Chapter 111 Long-haired Red Snake's recommended item this time is—Flame Embroidery…

"Did I see that right? A snake just crawled out of the corpse?"

Ji Yinxiu nodded. "It seems so."

"Not just a snake, but a hairy snake??"

The snake looked more like a giant caterpillar, its blood-red skin covered with a layer of brown bristles. It turned out that these bristles were hiding inside the corpse and manipulating it, allowing the mummified body to clumsily mimic human movements and produce eerie breathing sounds through the friction of the bristles.

"So the corpse of the ugly woman was played by these snakes, and we just happened to fall into their den?" Feng Feng pointed to the corpse on the ground. "And what about the corpse?"

Since Xia Zhu and Ji Yinxiu both believed that this was actually a fake corpse, they guessed that it might be the work of the same person as this strange relic. Although they didn't know what role it played in this, whether it was a burial object, a tomb guardian, or just a pastime, they dug a hole on the spot and simply buried it.

"Is there any record of that hairy snake in the book?" Feng Feng asked. Xia Zhu was about to say that she didn't have the book on her, but Di Ji Yin Xiu answered her question.

“There should be,” he said. “I remember my teacher telling me when I was a child that ancient books record many different dragons, but only Yinglong actually exists. The others were simply dragons whose true forms were accidentally revealed at different times and places, which led to their being witnessed and spread through rumors, and then given different mystiques by humans.”

"However, she also said that although there is only one dragon, there are many strange and unusual snakes. The one that was covered in hair just now should be a long snake."

When Yinglong and Xia Zhu heard him talk about their teacher, they couldn't help but think of the strange dream they had about Xuanyuan Hill. Logically speaking, with Fu Yu around, she shouldn't have had dreams, so she believed even more that she had accidentally wandered to the bottom of the lake for some reason and stumbled upon the only true dragon in the world.

"Shall we go take a look?" Feng Feng pointed in the direction where the three long snakes disappeared. "But we should be prepared that there are definitely more than just those three or four snakes in the cave."

I still stand by what I said: since we're already here, we definitely have to find out what's going on.

The natural disasters and demonic chaos mentioned in the prophecy are still somewhat vague in Xia Zhu's view. Even though two demonic gods on the "wanted list" have been dealt with so far, it is still unclear what kind of chaos they will cause, whether it is murder, arson or the destruction of the earth.

The instructions from the Nine Heavens Assembly were somewhat ambiguous. They ordered all the unidentified officials to go to various places to kill the demon gods on the spot, but they did not explain what mistakes the demon gods had made. Could they really mobilize a large number of people to start a massacre based on just a vague prophecy?

Although dreams are unpredictable, they are based on reality.

Some unidentified officials on the forum claimed to have encountered vicious demons and gods, and discovered that what they wanted was the innate physiognomy stone on the unidentified official's body, in other words, physiognomy power. The demons' desire to seize physiognomy power can be explained, as the innate physiognomy stone is both a magic weapon for prolonging life and greatly increasing magic power for them.

It's just puzzling why, after the prophecy was made, these two forces, who had been at peace for so long, suddenly started stirring up trouble and fighting each other over power.

Back in Ruoshui Village, Xia Zhu and the others had discussed this matter. However, the "plague demon" there only created a dense fog, making it easy for the local residents to get lost and feel uneasy at night, without causing any other actual harm. In fact, the cause had nothing to do with the demon god; it was due to Isuzu's karma. Therefore, the team decided to continue westward to find their next target in order to figure out what the prophesied disaster was all about.

Have the demon gods really rebelled? Will that seemingly impossible natural disaster really descend upon Earth in the near future and destroy humanity?

Moreover, Xia Zhu inexplicably felt that the place they had discovered must have some significance. No matter how absurd or bizarre the corpses or murals were, they couldn't be ignored as mere pranks. She had a vague premonition that from the moment she stepped into Ruoshui Village, she seemed to have truly entered this world. Did that mean that the secret about her background was about to be revealed?

However, all of this happened so naturally, even smoothly, that it inevitably raises suspicions that some force is guiding it from the shadows. If so, who could it be?

She found it difficult to visualize a specific image, but she believed that the dream within a dream she experienced in class last year was already the first move in a hidden game of chess.

