The Small Village and the Black Snake

Heavenly Human Holy Land, Tianyuan Mountains

Ye Qingxue, Bai Ling'er, and Yue Lingxi returned together. They did not deliberately conceal their auras, so they were quickly sensed by the other three core disciples within the Holy Land.

With a flash of light and shadow, the figures of Xiao Yi, Yun Tianhe, and Han Feng appeared almost simultaneously.

Eldest Senior Sister! Third Senior Sister! Fourth Senior Sister!

Ye Qingxue nodded slightly and asked,

Little Yi, how have things been in the Holy Land these past few days?

Xiao Yi put away his smile and replied seriously,

To answer Eldest Senior Sister, everything is as usual. The main events are still the regular selections and sermons of the Tianyuan Sacred Ceremony.

However, a good seedling has appeared this year, having stepped onto the ninetieth step of the Immortal Ascension Platform.

According to the rules, they have been temporarily assigned under the Ninth Peak. As soon as Ninth Junior Sister returns, the formal apprenticeship ceremony can be completed.

Mm, not bad.

A trace of satisfaction flashed through Ye Qingxue's eyes, and then she asked again,

Mengyao's side should already know the news of Master's return, right?

Xiao Yi nodded,

Rest assured, Eldest Senior Sister. I have already sent the news to the Central State through special channels.

Ninth Junior Sister must have received it by now, and perhaps she is already preparing to return to the Holy Land.

What about Jingyu's side?

Ye Qingxue continued to ask, her gaze falling on Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi froze for a moment, but quickly replied,

The message is being sent.

Good.

Ye Qingxue asked no more and stepped toward the depths of the Holy Land.

Let's first deal with the chores accumulated over these past few days.

......

Heavenly Demon Pavilion

After a brief rest, Gu Changyuan did not stay long. He simply instructed his ten great disciples a bit, entrusted Gu Xing'er to Tushan Hanyan to take care of for a few days, and prepared to set off for the Heavenly Devil Sect.

With his methods, as long as he set up a fixed-point teleportation grand array in the Heavenly Devil Sect that connected with the Heavenly Demon Pavilion and the Heavenly Human Holy Land, traveling between the three places would take but an instant in the future, making it extremely convenient.

Gu Changyuan nodded slightly, his figure shifting as he was about to turn into a stream of light and leave.

Beside him, Xiang Xuanyin hurried forward,

Master, may this disciple go with you? This disciple wishes to head toward the Qingliang Mountains, which happens to be in the southeast direction, on the same way as Master.

Naturally, Gu Changyuan would not refuse, and he nodded in agreement.

The two traveled at an extreme speed. The mountains and rivers along the way rapidly receded, and the wind howled past their ears.

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

The two finally arrived at the border between the Demon Realm and the Human Realm. The spiritual energy here was more than a notch thinner compared to the Demon Domain.

One could faintly feel the mortal aura of the Human Realm intertwining with the demonic aura of the Demon Domain, appearing quite peculiar.

On the side closer to the Human Realm sat a city. Calling it a city was perhaps a stretch; it was more like a large-scale town.

The city walls were not high but were very neat, and the streets were bustling with voices.

Master, this is this disciple's destination, Xuanyang City.

Xiang Xuanyin stopped his figure, his gaze looking down at the city below.

In the center of the city, an imposing giant statue towering dozens of feet high stood prominently.

It was a lifelike giant black snake, coiled with its head held high.

The snake's pupils were inlaid with some kind of dark crystal, gleaming faintly in the sunlight. It appeared majestic and mysterious, silently looking down over the entire city.

Gu Changyuan looked down from the sky, a trace of reminiscence flashing through his eyes.

He was no stranger to this place.

Many years ago, this was just a remote, desolate little mountain village with almost no spiritual energy. The villagers numbered no more than a few hundred, relying on the heavens for their harvest and living a bitter life.

That year, the mountain village suffered a rare and devastating drought. For several consecutive years, rain was incredibly scarce. Even when a light drizzle occasionally fell, it would inexplicably evaporate in an instant. The earth cracked, the crops withered, and the water sources were nearly completely severed.

Hundreds of people struggled on the brink of death, lacking enough food to fill their stomachs.

The desperate villagers listened to the words of a passing wandering cultivator and began to pray ceaselessly to the heavens. They offered sacrifices to the rumored Dragon King to beg for rain, yet they never received any response.

At that time, Xiang Xuanyin was nothing more than an inconspicuous little black snake living near the mountain village.

Although he frequently slithered through the village, the villagers saw that he was merely observing them without any intent to harm, so they never harbored any malice toward him.

During this period, some villagers who were driven to a dead end even bowed and knelt before him, and a few innocent children even shared some of their meager food with him.

One day, he accidentally swallowed a peculiar vine fruit growing beneath the ruined walls of the ancient well at the village entrance.

He did not know that this seemingly ordinary fruit was the very culprit silently absorbing the moisture and earth vein water spirits within a radius of dozens of miles, causing the perennial drought in the village.

After Xiang Xuanyin mistakenly ate it, he suffered no harm; instead, it became a blessing in disguise.

The majestic essence and a trace of desolate ancient aura forced open his dormant spiritual apertures, allowing him to suddenly gain preliminary sentience and a faint ability to cultivate.

After gaining sentience, he gradually realized that the root of the village's suffering was actually related to him, and he could deeply sense the pure despair and prayers of the villagers.

As he instinctively refined the surge of water-attribute essence within his body, his size gradually grew, and his mastery over the power of water became increasingly clear.

Thus, on a dusk following a prolonged period of drought, the massive black snake, having grown to dozens of feet in length, appeared in the sky above the village. For the first time, he attempted to mobilize the thin water spirits between heaven and earth.

Dark clouds gathered, and sweet rain poured down. The parched earth was finally nourished, and the dying crops regained their vitality.

After the villagers' initial shock came wild ecstasy and profound awe.

They regarded this black snake as a Snake God sent by the heavens to save them. They spontaneously carved the first snake-shaped wooden idols, worshipped him devoutly, and revered him as a deity.

However, the good times did not last long.

When the village gradually recovered its vitality and the power of faith began to gather, the Dragon King who had once been prayed to but never responded finally appeared.

It was a green flood dragon that had cultivated for hundreds of years. Relying on a thin trace of dragon bloodline and the cultivation of faith, it had barely reached the Golden Core stage. It tyrannized this region and had crowned itself the Dragon King.

The black snake's overstepping of authority by summoning clouds and rain, which intercepted its faith, completely enraged it.

The Dragon King arrived accompanied by wind and thunder, declaring the black snake to be an evil demon that had stolen heavenly authority. It vowed to bring down heavenly punishment, intending not only to slay the black snake but also to slaughter the entire village as a warning to others.

Xiang Xuanyin, who had only recently grasped his powers, knew he was no match for the beast. Yet, unwilling to implicate the innocent villagers, he resolved to face the threat alone and fight to the bitter end.

It was then that Gu Changyuan appeared. He saved him and even helped him awaken his true bloodline.