Hao Ren stood up when he sensed the gazes on his back multiply. He was surprised and used the Yin and Yang eyes, and the result shocked him to the core. Never did he expect that there would be some unique creatures in this place.
The tree line was filled with them, Hao Ren counted at least ten of them and unable to bear his frustration, he called them to come out and show themselves. In response he received a few light and creepy chuckles. Hao Ren took a deep breath and turned around and cast his gaze in those spots where he saw the creatures and said, "Torso of a human, lower body of the snakes.
You guys are the creatures from the world of cultivation, right? Why not show yourself? I can sense that you are stronger than me, so why hide like cowards?"
Hissing sounds echoed in the forest and a calm voice sounded, "Human, you speak a little too much. Are you not afraid that you might die here?"
Hao Ren assessed that the voice came from all directions. He raised the degree of vigilance and spoke softly, "I apologize, senior. However, the intimidation of your people made be a bit too frustrated."
The calm voice replied, "Oh, so you do have manners, tell me, why have you come here?"
Hao Ren replied, "I wish to explore the ruins and see if there is any treasure inside."
He was honest to the point, to some people it might be a weak move, but when there is an entity that could make their voice echo from all the directions, one had to be careful. From what Xiao Mei had told, there had been many exploration teams, but none of the teams ever had a member die.
Hao Ren could only think of three reasons. One, they did not care about normal humans. Two, they wished to keep a low profile, and three, they were bluffing Hao Ren. However, the young man was cautious enough, it was still too soon to make a choice.
The calm voice replied, "Do you even know what this place is?"
Hao Ren shook his head and the calm voice replied, "This place you see is a cage built by the human cultivators to seal our powers and make us stay in this darned forest."
The young man was shocked by this, and it confirmed his doubt that these creatures were powerless. However, the next moment the calm voice echoed and said, "Don't think that just because we are sealed here, we cannot do anything against you. We are strong enough to smack an ant like you under our tails."
Hao Ren nodded calmly but his thoughts were rattled by the after effects of the booming voice.
The calm voice asked, "Do you still wish to explore it?"
Hao Ren thought for a second, the system sent him here to find the chaos stone. Forget about the value of the stone, but think of the danger involved in the process and all this to fulfill Han Lingshi's wish. It is not a shallow task anyhow. Another thing that he learned from his time reading the comics was that the fortune favored the brave.
He took a deep breath and said, "Yes, Senior. I would like to explore this place if you don't mind."
The Naga people were surprised, the calm voice said, "Boy, I will let you go inside, and then you will be on your own. Until you reach the center of the cage where the control platform is located, you won't be able to have a single second of rest. Do you understand? You will die if you are not careful enough."
Hao Ren nodded and said, "I understand, Senior."
The calm voice snorted and a image flashed in Hao Ren's mind. The entity said, "That is the seal you need to break. If you tried anything funny, then I will kill you as soon as you come out."
Hao Ren then took out the talisman from his pocket and said, "I will explore the cage and break the seal for you but only if you and all your race makes a blood oath that you will not harm me or cause trouble for the human race in this world. If you think you can kill me, then be assured, I will use this Talisman to call forth a void transformation cultivator who will kill you all."
The calm voice trembled a little as it remarked, "Void Passage Talisman."
Hao Ren nodded and put the talisman back in his pocket. He said, "You should make the oath now, or I will not go in at all."
He had nothing else to force the Nagas into swearing this oath. This was his only bargaining chip. Old Boy Hao might scold him, but it was worth it. The calm voice did not reply immediately but after some moments they replied, "Fine. We will enter an alliance pact with you."
Hao Ren nodded and suddenly he heard slithering sound from his right. He saw a female poking her head out of the bushes as she slowly advanced towards him. The lady had three pairs of arms, and held six swords in all of them. Her head was that of a beautiful human female, but the torso of a snake.
Her snake anatomy parts were covered with emerald green scales. They shone beautifully under the glow of the setting sun. Hao Ren realized how tall the lady was when she appeared close to her. She was seven feet tall standing before him. However, the lady lowered herself to match his level and said, "I am Ulupi, the Princess of the Naga Clan. Tell me, human, what is your name."
