novelraw Chapter 600 - 599: Full Moon Night, Empty Valley Stream
Chapter 600 - 599: Full Moon Night, Empty Valley Stream
"All right, I’ll head further northwest. You two be careful. If you encounter a situation you can’t handle, send a signal and retreat in time." Jiang Yuan glanced at the map; the Empty Valley Stream covers quite a large area, and the drop rate of Green-Scaled Snake Demon Cores isn’t high. It’s more efficient to split up.
He thought for a moment and added, "If any of you encounter a teenage girl in the valley, notify me immediately regardless of the situation, and remember not to approach lightly."
The details of the side quest clearly state that Gongxi Yanchang, the City Lord of Carefree City, has a younger daughter, Gongxi Jin, who suddenly fell ill with a strange sickness three years ago. Numerous famous doctors have been consulted, but she has remained uncured. The final objective of the quest is to cure Gongxi Jin of her mysterious illness, but the system doesn’t provide detailed explanations on the specifics of her ailment.
Old Shen, known for his endless nonsense, claimed the teenage girl is a dual-souled entity. Whether it’s true or not, we’ll have to find her to know for sure.
So, I instructed the two of them not to approach lightly upon encountering her, to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"A teenage girl?" Bai Yunqi was full of doubts. In the dead of night, how could there be a teenage girl in a snake’s nest in the wilderness? Could it be a Snake Demon? How does the Venerable Family know there is a young Snake Demon in this place?
He nodded and put aside his many doubts. Since the Venerable Family said so, there’s definitely a reason.
Xie Chenyuan was bewildered but agreed, with countless questions in his mind, yet he didn’t dare speak up. He thought to himself that perhaps Jiang Senior’s divination and calculation skills are so advanced they’ve predicted this encounter story for tonight.
The girl in the Green-Scaled Snake nest is most likely a Snake Demon; it’s natural to stay far away upon encountering her since she’s dangerous.
"I’ll head east to hunt the Green-Scaled Snake!" He specifically divined another prediction, and the divination showed favorable signs in the east, naturally a good omen to take advantage of.
Bai Yunqi chose to go north.
"Crack! Boom!"
Jiang Yuan, performing Sword Flight, targeted a snake nest and immediately released a shot of Five Elements Cloud-Piercing Thunder.
Thunder clouds filled the sky, lightning flashed, silver snakes danced wildly, briefly illuminating the valley. The thunder blasted the countless green-scaled snakes entangled together, scattering them into pieces, and a savory aroma of meat filled the air.
[Green-Scaled Snake Demon Core +1]
[Edible Green-Scaled Snake Meat +5]
The advantage of the system automatically picking up loot is that you don’t have to search through the exploded remains yourself. Otherwise, sifting through the pile of snake meat and green scales for the demon cores would kill any appetite for a while.
"As expected, the drop rate is absurdly low. But now that the low-level monsters are easier to kill, I can only rely on numbers." He used several Devouring Mountains and Rivers and Heaven-Burning Storm to eliminate two more snake nests, yet he didn’t see a single demon core and didn’t refine a single day of lifespan.
No wonder no Demon Cultivators come to hunt here; there’s simply no cost-effectiveness!
The Green-Scaled Snakes were obviously startled by the huge commotion. The entire valley was filled with hissing and the sounds of scales scratching. Some were frightened and scattered in all directions, while others raised their heads and spat out their tongues as they rushed over.
More alarmingly, the ground started trembling slightly, and from the deep pits emerged even bigger and thicker ones, with darker scales.
Jiang Yuan stood on the Bright Moon Sword. Looking down, the sight of innumerable wriggling snakes made his scalp tingle and sent chills down his spine.
Having grown up in the countryside, he occasionally encountered snakes of varying sizes, so he was not particularly scared of them. At his bravest, he would even play by grabbing their tails.
But when too many of these creatures gather and intertwine, the terrifying atmosphere is amplified countless times, both visually and audibly. Besides launching more fierce attacks, Jiang Yuan didn’t know how to ease his discomfort.
Quickly finish collecting twenty demon cores and find Gongxi Jin, then get out immediately!
"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"
"Tsss! Tsss!"
However, things didn’t go as planned. The intense attacks clearly stirred the massive demon beasts deeper within the snake nest, usually undisturbed. Countless large snakes, illuminated with a ghostly green glow under the moonlight, surged toward Jiang Yuan’s location, and visible poison gas attacks followed.
[Poison attack from snakes received, damage -0]
[Poison Resistance experience +1]
Xie Chenyuan hadn’t flown far when he noticed the awe-inspiring Thunder Strike behind him. Turning to look, he was utterly stunned—Jiang Senior’s strength had significantly improved in such a short time!
He had witnessed the other’s combat power firsthand when they hunted the Golden-Horned Thunder Avoiding Beast together. Now the difference in strength was strikingly apparent.
"Thanks to Senior for luring away the big ones, Senior takes such good care of us." He stared in awe at Jiang Senior performing Sword Flight in mid-air, attacking relentlessly without caring how much Spiritual Power was consumed, filled with a deep sense of security.
After all, the commotion was so great that even the big ones hidden in the stone caves beneath the valley were drawn towards Senior, making it much easier for him and Brother Bai to hunt the Green-Scaled Snakes.
Thinking of this, he wasted no time. With a swift motion, he slew a green-scaled snake and then cut open its head to check for a demon core.