Even now, as she abandons her routine life and stands in this dark and gloomy cave, she is still following a predetermined route. Thinking about this, she feels both resistant and excited. Investigating the truth is certainly exciting, but if her life is to be manipulated at will because of this, she is naturally unwilling.

However, there is no reason not to continue. In order to find out where she came from and to prevent the prophecy of natural disaster from coming true, she should continue on.

There is another reason, though Xia Zhu is unwilling to admit it.

Ever since she possessed Isuzu and witnessed that memory from ten thousand years ago, she has increasingly felt that there is a huge secret hidden in this world where myths and legends once truly happened.

A secret that could potentially overturn everything.

As for why she thought this way, besides the fact that each journey always left one or two unsolved problems at the end, it was also because in this world where not only humans exist, there was such a hidden, never-seen, and suspicious god.

Xia Zhu was someone who never made a wish in her innocent childhood. Even though she possessed the ability to reverse life and death, and even though everyone told her that we were children of God, she was unwilling to believe it unless she saw it with her own eyes.

Everything must pass through Xia Zhu's eyes.

Just as she couldn't imagine without witnessing it firsthand, there would be an overwhelming number of snakes in a small hole.

The group continued along the tunnel where the snake had disappeared. The further they went, the more snakes shed their skins. Feng Feng even found a snakeskin that was half a meter wide. He said tremblingly, "Maybe we should stop here."

But before they could give up, a chilling rustling sound suddenly rang out from ahead.

At first glance, it sounds like countless butterflies and moths fluttering their wings, but those who have seen the hairy snake before know without a doubt that it is just the sound of the snake crawling and wriggling.

The rustling sound wasn't particularly jarring, but it made all the joints in the body tremble and the internal organs tilt to one side, as if a miniature electric drill was relentlessly drilling into the bones.

"This number doesn't seem right." Feng Feng covered his ears, feeling dizzy and disoriented. He wanted to go back the way he came, but he couldn't tell which path was the one he had come from.

The high-frequency vibrations can cause people to lose their sense of direction and their ability to distinguish things. Now they have no choice but to grit their teeth and move forward, hoping that they will be lucky enough to reach the area with the murals.

Unfortunately, we didn't check the almanac before leaving home today, and the group of us, completely disoriented, ended up successfully intruding into the snake's lair.

A stench filled the air, and when the light shone on them, hundreds and thousands of red snakes were seen intertwined and writhing, their sheer number forming a towering mountain.

At first glance, it looked like a moving, red, fleshy mountain.

"Ugh—" Feng Feng only glanced at it, but the visual impact was too strong, coupled with the strong smell of blood, she couldn't help but gag as she lay to the side.

The smell of blood, yes, why does it smell of blood here?

The bright light shone on Snake Mountain again, and the snakes, stimulated by the light, writhed even more violently. Xia Zhu then discovered that from the gaps where the snakes collided and rubbed against each other, streams of rotten flesh and intestines were flowing down. Not only that, but bones of all sizes would also fall from the top of the mountain from time to time.

It appears that wriggling and twisting together is how these long snakes feed.

Suddenly, a pale white skull, still covered in bits of flesh, fell from Snake Mountain and rolled all the way to Xia Zhu's feet.

Humans were among their food.

There's no need to think about it now; these snakes have violated taboos and harmed people, so they must pay the price.

It's just unknown whether the owner of this head is an unidentified official or an innocent passerby.

The snakes were as numerous as a mountain, and Xia Zhu didn't know where to begin.

The long snakes, in their feeding season, seemed unmoved by external events. Even when they sensed the presence of the group and were illuminated by the strong light of the flashlight, they only increased their wriggling speed and showed no inclination to attack.

No wonder they were so tightly coiled together; it seems Xia Zhu and her group arrived at the perfect time, when the snake swarm was at its weakest and most dangerous.

"But what should we do now? It'll take half a day to chop them down one by one. What if they finish eating and we end up having dessert?" Feng Feng looked like he looked sweet, but didn't taste sweet at all.

"If only we had a fire." Xia Zhu had prepared fire-starting tools before setting off, but the cave entrance was too narrow to carry much more, so she left her backpack in the tent and asked Feng Mian to watch it for her.

