Chapter 309 - 307: Beautiful Woman in Purple

Chapter 309: Chapter 307: Beautiful Woman in Purple

The newcomer was the other Black Sand Profound Snake. Its eyes, however, had been blinded, and even the single horn on its head was snapped in half. Its body was covered in gruesome wounds, and its Demonic Power was fluctuating weakly—it was obviously gravely injured.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Chi’s eyes lit up at the sight.

If a healthy Black Sand Profound Snake had appeared, Zhang Chi would have fled without hesitation.

But the beast’s current condition was incredibly tempting.

If he acted now and succeeded, he would surely be able to harvest even more precious Demon Beast Materials.

More importantly, while the Black Sand Profound Snake’s horn was broken, the Profound Snake Spirit Marrow was located near its base. Therefore, the Spirit Marrow should still be intact.

If he successfully killed this Black Sand Profound Snake, he would undoubtedly obtain another portion of Profound Snake Spirit Marrow.

Normally, Profound Snake Spirit Marrow was only effective for a Golden Core Cultivator the first time they used it.

Furthermore, the substance couldn’t be preserved, so an extra portion would be useless.

But Zhang Chi, clearly, was not bound by this restriction.

With the help of his Jade Pendant, he could most likely use the Profound Snake Spirit Marrow repeatedly, just as he had with the Lifespan Extension Pills.

’This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I have to risk it!’

His mind raced, and he quickly came to a decision. He then slowed his flight and continued onward.

Before long, the two of them were much closer.

Although the Black Sand Profound Snake was blind and its horn was broken, its other senses were perfectly fine. Coupled with its powerful Divine Thought and the fact that Zhang Chi wasn’t actively hiding, the snake detected him early on.

"Human, you’re courting death!"

The Profound Snake immediately let out an enraged roar and lunged at him. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Evidently, Zhang Chi had just emerged from its nest, and the Demonic Qi clinging to him hadn’t had time to dissipate yet.

The Profound Snake instantly guessed that Zhang Chi had taken advantage of its absence to plunder its nest.

Furthermore, those three Snake Eggs were most likely on his person.

It even detected the Blood Qi of its mate on Zhang Chi. This meant he was one of the humans who had besieged and killed its other half, and had then taken and butchered the corpse.

Most importantly, as far as it could tell, Zhang Chi wasn’t powerful—just an ordinary cultivator at the Golden Core Peak.

Therefore, even though it was heavily injured, it was confident it could devour him.

Not only would it get its revenge and reclaim the Snake Eggs, but it could also use him as a nourishing meal.

’It can actually speak!’

Zhang Chi was surprised for a moment, but he quickly understood why.

Tier Four Demon Beasts generally possessed high intelligence. Even if they hadn’t undergone Transformation, parts of their physical structure had already evolved to a high degree.

Moreover, this Profound Snake had devoured many human Cultivators and was stronger than its mate, so it was only natural that it could speak.

SWOOSH...

At the same time, Zhang Chi transformed into a swift streak of blood-red light and fled.

The Black Sand Profound Snake, however, was furious. It gave chase relentlessly, periodically spitting out powerful torrents of air and letting out thunderous roars.

BOOM! BOOM!

These torrents of air would explode violently as they neared Zhang Chi. The roars, meanwhile, were Sound Wave attacks that could directly stun weaker Cultivators.

Simultaneously, the Black Sand Profound Snake unleashed a powerful pressure, attempting to hinder Zhang Chi.

Unfortunately for the snake, Zhang Chi was extremely fast and agile. He narrowly dodged the exploding torrents every time.

As for the Sound Waves and pressure, he was completely immune.

Besides, even if he was occasionally caught in the blast, his powerful defenses could easily withstand the impact.

Of course, this was only because the Profound Snake was severely injured and possessed but a fraction of its original strength. Otherwise, his chances of survival would have been slim to none.

’A starved camel is still bigger than a horse, as they say. An ordinary cultivator at Golden Core Peak would have been killed countless times over by now!’

Zhang Chi reflected on this as he fled with ease.

In truth, he had deliberately revealed his Cultivation level; otherwise, the Profound Snake would have been unable to discern his true power.

Even now, he wasn’t going all out. He hadn’t even used the Asura Blood Burning Technique, which would have made him faster still.

On the surface, however, he put on a show of being battered and injured. He made the Magical Power fluctuations around him seem weak and unstable, giving his pursuer more hope.

In this manner, the two of them soon left the nest far behind.

BANG!

Suddenly, as if he could no longer hold on, Zhang Chi plummeted into the desert below.

He then executed an Earth Escape, burrowing deep underground.

The Profound Snake followed without a second thought. It was even scornful, for burrowing through the desert was its specialty.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

But the moment it landed, dazzling golden lights erupted all around. In the blink of an eye, they linked together to form a Tier Four Grand Array. Within it, countless, incredibly sharp golden Wind Blades formed and launched a ferocious assault against the snake.

This was precisely the Gold Fiend Gale Array that Zhang Chi had prepared in advance, setting it up along the way before he had even raided the Profound Snake Nest.

The entire reason Zhang Chi had fled without fighting back was to lure the Profound Snake into this very array.

After all, unless he used his Spirit Sword, it would be nearly impossible to kill the Profound Snake quickly.

Even with the Spirit Sword, it would only improve his chances.

If the Profound Snake sensed danger and decided to flee, he would be unable to stop it.

But trapped within an array, things were completely different.

"Human, you’re despicable!"

The Profound Snake, greatly alarmed, immediately began to struggle violently.

The Wind Blades weren’t the biggest problem. Its defenses were formidable, and while the blades were sharp, they couldn’t break through in a short amount of time.

