Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 80 The Strange Snake with Exposed Bones
As soon as he left the black market, Chen Ye couldn't wait to give his newly acquired little crow a majestic name.

"Little guy, from now on you'll be called Black Whirlwind. Pretty imposing, right?"

Chen Ye picked up a pine nut and tossed it to Black Whirlwind.

The crow swallowed the pine nut in one gulp, then tilted its head to look at Chen Ye, whether it was dissatisfied with the name or wanted another one, no one knew.

Chen Ye thought to himself that he would probably need to learn some bird language to make it easier to communicate with Black Whirlwind.

As the seller instructed, first feed Black Whirlwind until it is full, then carefully groom its feathers. Once Black Whirlwind comfortably rubs its head against your hand, you have gained the approval of this spirit pet.

Only then did Chen Ye order the Black Whirlwind to grow larger.

The tiny crow, originally no bigger than a palm, flapped its wings and took flight, circling once in the air.

When it landed again, it had become a colossal creature with wingspans of three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Chen Ye put the special saddle on Black Whirlwind, and then excitedly rode on.

With a loud shout, Black Whirlwind flapped its wings and soared into the sky.

Before Chen Ye could even feel happy, the gust of wind that hit him first taught him a lesson.

The whistling sound was incessant, and the strong wind made it almost impossible for Chen Ye to open his eyes. He could only barely see blurry light and shadows, and even the reins in his hands seemed to be writhing like a python, trying to break free from his grasp.

This terrified him.

If he fell from the sky, Chen Ye would be dead.

Before he had flown very far, Chen Ye was already feeling the strain. His long robe wasn't tied tightly enough, and the wind whipped against his body with a painful, slapping sound, like torture.

Chen Ye fondly recalled the time when Su Chunyi carried him through the air with her sword light, when not a gust of wind touched his face, as it was all blocked by the sword light.

Left with no other choice, Chen Ye could only slow down Black Whirlwind so that he could barely open his eyes and see the road ahead.

However, this means we might not arrive at the Incense Burning Sect's headquarters until dark.

Chen Ye sighed inwardly, "Alas, it's just a pity I'm not at the Gang Sha Realm. Otherwise, with my body of copper and iron, why would I be afraid of this mere gale?"

Thinking of this, Chen Ye suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

If Black Whirlwind flies so fast, would one be able to replenish spiritual energy in time if they cultivated on his back?
Chen Ye decided to give it a try.

First, Chen Ye secured himself firmly to the saddle, then ordered Black Whirlwind to fly into the sky to avoid disturbing the people on the ground.

When the mountains and forests below had become blurred and turned into a hazy green phantom, Chen Ye took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, and began to chant the Six-Syllable Mantra, trying his best to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

In an instant, the eighteen Qi Seas within Chen Ye's body were like giant vortexes activated, simultaneously spinning at high speed and frantically devouring massive amounts of spiritual energy.

In the past, when he cultivated in the cave, the spiritual energy around him would be drained in just a short while, making it difficult for him to continue his cultivation.

But this time the situation was completely different. Chen Ye was flying at high speed. The surrounding spiritual energy had just been absorbed by his Qi Sea. He then moved quickly to an area with more abundant spiritual energy as he flew with the black whirlwind.

A continuous stream of spiritual energy rushed towards him, and Chen Ye felt that the cultivation process was smoother than ever before. As his Qi Sea frantically absorbed the spiritual energy, it grew stronger at an almost unbelievable speed.

Chen Ye had never experienced anything so exhilarating, feeling the surge of spiritual energy within his body. This excited him more than any secret technique.

Just as Chen Ye was preparing to cultivate until the end of time, he suddenly felt his body falling.

Upon opening his eyes, he discovered that Black Whirlwind's flight speed had decreased significantly, and even its flight altitude had dropped considerably.

Chen Ye looked up at the sky, feeling somewhat puzzled, as he had only been cultivating for a short time.

He couldn't help but ask Black Whirlwind, "You just finished eating, how come you're already tired?"

As if understanding Chen Ye's words, Black Whirlwind turned its head and looked at Chen Ye with its small, resentful eyes.

Chen Ye was puzzled for a moment, then realized that he had stolen all the spiritual energy.

Spirit beasts can't just eat their fill; they need to breathe and absorb spiritual energy. Otherwise, how could they possibly maintain the energy required for such a massive size by just eating pine nuts?

However, Chen Ye's cultivation was too domineering, which prevented Black Whirlwind from absorbing any spiritual energy during its flight, leaving it in a state of insufficient energy intake and exhaustion.

"Sigh, I thought we'd found a solution. Oh well, let's go down and rest for a bit."

After saying that, Chen Ye gently patted Black Whirlwind's neck, signaling it to find a safe place to land.

The black whirlwind howled and quickly descended into the woods below.

As soon as Chen Ye jumped off Black Whirlwind's back, the crow shrank back to the size of a palm, fluttered down and landed on Chen Ye's shoulder, nestling there to rest.

Chen Ye smiled and fed Black Whirlwind some snacks. Just as he was about to rest, he suddenly took out a medicine bottle from his storage bag.

With a gentle shake after opening the bottle, two crystal-clear, blood-red pills rolled into Chen Ye's palm.

These are Beast Blood Pills; Chen Ye left some behind when he was doing tests.

