Boom!
With a thunderous sound, Hongtila, with its triangular head, swooped down towards Yuan Kaicheng, opening its gaping maw to bite. The horrifying scene caused the two elders of the Kunlun Sect in the distance, along with disciples like Guan Feipeng, to halt their actions, crying out in alarm, "Old Sect Master, be careful..."
Yuan Kaicheng's old face was grim. He leaped forward abruptly, his body soaring into the air. His wide, bulging eyes stared at the giant snake that had missed its lunge below. In the next second, before he could react, a thick, dark red tail whipped towards him...
Yuan Kaicheng's old eyes widened. Giving him no chance to react, Hongtila's tail swung over, striking him squarely. He let out a muffled grunt, and his entire body was sent flying back like a cannonball, smashing violently against the side of a Gobi Desert dune...
"Father..."
"Old Sect Master..."
The injured Yuan Gaowu, along with the Kunlun Sect's Third Elder Guan Yongwu and Fifth Elder Ren Bo, rushed forward. They helped up Yuan Kaicheng, who had already fallen to the ground. He clutched his chest, his long white hair disheveled, his old face pale, and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Although he had used his formidable qi to withstand the attack from the giant snake Hongtila, it had still resulted in a minor internal injury.
"Let's attack together and slay this beast."
Yuan Kaicheng's old face contorted, his eyes spitting fury. He watched as Hongtila twisted its massive body and turned its large head. Its crimson eyes, like lanterns, locked onto their group. It opened its gaping mouth and let out a roar, then coiled its body like a spring and lunged towards Yuan Kaicheng and the others once more...
"Ah..."
Several piercing screams echoed. Yuan Kaicheng, grabbing his son Yuan Gaowu, leaped to dodge. The other two elders also narrowly escaped, but Guan Feipeng and two disciples stared in terror. Hongtila opened its mouth and snatched up a disciple, tossing him into the air. He fell into its maw, and after a couple of chews, the crisp sound of cracking bones was heard. This caused Guan Feipeng and his fellow disciple below to turn deathly pale, trembling uncontrollably...
"Beast, take this palm strike!"
Yuan Kaicheng roared, descending from the sky. He channeled all his inner energy to his hands and struck Hongtila's head...
Bang!
Accompanied by Hongtila's furious hiss, a loud crash echoed as its massive head slammed into the Gobi Desert. Its dark red scaled body writhed and rolled in agony...
Wan Yunting and Ji Ruxue, Zhou Ruoxi and Zhang Xian'er, Zi Qing and Chong Ling'er, Qi Xiu, and others who had gathered in the distance witnessed this scene. They were immensely shocked by Yuan Kaicheng's terrifying martial arts. Even an existence like Hongtila had been knocked down by him...
Roar!
However, in the next second, before Yuan Kaicheng could bask in his momentary triumph, Hongtila thrashed its massive head. Its crimson eyes widened, and it let out an enraged roar, clearly infuriated.
"Heh heh, Hongtila wouldn't be so easily subdued."
Ji Ruxue, wielding her snake whip, watched as Hongtila, thoroughly enraged, launched a fierce assault on Yuan Kaicheng. Its colossal body wriggled rapidly, its dark red tail whipping out, striking fear into Yuan Kaicheng, who quickly leaped to dodge...
Boom...!
The dunes of the Gobi Desert collapsed under the terrifying power of the thick snake tail, kicking up clouds of dust. Coupled with the darkening skies, lightning, and thunder, it was a visually stunning scene, like something out of a special effects movie...
"Ah..."
Two more screams erupted. Guan Feipeng and his fellow disciple were pinned half to death by Hongtila's massive body. However, Hongtila's enraged roars continued. Its crimson eyes were fixed on Yuan Kaicheng, who was frantically fleeing across the rocky hillside, like a predator tracking its prey. Its colossal body crawled rapidly, its maw opening to snap at Yuan Kaicheng relentlessly...
