Spring Winds

Huh?

Why did it stop?

No one dared to move a muscle after the rumbling had a moment of peace.

Suddenly, dirt and grime spayed through the air as a giant serpent burst through the walls!

Instinctively, I closed my eyes as the debris started to make me tear up.

"What in the world-"

"Hisssss!"

Where did this giant snake come from, ah!

Whipping his massive head around the small space, it slammed the juniors against the cave walls as it swung its gigantic head.

"Quick, get a grip of yourself!"

"Ahh, where did this snake even come from?!"

"Does it matter?! We got to move!"

As the snake continued to slither out of its darkened entrance, Xiao Lan and another disciple took charge forwards through the caves. The light that guided them away soon disappeared into the darkness.

Hopefully, they'll be alright.

Meanwhile, Bu Xiu He, Senior Sister, and a few more experienced disciples had already gone ahead to deal with the serpent.

"Lotus bloom."

The floor shook before icy blue petals appeared and enveloped us into a cold but safe barrier.

Outside through the semi-clear icy, we could see that the dust had dissipated to some degree. However, it was still unclear as to where the serpent was.

"Achoo!" Ugh, this dust is making my eyes water!

I thought there were no nests or anything!

How could a snake just pop out of nowhere?!

"Senior Sister," rushing up to her side, I asked, "what should we do?!"

After all, we were now separated from almost half our numbers, and we're trapped deep underground.

Not to mention that giant snake that decided to pop in.

Aiyah, first the stampede, then the overgrown chicken, and now this snake.

Heavens, give us a break already, ah!

"We must kill this snake before it gets to the others," Senior Sister replied as the crease between her brows deepened. "If they can get out of these caves alive and reach the top of Yong Yuan He, then it's already considered a success."

That's quite a steep order.

We've already split into two groups, the experienced disciples and those still a little green.

Hmm, but even so, half of them are still disciples from our humble Yun Cai Peak, and I'm confident that they won't go down that easily.

Plus, it's not like we're given that much of choice either.

"Hissss!"

A forked tongue flayed out from the slit mouth as it analyzed Senior Sister's lotus barrier in curiosity.

The sharp protruding horns from its forehead served as a menacing helmet as it rammed its head against the ice in an attempt to break it.

That does not seem good!

The ramming started to pick up speed as the serpent indiscriminately knocked its head against the icy surface.

"Stay calm and be ready," Senior Sister ordered as she tightened her grip on her blade. "I'm going to drop the shield."

"What?!"

Dropping the shield already?!

"Wouldn't that allow the snake just to eat us in one bite?" At the speed and strength of the snake's movement, it's very self-evident that this was not your average garden snake.

Though, I must admit those horns on the snake's head seem a bit unnatural.

Senior Sister took a deep breath, her eyes never wavering away from the serpent's amber glare. "Junior Sister…

Do you trust me?"

"Yes." I wasn't expecting this question.

Why wouldn't I trust her?

She's my senior sister.

"Then, I need you to trust me that this senior is doing the right thing.

I would never let anything of harm come to you."

"Alright," I nodded before grabbing hold of Senior Sister's empty hand. I noticed that Senior Sister's palms were a bit cold and stiff.

Perhaps she doesn't want to show the others that she's nervous.

Aiyah.

Squeezing her hand, I clenched her hand tightly as I flashed her my usual grin. "I'll await your orders then, Senior Sister."

If Senior Sister has a plan, I'm sure that it will succeed!

"We'll also wait for what Martial Aunt Jing Hua has planned," the other disciple cheered on, reassuring.

"You got this, Senior Sister!"

"Yeah," Senior Sister nodded stiffly. Her hands seemed to grow a bit clammy as she squeezed my hand in return. "Be ready."

Closing her eyes, Senior Sister took in one last deep breath before the lotus bloom started to open.

The snake backed away to avoid the falling petals; however, it didn't hesitate to strike as soon as the last petal bloomed.

"Stay calm," Senior Sister whispered as the snake approached us with a determined glint in its eyes. I wasn't sure if Senior Sister was trying to reassure herself or the rest of us, but regardless everyone anticipated for the serpent to strike.

"Hisss!"

Striking like an arrow through the air, the snake aimed straight at Senior Sister!

