Chapter 333: It’s All a Trap!
At this moment, the slovenly man radiated a green glow. In one hand, he held a can of beer, and in the other, a sword, his face impassive.
After his body landed, he didn't look at the snake demon struggling in pain on the ground. Instead, after chugging a mouthful of alcohol, he cast his gaze around.
Just now, he had also sensed the presence of energy fluctuations within this Ancient Tomb, and had detected Yin Qi.
However, these energy fluctuations had completely disappeared shortly after, leaving only a strong presence of Yin Qi in this Ancient Tomb.
Recalling how the snake demon had fled all the way here, even at the cost of injury, it implied that the snake demon likely had an accomplice here.
Thus, the slovenly man was extremely cautious. Even though the energy fluctuations had vanished, he did not lower his guard.
He couldn't be certain if the opponent had left, or if they had sealed their own energy fluctuations and were hiding in the shadows, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment. Therefore, he had to remain vigilant.
After a thorough inspection, still finding nothing, the slovenly man finally turned his gaze to the snake demon amidst the pile of rubble.
"Demon," he said indifferently to the snake demon, taking a swig of his drink, "it seems your accomplice has already left."
"Even if I die, I will absolutely not let you off easy."
The slovenly man paid no mind to the snake demon's threat. He downed the entire can of beer in his hand, then tossed the bottle aside and pointed his sword at the snake demon.
"You and I were destined to be mortal enemies. If you die by my hand, it is simply due to your insufficient strength. And if I die by your hand, I will bear you no grudge."
As his words fell, the snake and the man once again began to fight in the very place where Yang Haoran had previously battled the Evil Spirit.
In truth, the snake demon was filled with immense regret at this moment. After leaving the Ancient Tomb earlier today, she hadn't immediately departed Stone Forest Town. Instead, she had spent the entire afternoon strolling through its streets. Though she had no money to buy anything, she had enjoyed herself immensely.
When she left the Ancient Tomb, she had sealed the Demon Qi within her body, as Yang Haoran had instructed her to do so before arriving in Stone Forest Town.
However, a very faint trace of Demon Qi still clung to her body. This Demon Qi was from the demonic arts she had performed in the Ancient Tomb and had not yet completely dissipated.
The snake demon naturally had ways to deal with such a tiny bit of Demon Qi, but she chose not to bother. In her opinion, even other demons might not be able to sense such a faint trace, and it would quickly dissipate anyway. So, she completely dismissed it and happily roamed Stone Forest Town.
As for the slovenly man, after inquiring with many merchants and tourists in Stone Forest Town without obtaining any information on the snake demon's whereabouts, he prepared to try his luck by heading to the Stone Forest Scenic Area.
However, just as he was about to leave, he sensed an extremely faint burst of Yin Qi, a wisp of Demon Qi so subtle that even he could barely detect it.
Because the Demon Qi was too faint, it was somewhat difficult for him to pinpoint the exact location of his target. However, it wasn't entirely impossible. Unfortunately, before he could employ any means, the Demon Qi completely vanished, and he could no longer sense even a trace of it.
Although he could no longer sense the Demon Qi, years of experience and intuition told him that this demon was currently within Stone Forest Town. It was simply that the demon had sealed the Demon Qi within its own body, making it undetectable.
Since he knew the demon was in Stone Forest Town, the slovenly man naturally wouldn't go to the Stone Forest Scenic Area anymore. Already tired of searching for the snake demon, he was too lazy to continue. He simply found a remote, uninhabited spot to drink, playing the waiting game, quietly waiting for the snake demon to use its Demon Power again.
In his view, since the snake demon had appeared here, it must have come to devour people. Once the snake demon made a move, Demon Qi would surely emanate. And if he remained in Stone Forest Town, he would naturally be able to sense the snake demon's presence then.
Of course, he wasn't certain if his guess was correct, or if the outcome would unfold as he predicted. He could only do his best and leave the rest to fate. If the snake demon still managed to escape in the end, there was nothing he could do; he would just have to accept it.
It was precisely due to these considerations that the slovenly man had remained in Stone Forest Town. Had he not made this decision at the time, and instead gone to the Stone Forest Scenic Area, then it would have been an entirely different story.
The snake demon played until nightfall without realizing it. Only after satisfying her shopping urge did she consider swiftly leaving Lecheng, to avoid being encountered by Yang Haoran after he emerged from the Ancient Tomb. If that happened, he might find another excuse to keep her and restrict her freedom, which would be a tragedy.
Therefore, she found a secluded spot and used her Demon Power to quickly leave Stone Forest Town.
However, the very moment she activated her Demon Power, the slovenly man sensed it.
The slovenly man didn't hesitate; he pursued the Demon Qi. He could have torn space to quickly catch up to the snake demon, but he didn't, because Stone Forest Town had many people, and once he made a move, it would inevitably affect ordinary mortals.
He sealed his own energy fluctuations, following far behind the snake demon. Only when the snake demon arrived at an uninhabited area did he unleash his power, blocking its path.
Afterward, a fierce battle ensued between the two, until the snake demon fled to the Stone Forest Scenic Area.
The reason the snake demon was filled with regret now was that she regretted her decision to go shopping. She deeply regretted not taking Yang Haoran's words to heart and using her Demon Power. Had she left the Ancient Tomb and immediately departed Stone Forest Town like an ordinary person, none of this troublesome mess would have occurred, and she wouldn't have ended up in her current predicament.
