An Unexpected Encounter with a Familiar Boa

"Mo Tianxiao, what exactly are you trying to do? I'm not going to throw my life away with you."

Yun Sangyi furrowed her slender brows, staring fixedly at Mo Tianxiao.

Mo Tianxiao smiled. "Don't worry, we aren't going to die. All the assassins in the Blood God Palace combined aren't worth as much as my life."

"We're just changing identities, just like you, to join the Blood God Palace as freelance assassins. If we want to find out who the employer is, we first have to infiltrate the Blood God Palace before we can make our move."

He intended to exact revenge on the Blood God Palace, and naturally, he wouldn't let the employer off the hook either.

Although he wasn't exactly a good person, it didn't seem like he had offended anyone to the point of a bitter feud, right?

Was it really necessary to hire the Blood God Palace to kill him?

"You madman. If your identity is exposed, you will undoubtedly die."

Yun Sangyi's tone was heavy. "Do you realize you're walking right into the lion's den?"

Even if he infiltrated the Blood God Palace, a freelance assassin still wouldn't be able to access their core intelligence.

"Are you worried about me?"

Mo Tianxiao's playful gaze made Yun Sangyi blush.

But the next second, she returned to normal, her eyes curving flirtatiously. "That's right, I'm worried about you. Is that not allowed? You are my absolute best friend, after all~"

The wicked young miss was back online.

"Alright, I'm not joking around with you. You'll handle the arrangements for Xiaoyao and me to join the Blood God Palace. Until I deal with them, you're tied to us."

Mo Tianxiao's tone left no room for doubt or negotiation.

Yun Sangyi pouted, a hint of playful resentment in her eyes. "You're so mean, wanting to tie me up so tightly. Can I at least choose a position I like?"

"You're really getting more and more shameless."

Mo Tianxiao no longer wanted to speak to Yun Sangyi.

This girl was serious one moment and a pervert the next. She definitely had some mental issues.

Beside them, Huang Xiaoyao watched Yun Sangyi's behavior and fell into deep thought.

Is this what they call being shameless?

She heard that men seemed to like flirtatious and shameless women. She wondered if Big Brother Tianxiao was the same.

The three chatted as they traveled. Yun Sangyi spoke without a filter, growing increasingly unrestrained; Mo Tianxiao remained silent, not wanting to talk; while Huang Xiaoyao asked curious questions, humbly seeking guidance.

Days passed until the three stepped into the core region of the Chaotic Star Sea, at which point they finally became somewhat vigilant.

"Don't be afraid, Big Brother Tianxiao. With Xiaoyao protecting you, we'll be fine."

Huang Xiaoyao seemed to notice the worry of the other two and quickly spoke up.

Looking at the dark seawater below, Yun Sangyi recalled her encounter in the Hundred Thousand Mountains a few years ago. Lingering fear crept in, and she suddenly grew tense again.

"That giant python should have left here by now, right?"

Back then, that giant python already had half a foot into the Saint Realm. A few years had passed; perhaps it had successfully broken through. If they ran into it again, it had probably already transformed into a flood dragon.

"The core region of the Chaotic Star Sea is incredibly vast. Our luck shouldn't be that bad."

Mo Tianxiao comforted her.

Although they could choose to take a detour, no matter how they navigated, they would always have to pass through the deep sea zone. Rather than detouring and potentially encountering demonic beasts even more terrifying than the giant python, it was better to take the original route, which would consume less time.

Besides, with Huang Xiaoyao here, even if they did encounter the giant python, they wouldn't necessarily be in danger.

Talk was just talk, though. Mo Tianxiao silently raised his altitude a bit more, concealing his figure within the dense, dark clouds.

"This is much safer. Weak demonic beasts won't be able to spot us, and the powerful ones probably won't bother with small fries like us."

Hearing Mo Tianxiao's words, Yun Sangyi felt much more at ease.

Huang Xiaoyao, on the other hand, looked a bit helpless. There was obviously no need to be this careful. Was there really any demonic beast in the Chaotic Star Sea that would dare to attack her?

"However... why is there a strange smell in these clouds?" Yun Sangyi wrinkled her delicate nose.

