As large numbers of Fierce Beasts died in the fallen zone, a series of ghastly, demonic roars echoed from the foggy area of Wenjialing.
"A mere snake dares oppose this Emperor, killing three hundred and sixty-five of my avatars! Damn you! You truly are a damned snake!"
"Once this Emperor breaks through to Rank Four, I’ll make my first meal out of you!"
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...!
The mountain peak trembled violently. For miles around, there were no birds or beasts—not a single living creature could be seen.
Meanwhile, Tu Xiao’an, the giant snake looming over the fallen zone, suddenly felt his heart lurch. He subtly sensed an extremely dangerous aura, as if some terrifying beast had locked onto him from the shadows.
It felt as if escape was impossible, even if he fled to the ends of the earth.
Hm?
Tu Xiao’an frowned. ’There’s no smoke without fire,’ he thought. With his level of Cultivation and immense soul consciousness power, this couldn’t be a mere illusion.
’Some monster really has its eyes on me.’
With an indifferent expression, Tu Xiao’an scanned the area from above. After a moment of contemplation, he understood and suddenly smiled.
’The real Taotie must have put me on its blacklist. It’s noticed me and now despises me.’
He thought about how the Taotie’s true body had released a massive number of avatars to devour and absorb Energy everywhere, all to restore its Cultivation.
But then he, Tu Xiao’an, had shown up out of nowhere like a wrench in the works, mercilessly slaughtering the Fierce Beasts one by one and directly hindering the Taotie’s progress.
For every beast he killed, the Taotie’s true body had to create a new avatar from scratch.
’Must be a lot of work.’
’Damn,’ Tu Xiao’an thought, his expression darkening. ’It hasn’t even broken out of the War Relics, yet it can already lock onto me.’
It was still in the War Relics, not yet recovered to Rank Four, yet it could give him such a potent, formless sense of extreme danger.
This meant the real Taotie was far more powerful than he had imagined.
If things dragged on until the Taotie emerged at Rank Four, Tu Xiao’an would be powerless to stop it. Wencheng would be doomed.
Forget Wencheng—all of Huaxia would be in jeopardy.
’I have to find the open War Relic as quickly as possible and fight my way in.’
’I absolutely cannot let the Taotie break through to Rank Four.’
Of course, Tu Xiao’an wasn’t stupid enough to go alone. He needed to get the human experts to join forces with the masters from the Yaoling Mountain Range. They would all have to charge into the War Relics together.
’Who knew what unknown dangers lurked within the relics? The Taotie probably wasn’t the only Fierce Beast inside.’
Time was tight. Tu Xiao’an saw that the people of Wencheng were already prostrating themselves in worship of him, the Bai Town Snake King. He figured he’d put on enough of a show; it was time for a swift conclusion.
If it weren’t for the need for followers, Tu Xiao’an wouldn’t have been so high-profile.
Next, Tu Xiao’an made short work of the problem. After more than an hour of relentless bombardment, the four hundred-odd Fierce Beasts in the fallen zone were all but wiped out.
Only a dozen or so Fierce Beasts, barely clinging to life, managed to survive the onslaught. They scattered and fled in a wild panic.
Tu Xiao’an had intended to finish them off, but although this dozen had survived, their combat strength was drastically reduced. After a moment’s thought, he decided to leave them for the Awakened Martial Cultivators.
’With this new age of chaos dawning, both humans and Demons need to raise their Cultivation.’
"Long live the Lord Snake King...!"
As the last of the Fierce Beasts fell, amid the thunderous, tsunami-like cheers from the people of Wencheng, the giant snake in the sky flashed with golden light and vanished without a trace.
The people of the great metropolis had been thoroughly won over by the giant snake.
A short while later, Tu Xiao’an reverted to his human form, appearing on a desolate, deserted street. He walked along by himself, periodically checking the status of his followers and Power of Faith in his system.
Suddenly, a mischievous thought occurred to Tu Xiao’an. ’I kind of feel like Ultraman,’ he mused. ’Fight the monster, then change back to a normal guy and hide all the credit and fame.’
Now that his rampage had dealt with the Fierce Beasts, the chaos in Wencheng had been tentatively stabilized. It was time for Tu Xiao’an to get down to business.
Tu Xiao’an initially thought about going to the Demon Management Bureau, but on second thought, it wasn’t really necessary. He could just summon his War Servant, Wu Tianyi, directly to his side.
However, from their earlier exchange, he knew Wu Tianyi was in a meeting. He was the director, after all. Tu Xiao’an couldn’t just abuse his authority as master and act recklessly.
Besides, Wencheng still needed its director, Wu Tianyi, to keep things under control.
And that director, Wu Tianyi, was in turn under his control. The feeling was a wicked thrill.
Instead of summoning him, Tu Xiao’an sent a telepathic message to Wu Tianyi, telling him to come find him once he was free.
Tu Xiao’an also wanted to take the opportunity to wander around the fallen zone.
The places he had once known so well were now all inside its borders.
As he walked, Tu Xiao’an found himself on the Ancient Street he knew best. It had once been a vibrant place, bustling with traffic, but now it was just part of the fallen zone.
Many of the surrounding skyscrapers had been ravaged, but fortunately, the Ancient Street had yet to be desecrated by the Fierce Beasts. It retained its original appearance, though the whole street was now desolate and utterly deserted.
The scenery remained, but the people were gone.
Tu Xiao’an walked down the Ancient Street, past rows of empty, shuttered storefronts. He stopped in a daze before one of them.
A noodle shop!
It was Luo Ziyun’s old noodle shop.
Tu Xiao’an remembered how there used to be a long line of people snaking out from the front of her shop every time he came. But now, the place was empty and deserted, the main door shut tight.
Suddenly, a thought struck Tu Xiao’an. ’I wonder if Luo Ziyun came to Wencheng.’
’She probably would have.’
’If she did come back, she would definitely come check on her noodle shop.’
With that in mind, Tu Xiao’an walked to the noodle shop’s front door. He was about to force it open for a look, but then he sighed and shook his head. ’She’s deliberately avoiding me, she doesn’t want to see me. Why would she come back to the noodle shop?’