Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

The dragon pearl was washed clean and then spat out and given to the fox.

Something nudged his throat twice, and the giant snake remembered that there was an old man inside him that he had been reluctant to kill.

At first, it did intend to kill the person outright, but after two days, its thoughts changed.

It had no idea what the strength of the Crimson Immortal Sect was at that moment.

Even if we kill that old man, we might not be able to extract any memories. So we might as well keep him in our stomachs, burning and freezing him for a while, and see if we can get anything out of him in the end.

"Now it's time." The giant snake slithered into a secluded, dense forest.

There is a nest of ants here, all extremely small in size; even the largest queen ant is no bigger than a grain of rice.

Soldier ants are ten times smaller than the queen ant, while worker ants are only one-third the size of soldier ants.

If you do not comply, it will be like ants burrowing into your skin, old tree roots melting away your flesh and blood, the soil reshaping your body, alternating between ice and fire, reshaping your body again and again, in an endless cycle.

The large snake raised its head, its scales pulsating beneath its belly, and a cyst half a meter in diameter swelled up, which it then delivered to its throat with a twitching of its muscles.

"vomit--"

"Clatter".

A lump of rotten flesh, no longer recognizable as human, was spat onto the soil.

The scent, carried by the wind, wafted into the anthill, instantly eliciting countless rustling sounds.

Dark red tides surged from every hole in the anthill, densely packed, layer upon layer, yet neatly stopping outside the boundary drawn by the giant snake.

"Stop playing dead. Reshaping your body is nothing to you, is it?" The giant snake retracted its tail and said to the pile of rotten flesh.

The words fell.

The fleshy pulp wriggled and frantically converged towards a core, eventually "growing" into a hunched, naked old man.

His body was dark yellow, skin covering his bones, with each rib protruding. He had no teeth or tongue, and could only squeeze out a hoarse and hollow long sigh from deep in his throat.

"drink--"

The giant snake's eyes flickered slightly, and a ball of spiritual liquid fell from the sky, pouring onto the old man's head.

Under the radiant green light, his body was gradually restored.

"Tell me," the giant serpent said, "what exactly are your plans for Zhongshan, Crimson Immortal Sect?"

The old man did not answer immediately. He reached out and groped his body haphazardly, then crossed his arms and hugged himself tightly.

He looked up and greedily inhaled the long-awaited air, and a glimmer of light finally appeared in his dull eyes.

"I... don't know much either."

To prevent the old man from escaping, the giant snake changed its perspective, focusing intently on the red magical power flowing within his body.

"Tell me everything you know."

"Three hundred years ago, the people of the Four Immortal Sects joined forces with the Imperial Astronomical Bureau of the Imperial Dynasty to plot against the Serpent God to suppress the Great Sun at the cost of an entire continent."

"The Crimson Immortal Sect separated from the Four Immortal Sects after the drought."

"Now that the sect leader needs that broken sun mirror to form his nascent soul, and coincidentally the Serpent God is about to die, we will emerge to make it be devoured by the Xuan Stone even faster..."

Upon hearing this, the giant snake struggled to suppress the raging fury within it, its tail tip slapping the ground uncontrollably, causing leaves to fall from the trees.

Enraged by its fury, the ant colony retreated a full three feet, and the dark red tide almost rolled back into the anthill.

"And what else? Your Crimson Immortal Sect, is it just for the sect leader to break through to the next realm?" The Crimson Serpent flicked its tongue, its eyes burning with flames like the sun and moon in the sky, illuminating the old man's entire body clearly.

He wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to hide. He could only close his eyes and refuse to look at his own body, which was so weak that the skin was sagging and covered with dark spots.

"Our sect leader has broken through to the next level, leading us away from the Four Dharma Gates and from Yongning to Chiming Continent! There, we can also rely on the Fire Spirit to break through to the next level!"

The old man kept his eyes tightly closed, but the giant snake's gaze was so intense that it pierced through his eyelids.

The regenerated skin and flesh, which had been so hard to grow, sizzled and cried out as it was roasted, the pain spreading from every part of the body.

He felt as if he had fallen back into the deepest hell.

