“Senior, what are you looking at?”
Su Mian was confused by the stare and asked. Then, he suddenly felt a slight thing on his shoulder, and a cold pneuma blew nearly from his earlobe side.
“What is it?”
Su Mian froze and was about to turn around subconsciously. At this very moment, Su Li waved her hand and Su Mian didn’t help but move forward. And the thing on his shoulder fell down, following a sound of rolling on the ground behind him.
He was about to turn around out of curiosity, but Su Li pushed the back of his head and walked further into the corridor.
“Don’t look. You will lose your appetite.”
Su Li said faintly and loosed him.
Su Li’s words intrigued Su Mian’s more curiosity.
Before they walked far away, he couldn’t restrain his inner curiosity and silently took a glimpse.
Just a glimpse, he saw the creature wriggling on the ground.
What was that?
How could it move when its face was hollowed out? The lower half of its body… was a snake tail?!
Snake? Or a human?
At that moment, Su Mian’s face turned green. Suppressing the disgust, he quickly caught up with Su Li. He couldn’t help but admire Su Li when he saw she remained expressionless all the time.
Not everybody in the cultivation circle had a chance to see such a horrible creature, but the senior… didn’t blink an eye.
Su Li walked faster in the following section of the path. The reason lay not only in the creature following them closely in the dark but also in the unpleasant pneuma emitting from the walls.
All of these were not deadly for her.
It had been a long time since she had the thought of being poisoned. Even if the snake venom in the air was deadly, it did no harm to her.
But it was not a comfortable experience… for Su Mian.
She took a glimpse at Su Mian, who seemed to be in a trance and lost in illusions. In an instant, Su Li was going to feed Su Mian with her blood to detoxify. But she immediately gave up the idea when she thought of what happened to the Immortal Tea Plant.
“The demon has no intention to kill me, but urges me to meet it quickly…”
Su Li narrowed her eyes, seeming she was pondering.
An hour later, the minefield, controlled by the Sixth Branch, remained busy as before, while a psychological game was taking place in the depths of the mine cave.
After walking through the tunnel full of weird patterns, Su Li finally arrived at a grot.
It was cold here. And blue icicles were hanging from the roof. The extreme coldness seemed to penetrate the bones. In the middle of the cave, there was a tree carved with ice. It was like a jade in the deep blue light.
Su Mian could not stand the cold and lose his consciousness soon. This was convenient for Su Li. She directly released the nightmare space to swallow him, so as to keep herself free from interference.
Su Li walked to the ice tree and looked at a cold pond in front of her. The water in the pond didn’t freeze at such a low temperature but glistened.
At once, she recalled a legend mentioned by Dongfang Wuxue.
Deep in the Black Stone Forest, there was a pool of icy water with no bottom, and an old scary demon lived underneath.
At the bottom of the pond?
Su Li squatted and looked at her reflection in the water.
Suddenly, her face in the water changed to her appearance in the Reincarnation Mirror.
Swish!
Su Li stood up immediately and looked around gloomily.
“He-he, don’t be nervous. I was just joking with you.”
A coquettish voice came from the bottom of the pond. It echoed in the cave, as if it was from all around. Su Li stared at the pond surface. The legend was true and a mighty demon lived underneath the pond?!
Splash—
The quiet pond surface gradually rippled, followed by billows along with a shadow.
Su Li stepped back and watched a snake with a human face jumping out of the water.
Or better to say… a snake with a beautiful woman’s face!
Su Li looked narrowly at the mighty demon mentioned by Black Lotus. It was a hybrid of human and demon. The upper half was a human with a perfect and delicate face. It was like an unequaled artwork, which would indulge people in at the first sight.
The lower half was a thick snake tail covered by dark purple and sharp scales. Compared to its slender waist, the snake tail was as thick as a bucket.
Although this demon did not give off much threatening pneuma, Su Li felt a pressure.
This pressure was not from the demonic bloodline, but… from the time!
“Black Lotus is right. This is an old monster that no one knows how long it has been lived… Black Lotus, can you recognize it?!”
Su Li tried to summon Black Lotus but only felt his fear.
Black Lotus not only knew it and scared of it?
Su Li, who was relieved, got nervous again.
“Little girl, I have been observing you for quite a while.”
The mighty demon lay on its stomach at the edge of the pond with its white arms. A gentle smile was on its exquisite face and the pleasant voice were irresistible, “My name is Zi Sha. Do not fear. Come over and sit with me.”
Su Li was clear-headed. Instead of moving forward, she took several steps back. She asked in a cold tone, “You have been observing me?”