"Father, you must run..."
Below, the injured Yuan Gaowu, supported by the Third Elder Guan Yongwu and Fifth Elder Ren Bo, watched in panic and anxiety as the giant snake pursued his father, unsure of what to do.
"Sect Master Yuan, you might as well stop struggling."
At this moment, Wan Yunting, holding the Junzi Sword, arrived with the injured Zhou Ruoxi and Zhang Xian'er, Zi Qing and Qi Xiu, Zhao Xuyan, and others. They all stared fiercely at Yuan Gaowu and his group, their hearts burning with hatred. Qi Xiu shouted, "Kill them! Avenge our Uncle Zuoqi and Master Lin!"
"Kill him..."
Zhao Xuyan of Longhu Mountain, clad in a magnificent but tattered Daoist robe, was stained with his senior brother's blood. Zhang Xingyue had also not survived; he was half-buried in the dust...
Suddenly, the two elders beside Yuan Gaowu, along with the remaining young disciples, looked panicked. Their eyes, filled with fear, fixed on the hateful and furious gazes of Wan Yunting, Zhou Ruoxi, and the others. They began to feel nervous and scared.
The injured Yuan Gaowu's face was pale. He gazed towards the Gobi Desert hills in the distance, where his father, Yuan Kaicheng, was being relentlessly pursued by the giant snake and fleeing in disarray. Yuan Gaowu knew their plan had utterly failed.
"Wan... Yun... Ting...!"
The one responsible for the failure of this scheme was none other than Wan Yunting and that seductive demoness from the Divine Snake tribe. Yuan Gaowu's eyes widened, burning with rage. Grinding his teeth, he uttered Wan Yunting's name word by word, wishing he could drink their blood and eat their flesh to satiate his hatred...
"Sect Master Yuan, I truly thought you were a righteous person before."
Wan Yunting did not flinch from Yuan Gaowu's murderous glare. He said, "One cannot judge a person's heart by their face. I never imagined that your Kunlun Sect would betray righteousness and strike down your own people in order to covet the martial arts manuals of the Snow Mountain Sect. You father and son have truly ruined the thousand-year-old Kunlun Sect."
"Scum..."
Qi Xiu, Chong Ling'er, Zhao Xuyan, and the others spat towards Yuan Gaowu and his group...
Zhang Xian'er, wielding the Qingping Sword, her peach blossom eyes wide, declared, "Why waste so many words? Kill them with one sword and avenge my nephew Lin!"
Wan Yunting quickly grabbed her arm. Zhang Xian'er turned and glared at him, shaking off Wan Yunting's hand. "What are you doing? Do you still want to keep him alive?"
Zhou Ruoxi said, "Let's keep Yuan Gaowu alive. We'll take him back to the Martial Arts Association for judgment. The entire Kunlun Sect must pay the price!"
Qi Xiu, having calmed down, nodded and said, "Exactly. If we kill them all, with just our words, we won't be able to collect evidence from the various representatives of the association. By keeping Yuan Gaowu alive, he can personally give the martial world an explanation."
"Rest assured, he, Yuan Gaowu, and the entire Kunlun Sect will pay the price for the crimes he has committed!"
Zhao Xuyan and Chong Ling'er nodded. Zhang Xian'er snorted, but her Qingping Sword pointed at the two elders beside Yuan Gaowu and the remaining young disciples. She called out, "Then these people can be killed, right?"
Wan Yunting, Zhou Ruoxi, Qi Xiu, Chong Ling'er, and the others looked coldly at the Kunlun Sect's Third Elder Guan Yongwu and Fifth Elder Ren Bo. This immediately struck them with terror, and they cried out repeatedly, "Please spare us, sirs! This was the idea of the Sect Master and the Old Sect Master. We could not disobey. We beg you to let us live."
"Yes, yes..."
Ren Bo quickly pleaded, "Everyone, please rest assured. We will testify at that time, pointing out the crimes of the Yuan father and son..."