Hao Ren cupped his fist and replied, "Your Highness, my name is Hao Ren."
Ulupi was very beautiful but her charm did not work on Hao Ren, the shock was visible in her eyes when she saw the clarity in Hao Ren's eyes. She asked, "Do you have a beloved?"
Hao Ren nodded with a faint smile on his face, and the lady nodded. She said, "You are one of the few men who can maintain your composure before me, Hao Ren."
The young man accepted the compliment and then Ulupi put one of her swords back in the sheathe on her waist and extended her empty palm before cutting it open with another sword. She said, "You shall cut your hand too, and we will enter the pact of alliance."
Hao Ren did not doubt her, if she was to trick her, the system will not sit back silently, after all, that thing did have a self defense mechanism. He was already holding his knife, and cut his left palm without as much as a flinch.
Ulupi raised her brow momentarily before nodding and then placed her palm over Hao Ren's and said, "Bound by blood, from today, the Naga clan will be ally to the human, Hao Ren, unless he does something to harm us. May the heavens be the witness of this contract."
A similar phase appeared inside Hao Ren's mind and the young man said, "Bound by blood, from today, Hao Ren will be ally to the Naga Clan, unless they do something to harm me or my family. May the heavens be the witness of this contract."
The next moment, lightning flashed in the sky. Ulupi took back her hand, but she began to shiver and a white tattoo appeared along her arm. She hissed multiple times, and Hao Ren took a step back with his grip tightening around the knife.
After five minutes, Ulupi returned to normal and said, "Human, I have used the once in a lifetime blood pact with you, make sure you don't make me regret it, or the consequences will not be simple."
Hao Ren was surprised and asked, "Why did you agree to it so easily?"
Ulupi smiled and replied while gazing her left arm, "Nagas are born with Yin and Yang vision, so I can see that your aura is not common. We are the descendants of the dragons and your presence agitates us. The clansmen wished to eat you and strengthen themselves, but we are bound, and only you can enter that cage to free us.
If you die inside, we will use our means to absorb your providence, but if you manage to make it through, we will be free and you will be our ally."
Hao Ren was surprised and then smiled bitterly, "You tricked me, Your Highness."
Ulupi chuckled and flicked her hair as she said, "You should get ready, its coming."
Before Hao Ren could ask what, he sensed a burning sensation travel from his left wrist and move up to his shoulder. He trembled, and clenched his fist as he took off his shirt quickly to see what was going on. The pain reached the depth of his soul, and Hao Ren could not help but let out a muffled groan and punch the ground with his right fist. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel※fire.net
Ulupi nodded and said, "This is the cost of blood alliance. The mark of Naga will protect you from every reptile that roams this world or the Spirit Shimmer Continent. However, there will be some who deny the hierarchy and come after you regardless. So make sure to grow strong and kill them."
She spoke with great ease as if killing a strong snake beast was a piece of cake, but thinking about it, for her it did seem to be a piece of cake. After half an hour, Hao Ren was drained of his energy completely and the pain receded. He was sprawled on the ground and said, "Oh lords, I knew there is no such thing like a free lunch in this world."
Ulupi could not help but chuckle at his words and said, "Glad that you learned your lesson."
Hao Ren raised his left arm and saw a tattoo of an emerald green coiling snake running from the wrist to the shoulder. The tattoo seemed to be shimmering as if a snake moving around. He looked at Ulupi and asked, "Your Highness, your tattoo is much smaller than mine, why is so?"
Ulupi replied, "Because I am stronger than you, and the tattoo represents the gap between us."
She was smug about it and Hao Ren was given a reality check. The young man sat up and took out a test tube of his spirit rejuvenation potion and gulped it down. Ulupi was obviously shocked when she saw the space ring on his hand. However, the shocking fact was that this ring did not seemed to be made of the usual material used for spatial tools.
Hao Ren meditated for a bit and when his stamina was restored he stood up and asked, "Can you show me the entrance to this place? I wish to be done with it as soon as possible."
Ulupi nodded and said, "Follow me."