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The liquid sprayed onto these people, and a series of hissing and crackling sounds could be heard. Red gas continuously emerged from their bodies, and then their bodies turned into purplish-red gas at a visible speed, drifting into the air.

These people watched helplessly as their bodies turned into gas, terrified out of their wits, and some even died of fright.

"Sanchuan, save me..." Boss Lu roared, hoping that Hu Sanchuan outside could hear him and come to his rescue.

Hearing the boss's desperate, terrified scream, Hu Sanchuan shuddered and instinctively wanted to run away, but remembering the boss's ruthless methods, he had no choice but to go down.

If he escapes this time, and Boss Lu survives this calamity, he will definitely not let him and his family go; his whole family will die in vain.

When Hu Sanchuan arrived at the cave, he saw that Lu Laoda had been mostly dissolved and vaporized. Then he saw the terrifying Snake King and was so frightened that he turned around and ran away, completely ignoring Lu Laoda behind him.

The snake king couldn't move, but it managed to spray a mouthful of purplish-red liquid, which landed right on Hu Sanchuan's arm.

Hu Sanchuan ignored everything else and kept climbing out of the cave. Only after he got out did he realize that half of his arm was gone.

Hu Sanchuan was also a ruthless man. He took out the machete tucked in his waistband, looked down at his arm, and cut off the purplish-red liquid that was spreading all over his body.

"Ah!" Hu Sanchuan was in so much pain that he almost fainted, but he knew he couldn't faint. If he didn't get bandaged up, he would die from blood loss sooner or later.

After hastily bandaging himself, Hu Sanchuan hurriedly descended the mountain, not daring to linger for even a moment.

He Tiantian vaguely heard screams, and when she opened her eyes, she saw only a few heads on the ground screaming in agony.

"Who...who is this person?" He Tiantian was very weak, and her voice was very soft.

However, Snake King had been keeping an eye on He Tiantian and still heard what she said.

“Dead man!” the Snake King said coldly.

No sooner had he said that than everyone except Hu Sanchuan turned into red gas.

The Snake King opened its mouth and blew hard, and all the gas, along with the unpleasant smell, disappeared.

He Tiantian was already pale, and seeing the dead body made her look even worse.

"Don't be afraid, I won't harm you," the Snake King said. "Be well."

"Oh!" He Tiantian nodded. If it weren't for the Snake King, she might have been bullied as well. Thinking this, her guilt disappeared.

After taking several deep breaths, He Tiantian felt some strength returning to her body and managed to sit up.

"Snake King, have you already passed the Six-Day Mystic Thunder?" He Tiantian asked hopefully.

The Snake King shook its enormous head and nodded, saying, "Yes! But I need to go into seclusion to cultivate, so I won't be able to protect you for a while."

"It's alright, I have family to protect me," He Tiantian said. "Are you cultivating here, or are you staying within the barrier around my ankle?"

“Here,” the Snake King said, “I cannot move, nor can I transform.”

"Oh." He Tiantian nodded. "Then I won't bother you anymore. Focus on your cultivation, and I hope you can emerge from seclusion soon."

"Okay," the Snake King replied.

He Tiantian stood up unsteadily and said, "Then I'm leaving."

He Tiantian picked up a stick from the ground and held it in her hand as a walking stick.

Watching He Tiantian leave, the Snake King's eyes held an unyielding emotion.

Just as He Tiantian was about to climb up, she heard the Snake King whisper behind her, "Thank you, Tiantian."

He Tiantian turned her head, smiled, and said, "No need to thank me, we are best friends."

After much effort, He Tiantian finally climbed up and stumbled her way into the wooden house, where she immediately lay down and fell asleep in the pile of firewood by the kitchen stove.

When the Snake King heard the words "best friend," he felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

Yes, they are just friends.

It didn't want to think about it anymore; it needed to focus on its cultivation. He Tiantian had risked her life to awaken it, and it couldn't let that opportunity go to waste.

The Snake King focused intently on his cultivation, and the energy gathered in the air above the back mountain continuously flowed towards the cave.

By five o'clock in the morning, the Snake King had finished repairing the cave's barrier, leaving only a gap at the top for spiritual energy to flow in.

Just as dawn broke, Wang Shuping led several villagers up the mountain. She hadn't slept a wink all night because of the commotion that had occurred on the back mountain the previous night.

Those families with men going up the mountain were very worried and rushed up the mountain before dawn.

Wang Shuping saw that her husband was sleeping at the kitchen doorway, with some grass on his body.

This is what He Tiantian covered her father with before he fell into a deep sleep; she simply didn't have the strength to pull him further inside.

"Old He, Old He..." Wang Shuping called out a few times, then saw her daughter sleeping in the pile of firewood. She went to call her daughter again, "Sweetie, Sweetie..."

He Tiantian opened her eyes groggily and saw her mother. Looking outside, she realized it was already daylight.

At this moment, He Jingyu also woke up, holding his head in his hands, trying to relieve the headache.

"What happened to you?" Seeing her daughter and husband wake up, Wang Shuping felt relieved. Why were they sleeping on the ground and in the pile of firewood?

He Tiantian scratched her head and said, "We were stunned by the thunder yesterday."

He Jingyu then vaguely remembered what happened yesterday and whispered, "Shuping, you might not believe it, but we saw a dragon undergoing tribulation yesterday!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shuping pinched He Jingyu's arm and said angrily, "So you're awake now?"

"Really, I really saw it. You can ask Brother Dazhu and the others if you don't believe me," He Jingyu said, dissatisfied. It was definitely not a dream.

Qi Dazhu and his group also woke up after being called by the crowd, and they started talking all at once about what they had seen the night before.

Qi Dazhu, He Jingyu, and a few others went to the place where the Snake King had fallen yesterday, but found nothing.

However, they firmly believed that their eyes had not misjudged them, thinking that it was a divine dragon appearing. They knelt down with a thud, kowtowed three times, and prayed that the dragon would continue to bless Qijia Village.

Qi Shugen was a hunter with amazing observation skills, and he hurriedly said, "Secretary, look."

Qi Shugen found a hunting rifle in the grass.

"Is this yours?" Qi Dazhu asked, a question lingering in his mind.

“No, these aren’t mine, Secretary Qi,” Qi Shugen said. “My hunting rifle is still inside! It seems someone must have come by while we were unconscious yesterday. Look at these footprints.”

"Didn't they just step on this when they came up here?" Secretary Qi asked, puzzled.

Qi Shugen shook his head and said, "The people who came from the foot of the mountain are from our village. Look at some of them, they are obviously from the west. Although it has rained, these footprints are still there. If you don't believe me, let's follow the footprints forward."

"Okay!" Secretary Qi and the others didn't even bother to eat; they couldn't wait to start looking.

This search led them to the cave where Boss Lu and his group were staying.

There were not only clothes, but also pots and pans, as well as all sorts of shovels of different lengths, and a few detonators and other odds and ends in the corner.

(To be continued.)