Chapter Forty-Seven: A Hidden Realm

"Realgar powder!" Bai Ling pulled out a packet of yellow powder from inside her robes, lit it with the candle flame, then spun and tossed it into the air.

As the yellow powder drifted down, a magical thing happened: wherever it landed, snakes and insects scattered away.

"Quick, let's go!" Bai Ling urged, watching the path cleared by the realgar, and hurried the others forward at a rapid pace.

Ahead of them lay the edge of the pit, thick with all manner of vines. As long as they followed the vines, they would surely be able to climb out of the pit.

"Hurry, everyone!" Fang Zhong shouted to Fang You and An Wu behind him.

At that moment, behind them, the monstrous amalgam of ten thousand wailing souls raged forward, countless long arms and heads crushing one ground snake after another beneath its massive body.

"Boom! Boom!"

They reached the foot of the pit wall. Now, if they could just grab the vines growing along the pit's edge, they'd be able to climb out.

Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground, causing their legs to go weak.

In a single bound, the monstrous being leapt before them, blocking their escape.

The four of them stood face to face with the giant and felt their hearts sink.

"Are we truly going to die here today?"

At that moment, a giant serpent appeared from who knows where. Its fangs bared, it lunged and bit into the monster, lifting it high into the air.

No time for surprise, the group dashed forward, grabbed the vines on the rock face, and scrambled upward.

Behind them, the giant snake and the monstrous being wrestled fiercely.

They climbed to the rocky bank, where an opening like a cave awaited them. Glancing back, they saw the giant snatching out several of the snake's fangs, but the serpent, with a single ravenous gulp, swallowed the monster whole.

The monstrous being struggled inside the serpent's belly, causing the snake to thrash about in agony, unable to digest its prey and nearly torn open from within.

At that moment, Fang You remembered the pouch Taoist Qiu had given him before his death.

Fang You opened the pouch and found seven or eight blood-red fruits and a single crimson peach inside.

Fang You recalled how Taoist Qiu had used these blood fruits to enhance the strength of his spirit monkey during their journey, especially in the chamber of the monstrous being. It seemed these fruits could indeed boost the power of spirit beasts.

If that monstrous amalgam burst out from the serpent's body, having soaked in the spirit beast's blood, it would be even more difficult to subdue.

With that thought, Fang You blew a sharp whistle, catching the giant serpent's attention and puzzling his companions.

"What are you up to, little Taoist?" Fang Zhong asked.

The serpent slowly raised its head and approached.

Fang You took out a blood fruit—bright crimson and wild in appearance, yet he knew this was a secret creation of Taoist Qiu's lineage, certain to have a miraculous effect on spirit beasts.

The serpent drew near, sniffing the fruit with its underdeveloped sense of smell.

But the monster inside its belly continued to writhe, causing the serpent to roll in pain, mouth agape in a tormented moan.

Seizing the moment, Fang You tossed the blood fruit into the serpent's mouth.

The serpent swallowed it by accident, hesitated, and took a few steps back.

In the next instant, the serpent's eyes glowed red, and crimson scales sprouted briefly upon its body.

A surge of strength coursed through it.

The fangs shattered by the monstrous being grew back rapidly, and the serpent produced a great quantity of venom, swallowing it down.

Its belly churned violently, as if the venom were dissolving the monstrous being inside.

In less than a moment, the monster seemed to be digested within the serpent’s gut.

But now, with its foe defeated, the serpent turned its gaze upon Fang You and the others—especially Fang Zhong, who, in his effort to escape, had crushed several ground snakes with a falling boulder.

Fang Zhong sensed the serpent’s gaze and swallowed nervously.

Realizing what was happening, Fang You immediately knelt and bowed his head in apology. "I beg your forgiveness for harming a few of your kin in my desperate flight from the monster. I meant no disrespect."

The others quickly followed suit, kneeling and pressing their palms together in apology.

The giant serpent slithered up to them, hissing in displeasure, but after a moment, it turned away and disappeared into the depths of the pit.

"We're finally safe!" Bai Ling exhaled deeply.

"You Taoists are truly skilled—our employer certainly chose well!" An Wu exclaimed in admiration, having witnessed Fang Zhong, Bai Ling, and Fang You’s abilities.

The employer An Wu referred to was the wealthy patron who had invited Fang You to the Wang Burial Mountain—the very tomb of Cao Anman.

"By the way, what sort of person is this magnate? He certainly seems powerful and well connected," Bai Ling asked, curiosity piqued.

An Wu hesitated, but then, seeing no harm, began, "You all seem trustworthy enough. My employer, the magnate you speak of, is a native of the Northern Market, surnamed Xu, given name Qiang—known as Magnate Xu."

"Legend has it his great-grandfather was once a beggar. By chance, he saved a feng shui master with half a cake. Back then, in those war-torn days, half a cake could mean the difference between life and death."

"Later, when his great-grandfather was on his deathbed, the feng shui master found him. 'I cannot grant you immortality,' the master said, 'but I can alter your fate through geomancy.'"

"'I will show you a place of hidden fortune. If you bury yourself there and manage not to be expelled by the earth spirits before your death, your descendants will prosper for generations—you will never again know hunger.'"

"So, resigned to his fate, his great-grandfather found a damp mountain cave—the so-called Serpent and Insect Fortune Grotto."

"'With serpents and insects as its spirits, and the cave as its grave, as long as they flourish, so shall your fortune,' the master said."

"And so, Magnate Xu's great-grandfather crawled into the cave, enduring a hundred days of bites and starvation. As he neared death, delirious, he saw a strange being with an insect’s face and a human shape crawl before him."

"It nearly frightened him out of the cave, but he thought: since death is certain, what does it matter how it comes? Better to die here as the master said."

"The insect-faced being, seeing his resolve, spoke kindly: 'I am the earth spirit who has cultivated here for decades. I have searched long for such a place of fortune. If you die here, your descendants will take most of the land’s luck with them.'"

"'If you are willing to leave, I will grant you ten more years of life with my spiritual power.'"