"I really don't know anything else. I've told you everything. Please, just give me a quick death!" the old man roared.

"Aside from Spring and Summer, and the main city of Yongning, what do you know about the two cities of Autumn and Winter?" The giant serpent flicked its tongue and approached, whispering.

"Since the city lords of Chunxia and the other two cities are members of the Li imperial family, we dare not take direct action against them..."

The giant snake approached step by step, and the old man's body felt as if it were about to be burned through, with drops of liquid seemingly sliding down his skin.

He was on the verge of a mental breakdown, and knelt down on the ground, pouring out everything that was on his mind like spilling beans.

"The two cities of Autumn and Winter were taken from the sect leader by the Four Immortal Sect!"

"They refined longevity pills and gave them to us as a thank you gift. I ate three, and suddenly two consciousnesses that didn't belong to me grew in my mind!"

"You've tortured them to death, no, you've turned them into one with me! I don't even know if I'm still myself now!"

"I am guilty!"

"Kill me!"

Please!

"...As you wish." The giant snake moved aside, allowing the sunlight to fall on the old man.

Bathed in the clear sunlight, a relieved smile suddenly appeared on his face as his body was gradually reduced to ashes and dissipated into the air.

The giant snake raised its tail, condensed a ball of spiritual liquid in the air, and smashed it into the ant swarm. Then it turned around and headed towards the mountain and water cave.

A hundred miles of mountains and rivers, arrived in an instant.

The ancient book floats in the place where the lotus flower once grew.

"Do you have any spells that allow you to change your form or hide?" The giant snake slithered to the side of the ancient book, flicking its tongue.

Ancient books turn their pages in response to spoken words.

A golden light appeared and fell into the serpent's forehead.

"The size is just right...that's a pretty good fit."

Having received the spell, the red serpent turned around, slid down the cliff, and into the Luo River.

As for Chi Xian and even those Four Dharma Gates, even if they went to offer birthday greetings, it would be impossible for them to get what they wanted.

A drought is coming, and no living thing can escape unscathed.

It will be necessary to visit the two cities in autumn and winter sooner or later to stabilize the situation of Lancao River and Majian River.

However, there is currently no one in Zhongshan who has broken through the shackles of the three realms and transformed into a great demon. It still has to stay in Zhongshan to guard against the East Sea Dragon.

This is a good opportunity to hone my skills in descending the mountain.

Thinking of this, the giant snake closed its eyes at the bottom of the water.

Time flies.

The Luo River flows eastward, its waters roaring.

It's the Awakening of Insects again, and thunder rumbles across the heavens, its roar never ceasing.

Xia An and Chun Hua jointly held a grand ceremony to celebrate the blessing of the Zhongshan God for their peaceful life, year after year.

Zhao Ying went down the mountain and had a great time at the festival.

The Green Tiger Mountain Lord, bathed in the heavy rain, roared as flames erupted all over his body, burning upwards against the flow of rain.

It absorbed enough vitality to fill the valley, which then flowed throughout its body with its blood.

The fur, flesh, and bones destroyed by the flames are reshaped and flourish again under this vitality.

Its tendons and bones twisted and blossomed, shaping its form into a terrifying existence that was completely incomparable to the past.

Newborn flesh filled the skeleton, breaking chain after chain. Flames flowed across its body, gathering at its forehead, scorching the white bones.

The black stripes stretched out menacingly, forming the character "王" (king), looking down upon all living beings.

"Roar—!" the mountain lord roared angrily.

The oppressive aura of the rising creatures forced all the beasts in this mountain forest to tremble and collapse to the ground, unable to move.

The god of Zhongshan Mountain is said to have entered into meditation in the Luo River, and he now governs all the mountains.

Another year has passed, and the Awakening of Insects festival has come to an end.

During the spring flood season, the Luo River, which should have been surging, did not rise at all.

The giant serpent at the bottom of the river suddenly opened its eyes, its golden and silver pupils radiating divine light that illuminated the distant underworld.

The snake flicked its tongue, discerning the information carried by the water flow.

"It's time to go down the mountain."