Not long after Li Pingyi departed from the valley, a pair of figures arrived at its entrance.
The two individuals wore the standard-issue outer sect robes of the Qingxuan Sect, cautiously treading along the narrow path into the valley.
One of them scanned the surroundings with a vigilant gaze and remarked to his companion, "Senior Brother Lin, this place feels rather peculiar."
The one addressed as Senior Brother Lin immediately released his spiritual sense upon hearing this, drawing a weapon from his Qiankun Pouch as his expression turned solemn.
"Indeed, Junior Brother Zhang. Exercise utmost caution; if we encounter any danger, we will retreat immediately. We must not capsize in this small ditch."
With that, the two moved in single file, coordinating to cover each other's blind spots as they advanced slowly.
"Look over there, it seems there's something."
The Junior Brother Zhang walking in front appeared to have spotted something, and without another word, he quickened his pace forward.
Hearing this, Senior Brother Lin hurried to follow.
"Well now, why are there so many... Huh?... Cooking utensils? A fishing rod? ...And a pillow??"
Senior Brother Lin stared at the scattered items lying about, his heart filled with doubt and his brows knitted tightly together.
Beside him, Junior Brother Zhang crouched down, scooped up a handful of soil from the ground, rubbed it between his fingers, and then brought it to the tip of his nose to sniff. Afterwards, he shouted in excitement, "This is... Level 3 Spiritual Soil!"
His eyes gleamed, his face flush with uncontrollable excitement. Without a moment's delay, he pulled a shovel and a spiritual soil box from his Qiankun Pouch and began digging away with eager haste.
"Danger!" Senior Brother Lin roared.
Startled, Junior Brother Zhang gave a violent twitch, sending the shovel flying from his hand. Instinctively, he drew his weapon and cast a wary gaze around the surroundings.
When he confirmed there was no danger whatsoever, he cast a resentful glare at Senior Brother Lin.
"This place might be the cultivation ground of some peerless monster beast. Look at this pillow; it was clearly used recently. These pots and stoves all bear traces of recent use."
Senior Brother Lin spoke with a grave and contemplative expression.
"This is the cultivation lair of a gluttonous monster beast that loves sleeping on a pillow. Let's leave quickly; the monster beast might return at any moment."
Gazing at Senior Brother Lin's deadpan seriousness, Junior Brother Zhang could not help but mutter inwardly:
*That is certainly a remarkably detailed description—a monster beast that loves sleeping on a pillow? Since when do monster beasts in your family care about pillows?*
He could not stop himself from rolling his eyes, his face a portrait of utter helplessness.
"I'll be done packing it away in a second! This Level 3 Spiritual Soil is not cheap!"
Grumbling, Junior Brother Zhang retrieved his dropped shovel and resumed digging with all his might, his posture suggesting he meant to bore straight through the earth.
At that moment, Junior Brother Zhang suddenly felt his shovel strike something hard.
He shouted excitedly, "Senior Brother Lin, come look! I think I've dug something up!"
Senior Brother Lin hastily put aside the stove he had been examining and hurried over with a look of surprise.
"Really? Could it be some heavenly treasure?"
Junior Brother Zhang carefully brushed aside the dirt with his shovel, only to discover several books buried beneath the earth.
The two exchanged a surprised glance, then picked up the topmost volume, gently brushing the clinging spiritual soil from its surface. Five striking characters were boldly inscribed on the cover:
*The Snowy Stout Monster's Journey*
Junior Brother Zhang's face instantly drained of color as he stammered, "There... there really is a monster beast here?"
Senior Brother Lin's complexion had likewise turned as pale as paper, beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolling down his forehead while his lips trembled uncontrollably.
Suppressing the panic in his heart, he spoke in a low voice: "I have heard that some powerful monster beasts seal their inheritances or portions of their demonic power within specific items. With a title this arrogant, if we were to open it rashly, it might trigger a demon race secret technique. At best, our divine souls would be damaged; at worst, we would be eroded by demonic qi, with consequences too grim to contemplate! Pack this away swiftly. This matter is of the utmost gravity and must be reported to the sect immediately!"
