“Little girl, don’t even think of fooling me!” The old bat demon’s eyes flickered with hesitation.
Originally, it had thought it had merely caught a small venomous snake that had gained sentience and hadn’t paid much mind to the poison it had been inflicted with.
But now, the other party was claiming it had caught a sacred serpent of the aquatic clans!
Even though it and its kin had long dwelled in the illusory realm of Yunhuang, it still knew a thing or two about the sacred serpents of the aquatic clans.
According to legend, before reaching adulthood, the sacred serpents of the aquatic clans were divided into seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. But upon reaching maturity or achieving great magical power, their bodies would simultaneously display a dazzling array of all seven hues.
The more vibrant the serpent’s colors, the more potent its venom!
The sacred serpents of the aquatic clans were, without a doubt, the true kings of venomous snakes—their toxicity was self-evident.
If what it had caught truly was a sacred serpent of the aquatic clans, then the venom it had been afflicted with was certainly not something that could be easily neutralized!
But as far as it knew…
“Hahaha…” The bat demon suddenly let out a coarse, eerie laugh, its voice grating as it sneered at Yun Qingxue, “Little brat, do you think I don’t know? The sacred serpents hold an exalted status among the aquatic clans!
They are, without question, the most revered beings next only to the Dragon King.
Even among the aquatic clans, sacred serpents are rarely seen outside the Dragon King’s presence. Such a rare creature—how could it possibly appear so casually in the illusory realm of Yunhuang?
You’re not the Dragon King—how could a proud sacred serpent possibly call you its master!”
Yun Qingxue cast a cold glance at it and said, “Though I am not the Dragon King, I am his closest friend!
You may not believe my words, nor accept A’Dai’s identity…
But I hope you won’t regret it when the venom takes hold!”
The old bat demon’s hesitation deepened.
Yun Qingxue pressed on, “Think carefully—the venom of a sacred serpent is not something just anyone can cure…
If you insist on refusing to believe us, when the poison claims your life and your thousand years of cultivation vanish in an instant, don’t blame me for warning you today!”
“Fine!” The old bat demon hesitated once more before seemingly making up its mind. Its eyes gleamed sinisterly as it stared at Yun Qingxue and said, “I’ll agree—as long as you surrender willingly, your other two companions may leave!”
“Deal! As long as they leave, I will cease all resistance!” Yun Qingxue replied.
The old bat demon’s eyes darted craftily as it chuckled, “Done!”
“Master, I won’t leave!” Daisie was on the verge of tears in her desperation.
“Neither will I!” Liuli stubbornly stepped forward.
“Master! Don’t agree to anything! A’Dai begs you—don’t worry about me, just go! All of you, go!” A’Dai cried out frantically.
“Silence!” Yun Qingxue roared. “If you still acknowledge me as your master, then shut your mouths!”
A’Dai, Liuli, and Daisie reluctantly fell silent.
Yun Qingxue first turned to Daisie and Liuli, her voice echoing in their minds: *”A’Dai is still in the bat demon’s grasp—I can’t abandon it! You two must leave first, then find a way to return and rescue us!”*
“Master…” Daisie and Liuli gazed at her with shimmering eyes.
“Listen to me! If we all fall into their hands, it’s over!” Yun Qingxue fixed them with a resolute look.
At last, Daisie and Liuli nodded with great difficulty.
“Go!” Yun Qingxue barked at them.
Daisie and Liuli turned away in unison.
A strange, unreadable expression flickered across the old bat demon’s face.
At that moment, a faint blue light suddenly surged from Yun Qingxue’s palm.
She spun around and struck out toward Daisie and Liuli, shouting, “If you’re leaving, then hurry up! Dragging your feet is just wasting time—let me give you a push!”
As her words fell, a powerful gust of wind swept up Liuli and Daisie, carrying them swiftly away until they vanished into the depths of the bamboo forest in the blink of an eye.
The old bat demon’s expression twisted oddly, and its claws tightened around A’Dai.
“Little brat, your companions are gone now—don’t try any more tricks, or else…”
It clenched its claws harder, and A’Dai writhed in pain, though it still managed to whisper weakly, “Master… A’Dai begs you… run…”
Yun Qingxue let her arms hang at her sides, feigning surrender, but her eyes remained steadfast as she looked at A’Dai. “Enough. No matter what, I won’t abandon you.”
A massive bat swooped down and seized Yun Qingxue by her arms with its claws.
“Go after those two who escaped!”
Once Yun Qingxue had surrendered, the old bat demon didn’t bother hiding its treachery and immediately ordered its kin to pursue the fleeing pair.
Yun Qingxue lowered her eyelids, showing little reaction to the bat demon’s deceit.
She had never expected these vile creatures to keep their word in the first place!
The only reason she had negotiated was to create a plausible excuse to cast a spell and send Daisie and Liuli away.
Otherwise, if she had acted rashly, the old bat demon might have killed A’Dai on the spot.
Now, all she could do was pray that Liuli and Daisie wouldn’t be caught.
“Back to the lair!” The old bat demon, still clutching A’Dai, commanded the others before turning and flying deeper into the bamboo forest.
Yun Qingxue was carried through the air by another bat demon. A’Dai, wounded by the old bat demon, had fallen silent again, and she couldn’t help but worry.
After flying for about ten minutes, a solitary, modestly sized hill abruptly appeared in the heart of the bamboo forest.
The hill stood about a hundred meters tall, isolated amidst the dense bamboo. Several meter-wide cave openings dotted its surface.
Around the hill, bamboo also grew—but unlike the lush greenery elsewhere, these stalks were withered and yellow, clearly dead.
The lead bat demon, still holding A’Dai, dove into one of the larger cave openings. Yun Qingxue was likewise dragged inside by her captor.
By the faint light filtering in from outside, Yun Qingxue could barely make out that the interior of the hill was nearly hollow, a labyrinth of interconnected tunnels of varying sizes, crisscrossing like a maze.
Within those tunnels, red dots of light flickered intermittently, glowing eerily in the darkness.
“Brother Fu Yin, what’s going on?” A pair of red dots approached the massive bat demon holding Yun Qingxue, its voice raspy like torn cloth.
“Scram! None of your business!” The bat demon snapped impatiently.
“Fine, fine!” The smaller bat demon grumbled before moving aside.
Once it was gone, the larger bat demon continued carrying Yun Qingxue deeper into the cave.
Watching the flickering red lights, Yun Qingxue was certain—she and A’Dai had been brought straight into the heart of the bat demons’ lair.
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