Chapter 21: The Green Snake
The red-haired, pretty young woman had warned them about the 'snake' and the 'tree'. Linley and Bebe had remained vigilant in their hearts. Now, at this moment, Linley and the others understood that the so-called 'snake' was that slender little green snake.
"Crack!" Linley and Bebe stepped on the thick layer of withered leaves and branches covering the ground as they walked toward the floating corpse. Both carefully examined the body of the golden-haired, burly man. Linley even looked closely at the chest area where the green snake had first burrowed into the man's body—
"Just as I thought!" Linley discovered a small hole in the man's chest, identical to the one on his forehead.
"I thought that green snake could actually merge into a human body. Turns out it bites a hole and burrows in. But the green snake is really fast, and its penetrating power is strong!" Linley remarked. "That burly man was at least a Highgod, yet his divine power defense couldn't stop it at all."
The divine power light shield and the Highgod's body were as fragile as paper before that green snake.
"This green snake sure has sharp teeth," Bebe said with a laugh.
"Don't let your guard down," Linley said, examining the corpse. "That green snake is extremely fast and can easily change direction in midair."
"Yeah." Bebe had also witnessed that scene.
"Boss, that green snake killed this guy, but why didn't it keep attacking us? Instead, it fled?" Bebe asked.
"It probably wanted to ambush us," Linley said. "We were already on alert and watching it, so it gave up on attacking. Be careful... that green snake might come back to ambush us again."
"Don't worry. If it comes again, I'll crush it directly!" Bebe said confidently.
"Let's keep moving," Linley said with a smile. At this moment, Linley and Bebe actually felt slightly relieved. Before, not knowing what form the 'snake' and 'tree' attacks would take, they had been tense. The more unknown and mysterious something is, the more frightening it becomes. But now that they understood the snake was just that kind of little green snake...
Even if the little green snake was dangerous, Linley and the others now had a handle on it.
As they advanced, Linley and the others paid special attention to whether there were any little green snakes nearby. Of course, they also remained vigilant toward the low-lying trees.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Linley and the two moved like lightning phantoms through the white mist. On the green leaves of a low tree beside them, green energy eerily emerged from the leaf's surface, eventually forming into a little green snake. This green snake looked toward the backs of Linley and Bebe.
Then—
The green snake merged back into the leaf and vanished. But hundreds of meters away, on a leaf of a large tree near Linley and Bebe, green energy once again emerged, forming another green snake. This green snake also stared at Linley and Bebe. Its ability to conceal itself was truly formidable.
The green snake didn't attack immediately. Instead, it regarded the divine power light shield. The green snake didn't care about that... However, because of this 'earthen yellow light shield,' it had suffered greatly!
Blackstone Space — Maximum Repulsion!
This repulsive force was proportional to the body's weight. The little green snake, subjected to such repulsion, had its speed drastically reduced. Yet it still flew toward Linley at extreme speed. Its speed and impact force were truly astonishing.
"Die." Linley swung his divine sword 'Afterimage' unhurriedly.
Infused with divine power, the Afterimage sword instantly became completely transparent as it slashed through. Wherever it passed, a clear crack appeared in the air. The green snake, its speed greatly reduced, could no longer dodge easily. It twisted its body with effort, but Linley's Afterimage sword still struck.
One slash. Two halves!
"Swoosh!" The green snake, now only half its body remaining, didn't slow down at all. It shot directly toward Linley.
"Huh? Still alive?" Linley was shocked.
Too close. Linley couldn't block with his sword. He immediately swung his dragon claw, grabbing directly at it.
The green snake, however, seemed eager to charge into Linley's dragon claw palm. Then it bit down on Linley's palm. 'Crack!' The dragon scales on Linley's palm were shattered by the bite. But at the same time, Linley clenched his hand, and under the crushing pressure of terrifying energy, the green snake was instantly crushed into the mud.
Purple blood flowed.
"Not good." Linley's expression changed.
Linley felt a numbing sensation instantly spread through his entire body. That strange energy surged directly toward his mind.
"Hmph." The soul force in Linley's mind surged like ripples, spreading outward in waves, destroying and consuming that strange energy.
"Boss, are you okay?" Bebe asked quickly.
"I'm fine. Luckily, only a bit of snake venom got in. If that whole green snake had burrowed into my body, it would have been trouble." Linley was still wary. That strange energy's damaging power was indeed strong. It was only because he had become a Highgod and absorbed purple crystals for centuries, making his soul force dozens of times stronger than when he was a Demigod, that he could resist it so easily.
But if a whole snake had burrowed into his body...
Linley himself felt a bit creeped out.
"Those fangs are really sharp." Linley looked down at his palm.
A small area of dragon scales on his palm had shattered, revealing two tiny 'pits.'
Linley's dragon scale defense was too strong. When the green snake bit down, although its fangs pierced through two points, it couldn't completely bite out a large hole, preventing it from burrowing all the way in. Naturally, the green snake was crushed to death. But—the snake's fangs had still pierced the scales, and the venom had seeped into the blood and muscles.
"And this is just the White Mist Region, the least dangerous! What about the Gray Mist Region and the highest-level Purple Mist Region?" Linley couldn't help but feel the pressure. "No wonder anyone who gets a Netherworld Fruit can become a Sovereign's Emissary! Given how dangerous Nether Mountain is, anyone who can obtain a Netherworld Fruit is already quite powerful. With the Netherworld Fruit's help, they indeed have the strength to become a Sovereign's Emissary."
Linley and Bebe continued forward.
After a moment—the white mist gradually thinned.
"We've reached another boundary. Hope it's not the mountain base," Bebe said, no longer cheering.
But soon, Linley and Bebe's eyes lit up. They had walked out of the White Mist Region. Ahead was an empty area with no mist at all. Further ahead—was the dim, gray, heavy mist region.
"We made it out?" Bebe exclaimed in surprise.
"Haha." Linley couldn't help but laugh. "Bebe, your intuition was right. We succeeded on our fifth try."
Just as Linley and Bebe were rejoicing, a series of angry roars and howls came from the Gray Mist Region ahead.
"Huh?" Linley and Bebe looked puzzledly toward the Gray Mist Region. What was in there?