A beast that could command the wind! Xiao Chen cried out in alarm. If his guess was correct, it was undoubtedly a giant serpent. Legend said that a snake-spirit who had attained cultivation could part the grass and command the path of serpents.
Xiao Chen scooped up Keke and fled, the three skeletons following close behind like wisps of smoke, vanishing from that region in the blink of an eye. Through the dappled tree shadows, he turned to look back and saw a colossal green serpent burst forth from the bamboo grove—thick as a house!
The section of its body that rose upright was a full ten meters tall, and its azure scales gleamed with a terrifying ghostly light, each one the size of a palm-leaf fan. From on high, the enormous snake head gazed down at the herd of wild elephants. Its blood-red eyes, each as large as a washbasin, radiated a dreadful, murderous glare. Within the gaping maw, stark white venom fangs, each half a meter long, jutted out like sharp swords and sabers. The scarlet forked tongue, a full four or five meters in length, flickered in and out, a terrifying sight.
The serpent’s body—of indeterminate length—lay directly across the riverbank among the bamboo grove, like an azure dike barring the wild elephants’ path. And all around the giant snake, on bamboo tips and amid the grass, countless slender azure shadows writhed and squirmed: tiny green vipers.
From a distance, Xiao Chen drew in a sharp breath. This giant green serpent was a bamboo viper!
The bamboo viper is a venomous snake that rarely exceeds half a meter in length. Though small, its poison is lethal; specimens over two meters are almost unheard of. Yet this monstrous bamboo viper before him was as thick as a house, and its vast body stretched unseen through the bamboo grove—how long it truly was, none could tell.
It was utterly terrifying, beyond imagination. How many ages must it have lived to reach such a size?
This was surely a primordial beast that had survived from the ancient epoch—one that could contend even with the fearsome dragons of this island.
The herd’s escape route was blocked. The mournful trumpeting of the wild elephants rang through the region. At last, half the herd turned and charged into the river, while the giant bamboo viper began to move.
The serpent’s head shot forward, its five-meter-long blood-red tongue lashing out to wrap around a wild elephant, dragging it close. Then its maw—too vast to be called a ‘blood basin’—opened to its fullest extent. The stark white venom fangs flashed with terrible light, and it swallowed the elephant’s head in a single gulp.
The scene was savage and horrifying. The serpent’s sharp fangs instantly paralyzed the elephant’s body, robbing it of all movement, and then the creature swallowed the whole elephant bit by bit.
A snake swallowing an elephant!
This ancient bamboo viper, a survivor of the primordial age, had actually devoured an entire wild elephant. The impact was stunning, terrifying.
The remaining elephants fled in panic. Some plunged into the river and were swept downstream; others charged toward the serpent’s body, which lay across their path like an azure dike, hoping to force their way through and escape.
The great azure shadow shifted, stirring up a gale within the bamboo grove. A stench so foul it made one want to retch filled the air. The ground trembled, the bamboo swayed wildly, and endless leaves rained down as the serpent’s massive coils instantly ensnared four wild elephants.
The elephants bellowed in anguish and struggled desperately, but in the end they went limp and fell still. The enormous blood-red mouth opened again to its limit and swallowed the four elephants one after another. This bloody, brutal display so terrified the remaining elephants that they trembled and quaked, finally kneeling on the ground, uttering unceasing cries of despair.
The ancient snake, this bamboo viper of the primordial age, seemed not to want to slaughter them all. Five elephants had satisfied its hunger. Its vast body slowly slithered deeper into the bamboo grove, gradually vanishing among the shadows.
The herd, as if granted a reprieve, fled in terror toward the distance. The earth rumbled, the trees along the riverbank swayed wildly, and fallen leaves filled the air.
Xiao Chen’s heart pounded. This incident taught him that even the most serene and peaceful-looking places concealed immense danger. This island demanded the utmost caution, for the endless forests hid too many primordial beasts.
Keke wriggled free of Xiao Chen’s grasp and, like a nimble little monkey, climbed to the top of a bamboo stalk to gaze after the retreating serpent. By now, Xiao Chen was used to this. Though Keke resembled a lion-tiger cub, it could also walk upright, often behaving more like a little monkey—a true oddity.
“Ya-ya ya-ya…” it babbled excitedly, as if expressing joy.
“What is it, Keke?” Xiao Chen looked at it in surprise.
Keke nimbly hopped down, pointed at itself and the sacred little tree, then pointed ahead into the forest. Xiao Chen was puzzled. It took him a while to roughly understand: ahead seemed to be the homeland of the sacred little tree and Keke itself!
“Keke, were you born there?” Xiao Chen stared at the little beast in astonishment. He had always wanted to uncover Keke’s origins. Visiting its homeland might finally reveal the mystery of its background.
Keke blinked its large, bright eyes and nodded vigorously, then pointed at the sacred little tree again. It was clearly very excited.
Xiao Chen felt a stir of hope as well. If the sacred little tree had originally grown in Keke’s homeland, might there be other divine trees there? The three skeletons also gathered around, seeming eager to visit Keke’s home.
“Ya-ya ya-ya…” This time Keke dashed ahead, as if wanting to lead the way.
Xiao Chen smiled. The little creature was so eager to return home—most likely it had gotten lost and wandered to the outer reaches of Dragon Island. What an absent-minded little fellow.
Keke seemed utterly fearless, wanting to cut straight through the bamboo viper’s territory. Xiao Chen quickly stopped it and took a detour. The little beast was very displeased, chattering “Ya-ya” incessantly. Whether it truly feared nothing or was simply a little scatterbrain, Xiao Chen couldn’t tell.
The further they went, the more ferocious beasts they encountered. Xiao Chen began to wonder: was Keke’s homeland actually a nest of primordial monsters? Along the way, they discovered many terrifying ancient beasts, some even larger than the ancient dragons, fully capable of contending with evil dragons.
Suddenly, a great gale arose. The giant trees in the forest swayed, branches and leaves flying wildly as many beasts fled in panic. Xiao Chen looked up and saw a colossal bird skimming swiftly over the forest. Its feathers were fiery red and gleaming, and its body rivaled that of a Radiant Saint Dragon—over ten meters long, with a wingspan of thirty meters!
Keke showed no fear at all. Its curled-up body like a fluffy white ball rolled excitedly across the grass, a sure sign they were nearing its home.
After advancing about half a kilometer, they passed through a dark swamp and saw a golden centipede over ten meters long and as thick as a water vat, crouching in the gloomy woodland. This was astounding—a centipede grown to such size was beyond belief! It was undoubtedly a venomous insect that had survived from the primordial era; even a fierce dragon would give it a wide berth.
The woodland was dim. The giant centipede gleamed with an eerie golden luster, its carapace hard as iron. Xiao Chen watched as it easily snapped a towering ancient tree, like a metal monster that could crush anything. Its hundred pairs of golden legs were as sharp as knives; at the slightest movement, the rocks in the swamp were ground to powder.
Xiao Chen grew more and more convinced that Keke’s homeland might indeed be a nest of primordial beasts. The number of ancient monsters was increasing.
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