The medicine is not as effective as a complete blood pill, but it has the advantage of no side effects and can be consumed by both humans and animals.

Black Whirlwind, who had been dozing off, was instantly energized by the scent of the Beast Blood Pill, and its previously drooping wings began to flap wildly.

"Follow me from now on, and you'll live the high life." Chen Ye proudly fed the Blood Pill to Black Whirlwind. The spiritual energy contained within was easier to absorb and digest, allowing Black Whirlwind to recover faster.

Black Whirlwind eagerly swallowed the blood pill, then shook its feathers contentedly, looking completely satisfied. It even nuzzled Chen Ye's head, appearing even more affectionate.

Chen Ye was also quite happy, as the regret of not having a pet when he was a child could now be made up for.

However, after finally coming up with a method for cultivation, I found that it only treated the symptoms and not the root cause, like a bucket of cold water being poured over my head, so I had to find another method.

Cultivation is no easy task, especially for a rogue cultivator like Chen Ye. If he had the help of a senior master, perhaps someone would have already given him guidance. If he were in a prestigious sect, he might have been sent to a secluded, auspicious location for seclusion, and wouldn't be allowed to leave until he was about to break through.

"Mortals are one thing, but even cultivators are so clearly divided into classes."

Thinking of this, Chen Ye couldn't help but think of Mo Ci again.

Even if my master is just a clueless demon, it would be good to have someone to discuss things with.

As Chen Ye lamented the hardships of being a rogue cultivator, Black Whirlwind, who had been leisurely preening its feathers, suddenly let out a sharp cry.

Immediately afterwards, the black whirlwind pounced on Chen Ye like an arrow released from a bow.

Chen Ye was startled, thinking that the side effect of the Blood Pill causing madness had not been completely eliminated. However, the black whirlwind flashed past Chen Ye and plunged straight into the bushes behind him.

When Chen Ye looked over, he saw Black Whirlwind locked in a fierce battle with a red venomous snake about the thickness of two fingers.

Black Whirlwind's sharp claws gripped the snake's neck tightly, but the snake was no pushover either. Despite being at a disadvantage, it continued to writhe its body wildly.

Chen Ye then noticed that the snake looked rather strange. Its dark red body seemed to have a layer of rib-like armor, and no matter how hard Black Whirlwind tried, its claws and beak could not pierce through this bony armor.

Chen Ye had never even heard of a snake with its bones growing outwards.

The strange snake was incredibly strong; every struggle made Black Whirlwind lose his balance and stagger.

Black Whirlwind tried to spread its wings and fly into the air, but unexpectedly, its body was tightly wrapped by the nimble tail of a venomous snake, and its wings were bound and could not be opened.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ye quickly reminded Black Whirlwind, "Grow bigger quickly!"

Black Whirlwind then realized what was happening, its body rapidly expanding, finally breaking free from the snake's tail's bindings.

With a flap of its wings, Black Whirlwind soared into the air, throwing the strange snake far away.

Chen Ye seized the opportunity and activated the sword box the instant the venomous snake was thrown out. Three sword energies flew out and accurately hit the falling monster snake.

But with three muffled thuds, the strange snake was only sent flying further away, instead of being cut into pieces.

"What the hell is this thing? Even sword energy can't cut through it?!"

Chen Ye was shocked. The sword energy brewing in the sword box could cut through rocks as easily as cutting tofu, but it couldn't even break through the bone armor on this strange snake.

What made Chen Ye's scalp tingle even more was the rustling sound coming from all around, as if there were strange snakes lurking nearby.

"Black Whirlwind!"

At Chen Ye's command, the black whirlwind swooped down and stretched out its claws towards Chen Ye. Chen Ye decisively grabbed it and used the force to soar straight into the sky.

As soon as Chen Ye's legs left the ground, two identical strange snakes pounced out of the grass and almost bit his feet.

"This Hundred Seas Valley has something like this? Is it some kind of abandoned spirit beast?"

Chen Ye was scared half to death. It seemed that Baihai Valley was not so safe after all. He could no longer wander around in the wild.

Black Whirlwind carried Chen Ye far away, continuing towards the Fenxiang Sect's base until they completely disappeared into the horizon. The two strange snakes on the ground also reluctantly burrowed back into the grass.

A moment later, a group of monks with their faces covered by straw hats came out, each with a strange red snake with exposed bones wrapped around their hands.

"They actually let that kid get away!"

"Just now, he stirred up the spiritual energy in the sky, making such a big commotion. Was he deliberately trying to alert the enemy?"

Why didn't you chase after him and kill him?!

"The commotion is too great, and the Qinghe Sword Sect's headquarters is right next door."

"He just used the sword energy of the Qinghe Sword Sect!"

"It seems that things have been exposed, and the five major sects were prepared all along."

"I don't think so. If they really knew, they wouldn't have sent a mere Qi Sea Realm kid to his death. That's not the style of the Qinghe Sword Sect."

"Regardless of whether we've been exposed or not, we've been preparing for so many years, and now we're ready to launch our attack."

"Pass the word down: the plan has changed. Speed ​​things up and get all the rogue cultivators in Hundred Seas Valley to become our people first."

……

A group of strange snake charmers huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. They wore straw hats, making it impossible to tell who was speaking.

After a brief chat, they went their separate ways, meandering through the grass like the strange snake.

(End of this chapter)