8: Is this a useless snake? It's clearly a real dragon!

The world was deathly silent.

The ferocity and madness on Ye Ming's face instantly froze, like a surging tide turned to ice.

He stared blankly at the black figure in front of him, which had visibly swollen, feeling the terrifying pressure that seemed to originate from the Primordial Era, enough to make all living beings bow down. His brain completely stopped functioning.

First-Rank Peak!

Moreover, the intensity of this aura far exceeded that of an ordinary First-Rank Peak, directly approaching those terrifying existences about to Breakthrough to the Second-Rank!

Breakthrough... during battle?

These four words were like a Divine Lightning bolt from the Nine Heavens, striking his skull and shattering all his understanding, all his common sense, and all his pride.

"No... impossible... this is absolutely impossible!" Ye Ming's voice trembled, filled with endless collapse and fear.

What happened to the promised loss of Innate Foundation?

What happened to the promised frailty and inability to live past three months?

It had only been brought out of the Spirit Beast Valley by Ye Feiyan for a mere day or two, yet it... it actually soared all the way from a dying piece of trash to First-Rank Peak?!

What kind of Cultivation speed is this? Even a legendary Divine Beast cub couldn't be this outrageous!

At this moment, monstrous regret surged in Ye Ming's heart.

He finally understood just how outrageously wrong he, and the entire Grand Elder Lineage, had been!

They thought Ye Feiyan was giving up on herself, picking up a random Wasted Snake just to make up the numbers.

But who could have imagined that this seemingly unremarkable little black snake concealed such terrifying, world-destroying potential within its body!

This isn't a Wasted Snake; this is clearly a True Dragon wearing snake skin!

"Flee!"

The instinct for survival overwhelmed everything. Ye Ming no longer cared about the mission or his dignity. He let out a shriek of terror, turned around, poured all his Spiritual Power into his legs, and transformed into an afterimage, desperately fleeing toward the outside of the mountain range.

However, while he was fast, Xuanmo, having achieved a Breakthrough, was faster!

"Thinking of leaving now? Too late."

A cold and indifferent Divine Thought exploded in Ye Ming's mind.

Ye Ming felt as if he had been targeted by an ancient Deity; the bone-deep chill of death made his hands and feet turn cold and his entire body stiffen.

He turned back in horror, only to see an indescribable black bolt of lightning instantly cross the distance between them with a speed that seemed to tear space itself!

Too fast! So fast that his nerves couldn't even react!

In his line of sight, a massive snake tail, covered in profound mystical patterns and seemingly cast from ten thousand years of Mysterious Iron, rapidly magnified in his pupils, carrying terrifying power that could crush everything!

In front of this single tail strike, his Qi Refining Eighth Level cultivation was as fragile as a thin sheet of paper!

"No—!"

The desperate roar abruptly stopped.

Bang!!!

An extremely dull explosion rang out!

Ye Ming's body couldn't even put up a decent resistance; his head burst open like a watermelon under the strike of the snake tail, turning into a cloud of blood mist that scattered across the sky!

His Divine Soul was extinguished, and his corpse crashed to the ground.

A Steward of no small status in the Ye Family, a powerful Cultivator at the Qi Refining Eighth Level, was instantly killed in a single blow!

The entire process was clean, swift, and utterly dominant!

Having finished all this, Xuanmo slowly retracted his tail, his cold snake eyes showing no emotion.

To him, it was merely the casual crushing of a somewhat noisy ant.

He raised his head and looked towards the nearby cave. His figure flickered, and he silently slipped back inside... Within the cave, the battle was reaching a fever pitch.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The crisp sound of metal clashing was incessant. Ye Feiyan, holding an Iron Sword, moved erratically, sending sharp streaks of sword light continuously slashing toward a giant beast ahead.

It was a huge lizard, over three meters long, covered entirely in rock-like scales.

It was the First-Rank Middle Stage Yao Beast, the Rock Scale Lizard, and the guardian of the "Vermillion Fruit."

The Rock Scale Lizard's defense was astonishing. Ye Feiyan's sword strikes only produced sparks and left faint white marks on its body, unable to cause any substantial damage.

However, the Rock Scale Lizard's attacks were sweeping and heavy. Every horizontal sweep of its thick tail carried a whistling ill wind, forcing Ye Feiyan to dodge repeatedly, making her appear somewhat disheveled.

"Damn it, this beast's defense is too strong!" Ye Feiyan frowned, her willow eyebrows tightly knit.

With her Qi Refining Second Layer cultivation, dealing with an ordinary First-Rank Middle Stage Yao Beast should have been more than enough.

But unfortunately, this Rock Scale Lizard was a Variant Species; its scales were comparable to a Magical Artifact, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

Although she could rely on her combat experience as an Empress from her previous life to contend with it, defeating it in a short period was nearly impossible.

Just as she was contemplating a strategy, a familiar figure quietly appeared at the cave entrance.

