Chapter 69: The Black Snake Turns Out to Be Xiao Yifeng’s Spirit Pet

Sensing the apocalyptic terror of the gathering lightning, the giant eagle screeched, desperate to flee. But the giant turtle was not about to let the architect of its destruction escape so easily.

Under the looming threat of annihilation, the beast and the bird clashed. The black snake tail whipped through the air, swift as lightning, turning the duel into a two-on-one assault.

However, the turtle was already broken, its body a map of tragedy. The giant snake, sharing the turtle’s life force, was equally exhausted. Even combined, their withered auras could not suppress the majestic, predatory power of the eagle.

The eagle soared high, baiting the snake into a lunge. As the serpent struck, the eagle flapped its massive wings, unleashing a hurricane that battered the turtle backward. Then, with terrifying agility, it looped around the towering Divine Tree.

While the snake was overextended in pursuit, the eagle folded its wings and dove. It transformed into a streak of black light—a living arrow—aimed precisely at the junction where the snake’s body fused with the turtle’s shell.

Squelch!

The eagle tore through flesh and bone, severing the connection in a single, brutal pass.

The turtle and the snake roared in unison, a harmony of agony. Blood sprayed like a geyser, dyeing the churning ocean red. Cut off from its source of power, the black snake plummeted from the sky, landing beside the Divine Tree, twitching uncontrollably.

At that moment, the heavens delivered their verdict.

The final wave of the Tribulation finished condensing. Nine massive Thunder Dragons roared into existence, descending with the weight of judgment, intent on erasing the defiant beasts from the world.

The eagle, realizing it was too late to escape the blast zone, was forced to engage. Three Thunder Dragons locked onto it. The remaining six descended upon the crippled turtle and the severed snake.

The giant turtle let out a mournful roar. Summoning the last dregs of its vitality, it forced the Divine Tree to shed its light once more. A cascade of emerald energy washed over its shell, knitting flesh back together at a visible rate.

The severed snake, though on the brink of death, also bathed in the overflow of light. Its wounds began to seal, and it struggled to lift its head, staring defiantly at the sky.

Beast and reptile, now separate, glared at the six descending dragons. They burned their blood essence, preparing for one final stand.

BOOM!

The nine bolts struck simultaneously. Pillars of blinding white connected heaven and earth.

But amidst the cataclysm, the eagle did something unthinkable. It ignored the lightning targeting it completely.

Counting on the turtle’s distraction, the eagle morphed into a colossal shadow-sword once more. It bypassed the turtle’s defenses and plunged straight through the gap in the shell created by the earlier lightning strike.

It pierced the turtle’s body, diving deep into its chest cavity.

When the eagle burst out the other side, it held a prize in its beak—a massive, beating heart, pulsating with golden light. Inside was the Golden Core, the crystallization of the turtle’s cultivation.

With a few quick jerks of its head, the eagle swallowed the heart whole.

A triumphant shriek echoed across the sea. The eagle’s aura exploded, revitalized by the ancient essence. But the three Thunder Dragons were hot on its tail. The bird didn’t stop; it banked sharply and grabbed the crown of the Divine Tree with its talons.

The black snake, watching its parent die, was caught off guard. But shock quickly turned to incandescent rage.

You kill us, and now you steal our treasure?

With a hiss of pure hatred, the snake launched itself into the air, crashing headfirst into the trunk of the Divine Tree.

CRACK!

The ancient wood, already damaged by the tribulation, snapped in half under the impact. The eagle, holding the crown, was jerked forward, but it didn’t let go. Pursued by the lightning dragons, it flapped desperately, dragging the top half of the tree with it as it fled into the distance, leaving a trail of sword-light feathers to deflect the incoming strikes.

The exchange happened in the blink of an eye, leaving Xiao Yifeng and Su Miaoqing stunned.

Xiao Yifeng had felt a strange familiarity ever since the snake appeared. Now, seeing its desperate, suicidal charge to deny the eagle the full prize, realization struck him like a thunderbolt.

That snake… it’s related to my Spirit Pet, the Profound Frost Ice Python.

