At this moment, a man with a commanding presence emerged from the crowded Snake King Temple. This was none other than Bai Town’s famous Snake Catching Master, Shen Zhennan, who was also Tu Xiao’an’s master during his human life.
"It’s so good to see you, just wonderful! The Snake King must be watching over you. Lord Snake King has protected you and your daughter."
Shen Zhennan was extremely emotional.
"It’s good to see you’re well, Brother Shen." Wen Qiu smiled in relief upon seeing Shen Zhennan.
Her husband and he had been martial brothers from the same sect, and her husband had died saving Shen Zhennan.
Shen Zhennan had always felt guilty toward the woman before him, but under the current dire circumstances, this reunion was a rare blessing.
Inside the Snake King Temple were many local acquaintances from Bai Town; even if one couldn’t recall their names, their faces were familiar.
Just then, another beautiful young woman appeared—it was Lady Bai, Meilin.
Seeing Wen Qiu, Meilin happily grabbed her hand, calling out to her affectionately.
To be able to reunite in the Snake King Temple after the Fierce Beast Taotie’s slaughter was no small feat. Everyone was just barely hanging on.
Seeing that her mother was occupied by one acquaintance after another pulling her aside to reminisce, and didn’t have a moment to kneel and pray to the Snake King, Tu Xiaoyue went to get three incense sticks herself. She lit them, held them in her hands, and stood before the Snake King’s statue.
The statue was lifelike and vivid, possessing the magnificent aura of a snake soaring through the nine heavens. Its body was adorned with interlocking stripes of purple and gold, exuding an air of supreme nobility and an Emperor’s Qi.
As Tu Xiaoyue looked at the statue, she felt a profound sense of familiarity.
’Brother, where on earth are you?’ Tears welled in Tu Xiaoyue’s eyes as she gazed at the Snake King statue. The Fierce Beast Era had arrived, and every city was facing destruction. Her brother, who had been reborn as a snake, hadn’t contacted her in almost a month.
Before, both she and her mother had an inexplicable bad feeling. And right after that, they lost all contact with her brother.
Tu Xiaoyue was panicked and truly afraid.
If her brother was alive, he would have come back. He would never ignore her or their mother’s safety.
Her little brother had always been the most filial.
But now, with the situation so critical, he still hadn’t appeared. What could that mean?
Tu Xiaoyue truly didn’t dare to imagine the worst.
"Whoa, what a badass snake statue!" The Jade Little Snake perched on Tu Xiaoyue’s shoulder was stunned when it saw the Snake King statue.
The sculpted snake stood proud and erect, a magnificent figure. It was majestic and imposing, with an aura that could swallow mountains and rivers, as if surging through waves of clouds. The emperor’s domineering air shocked even a Snake Spirit like itself.
It felt an inexplicable urge to prostrate itself in worship.
’For a snake to be worshipped by humans as a Snake King, it must be incredibly powerful.’
The Jade Little Snake was filled with envy. ’When will I ever reach that level?’
’My bloodline is extraordinary, too. I may look small, but I’m a Rank Two Snake Spirit. I might even attain the Dao in the future.’
"Hey, beauty, what did this snake do to get worshipped by you humans?" The Jade Little Snake’s mind was buzzing with ideas.
Tu Xiaoyue glanced at the little snake on her shoulder. Its Snake Gaze was exceptionally bright. She chuckled, "Don’t tell me you want to be worshipped by us humans too?"
"Of course I do! How grand would that be?"
"It would have been incredibly difficult before, but now it’s actually simple."
The Jade Little Snake grew excited. "How is it simple?"
"Go kill all the big monsters outside, and the people of Bai Town will surely carve a statue in your likeness, burn incense, and worship you."
The Jade Little Snake shivered. Alright then. It was as if it hadn’t asked anything at all.
Tu Xiaoyue offered the incense, then went to greet a few familiar elders one by one. It truly wasn’t easy for everyone to have survived.
The world had changed, becoming like a scene from a nightmare.
