After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

"There's only one of them, but there are two of us." Luo Yiyan turned her head, her eyes shining brightly against the backdrop of the snow-covered forest. "If we coordinate well, we might have a chance of winning."

"I'll distract it, and you take the opportunity to pick the Moonflower Vine. Once you've picked it, head straight down the mountain, and I'll figure out a way to escape."

Lin Zhixu glanced at him and nodded.

After reaching an agreement, Luo Yiyan gripped the hilt of his sword, took a deep breath, and suddenly exerted force with his feet, soaring down the cliff like an arrow.

Before the man arrived, the sword appeared first. A sharp sword aura precisely struck the ice rock above where the snake beast was coiled, and rubble mixed with ice shards crashed down on the snake beast's massive head.

The serpent beast suddenly opened its eyes, a violent, cold light flashing in its crimson vertical pupils. It let out a deafening roar and its huge body shot out from the cliff, rushing straight towards Luo Yiyan.

It's now!

Lin Zhixu flashed out, his spiritual power bursting forth, and in a few steps he reached the edge of the cliff, reaching out to grab the vine that was trembling slightly in the wind.

However, just as the wind came from the side, he instinctively dodged to the side, and a thick snake tail grazed his shoulder and slammed into the cliff wall, leaving a deep crack.

The snake beast forcibly turned back while chasing Luo Yiyan.

Its crimson vertical pupils were fixed on Lin Zhixu, and it spoke in a low, violent voice: "Shameless brat, how dare you launch a sneak attack!"

Both of them felt a chill run down their spines at the same time.

A demon beast that can speak must have a cultivation level of at least Nascent Soul stage.

They were merely two Foundation Establishment cultivators, and facing a Nascent Soul stage demonic beast was like throwing eggs against a rock.

The serpent beast clearly had no intention of giving them a chance to breathe. Its massive body sprang up again, bringing with it a foul stench as it charged straight at them.

Lin Zhixu gritted his teeth, pushed his spiritual power to its limit, and wove a sword net in front of him, forcefully withstanding the first wave of attack from the snake beast.

The immense force transmitted through the sword caused him to slide backward, his back slamming into the icy rocks, and a metallic taste rising in his mouth.

Upon seeing this, Luo Yiyan rushed forward without hesitation.

However, just as the serpent beast was about to counterattack, its nostrils suddenly twitched slightly, and its pair of crimson vertical pupils suddenly contracted, halting its attack.

It dodged Luo Yiyan's sword energy, its vertical pupils fixed on Lin Zhixu, a hint of fear appearing in its eyes.

"Who exactly are you? Why do you possess the aura of a divine beast?"

Lin Zhixu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, exchanged a glance with Luo Yiyan, and attacked the snake beast almost simultaneously.

The snake-beast was clearly wary of Lin Zhixu's aura and was forced to dodge.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Luo Yiyan entangled the snake beast, and his sword light poured down like a torrential rain. Each sword strike landed between the gaps in the snake beast's scales, forcing it to concentrate on dealing with his attacks.

Taking advantage of the moment when the snake beast was held back by Luo Yiyan, Lin Zhixu darted to the edge of the cliff and reached out towards the Moonflower Vine.

A furious roar came from behind, causing rocks to tumble down the cliff face.

Luo Yiyan was flung away by the snake's tail, his back slamming heavily against the ice rock, and a mouthful of blood splattered on the snow.

At that very moment, Lin Zhixu's fingertips finally touched the Moonflower Vine.

He quickly took it off, put it into a specially made jade box, and sealed it.

The serpent beast suddenly stopped, its gaze sweeping over the jade box in his hand. It paused only briefly before turning to Luo Yiyan, who was struggling to stand up while supporting himself with his sword.

Its vertical pupils narrowed slightly, their crimson color fixed on Luo Yiyan, its eyes filled with greed.

It had lived for thousands of years and had never sensed such immense fortune from a human cultivator.

Drinking a mouthful of his blood is better than ten or a hundred Moonflower Vine plants.

If only I could swallow him whole...

The serpent beast's vertical pupils were completely consumed by its frenzied greed.

Ignoring Lin Zhixu, its massive body suddenly turned around and pounced on Luo Yiyan at several times the speed it had before.

Luo Yiyan desperately swung his sword to defend and dodge.

The serpent beast's attacks grew increasingly fierce, rapidly depleting his spiritual energy. Each parry widened the wound on his tiger's mouth, and drops of blood dripped from the sword hilt onto the ice beneath his feet.

Using the recoil from the impact, he ran desperately toward Lin Zhixu.

He reached out his hand expectantly, hoping that Lin Zhixu would take his hand and lead him away.

However, Lin Zhixu simply stood there, looking at him expressionlessly.

Luo Yiyan's expression froze inch by inch.

His outstretched hand froze in mid-air, his expression shifting from anxiety to confusion to bewilderment, and finally settling on a heartbreaking despair.

Why...?

But he didn't get an answer. Instead, a serpentine beast roared behind him, its gaping maw opening wide and swallowing his world into darkness.

Lin Zhixu closed his eyes.

The serpent beast tilted its head back and swallowed its prey whole, letting out a satisfied hiss.

It turned its head to look at Lin Zhixu, and faced with this human who carried the aura of a divine beast, it still maintained a certain instinctive fear.

"Hiss—you stole my things, so I ate them as compensation. We're even now."

The snake-beast tentatively left, and only when it saw that he did not chase after it did it quickly depart.

The cliff top returned to a deathly silence.

Lin Zhixu stood there, head down, his lowered eyelashes concealing all the turbulent emotions in his eyes.

System: [...This is your plan? You let the protagonist get swallowed by a snake? You might as well have pushed him down!]

Lin Zhixu calmly said, "Snakes have limited digestive capacity. Luo Yiyan won't be in any immediate danger; in fact, it's safer than being outside. Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao would have already struck me down. Look at how well everyone's doing in the heavens now."

[Moreover, he has quite a few defensive magical artifacts given to him by Yan Lingcang, so he won't die. Either Yan Lingcang will sense something is wrong and come to his rescue, or the protagonist's halo will kick in and he'll escape on his own.]

The system praised, "[You're so smart! You looked so cool standing by and watching someone die! The protagonist will definitely hate you now!]"

Lin Zhixu: [...]

……

Lin Zhixu returned to Tianheng Sect on his own.

He tried his best to look the same as usual and continued his daily practice.

Three days later, Yan Lingcang came to their door.

Yan Lingcang's expression was cold, but there was a layer of anxiety in his eyes.

"Luo Yiyan hasn't returned for three days." His gaze fell directly on Lin Zhixu. "Before he left, he told me that he went on a mission with you. Why did you come back, but he didn't?"

Yu Linzhou shielded Lin Zhixu behind him, his tone displeased: "What do you mean by that? Your disciple hasn't returned, so what right do you have to come here and interrogate my disciple?"

"Maybe he thought the mission was too easy and went to train elsewhere halfway through. He's not a three-year-old; he's not going to get lost."

Yan Lingcang said coldly, "He's not that kind of person. He wouldn't break a promise without a reason, much less ignore a message. I have a bad feeling about this."

"I want to know where you went and what happened back then."