Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Zhongshan is a place of mountains, waters, and caves.

The water level of the Luo River has receded, and the water flow has returned to its normal course, returning both banks to the mountains.

The red serpent submerged almost its entire body in the water, with only its head and about one-tenth of its body visible above the surface as it lay quietly on the shore, its mouth wide open like that of a crocodile.

As the sun rose, the temperature soared. The sun's energy ravaged the serpent's body, leaving nothing but scorched earth in its wake.

It's like falling into water on a cold winter day; the burning pain is like ice, seeping into the body and not missing a single detail.

The enormous serpent, writhing in agony, stirred the water, its pain materializing into raging waves that washed over both banks of the Luo River.

"I already have a cyclone, why does it still hurt so much!" Huai Nian complained bitterly.

From head to tail, every inch of its body seemed to open its mouth, silently crying out in pain.

However, the Yin-Yang vortex continued to rotate slowly and steadily, drawing the essence of the sun that had been scattered in the air into the body, scorching the flesh and blood and evaporating the blood and qi.

The steaming blood vapor is blocked by the scales and armor, and all of it gathers under the skin.

The blood vapor was repeatedly melted and forged by the double high temperature inside and outside, and new scales were already taking shape. If they could grow, the giant snake would shed its skin again.

"That's cruel, absolutely cruel! Humans are incredibly cruel when it comes to torturing themselves!"

Experience the full duration of the day, specifically the two hours at noon and late afternoon when the sun is at its strongest.

The giant snake foamed at the mouth and collapsed on the shore, its body resembling a red ribbon, drifting with the current.

The Yin-Yang vortex stopped rotating.

The energy, refined by the essence of the great sun, now transformed into a dazzling golden-red color, its temperature soaring like a burning flame.

It urgently needs nightfall to draw in moonlight and achieve a balance of yin and yang.

The giant snake had no choice but to stay in the Luo River, using the ceaseless flow to suppress the heat emanating from itself.

"If I were to leave the water and enter the mountains now, I'm afraid a wildfire would immediately break out..." Huai Nian raised his tail and placed it on the withered branches and leaves that were wet by the water on the shore.

The damp branches and leaves were visibly dried out, turning withered in an instant, and then ignited with a "crackling" sound, flames rising.

"That's a bit outrageous."

"But extreme pain brings extreme benefits. I wonder which lineage this ancient book belongs to..."

The red snake took out the ancient book hidden under the scales on its neck and placed it on the ground. It could not be soaked by water or ignited by fire.

A breeze blows, turning the pages. As always, they are all blank sheets of paper, not even a single word on the cover.

Huai Nian memorized all the inherited techniques that the Zhongshan demon beasts obtained from the ancient books.

In reality, almost none of them are useful.

The best black bear and golden ape, the two of them who obtained the "Thunder God's Bone Forging" technique, needed to be struck hard all over their bodies, which was exactly the same as their current experience.

The only difference is that it refers to the so-called "summoning and harmonizing the spirit of the five internal organs"...

Do snakes have five internal organs?

The giant snake lowered its head and looked at its own body, clearly feeling its heartbeat and the expansion of its lungs.

The body is being tempered by the essence of the sun, but this only extends to the level of flesh and blood. Huai Nian doesn't dare to let his vital organs come into contact with the all-consuming heat from the sky.

"No wonder it requires rare and precious materials... Only such things can protect the body under such aggressive cultivation methods." The giant snake shook its head, deciding to eat one bite at a time and temporarily suppressing its idea of ​​tempering its internal organs.

I wish it would rain in the mountains.

This way, I can move around in the mountains after I finish my cultivation, without having to wait until night. There are still many things to do besides cultivation.

The giant snake closed its nostrils, sank to the bottom of the water, and fell asleep to the sound of the flowing water.

Time passes little by little.

The sparse white clouds in the sky slowly grew larger, gathered, and eventually merged into one, their color changing from pure white to the dark gray of rain clouds.

Rain fell, pattering softly on the calm water, creating ripples.

In the forest, the cold rain pelted the white fox's head, causing it to stop in its tracks.

It looked up and gazed at the sky.

Its wild instincts told it that it shouldn't be raining in Zhongshan right now.

"It's not important... Reporting is the priority." The white fox shook its head, no longer pursuing the unusual weather, and leaped back and forth between the trees.

Until the mountains and rivers, the caves and grottoes, and the banks of the Luo River.

The white fox carried several leaves, each larger than its head, in its mouth. It placed them on the mud, howled a few times, and then sat down properly.

Two long, slender fox ears fluttered gently, as if shooing away the surrounding mosquitoes.

A moment later, the water surface suddenly broke open, and the giant snake raised its head and rose up.

Raindrops fell on the red scales with a soft splattering sound, turning into water vapor.

"It's raining?" Huai Nian looked up at the dark sky, puzzled. "That's strange, I didn't even feel it."

"Lord Candle," the white fox called softly.

"Um... is there something you need?" The giant snake lowered its head.

"As you instructed, I found the prison wolf and the black bear. They are either asleep and digesting the medium or studying the cultivation technique you gave them. They are relatively safe."

The white fox paused, then continued, "It's about the golden ape and the bloodhound..."

"I can hear the Golden Ape King's voice, but I can't get close."

"Bloodhound... I can't find it."

"Can't find it?" Huai Nian's eyes flickered.

"Yes, it has no clan, and there's no trace of filth left in its nest, so it must have left a long time ago," the white fox replied.

"Where could it go?" the snake murmured, pondering for a long time.

Bloodhound rarely appears, unlike the Golden Ape King, who is often irritable and causes trouble in the mountains.

This guy is even more mysterious than the mountain lord. He didn't appear when the medium was being distributed in the mountain and water cave.

Even the remaining medium, which was quite compatible with its bloodline talent, was never asked for by the bloodhound.

"What does it want to do? Does it want to break free from the shackles of the three realms on its own, just like me, without consuming a medium?" The serpent's eyes darted around, its thoughts wandering.

But in the next instant, the golden and silver divine light solidified.

"noob."

"Yes, sir." The white fox stood up and obeyed.

"Go find the Golden Roc and the Black Crow, and ask them to search for the Bloodhound's whereabouts in the sky." The giant snake flicked its tongue, recalling the words of the fat merchant in front of the mountain god's temple.

The fragile balance between Zhongshan and humanity still exists, and we absolutely cannot be the first to overturn the table.

We have to let them make the first move.

"Report back to me immediately upon discovering any trace of the bloodhound."

"Understood." The white fox nodded, turned around, and leaped several times to leave the water's edge and disappear into the forest.

The red snake looked up at the drizzling rain that was still falling from the sky, and suddenly remembered that before going to sleep, it had thought that it would be nice if it rained for a while.

"This rain came at such a perfect time!"

The giant snake flicked its tongue, scooped up a drop of rainwater into its mouth, and savored its taste.

The rain was perfectly normal, without the slightest sense of incongruity.

"May your wishes come true?" the great snake murmured.

I was planning to go back into the water to rest and wait for the moon to rise to relieve the heat in my body.

Suddenly, a sharp, urgent shriek of a monkey echoed through the forest.

Immediately afterwards, three golden monkeys leaped down from the tree and rolled down in front of the giant snake.

They beat their chests and stamped their feet, their dark hands pointing straight at the forest and the sky, tears still streaming down their faces.

"Something happened to the Golden Ape King? With its thick skin and tough flesh, what could possibly happen to it?"

The giant snake didn't want to get involved, but then it suddenly remembered that the brute had said he wanted to follow the same path as it.

Will it be burned to death by the sun?