The members of the Dongke Clan were but a fleeting glimpse; Yao had no time to spare for them now. Seizing opportunity was their own skill. The most pressing matter was the giant serpent closing in with terrifying speed.
As the poison mist enveloped them, their bodies were instantly ravaged. Corrosive wounds sizzled with pain, and natural regeneration was suppressed. Left unchecked, blood loss and toxin would be their end. Fortunately, Yao's Infinity Flow force field was active, repairing damage even as it occurred. Yet their speed suffered, and then… it was upon them.
The chasm's abyss was a darkness compounded by black mist and the void itself. In that consuming black, the serpent's scales gleamed with a sinister, subdued light, its serpentine pupils glowing like malevolent moons. It cannot get close. We cannot withstand a direct assault.
Yiye Hanzhuo launched fierce aerial attacks. Even his strongest lightning strikes, however, shattered against its armored scales, registering zero damage. What kind of boss is this? A great serpent demon straight out of myth.Yet Yao saw an opening. While the damage was null, lightning possessed a inherent property: paralyzing shock.
The serpent, colossal as it was, resisted the brunt of the attack but was still stunned for a few crucial seconds—a paralysis affecting even its spirit. In that window, Yao unleashed the multitude of filaments she had hidden in the space. Thousands of writhing tendrils and vines erupted, tangling around the massive creature.
The serpent sensed it, muscles coiling to snap the bindings. But Yao had already intensified their density to a near-"metallic" state, heavy as dark iron. Simultaneously, she shifted her four fused force fields, emphasizing gravity. The multiplier effect was immense.
The serpent itself weighed tons. Entangled and weighed down by the "dark-iron" filaments, its mass increased hundredfold. Under the amplified gravity, it felt as if a devil from the abyss had seized it. Its own downward momentum, once an advantage, now betrayed it. With a horrific whoosh, it plummeted past Yao and her companion like a meteor, screaming into the depths.
Infinite descent. Its furious roars echoed upwards.
Seizing the moment, Yiye Hanzhuo followed Yao as she shot forward, flying straight along the chasm's fissure. Escape!
"It's coming back up! Fifteen seconds to intercept. Do you have anything else?" she called out, already sensing her filaments snapping under strain. The serpent would be upon them soon. Now was the time to see if this Purpleblood scion had any remaining cards.
"I do. It could pose a threat, but hitting it is unlikely," he replied, voice tight.
So it wasn't his inherent lightning ability, but a treasure. Potent, but slow. The serpent, despite its size, was preternaturally agile. Its serpent-pupils were a form of perception technique, excelling at tracking.
Yiye Hanzhuo had the weapon but not the aim.
Yao glanced back. The colossal form was already weaving through the air behind them, rage palpable. Poison mist began to blot out the fading light above, like a demon's storm cloud.
"Prepare it. Be ready," her voice was unsettlingly calm. He found himself trusting it.
Nine seconds. Suddenly, Yao dove downward. Yiye Hazzhu followed without question. The serpent gave chase, closing the gap rapidly. The temperature plunged as they descended. Humidity spiked; the thick scent of water and minerals rose. An underground river… Just as the distance closed enough for the serpent's ranged attacks…
A thunderous roar erupted from the chasm's bowels. From the pitch-black depths surged a pack of monstrous wolves—three meters tall, five long, with three lashing tails. Their fur was grizzled grey-black, eyes glacial blue. They were built low and powerfully, with broad shoulders, heavy heads, and a single twisted horn on their brows weeping a dark, necrotic aura.
Earth-Yin Dreadwolves. They fed on corpse-energy, channeling it into dark-elemental attacks through their horns. The apex predators of Tonglu Mountain's chasms, they ruled through numbers and savage ferocity. A key weakness: a primal fear of deep water.
The pack charged, frenzied, pursuing a host of retreating filaments ahead. Yao's filaments, which had brazenly trespassed in their den, even attempting to snatch pups. The insult had mobilized the entire colony.
The filaments retracted, leading the furious pack straight towards Yao, Yiye Hanzhuo, and the pursuing serpent. To the wolves, the initial provocateurs were secondary. Their predatory instinct and territorial fury locked onto the greater threat—the giant serpent. An invader of this magnitude, if allowed to lurk, meant extinction.
