Chapter 40 - Shedding One's Self

"The caravan is lost, and n bandits are left. Let's leave this godforsaken valley," Shen Hua said.

"Gods?" Mei frowned. "Are you religious?"

"No, but there has been a new rising religion. People claim that the White Dragon will protect us from the World Serpent, the terror that destroyed several cities and kingdoms over a thousand years ago. After the events of The Eye and the Snake, researchers from ancient times have dug up records of its terror," Shen Hua said.

"Oh?" Yang said, grinning inside. "It existed?"

"Ah, right. You love snakes," Lin nodded and turned to Sima Qing. "Do you know about the World Serpent too?"

"Why do you ask me?" she replied.

"I may not have dirty hands and am inexperienced in love, but I am no fool. I am Yang's older brother. You must be the imperial princess. Sun Yi's background, I know since the first day of school in my first year. Lu Jing, everyone knows his dad is the duke. That means the imperial who came to the academy under an alias must be you," Lin said, stunning everyone.

"She is?" Lu Jing exclaimed, Yang rubbing his head in half disappointment and half irritation.

"Yes. She is my sister," Shen Dong confirmed. "Anyway, legends speak of a golden snake large enough to wrap itself around the Pangu Continent ten times, with jade eyes that tore into the soul and a sand-colored feather on its head like a lion's mane. It had the power to tear open the earth and create tsunamis, its affinity for earth and water surpassing that of any snake in recorded history. It disappeared a thousand years ago. People assume it either failed ascension and died or did ascend."

"I read about that too. I believe the snake was at the peak Sky Mortal Stage for the last thousand years, finally reaching the Heavenly Mortal Stage! According to the transmission bead mother gave me, the researchers back in the capital say that there are no initial, middle, late, or peak Heavenly Mortal levels. It is just the Heavenly Mortal Stage. Everyone knows Sky Mortals can exit the planet and travel the stars. The legends of the Elemental Sovereign of Darkness are true, so the legends of the Elemental Sovereign of Lightning must also be true," Shen Hua said.

"Are you somehow saying that the World Serpent intends to absorb the powers of the Elemental Sovereign of Lightning? Since it has power over water and earth, all it needs is the power of lightning and light. Lightning represents the tribulations, and light represents the very Heavens. Perhaps a fifth element is necessary, like a human's Spirit Realm; there must be an element that can sustain and balance the four elements," Sun Yi said, adjusting his glasses. "Are you suggesting the creation of the element of wood as well?"

"That's impossible. Even Guo Lin has to combine water and earth to manipulate wood," Guan Hai said as he joined the conversation, bringing an open-air carriage and two horses. They used to belong to the merchants but were no longer needed.

"That's not a bad idea," Yang said, everyone turning to him as they rode the carriage toward the mountains to the west. "You see, the World Serpent is suspected to have a high affinity for water and earth. With the power of lightning and light, it holds the power of the planet and the Heavens. All it needs is a balance between the earth and sky. Like yin and yang, there must be a balance. Thus, wood represents that balance. Wood grows with the help of the earth, water, and light. Lightning brings with it the rain. Snakes also thrive in jungles and marshes. If it possesses the power of the Elemental Sovereign of Lightning, the holy power of the Fragment of Lightning might make it the first life form to naturally possess an affinity for wood."

"I'll have the men search for more clues," Sun Yi said with a slight nod to Yang as the others brooded over Yang's words.

"We must kill the World Serpent. Such a thing might bring chaos and mayhem to the land once more," Shen Dong said, the two other members of the Shen Clan nodding in agreement as Guan Hai stroked his beard. It took two days to reach the village near the foot of the mountains. Yang and the others acquired food from the village, enough to sustain a city for years.

The bandits really valued three things: money, weapons, and supplies. Money and weapons spoke for themselves. They valued food because the bandit village was the central hub for all the bandit hideouts in the valley. Many merchant caravans were also poisoned and killed as they made rest stops in the village. Naturally, Yang and the others took all the demon spirit coins, supplies, and the few lower-ranked immortal treasures.

Due to Yang's insistence, he only chose the millions of demon spirit coins instead of any lower-ranked immortal treasures. He did not want to rely on them and would soon reach the Meteor Vessel Stage. That was the stage where he could bind and use middle-ranked immortal treasures.

The others noticed that many people were disheartened and angered in the city. Guan Hai frowned as he secured a stable area for the carriage and horses while the others entered an inn for a warm meal before setting off to the mountain path. The inn was full of people with multiple wounds and scratches on their weapons. Yang and Sun Yi smiled a little, knowing the plan had succeeded.

"What happened to cause such a scene?" Guan Hai asked as he sat with the teens and ordered their meal.