Turning her attention back to Xiaobai, the black dog was unconscious. Its breaths were shallow, exhaling more than it inhaled, as if it could die at any moment.
Her heart aching, Tu Xiaoyue held Xiaobai, stroking its dull, lackluster fur, which was matted with blood. She fetched a basin of clean water and a towel and began to carefully wipe the blood from its body.
"This dog isn’t going to make it. Its injuries are too severe. It’s a goner for sure," the Jade Little Snake said.
"Shut up! Xiaobai won’t die!" Tu Xiaoyue retorted, her eyes welling with tears as she continued to meticulously clean the blood from Xiaobai’s fur.
The Jade Little Snake pursed its lips, somewhat moved. "But you really are good to this dog. The Fairy should be back soon. If you beg her properly, maybe this dog can still live."
At these words, a glimmer of hope ignited in Tu Xiaoyue’s eyes.
Xiaobai had ended up in this wretched state protecting them. Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, Tu Xiaoyue would not give up on it.
’If my little brother could come back, he would also be heartbroken to see that Xiaobai had died.’
Outside the Snake King Temple, the fresh and elegant Luo Ziyun arrived after killing three Fierce Beasts. She wanted to find the mother and daughter to ask them about their son.
The Snake King Temple was packed with people, a veritable sea of humanity. In truth, gathering so many people in one place could attract the attention of the Taotie and wasn’t a wise choice, but she had likely killed all the Taotie currently in Bai Town.
She just didn’t know if new ones would appear.
The moment Luo Ziyun arrived, her stunning, otherworldly beauty and powerful aura left the people of Bai Town dumbfounded. They instinctively parted to form a path for her.
Luo Ziyun walked inside with unhurried, graceful steps. But before she could reach the main hall of the Snake King Temple, her entire body suddenly stiffened. She looked up at a certain point in the sky in astonishment.
"He’s here," Luo Ziyun murmured to herself.
’Isn’t he in the Yaoling Mountain Range? How is he back already?’
Luo Ziyun was shocked. She had keenly sensed Tu Xiao’an’s aura.
It was as if she could instantly tell whenever he appeared nearby.
Suddenly, a beautiful yet sorrowful smile appeared on Luo Ziyun’s face. It seemed she no longer had the right to see him.
’We will not meet again in this life. Words spoken are like spilled water, impossible to take back.’
’Since he’s here, I don’t need to worry about the safety of Bai Town anymore.’
Without ever truly stepping inside, Luo Ziyun retreated and vanished into the crowd.
.....
WHOOSH...!
Somewhere in the sky above Bai Town, space rippled, and a handsome young man materialized out of thin air. He was like an Exiled Immortal descending to the mortal world, possessing the abilities of an Immortal.
"Bai Town, my hometown! I, Tu Xiao’an, have returned!"
Tu Xiao’an was beaming with joy. Ever since leaving the Yaoling Mountain Range, he had sent the Azure Owl to escort Su Rushi back to Wencheng while he himself rushed straight to Bai Town.
Now, he floated high above Bai Town, breathing in the fresh air, when suddenly...
Tu Xiao’an’s expression changed. The air was thick with the stench of blood and death.
He looked out, and in an instant, his entire body tensed up like a rock. His heart sank as if filled with cold lead.
His familiar Bai Town had been devastated, reduced to a field of rubble and ruined walls, as if it had suffered a great earthquake.
’This is bad. Bai Town has been ravaged by the Fierce Beast Taotie!’
This was exactly what Tu Xiao’an had feared. It was why he hadn’t even escorted Su Rushi after leaving the Yaoling Mountain Range, choosing instead to come back and check first.
And what he saw was the one sight he had wished against most.
"Mom! Sis!"
SWOOSH...!
Tu Xiao’an vanished from the spot. When he reappeared a moment later, he was standing before the ruins of a collapsed house.
Suddenly, Tu Xiao’an’s whole body began to tremble. He stared blankly, dazedly, at the rubble.