The alpha wolf howled. The pack responded, horns glowing with baleful blue-black light. Beams of chilling energy lanced forth…
The dark chasm was momentarily illuminated.
Yao, the architect, was already moving, pulling Yiye Hanzhuo into a desperate evasive maneuver. The serpent, reacting, tried to dodge the onslaught.
Cue the familiar trick. More filaments erupted, attempting to entangle.
The serpent, now wary, twisted violently the other way.
Right into the predicted path. Yao knew. Yiye Hanzhuo knew.
He seized the moment. A treasure flew from his body—a dull, crystalline orb that hummed to life, its seals unlocking, targeting the serpent.
Yao recognized it instantly, a flicker of shock in her eyes. A Purple-grade soul treasure: The Harbinger, Soul-Reaper.The wealth of great houses. Used on her, it might have been instantly lethal, had her soul been weaker. Against the serpent, it was not fatal, but it struck true.
The serpent's soul was assaulted. Dizziness and weakness washed over it, creating a critical flaw. It could not evade the second volley of dreadwolf beams.
BOOM!
It was hammered from the air, crashing down amidst the snarling pack. Seizing the chaos, Yao and Yiye Hanzhuo fled… plunging directly into the icy underground river, using the water to mask their scent and break any potential pursuit.
The dreadwolves focused on the greater threat. Two humans were insignificant; their bodies were poor sustenance for beasts. The serpent, however, would consume their entire world. The alpha cast one cold glance at the escaping figures before leading the pack in for the kill.
The serpent, besieged, fought viciously but was overwhelmed by numbers. In its fury and desperation, it fixed its gaze on the escaping humans. With a final, spiteful act, it convulsed and spat a stream of strange, shimmering crimson fluid into the watercourse.
Below, Yao and Yiye Hanzhuo swam, putting distance between themselves and the fray, allowing themselves a moment of strained relief. The danger had been too close.
Then… the water felt wrong. A chill that wasn't temperature. Before they could react, the crimson spittle dispersed into a thousand hair-thin, wriggling pink filaments that shot through the water with impossible speed, homing in on their still-bleeding wounds.
They tried to evade, but it was too late. The filaments pierced their injuries.
Poison?Not quite poison. Wounds sealed unnaturally fast. A surge of overwhelming, feverish strength flooded their veins. Heat, raw and restless, ignited in their cores.
Yiye Hanzhuo was baffled, even alarmed by the potent effect. Yao's face paled with realization. She tried to push away from him, but it was futile. The filaments inside them were alive, splitting and extending outwards, weaving a pink cocoon that pulled them together. Simultaneously, the internal threads invaded their nervous systems.
Yao was yanked back against him. Her hands found his shoulders, but the strength to push faded instantly. A fog of delirium, desire, and dizzying warmth descended, like gulping a whole jug of mulled wine in a winter dream.
In the swaying water, Yiye Hanzhuo's eyes glazed over. His world narrowed to the woman pressed against him. A stranger. Two, three battles fought side-by-side. Flawless coordination. Who was she?
He saw the slender form, her hair floating around them like dark seaweed, like a cluster of submerged orchids—pale, ethereal, her eyes wide and drenched with confusion. A terrifying part of him understood what was happening, yet he was powerless. He wrenched his gaze from her lips with immense effort.
It was a losing battle. His mind fractured, flashing to childhood memories: locked in a dark meditation chamber, denied food… while outside, they roasted whole lambs, the rich, fatty scent seeping through the grate. He would press his eye to a crack, unable to look away. A physical craving, a spiritual surrender.
Now, he tried to rebel, turning his head. His eyes fell on the curve of her neck. Slender, pale, the faint tracery of a vein beneath the skin. A finger laid there would feel the flutter of her pulse. The delirious thought surfaced just as he realized… his fingers were already there.
He was tall, his hands naturally large. His thumb settled at the hollow of her throat, fingers curving around the side. He felt the subtle movement as she swallowed. He bent his head, his lips brushing the damp skin. Beneath his thumb, her pulse hammered. A low, shaky gasp escaped her, amplified in the watery silence.
The chaotic energy around them pushed the water back, creating a pocket of sound.
He heard it. He saw her turn her face away, exposing the line of her neck. She was struggling too, one hand weakly braced against his shoulder, the other rising. Two fingers came to rest lightly against his lips.