Zi Sha saw Su Li’s reaction and felt bored. She waved her hand and said, “Fine, stand there if you prefer.”
As she just finished her words, the icicles on the roof of the cave suddenly melted and countless najas with no faces fell from above. At an instant, they filled the entire cave, and fishy smell was also full of the cave.
Where only Su Li stood was clean.
Zi Sha did what she said, just leaving Su Li a space to stand but can’t move.
“Su Li, I like your name. I have been fond of you since you left the forest last time.”
Zi Sha waved her snake tail in the water. She said joyfully with her face flushing, “I’ve used so many demon crystals to tempt you. And you come here in less than a month.”
The joy on her face was sincere, but Su Li didn’t feel easier.
Demon Clan liked eating humans best. How could she possibly like her food?
It was impossible.
“Zi Sha.”
Su Li spoke slowly in a tone as cold as before, “Let’s come straight to the point. Although you are a mighty demon, the current cultivation circle might not be a proper place for you. If you are exposed, it’s sure that countless old ancestors will come for you and take you as a pet. So, cut to the chase if you have something needed. If you’ve been watching me all the time, you must know that neither you nor I can afford to waste time.”
Her words sounded cold but hit the nail on the head and revealed their relationship immediately.
The blush on Zi Sha’s face faded away, and she revealed her white teeth, “You seem to be not so simple as I thought. After you entered Yuxu Sect and disappeared for some time, you became more powerful. If I didn’t need your help, I would like to cut open your body to find the secret.”
Su Li tightened her body and kept silent, but her mind was slightly relaxed.
Expectedly, this mighty demon needed her help.
After a moment of silence, Su Li asked, “Why me? You have lived long enough. I am not the only one who came to the Black Stone Forest during the years. Even last time, there were lots of people leaving the Black Stone Forest.”
“Little girl, I’m a good judge of character.”
Zi Sha’s eyes were shining, and her snake’s tongue flicked out and licked her lips, “The taste of Human Clan is delicious, but it varies. The flesh of mortals is rough and tasted bad, while the flesh of practitioners is delicious. The more talented practitioners are, the more tender their flesh would be. And their fragrance was irresistible for every demon. You smell… incredibly good.”
Su Li changed her gaze and satirized, “You spoke these to an edible. Don’t you worry that I won’t help you anymore?”
“As I said, I have been observing you… for quite a while.”
Zi Sha did not seem to be in a hurry at all and explained carefully, “Your character was very like mine. We both are the type who can abandon everything and use every means to get our goals. There is no moral constraint for us at all! If I have something that moves you, you’ll definitely help me, won’t you?
And I also know that you are not tolerated by the natural law! As your cultivation progresses, you will have nowhere to hide under the natural law, am I right?”
Saying that, Zi Sha took a glance at the broken Reincarnation Mirror at Su Li’s waist and giggled, “A broken mirror can’t help you resist the punishment from the natural law, but I can help you.”
Su Li kept silent until Zi Sha finished. She took a breath and didn’t panic. She smiled in the same way, “It’s no wonder that a mighty demon like you could see so much about me in a short time. However, Senior Zi Sha, you’re not going to tell me your request after I say yes in advance, are you?”
“I really appreciate your calmness.”
Zi Sha fiddled with her long nails, and purple lights flicked in her eyes, “What I am asking is quite simple. Help me distract the attention of the natural law. If you can stand for a quarter, I will give you the reward you want.”
“Distract the attention of the natural law?”
Su Li’s gaze changed, “You ask me to expose myself and attract the punishment from the natural law? It’s suicide!”
Zi Sha picked her nails and giggled, but the snakes with human faces around them hissed. “Little girl, are you thinking you can walk out of here alive if you disagree?”
Su Li closed her mouth gently and spoke nothing.
Zi Sha sighed and pointed to those snakes with human faces, “These actually are seniors of you. They either disagreed or failed my request. I had to keep them stay with me in this way, forever.
In fact, I do understand people like you. Once they know their destiny, they will be thinking all the time about how to escape from the punishment of the natural law when the day comes, especially you. Su Li, you are calm enough and considerable. So, you must think of these issues more than others. Maybe… you are lucky to escape from nature’s punishment.
If you disagree with me, it is certain that you will die. Why don’t you give a shot?”
Zi Sha’s tone was gentle and persuasive as if she were thinking for Su Li.
Su Li was silent. She finally experienced how terrible an ancient mighty demon could be.
“I agree with you. But I have one condition.”