Chapter Eighty-Four: The Ice Python (Second Update)

Chapter 84: The Ice Serpent

This was a rare stretch of open ground within the dense forest, where six or seven three-eyed saber-toothed tigers—apparently a family—were resting together. At this moment, Ye Feng was clutching his backside, staring blankly at the group of tigers, utterly speechless.

A deep roar echoed.

One of the largest saber-toothed tigers, clearly displeased by Ye Feng’s sudden intrusion from the sky into its territory, let out a furious bellow, its blood-red eyes fixed intently on him.

Three hours later, deep within the woods, Brother Ye the Second was lying leisurely on the ground, his head pillowed against the soft belly of a saber-toothed tiger, a blade of grass between his lips.

"Afraid, aren't you? I am the Demon King, after all," Ye Feng muttered, glancing disdainfully at the trembling tiger beside him as he fiddled with the locator in his hand.

On the disk, the other twelve red dots were scattered across various locations. No one was standing still; all were moving in the same direction. Only Ye Feng had remained at his spot since entering this area.

"Let’s see if there’s anyone alone nearby. I should collect a few signal tokens first," he mused to himself, quickly sending his consciousness out to scan the surroundings.

After a while, a few figures appeared in his mind’s eye. However, they were all rather far away, and Ye the Second, ever lazy, had no interest in making the effort.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, a strange cave dwelling appeared in Ye Feng’s mind.

At the entrance of the cave, there seemed to be some sort of barrier, preventing Ye Feng’s spirit from delving further inside. Considering this was a special domain, there were bound to be anomalies. Without hesitation, Ye Feng patted the largest saber-toothed tiger.

"Do me a favor—carry me there," he instructed, his spirit still enveloping the area, as he rode the saber-toothed tiger swiftly toward the cave’s location.

"Who is this fellow?" he wondered as a figure appeared around the cave in his mind. For some reason, that person did not enter the cave, but lingered on the outskirts, as if searching for something.

As Ye Feng drew near to where the cave should have been, he immediately understood the reason for the figure’s hesitation. In front of him, there was no cave—only a vast, placid lake, its surface utterly still.

From the tranquil water emanated a dense aura of demon power. Clearly, beneath the lake, a formidable beast was standing guard.

"Kid, there’s a treasure beneath the water! If you can get your hands on it, I’ll be able to unleash my demon power and save your life at a critical moment," came the voice of the Dragon Serpent Demon King from within Ye Feng’s domain, just as he was hesitating.

Ye Feng’s eyes brightened at this. If the Dragon Serpent Demon King could recover even one percent of his strength, he wouldn't be in such a passive position.

"What kind of demon beast is guarding beneath the lake? Will your demon king’s aura have any effect on it?"

The Dragon Serpent Demon King didn’t reply at once. After a pause, the old monster finally muttered, "That ice serpent has been raised here since it was young. If I still had my body, I’d definitely subdue it, but as things stand…"

Though his words trailed off, the tone made it clear to Ye Feng that the kingly aura he possessed would not be enough to intimidate whatever lurked beneath the lake.

"There may be another way. If someone can distract the ice serpent at the bottom, I can get you into the cave beneath the lake," the Dragon Serpent Demon King suddenly continued. "You alone wouldn’t even be a mouthful for it. But if a group of young strong cultivators arrives together, it’ll definitely draw out the serpent."

"Heh, perhaps there’s no need for us to act—someone else will do the job for us," Ye Feng thought, just as he noticed the young man who had been circling the area coming up with the same idea.

The young man quickly made his way to a large tree and carved into the trunk: "There is no treasure in the lake ahead, and a sixth-rank demon beast guards its waters."

After finishing, he suddenly shouted loudly, then, like Ye Feng, quickly hid himself.

"This kid is quite sly. Everyone who’s entered this place is no fool—they might not be lured by mere words. But if anyone investigates further, the strangeness of the lake will soon become obvious," Ye Feng sighed, shaking his head. Clearly, he was not the only one adept at laziness.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before five or six people arrived at the spot together.

"That shout just now came from here. Maybe another poor soul was attacked by a demon beast. Let’s look around—his signal token is probably nearby." It was apparent that, like Xiao Chong, these people had items that allowed them to sense each other, which made it easy for them to gather quickly.

"Hey, there’s writing here," one of them ‘luckily’ discovered the carved words as they split up to search.

"Hmph! Do they take us for fools? If there’s no treasure, why bother carving a warning here?" Clearly, not everyone possessed a sharp mind.

Fools exist in every situation.

"Whether there’s treasure or not, we’ll know after a look," a slightly older youth reasoned after thinking it over.

The next moment, the group swaggered up to the lake’s edge.

Suddenly, the lake’s surface churned violently. In the blink of an eye, a massive, snow-white serpent burst forth, swallowing the nearest youth whole.

The others quickly retreated, faces drained of color, clearly terrified by the sudden appearance of the monstrous creature.

"There really is a treasure! I can feel it—the spiritual energy is so strong!" one youth shouted excitedly, ignoring his pale-faced companions.

"Send a signal—tell Zhu Li and the others to get here, fast! This beast is only comparable to a Spirit Emperor. With Brother Zhu Li’s cultivation and a few dozen of us, we can definitely handle it."

In the shadows, Ye Feng winced—another spiritual fruit gone. When the group was examining the tree, he had quietly tossed a fruit into the lake. The ice serpent sensed it and swallowed it without hesitation. That done, it noticed the little ants on the shore and snapped up one of them.

When the serpent opened its mouth, the lingering spiritual energy from the fruit escaped, which led to the current scene.

Meanwhile, Ye Feng had already slipped away to hide again. After all, there remained a mysterious person lurking nearby; if his own presence was discovered, it would only lead to unnecessary trouble.