In his past life, his companion had been a magnificent ice dragon. Could this black snake be its child? Or its previous form?

The Heavens were not done. The remaining thunderbolts refused to dissipate without a sacrifice.

Three Thunder Dragons bored through the giant turtle’s body, incinerating its organs. The massive beast collapsed, pierced through the center, turning into a mountain of ash and dead meat. The bottom half of the Divine Tree, still rooted in the shell, was blasted black.

The other three dragons wrapped around the black snake.

The snake did not surrender. A layer of black ice armor instantly coated its scales, and a single horn erupted from its forehead. It opened its jaws, trying to devour the lightning in a final act of defiance.

It was a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

The lightning smashed the snake down, shattering its scales and blasting it into the ground. It landed beside the charred stump of the Divine Tree, motionless, resembling a dead worm.

Finally, the Tribulation clouds began to disperse. The storm faded, leaving an eerie silence over the sea.

Su Miaoqing was still processing the spectacular battle when she noticed Xiao Yifeng’s expression. He was staring at the fallen snake with a mix of shock and recognition.

“Xiao Feng? What’s wrong?”

Xiao Yifeng took a deep breath. He was certain now. That black snake was the Profound Frost Ice Python. It just looked different—younger, unevolved.

He shook his head, grabbing her hand. “Senior Sister, let’s go. We need to save that snake. I feel… I feel a connection to it.”

“A connection?” Su Miaoqing’s eyes went wide as he dragged her toward the ruins. “You can tell that just by looking at it?”

“Yes,” Xiao Yifeng nodded as they flew toward the smoking crater. “It’s a mysterious, indescribable feeling.”

They landed on the shell of the deceased turtle. The massive creature was truly dead; its body had become a ring-shaped island, a circular tomb floating in the endless sea. In the center stood the charred stump of the Divine Tree.

Xiao Yifeng walked over to the dying snake.

A wave of familiarity welled up within him. This was it. In his past life, the Profound Frost Ice Python must have survived this catastrophe, crawled to the stump, and slowly mutated under the nourishment of the residual wood Qi, eventually becoming the ice dragon he knew.

Currently, the snake was struggling to drag its broken body toward the tree stump. When it saw Xiao Yifeng approach, its vertical pupils narrowed, revealing a tyrannical, violent light.

Xiao Yifeng ignored the hostility. He extended his hands, using his spiritual energy to gently lift the massive head.

“Let’s go.”

With a grunt of effort, he levitated the heavy body, moving it inch by inch toward the stump.

Su Miaoqing hurried over to help, adding her own spiritual power to the lift. Together, they carried the battered serpent to the base of the burnt tree.

Xiao Yifeng placed one hand on the Divine Tree stump and the other on the snake’s forehead. He closed his eyes, turning his own body into a bridge.

He activated his cultivation, siphoning the remaining essence from the Divine Tree.

Specks of emerald light rose from the stump, flowing into Xiao Yifeng’s arm, coursing through his meridians, and pouring out of his other hand into the dying snake.

But the stump was nearly depleted. It wasn’t enough.

Xiao Yifeng grit his teeth. Not enough? Then take it all.

He secretly commanded the Divine Tree to tap into the corpse beneath them. The roots of the tree drilled into the giant turtle’s flesh, sucking up the remaining blood essence and spiritual energy of the fallen Nascent Soul beast.

The flesh of the turtle island began to wither and desiccate as the energy was harvested.

A massive surge of power rushed into Xiao Yifeng. He acted as the filter, purifying the violent energy before pumping it into the snake.

In the process, Xiao Yifeng’s own body began to glow with a translucent green light. The pure Wood Qi scoured his meridians, expelling impurities and significantly boosting his affinity with the Wood element.

It’s a shame Senior Sister has a Fire constitution, he thought, watching the green energy swirl. She can’t absorb this efficiently.

Under the influx of life force, the light returned to the giant snake’s eyes. Its shattered scales began to regenerate, and the deep gashes along its flank knitted closed.

Just as the healing stabilized, a sudden, booming thunderclap exploded overhead, startling both the humans and the beast.