However, the array itself had a powerful suppressive effect on it. In its heavily injured state, it simply couldn’t sustain a prolonged battle.

Just then, Zhang Chi reappeared high in the sky. He raised a hand and pointed, and seven dazzling Sword Lights—one black and six white—shot forth, rapidly forming the Star Sword Array.

Simultaneously, a Sword Array Map glittering with starlight flew out. It was the very Star Sword Array Map that Zhang Chi had successfully refined long ago.

Empowered by the Array Map, the Sword Array’s might instantly increased.

The next moment, a vast expanse of brilliant starlight from the distant cosmos suddenly pierced through the void and descended upon the Sword Array. The array began to churn violently, and the Profound Snake was instantly engulfed in a torrent of sharp Sword Light.

ROAR!

The Corpse Puppet, Flying Dragon No.1, and the Tier Three Peak Puppet also appeared, launching a pincer attack on the Profound Snake from outside the Grand Array.

DONG!

The Small Bell Treasure flew out as well, letting out a series of deafening chimes. While it couldn’t stun the Profound Snake, it completely disrupted the creature’s hearing.

The Corpse Puppet and the Spirit Beast simultaneously spewed out large amounts of Corpse Evil and poisonous mist, flooding the entire Grand Array.

In the blink of an eye, the Black Sand Profound Snake’s defenses shattered under the onslaught. Two lightning-fast streaks of Sword Light then broke through its blind eye sockets and pierced straight through its skull.

"Human, I’ll take you down with me!"

But the Profound Snake did not die. A black Demon Pill, its surface burning with a dim Demon Fire, shot out. It pierced through the Grand Array in a single move and hurtled violently toward Zhang Chi.

’If you weren’t so badly injured, you might have actually been able to kill me. But now? You’re just overreaching!’

Zhang Chi sneered and didn’t even try to dodge. With a slight tremor of his body, he furiously activated his Celestial Net Evil Body Technique. Five layers of Celestial Net Gang Force instantly materialized on his skin.

He also activated his Asura Blood Burning Technique, causing the blood in his veins to boil.

His Magical Treasure Armor materialized once more, and an Upper Grade Magical Treasure Long Saber, crackling with lightning, appeared in his hand.

Then, with a brilliant flash of the saber, the Demon Pill was struck down. The Demon Soul within was instantly zapped by the blade’s lightning and let out a wretched scream, its attack neutralized.

Zhang Chi then raised a hand and made a grasping motion. He caught the Profound Snake’s Demon Pill, sealed it with a Spirit Talisman, and stored it away.

He then collected his array and other items, along with the Profound Snake’s corpse. After quickly cleaning up the scene, he used his Blood Escape Technique again, transforming into a streak of blood-red light and vanishing over the horizon.

「One hour later.」

A cyan Magical Treasure Flying Boat came speeding over. Standing aboard were several Cultivators—the very same trio from Hundred Flowers Palace.

However, they were accompanied by an additional person this time: a beautiful, noble-looking woman in purple robes.

The purple-robed woman’s aura was incredibly powerful; she was a Nascent Soul Middle Stage expert.

She was also the powerful figure Zhang Chi had noticed earlier, the one secretly protecting the Hundred Flowers Palace Saintess.

At this moment, both the Nascent Soul Early Stage Female Cultivator and the Golden Armored Nascent Soul Youth looked pale, their auras weak and unstable.

Clearly, they had fought the Black Sand Profound Snake earlier and had all sustained injuries.

"This is bad. A battle took place here, and the tracking mark we left on the Black Sand Profound Snake vanished at this location. Someone must have beaten us to it, killed the snake, and taken it away!"

"Damn it! Who could it have been? Did this person take the other snake’s corpse as well?"

"And the Black Sand Profound Snake Nest! This person must have plundered it first, too!"

After carefully inspecting the area, the Hundred Flowers Saintess and her companions were both shocked and furious.

"This person likely has a Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivation and is skilled in concealment techniques. They were hiding nearby this whole time, and even managed to evade my senses."

"Of course, it’s also possible this person had been targeting the Black Sand Profound Snake for a while, lying in wait near its nest. That would explain how they seized this opportunity."

"The second Black Sand Profound Snake likely took the first one’s corpse, and then this person ended up with both."

"Another possibility is that the Black Sand Profound Snake is still alive. It might have killed its opponent and then used some technique to shake our tracker and escape."

The purple-robed woman remained relatively composed, but she couldn’t help clenching her fists, her expression turning grim.

"I think those three Golden Core Peak Cultivators are highly suspicious, especially that brat with the decent Body Refining Cultivation."

"Moreover, when I took their Storage Bags earlier, there was nothing of value inside. They were clearly just spares. This shows they must have had ulterior motives from the start!" the Nascent Soul Early Stage Female Cultivator said at this point.

"They are indeed suspicious. But that’s an easy problem to solve. As long as they’re still alive, they’re bound to return to Huixing City in Beichen Oasis to collect the reward we promised. We’ll have plenty of ways to interrogate them then."

"Even if they don’t return, we can still trace their origins. In fact, that would be even more proof that something is wrong with them!"

The Golden Armor Nascent Soul Cultivator nodded in agreement.

"You suspect one of those three is actually a Nascent Soul Cultivator? But that’s impossible, isn’t it? If one of them was, Martial Aunt, as a Nascent Soul Middle Stage expert, you would have noticed something was wrong long ago!"

"Besides, we have a Spirit Contract binding them. They wouldn’t dare touch the Black Sand Profound Snake’s corpse, would they?"

The Hundred Flowers Saintess, however, disagreed.