Each serpent fang towered like a mighty mountain, exuding an endless aura of slaughter that sent instinctive fear coursing through Dongbo Xueying’s very being.
This was only natural. The fangs were, after all, the weapons of this terrifying Hunyuan lifeform. Why was the “Broken Tooth Mountain Range” named as such? Precisely because within this vast mountain range lay a single broken fang—the tallest peak on the Heart Realm Continent. Legends spoke of this shattered fang as the very tooth that had once wounded ‘Meta,’ prompting Meta to deliberately leave it as a monument.
“Hmm?” Dongbo Xueying noticed a change.
Led by Haogu the Venerable, he had been flying at high speed, passing by eight serpent fangs. From afar, the fangs on the left appeared in two rows, and the same was true for those on the right.
In other words, within the serpent’s maw, the fangs were arranged in four rows.
Having only traversed past eight so far, their progress was clearly slow.
“Strange. The previous eight fangs all emanated a dark, heart-palpitating aura. But this one radiates an endless sharpness,” Dongbo Xueying mused, gazing into the distance. The towering fang ahead, and the one even farther beyond, bore a more jagged shape, their auras entirely distinct.
—
As they flew onward, Dongbo Xueying observed that every eight fangs, their aura shifted, and some even altered in form.
After half a day of travel, they had passed over eighty fangs.
“What’s that?” Dongbo Xueying’s eyes gleamed as he spotted a new, colossal black fang in the distance, surrounded by countless spatial rifts. “The Void Path?”
He sensed it—this newly appeared fang was rooted in the principles of the Void Path, and at a far higher level.
For a moment, Dongbo Xueying’s curiosity burned so fiercely that he yearned to approach and explore it up close.
“Flying Snow Divine Emperor, I know your mastery of the Void Path has reached its zenith,” Haogu the Venerable remarked, glancing at the distant fangs. “These eight fangs indeed hold many mysteries of the Void Path, along with numerous opportunities. But entering them consumes the power of the Fang Marrow Beads. Best follow me obediently for now. You can return later, after my business is concluded.”
“Rest assured. Since we’ve made an agreement and I’ve sworn an oath, I won’t break it,” Dongbo Xueying replied.
“Good that you understand, Divine Emperor.” Haogu said no more. He knew all too well what these opportunities within the Fang Corridor meant to a cultivator, hence his deliberate reminder.
He wouldn’t waste even a sliver of power for Dongbo Xueying’s sake.
“Eight Void Fangs…”
“Truly…”
As they flew, Dongbo Xueying grew increasingly restless. Even from afar, he could faintly grasp some insights. “Once I’ve finished accompanying Haogu the Venerable, I must return to investigate this place.”
Whoosh—whoosh—
The two continued their flight.
Excluding the fangs obscured within the dark vortex, they had flown past a full one hundred and twenty visible fangs before their path finally diverged.
One fork led forward, the other upward.
“This way.”
The corridor was vast.
By now, it had grown mostly calm, with only occasional gusts of wind grazing them, causing the protective power of their Fang Marrow Beads to wane ever so slightly.
Haogu the Venerable and Dongbo Xueying ascended. Yet Dongbo Xueying, deep in thought, couldn’t help but ask, “Venerable, when we entered, the dark vortex’s power was overwhelming—we couldn’t control our movements, let alone fly. We could only be swept in. So how do we leave? Surely we can’t exit against the vortex’s flow?”
“Haha, of course not. The dark vortex is the entrance, drawing us into the serpent’s maw. To exit, we must follow the corridors leading from its nostrils,” Haogu the Venerable explained. “The maw forms the vortex that pulls inward, while the nostrils expel breath outward. Their force is merely overshadowed by the vortex.”
“I see,” Dongbo Xueying nodded.
“For the Flying Snow Divine Emperor, there may be no need to leave at all,” Haogu the Venerable chuckled. “Unless you acquire some treasure you wish to take with you.”
—
The corridors were the serpent’s internal pathways, branching frequently.
Certain “nodes,” however, were stable—some even entirely untouched by the raging winds. Lingering there wouldn’t consume a shred of the Fang Marrow Beads’ power.
As the corridors narrowed and their flight dragged on, Dongbo Xueying finally asked, “Where exactly are we headed?”
“We’re almost there,” Haogu the Venerable smiled. “You’ll see soon. Try not to be too shocked.”
“Shocked?”
Dongbo Xueying suppressed his curiosity.
Though the corridor had narrowed, it still spanned hundreds of millions of miles in width—minuscule compared to the serpent’s colossal head, yet vast by any other measure.
“That is—”
Ahead lay an enormous crimson membrane, barring their path.
Though called a membrane, it shimmered with countless flowing lights, resembling a vast, bloody waterfall.
“Pass through it!” Haogu the Venerable urged eagerly.
Whoosh—whoosh—
The two plunged into the crimson membrane.
It offered no resistance, only a peculiar energy brushing against their bodies. The membrane was thick—it took several breaths to fully traverse.
“We’re here!” Haogu the Venerable halted, smiling.
Dongbo Xueying stared in awe.
Before them stretched an expansive space, crisscrossed with glowing pathways. Scattered throughout were hundreds of massive luminous spheres, each connected by a pathway. Though all were vast, their sizes varied.
“Where is this?” Dongbo Xueying wondered, estimating their flight distance. “The serpent’s brain?”
“The brain is far larger. This, to be precise, is the Sea of Consciousness of this terrifying Hunyuan lifeform,” Haogu the Venerable clarified.
“Sea of Consciousness?” Dongbo Xueying was stunned.
A being’s Sea of Consciousness was its most unique domain.
“Come. Let’s head to the first sphere,” Haogu the Venerable said, brimming with anticipation as he led Dongbo Xueying onward.
The pathways within the Sea of Consciousness were far narrower. Though they followed the widest, it spanned only a million miles. At the intersections—nodes—there was perfect stillness, untouched by the howling “black winds.” Yet elsewhere, the winds lashed at them relentlessly.
After a brief flight, Haogu the Venerable stopped at a node, pointing ahead. “I’ll wait here. Proceed forward and enter that sphere. I can sense its call, its pull on my very life essence! But every sphere in this Sea of Consciousness exerts soul pressure—some stronger, some weaker. This one is beyond me. Its suppression rivals that of Blackleaf Lake. You, however, should manage.”
“I see,” Dongbo Xueying understood.
Every sphere here exerted soul pressure?
No wonder he’d been summoned.
“Remember your oath—follow my commands without question,” Haogu the Venerable reminded sternly. “Once inside, retrieve anything you can bring out. Conceal nothing, or hold back, and you violate your vow.”
He emphasized this again.
The Fang Marrow Bead he’d given Dongbo Xueying was solely for this purpose.
“Rest easy, Venerable. You may search me when I return,” Dongbo Xueying chuckled. Trivial treasures weren’t worth breaking an oath—not even a Hunyuan artifact could tempt him. To do so would sever his path of cultivation.
Whoosh—
Dongbo Xueying advanced along the narrowing pathway toward the luminous sphere.
The black winds howled, their force barely held at bay by the thin black glow around him, slowly draining the Fang Marrow Bead’s power.
“Hmm?” At a mere million miles away, he began to feel the soul pressure. As he drew closer, it intensified rapidly.
“Let’s see what lies within,” Dongbo Xueying murmured, curiosity blazing as he flew onward.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage