Not long after, deep within the Kunlun Mountains, amidst the dense forests, a sunken basin appeared. Here, plants were lush, and behind it lay the great snow mountain range of Kunlun.
The trees in the sunken basin were verdant and leafy, the ground covered in abundant grass and flora, exuding a vibrant green. Numerous flowers, their names unknown, bloomed, attracting countless insects buzzing in the air. The aroma of faint floral scents permeated the atmosphere, as if one had stepped into a fairyland.
However, a person lay amidst these flowers and grasses, their body covered in snakes of various colors and sizes. These snakes seemed to have caught a scent, converging here from all directions of the Kunlun Mountains.
“Ugh…”
Wan Yunting, lying on the ground, felt his eyelids twitch. His head was splitting with pain, and he groaned as he clutched his head. Then, he struggled to sit up, slowly opening his eyes. He discovered that his body was covered in all sorts of snakes.
Beside him coiled a large snake, its body thick as a thigh, a striking yellow and black. It raised its head, its snake eyes filled with a reverent gaze towards Wan Yunting. Seeing him awaken, the snakes quickly withdrew from his body.
*Bang!*
A sound of an object falling came from behind Wan Yunting. He turned to look and saw the carcass of a deer.
Then, he looked up and saw a massive flood dragon, its body covered in black scales, raising its enormous head. Its two white horns were striking, and its eyes, like luminous green lanterns, were fixed on Wan Yunting, who sat on the grass with a look of astonishment.
“Ugly human, you are awake!”
Suddenly, a woman’s voice echoed in Wan Yunting’s mind, speaking faintly.
“Who, who is speaking to me?”
Wan Yunting was greatly alarmed. He immediately got up and looked around, searching for the source of the voice. But besides himself and the giant flood dragon before him, there was no one else.
“I am speaking to you, you ugly, ant-like human. You are truly timid.”
The flood dragon, its long body writhing, raised its proud head. Its luminous green eyes looked down at Wan Yunting with contemptuous disdain. Its closed mouth occasionally flicked its tongue. Although it did not speak human language, it could convey its thoughts to Wan Yunting’s ears through telepathy.
“You are speaking to me?”
Wan Yunting turned around, his eyes wide with disbelief as he looked at the flood dragon before him, finding it incredible that it was speaking to him.
“Besides me, who else could be speaking to you?”
The flood dragon gave him a condescending eye-roll, its clear and pleasant maiden-like voice echoing in Wan Yunting’s ears: “Ugly human, you should consider yourself fortunate that I haven’t eaten you yet. Now, I’ll give you a chance to submit to me!”
Having confirmed that it was the flood dragon communicating with him, Wan Yunting opened his mouth. After a pause, he said, “Don’t you know that after the establishment of nations, your kind of animals are not allowed to achieve sentience?”
As soon as he spoke, the flood dragon became instantly enraged. Its maiden-like voice thundered, “Shut up! If it weren’t for you humans disrupting the primordial energy of heaven and earth, how could we allow ourselves to be at your mercy?”
Wan Yunting quickly waved his hands, feigning fear, and said, “Alright, alright, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have drunk your blood back then. I apologize, okay?”
“Hmph, cunning human, I don’t need your apology. I only need you to submit to me!”
The flood dragon’s luminous green eyes stared at Wan Yunting with haughtiness. The maiden-like voice from its ears spoke coldly, “If you dare to refuse, I will eat you right now.”
Wan Yunting’s expression froze, and his heart felt increasingly tense and speechless. Facing this flood dragon that could suddenly speak human language and now demanded his submission, Wan Yunting found it difficult to adapt.
“That snake…”
“My name is Liu Xiaohei!”
Upon hearing the flood dragon’s name, Wan Yunting quickly pursed his lips and turned his head away, not wanting it to see him stifling a laugh.
“Hmph, ugly human, you must call me Liu Xian!” the flood dragon’s maiden-like voice haughtily huffed.
Wan Yunting turned back, still with pursed lips, and asked, “May I ask if you are from the Northeast?”
“Precisely.”
The flood dragon, Liu Xiaohei, glared with its luminous green eyes and huffed, “Don’t change the subject. Hurry up and submit to me, and become Liu Xiaohei’s slave for eternity!”
Hearing its maiden-like voice and its simple way of speaking, Wan Yunting knew this flood dragon was female, and a rather naive one at that. When it demanded he become its slave, Wan Yunting, speechless, rolled his eyes and said, “For you, Wan Yunting, to submit and become your slave? You must be dreaming.”
