5: This is a snake that even dogs wouldn't want?

Night, deep as ink.

Moonlight filtered through the window lattice, casting its glow upon Ye Feiyan's stunning profile. She sat cross-legged, deep in cultivation, with Spiritual Qi stable around her body; she was clearly solidifying the Realm she had just achieved a Breakthrough in.

In the corner of the room, Mysterious Ink coiled quietly. The experience points on the System panel were increasing steadily and tirelessly at a rate of one point per second.

After his Breakthrough to the First-Rank Mid-stage, his perception had become incredibly acute.

Within a hundred-meter radius, any movement could not escape his detection.

Suddenly, Mysterious Ink's pitch-black snake pupils constricted, and he abruptly raised his head, looking toward the outside of the Small Courtyard wall.

He sensed an aura carrying a faint killing intent, creeping silently toward this Small Courtyard like a ghost.

The newcomer's cultivation was not weak; it had reached the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining!

And his undisguised killing intent was aimed... precisely at Ye Feiyan, who was immersed in cultivation and completely defenseless!

"Playing at assassination?" Mysterious Ink muttered in his heart.

He glanced at Ye Feiyan, who was still in deep meditation, and chose not to disturb her.

Firstly, the greatest taboo for someone in cultivation is being interrupted; forcibly waking her might cause her Qi and blood to flow in reverse.

Secondly... a mere Fourth Layer of Qi Refining assassin was truly not worth his concern now; it was the perfect opportunity to practice.

Mysterious Ink's body flowed like a shadow, sliding silently out of the room and lurking in the shadows of the Small Courtyard.

A moment later, a black shadow vaulted over the wall like a civet cat, landing steadily on the ground without a sound.

It was a masked man shrouded in black, holding a poisoned short blade that shimmered with an eerie green light under the moonlight. His sinister eyes were locked firmly onto the room where the lights were on.

"Ye Feiyan..." the man in black sneered inwardly. He took a step, preparing to rush into the room and deliver the killing blow.

However, just as he took a step, a pitch-black shadow "whooshed" and blocked his path.

The man in black paused, squinting to see that what was blocking him was actually a small, pitch-black snake.

He was stunned for a moment, then recognized the snake's origin, and his face immediately displayed an expression of extreme disdain and absurdity.

"I wondered what it was; so it's you, this famous Wasted Snake."

"A little thing with an Innate deficiency, that even a dog would despise, and is rumored to be dying soon—you actually dare to come out and block my path?"

"Hahaha, what a huge joke! Get lost, or I won't mind sending you on your way first!"

A low voice filled with endless mockery came from beneath the black mask.

In his view, he could blow this small snake to death with a single breath.

Mysterious Ink's eyes were cold. He didn't waste words with him, simply using his body to firmly block the path to the room.

"Seeking death!"

Seeing this, a fierce light flashed in the man's eyes. No longer hesitating, he swung the poisoned short blade, wrapped in a sharp gust of wind, and slashed fiercely at Mysterious Ink's seven-inch mark!

He seemed to have already seen the bloody scene of this suicidal Wasted Snake being easily sliced in two by his blade.

However, the scene that followed caused the sinister grin on his face to freeze instantly!

Clang!!!

A crisp, ear-piercing sound, like metal clashing, exploded in the silent night!

The man in black felt as if the short blade in his hand had struck a piece of ten-thousand-year Mysterious Iron!

An incomparably terrifying rebounding force surged frantically along the blade, cracking the web between his thumb and index finger, numbing his arm, and almost causing him to drop the blade!

His whole body went numb!

His brain completely shut down in that instant!

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly beneath his blade, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets!

The imagined scene of the snake's body being severed and blood splashing did not appear at all.

The little black snake was still coiled in place, completely unharmed!

No!

Even... not even a single scale on its body had been knocked off!

At the point where his blade contacted the snake's body, there was only a faint white mark, not even worth calling a scratch!

"This... this... how is this possible?!"

The assassin's voice trembled, filled with endless shock and bewilderment!

