Divine Tang Era

Ah...the grasslands are so beautiful in March.

We are destined to meet, but if we are not, we cannot hold hands even when we are face to face.

"It takes ten years of cultivation to share a boat ride, and a hundred years to share a pillow in sleep..."

Xu Dan ran quickly while singing loudly and joyfully. The cold, icy rain fell from the sky, constantly slapping against his face, but it couldn't extinguish the burning passion in his heart. However, after singing only a few lines, the cold wind and rain filled his mouth, making him feel a bit unlucky, so he stopped singing.

He's very fast; if he were any faster, he might be able to get into the city by nightfall.

The thought of soon enjoying delicious food, taking a hot bath, and having a good night's sleep made me quicken my pace.

"Awoooooo!"

Suddenly, the black bear in the bookshelf behind them roared loudly. Xu Dan turned around and looked over; it was perfectly fine inside, and he had no idea why it was roaring. Was it hungry? Hadn't it just eaten recently?

Turning around, I saw a beautiful flower blooming on the hillside in front of me.

The flowers are as red as roses, and they emit a faint, delicate fragrance.

Strange, how come there are such beautiful flowers here?

Xu Dan wanted to investigate, but the black bear roared even louder. Something was definitely amiss, and upon hearing the bear's roar, he became cautious and slowly withdrew his foot.

Suddenly, the ground ahead exploded open, and a strange snake with horned scales all over its body and a triangular, cone-shaped face rushed out.

Xu Dan quickly threw down the wolf skin, grabbed the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, and retreated rapidly.

"ha"

The strange snake let out a shriek, opened its mouth and spewed out a cloud of poisonous mist, then darted forward. Xu Dan quickly accelerated away from the mist's range, only to see the snake dart towards him. He lightly tapped his foot and flew backward again.

"Hmm, is this some delicious food that he would naturally enjoy?" Xu Dan frowned.

The strange snake was relentless and kept chasing after them.

Xu Dan snorted coldly, gripping the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer tightly in his hand, his eyes fixed on the strange snake. When the snake caught up, he stomped his foot down, his body leaping into the air, and with a flick of his Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, he drew a dark, cold light and smashed it forcefully into the snake's head.

"Bang!"

With a loud thud, the snake's head burst open, spitting out countless brain matter and blood, and it died instantly.

A snake spirit flew out and was devoured by the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, causing another pattern on the hammer to light up.

Xu Dan landed, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. It had been a truly perilous moment; no one knew the strange snake was hiding so cunningly underground. If it weren't for the black bear's warning, he would probably have fallen into its jaws.

I picked up the black bear, rubbed its head and played with it for a while before putting it back.

Xu Dan originally wanted to smash the strange snake to pieces, but then he thought that they were about to enter the city and someone might buy it, so he dragged it along with the wolf skin towards Jingning City.

The strange snake was enormous, as thick as a thigh in the middle and as large as a wrist at the neck, its belly protruding. At its tail bloomed a bewitching flower. It wasn't really a flower; its tail was simply shaped that way to lure prey.

Unfortunately, if it weren't for the black bear's reminder, Xu Dan would have been one of them.

They sped all the way and finally arrived at Jingning City just before sunset.

"Stop right there, little brat. What's behind you?"

Just as Xu Dan was about to enter the city, he was stopped by the city guards. Hearing his words, Xu Dan flung the strange snake and wolf skin forward. The guards, seeing the snake, jumped up in fright and cried out, "A deadly flower-tailed viper!"

"The flower-tailed viper is here?"

"Close the city gates quickly!" someone shouted.

A commotion arose ahead, and the city gates slowly closed. Xu Dan hurriedly led the strange snake and wolf skin through the gates. The people inside, seeing the strange snake, turned and fled in terror.

"Run! The flower-tailed viper is coming into the city!"

"Run! Run or you'll die!"

Chaos erupted at the city gate, with those who had been closing the gates scattering and fleeing. Xu Dan, unsure of what to do, had no choice but to run into the city with them.

"What's all the panic? Stop right now, or you'll be court-martialed!" A general landed from the air and shouted at the chaotic city guards. The soldiers stopped upon hearing his words.

"Where is the Flower-tailed Serpent?" the general asked again.