"Xuanmo?"

The moment she saw Xuanmo, Ye Feiyan's heart tightened, her expression changed drastically, and she hastily cried out, "What are you doing here?! Hurry up and leave! It's dangerous!"

In her eyes, Xuanmo was still the little snake that needed her protection.

Any random tail swipe from this Rock Scale Lizard could take his life!

However, the scene that followed caused Ye Feiyan's beautiful eyes to widen slowly.

Xuanmo completely ignored her warning and leisurely slithered into the field.

He didn't even adopt an attacking posture; he simply, and subtly, swept his deep, dark snake eyes over the raging Rock Scale Lizard.

Just one glance!

"Roar... whimper?"

The Rock Scale Lizard, which had been ferocious and constantly roaring just a second ago, suddenly froze the moment its gaze met Xuanmo's. Its roar instantly turned into a low whimper filled with fear and confusion.

All ferocity drained from its pair of cruel beast eyes, replaced by an extreme, uncontrollable terror originating from the depths of its Bloodline!

It was as if it saw not a small snake of the same rank, but a waking ancient overlord, a supreme existence at the very top of the food chain!

That was absolute suppression on the level of life itself!

Under Ye Feiyan's unbelievable gaze, the Rock Scale Lizard, which had been giving her so much trouble, suddenly collapsed to the ground with a "thud."

Its massive body trembled, and then it scrambled away, turning around and fleeing desperately toward the deeper parts of the cave with all its might, not daring to look back once.

The entire process was extremely fast and utterly comical.

Inside the cave, silence instantly returned.

Ye Feiyan stood frozen in place, holding her Long Sword, watching the bizarre scene before her, her mind filled with question marks.

What happened?

That Rock Scale Lizard... was it scared away just by Xuanmo looking at it?

She subconsciously looked at Xuanmo, only to see him maintaining his harmless appearance, as if nothing had just occurred.

"Could it be because of this fellow's Bloodline?"

Ye Feiyan suddenly recalled something.

She actually knew Xuanmo's Bloodline was that of a Second-Rank Mysterious Snake. Among Yao Beasts, there is often talk of Bloodline Suppression.

The Rock Scale Lizard was very likely suppressed by the Second-Rank Bloodline within Xuanmo.

"I'll pick the Vermillion Fruit first." Having figured this out, Ye Feiyan focused her gaze on the Vermillion Fruit.

It was not suitable to stay here for long.

Just a moment ago, while she was fighting the Rock Scale Lizard, she had vaguely sensed an extremely terrifying Yao Beast pressure flash past outside the cave.

That was the aura of a First-Rank Peak Yao Beast. If that entity sensed the Vermillion Fruit's aura and came here, all her efforts would have been in vain.

She presumed that a powerful First-Rank Peak Yao Beast in the mountain range happened to pass by, and the aura it unintentionally emitted had frightened away the Rock Scale Lizard.

She quickly walked to the end of the cave and carefully picked the Vermillion Fruit, which was entirely crimson and radiated a hot aura, tucking it into her robes.

"Let's go, we're heading back."

With her objective achieved, Ye Feiyan quickly left the cave, taking Xuanmo with her.

However, fate always seems to enjoy playing tricks.

The person and the beast returned the way they came, and unfortunately, they happened to pass the patch of woodland that had been ravaged earlier.

When she saw the mess everywhere and the strong bloody smell that still lingered in the air, Ye Feiyan's steps suddenly halted, and her beautiful eyes instantly froze.

In the center of the devastation, a badly mutilated corpse lay quietly.

Although the corpse was headless, Ye Feiyan immediately recognized the person's identity from the familiar Steward's uniform.

"Ye Ming?!" she exclaimed.

Instantly, all the clues connected in her mind!

Ye Ming appearing here, his purpose was self-evident: he must have come to intercept and kill her!

Yet he was now a cold corpse... combined with the fleeting First-Rank Peak Yao Beast aura she had sensed earlier... the truth was instantly revealed!

This fellow came to kill her, but due to bad luck, he ran right into that passing, unknown Yao Beast Powerhouse, and then... there was no 'then.'

Having understood all this, Ye Feiyan's exquisite face was instantly covered in frost.

She looked at Ye Ming's corpse, her eyes devoid of pity, filled only with endless coldness and disgust.

"Hmph, a fool who deserved to die!"

She coldly spat, then looked toward the quiet mountain forest around them, cupped her hands toward the air in the distance, and spoke with a trace of sincere gratitude.

"Many thanks to this unknown Senior for lending a hand. Ye Feiyan will remember today's kindness."

In her view, she had received an immense favor from that mysterious Yao Beast Powerhouse.

Little did she know that the "Yao Beast Senior" she was so tearfully grateful for was currently lying quietly on her arm, flicking its tail, a hint of undetectable amusement flashing across its deep snake eyes.