“You scoundrel, how dare you refuse.”
The flood dragon’s massive body writhed, its luminous green eyes glaring angrily at Wan Yunting. Its maiden-like voice spoke in anger, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll eat you in one gulp?”
Wan Yunting tilted his head up, looking at the flood dragon before him, and laughed with great certainty, “If you wanted me dead, you would have eaten me long ago. Why else would you have brought me here? I suspect you have something you need from me, right?”
The flood dragon’s luminous green eyes flickered, and it stared intently at Wan Yunting. Its maiden-like voice let out a cold snort, implicitly acknowledging his guess.
A smile played on Wan Yunting’s lips, and the tension in his heart eased. He continued to smile, “Although I don’t know what you brought me here for, it’s clear you won’t let me die easily.”
“Besides, back in the Ling Mountain cave, if you hadn’t attacked us, how could I have injured you and drunk so much of your blood? This debt should be considered settled, shouldn’t it?”
“Hmph, settled?”
Upon mentioning this, the flood dragon’s massive body writhed, its luminous green eyes glaring angrily at Wan Yunting. Its maiden-like voice spoke in fury, “Back then, I was at a critical juncture in my breakthrough to shapeshift in the cave.”
“But you, an ugly human, appeared and disturbed me, and drank so much of my blood, hindering my breakthrough and wasting so much time. It’s clearly your fault.”
This statement made Wan Yunting scratch his stubbly chin and shrug with a smile, “But we didn’t know you were in seclusion in the cave for a breakthrough. So, this matter can only be considered an accident.”
“Cunning human, stop your sophistry.”
The flood dragon’s maiden-like voice raged, “You absorbed so much of my blood and gained so much of my ability; you are an abominable little thief.”
“Alright, alright, stop telling me all this.”
Wan Yunting waved his hand to interrupt it and walked towards the deer carcass on the ground, saying, “Tell me what you need me to do. Consider it my repayment for this debt, alright?”
“Hmph, you’re sensible,” the flood dragon’s maiden-like voice huffed haughtily. Its massive body coiled, and it said, “Accompany me into the Death Mountain Range deep within the Kunlun Mountains!”
Wan Yunting, feeling hungry, was squatting on the ground, rummaging through the deer, thinking if he could start a fire to roast some deer meat. But upon hearing the flood dragon’s words, he immediately looked up at it, exclaiming in surprise, “Enter the Death Valley?”
The flood dragon raised its head, its luminous green eyes looking down at Wan Yunting. Its maiden-like voice huffed, “That’s right. I want to find that old snake and get revenge!”
“Wait…”
Wan Yunting quickly stood up and asked the flood dragon, “Let’s not even discuss who you want revenge on. But you know that the Death Valley deep within the Kunlun Mountains is one of the Ten Forbidden Zones. There are dangers within; if I’m not careful, I’ll die in there.”
The flood dragon’s luminous green eyes glared, its mouth slightly opening. Its maiden-like voice said in anger, “If you don’t take me, I’ll eat you right now.”
…
Wan Yunting was immediately rendered speechless. He knew that the reason this sentient flood dragon hadn’t eaten him was so that he would accompany it into the Death Valley deep within the Kunlun Mountains. If he truly refused, it might very well swallow him whole.
After all, that flood dragon had once swallowed Old Man Yan Donghai in one gulp. And humans, in the eyes of these sentient monsters, were merely food.
It was like how some people who eat game consider snakes a delicacy.
“Do you agree or not?” the flood dragon’s maiden-like voice demanded angrily.
Wan Yunting sighed and said, “Do I have a second option?”
“No.”
The flood dragon’s maiden-like voice let out a cold snort, “Don’t worry, I’m just looking for that old snake for revenge. If I kill it, you will gain many benefits.”
Wan Yunting continued to squat down and look at the deer on the ground. Accepting reality, he said, “Stop trying to imitate humans. Can you tell me who this ‘old snake’ you speak of is, and what did it do to you?”
The flood dragon coiled its massive body, resting its head on its own body. It seemed to be recalling the past, its luminous green eyes showing sadness. Its maiden-like voice spoke in anger, “It killed my mother!”