Meanwhile, Bai Yunqi, being the White Snake Demon, had his own unique method for dealing with snake demon beasts—transforming into his original form, his massive white snake tail fiercely sweeping through the snake nest, followed by a thunderous serpent roar.
The Gold-Scattering Fan waved, and torrential waves crashed into the cave, flushing out all the corpses killed and stunned. He then transformed into human form, gracefully took out his sword, and began searching for demon cores one by one.
Quiet for many years, untouched, the Empty Valley Stream occasionally echoed with earth tremors, accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder and the hissing of snake demon beasts, causing many passing cultivators to glance over involuntarily.
"Have you found traces of Jin’Er?" Gongxi Yanchang urgently scanned around, finding the guards silent, inwardly anxious, and he reprimanded, "Then hurry up and keep searching! You must find my precious daughter!"
The guards, not daring to catch their breath, complied and hurriedly dispersed to search for any suspicious traces.
Gongxi Yanchang stood atop a large flying demon beast and noticed disturbances in the distance and asked, "What’s happening over there?"
"City Lord, that place is called Empty Valley Stream, also known as Snake Nest Valley. It’s full of green-scaled snakes and rarely visited," a subordinate glanced over and speculated, "Green-scaled snakes are poisonous, and the demon core isn’t valuable, so no cultivator wants to hunt them. It seems someone accidentally wandered in and got entangled with the snake herd, causing such a commotion."
Already troubled by his youngest daughter’s mysterious illness and sudden disappearance, Gongxi Yanchang was fuming inside but still decided, "Since it’s near Carefree City, send someone to take a look later. If there are any unaware cultivators trapped, help them out."
"Yes, Sir." The subordinate bowed and replied, "But for now, finding Miss is our priority. It won’t be too late to check over there once we’ve found her."
Yet... Miss mysteriously disappears every full moon night, only to suddenly return home a few days later, with no recollection of what happened during her absence.
This night, I personally assigned people, securing Miss’s chamber tightly, with even maidservants attending beside her bed. But come midnight, she vanished right under everyone’s noses!
The arrays set up in the room showed no signs of being triggered, no fluctuations of spiritual power, and we’re just searching aimlessly without clues, like finding a needle in a haystack."
With every word his subordinate spoke, Gongxi Yanchang’s brow furrowed tighter.
He knew that searching without a single clue was futile. Even if all the City Lord’s Mansion’s guards were sent out, or if the entire city’s demon cultivators were ordered to search, it wasn’t certain they could find his daughter.
But does lacking clues mean we shouldn’t search at all?
"Jin’Er, oh Jin’Er, where on earth have you gone? How do you leave your chamber so silently!" Gongxi Yanchang racked his brains, feeling helpless.
Three years ago, his smart and lively young daughter suddenly contracted a mysterious illness; her skin fell off in large bloody chunks, yet she felt no pain. Despite seeking famed doctors and consuming numerous elixirs, there was no improvement.
With no leads on treatment, since this spring, she mysteriously disappears every full moon night. He used every method to protect her.
Gongxi Yanchang even personally guarded her bedside, but come midnight, sleepiness struck, and within the time of a tea break, she vanished!
The room was filled with arrays to prevent teleportation, fend off evil spirits, and provide warning, but the arrays were never triggered. Except everyone inside inexplicably fell asleep, while the guards outside remained awake, yet they still found no clues. A living person just vanished!
No matter how many magical treasures he equipped her with, those supposed to track her were always left on the bed when she disappeared.
Last month, to protect his daughter, Gongxi Yanchang unleashed a major safeguard, letting her rest in the empty square within the mansion under several arrays.
Every few steps, guards were posted, and he himself watched from afar, ensuring he’d remain distant enough not to inexplicably fall asleep.
Yet despite all the precautions, his daughter Gongxi Jin still disappeared abruptly at midnight!
He watched helplessly as only her outer garments remained, while the nearest circle of guards instantly fell into a deep sleep, and contently so.
It’s truly bizarre; as a dignified City Lord, Gongxi Yanchang scratched his head in frustration yet couldn’t fathom how this was happening. Left with no choice after her mysterious disappearance, he sent people out for purposeless searches.
He’s already anticipated the result; within three or four days, she’ll suddenly reappear in her chamber, bewildered and knowing nothing.
Her skin turned ghostly pale and wrinkled, as if soaked in water, waiting for chunks to fall and regrow slowly with elixirs.
If not for the City Lord’s Mansion’s financial support, losing flesh piece by piece would have cost her life long ago.
Sighing heavily, Gongxi Yanchang, meanwhile, Xie Chenyuan once again slew a massive, coil-formed green-scaled snake, and finally extracted tonight’s first trophy demon core from its head.
"It’s really not easy, killing so many of these big ones to find a single demon core. With other demon beasts, I’d have profited heavily by now!" He exclaimed, just as he was about to leave, his eye caught sight of what appeared to be an ample space behind the corpses.
A snake nest? Doesn’t quite feel like it; snake nests in valleys are often tunnel-shaped. The entrance behind this snake seems more like a natural cavern.
Xie Chenyuan immediately cast a divination to decide whether to explore, and as the divination fell into his palm, the sign was auspicious. Without hesitation, he put away the divination, grabbed his sword, and entered the cavern.