With that, the two fled the valley without once looking back, leaving the spiritual soil box forgotten and lying there all alone by the dirt pit.
No matter how hard he tried to imagine it, Li Pingyi could never have foreseen the dramatic events that transpired after he left that valley, nor could he have guessed the profound impact they would have on him.
He made all haste toward the vicinity of the pillar of light, taking in the scene before him.
What greeted his eyes was a vast expanse of lush bamboo forest, with the general locations of the two light pillars situated deep within.
Inside the bamboo forest, the stalks grew tall, straight, and densely packed. A gentle breeze swept through, rustling the leaves with a crisp soughing sound, as though softly whispering the secrets of the grove.
"For my old man's Golden Core dream, and for my dream of being a second-generation cultivator, work hard, you punk!"
Li Pingyi silently pumped himself up, then stepped forward with steady strides and slowly entered the bamboo forest.
The ground was blanketed with a thick layer of fallen bamboo leaves that felt soft beneath his feet. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo, casting a dappled pattern of alternating light and shadow upon the earth.
With a wood axe in his right hand held behind his back, a Spirit Talisman of the Fireball Spell pinched in his left, and his short yet formidable three-zhang spiritual sense extended outward, Li Pingyi proceeded forward with utmost caution.
Suddenly, a flash of emerald green entered his field of vision, winding its way along the stalk of a bamboo plant.
"A wild Green Bamboo Python?" Li Pingyi's eyes instantly brightened as though he had just struck treasure.
Yet his inner excitement did not overwhelm his basic sense of caution. He scouted the surrounding area for a moment and, upon confirming there were no other monster beasts nearby, tightened his grip on the axe and crept slowly toward the bamboo stalk entwined by the Green Bamboo Python, preparing to initiate the first battle of his life.
Master Zhang had once stated that a mature Green Bamboo Python was merely at Qi Condensation Level 3, slow in its movements, and required caution only regarding its constricting strength.
Because the python possessed a rather massive physique, its movements were considered quite sluggish compared to ordinary cultivators, making it somewhat difficult for it to successfully coil around and strangle a target.
Li Pingyi estimated that with his Qi Condensation 4th Layer cultivation, combined with the sharpness of his hand axe, dealing with the creature should be a simple matter.
What he did not know, however, was that the scales of this Green Bamboo Python—the very first he had ever laid eyes on—gleamed with a deep, oily luster, appearing somewhat darker in hue than the description Master Zhang had provided...
He channeled his spiritual power into the axe and slapped a Speed Talisman onto his legs, rushing forward toward the python in a single bound.
"Vile creature, face your doom!"
With a fierce roar, a flash of spiritual light burst beneath Li Pingyi's feet, abruptly accelerating his momentum. Pouring his spiritual power into the blade, he swept his sharp axe through the air in a cold arc, aiming straight for the python's seven-inch vital spot!
*Splat!*
Scales shattered, and dark green blood sprayed into the air.
Struck with pain, the Green Bamboo Python let out a piercing hiss as its thick, long tail whipped horizontally like a steel whip, cleaving the air with a whistling gale.
Li Pingyi had long been on guard; he ducked low, narrowly dodging the sweep of the tail.
Yet before he could rise, the python had already coiled its body back, its bloody maw gaping wide with a foul stench washing over him. Abandoning its habitual constriction, it lunged directly to bite him!
The speed of the strike was vastly different from the "sluggish movements" Master Zhang had spoken of!
*Oh no!* Li Pingyi's heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly crossed his axe to block, but the serpent's maw had already arrived. With a sharp crunch, a wave of excruciating pain flared as his thigh was clamped in a vicious bite! Tormented by the agony, he continuously rained blows down upon the serpent's body with his axe.
Before long, the entire Green Bamboo Python had been hacked into two halves.
"Let go, let go already."
Staring at the severed python that remained stubbornly clamped onto the inner side of his thigh despite being cut in two, Li Pingyi felt like crying.