A barrier with no strength. A plea.
She shuddered, a frown etching her brow.
The expression jolted something in Yiye Hanzhuo. The Soul-Reaper orb, still hovering near, pulsed. In a moment of brutal clarity, he forced it to turn its power inward, delivering a concussive shock to his own soul.
The enchantment preyed on the spirit. To break a spiritual poison, wound the spirit itself.
The pain was excruciating, but it cleared the fog. He regained control, only to find her already pulling back, her eyes clearing faster than his. There was no time for words. The water behind them churned violently.
Itwas coming.
"Go!" she gasped.
They rode the current, which swept them into a deep pool where a vortex swirled—a maelstrom that radiated pure illusion magic. A trap. But the serpent, having shaken off the wolves, was almost upon them.
Between the devil and the deep blue sea. With a shared, desperate look, they plunged into the vortex.
The world spun…
Steam rose from a hot spring. Yao broke the surface, swimming weakly to the rocky edge and hauling herself onto a large, flat stone. She lay on her side, breathing hard.
Yiye Hanzhuo emerged moments later to see her there, vulnerable and distressed, one hand pressed to her throat as she struggled for air. Her soaked robes clung to her form. Water streamed from her hair, beading at her chin to drip steadily onto the grey stone. Sensing him, she turned her head. "A Symbiotic Enchantment Fiend. I didn't expect the serpent to host such a thing."
Yiye Hanzhuo abruptly turned his back. "My apologies."
"It's a living toxin-spirit, different from common sprites. It symbiotically attaches to powerful beasts, growing stronger with its host, far more potent. It manipulates toxins freely. If we had lost ourselves, it would have used our… entanglement as a conduit to drain all our energy, leaving us husks."
"Any punishment you see fit, I will accept," he said stiffly, back still turned.
"The danger isn't past. Remnants of it are still inside us. The serpent can track us through it. We must find an antidote."
"Please, act as you will!"
"Sir, must you fixate on what happened? It was an external compulsion." Her tone held a note of exasperated patience.
"..."
It was like speaking different languages. She remained relentlessly logical, focused on survival. He, who seemed so cold and controlled, was unraveled by the brief loss of autonomy. It was unexpected, and admittedly, somewhat mortifying.
Yiye Hanzhuo, realizing his lack of composure, frowned and finally turned. Yao had sat up. Seeing the conflict in his eyes, it struck her that perhaps in this world, the more promising young talents of great houses received less… worldly education in certain areas compared to the hedonists of her old life. Here, they were too busy cultivating and fighting monsters.
But he had wounded his own soul to break free…
Her voice softened. "If I said I am not angry, would you think me wanton or frivolous?"
"Of course not."
"To me, being controlled by an external force, especially one affecting both mind and body, is not a shameful thing. Because I was no better off than you."
"You?" He found her calmness almost unnerving. Was she just comforting him? His disappointment was solely in himself.
Yao offered a wry smile. "Is it so strange? I'm only human. Women have desires as men do. If it were another man here with me, or another woman—or even another man—with you, the result would be the same. Once control is stripped away, we're all just animals. There's no need to hold oneself, or others, to impossible standards. It's… rather liberating, in a way."
If given the choice, she wouldn't pick being a genius in this brutal world. She'd choose a boring,平凡 (ordinary) life as a nobody. But choice was a luxury she never had.
Yiye Hanzhuo fell into thoughtful silence, then remembered himself and turned around again. "You said if it were another man… would the effect truly be the same? Is the fiend that powerful?"
"Turn around. I'm changing." Her voice was matter-of-fact.
"Right."
"And yes, based on my knowledge, it is. It seeks release of energy, not procreation."
Her casual, clinical tone eased some of his tension, even as it flustered him anew. Yao knew her thin, soaked robes were partly to blame for the young man's discomfiture. She quickly pulled dry outer garments from her spatial ring.
Yiye Hanzhuo kept his back turned. The sound of rustling fabric was soft behind him. "This is my first encounter with a Symbiotic Enchantment Fiend. I am in your debt for the knowledge."
Debt?They were already poisoned. Knowledge now was cold comfort. He was being overly formal. "Do you have a method to neutralize the toxin?" he asked, back still turned.
"Not presently. We proceed step by step. This place… feels wrong."