However, regret, aside from allowing one to learn a profound lesson, cannot serve as a means of survival.
If there was still a chance to live, learning a lesson would naturally be useful, at least allowing one to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
But if one knew death was inevitable, what good was learning a lesson?
What good was regret?
Some mistakes cannot be made, because one cannot afford them. Once made, one might pay with their life, losing even the right to regret.
......
Meanwhile, in a secluded spot in Stone Forest Town, a spatial rift suddenly appeared, and a figure stepped out from within it.
This person was none other than Yang Haoran, who had just left the Ancient Tomb.
Given Yang Haoran's current abilities, although there was a distance limit for each spatial rift transmission, traversing the entirety of Stone Forest Town was absolutely no problem. Yet, at this moment, he had appeared within the boundaries of Stone Forest Town.
Stepping out of the spatial rift, a perplexed expression appeared on Yang Haoran's face, as if something was currently troubling him.
Earlier in the Ancient Tomb, after a massive force had torn a large hole in its ceiling, and a large number of rocks plummeted down, he seemed to have seen something white and glistening falling along with the rocks.
At that time, he didn't have the presence of mind to look closely. Focused solely on leaving, he subconsciously stepped into the spatial rift.
However, after stepping into the spatial rift, recalling the incident made him feel that something was amiss. He couldn't shake the feeling that the thing falling with the rocks seemed familiar. So, he simply chose a secluded spot at random, temporarily exited the spatial rift, and decided to figure out the issue before leaving.
Yang Haoran's brows furrowed tightly as the scene of the Ancient Tomb's ceiling being breached replayed in his mind. The white object falling with the rocks, in his view, clearly wasn't a stone. Because that white thing was twisted and distorted; what kind of rock would grow into such a shape?
Of course, he wouldn't be so foolish as to think it was a person. He had never seen a person so deformed, nor so white, nor so large. Therefore, the possibility of that thing being human was almost zero.
As his mind churned with doubt, Yang Haoran suddenly recalled that before the Ancient Tomb's ceiling broke open, he had sensed a powerful surge of Demon Qi.
The reason he had decided to leave immediately back then was precisely because he had sensed this powerful Demon Qi. Not wanting to invite trouble, he had made the decision to depart at once.
Thinking of Demon Qi, and then that white, distorted thing, Yang Haoran suddenly realized something, and his expression instantly changed.
"Damn it, could that white, glistening thing have been a white snake? And was the Demon Qi I sensed emanating from it?"
Yang Haoran couldn't be certain if that white, distorted thing was indeed a white snake, because he hadn't seen it clearly at the time.
Even if that twisted thing was indeed a white snake, he couldn't be certain if the Demon Qi he sensed had truly emanated from it. The situation at the time was too urgent; he had no time to worry about such details.
However, if that white thing truly was a white snake, and the Demon Qi had indeed emanated from it, then the meaning was entirely different.
There were many white snakes in this world, and countless transformed snake spirits. But for this particular snake spirit to appear in the Stone Forest Scenic Area—that likely wasn't a coincidence.
And so, Yang Haoran thought of the snake demon, Bai Xue.
"Could something have happened to that snake demon?"
Upon this thought, Yang Haoran's brows furrowed, and a look of hesitation crossed his face.
Then, Yin Qi surged in his hand, and a palm-sized Snake Scale appeared.
Looking at the Snake Scale in his hand, and recalling the scene where the snake demon Bai Xue had endured immense pain to tear a piece of flesh from her arm for him, his brows furrowed even deeper.
If the white snake he had seen earlier in the Ancient Tomb truly was the snake demon Bai Xue, then it meant Bai Xue was very likely in danger at this moment.
Bai Xue's strength had not recovered and remained in a weakened state. However, "a starved camel is still bigger than a horse"—for her to be beaten back to her true form meant the opponent's strength was quite formidable.
If he intervened, he would have to face a powerful enemy. As for how strong, he didn't know. The opponent might not be as strong as he imagined, but they could also be far stronger.
Furthermore, he was currently injured. Although his Spirit Power was continuously healing his wounds and his strength was steadily increasing due to the Soul Pill, his power had not returned to its peak. Facing an unknown, powerful opponent, he very well might lose his life.
But if he ignored the matter and pretended nothing had happened, he couldn't overcome the hurdle in his own heart.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Haoran sighed, a helpless expression on his face.
"Sigh, why did she have to give me this useless Snake Scale for no reason? It's all a trap, damn it, it's all a trap!"
Yang Haoran's exclamation was not, however, a reflection of his true inner thoughts.
When the snake demon Bai Xue gave him this Snake Scale, it wasn't a trick or a ploy, but a genuine gesture—something he naturally felt.
The reason he had uttered such a lament was merely to adjust his own mindset in this way, to relax his strained nerves.
The Snake Scale vanished from his hand, put away into his independent spatial dimension. Then, with a wave of his hand, a spatial rift appeared before him.
This spatial rift did not lead to Lecheng's urban area, but to the Ancient Tomb from earlier.
In the end, Yang Haoran still couldn't leap over that hurdle in his heart, because that Snake Scale had blocked his path of retreat.
With a wry smile, he stepped into the spatial rift.
"What a pain in the ass!"
The moment before the spatial rift healed, Yang Haoran's utterly helpless voice could still be heard.
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