Boom!
With a deafening sound and Yuan Kaicheng's scream...
"Father..."
Yuan Gaowu, his expression despondent, turned his head. His eyes, filled with terror, looked towards the Gobi Desert hills in the distance. Yuan Kaicheng was once again sent flying by Hongtila's massive tail, flying more than ten meters before crashing heavily onto the Gobi sand, his body sliding more than ten meters before stopping...
"Ugh..."
Yuan Kaicheng's old face turned ashen, and his body convulsed. He opened his mouth and vomited a large mouthful of blood. Clutching his abdomen, his body curled into a fetal position, letting out piteous moans and violent coughs...
"Father..."
At this moment, Yuan Gaowu was filled with panic and fear. He watched as the enormous, dark red scaled giant snake Hongtila slowly crawled towards his father, Yuan Kaicheng. Its triangular head was raised, and its crimson, lantern-like eyes stared at the fallen Yuan Kaicheng. It slightly opened its large mouth, flicking its tongue and emitting a low hiss...
"Beast..."
Yuan Kaicheng, slumped on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, his old face contorted and shaking. Even facing death, his old eyes still bulged with anger as he glared at Hongtila, coughing up blood and roaring, "Come on, old man is not afraid of you..."
Hongtila let out a roar and lifted its thick tail, bringing it down forcefully onto Yuan Kaicheng on the ground...
Bang!
"Ah...!"
Dust swirled, and Yuan Kaicheng's screams continued...
"Father..."
Yuan Gaowu cried out in horror, wanting to rush forward, but he was stopped by Wan Yunting and Zhang Xian'er, who held their swords, preventing him from going.
"Ah..."
Over there, Yuan Kaicheng's screams continued. Hongtila did not rush to swallow him but used its large tail to hit him like a whack-a-mole, several times with bangs and crashes, filling the air with dust...
Yuan Kaicheng, covered in dust, collapsed into a shallow pit. His chest had been flattened by Hongtila's massive tail. His internal organs were shattered, and his ribs were crushed.
With only his last breath, his blood-stained mouth mumbled incoherently. His wide, bulging eyes finally revealed a look of fear and unwillingness in the face of death...
Finally, not wanting him to die, Hongtila picked him up from the pit with its mouth, as if fearing he would spoil. After shaking the dust off Yuan Kaicheng, Hongtila tossed him into the air, and Yuan Kaicheng fell into its gaping maw...
"Ah, no, Father..."
This sight made Yuan Gaowu's eyes blaze with fury. He knelt on the ground, roaring in grief and anger, his fists pounding the ground. Then, he lunged up and turned to attack Wan Yunting, yelling, "Wan Yunting, I'm going to kill you..."
"Seeking death."
Seeing Yuan Gaowu rush forward in a frenzy, Zhang Xian'er, who had long wanted to kill him, raised her Qingping Sword, intending to strike him down. However, Wan Yunting stopped her and stepped forward to meet Yuan Gaowu. With a shoulder shove, he sent the losing-his-mind Yuan Gaowu flying backwards, sliding a long distance across the ground. Wan Yunting then approached and pressed an acupoint on Yuan Gaowu's neck, causing him to fall unconscious.
Boom boom!
"Roar..."
With two deafening roars, the Gobi Desert hills exploded. Two massive creatures, one black and one gray, surged out from beneath the hills. They were the Flood Dragon Snake Liu Xiaohei and the Old Snake. These two, having reached the Flood Dragon Snake realm, let out roars that were as deafening as dragon roars...
Especially the gray Old Snake, which soared into the sky. In the air, it seemed transformed into a true dragon, directly burrowing into the rolling dark clouds. Amidst the flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, a deep, ancient voice echoed: "Little fellow, you have only just evolved to the Flood Dragon Snake realm, while I am about to undergo tribulation and transform into a Flood Dragon. What can you use to contend with me?"