"Master Zhang, you son of a bitch... you said the Green Bamboo Python was slow and only knew how to constrict—why did you omit the fact that it bites this fast?! Thank goodness this Green Bamboo Python isn't venomous, or I'd haunt you even as a ghost."
In his heart, he relentlessly cursed Master Zhang, who had taught their Monster and Spirit Beast class. Looking down at the snake head embedded in his thigh, a lingering wave of terror washed over him.
Li Pingyi tugged hard at the snake head on his thigh, but even when he channeled spiritual power into his hands, the head remained utterly immobile. Instead, the movement only tugged at the fangs deeply embedded in his flesh, causing him to shiver from the pain.
Fifteenth year on the Canglan Continent.
His very first battle.
He was a mere eight centimeters away from ending the Li family line.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Li Pingyi retrieved a Healing Pill from his Qiankun Pouch, crushed it into powder, and applied it directly to the wounds inflicted by the snake fangs.
As the medicinal powder touched the flesh, a wave of cooling sensation washed over him, dulling the pain slightly.
Yet, before he could let out a sigh of relief, a sudden change occurred!
The saliva within the snake's head appeared to undergo a bizarre reaction with some component of the Healing Pill. The flesh around the wound began to wriggle at a visible pace, not only failing to force the fangs out, but instead seeming intent on completely wrapping around and fusing with them!
*What the hell!*
Appalled, Li Pingyi panicked and hastily scraped at the area with his hand in an attempt to brush the powder away. But the medicinal powder had already rapidly penetrated, and the wound began to heal in a freakish manner, locking the snake fangs immovably inside.
*Master Zhang has misled me again! You only said the Green Bamboo Python was non-venomous, but you never mentioned that its saliva mixed with medicinal pills turns into superglue!*
After a few moments, staring at the snake head that now appeared as though it had grown directly out of his leg, Li Pingyi felt tears welling up in his eyes.
He pulled a dagger from his Qiankun Pouch and tried to pry the fangs loose, but they were embedded so deep in his flesh that applying even the slightest force sent a soul-ripping agony straight through his thigh bone.
He tried circulating his spiritual power to shock the snake head loose, hoping to rattle it free. However, the snake head seemed inextricably linked to his flesh and blood; wherever his spiritual power passed, it only provoked violent spasms in the wound.
He even entertained the notion of slowly burning it away with a Fireball Talisman, but looking at his thigh, which was already mangled and torn from his own efforts, he ultimately lacked the courage to go through with it.
*Damn it, is this blasted mouth made of iron?* Frantic with rage after struggling for ages, Li Pingyi found that aside from causing himself more pain, the snake head had not budged an inch.
He slumped down in defeat, staring into the unblinking eyes of the dead serpent, a wave of absurd helplessness washing over him.
The dull, lusterless eyes on the snake head seemed to be mercilessly mocking his pathetic state.
*Fine, fine. Let it be for now; I'll deal with you slowly once I find a safe place!* he thought, gnashing his teeth. He couldn't very well carve a chunk of flesh out of his own thigh right here and now, could he?
He let out a deep sigh. Since he could not fight it, he had no choice but to accept it for the time being.
However, this lower half of the snake's body was over a meter long. The moment he stood up, the severed end of the snake body would drag along the ground, making for a sight so bizarre it defied description.
He snatched up his axe, wanting to chop it shorter.
Yet the thought immediately occurred to him: if it dangled right between his legs, wouldn't that look even more bizarre?
Thus, he simply wrapped the severed snake around his waist and tied it in a tight knot, making do with it as a makeshift belt.
He retrieved his last two Inedia Pills from the jade bottle and swallowed them, then fished the snake gallbladder out of the lower half of the serpent's body, carefully placing it into the jade bottle that had previously held the pills.
"This snake gallbladder is worth around fifty Spirit Stones on the market; that's not a bad haul at all."
As Li Pingyi carefully calculated the profit in his mind, he suddenly felt that the snake head on his thigh was not quite so detestable after all—it even possessed a certain charm.