Chapter 215 The Shadow of the Netherworld

Everyone nodded and quickly split into four groups.

Shen Suning and Feng Qing were in one group, Lu Dachuan and Shi Yong were in another, Ji Xiang was with another veteran named Li Hu, Ling Xiaoning insisted on following Chen Mu, and Bai Junyi provided support from the center.

Li Hu was a quiet, taciturn middle-aged man who had been in the department for as long as Lu Dachuan. He had an old scar on his face, running diagonally from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth. He didn't talk much, but his blade technique was steady and ruthless.

"Be careful."

When splitting into groups, Bai Junyi specifically patted Chen Mu on the shoulder and glanced at Ling Xiaoning.

"Stay close to Chen Mu and don't run around."

Ling Xiaoning nodded heavily, clutching his short sword, his palms already sweating.

The four groups cautiously explored in different directions. Chen Mu chose the southeast, where the trees were denser and the terrain was slightly undulating.

The fallen leaves in this area were very thick, almost covering their ankles when they stepped on them. Every step made an uncomfortable rustling sound. Ling Xiaoning followed half a step behind Chen Mu, his eyes wide, constantly scanning the surroundings.

"Chen Mu, do you think... it's too quiet here?"

Ling Xiaoning swallowed and whispered.

It was indeed quiet, so quiet that there were only the faint sounds of the two stepping on fallen leaves, as well as their breathing and heartbeats.

Chen Mu did not answer, instead scanning every tree and every bush, his perception rapidly extending.

Suddenly, he stopped and squatted down.

There was a small patch of wet residue on the ground, reflecting slightly in the sunlight. It wasn't water; the texture was more viscous, and the color had a faint cyan tint.

Chen Mu gently dipped his finger into it and rubbed it between his fingers.

It was cool and slick, carrying a refreshing aura.

"This is..."

Ling Xiaoning also leaned in to look.

Chen Mu stood up, his brows furrowed. This trace was very fresh, less than an hour old, and the shape was winding, as if left by some long, slithering creature.

Another snake?

"This is snake saliva, but it's completely different from the demon snakes in Shi Town."

He recalled the poisonous saliva spat out by the Black-Scaled Serpent Demon on the battlefield of Shi Town—foul-smelling, sticky, and highly corrosive, capable of burning holes into the ground. But the snake saliva before him contained pure water-attributed Spiritual Qi.

A guess formed in Chen Mu's mind.

The snake infestation in Black Rock Mountain was far more than just the seven in Shi Town. What was entrenched here might be an older, stranger, and more powerful snake demon. The snake swarm in Shi Town might just be peripheral minions driven out, or perhaps... some kind of juvenile?

While pondering, a shrill, miserable scream suddenly came from the southwest—sharp and short, as if someone had been strangled, cutting off halfway through.

That was the direction where Ji Xiang and Li Hu were.

"Not good!"

Chen Mu's eyes sharpened. He shouted to Ling Xiaoning, "Keep up!" and then darted off like an arrow released from a string. Under the activation of the Divine Void Step, only a faint afterimage remained in the dense forest.

Ling Xiaoning's heart pounded wildly. He gritted his teeth and desperately activated his still-unpracticed Wind Chasing Steps, following closely behind.

In the dense forest, the scent of blood rushed towards them.

When Chen Mu arrived, he happened to see a slender figure tumbling out from behind a bush in a sorry state—it was Ji Xiang.

Her face was covered in blood, the sleeve of her left arm was torn open, revealing a wound with flesh curled back, and the dagger in her hand was only half left.

And a few yards in front of her, the scene was hair-raising.

A headless corpse lay on the ground, the jagged edges of the neck clearly torn off by some immense force. Blood gushed out, staining the fallen leaves beneath it red.

Looking at the black official uniform and build, it was the veteran Li Hu.

And the culprit was currently coiled to the side.

It was a python, an unimaginably giant python.

It was as thick as a water vat and over ten zhang long. Its entire body was covered in pale cyan scales that shone with a metallic luster in the sunlight. Most bizarrely, the sides of its forehead were slightly raised, growing a pair of milky-white, soft short horns. They weren't fully formed yet, but they already looked formidable.

Hearing the commotion, the giant python suddenly raised its head, a pair of vertical pupils coldly locking onto Chen Mu. The vertical pupils were not typical snake pupils; instead, they had a faint golden luster around the edges, exuding an indescribable demonic aura.

Alarm bells rang in Chen Mu's heart. This demon, something was wrong.

Just then, Bai Junyi and the others also arrived upon hearing the sound. Lu Dachuan and Shi Yong rushed in first, their eyes splitting with rage when they saw the scene before them.

The giant python did not immediately attack the arriving group. Its attention was entirely fixed on Li Hu's headless corpse on the ground. It slowly lowered its massive head, opened its bloody maw, precisely picked up the corpse, and with a ripple of its neck muscles, began to slowly push the corpse down its throat.

"Vile beast, stop!"

Lu Dachuan roared, his large blade on his back carrying an angry wind as he slashed towards the giant python's head. Feng Qing's iron bow was already fully drawn, and an armor-piercing arrow shot straight at its vital seven-inch spot.

The giant python seemed to sense the threat; its swallowing motion paused slightly. It flicked its python tail, which struck like a steel whip towards Lu Dachuan's blade and Feng Qing's arrow.

"Clang!"

"Pfft!"

The sound of metal clashing and the arrow piercing flesh rang out almost simultaneously. Lu Dachuan's blade was knocked high by the python's tail, and he retreated several steps. Although Feng Qing's arrow hit the python's body, it only pierced a few scales and didn't go deep into the flesh before being stuck by the tough muscles, failing to cause serious injury.

The giant python felt pain and let out a low hiss. The fierce light in its pupils intensified, and it stopped swallowing.

Li Hu's half-body was still stuck in its throat, looking particularly terrifying. It slowly turned its head, coldly scanning the group that had gathered. The depths of its pupils were filled with indifference, as if it were looking at reserve food.

"This... this is no ordinary python demon!"

Bai Junyi stared fixedly at the fleshy horns on the giant python's forehead, his voice filled with disbelief.

"It is undergoing a Python-Dragon transformation! It is a half-python, half-Python-Dragon body, and besides..."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the giant python's bloated abdomen, which was clearly a circle thicker than other parts, with looser gaps between the scales.

"It's even pregnant?!"

Before his voice fell, the python demon's throat muscles accelerated their movement, and it impatiently swallowed Li Hu's body completely.

"Can't let it swallow him!"

Shen Suning shouted, her soft whip like a spiritual snake leaving its hole, coiling towards the Python-Dragon. Ji Xiang also endured the pain and threw the half-dagger, aiming straight for the demon's right eye.

The Python-Dragon was finally enraged, letting out a low hiss, but it refused to drop Li Hu's corpse. Its tail swept across, forcing Shen Suning and Ji Xiang to retreat and dodge.

Chen Mu had been observing coldly.

The demon's aura was immense, far beyond that of the Black-Scaled Serpent Demon in Shi Town. What was more troublesome was that it was in the Python-Dragon transformation period; its body was undergoing a qualitative change, possessing both the constricting strength of a python and the Spell talents of a Python-Dragon. Moreover, because it was pregnant, its ferocity was bound to be even greater.

But what stirred Chen Mu's heart was that the demon clearly had the opportunity to continue attacking Ji Xiang just now, yet it chose to devour the corpse first. This was not a simple predatory instinct; it seemed more like an urgent need to replenish energy.

"It's about to give birth!"

Chen Mu blurted out, a flash of light appearing in his eyes.

When a demon gives birth, that is its weakest moment. If one could take this opportunity...