Chapter 273: Chapter 210: Positioned in Peril, An Inch of Time
By the time he reached the mountainside, the surrounding snakes and pythons were already distinctly different.
The black pythons he’d encountered earlier were massive but lacked intelligence. In contrast, the scales of the snakes here shimmered with an uncanny light, and a hint of guile glinted in their eyes.
A ten-foot-long, red-scaled snake lay coiled silently among the vines on a steep cliff face. As Jiang Yi passed, it abruptly spat a cloud of venomous mist. The mist sizzled upon contact with the mountain rock, corroding small pits into the stone.
A cold glint flashed in Jiang Yi’s eyes. Before the venomous mist could reach him, he had already condensed a wisp of Bing Ding Fire at his fingertip and shot it out with a flick.
The flame streaked past. The red-scaled snake let out an agonized hiss and was instantly incinerated, leaving behind nothing but a wisp of acrid smoke.
The higher he climbed, the thicker the mountain’s vitality became. On the rugged, craggy cliff faces, there were even faint patterns that seemed to pulse like blood vessels.
He came to a narrow ravine and suddenly stopped. The path ahead was blocked by a colossal python. The beast was blue-black, with scales as hard as steel, and small horns had already sprouted from its head. It was a python demon on the verge of transforming into a Jiao!
Its body, as thick as a water barrel, was coiled at the entrance to the ravine. It flicked its forked tongue, its lantern-sized eyes locked onto Jiang Yi as it emanated the oppressive might of the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer.
The demon seemed to know Jiang Yi was not to be trifled with, so it didn’t attack rashly. It merely blocked the path, emitting a low growl that was clearly a warning.
Jiang Yi’s eyes narrowed as an astonishing theory surfaced in his mind.
’Could it be... that the two ancient peaks, Dragon Head and Leopard Transformation, are the physical body of a dragon’s offspring?’
The reason for this thought was simple.
Every time he slew a great serpent or python, a faint thread of a dragon’s offspring’s blood essence was absorbed by his Dao Embryo.
Shaking off his distracting thoughts, Jiang Yi’s figure blurred. He activated his Dao Embryo and slammed his fist into the python demon’s vital point.
ROAR!
Reeling in pain, the python demon let out a deafening shriek. Its body thrashed wildly as it tried to ensnare Jiang Yi.
With a tap of his toes, Jiang Yi vaulted into the air. He opened his mouth and spat a torrent of Magical Power, which transformed into a millstone-sized inferno of Bing Fire that smashed violently against the horn on the python demon’s head.
With a loud CRACK, the small horn on the python demon’s head snapped. Its imposing presence immediately withered.
With a flick of his sleeve, Jiang Yi unleashed a scorching wind, instantly reducing the demon to ash.
’If the mountainside is already this treacherous, the summit will be even harder to reach.’
「Two days later.」
Jiang Yi finally reached the summit.
Fierce gales raged and swirled, shrieking like mournful cries. Occasionally, fist-sized motes of brilliant light-qi drifted down, coalescing into the forms of snakes and pythons the moment they touched the ground.
’I’ve slain an incalculable number of vicious snakes and giant pythons on my way up. I’m almost numb to it all.’
Jiang Yi planted his feet on the summit. If not for his mastery of combining Bing and Ding Fire, and the Foundation Establishment Pill hanging in his Inner Mansion—which let him instantly replenish any amount of Magical Profound Light he consumed—he truly might not have been able to climb this high.
’The sense of peril has reached its absolute peak. Now, let’s see if I can walk through the danger and overcome it.’
Jiang Yi circulated his Cultivation Technique. The faint, erratic wisp of Essence Qi within his body grew clearer and more turbulent, as if it would coalesce and take form at any moment.
After pondering in silence for a few breaths, he released his Qi Mechanism without reservation. This seemed to trigger some sort of restrictive formation, as a sudden peal of thunder rolled across the sky.
High in the heavens, the swirling gales tore open a rift. Vast, dazzling streams of light-qi writhed through it like frantic dragons and serpents, slowly coalescing into some sort of image.
It looked like a human figure.
’So that’s how it is. The very foundation of this Dragonfall Abyss... is a single moment frozen in time.’
Jiang Yi gazed at the endless, brilliant light that gushed forth like a tidal wave, and his eyes lit up with sudden understanding.
’No wonder Master Lu opened this place for me and told me to gather the "Water from Beneath Kan."’
’The place where Ji Fuyao slew a dragon... For a Shao Yang cultivator, what could be more "perilous" than this Immortal Dao Emperor himself!’
