Chapter 36: The Savage Woman of the Witch Tribe Flips Out

  At noon, the forest is silent with no sound.

  Occasionally, a star or two can be seen through the gaps in the leaves on top of my head, but the sky is also gray and hazy. There is no wind, nor are there any birds singing. It's clearly daytime, yet all around is an eerie silence. The trees in this valley are densely packed, their green leaves so thick they block out the sun, and yet they don't move at all. Underneath the trees, wild grasses and shrubs grow in profusion, among which a few plants with bright colors stand out, their vibrant hues flashing like sharp teeth and claws amidst the emerald green. The bright blue roots and the petals of the flowers, curled up and covered in deep red thorns, are truly bizarre.

  Suddenly, a patch of green grass taller than a person swayed gently, and a thin, dark red shadow slid silently out of the mud. It was a snake as thick as a bamboo pole, making a faint hissing sound. The snake had been moving towards those strange flowers, but suddenly spat out a small, shiny tongue that stretched out in the air several times. A small triangular head slowly turned around, and the snake's body rose half a foot off the ground, directly facing a pair of eyes about five feet above.

  Xuan Zhen stood on the lowest branch of a giant tree, staring at the red snake on the ground, and couldn't help but sigh again. Since entering the southern border, this was already the...tenth...dozens...hundreds of snakes he had encountered?

  About seven or eight days ago, he watched as the girl in white clothes bid a tearful farewell to her old father, and then left with her master and new apprentice sister Yu'er from the gate of that small city filled with blooming flowers, each going their separate ways. The Taiching True Person's skills were profound, and the sword she wielded was a rare treasure, so by now she should have already returned to Mount Kunlun with her new disciple, while he...

  Xuan Zhen took another glance at the ground, and that red snake seemed to be very interested in him. It left those few flowers and came towards the tree where he was standing. He couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. Alas, after finally arriving at Ling Shan, not even half a person's shadow could be seen, so why were there so many snakes instead?

  He was originally a royal sword in the southern border, searching for the spiritual mountain in the sky. According to the words of that calamity, the spiritual mountain is full of giant trees and should be easy to find. However, there are many mountains and forests, with hundreds and thousands of trees, perhaps due to no one cutting them down, each one grows taller and more majestic than those in the Central Plains. The further south you go, the more mountains and trees there are, and naturally, the more giant trees there are. The towering momentum is quite magnificent. At first, Xuanshen still thought it was a wonderful sight, but later on, his eyes were blurred, and he felt that his own eyes would turn into green oil, where could he still distinguish which mountain top had bigger trees?

  The day before yesterday, he arrived at this mountain range and saw that the trees in the valley were exceptionally large. Even the weakest ones were three or four times thicker than the thickest tree trunks he had seen before. The forest was also much quieter and more secluded than what he had seen before. When he flew over the treetops on his sword, he didn't even hear a single bird chirping. He suspected that the Spiritual Mountain might be here. He wanted to come down and find a place where the southern barbarian tribes lived to ask for directions, but when he looked around, all he saw were tree crowns, dense and lush, forming a vast green sea. Where could he see any signs of human habitation? He had no choice but to put away his sword and walk on foot in the valley. Who would have thought that after several days, not only did he not see anyone, but he also encountered countless poisonous snakes and weeds.

  Xuan Zhen finally had some experience traveling in the mortal world, although he had a few close calls, such as almost stepping on a slippery snake and getting bitten, or mistakenly applying poisonous weeds to his wounds thinking they were medicinal herbs. However, he gradually ventured deeper into the valley and discovered some unusual things.

  This valley is actually a large depression on the mountain waist, with an area of about a thousand miles. The deeper you go, the more lush the giant trees are, and the more rotten leaves and branches there are on the ground. The light in the forest is also getting weaker and darker. The south border is already prone to mist and fog, and sometimes it's easy to get trapped in the fog, which makes things even worse. In the midst of the haze, you can't see anything except for a small area right in front of your eyes, and if you look a little further away, there are only vague tree shadows that appear and disappear. The fog often carries toxins, and after encountering it several times, Xuan Zhen learned to avoid those areas and walk around them. When he had to pass through the toxic fog, he would rather climb over the trees where the fog was thinner. This is why he was standing on a tree when he met that red snake.

  Xuan Zhen didn't truly experience the wonders of the southern border until he arrived at this mountain valley. Not a single small animal or bird was seen in the mountains and forests, it's as if they were either eaten by stronger beasts or had fled due to fear of the environment. As for larger ones, although there were some, they were extremely rare. Occasionally, when crossing over grass thickets, a glimpse of a grey shadow would flash by, but before he could get a clear look at its appearance, the beast would quietly run away, treading on the muddy ground and decaying leaves.

  The only thing that doesn't fear humans is those big and small, long and short, thin and slippery, ubiquitous venomous snakes. Probably because the water and soil of southern Xinjiang are particularly suitable for their growth, whether in the grass or on the treetops, you can see one or two at any time, either coiled or peeking out, with a hissing sound as they slither away. Xuan Zhen felt nauseous when he saw them, but perhaps because he was used to it, he gradually became numb and expressionless.

  Those venomous snakes seem to be extremely fond of poisonous flowers and grasses, the more colorful the flowers and grasses are, the more they gather underneath. As Xuán Zhèn walked along the way, he saw that among the weeds and shrubs by the roadside, there were gradually more and more strange flowers and rare grasses, but as for beasts in the forest, not a single one could be seen anymore, while snakes... almost every ten steps or so, one or two could be spotted.

