Chapter 662: Chapter 662: The Primordial Spirit Left in the Dream
Zhang Zidao frowned and muttered, "According to what I know, Ten Thousand Poison Hall is an Evil Sect, and those from the sect reek of sinister and malicious energy. Only a high monk who has attained the Dao could erect the Snake Devouring Stele."
"If I’m not mistaken, there should be a total of seven Snake Devouring Steles. Maybe..." I continued my search while holding the Compass.
As I approached the range of the second one, I preemptively stopped my steps.
To prevent being tripped by the monolith, if I got tripped again.
I worried that I’d fall into that terrifying Illusion Realm once more.
The existence of these monoliths is meant to suppress me in this dense forest.
If they’re not all destroyed, I feel I might not even be able to make it to Tianying Village alive.
Zhang Zidao pressed urgently, "Maybe what?"
At last, I found the moss-covered Snake Devouring Stele in the undergrowth, "Seeing that these Steles have been here for years, they might have been erected by someone from the past. The people from Ten Thousand Poison Hall, knowing that I’m carrying a snake fetus, utilized these ancient monoliths. They aim to kill me and Dumpling by means of the Steles to prevent me from entering Tianying Village."
"Those damn bastards, so vile and malicious!" Zhang Zidao cursed, admitting his acceptance of my speculation.
After he swung his sword and toppled the second monolith, he suddenly raised his hand to touch my belly, "You just said you had a dream? Did you dream about the Snake Devouring Stele?"
"I did, and a monk suppressed me with the monolith and the Azarhan Sutra. I nearly lost my life." Following the destruction of the second Stele, I inexplicably had a bad premonition.
Both my eyelids twitched, and my heart started beating faster for no apparent reason.
Zhang Zidao’s broad and rough palm moved away from my abdomen, and he suddenly started pounding his chest in distress, "It’s all the fault of this useless old man. Being by your side, I never knew you were drawn into the Illusion Realm! The one inside your belly... Dumpling, he..."
"What happened to him? He was tormented in the dream, but he has a steady breath, a normal fetal heartbeat, and is sleeping soundly," I said, looking at Zhang Zidao, who was overwhelmed with self-reproach, feeling even more panicked.
Zhang Zidao’s eyes filled with sharp, cold anger, "Dumpling’s body might be healthy, but... his Primordial Spirit and Soul are gone. I suspect they might have been left inside your dream, guarded by the Snake Devouring Stele!"
"What... what!!" My vision turned dark then bright, and tears of blood slowly trickled from the corners of my eyes.
The hairpin in my hand clenched tighter and tighter!
A sense of madness overtook me, and I desperately wanted to rush back to the cave that I had just made every effort to escape, solely to find my Dumpling.
Zhang Zidao was still composed, "Don’t be sad. If we destroy these monoliths, Dumpling should be able to come back! Tell your teacher the secret to locating the position of the Steles."
"The high monk who erected these monoliths must have considered the Earth Veins as an underground Giant Python, so he placed the Snake Devouring Steles at seven locations corresponding to the ’vital spot’ of the Earth Veins, thereby making the power of the Steles even more formidable and terrifying," I said, looking at the broken stones on the ground which seemed more and more glaring.
The big mouth of the Snake Devouring Stele is swallowing the White Python, which I once thought was aimed specifically at devouring Dumpling in my belly. But to my surprise, it was actually targeted by a high monk many years ago against another White Python.
Zhang Zidao squinted his eyes and pulled my hand right away.
With the Bronze Sword in hand, he destroyed the remaining five Snake Devouring Steles in the blink of an eye, "Good disciple, your understanding of the Mysterious Art is only a little less than what your teacher had when he was young."
"Thank you for the compliment, Master~" I scratched my head shyly.
Xiao Honghong scoffed, "Woman, are you an idiot? This old Taoist is PUA-ing you, eh? He can’t even deduce the location of the Snake Devouring Steles with his own strength now, let alone when he was younger, duh!"
In the midst of the dense forest, I faintly felt the temperature was not so cold anymore.
Even some of the snakes that were lying motionless in the trees started to recover, lazily sliding about.
Since there are still snakes in the vicinity, it means that the Snake Devouring Steles are responsible only for suppression, and they don’t harm the natural snake populations.
But tonight, they have all become petrified and motionless.
It can only mean that Ten Thousand Poison Hall has activated a special function of the Snake Devouring Steles, trapping me and, at the same time, the other snakes in this area as well.
I touched my stomach and called out softly to Dumpling, "Dumpling, have you come back? Mommy is very worried about you..."