What the hell... is going on?!

He was a Fourth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivator! With this strike, even a piece of refined iron should have been cracked!

Yet, slashing at a snake, it didn't even break the skin?!

Is this still that legendary Wasted Snake that had an Innate deficiency, was sickly, and would fall over with a gust of wind?!

The defensive power of these scales was likely several times more terrifying than those First-Rank Yao Beasts known for their defense!

Just as the assassin's mind was shaken and his worldview completely collapsed, a cold and violent aura erupted from Mysterious Ink's body!

It was the pressure of a First-Rank Mid-stage Yao Beast!

The pressure, which felt almost tangible, instantly pressed down on the surroundings, making the air seem to solidify!

Under this pressure, the assassin felt as if a great mountain had crushed down on him; his breath hitched, and his face instantly turned deathly pale!

He was stunned again!

A... First-Rank Mid-stage?!

His brain could no longer function; it was a blank, buzzing mess.

A huge question mark loomed deep within his entire Soul!

Why?!

Why would a snake that had only been contracted by Ye Feiyan this afternoon, a well-known, dying snake with an Innate deficiency, possess First-Rank Mid-stage cultivation after just a few hours?!

Is this reasonable?!

Does this hellish thing conform to the basic laws of cultivation?!

Being able to survive was already a miracle! How could it have also had a Breakthrough?! And to the First-Rank Mid-stage at that?!

Unbelievable!

Absurd!

Stunned!

All sorts of emotions engulfed the assassin's brain like a tide. He stood rooted to the spot, even forgetting to escape.

But Mysterious Ink had no patience left to waste on him.

"Die!"

Mysterious Ink's cold Divine Thought exploded in the assassin's mind.

The next second, his nearly two-meter-long snake body moved!

A black afterimage flashed through the air!

Fast! Fast to the extreme!

The assassin's pupils constricted suddenly, seeing only a large snake tail covered in jet-black scales rapidly expanding in his vision!

That snake tail was wrapped in a terrifying power that made his Soul flee in terror!

He wanted to dodge, but his body, due to shock and the pressure, couldn't react in time at all!

Bang!!!

A dull, thunderous boom!

The assassin's body, like a tattered sack hit by a high-speed beast, instantly arched into a strange, shrimp-like shape.

He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with visceral fragments, flew backward, slammed heavily against the courtyard wall with a loud crash, and then rolled to the ground.

Every bone in his body had shattered inch by inch under that strike! His Dantian and Qi Sea were even directly shattered by that tyrannical force!

Ruined!

Completely, killed in one hit, becoming a cripple!

The assassin slumped on the ground, his consciousness beginning to blur, but his heart was filled with shock and bewilderment deeper than death!

First-Rank Mid-stage...

Feeling the destructive force within his body, a monstrous wave surged in his heart!

This power... this was definitely not an ordinary First-Rank Mid-stage!

This power was almost comparable to the Peak of the First-Rank Mid-stage, enough to rival a Sixth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivator!

He finally understood!

How ridiculously wrong he had been!

What Wasted Snake that even a dog wouldn't want?

What waste with an Innate deficiency?

This was no waste at all! This hellish thing... was clearly a peerless Treasure Trove wearing snake skin! A terrifying existence that knew how to pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger!

Ye Feiyan, she wasn't giving up on herself; she had hit the jackpot!

Regret, fear, absurdity... all sorts of emotions swallowed him completely.

Mysterious Ink slowly slithered to the front of the assassin, looking down condescendingly at this guy who was already on the verge of death.

A cold Divine Thought entered his mind again.

"Speak, who sent you?"

There was not a shred of pity in Mysterious Ink's eyes.

Although his relationship with Ye Feiyan still remained at the level of mutual utilization.

However, Ye Feiyan's parents, that kind couple, had been very good to him.

Moreover, there was ultimately a contract between him and Ye Feiyan. In terms of both emotion and reason, he had to protect this woman.

At least, until her status as his "temporary master" expired.