is not only rich in Yin Qi but also contains thick Death Qi and poisonous miasma.”
“Is it worthy of the Goddess's notice?”
Xu Qing took the toad skin.
Indeed, the Yin Qi reached the requirements for refining into the hell pagoda, no less than the previous turtle shell and yin si stone.
Furthermore, it was filled with Death Qi and Poison Gas.
Perhaps the torture methods for the next level of the hell pagoda were now settled as well.
The agony of ten thousand poisons devouring the heart should be enough to torture those souls to the brink of death and back.
His resentment would also increase!
The only drawback was likely that because this toad skin had been kept for too long, not much Dao Cultivation remained within it.
Moreover, the material wasn't very suitable for refining into the hell pagoda.
Since the hell pagoda was a pagoda, it naturally required hard Materials like stone or bone during refining.
Refining it would require certain auxiliary Materials and techniques.
But what Xu Qing lacked least were various Materials and treasures, as well as Artifact Refining techniques.
His, the great Xu Qing the Artifact Refining Genius Snake's, refining techniques naturally could not be doubted by others!
He could trade; it was definitely not a loss!
“If you use this item for the exchange, it is acceptable.”
Xu Qing put the toad skin into the heaven-accepting gourd, immersing it in the creation fluid.
Consider it a pickling treatment before refining.
Back when he didn't have the heaven-accepting gourd, Xu Qing used the Naturally Formed Treasure Land to collect the power of heaven and earth to refine the Resurrection Green Snake's shed skin as preparation for refining the Xiliang Sword.
The principle was the same for both.
Seeing Xu Qing put away the toad skin, Bai Shi breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he held an extraordinary status and Bloodline within the Yao Race, breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage had nearly exhausted his family fortune.
And the result was still failure.
It wasn't that his talent was poor; possessing a trace of the Vermilion Bird Bloodline as the last remaining Thunder-Flame Goshawk, his talent couldn't possibly be bad.
It was just that breaking through to the Nascent Soul also depended on Luck and fate.
Fortunately, his Sister Crane had helped introduce him to the Green Snake Goddess.
He had gone to the River God Temple to seek an audience before.
But it wasn't just him; ordinary people simply couldn't meet the West River Maiden.
Xu Qing flipped his hand and took out the palm-sized heaven-stealing lamp.
With a flick of his finger against the lamp's wall, a globule of green wine liquid flew out from it.
The aroma of the wine overflowed, a fragrance that filled the nose.
If an ordinary Mortal were to just smell the scent of the wine, they would likely fall into a deep drunken stupor.
Seeing this, Bai Shi gained a bit of confidence in restoring his Yao Yuan and Dao foundation.
He took out a jade bottle, sealed the wine liquid, and bowed to Xu Qing once more.
“Bai Shi thanks the Goddess.”
“No need, it was merely a fair trade.”
Xu Qing waved his hand and looked at the Crimson-Tailed Burning Flame Crane beside him.
The Crimson-Tailed Burning Flame Crane already had a look of drooling anticipation.
He pretended not to see her.
Unless she had something to trade, Xu Qing would absolutely not give out any more green snake wine.
He needed this wine for his own cultivation.
“Boom, boom!”
The rumbling sound rose again.
Amidst the sound of cracking, the glacial fissure continued to expand.
Ice-blue spiritual light shot up into the sky from the fissure, connecting with the moonlight hanging down from above.
One blue and one white Qi filled the sky.
Spreading out in circles like an aurora, it was exceptionally beautiful.
Even the gathered Cultivators, who were not without experience, couldn't help but be intoxicated by such a sight.
An Escape Light plunged into the fissure, vanishing within the blue and white lights.
Then, as if a chain reaction had been triggered.
Like dumplings being dropped into a pot, they all threw themselves into the fissure one by one.
Xu Qing no longer hesitated and flew down.
At the moment he flew into the Secret Realm, the green snake seemed to sense something and looked back.
He saw that the group of black-robed Cultivators he had noticed earlier had removed their masks.
They all had blood-colored marks on their foreheads.
A vortex in the shape of a water droplet.
Exactly the same as the one on the back of his own hand.
“Followers of the Demon Lord!”
“Demon Disciples!”
With stormy waves surging in his heart, Xu Qing vanished from the spot.