Wan Yunting, who was using his Gentleman Sword to cut a deer leg, turned his head upon hearing this, looking at the flood dragon’s luminous green eyes filled with tears and resentment. So, it wanted revenge for its mother.
“Then how do you know your enemy is in the Death Valley deep within the Kunlun Mountains?”
Wan Yunting continued to cut the deer leg with his Gentleman Sword. He hadn’t expected the flood dragon to have brought his Gentleman Sword along as well.
“Its lair is in the Death Mountain Range,” the flood dragon replied.
Wan Yunting said, “Then can’t you go yourself? Why must you bring me along? Logically speaking, I’m just a human; I can’t help you much, can I?”
“Hmph.”
The flood dragon turned its head, glaring at him with its luminous green eyes. Its maiden-like voice let out a delicate snort, “If I knew the way, why would I need you?”
“…Alright.”
Wan Yunting nodded with a smile, cut off a deer leg, and placed it aside. Suddenly, something came to mind, and his eyes widened. He murmured, “Ruoxi and the others went to the Kunlun Sect for their birthday celebration and mentioned that there were demons causing trouble. Could it be that old snake you mentioned that has achieved sentience?”
When he had escorted Zhou Ruoxi down the mountain to the Kunlun Sect, she had mentioned that Elder Zhang Qing and others from the Kunlun Sect had discovered demonic activity in the depths, and now this flood dragon was going to the Death Valley to seek revenge on an old snake.
Therefore, Wan Yunting was now wondering if that old snake was the demon that the Kunlun Sect had discovered.
It wasn’t impossible, was it?
But this was just Wan Yunting’s speculation. He quickly took out his phone from his pocket. Fortunately, the phone was still there, and there was signal. As the screen lit up, numerous missed calls appeared.
There were calls from Duan Yingying, Fang Yanxi, his parents and sister, Gu Luotang and Su Ke’er. There were quite a lot. Wan Yunting found Duan Yingying’s call and dialed it. The other end immediately connected, and she exclaimed excitedly, “Yun Ting, is that you?”
Wan Yunting replied, “Yingying, it’s me…”
“Ah, Mom, it’s Yun Ting! He’s alive…”
Duan Yingying’s excited voice came from the other end, speaking with Yang Jingyi and Wu Weizi.
“Where are you? Why haven’t you returned yet?” Duan Yingying asked.
Wan Yunting said, “I’m in the mountains. I can’t go back yet. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
“Why can’t you come back? Is it because of that big snake?” Chang Wude snatched the phone and asked with confusion.
Wan Yunting hummed in response, “Uncle Chang, it’s inconvenient to say more right now. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. Don’t worry, I’m not in danger.”
Chang Wude on the other end nodded and said, “Alright, then be careful. We’ll wait for you to return at the Taoist temple.”
“Okay, that’s all for now.”
Wan Yunting looked at his phone, which was about to run out of battery, and hung up. Then, he called Fang Yanxi to inform her that he was safe and that he would be staying at the Wuliang Taoist temple for the time being and would return to the capital in a few days.
Wan Yunting also called his father to report that he was safe, and then he called Gu Luotang, Qi Miaomiao, Su Ke’er, and the others one by one to report their safety.
Finally, Wan Yunting used the last bit of battery life to call Zhou Ruoxi, but the call showed as unable to connect!
Wan Yunting raised an eyebrow, his heart inexplicably tightening. He tried calling twice more, but still couldn’t reach Zhou Ruoxi’s phone. Wan Yunting then found Jiang Tingxia’s WeChat and called her. The girl immediately connected and asked, “Sect Leader Wan, why are you calling me on WeChat? Is there something you need?”
Wan Yunting quickly asked, “Junior Sister Jiang, why can’t I get through to your Senior Sister Zhou’s phone?”
Jiang Tingxia, who was at the Emei Sect, replied, “Oh, it’s like this. Senior Sister Zhou said a couple of days ago that she was going into the Kunlun Mountains with people from various sects to find the demons. She said there’s no signal in the mountains. I tried calling earlier, and it also couldn’t connect.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Wan Yunting knew that there was no signal in the depths of the Kunlun Mountains, but upon hearing that Zhou Ruoxi and people from other sects had gone into the depths of the Kunlun Mountains to search for some demons, he felt a bit uneasy.
Wan Yunting wanted to say something more, but his phone directly ran out of battery. He had no choice but to put it away, his brow furrowed, and distractedly continued to light a fire to roast the deer leg.