Starting with a Super Five-Star Hotel

"Ubo, go check it out!"

Looking at the patch of grass, Zhu Hongyun whispered to Ubo.

"Alright!"

Ubo acknowledged, drew a dagger, and cautiously approached the grass. Zhu Hongyun watched from where he stood, his expression solemn.

If their plan had been leaked and Su Xuan had overheard, they would be doomed. In his and Ubo's minds, Su Xuan was already a thoroughly ruthless man. After all, hadn't Su Xuan robbed most of the other participants in the Valley of Thousand Snakes trial? He even guessed that if Su Xuan sold all the stolen goods, he could make at least a few million Moon Profound Stones! That was an amount most people couldn't earn in a lifetime!

"Huh?"

Ubo parted the grass with his dagger, his expression suddenly turning to one of shock, as if he had seen something utterly extraordinary.

Puzzled, Zhu Hongyun took a step forward and looked into the grass, his own face registering shock.

"Immortal Drunk, Immortal Drunk!"

"Even an immortal would get drunk from this scent!"

"He must be hit! He must be hit!"

A small snake, only about half a meter long, was continuously spouting human words! Shockingly, the snake had a child's face and even showed expressions as it spoke! It was a talking snake! What an unprecedented sight!

SWISH!

Perhaps sensing danger, the small snake twisted its body and darted away, repeating the same words as it fled.

"Catch it!"

"Damned thing!"

Zhu Hongyun urged Ubo on, taking the lead himself in chasing the snake.

However, the snake was extremely swift, its movements erratic. It came dangerously close to Su Xuan's small cabin several times, making Zhu Hongyun's heart pound with fear that Su Xuan would hear the snake's repeated words. Fortunately, after scurrying around chaotically for a while, the snake started to flee in a direction away from the cabin.

WHOOSH.

Just as Zhu Hongyun considered giving up the chase, an unexpected blast of cold wind washed over him, making him shiver uncontrollably.

He was a cultivator. He could lie in a blizzard without a padded jacket and easily last the night. A mere gust of wind should never make him shiver. There's something strange about this wind!

Zhu Hongyun stopped in his tracks. Ubo, also sensing that something was amiss, stood beside him.

The next second, a huge shadow dropped without warning from a large tree above them, its gaping, bloody maw opening wide to swallow them!

Zhu Hongyun looked up and was completely stunned.

It was a white snake! And it too had a human face! But its mouth was filled with fangs, giving it a sinister and terrifying appearance.

If I get swallowed by a mouth like that, there's no hope of survival!

"Young Master, dodge!" Ubo shouted a warning, pushing Zhu Hongyun hard as he used the momentum to leap to the side.

But to his utter shock, when he pushed Zhu Hongyun, his young master didn't dodge the gaping maw. Instead, he collapsed to the ground with a thud!

"Shit!" He glanced at his young master's legs and couldn't help but curse. Zhu Hongyun's legs were entangled by the small snake from before!

WHOOSH! In the blink of an eye, the white snake's massive maw swallowed Zhu Hongyun whole, leaving only a single shoe behind.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

Ubo's eyes instantly became bloodshot. He recklessly gripped his dagger and charged at the white snake! If he could just rescue him in time and slice open the white snake's belly, perhaps he could still save Zhu Hongyun!

THWACK!

But the white snake was no pushover. Before Ubo could even get close, it whipped its massive tail around, sweeping it against him.

Even with his power at the Heaven Severing Late Stage Perfection, Ubo couldn't withstand the strike. His body bent backward as he was sent flying, snapping a thirty-centimeter-thick tree on impact before he crashed heavily to the ground. The dagger flew from his grasp and stabbed into the soil at an angle.

This white snake is terrifying! It's far beyond what I can handle! And since when did such a fearsome serpent exist in the Valley of Thousand Snakes?

Ubo spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

The next moment, with no time to consider the consequences, he fumbled for the Golden Needle, ready to stab it into his own head and force his way into the Longevity Realm! His face was a mask of bitterness. This technique was meant for Su Xuan... and now I have to use it on a snake!

But just as he raised the hand holding the Golden Needle, the very thing that plunged him into utter despair happened. The Human-faced Little Snake that had ensnared Zhu Hongyun appeared again, coiled around his wrist, and bit down hard.

A numbing sensation instantly spread through his arm, which then drooped limply to his side.

"Help! Someone's dying!"

"Boss, come save us, quick!"

Ubo was truly out of options. He turned his head and, in a strained voice, screamed for help toward the small cabin. At the same time, he scrambled and rolled across the ground, crawling toward it.

He had to crawl. If he didn't, that white snake would surely devour him too! And he had a good guess as to why the white snake was attacking them. The snake eggs! The eggs he had prepared for Su Xuan... he'd taken them from a cave. And that cave... that goddamn cave had to be the white snake's lair! The white snake had laid those eggs! It had come for revenge! As for the Human-faced Little Snake, that went without saying. It must also be the white snake's child, here to avenge its younger siblings!

Why is our luck so bad? Why is killing him so damn difficult? Ubo felt a crushing sorrow in his heart; he wanted to cry.

"What's wrong with you?"

Just as he crawled a dozen or so meters, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from in front of him. The moment he heard that voice, Ubo truly burst into tears.

He raised his tear-streaked face, looked at that outrageously handsome one, and wailed, "Boss!"

Yes. The newcomer was Su Xuan.

And this was the first time Ubo had ever called him "Boss" from the bottom of his heart. If Su Xuan could save him, and also rescue Zhu Hongyun from the snake's belly, he would gladly call Su Xuan "Dad" or even "Grandpa." His only fear was that Su Xuan wouldn't accept such an old subordinate.

"The snake! The giant white snake!" Ubo's voice trembled. "It swallowed Hongyun whole, and it's going to eat me too! I roasted its eggs, and it's here for revenge!"

In a few short sentences, he explained everything.

"Don't be afraid. Your boss has got this."

Su Xuan glanced behind Ubo, then snatched him by the collar and flung him far away. With another motion of his hand, the Fire Spirit Sword appeared in his grasp, buzzing and bursting into flame. And right before him, the massive white snake was rapidly closing in.

"Boss... thank you!"

Ubo lay on the ground some distance away, his eyes fixed on Su Xuan's back as he wielded the flaming Fire Spirit Sword. Tears of gratitude streamed down his face. He was destined to remember this image of Su Xuan for the rest of his life. Framed against the giant white snake, that silhouette, though small, stood as tall as a mountain.

The next second, Su Xuan charged toward the great white snake.