Deep within the cave, even Yun Xiao, who had entered the Snake Nest once before, accidentally hit his head against a protruding sharp rock in his panic, producing a loud noise and causing stars to burst before his eyes, dizziness and blurred vision.
Before Yun Xiao could adjust to the pain, he had no time to think about it, as the sound of countless snakes crawling entered his ears, and at that moment, he did not even know where he was.
Although it was dark inside the cave, with faint light, Yun Xiao could see the densely packed venomous snakes swarming towards him, seemingly about to drown him the next moment.
Yun Xiao was certain that this did not happen during his last visit to the Snake Nest. It was only when he reached a certain place that he was suddenly bitten by a venomous snake and perished.
The memory from his previous life ends there. It is the endpoint of the memory after the soul of Long Xiao Battle God entered Yun Xiao’s body, and from the moment he woke up again, the soul belonged to Long Xiao Battle God.
Even after Yun Xiao woke up, there were never so many venomous snakes in that place. Could it be that there is some kind of divine will in the fate, or perhaps a cycle of rebirth, meant to let him die and be reborn here?
Yun Xiao’s thoughts were chaotic, but the next moment, he felt a subtle warmth in the palm of his right hand, and a blood-red light burst forth, seemingly enveloping his entire body.
In the next scene, the results shockingly delighted Yun Xiao, as he suddenly discovered that the dense venomous snakes, as they passed by him, seemed unable to sense his presence and brushed past him in unison.
This was a peculiar experience, maybe something other cultivators on the Continent might never encounter. At this moment, Yun Xiao felt as if he was in a special space surrounded by venomous snakes that could kill him with a single bite.
After about a dozen breaths of time, Yun Xiao finally felt that the venomous snakes had passed by him, and with lingering fears, he used his hands and feet, crawling towards the depths of the cave, knowing that further inside there was a spacious area.
Yun Xiao didn’t know about the events occurring outside; he only knew that the Shang Family Snake Nest was the only place where his life could potentially be saved.
Moreover, this place held significant meaning for him; without it, not only would the Long Xiao Battle God not be reborn, but Yun Xiao himself would have died from the venom.
Having crawled several tens of meters forward, Yun Xiao suddenly felt emptiness under his feet, quickly realizing something, but it was too late. He fell straight from mid-air, adding injuries to his already grievous wounds.
It turns out that deep within the Snake Nest was a vast space, and the passage Yun Xiao had entered was about a zhang above the ground, which he hadn’t recalled in time and thus had fallen flat on his back.
Enduring pain all over his body, Yun Xiao groaned as he clambered up from the ground, and the next moment, he suddenly saw a burst of golden light unexpectedly emitting from deep within the cave space.
This golden light was clear to Yun Xiao, and it seemed to even have the ability to penetrate the cave walls, spreading outside the cave.
Unaware of what this golden light brought him, at this moment, he was drawn to it and immediately took two steps in three strides, moving deep into the cave space, where vague golden light still flickered.
"What... What is this?"
Approaching, Yun Xiao’s eyes widened, for in front of him was a stone platform with a golden spherical egg resting on it, and the shell faintly emitted a light golden light, appearing extremely odd and mystical.
Even with the experience of the Long Xiao Battle God from a previous life, he did not know what this golden egg was or what strangeness it contained. He only knew that he seemed to have discovered an extraordinary divine object.
"Could it be a Meridian Demon Egg?"
Yun Xiao examined it from all sides, feeling the faint aura, and made a guess, but as far as he knew, such a golden light egg was not something ordinary Meridian Demons could produce. This golden egg might have an unusual origin.
Just as Yun Xiao was examining the golden egg, he suddenly heard a cracking sound in his ears, and the next moment, he focused his eyes because he saw that the top of the golden egg had developed a tiny crack without him knowing when.
"Could it be such a coincidence? It’s about to... hatch?"
Seeing this, Yun Xiao’s expression slightly changed, becoming a bit peculiar, wondering if it was such a coincidence that just as he entered the cave, the golden egg was about to break. Could this also be some kind of divine will?
Yun Xiao had no time to think about the chaotic thoughts in his mind. Under his gaze, the cracks on the golden egg became more and more numerous and dense, as if it was about to burst open any moment.
