Who is to say Gu Huaixiu cannot read his thoughts? You had better not be thinking of using your own body to cause me any harm. Wutong stammered, I… I did nothing of the sort. I am warning you. Even if you were to turn yourself into a cripple, it would take no more than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to restore you on my end. As Gu Huaixiu spoke, he gave his arm a slight shake, causing Wutong’s bound arm to tremble along with it. The black mist dissipated, and the blood from Gu Huaixiu’s wound stopped flowing entirely. In fact, the wound had practically healed over. With another gentle flick of his hand, his previously tattered sleeve became as good as new. Wutong stared in sheer astonishment, though he asked with unconcealed reluctance, Then if I were to die… Gu Huaixiu curved the corners of his lips. Naturally, I would die as well, but… He raised his eyes to pin Wutong with a piercing glare. Do you intend to throw your life away? Of course not! Wutong blurted out without a second thought. That settles it. Since you are fully aware of this now, I will let you know this: your body belongs to me from now on. You are forbidden from inflicting any harm upon it whatsoever without my permission. What if I refuse to obey? Wutong thought to himself that since the damage would not touch his own head anyway, and the demon currently dared not kill him, why should he allow himself to be ordered around? The next instant, his left arm was yanked backward around his neck. Gu Huaixiu hooked him by the hand, pulling his throat directly toward himself until the distance between their noses shrank to less than an inch. Glaring down at him like a blade, Gu Huaixiu locked his gaze onto him without a single blink. All the blood rushed through Wutong’s body as his heart hammered wildly against his ribs. His long eyelashes fluttered frantically, and though he wanted to speak, tension paralyzed his vocal cords. Gu Huaixiu’s gaze drifted down to Wutong’s lips. He leaned in closer, and just as it seemed their lips were about to touch, Wutong abruptly shoved him away. I understand! Gu Huaixiu released him. The corners of his mouth twitched upward into a faint smile, though his eyes remained chillingly cold. Do not hatch any foolish schemes. There are plenty of ways I can deal with you. Wutong bit his lower lip hard, a mix of panic and annoyance swirling in his chest. Though he cursed Gu Huaixiu over a dozen times in his mind, he forced himself to maintain a docile appearance on the outside. The demon’s erratic madness exceeded anything he had ever imagined, and heaven only knew what outrageous things a man driven to madness might subject him to. Gu Huaixiu’s attention had already shifted away from Wutong. He studied the massive doors for a long time before suddenly flicking his wrist, sending several sharp beams of icy light stabbing straight toward the center of the double doors! Reveal yourself! Following Gu Huaixiu’s deep, low bark, a clattering symphony of iron chains and colliding ice echoed through the hall. The patterns carved into the doors writhed once more, and with a loud clang, an object bound tightly in chains and caked in frost dropped heavily onto the ground. With his sharp eyes, Wutong immediately recognized that the creature secured by the iron chains was a small cyan snake. It wriggled and bounced back and forth on the floor, its spine arching and collapsing while its entire body shivered continuously as if suffering from intense cold and pain. No matter how frantically it thrashed, the iron chains remained coiled tightly around its body, loosening and tightening dynamically with every movement. The sight instantly reminded Wutong of the red-cord-like Zhutian Jue binding him and Gu Huaixiu together, sending an instinctive, tingling numbness shooting through his wrists. Unable to break free, the little snake started cursing the moment it hit the ground. Damn it all! Whoever this fellow surnamed Gou is, if my demonic powers were not sealed, would I ever let you toy with me over and over again? You needn’t look so high and mighty, ignoring the past glory of the Great Green Python Divine Lord. The moment I recover my demonic strength, I swear I will make you wish you were dead, you wretched… Hearing this, Wutong felt utterly lost in a labyrinth of confusion, catching only names like the fellow surnamed Gou and the Green Python Divine Lord, which left him profoundly shocked. Though Wutong had never heard of the Green Python Divine Lord, records of the great green python demon existed within historical texts. Legend placed his active era during the time of Patriarch Haochen, the founding master of the Tianchen Sect, making him the undisputed number one supreme demon of that era. After several clashes with the Immortal Alliance, he suffered defeat and vanished without a trace. Some claimed he died in battle, while others believed he had retreated into seclusion, yet nobody expected to encounter him