"Fire?" Feng Feng suddenly scratched his eyebrows. "That's easy." As he spoke, he reached into the small cloth bag at her waist.

"Ta-da!" She opened her palm, revealing a handful of ordinary seeds. "Flame Hydrangea!"

Ah, Doraemon has returned.

"This is the final version that I've revised several times!"

"As expected of a descendant of the Spring Empress," Ji Yinxiu praised sincerely. "Can this be used to start a fire?"

"Of course!" Feng Feng said smugly, his nose practically pointing to the sky.

"I'm telling you, is your Feng family good at growing flowers and plants, or researching weapons? Lighting and setting fires, isn't that a bit over the top?" Ying Huo crossed his arms and launched into a sarcastic remark.

"You don't know anything! This is the power of nature!"

She gave each person two seeds and placed them in her palm. After muttering a series of gibberish, the seeds quickly sprouted and produced countless pale yellow flower buds that sat steadily in her hand.

"It's very simple, just like a gasoline bottle. Once it's thrown and breaks, it will spontaneously combust." She looked at Xia Zhu with a grin. "I'll demonstrate first, watch out and dodge."

Having said that, he swung his arm and threw one of the flaming embroidered balls onto the top of Snake Mountain. Sure enough, the snakes did not react at all; they neither fled in fright nor attacked.

Xia Zhu hadn't expected that the Flame Embroidery Ball wouldn't react either.

"What's going on here? Is nature hiding its true strength?" Ying Huo laughed.

"No, that's not right..."

Feng Feng was clearly not prepared for this either; she even wanted to go forward and check on the situation.

"Xiao Feng!" Xia Zhu quickly grabbed her. The writhing of the snakes caused the Flame Embroidered Ball to slowly sink into their midst. Suddenly, a loud hissing sound burst from the snake pile, like the whistling sound of a pressure cooker releasing pressure. She vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

"Run!" Ji Yinxiu suddenly shouted, and everyone turned and ran into the cave, but it was too late. The Flame Embroidered Ball seemed to have exploded inside. After a deafening roar, long snakes rained down on them, along with bits of flesh flying everywhere.

There was no other way but to cut his way out of the cave with his bare hands.

Fortunately, the Flaming Ball grenade, with its grenade-like power, was able to deal with some of the snakes; some were turned into roasted earthworms, while others were broken in two and struggling on the ground.

The only remaining creature was a long snake that hadn't been affected by the shockwave, but was now enraged by the interruption of dinner and was flicking its tongue as it chased after the group.

Some of the larger ones could even glide through the air, forcing Ji Yinxiu to stop and use her sword energy to repel the flying snakes.

They fought their way back to the cave with the murals, and by the time they finally got back, there wasn't a clean spot on their bodies. They were covered in snake meat or other things that were best left unsaid.

Even if Ying Huo had practiced his dodging skills to the best, he was still bound to suffer. As soon as he came out of the tunnel, he leaned against the wall and started retching.

The sword pierced the snake's vital point, and the snake stopped struggling. Xia Zhu exhaled and wiped the small sword with the hem of her coat. Ji Yinxiu quickly returned the remaining flaming embroidered ball to Feng Feng so she could handle it. Having just escaped in the tunnel, the cramped environment made it even more unwise to use such a lethal weapon.

"Let's save it for a more critical time," he chuckled.

Xia Zhu handed it back to her, but couldn't help giving her a thumbs up and praising it, saying that the explosive pack was cooler than the gasoline bottle.

Feng Feng immediately broke into a smile again.

Seeing that no other snakes were emerging from the cave, they decided to return to their tents to clean off the bloodstains. Just as they were about to head back the way they came, a chilling rustling sound rang out again.

Xia Zhu and Feng Feng exchanged a glance, and the group silently looked toward the dark cave entrance. Then, they all took a step back in unison. For some reason, the rustling sound sent a chill down her spine; it was a slow, oppressive sound.

"Well, it seems like an even more critical moment is coming." Feng Feng couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Two large, cold, silent lamps flickered to life at the dark tunnel entrance.

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The author says: It's interesting that I've written 400,000 words in such a quiet and uneventful way.