Those who had run out earlier looked towards the city gate, where Xu Dan was standing right in the middle of the main road leading into the city.

Seeing everyone's gaze, he tossed the strange snake in front of him. "Is this the thing you're talking about?"

The soldiers realized it was a dead snake and lowered their heads in shame. The general snapped, "Get back here! If I see you all acting so startled again, I'll skin you alive!"

The soldiers guarding the city quickly returned to their posts.

After reprimanding his men, the general walked toward Xu Dan.

Where is the flower-tailed snake?

An old man flew over from afar, saw the strange snake in Xu Dan's hand, and said with a gleam in his eyes, "Good stuff! Just what I need for refining pills. I want the venom, the blood, the flower tail, and the bones."

"Then make me an inner armor out of this leather," the general said.

"I'll take the snake meat. I just happened to catch a long-tailed pheasant, so I'll make a 'Dragon and Phoenix Fight' pot." A voice came from afar.

"I'll add another kitten. Tonight we'll stew dragon, tiger, and phoenix, and have a drink together." Another voice came.

"Can."

"Since Lord Wang wants it, then let's go kill it over there to avoid dirty hands," the old man said to the general. The general nodded, having no objection. Seeing his agreement, the old man took out a small bag from his robes and handed it to Xu Dan, "There are one hundred spirit stones in here, enough to offset your Flower-Tailed Serpent. If you hear in the future that I offered too little, you can come to Mirror Dust Residence to find me."

"I haven't even thanked you for your help yet, senior. How dare I have such thoughts?"

The other party settled the location of the flower-tailed snake in just a few words. Could Xu Dan possibly resist? Since he couldn't resist, he could only cooperate.

"A clever little fellow," the old man praised with a smile, then picked up the flower-tailed snake that Xu Dan had offered and flew back with the general.

Xu Dan watched the two leave, looked around, and decided to find a place to stay first.

"You little brat, get out of my way!" Hulei Tu rode his black yak from afar, saw Xu Dan blocking the city gate, swore at him, and raised his whip to strike him.

Xu Dan was furious that his belongings had been taken without his knowledge, and when someone showed up, he was enraged. He grabbed the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer and hurled it forward, piercing the Black Tortoise through its chest.

The black yak's forelegs buckled, and it knelt down on the ground.

Hulei hadn't expected this accident, and reacted quickly, leaping off the bull's back.

Xu Dan stepped forward and kicked him away, sending him crashing into the wall behind him before slowly sliding down. He then drew his Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, went to Hu Lei Tu who was sitting on the ground, and plunged the hammer into the ground in front of Hu Lei Tu's crotch, where it was more than a foot deep.

Suddenly, Lei was so scared he almost peed his pants.

Xu Dan grabbed the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, glared at him fiercely, and said, "You scared me just now. I'll give you two choices: First, pay me back. Your words hurt me deeply, and only money can soothe my fragile heart; second, if you insult me, I'll hit you on the head. How about that? Fair enough?"

Fairness my foot.

Hu Lei looked at the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer stuck in the ground. If he were hit by it, he would probably die. He swallowed hard and asked, "Then... how will the compensation be paid?"

"Talking about money is vulgar."

"It all depends on your willingness; I never force anyone. Like just now, someone spent a hundred spirit stones to buy one of my Flower-Tailed Serpents. Did I say anything? I didn't say anything at all. Whatever they gave is what they got. It's all about the sentiment; as long as the sentiment is there, that's enough."

"But...but I don't have that many spirit stones," Hu Lei said weakly.

"What spirit stone?"

Xu Dan glared at him and said, "I'm talking about the sentiment, the sentiment. The way you're saying it makes it sound like I'm robbing someone. Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

"Young master, of course not," Hu Lei said awkwardly, but in his heart he thought, "He's pretty much right."

In the end, Huleitu had no choice but to give up everything he had.

Xu Dan looked at the money in the bag and nodded in satisfaction. Suddenly, he noticed the black yak lying on the ground and quickly called out to Huleitu, who was leaving, "Hey, your yak?"

Upon hearing his words, Hulei not only did not stop, but quickened his pace, and in the blink of an eye, he walked out of the city gate and disappeared into the wilderness.