The people from the Qingyun Sect ignored them completely, pursuing even harder.
A disciple panted and yelled: “The road doesn’t belong to you guys! Why can’t we walk here?”
Another chimed in: “Yeah! Did your family open this secret realm?”
That female cultivator still stubbornly argued: “People of the Sword Sect, aren’t you guys supposed to be great fighters? Why are you running so fast?”
Su Ning laughed out of sheer frustration: “Even if we can fight, we’re not acting as human shields for you!”
Yan Chuan flew into a rage: “Where’s your Eldest Senior Brother? Get him out here to tank it!”
The faces of the Qingyun Sect disciples stiffened slightly: “Our Eldest Senior Brother… has already gone to hold off another one.”
Yan Chuan almost stumbled: “You guys provoked two of them?!”
Murong Zhuo choked: “…What genius talents.”
Gu Chenguang flipped through his notebook while running, his voice trembling: “Scarlet Flame Flying Python, peak mid-tier demon beast, lives in packs, protective of their young, extremely vengeful. Provoking one means provoking the whole nest.”
I looked over at Shangguan Haitang, who was protected in the center.
A trace of guilt flashed across her face.
I understood now.
This little girl had brought disaster upon them once again.
That giant python roared toward the sky.
The noise made my ears ring buzzingly.
And then, something even more terrifying happened.
Rustling noises came from deep within the forest.
A dense, overwhelming swarm of giant pythons appeared.
Big ones, small ones, thick ones, even thicker ones.
Red ones, blue ones, patterned ones, even more wildly patterned ones.
Crawling on the ground, hanging from the trees, slithering out of the bushes~
Surging in from all directions.
They blocked our way forward.
My senior brothers were forced to stop.
The people from the Qingyun Sect stopped as well.
My senior brothers protected me at the innermost center.
The Qingyun Sect members protected Shangguan Haitang.
The giant python quickly caught up, completely surrounding us together with the other snakes.
The largest one leading the group—the very one that had chased them out—coiled its body, looking down on us from above.
Its snake tongue flicked in and out.
Its blood-red eyes were filled with pure rage.
It glared at the people of the Qingyun Sect.
And it also glared at me.
But when it stared at me, it froze for a moment.
That sky-rocketing murderous intent seemed to… restrain itself a bit.
I blinked.
It also blinked.
The scene was a little awkward.
I had no choice but to speak first: “Um… my senior brothers and I are just passing through. Could you let us pass first?”
A Qingyun Sect disciple sneered: “Don’t waste your breath, this snake beast has completely lost its mind.”
Another disciple: “Yeah, do you think you’re a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect? As if a snake beast would listen to you!”
The female cultivator: “Right now there’s only one way—we must cooperate together…”
Her words were left unfinished.
Because the giant python nodded at me.
And then, it stepped aside to clear a small path.
People from the Qingyun Sect: “…”
Senior brothers: “…”
I turned my head and looked at them.
The expressions on the faces of the Qingyun Sect disciples looked like they had swallowed three pounds of bitter herbs.
That female cultivator’s mouth was still wide open, forgetting to shut it.
I pulled my senior brothers, getting ready to leave.
A delicate shout came from behind: “Stop right there!”
It was Shangguan Haitang’s voice.
I turned back.
She glared at me, her face flushed beet red: “You can’t leave!”
I blinked: “Why?”
She opened her mouth, unable to utter a word.
But her eyes were filled with anger and anxiety.
Her senior brothers and sisters were also looking at me with complex expressions.
There was shock.
There was confusion.
And even a trace of… expectation?
I understood: “You want me to save you?”
The people from the Qingyun Sect looked at the giant python before them, and then at the dense swarm of snakes surrounding them.
Their Eldest Senior Brother wasn’t around.
Although several of them were at the Golden Core stage, they had to protect a Qi Refining stage junior sister.
If we just walked away like this, their battle would surely be grueling and tragic.
That female cultivator bit her lip and squeezed out a smile: “Little sister, can you help us negotiate with it?”
I tilted my head, looking at her.
Her smile grew even more forced.
I held up one finger: “One hundred high-grade spiritual stones per person, and I can talk with it on your behalf.”
The Qingyun Sect members were shocked: “What?!”
Another disciple said indignantly: “You’re taking advantage of our crisis!”
I nodded: “That’s right. Taking advantage of your crisis.”
The Qingyun Sect group: “…”
I counted on my fingers: “Just now, you shifted your misfortune onto us, trying to make us scapegoats. Now I’m merely charging a little mental damage fee, travel compensation fee, negotiation fee, and friendly appearance fee… it’s already very cheap.”
The faces of the Qingyun Sect members turned green.
That female cultivator still wanted to bargain: “But there are so many of us, a hundred per person—how much would that even add up to…”
I pulled back my finger: “Oh, forget it then. Senior brothers, let me leave.”
I turned around, about to walk away.
“Wait!”
Gritting her teeth, the female cultivator exchanged glances with the others.
They huddled together and whispered for a bit.
Then, they pulled out a storage bag and tossed it over.
Gu Chenguang caught it with trembling hands.
Opening it up to look inside, his hands trembled even harder, and his voice wavered: “W-We’re rich…”
A whole 600 high-grade spiritual stones!
He held the storage bag tightly against his chest, his gaze as pious as if he were holding a legendary sword manual.
I patted his hand: “Sixth Senior Brother, stay calm.”
Then I walked toward the giant python.
My senior brothers tried to stop me.
I waved them off: “It’s fine.”
Still worried, they followed closely behind, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
I stopped right in front of the giant snake head.
Up close, this snake looked even larger.
Its head was bigger than me, its scales looked like red-hot iron plates, and its eyes resembled a pair of lanterns.
It looked down at me.
I looked up at it.
My neck felt so sore.
“Can you lower your head a bit?” I asked.
The giant python lowered its massive head, looking straight at me at eye level.
I nodded with satisfaction: “Why are you so angry?”
The giant python clearly understood human speech.
It flicked its snake tongue, letting out a series of “hiss hiss hiss” sounds.
I couldn’t understand the specific details.
But I could pretty much guess.
Because while it hissed, it pointed its tail at the people from the Qingyun Sect, fire practically bursting from its eyes.
I turned around and shouted to the Qingyun Sect group: “Give back what you took from it.”
The people from the Qingyun Sect looked at each other in dismay.
Hesitating.
I added: “If you don’t return it, I’m leaving.”
That female cultivator bit her lip and looked at Shangguan Haitang.
Shangguan Haitang bit her lip, remaining still for a long moment.
Her senior brothers and sisters grew anxious.
—— “Junior Sister!”
—— “Hurry up and return it!”
—— “Life is more important!”
Shangguan Haitang glared at me resentfully, then pulled out three fiery-red spiritual fruits from her storage bag.
The moment the spiritual fruits were taken out, the surrounding temperature rose by several degrees.
Su Ning gasped: “Good grief!”
Yan Chuan’s eyes went wide: “Vermilion Fruits!”
Murong Zhuo realized: “No wonder it chased them all the way out…”
Gu Chenguang flipped open his notebook, his hands still trembling: “Vermilion Fruit, a fire-element natural treasure. Blossoms once every five hundred years, bears fruit once every five hundred years… It guarded them for five hundred years…”
The people from the Qingyun Sect looked awkward and embarrassed.
Shangguan Haitang placed the fruits on the ground.
The giant python swept them over with its tail, placing them beside itself.
However, it still didn’t leave.
It hissed a few more times.
I looked at the people from the Qingyun Sect: “What else?”
The Qingyun Sect group shook their heads: “Nothing else! We only picked the Vermilion Fruits!”
I looked toward Shangguan Haitang.
Her eyes dodged my gaze for a second.
I stared at her.
I stared at her: “Did you steal its egg, too?”
Shangguan Haitang’s face changed drastically.
Her senior brothers and sisters were stunned as well.
—— “Junior Sister?”
—— “You took an egg, too?”
—— “Hurry and bring it out!”
Stealing fruit was one thing.
Stealing an egg was another.
That was equivalent to stealing someone’s child!
Shangguan Haitang bit her lip, and only after a long time did she pull an egg out from her storage bag.
The egg was fiery red, as big as a watermelon, covered in dark golden patterns.
When the giant python saw the egg, its eyes turned red in an instant.
It carefully wrapped its tail around its egg.
Holding it close, tears were almost welling up in its eyes.
I sighed and patted its tail—though I could only reach the very tip.
“The fruits are returned, and the egg is returned too. You’ve taught them a lesson. Consider giving me some face today, and let this matter go.”
The giant python looked at me.
Then looked at its egg.
Finally, it nodded.
The swarm of snakes cleared a path.
As if granted a divine reprieve, the people from the Qingyun Sect bolted without turning back.
Running lightning fast.
After running a few steps, Shangguan Haitang turned back to glare at me once more.
I waved my hand at her: “Remember to bring more spiritual stones next time!”
Her face turned even redder.
And she ran even faster.