Crimson Temptation

The serpent demon, with its azure-scaled, flood-dragon-like body, raised its head and howled in agony. From the moment the sword formation was activated to the golden swords being fired, barely five breaths had passed—it hadn't even had time to react.

The serpent demon had rarely faced enemies within this secret realm. All along, it had relied on her husband for protection. Yet now, even he had become a soul beneath that human cultivator's blade.

Momentarily dazed, the serpent demon regained some clarity and tried to cast a spell to break the formation.

But Du Yi activated the sword array again. This time, several golden swords pierced through its body. In an instant, blood rained down like a storm, falling like droplets from the sky.

Seeing this, Jiang Daoyu quickly stepped forward, urging his jade bottle to collect the falling drops of blood. Beast blood could be used for alchemy, or refined into spiritual ink—it had many applications. Especially valuable was this serpent demon blood, already containing traces of dragon lineage.

Chen Jinshu glanced at the sword formation controlled by Senior Brother Du with mild surprise, though not envy. If she had gone all out, this serpent demon likely wouldn't have withstood her assault either.

She had thought the demon's cultivation was frozen due to the realm's limitations, but upon clashing, she realized—it had cultivation but lacked combat prowess. It was weaker than even a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Moments later, the serpent demon's life force rapidly diminished, and Du Yi hurried to store its body.

"Senior Brother's sword array is truly powerful. I've gained much insight today," Chen Jinshu offered mild praise.

"Sister's zither skills are the real spectacle. First the green crane, then the snow goose—my eyes have been blessed," Du Yi replied casually.

"You two still have time for chatter? The heavy scent of blood will attract more beasts soon. You want another fight?" Jiang Daoyu reminded them sharply.

The two were snapped to attention and quickly flew off using their spiritual tools toward the direction of White Bone Mountain. Where the serpent demon died, its lair surely hid treasures of great value.

A few moments later, the trio landed in front of a massive black cave entrance, at least three zhang (10 meters) high. A thick stench of blood wafted from within. Chen Jinshu sealed her sense of smell just to bear it.

"Junior Sister, Junior Brother! The corpses inside are piled up—no open flames, or it might explode!"

Jiang Daoyu casually took out a few luminous pearls from his storage pouch and handed them over.

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Chen Jinshu curiously examined the luminous pearl—brighter than the usual kind by at least thirty percent.

As they walked forward, the bloodstains on the ground made their skin crawl. The serpent demon had an addiction to blood. Even if they hadn't acted today, others—either cultivators or other beasts—would have eventually targeted it.

At first glance, White Bone Mountain seemed small—only two-thirds the size of other peaks. But as they ventured deeper, its true vastness was revealed. The darkness was abyssal. Even the light of three luminous pearls couldn't dispel it entirely, and the cave's bottom couldn't be seen.

"The serpent demon is dead. There shouldn't be anything below. Let's go down," Du Yi said.

He activated an eye technique to examine the chasm but still couldn't see its depths.

"This cave must run deep underground—we don't know how far. Best to proceed cautiously."

Jiang Daoyu summoned a small boat, expanded it, and had the other two board before slowly descending.

They moved down at a snail's pace, witnessing the harrowing sight along the way—scattered corpses of mortals, clothes still clinging to mangled limbs. No complete body was in sight.

With heavy hearts, the trio finally reached the cave's bottom.

Ahead was another large tunnel, with clear signs of something crawling along the floor.

"No matter if it became a flood dragon, this serpent demon still couldn't shake its burrowing habits," Chen Jinshu chuckled.

"They say beasts in secret realms were once domesticated—though after tens of thousands of years, their bloodlines have long diluted."

"Domesticated by immortals?" she asked.

"Who else but immortals could create such a blessed secret realm?"

"Enough talking! Let's collect the serpent's treasures and leave. This place is a mass grave—give it ten thousand years and it may become a new Forbidden Land," Jiang Daoyu said, staying alert.

"Yes!" the two replied in unison.

Following the tunnel through a winding path, they finally reached a large den. The den was also filled with bones—mostly from beasts this time. Three shed serpent skins lay within, marking the serpent's evolutionary stages: from python to boa to flood dragon. However, the flood-dragon molt seemed damaged—some parts incomplete.

"This serpent had an impure bloodline. With how much flesh it devoured, its bloodline should have been refined. How could something have gone wrong?" Du Yi wondered.

"Look! A blood-colored jade pendant!" Chen Jinshu suddenly exclaimed, pointing ahead at a floating crimson pendant.

"Could this be the treasure that triggered the bloodline transformation?"

"It must be. I can feel a surge of energy from it. A beast would be overwhelmed with temptation and devour it without hesitation."

Chen Jinshu's expression changed the moment Du Yi stepped forward. The blood-colored pendant began to emit a faint red mist, spreading in all directions. Her instincts screamed danger—this was no ordinary item.

In the blink of an eye, the mist rushed toward Du Yi and entered his body before she could stop it. It even attempted to reach her but was blocked by her waist pendant. Quickly, she retrieved a golden potted lantern from her storage pouch.

By then, Du Yi's eyes had turned blood-red—his mind clearly disturbed. Even Jiang Daoyu showed signs of being affected. Chen Jinshu immediately pulled out her Lüqi Zither and began playing a calming incantation.

After a soothing melody, both men finally regained a sliver of awareness.

"Master! I think that pendant might help me!" said Xiao Yin perched on her shoulder.

"This thing is too sinister. Better not risk it casually," Chen Jinshu responded.

She didn't plan to let the sparrow use it before consulting her master—it had been with her too long to take that risk.

"Yes, Master!"

Surrounding herself in cyan spiritual energy, she carefully drew the blood-colored pendant over, sealed it in a wooden box with multiple suppression talismans, and stored it in her pouch.

Two quarters later, Du Yi and Jiang Daoyu, both affected by the mist, only regained full clarity after listening to several more melodies.

"Junior Sister… what happened? Why does my head hurt so much?"

"Mine too!"

"You two are so reckless! That pendant was clearly dangerous, and you went in completely unguarded. If I hadn't stopped it, you'd both be bloodthirsty demons by now!" Chen Jinshu scolded them bluntly.

"Thank you for saving us…" The two flushed with embarrassment, apologizing profusely.

"I'll take the pendant. If I find anything from researching it, I'll let you know."

"We trust your judgment, Junior Sister."