Chapter Thirty-Six: Have You Ever Tasted Snake Soup?

On the southern border of the Nanwing Kingdom, sandstorms swirled across the land, painting everything in a boundless sea of gold. Before them stretched an endless desert.

Chen Xiang glanced up at the sun, squinting against the blinding glare. Li Qiner, still dressed in pure white, her face hidden beneath a wide bamboo hat, her graceful figure outlined in every curve.

“Qiner, are you sure this is the right direction? We’re heading for the Land of Extreme Cold, not the Land of Blazing Heat!” Chen Xiang wiped the sweat from his brow as he spoke.

They had been traveling south for seven or eight days. Li Qiner, well-acquainted with the lands of the Nanwing Kingdom, led the way. Yet somehow, their journey had brought them into this vast desert.

“Don’t worry, my lord. We’re not lost. I’ve been to the Extreme South before. This is merely a barren zone, stripped of vegetation by frost and scorched year-round by the sun. Once we cross this desert, we’ll reach the far south,” Li Qiner replied softly.

Was such a thing possible? Was this not the legendary reversal of extremes? Chen Xiang found the notion fascinating.

Here, the heat was intense; without drawing on their spiritual energy to shield themselves, the oppressive dryness would be unbearable. Chen Xiang felt a touch of discomfort at first, but quickly adjusted. With his seven spiritual roots, it was a simple matter to activate his ice affinity and cool himself.

Li Qiner, blessed with the Heavenly Heart Yin Vein and an exceptionally pure Ice Root, was even less affected. Unless confronted with some extraordinary fire, she scarcely noticed the heat.

“Hmm? Interesting, there’s a little snake,” Chen Xiang murmured, a playful smile tugging at his lips.

“A snake? What snake?” Li Qiner looked around in confusion. She sensed nothing.

“It’s right beneath us, hiding in the sand,” Chen Xiang replied.

At his words, Li Qiner’s expression shifted, as if recalling something.

Suddenly, with a burst and a shower of yellow sand, a storm kicked up, as if a sandstorm had erupted from the horizon.

The swirling winds coalesced into a tornado, dozens of meters tall. Within its heart, a slender, agile figure darted back and forth with astonishing speed.

Li Qiner’s lips twitched. This was no mere snake—this was one of the desert’s most formidable predators: the Gale-Scaled Serpent.

These serpents ruled the sands, blessed with a natural ability—Whirlwind—allowing them to whip up sandstorms at will. Any creature caught within their vortex became their prey. Though dangerous, Gale-Scaled Serpents were highly prized, for within their veins flowed the blood of the Devouring Python, making every part of their body valuable.

Now, the sandstorm conjured by the serpent was bearing down rapidly upon Chen Xiang.

“How amusing!” Chen Xiang laughed heartily and leapt straight into the swirling sand.

Li Qiner cried out in alarm, “My lord! Don’t!” She could only watch helplessly as Chen Xiang charged into the storm, a wry smile on her lips. This young lord simply could not sit still—he would dare anything.

Inside the sandstorm, Chen Xiang activated the Art of Chaos, letting his earth energy form a protective shield against the flying grit.

His keen eyes made out the serpent’s shadow within the storm.

It was a python over ten meters long, scales a dusky yellow, each larger than his own head. Its eyes burned a fiery red, fixed on him with predatory intent.

Chen Xiang’s eyes gleamed. “What a fine serpent! We’ll have snake soup tonight.”

The Gale-Scaled Serpent, a beast of the late Core Formation stage, possessed intelligence on par with humans. It understood Chen Xiang’s intent and flew into a rage.

Though it could not decipher his words, the look in his eyes mirrored its own.

With a ferocious hiss, the serpent lunged, jaws agape, striking at Chen Xiang.

He merely smiled, and a long staff appeared in his hand—the Panlong Staff, a mysterious treasure from his starter pack. “Into the pot you go!”

Outside, Li Qiner waited anxiously at the edge of the sandstorm. Nearly a quarter of an hour had passed, and Chen Xiang had yet to emerge. She worried about the serpent’s cultivation; after all, in this desert, they were unrivaled.

Suddenly, the towering sandstorm collapsed, and figures became visible.

Chen Xiang stood, staff in hand, one foot planted atop a massive serpent’s head. The Gale-Scaled Serpent’s eyes were filled with utter defeat. Around it lay a dozen smaller serpents, all battered and bruised.

Chen Xiang laughed and called to Li Qiner, “Well, Qiner, we’ve stumbled upon a serpent’s nest today!”

She could only shake her head in helpless pity for the unlucky serpents.

A series of chimes resounded in his mind.

“Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for slaying a level-five Core Formation beast, Gale-Scaled Serpent. You have gained ten thousand experience points and one monster core.”

“Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for slaying a level-eight Core Formation beast, Gale-Scaled Serpent. You have gained ten thousand experience points and one monster core.”

“Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for slaying a level-six Core Formation beast, Gale-Scaled Serpent. You have gained ten thousand experience points and one monster core.”

…

“Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for slaying a Gale-Scaled Serpent. You have gained one serpent hide and a trace of Devouring Python bloodline.”

“Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for slaying a Gale-Scaled Serpent. You have gained one serpent hide and a trace of Devouring Python bloodline.”

…

“Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, you have leveled up. Your current stage is Core Formation, level five.”

…

For a cultivator in the Core Formation stage, the rewards from killing monsters far surpassed those from defeating other cultivators.

“Devouring Python bloodline? That sounds impressive,” Chen Xiang mused.

A trace of Devouring Python bloodline: The Devouring Python devours all, its body forming a void space capable of containing worlds. It may be used to enhance serpent-type monsters, granting them the ancient Devouring Python bloodline, or refined by cultivators through special methods to cultivate a divine beast manifestation. Multiple traces can be fused into pure Devouring Python blood.

“Incredible, a space within one’s body?” Chen Xiang was astonished.

Then he checked the quantity required for fusion.

Fusion of traces: one hundred traces fuse into a single drop of pure blood.

He nearly choked. “One hundred? Are you expecting me to wipe out every Gale-Scaled Serpent in the desert?”

And as for the monster cores—this was the first time he’d obtained any.

Gale-Scaled Serpent core: The condensed core of the serpent, useful in alchemy and forging.

That’s all? What a disappointment! A golden core would have been much better!

He withdrew his consciousness in frustration.

“Qiner, have you ever tried snake soup?” Chen Xiang turned and smiled at her, warm as a spring breeze.

“Ah… n-no, I haven’t.” Li Qiner was momentarily at a loss. Did the young lord truly want to eat snake soup? She glanced again, pitying the serpent at his feet.

“That’s good. I haven’t either. Let’s be on our way,” Chen Xiang replied cheerfully, sweeping the dozen or so serpent corpses into a storage bag with a wave of his hand.

Li Qiner looked at him, speechless. Then why even ask?

With that, she led the way, and together they soared deeper into the desert on their swords.

To be continued...