His former home was no more.
"Mom... Sis..."
Tu Xiao’an’s heart plunged into an Abyssal Hell of terror. To think that he, Tu Xiao’an, who had slaughtered his way through the Yaoling Mountain Range, who had even annihilated a mighty Deep Mountain Demon King and forced countless races to submit—how majestic and domineering he had been.
But now, seeing the ruins of his home, he was afraid. So afraid that his entire body trembled.
"’It can’t be, it can’t be," Tu Xiao’an murmured to himself, his face pale.
The sky seemed gray and hazy, oppressive as if abandoned by the world. There was no wind, yet Tu Xiao’an felt a bone-chilling cold.
He staggered two steps forward, his very soul feeling as if it had solidified into a heavy stone, slowly sinking.
’Mom can’t be dead. My sister can’t be dead.’
Tu Xiao’an kept trying to reassure himself, but the Fierce Beast Taotie was so powerful it could easily slaughter even a Rank Three Demon Spirit. How could ordinary humans possibly withstand it?
After a few more steps, he looked down and found himself standing in a pool of blood.
’Blood. A pool of blood. This was the last thing I wanted to see right now.’
’Whose blood is this? Mom’s? My sister’s?’
No... Tu Xiao’an’s mind went blank, his thoughts sluggish and slow. A painful spasm crossed his face as he stared with a helpless, despairing gaze at the large pool of blood on the ground.
He bent down slightly, dipped his finger in the blood, and stiffly brought it to his nose to smell. The moment he smelled it, Tu Xiao’an was overjoyed. ’It’s not human blood! This isn’t human blood!’
But...!
The smile that had just appeared on his face slowly vanished. This was dog’s blood. It was blood from his Black-eared Xiaobai.
There was no way Tu Xiao’an could be mistaken.
’With such a large pool of blood, Xiaobai is probably...!’
’Was I too late?’
Tu Xiao’an stood there, dazed and numb. If Xiaobai was dead, if his mother and sister were also gone, then what was he supposed to do?
He had struggled so hard, starting from a mere snake, cultivating, striving, attaining the Dao and achieving Transformation... Wasn’t it all so he could come back and reunite with his family?
’I, Tu Xiao’an, am willing to become a House Snake, to guard my family and watch over my home.’
With that single vow, the system had bound to him, and he was reborn as a snake.
Without his family, what meaning was there for Tu Xiao’an to go on living? Even if he became a Rank Four Divine Spirit, he would be nothing more than a walking corpse.
AHHH...!
Tu Xiao’an let out a sudden, earth-shattering roar. A world-destroying power erupted from his body. Instantly, the heavens and earth changed color, and the space around him twisted rapidly. The once-cloudless sky was suddenly crushed under dark clouds; Thunderclaps boomed and lightning flashed, apocalyptic and utterly terrifying.
So much rage, so much hate! Killing Intent surged from Tu Xiao’an’s entire body, lashing out like a furious gale.
If his mother and sister were truly gone, he felt the urge to destroy the entire world.
A Demon King! He, Tu Xiao’an, was a Demon King now, one who could truly flip his hand to summon clouds and turn it to make rain, one who dared to make the heavens themselves change color.
’It can’t be. The heavens wouldn’t be so cruel to me, Tu Xiao’an.’
Tu Xiao’an forced himself to calm down. He took a deep breath and exhaled a few mouthfuls of Muddy Qi. In an instant, his powerful Consciousness Power enveloped the entirety of Bai Town.
’Search. I must find my mother’s and sister’s human auras.’
’If they’re alive, if they’re still in Bai Town, I will definitely be able to sense them.’
After a long moment, Tu Xiao’an, who had been on the verge of despair, was suddenly ecstatic. His whole world lit up. He had sensed them! He had sensed them!
’I’ve sensed my mother’s and sister’s auras! They’re still alive!’
’Where are they?’
’It’s the Snake King Temple.’ A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
SWOOSH...!
Once again, Tu Xiao’an vanished on the spot.