"Ah, a tragedy has happened," a waitress said as she served them their drinks. "Many magical beasts at the Spirit Forming and Element Adept Stage have run amok in the area near the bridges. So far, they have only destroyed the first bridge, but no one dares to tread any further. Many have died, and there was no way to retrieve the bodies. No one knows why this happened."

"Yang, you know about magical beasts. What's going on?" Mei asked.

"Well, I know snakes," Yang replied. "As far as behavioral patterns are concerned, the magical beasts might be in the area because they are scared or because there is a rare treasure suitable for magical beasts. My guess is that the treasure should be somewhere above the mountains. If this is true, there are likely many more magical beasts further down the pass."

The entire inn fell silent as the waitress asked, "Are you saying that passing those magical beasts near the first bridge is not the only danger?"

"Well, yeah. So many magical beasts in one place are sure to attract many more magical beasts. Magical beasts become strong by two methods. One, they grow stronger as they age. It is the slowest but easiest method. The second method is devouring life forms with spirit energy, and magical beasts actually form magical beast cores. Those cores are the physical equivalent of a Spirit Realm. The difference is that one could absorb their power. I'm afraid those near the first bridge might just be the weaker ones," Yang shrugged. "If you're lucky, you die quickly. If not, you get eaten alive. Piece by piece, you'll be bitten until you die. That is, assuming the magical beast has teeth. And that's also assuming there is only one. Just imagine running into a whole plain full of magical beasts with sharp fangs and claws. Whew. Just picturing them tearing and biting into one's skin is horrifying. Don't get me started on magical beasts without teeth."

"If it doesn't have teeth?" Sun Yi asked, the people in the inn were already pale-faced.

"That's where things get real interesting. If it is a snake, it can constrict around your body. Your breathing accelerates as the snake's cold scales press against your skin. Your arms and legs will be the first to break, the pain from the first few fractures making your mind blank with pain. Then, it breaks your ribs. Your breathing becomes too fast, and your lungs burst as your ribs pierce them while your rib cage shatters. By the time it swallows your head, you would be praying you were already dead if you were alive. The rush is very exciting. Your only consolation would be if it bit you. You would either die violently as the poison ruptures your blood vessels or the poison paralyzes you, and you get swallowed alive. Just imagine the pain of dying while being digested, without any ability to move a single muscle. At least, only one snake could kill you that way at a time," Yang said.

"If it's a flock of birds, you know you'll die under more than one. The cowards always travel in flocks. First, their talons would claw at you. Those talons are not straight but curved. Three talons will hook down into you, a bottom fourth used as leverage as they pull out chunks of bone and flesh. As soon as they can tell you cannot resist them, they will peck at you with their beaks. Just imagine it. It's just like vultures flying in the desert sky above you, taunting you and waiting for your mind to crack and show weakness. The moment you fall to the ground in despair, they will fly down upon you with their talons raised to your face," Yang said, not showing any signs of anger, which surprised Mei and aroused suspicion. "That kind of death is worse and more painful than being run through with a weapon."

"There's also---"

"No more! Please," the waitress said as many cried out in fear and covered their ears, evidently changing their minds about banding together and braving the danger.

"Let's get out of here. This is someone on a whole other level of terrifying," a man cried.

"Mommy, I'm scared," a boy cried

as he rushed to his mother, hugging her. "Will daddy be okay?"

"He will be. He must be. Let's go and see if there is any news," his mother said.

"Okay. So long as daddy and mommy are with me, I won't be scared," the boy sniffed and puffed his chest before grabbing his mom's hand as they left.

"Let's leave too," another man cried, and everyone paid for their meals and started to leave the inn. Yang watched them go in silence, the maid trembling as she did not want to hear more. Their actions made Yang frown, but no one saw except Mei.

"Hey! Where's my food? I'm hungry," Yang said after a moment, the waitress nodding violently and rushing into the kitchens. This was a young boy who had seen the true terrors in the world, and not one she would dare anger or mess with.

"Sorry for the wait, sir," the waitress stuttered as she appeared and gave them their meals, bowing repeatedly before she left them to eat.

"Ah, people can't stand to hear the truth these days. It's best to hear it to prepare your heart when you see it happen to someone else. You could lose your lunch if you're not prepared," Yang said, Shen Hua's face turning green.

"I think I'll eat later," Shen Hua said, Sima Qing nodding as she left with her.

"I better check on them," Lin said.

"No, we'll go check on them," Shen Dong said, and the two boys left.

"Tut, tut. Probably never killed anyone yet," Yang said as he bit into a chicken leg. "Man, I love chicken. Don't you guys love chicken? It can't taste better than pork or beef, no matter how it's cooked or what sauce covers it."

"I prefer beef," Sun Yi said as he cut into a steak.