Although the snake was furious, it had already suffered severe internal injuries—Xuan Shi’s few palm strikes could shatter even gold and jade. Now it could only rely on its anger to survive.
The green snake lunged at him again with ferocity. The mystic master roared, bit through his tongue, and suddenly his entire body radiated a bluish glow. With a powerful palm strike, he drove the snake back once more—and was simultaneously propelled outward.
As he rapidly flew out of the cave entrance, the master Xuanshi grabbed the blade embedded in the rock and hurled it into the cavern while simultaneously releasing a powerful breath. He barely managed to control his descent from the air; upon landing, he immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire strength having been completely depleted.
“That’s it. I never expected the force of Qing She’s collision to be so powerful. Alas, I should have waited until my strength recovered before confronting it; now, there’s nothing I can do—even trying to escape would be futile.” Master Xuan lamented inwardly. Though he wished to flee, his entire body felt limp and devoid of any strength. He could only sit cross-legged, watching his vital energy surge rapidly within him, leaving him no choice but to proceed step by step.
He sat there for half an hour, barely recovering some strength. Throughout that time, the Green Snake had not appeared; he must have suffered severe injuries—otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived.
The mystic pondered for a long time. Not only was he utterly unable to leave this place at the moment; even if he managed to set off, he couldn’t handle those monkeys alone. If Ye Yu spotted any weakness in his plan, it would be disastrous. Moreover, as night fell, who knows how many fierce beasts might lurk outside. Should he encounter another green snake and fall prey to it, what a tragedy that would be.
If the preeminent martial artist of the world—the sole Divine Swordmaster—were actually swallowed and killed by a snake, wouldn’t that news send everyone in the land into utter laughter?
“Alright, I’ll take a gamble and see who recovers faster!” thought Master Xuan. He then calmed his mind and devoted himself to meditation. Almost all the animals in this area had been eaten by the green snake; even those still alive dared not come here, making the place quite safe.
After a night, the green snake did not appear.
“It seems it’s completely immobile now, hehe—then I won’t hesitate,” thought Master Xuan. He struggled upward along the smooth cliff face, remaining ready to flip and jump into the water at any moment. Although his strength had recovered considerably, he still couldn’t use his qi to rise; unlike a mage who merely needs to employ a floating spell.
After finally making it up to the cave, the mystic cautiously peered inside and was overjoyed to find that the green snake had died right there—the blade had pierced its skull, driving it firmly into the cave wall.
The alchemist stepped forward, extended his hand, and cut open the snake’s abdomen. He discovered that the entire skeletal structure of the green snake had been shattered, all its meridians severed; even without that single strike, it could not survive. The once-hardened body of the snake had become utterly soft.
He drew the blade from the rock and examined its interior; to his surprise, two golden pills emerged—the larger one was fist-sized, while the smaller one measured about the size of an egg.
The alchemist tucked the larger golden pill into his chest, then brought the smaller one to his lips and gently bit it open. A bitter, cold liquid swiftly flowed down his throat, while a surge of heat rose from within his body.
“Coming too quickly!” thought the master. Ignoring the blood-stained floor, he immediately sat cross-legged and channeled the warm energy throughout his body.
The hot energy surged through his body relentlessly, growing ever faster like a raging flood. At first the mystic could still control it, but eventually he had no choice but to let it take its course, soon descending into a state of complete selflessness.
After an indeterminate period, Master Xuan opened his eyes. A sudden thought struck him, and boundless energy surged within him, ready to be unleashed at any moment. With a long laugh, he charged out of the cave wielding his blade. There, the sun rose in the east—unbeknownst to him, another day had already passed.
By this point, not only had all his internal injuries fully healed, but his overall cultivation level had also reached a new height. As he attempted to release his combat energy, a layer of silver light rapidly enveloped his entire body; this silver light then transformed into blue light, which grew increasingly intense before suddenly flashing and turning into golden light—only for the golden glow to vanish instantly.
“Haha, I never expected to instantly attain the intermediate realm of a Divine Swordsman. The path of martial arts knows no bounds—I’m truly curious to see what level one can reach by continuing cultivation,” said Master Xuan with a smile. At that thought, the black blade in his hand immediately emerged from its sheath. He reached out and grabbed it mid-air; the blade leaped within his grasp, struggling fiercely to escape, yet could not be freed.