hidden within the underground palace beneath the Upper Immortal Terrace of the Tianchen Sect. Wutong furrowed his brow as he stared at the cursing little cyan snake. How on earth did this resemble a legendary demon king? Besides, Haochen’s era dated back at least several tens of thousands of years; could a mere little cyan snake possibly live for such an unimaginable lifespan? Are you the great green python demon? You must be joking, Wutong blurted out. Who is joking? Who is joking! If I possessed that Zhutian Jue, could that old codger Haochen have been a match for me? Could he have trapped me in this wretched place? While shouting, the snake whipped its head back and forth as if searching its surroundings. Gou Qing, Gou Qing, show yourself! Who is Gou Qing, and what are you babbling about? Wutong grew even more bewildered. Was that fellow surnamed Gou not the one who ambushed me just now? the green snake hollered. Wutong shook his head, pointing a free finger toward Gu Huaixiu. The little snake wriggled and cast a critical, up-and-down gaze at the two of them, its eyes finally locking onto Gu Huaixiu. You ambushed me? What relation are you to Gou Qing… It suddenly let out a yelp of realization as if a sudden epiphany had struck. Ah, that’s right! Three thousand years have passed, and that fellow surnamed Gou is no longer a young pup; he’s probably a withered old codger by now. So, are you his son? His disciple? Wait, wait, wait, what on earth is going on here? Wutong interrupted the snake’s one-man show. There is nobody else here, nor is there any fellow surnamed Gou. Who on earth is this Gou Qing you keep talking about? A nameless person, Gu Huaixiu suddenly spoke up. A nameless person? Could it be that mysterious back figure from the murals earlier? The nameless person to whom he had assigned a codename! So his name was Gou Qing, and Gu Huaixiu had known his identity all along. Since this self-proclaimed great green python demon claimed Gu Huaixiu was Gou Qing’s son or disciple, how could a supreme demonic lord become entangled with people from the Tianchen Sect? A hundred question marks piled up in Wutong’s head, buzzing noisily. Struggling mightily to hoist its neck upward, the little cyan snake glared at Gu Huaixiu and snarled, Regardless of whether he is your old man or your master, summon him here right now! I need to have a proper reckoning with him and let him see for himself what it means when the upper beam is unstraight, the lower beams are crooked! Utter nonsense! With a soft, cold grunt, Gu Huaixiu’s gaze turned abruptly sharp. Lifting his left palm, he unleashed a massive surge of dark mist mixed with biting, freezing cold air that instantly compressed the little snake into a solid block of ice. The green snake’s voice dwindled rapidly into faint mumbles: Damn it… damn it… The sound faded away entirely until absolute silence returned to the great hall. Silence the serpent! That was Wutong’s immediate reaction. Could it be that the demon struck to prevent the green snake from exposing some unspeakable secret? This snake could not be allowed to die! Wutong immediately yanked his arm forward and demanded loudly, Did you beat him to death? He cannot die. Gu Huaixiu ignored the frozen block of ice, stepping instead right up to the double doors to examine them with meticulous care. Wutong, dragged along in his wake, cast frequent glances back at the frozen lump on the floor, torn between wanting to struggle and hesitating out of caution, his heart overflowing with questions. The moment he turned back around, he saw Gu Huaixiu pushing against the doors just as he had earlier. Wutong cried out in alarm, Did you not just say… No defensive attacks triggered this time, yet the doors remained utterly immovable, acting precisely like an ordinary pair of gates that simply possessed no mechanism to open them. Damn it all… The green snake’s hollering abruptly rang out from behind them once again. Without turning his head, Gu Huaixiu flicked another volley of ice pellets wreathed in black energy toward it. The voice stopped instantly. Gu Huaixiu shoved the doors once more, but realizing it yielded no results, he pulled Wutong around to face the block of ice on the ground. The ice block twitched first, followed by faint cracking sounds echoing from within. Soon, spiderweb cracks propagated across the entire block before bursting apart in a sudden explosion. The little cyan snake bounced out, baring its teeth and hissing angrily, Damn it all… The voice cut off mid-syllable at the sight of Gu Huaixiu’s hand forming a threatening gesture. Will you stop cursing? Gu Huaixiu asked coldly. Stiffening its neck, the green snake clearly remained unconvinced yet lacked the courage to act tough any longer. After a long pause, it demanded fiercely, This is the ancestral mausoleum hall of the Tianchen Sect, a place where few ever tread. How did you two… get in here? It suddenly froze, as if finally noticing the