At the same time, Yun Xiao felt his eyes nearly blinded by the dazzling light emanating from the broken cracks, which were radiating intense golden beams with a hint of a profoundly mystical aura.
As Yun Xiao squinted trying to adjust to the strong golden light, he heard a cracking sound in his ears. Then, the light in his eyes quickly converged, and what came into view, aside from the shattered eggshells, was a little creature floating in the air.
"What... what is this?"
Yun Xiao’s face was full of curiosity as he scrutinized the little creature in front of him. It was a tiny golden snake, or perhaps more accurately described as a little worm.
Because this tiny worm was less than three inches long, even shorter than an adult’s palm, if one were to ignore its golden hue, it resembled a type of worm called a grass thread worm that Yun Xiao often played with as a child.
Grass thread worms are extremely common on the Hidden Dragon Continent. They lack spiritual wisdom and are considered the lowest form of life, similar to the ants mentioned by ordinary people.
But at this moment, Yun Xiao certainly wouldn’t treat this golden snake worm as an ordinary grass thread worm. Have you ever seen a grass thread worm that can float in midair upon birth? Even Earth Rank Pulse Demons likely can’t fly, right?
Clearly, this grass thread worm-like snake worm was not a Flying Beast Pulse Demon, so Yun Xiao could tell from the first glance that it was extraordinary. There was a faint sense of excitement in his heart.
As Yun Xiao observed the golden snake worm, it seemed to be evaluating him too. Its round little eyes somehow exuded a cute demeanor, compelling Yun Xiao to subconsciously reach out to pat the little creature’s head.
According to Yun Xiao’s memories from his past life, many formidable Pulse Demons were impossible to subjugate. Moreover, as a human cultivator, many sought to refine a strong Pulse Demon into their own Meridian Spirit, which naturally set the stage for an antagonistic relationship.
However, there was one exception: if a Pulse Demon’s first sight upon birth was a human, it might consider that human as its sole kin, never to betray them for life.
Obviously, Yun Xiao thought of this possibility, thus feeling a surge of affection for the golden snake worm. Perhaps this was because this place was where he was reborn, sharing a strange similarity with the golden snake worm.
The newly born golden snake worm seemed bewildered, only realizing Yun Xiao’s presence when his right hand touched its head, prompting it to swiftly try to dodge.
But at that moment, a blood-red glow suddenly burst forth from the blood-red crescent mark in the palm of Yun Xiao’s right hand.
This blood-red light seemed to have a strong stickiness, no matter how the golden snake worm struggled, it couldn’t break free and squealed desperately.
"It’s the Blood Moon Jade!"
Yun Xiao somewhat understood; instantaneously identifying the power as that of Blood Moon Jade. This wasn’t the first time today that it had acted without his control, so he could only let it be.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
The golden snake worm was powerful, but the blood glow from the Blood Moon Jade mark was even more formidable. At one point, an intense suction force suddenly erupted from the crescent mark, directly pulling the golden snake worm into Yun Xiao’s body.
As soon as the golden snake worm was absorbed, Yun Xiao suddenly felt an intense pain like never before, causing him to blackout immediately from the unbearable agony.
A lean body slowly collapsed to the ground; if there were outsiders present, they might observe that not only was there a blood-red glow emanating from the palm of Yun Xiao’s right hand, his entire body seemed enveloped in a faint golden light, appearing extremely mystical.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
About half an hour after Yun Xiao had passed out, the cave within the Snake Nest became lively once again— it turned out that the venomous snakes residing in the Snake Nest had returned, creating such an uproar.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
However, when these venomous snakes saw the shattered golden egg on the stone platform, they all started chattering noisily, seeming to have discovered something extremely serious.
At a certain moment, a few more robust venomous snakes seemed to have found something. They quickly slithered out, circling Yun Xiao’s body a few times by the stone platform. After seemingly sniffing a particular scent, they finally relaxed.
It was unclear whether those few venomous snakes had sent out some kind of signal, but the densely packed snakes orderly returned to their caves. For a moment, the space within the Snake Nest returned to calm, leaving one to wonder when the tranquility could be broken again?