However, before it could reach her, the fallen petals suddenly turned into giant spikes and started stabbing at the serpentine beast's massive body.

"HISSSS!!!!"

Although most ice spikes had failed to penetrate its hardened scales, some had managed to hit some soft spots.

Hissing in rage, venom and spit spewed from its unhinged jaw!

"Block!"

Throwing up qi shields, the venom sizzled on impact before sliding onto the ground, forming small holes in the process.

Yikes! That's not so good!

"Let's move!"

As we dashed down the tunnel, Senior Sister would stop every so often to throw up some more icy barriers for the snake to pass through.

However, despite these efforts, the serpent only needs to spurt a little poison before dissolving in seconds.

Sh*t, this snake is too strong! If only, there was a way to slow it down!

"Hissss!"

"Ugh…"

Senior Sister?

Looking back, I noticed that Senior Sister struggled to maintain a large ice wall as the others continued their retreat.

"Senior Sister!" Running to her, I saw that cracks were starting to form in the wall as the snake rammed its head against the icy wall after spraying it with venom.

"What are you doing?! Go!

I'll be fine on my own!"

"I'm not leaving you, Senior Sister!" Hah, what's up with Senior Sister as of late? Always leaving me behind!

Where's the sisterhood of staying together thick and thin?!

However, before I could reach Senior Sister, the ice barrier had already broken!

"Senior Sister!"

Lunging towards her, the snake hissed it's disgusting mouth open and prepared itself to swallow her whole!

Not on my watch its not!

Using some qi, I dashed forward and grabbed Senior Sister and pulled her behind me.

And to put it crudely, I punched the snake.

"Ohh, that hurt a lot more than I expected," hissing through teeth, I tried to shake off the stinging sensation from my hand.

However, I didn't have time to worry about the temporary ache as the snake soon returned for more.

"HISSS!"

Unhinging its massive jaw, the snake flashed its poisonous fangs before coming down in an attempt to swallow us up!

Aiyah!

"Ughh!" Holding both of the serpent's fangs, I tried to prevent it from coming down even more.

My hands started to tingle a bit from the venom as it dripped down my hands and arms, but with my cultivation I should be okay to some degree.

Maybe.

"Uhh, you gonna do something, Senior Senior?!" Looking back, I saw that Senior Sister looked a bit in shock.

Luckily she came back to her senses quickly!

"Snow Blossoms!"

The cave dropped in temperature as snow started to form in the air. Like white petals floating down in spring, everything seemed to have slowed down as the serene aura mesmerizing all those who witnessed it.

Suddenly the gentle flakes turned frigid as sharp little needles and started to stab at the beast.

Damn, Senior Sister is getting good at this stuff.

The snake looked wide eyed at deadly transformation before it thrashed out of my hold, pushing me back.

"Ouch!"

Thankfully, Senior Sister was there to catch me. "Thanks, Senior Sister!"

"Thank me later, we must move!"

Grabbing onto my arm, Senior Sister dragged me down the cave at a frightening speed!

Senior Sister, I'm not even running with you at this point! I'm being dragged down this corridor!

Meanwhile, the snake also didn't seem to be having a fun time as it released a pained shriek.

Senior Sister ignored the pained beast as she continued to pull me along.

Thrashing around after realizing that its attacks proved fruitless, it started to go for some more drastic measures.

"Hisss!"

The snake suddenly slammed its massive body against the wall beside it and before retreating into its hidey-hole. It's hiss slowly retreating into the darkness.

The caves shook momentarily from the sudden impact before once again coming to a standstill.

"Is it… over?"

Does that mean that we've beaten the snake?

"I don't know," Senior Sister replied as she slowed down her pace a little bit.

"Crack!"

What was that?

Dust started to rain down from the ceiling as little pieces of debris dropped onto the floor.

Huh?

"CRACK!"

Suddenly, spikes started to rain down from the ceiling before sharding into pieces on the ground!

"Run!"

Picking up the pace once more, Senior Sister pulled me along like a rag doll as we avoided the falling spikes.

"We're almost there!" Up ahead, I could see that we were close to the others indicated by the light and commotion. They also must be feeling the repercussions of the snake's body slam.

"CRACK!!!"

Looking up, I saw that a gigantic cave spike from above had broken off from I base and was headed straight towards us!

"Watch out!"