Chapter 63: Severing One Head

The black snake head suddenly split into nine.

The Profound Water Black Serpent Soul revealed its true form, all nine huge mouths opening simultaneously to spew green flames.

A foul wind blew, and a stench assaulted the senses.

"The one in the middle!"

The single vertical pupil of the Spirit Snake Twining Moon connected with the severe vertical snake markings as Ling Xuan shouted loudly.

"Whoosh."

The Prairie Fire Phoenix Spear was nocked onto the Purplelark Treasure Bow, transforming into an arrow.

The phantom of the Fire Phoenix and the phantom of the Purplelark merged, turning into the divine bird Suzaku, wreathed in roaring flames all over its body.

A chorus of piercing clangs rang out like a tolling bell.

Flapping its wings to take flight, a purple halo wrapped around the Prairie Fire Phoenix Spear as it shot forth at lightning speed.

The Profound Water Black Serpent Soul was stunned. Wasn't this pure bullying of a snake?

"Boom..."

The heavens and earth changed color. The Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, which never saw the light of day year-round, suddenly erupted with soaring flames and blazing fire.

"What is that?"

In the distance, Goguryeo scouts saw this and instantly panicked.

The Profound Black Mountain Range had never witnessed anything so bizarre. Rumor had it that once flames soared in the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, the Profound Water Black River would inevitably undergo a drastic transformation.

The demon souls—the demon souls of the Profound Black Mountain Range—saw it.

Danger instantly welled up in their hearts, terrified beyond measure.

In the blink of an eye, across the Profound Black Mountain Range, demon souls roared and hooves pounded as they scattered in all directions.

The military garrisoning training squad of the Great Sui Divine Dynasty, seeing the firelight and hearing the furious roars of the demon souls, flashed their blades like lightning and thrust their spears like dragons, instantly launching a pursuit.

Such a favorable situation was the prime opportunity to reap military merits.

The Yuwen family and others, still locked in fierce combat with the bursting black bears, saw Yuwen Ni's expression change drastically.

Several more bursting black bears had suddenly charged in. Originally, they were already dealing with two five-star cyan-芒-tier demon souls.

Never did they expect that among the newly charging bursting black bears, there were actually another seven or eight five-star cyan-芒 ones.

Yuwen Chengxiang had already been heavily battered, and at this moment, his heart leapt to his throat. He shouted repeatedly, "Yuwen family guard squad, hold them off for me!"

When disaster struck, the true nature of looking out only for oneself while abandoning those who had followed him for years was fully exposed.

He pulled Yuwen Ni, shouting, "Little sister, hurry, let's go."

Hou Junji, however, wore a look of utter shock. The marks left by the Pavilion Master and his wife led precisely to this place of soaring flames.

"Could this be the Pavilion Master's distress signal?"

Anxiety gripping his heart, his speed abruptly increased as he sprinted toward the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley.

A deafening "rumble" echoed.

Deep at the bottom of the Profound Water Black River, something seemed to have been awakened.

The pitch-black water surface surged violently, splashing wildly and slamming fiercely against the riverbanks as if trying to rush ashore.

The river water churned, and a pitch-black whirlpool appeared.

The small snakes in the river hurriedly crawled onto the banks.

Similarly, in the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, the small snakes entwining the corpse of the Bone Demon fled scurrying in all directions.

"Bang."

The little white snake flicked out the Chi Dragon Pearl, following closely behind the Prairie Fire Phoenix Spear to smash into the middle skull of the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul.

A crisp "crack" resounded.

The skull split open, and a streak of green light shot out.

Seeing this clearly, Ling Xuan's heart surged with joy. The green needle had arrived just in time.

The black, white, red, orange, and yellow little snake phantoms instantly coiled around it.

"Profound Water Black Serpent Soul, you're dead for sure!"

Ling Xuan roared, swinging the Bone Demon around like a giant windmill, howling continuously.

"You... you... you will come to a bad end!"

The Profound Water Black Serpent Soul didn't even know how to curse anymore. "Don't be smug too early. Even if I lose this head, you won't live much longer."

"Wife, behead it!"

Ling Xuan completely ignored the taunt. It was just one head of the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul; what was the big deal?

A hazy scene from his dream replayed, except this time it was replaced by fire-red sharp claws sweeping across to tear apart the snake's head.

The snake's head split open, spewing a plume of black Qi that condensed into the nine-headed snake shadow of the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul, attempting to flee.