Mo Tianxiao abruptly halted, his brows slightly furrowed. At a glance, the scenery for thousands of miles around was a dense, oppressive black.

There really was an extra scent in the air...

It was somewhat familiar, like... the smell of ozone that permeates the air right before a torrential storm.

"What is it?"

Yun Sangyi and Huang Xiaoyao steadied themselves and looked at Mo Tianxiao.

"Something's wrong! Get back!"

Mo Tianxiao stared at the thick clouds in the distance. Sparks of lightning flickered and arrived before his eyes in an instant. A massive shadow loomed into view, instantly making his scalp tingle and the hairs on his body stand on end. He activated a Divine Speed Talisman, grabbed the hands of the two girls, and retreated madly.

"Rumble!!"

The dark clouds that had been incredibly calm a second ago suddenly became violently turbulent. Countless bolts of lightning instantly tore through the sky, illuminating everything.

"Roar!!"

A roar that sounded like a dragon but wasn't quite one sent out violent shockwaves. The massive figure appeared within the clouds, and a dragon-like phantom roared as it bit toward the sky above.

Meanwhile, countless purple lightning bolts seemed to have found their target, transforming into heavenly punishment as they blasted toward the giant phantom, as if intending to destroy it completely.

The three of them were swept into the thunderstorm. Just touching a fraction of it caused the Thousand Illusions Saint Garment on Mo Tianxiao's body to activate to its absolute limit.

Fortunately, they hadn't entered the center of the thunderstorm, and thanks to Mo Tianxiao's quick reflexes, they quickly escaped the radius of the heavenly tribulation.

"Gulp."

The three exchanged glances, their hearts still fluttering with lingering fear.

"We almost had to restart our lives early..."

Yun Sangyi patted her proud chest, her face still a bit pale. "What is going on?"

Huang Xiaoyao was also somewhat frightened. The sudden violent lightning just now had almost struck her in the face. If Big Brother Tianxiao hadn't reacted quickly, they would have been heavily injured at the very least.

"Is that the giant python from back then!?"

Mo Tianxiao calmed his wildly beating heart and caught his breath. Staring at the distant center of the thunderstorm, the massive figure battling the lightning gave him a sense of familiarity.

"What is that? Is it undergoing a heavenly tribulation?"

Mo Tianxiao had never actually seen what undergoing a tribulation looked like.

Whether a cultivator or a demonic beast, there was one thing they all had to experience before breaking through to the Saint Realm, and that was undergoing a heavenly tribulation.

Huang Xiaoyao pursed her lips. "Yes, this is a tribulation! However, this isn't just a lightning tribulation for breaking into the Saint Realm; it's also a tribulation to transform into a flood dragon!"

She had seen this kind of heavenly tribulation before.

"Breaking into the Saint Realm requires the baptism of a heavenly tribulation. The greater one's talent, the stronger the tribulation.

The same goes for demonic beasts, but there's an extra layer to it. For a demonic beast with an ordinary bloodline, if they manage to break through to the Saint Realm, they will experience an atavistic phenomenon, which is known as a bloodline evolution.

Like this giant python, if it can survive the heavenly tribulation, it will completely shed its ordinary bloodline and become a flood dragon, and a trace of true dragon bloodline will awaken within its body.

Correspondingly, when such an existence breaks through, the heavenly tribulation is incredibly powerful."

As the little princess of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, Huang Xiaoyao had naturally witnessed heavenly tribulations, including situations like the giant python before them.

However, demonic beasts capable of completing a bloodline evolution by surviving a tribulation were far too rare. Most beasts with mediocre bloodlines relied on their long lifespans to scrape by until the peak of the Tribulation Realm, yet they never dared to take that final step.

The few who refused to accept their fate usually perished beneath the heavenly tribulation.

Of course, for Huang Xiaoyao, there was no need to worry about such a situation at all. Her bloodline was already incredibly powerful to begin with. Add to that the fact that she was an auspicious beast of the demon race and possessed immense destiny, it was still debatable whether she would even face a heavenly tribulation when breaking through to the Saint Realm.