Chapter 717 - 656: Current Snake King Versus Old Snake King

Chapter 717: Chapter 656: Current Snake King Versus Old Snake King

This vast palace was covered by an Array, rendered Formless and invisible to the naked eye. It would only manifest when touched by power.

This method was indeed quite brilliant. If Tu Xiao’an had to find it himself, he could have torn the Snake Palace apart and still come up with nothing.

Observing the ancient palace, it looked like a yellowed, withered tree, filled with a dispirited Death Qi.

"The Snake King from two generations ago was imprisoned in here?" Tu Xiao’an was a little surprised. ’How could a mere palace hold a Great Demon Snake?’

’Or is there more to it than meets the eye, with layers of traps inside?’

Elder Snake replied directly, "Your Majesty, the defeat of the Snake King from two generations ago by King Liu Yao happened a very, very long time ago. Also, while the outside of this palace is concealed by an Array, there are no traps inside."

"It’s not that the Snake King from two generations ago *can’t* get out, but that he is unwilling to."

Hmm? Tu Xiao’an was taken aback. "Are you saying Demon King Liu didn’t imprison him? That he’s unwilling to come out on his own? Why is that?"

Elder Snake said, "Demon King Liu once declared, ’The day you emerge is the day you obey only my command.’"

’Oh, so that’s how it is.’

Tu Xiao’an got it. He understood. A single, simple sentence, more effective than any trap or prison in the world.

Although the Snake King from two generations ago was defeated, he was still a king once. No matter how dire his situation, he would never submit to the snake who stole his throne.

A Great Demon Snake like him possessed such pride. He would rather die than bow his head.

Demon King Liu’s methods were cunning. Just one sentence: ’If you have any guts, stay holed up in there and never come out. The moment you do, it means you’ve admitted defeat. It means you’ve bowed your head to obey my orders.’

So, to this very day, the Great Demon Snake has remained trapped in this ancient palace, refusing to emerge.

It wasn’t Demon King Liu who trapped him, but he who trapped himself.

’One should not be swayed by poverty or humbled by force. I suppose that’s what this is about.’

He was indeed a great snake with integrity, one worthy of admiration.

He did not submit to Demon King Liu’s tyranny, choosing to defy him even unto death.

Tu Xiao’an smiled and walked toward the ancient palace. At this moment, Elder Snake hesitated. "Your Majesty, this old servant..."

He didn’t dare to enter. Or perhaps, he wasn’t qualified to.

"Wait for me out here."

According to the Snake Race history Tu Xiao’an was familiar with, Demon King Liu had been on the throne for over a thousand years. Afterward, Luo Ziyun ruled the Snake Race for five hundred years. By that calculation, it meant Demon King Liu had seized the Great Demon Snake’s throne fifteen hundred years ago.

By that logic, the Great Demon Snake had been cooped up in this ancient palace for no less than fifteen hundred years.

Thinking about it for just a moment, Tu Xiao’an couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. ’What incredible integrity.’

’He’d rather die than submit, but after all this time, he’s still not dead. I have to say, the lifespan of a Deep Mountain Demon King is truly long.’

They might not live as long as the heavens, but surviving for a few thousand years didn’t seem to be a major problem.

In fact, the Great Demon Snake could have broken out of the palace long ago, because five hundred years ago, Demon King Liu was reduced to nothing but a Primordial Spirit struggling to survive.

’Or does he not know?’

After a moment of contemplation, Tu Xiao’an stood at the grand entrance of the ancient palace. It was like a forsaken court, utterly deserted, desolate, and dreary.

He slowly extended a pale hand and gave a gentle push.

KRAK, RUMBLE...!

The palace doors slowly creaked open.

In an instant, an incomparably cold wind howled out from within, as if the doorway separated the world of the living from the Underworld.

Taking a deep breath, Tu Xiao’an stepped inside.

"Your Majesty, be careful! This old servant has heard that the Snake King from two generations ago has a very violent temper."

Seeing Tu Xiao’an about to enter, Elder Snake called out one last word of concern.

Tu Xiao’an stepped through without a backward glance. The moment his body was completely inside, the palace doors closed automatically behind him.

Then, the scene that greeted Tu Xiao’an’s eyes made his heart tremble in disbelief.

He had expected the ancient palace to be an empty, cold, and silent place. If not overgrown with weeds and vines, it should at least be stagnant and lifeless.

But that was not the case at all.

The interior of the ancient palace was resplendent and magnificent. The entire hall shimmered with brilliant color, a picture of ultimate prosperity and nobility, radiating an emperor’s air.

Groups of Snake Beauties, wrapped in elegant, light-pink robes, glided past Tu Xiao’an, carrying platters of fine food and wine.

On the throne at the head of the palace, a robust, middle-aged man sat sprawled, lost in a life of debauchery. He was flanked on both sides by Snake Beauties with half-exposed bosoms, all vying to please him.

The robust, middle-aged man on the throne, exuding the domineering air of an emperor, pulled a Snake Beauty onto his lap. With a wave of his hand, her elegant robes vanished, revealing smooth, lustrous skin.

"HAHA..."

The man’s unrestrained, boisterous laughter filled the palace.

’How can this be?’

Tu Xiao’an was completely baffled. The scene before him was the exact opposite of what he had expected.

’Is that man up there the Snake King from two generations ago, the Great Demon Snake?’

’This guy is living in such luxury, in his own personal pool of wine and forest of meat?’

’No wonder he was trapped in here for fifteen hundred years and never wanted to leave. He’s clearly enjoying a life of bliss!’

He was so happy he’d completely forgotten about the outside world.

Tu Xiao’an was the current Snake King, ruler of the Snake Palace, but even he hadn’t lived such a dissolute life of luxury.

’All right, so I’ve been living my life like a dog.’

’I just don’t know how to enjoy the good fortune of having multiple women.’

Tu Xiao’an walked forward, but strangely, the Great Demon Snake on the throne above paid him no mind, his eyes not seeing him at all.

It was as if Tu Xiao’an were nothing but air.

’No, something’s wrong.’

Tu Xiao’an sensed something was amiss, but just then...

SWISH...!

A young man bizarrely materialized out of thin air in the palace. His Snake Race aura surged, terrifying and suffocating. The surrounding Snake Beauties trembled in fear and trepidation, instinctively prostrating themselves on the ground.