hands linked together between the two of them, its eyeballs rolling back and forth over their wrists. Are you two… dao companions? No, we are not! Wutong vehemently denied. Heh, the little cyan snake adopted a knowing expression. Unimportant, unimportant… Hey! It shouted at Gu Huaixiu once more. You brats interrupted my sweet slumber, but out of my magnanimity, I will not haggle over it with you. This is no playground for little fellows like you! Hurry up and send me back onto the door, then get out of here right now! How do these doors open? Gu Huaixiu asked. What are you trying to do? Want to go inside? The green snake assumed a bizarre expression, abruptly puffing itself up in a display of false bravado. Ridiculous! A door guarded by the Green Python Divine Lord is something a punk like you can open simply because you wish to? Wutong let out a sudden snort of laughter. What are you laughing at? the green snake demanded angrily. The great green python divine lord, indeed! Little green snake, is it really that hard to admit you are just a little gate-keeping snake? What little green snake! I have a proper name, and it is Green Python! Which sect’s disciples are you, anyway? Didn’t the Tianchen Sect ever teach you to respect your elders? Furious, Green Python hopped up and down, rattling its chains into a noisy clatter. Growing impatient, Gu Huaixiu conjured a roiling ball of black energy in his palm. How do these doors open? The green snake instantly deflated, though it stubbornly retorted, Didn’t that fellow surnamed Gou teach you… Wait… Could it be that you truly have no connection to him? Then how did you figure out how to break my true form… Besides, there is nothing inside this door except for piles of dead skeletons, so why is everyone so eager to get inside one after another? I advise you to dismiss this notion right now; you will only live to regret entering. This old man is trying to do you a favor, yet not only are you ungrateful, but you are also laying hands on me. Is this how you behave? Wutong was on the verge of breaking out in laughter once again; this green snake certainly loved to run its mouth. How… do… they… open? Gu Huaixiu enunciated each word slowly, his voice rising slightly in pitch. Though his tone remained calm, an underlying wave of murderous intent began radiating from his entire body. Wutong could not help shivering involuntarily. Startled into a frantic backward slither of several feet, the green snake accelerated its speech frantically. These doors are blessed with the Zhutian power of that old codger Haochen! Only by acquiring the Zhutian Jue can one harness the Zhutian power to break Haochen’s seal, and then the doors will naturally open! It rattled off the entire explanation in a single breath. Panting heavily when it finished, the snake’s aggressively raised head suddenly drooped downward, its entire body collapsing limply onto the floor. What is wrong with him? Wutong asked in surprise. Gu Huaixiu looked equally perplexed, his expression shifting abruptly. His demonic power is dissipating. With a swift wave of his sleeve, he hurled the green snake, chains and all, flying straight back onto the door. The runic patterns on the doors flared and shifted once more before finally stabilizing. Only Green Python’s head dangled downward, looking precisely as though a hole had been carved into the door specifically for it to poke its head through. Gradually, its breathing stabilized, and its eyes fluttered open. Though its head still hung limply, an expression of intense resentment toward Gu Huaixiu and Wutong burned within its eyes, while its mouth twitched as it exercised maximum self-control to swallow back the words damn it all. It appears he relies upon this door, Wutong observed. It is because those runes and spells restrict his demonic power entirely to the door, Gu Huaixiu explained. Once separated from it for too long, his dwindling demonic strength will cause him to weaken progressively until he eventually perishes. What he said about the runes on the door being reinforced by the power of the Zhutian Jue would appear to be true. The Zhutian Jue? You mean the one currently binding our wrists? Hearing this, the green snake, which had been quietly cursing under its breath, instantly snapped its head up. Did I hear correctly? The Zhutian Jue! You actually possess the Zhutian Jue? Hurry up and point the Zhutian Jue toward the diamond-shaped emblem right in the center of the door, channel your spiritual energy into it, and the doors will open! Upon hearing this, Wutong raised his hand, preparing to aim the Zhutian Jue directly at the doors. Yet Gu Huaixiu’s wrist remained completely stationary, preventing Wutong from lifting his arm at all. Puzzled, Wutong turned to look as Gu Huaixiu let out a cold sneer. Do you really take me for a fool who would fall for a few words of trickery?
Chapter 12 - Silence the Serpent!
After The Demon Lord Became A Beautiful, Useless Accessory