Once dressed, Yao stood, surveying their surroundings, her brow furrowed. Yiye Hanzhuo also changed and attempted to summon his arcana. Nothing. He looked at Yao, grim. "This is bad. No elemental energy. Arcana is suppressed. If I'm not mistaken, we've stumbled into a Dwarven Whirling Stream Illusion Realm."
Dwarves, the innate kings of alchemy. The Whirling Stream Illusion wasn't a simple array, but an alchemical equation imprinted on the environment itself, using the local geomancy to create a self-sustaining prison. It suppressed arcana, reduced adepts to near-mortal frailty, and slowly leeched the life force from intruders, leaving them to wither and die.
A dire predicament. Yet, it was safer than the serpent, buying them time.
"Such an equation isn't small-scale. The effort required suggests more than just this. They've likely layered other equations… There must be a significant treasure here. Dwarves don't skimp on security for trivialities." Yao had suspected the island's secrets. Yiye Hanzhuo, arriving earlier, had sensed it too.
"When I arrived yesterday, the plant life felt… drained. The treasure is likely flora-based, syphoning vitality from the mountain's very roots."
That meant a treasure of at least peak Violet-grade.
"Then we aren't the only ones trapped. The Dongke team ahead of us will also be caught in the Dwarves' schemes."
"They will guard the treasure until it matures."
Yiye Hanzhuo nodded. "But the situation is more complex now. The serpent likely won't enter here. It may lie in wait, or, having followed us this far, it may have sensed the treasure and engaged the Dwarves."
A three-way conflict brewed outside. Their immediate problem, however, was the fiend's toxin in their veins and the Dwarven prison around them. The outside treasure… wasn't Yao's original goal, but it could become one. Yiye Hanzhuo's purpose remained unclear.
They explored the illusory realm—a self-contained ecosystem built around the hot spring. "However long we're here, we must first disrupt its life-draining function. There should be Witherbone Grass, Seven-Star Blooms…" Yao listed several plants. "They release a cocktail of enervating particles. Removing a few is useless; others compensate. We must eradicate them all."
This knowledge surpassed standard academy curriculum, delving into advanced, cross-species ecological alchemy. Her breadth of knowledge is staggering.Yiye Hanzhuo gave her an inscrutable look but followed her instructions, locating and destroying the specified flora.
Without their powers, it was manual labor. Three exhausting hours later, they had cleared over ninety percent of the draining plants from the immediate area. As they worked, Yao also harvested select plants. Noting this, Yiye Hanzhuo did the same.
Then the sky darkened. Not with clouds, but with a downpour of… knives. Literal, gleaming blades of conjured metal.
"The Dwarves are downright sadistic," Yao muttered, exhausted, as they scrambled for the shelter of a nearby cave.
Watching the metallic deluge, Yao toweled her hair, mind racing. A pile of carefully sorted herbs appeared before her. She looked up at Yiye Hanzhuo.
"For you."
She set the towel down. "I can use these. They might help concoct a counter-agent."
His eyes sharpened. "For the enchantment toxin?"
"Ordinarily, a fiend of this grade is beyond my skill to cure. But its symbiosis with the serpent is a weakness. The serpent's nature influences the toxin. Remember the underground magma?"
Yiye Hanzhuo caught on. "The magma was significant?"
"It induced the serpent's frenzy. Analyzing its properties gives clues to the serpent's physiology, and thus the fiend's toxin base. Also, I have a piece of the serpent's shed skin."
"Brilliant," he breathed, hope flickering.
"I may have something by tomorrow." She pulled out vials of magma residue and the serpent skin fragment, beginning her work.
Yiye Hanzhuo watched, the tension easing from his shoulders. The rhythmic clink of glassware was oddly melodic. His gaze lingered on her profile, lost in thought. Hours passed. Fatigue finally claimed them both, and they succumbed to sleep.
As they slept, faint pink filaments, like ghostly worms, crept from their bodies, seeking to reconnect, to re-establish the conduit and lure them back into thrall.
The moment the two threads met to form a nexus, both Yao and Yiye Hanzhuo's eyes snapped open. In unison, their weapons—a surgical spike from her, a dagger from him—pierced the glowing nexus point.
Squelch.The filaments writhed, emitting a psychic shriek before falling still, dissolving into a foul red liquid.