“What a fine blade indeed! Your temperament mirrors that of its owner, yet I particularly appreciate such a character,” the master said with a smile. He then sheathed his sword, channeled his qi, and swiftly returned to where Ye Yu was trapped.
The child still hadn’t managed to escape. Several monkeys who were striking the green vine with stones fled in terror upon seeing him arrive; others feeding Nightfeather peaches also quickly slipped away along the vine toward the opposite end.
“Old man, you’re here! I thought you’d run off with a knife—haha, that would’ve made the search far too inconvenient,” said Ye Yu.
“Haha, my good disciple—reclaiming this blade is quite simple. All you need to do is become my disciple and bow three times in reverence before me. Not only will I rescue you immediately, but I’ll also teach you all my martial arts skills,” said Master Xuan.
“Uncle, I’ve said this hundreds of times already—if you really want me to become your disciple, just dream it up! As for that knife, I’ll leave it with you for now; I never said I wouldn’t take it,” Ye Yu said.
“Ha ha, do you want to get hit in the buttocks again? Have you forgotten that you’re completely naked right now? If you anger me, with a single strike, I might cut off something vital from your body,” said Master Xuan with a laugh.
“Hey! Stop it! What’s the point of constantly thinking about hitting me? I didn’t do anything to you—it was you who kept provoking me. Thank you, though; if you hadn’t taken off my clothes, urinating and defecating would’ve been really inconvenient,” said Ye Yu.
“This guy isn’t showing any sign of urgency at all. Could there be reinforcements?” Xuan Shi thought to himself. He swiftly approached on the green vines, raised his blade, and struck Ye Yu’s buttocks dozens of times fiercely. “Stop playing tricks on me—I haven’t used many of my techniques yet. Let’s see how long you can hold out!” Ye Yu shouted, “You must never touch a tiger’s buttocks!” “If you were a tiger, I would have killed you long ago,” Xuan Shi said, then gave him a hard slap before laughing loudly and drifting toward another mountain peak. The slap made Ye Yu burst into tears, but fearing being seen by the monkeys, he swallowed his anger and silently cursed Xuan Shi’s ancestors for generations.
The mystic leaped down the mountain peak and entered the peach grove, where all the peaches had already been picked by monkeys—not a single green one remained.
He couldn’t help but chuckle; these monkeys’ thinking was utterly simplistic—they believed that by picking all the peaches, they would simply leave. But there’s no such easy solution in this world.
Just as he was thinking this, a wild boar burst out of the woods. Overjoyed, Master Xuan lunged at it; the animal had no chance to escape, only managing a painful cry before being swiftly killed with a single swift strike from his blade. Then he picked up the over-one-hundred-jin (approximately 50 kilograms) boar and hurried toward the riverbank.
Before long, the mystic master built a crude stove from large rocks on the mountain peak, then cut the thoroughly cleaned wild boar into pieces and began roasting it with evident pride.
His cooking skills were truly remarkable—the pork was roasted to a golden, glossy perfection, and the wild boar emitted an incredibly intense aroma that carried far away, attracting the monkeys who came upon hearing it but dared not approach, their mouths watering at the sight.
When Yu Ye caught the aroma, his mouth watered instantly. Having eaten wild peaches at every meal, he had grown so accustomed to their taste that it was hard for him to resist such a rich, meaty fragrance.
“Hey, uncle—that’s my precious sword! How did you use it to cut meat?” Ye Yu exclaimed.
“What’s your so-called’ precious blade ‘? It’s clearly my slaughter knife now—do you really want to deny it? Heh heh, even if you refuse to admit it, it doesn’t matter; after all, no one can take it away,” said Master Xuan with a smile.
“Ah! The pig-slaughtering knife! Well, uncle, let it be just that—a pig-slaughtering knife. After all, this knife is a gift from me to you; for my sake, please return some meat to me. Even if it’s a pig-slaughtering knife, you’ve still gotten an excellent deal,” said Ye Yu.
“Come on, my good disciple—call me Master, and I’ll deliver the meat to your mouth right away,” said Master Xuan as he took a large bite of the pork leg and called out to Ye Yu.
However, using pork to lure children was a tactic that even the mystic found amusing.