Before the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul could react further, the little white snake grew in size and whipped the Chi Dragon Pearl forward, instantly shattering the middle snake head into four pieces.

Before the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul could make any other move, the little white snake swallowed it whole in a single gulp.

Instantly, thunder rumbled in the sky, and violent winds raged.

"Brat, you severed my head! This lord will make you die a wretched death!"

An angry roar drifted over from the Profound Water Black River.

"Nine-headed snake, what are you howling about? This prince has been waiting here for a long time."

Nineteen dark figures suddenly appeared. The leader wore a cold-faced Asura mask and wielded a bright silver spear with five hooked divine dragons.

The remaining eighteen figures all wore identical crescent-shaped scimitars and bronze Asura masks, revealing only a pair of pitch-black eyes.

It was precisely Luo Cheng leading the Yanyun Eighteen Riders, who had quietly crept closer.

Having spotted the mark left by Ling Xuan, they had hidden nearby, waiting precisely for this moment to arrive.

Although while crossing the Profound Water Black River, the little white snake had communicated with the smaller snakes, learning that no powerful demon soul resided within the river itself.

Yet the single vertical pupil of the Spirit Snake Twining Moon had reflected the bizarre anomaly at the riverbed, wreathed in black Qi.

A wisp of that Qi had drifted toward the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, instantly giving Ling Xuan the intuition that this was where the true body of the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul was located.

However, the Benevolent Heart Needle Casket and the Bronze Astrolabe both pointed toward the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley.

At that moment, Ling Xuan knew that the green needle was in the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, guarded by a wisp of the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul's split soul.

Yet the true body of the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul remained hidden at the bottom of the Profound Water Black River.

Having received the news from Yang Xuangan, he would surely persuade Prince Beiping Luo Yi to agree, allowing Luo Cheng, the Heir of Prince Beiping, to lead the Yanyun Eighteen Riders in executing a decapitation strike.

Ling Xuan had long since left his mark; he had simply gone ahead to the Ten Thousand Snakes Valley to search for the green needle.

As for when Luo Cheng and the Yanyun Eighteen Riders would arrive, that was beyond his control.

His objective was merely to uncover the true body of the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul, not to take charge of the pursuit.

Even if he were tasked with the pursuit, it would be impossible.

After all, given his realm and strength, Prince Yang Xuangan possessed enough discretion not to entrust him with such a task.

The little white snake swallowed the wisp of the split soul, its body instantly shrinking and coiling around his arm.

Ye Ziyan disassembled the Purplelark Treasure Bow into a purple-jade phoenix hair-pin and the Twin Purplelark Blades.

Under the current circumstances, the matter of the former Chen royal bloodline could not be exposed and had to be kept strictly secret.

Without hesitation, Ling Xuan sat cross-legged, allowing the green needle to pierce into the green starlight of the Spirit Snake Twining Moon.

The phantom of a crimson giant snake flashed in his mind, spitting out the fourth Taiji diagram.

The circulation pathways of the Yin and Yang dual Qi appeared even more intricate.

Murmuring whispers echoed in his ears, and the second technique of the Spirit Snake Twining Moon manifested—none other than the Poisonous Flame Red Fire wielded by the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul.

It made Ling Xuan shake his head in bitter laughter; the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul had actually used his own technique against him, which truly amounted to splashing water in the Dragon King's temple.

Driving the Infinite Taiji, the crimson scales retracted back into his body.

In his dantian's sea of Qi, the black and white dual needles anchored the core.

The red, orange, yellow, and green little snake phantoms coiled around his bones.

Checking his consumed lifespan, Ling Xuan wanted to laugh but couldn't even manage a smile.

He had never expected that mobilizing the Shikigami power to deal with the split soul of the Profound Water Black Serpent Soul would cost him three years of his life.

However, obtaining the green needle revealed that his strength had once again increased.

Previously, if he could unleash a thousand jun of force with a single hand, he could now unleash two thousand jun.

If he borrowed the power of the snake markings, it would multiply severalfold.

"Pavilion Master, Madam, are you really here?"

Hou Junji ran over swiftly, kicking his legs out repeatedly to scatter the white bones on the ground. "Grandmaster Sun said that no traces must be left at the scene; everything must be destroyed."

Sun Tianxin had said that?

Ling Xuan was momentarily stunned. Could that fellow's Shikigami sense his own grand Shikigami, the Spirit Snake Twining Moon, or had it sensed Ye Ziyan's former Chen royal bloodline?