Yiye Hanzhuo watched the residue seep into the stone. "If you hadn't warned me with that coded rhythm in your vial-work, I would have truly believed you could brew an antidote. You baited it. Made it fear purification, forcing it to emerge to reassert control."
A stratagem to kill the fiend. Its death yielded experience—a hefty sum, pushing Yao to Level 50—and a drop: a lustrous pink pearl.
Yao picked it up, examining it. "The bluff was necessary. A true antidote was always beyond me."
Fiend's Core: Essence of Enchantment.The repository of its toxins.
Yiye Hanzhuo processed it. "The Whirling Stream Realm suppressed it as well. It grew weak, vulnerable. To make it believe your story… the details about the magma and the symbiotic weakness had to be real, or it wouldn't have taken the risk."
"Those parts were true."
"And removing the draining plants? Was that also genuine?"
"A lie. Disappointed?" She smiled slightly, a tired tease.
He was silent for a beat. "No. I do not fear being trapped here with you."
Yao didn't quite believe him but let it pass, picking up a prepared vial. "By the way, that last statement? Also a lie."
"?"
She awoke the next morning, body and mind somewhat restored, to find Yiye Hanzhuo already tending a small fire, a pot of milk warming, with bread and fruit set aside.
After a spare breakfast, Yao began a new alchemical process, combining reagents and plants. The result was an amber-colored, pulsating orb. She tossed it into the spring.
"An Ecosystem Disruptor?" Yiye Hanzhuo identified it, impressed. He hadn't expected her to be a master alchemist on top of everything else. Creating a high Orange-grade item on the first try was exceptional.
"Precisely. The illusion equation is built upon a stable ecological foundation. Undermine that foundation, and the equation must reconfigure or collapse. In that moment of instability, we find our exit. It will take time. Ecology changes slowly."
Using ecology to break alchemy. Using strategy to overcome raw power.
"You are exceptionally adept at tactics," he observed. Without her expertise, even a team of stronger combatants would be trapped here. Survival skill was a different kind of power.
"Only because I lack overwhelming strength," she replied evenly, neither proud nor apologetic. With the environment handled, the next problem awaited outside.
"First, the serpent. Whether it waits or battles the Dwarves, it remains a threat. You agree?"
"Yes."
"Then, I ask plainly: is the flora treasure your objective?"
"It is not. Is it yours?"
"It wasn't. Now, it can be." The dangers had escalated. She needed every advantage.
Yiye Hanzhuo understood. He preferred working with the clear-minded. "What do you need from me?"
"I can neutralize the serpent's threat to you, ensuring you reach your own goal. In return, once outside, you must occupy the Dongke team. Leave the Dwarves to me."
Her gaze was steady. "I will take the treasure."
When she said it, there was no avarice, only calm certainty, as if stating a natural fact. It felt right.
"Agreed." It was a fair trade. He owed her his freedom, perhaps his life. But how could she handle the serpent alone?
He didn't know about the other Yao, the Oakes body.
When they had first plunged into the river, the split was instantaneous. The Oakes form, with its innate Anti-Arcane property, had slipped away through the water the moment the serpent was distracted by the dreadwolves. Yiye Hanzhuo, focused on the fight, hadn't noticed the divergence.
The Oakes body had escaped the fiend's threads. It emerged elsewhere, concealed itself, and began preparations, its filaments probing.
Now, hidden in a fissure, it analyzed data shared from Yao's main consciousness: the magma composition, the serpent's genetic traces.
"Based on partial racial genetics and power, it's a Venomous Serpent, a Chi-Mamba. A species rank higher than even a Flame Dragon, incredibly rare in the Empire. For one to be here, in Tonglu… But there was a record. The Fall of White Tower. It was the mount of the White Tower Lord."
"The magma was laced with millennial realgar powder. Tailored for it. Someone is deliberately enraging it, causing it to slaughter everything on the mountain. The beneficiaries wouldn't be us, the Ocean-Song Tribe, or the Dwarves. Only TK… or the remnants of White Tower. They want to capture it. The White Tower Lord is calling his pet home."
The pieces fit. Besides the Ocean-Song Tribe, Dwarves, and Dongke Clan, TK and White Tower lurked in the shadows, waiting to play the oriole stalking the mantis.
Yao needed to find them, and teach them that the oriole's role was perilous.
Where would they hide? They couldn't pinpoint the serpent, but knew its habits—it favored deep, hot places. They'd laced the magma upstream with realgar… meaning they were likely weaker than the mamba itself.
"Even with perception skills rivaling mine, the only vantage point overlooking Tonglu Mountain is the Asler Ridge." Yao guided the Oakes body to a midpoint between the ridge and the mountain, deep underground. Anti-Arcane filaments extended, searching.
She found a scout, still dispersing realgar powder, likely trying to drive the serpent into a mindless rage. The main force's location remained hidden.
It didn't matter. Others would find them.
Yao's filaments collected some powder, deliberately guiding traces of it towards a specific region of the mountain—an area the sensitive, prideful Ocean-Song Tribe monitored closely.
Three hours later, three towering adult Ocean-Song tribesmen examined a glob of manipulated magma, crushing the trace filament within. "Someone uses this to spread the realgar. The monster rampaging through Tonglu is indeed a venomous serpent type."
"Eradicate it. And these outsiders. This is not their hunting ground."
"Follow the magma flow. Focus on Asler Ridge."
The Ocean-Song elite moved. Within half an hour, they had the scout. The man was captured, terrified. Among the Ocean-Song warriors was a silver-shelled elder, a scar bisecting his brow. He held an ornate staff. "You will not speak. It is irrelevant."
The staff touched the scout's forehead. Memory extraction. The scout convulsed, brain turning to pulp, and died. A Taboo Master. Killing a Level 70 was trivial.
"The Chi-Mamba. White Tower's reach extends this far? Humans grow arrogant." The elder pointed his staff. "White Tower and TK are there. Eliminate them. I will handle the mamba."
"My lord, is it not too dangerous? The Chi-Mamba is—"
"It is in a period of weakness, according to his memories. A fortunate opportunity. I am in need of a new mount. It will do nicely." The Taboo Master smiled faintly and vanished into folded space. "Make your attack loud. Let the mamba know its former masters have come. It will flee in fear."
And when it fled… he would be waiting.
Elsewhere, the TK operatives, codenamed Viper and Scales, awaited results.
"The mamba's power is formidable. It will clear out those 'distinguished guests.' I wonder what treasures they brought. The Finance Ministry has been such a pain. I haven't had a good score in ages."
"Patience. Wait for the surprise."
Then—"The scout is silent. No contact!"
Viper stood, expression shifting. Scales' eyes narrowed. "We're compromised. Move!"
Too late. Ocean-Song warriors materialized before them.
Oh. The surprise had arrived.
A moment of silent recognition. Then—Explosions.
Back in the disintegrating Whirling Stream Realm, the serpent waited, coiled outside the illusion, for its prey to die or emerge into its jaws.
"The stupid fiend is dead. These humans are troublesome. More so than many powerful foes I've faced." It was still weak, far from its peak. In its long life beside a truly cunning and cruel master, other humans had seemed dull, predictable. Facing these two was a revelation.
It could only wait.
A tremor, deep and instinctual, shot through its massive frame. It reared up, body coiling in agitation.
No. It's them. They found me.
My Master… what more do you want? I will not return!
Terror of its former master, the White Tower Lord, overrode all else. Forgetting the humans, it turned and fled, streaking through the chasm, desperate to escape Tonglu Mountain entirely.
As it fled, the illusion behind it continued to crumble. But Yao and Yiye Hanzhuo did not exit the way they came. They chose the opposite path—the direction where a treasure worthy of Dwarven protection must lie.
The mid-section of the chasm was no longer dark. The walls glittered with polychrome light from embedded minerals and energy stones, interspersed with the ancient, fossilized bones of long-slain beasts. The dense energy and unique environment had nurtured extraordinary flora.
In a cavern where geothermal heat met the chasm's chill, where darkness and ambient light performed a perpetual dance, a tree stood apart.
Five meters tall, ancient beyond reckoning, its trunk seemed forged of timeless ironwood. Yet from its branches burst a profusion of breathtaking, luminous blossoms. It was at the peak of a tricentennial cycle.
"A millennium to flower, two to fruit… but every three hundred years, it splits a vine for self-propagation." Yao's voice was a whisper of awe. "Those split vines… are the Three-Eyed Soulvines."