  At this time, he was vigilantly watching the red snake crawling over, and secretly thinking: Gu Zong had said that the Black Witch tribe was good at raising Gu to use poison, I think there are many poisonous flowers, poisonous grasses, and poisonous insects near their residence. So naturally, snakes will also... Naturally, there will be more, it seems that their village is not far away. Alas, just hope that there are fewer snakes in the village.

  Just as he was thinking, a strange gust of wind suddenly came from the east side of the forest, carrying a mass of colorful poisonous gas. In just an instant, it enveloped the area where Xuan Zhen was standing. This is also one of the strange phenomena of this forest, usually there is not even a hint of wind, but at some uncertain moment, a strong gust will suddenly appear, and the wind comes quickly and goes quickly, with poisonous gas mixed in, making people unprepared.

  Xuan Zhen was on full alert for the red snake, but unexpectedly, the snake's mouth was still ahead, and another patch of toxic fog had arrived beside him. His heart cried out in distress, and he could only lift his sleeve to cover his mouth and nose to avoid inhaling the poisonous air while continuing to search for the snake's shadow in the hazy mist before his eyes.

  That red snake seemed to have been frightened by the sudden gust of wind, and it was unknown where it had crawled to. Xuán Zhèn lowered his head to look down, but the ground was more than ten feet away from the roots of the tree, and in the swirling, curling, and stretching misty fog, he could only see a messy patch of weeds.

  Xuan Zhen was not afraid of these poisonous insects and snakes, but after entering the southern border, he really felt a little scared. At this time, he was even more uneasy in his heart, and gradually changed from standing to half squatting, using his feet and eyes to scan back and forth below. His movements were light and nimble, and the thick tree branch under his foot didn't even tremble slightly.

  Just then, a clear and crisp laughter was heard above her head, like the tinkling of silver bells in the wind, or the gentle gurgling of a brook flowing over rocks. It was followed by a soft and delicate voice saying: "Hey, are you looking for it?"

  Xuan Zhen was shocked, his cultivation wasn't low, yet he hadn't even noticed when someone appeared on the tree above him. He hastily lifted his head to look, but saw a long, rod-like object swooping down towards his face. Fortunately, he reacted extremely quickly, using the tip of his foot to push off and leap onto another branch. However, who would have thought that this thing could move by itself? With a rustling sound, it wrapped around him, landing on his neck with a smooth, cool sensation, slowly slithering around his throat.

  This fright was not trivial, and Xuan Zhen only heard the sound of the poisonous snake spitting its letter beside his ear, and he felt that half of his body had become numb. The true energy gathered at the bottom of his feet stagnated immediately, and before he could step on the tree branch in front of him, his foot was empty, and he fell straight to the ground.

  "Ah yo, be careful!" The woman in the tree seemed to have not expected Xuan Zhen to fall down like this. She let out a soft cry and threw down a green vine from above that was like a whip, swooshing towards Xuan Zhen's waist.

  Xuan Zhen didn't know if the other party was a friend or an enemy, so he didn't dare to touch that rattan rod carelessly. He shifted his stance slightly and moved sideways, his true energy circulating rapidly in his meridians. With a clear shout, his blue-white robe sleeves were filled with wind, puffed up high, and the jade belt on the back of his head flew up and down. Suddenly, a warm breeze gathered from all sides, wrapping him up just before he landed. The green rattan rod swept past, slapping loudly as it rolled into the bush, stretched straight.

  That red snake was also blown away by the wind, Xuan Zhen lightly floated down to the ground, his mind slightly calmer, but one hand still rubbed his neck incessantly, feeling as if his whole body had been crawled over by that snake and was itching and numb all over.

  Behind him, a rustling sound was heard, and he turned around to see that among the weeds and shrubs, a purple figure had appeared. The woman's voice was soft and gentle, with a hint of childishness, as if she were just a young girl.

  That purple-clothed girl easily crawled out of a bush full of thorns, and angrily said: "You're really bad! I was kind enough to pull you up, but you didn't even show any gratitude! You saw me fall down, but you didn't even try to catch me, it hurts so much!"

  Xuan Zhen was taken aback, and couldn't help but feel both angry and amused. It was clear that this little girl had intentionally thrown the snake on herself to harm him, nearly causing him to fall to his death. And yet, she was now playing the victim, which was truly unreasonable. He shook his head and covered his nose with his sleeve, turning around to walk towards the south of the forest.

  "Hey, weirdo!" The purple-robed girl saw that Xuan Zhen was ignoring her and chased after him, blocking his path. "You still haven't apologized to me!"

  Xuan Zhen glanced at her a few times, seeing that her attire and adornments were quite similar to those of the foreign tribe he had seen in the small town in the south, only more luxurious. She also wore several jade bangles on her hands and feet. He already knew she was a witch from the Witch Tribe, probably a spoiled young girl at that. Since he knew she didn't have any malicious intentions towards him, he didn't want to entangle with her anymore. So, after shaking his head again, he walked past her and continued forward.

  The girl stomped her feet on the ground, and a pair of bare jade-like feet turned slightly red. Unexpectedly, Xuan Zhen didn't even glance at her with half an eye, which made her even angrier. She followed him again and shouted: "Hey, you scoundrel! Where are you from? Do you know who I am? In our clan, there's never been anyone as rude as you, bullying me and then pretending nothing happened. Hmph!"

  Xuan Zhen sneered and laughed to himself, thinking: With an attitude like yours, you're probably the apple of the elders' eyes in your clan. No one would dare bully you.

  The girl in purple saw him reveal a strange smile, and frowned: "What are you laughing at? I'll tell you, I'm the most important person in the White Witch tribe. You can still apologize to me now. I think... just use that small pendant to compensate me!" As she spoke, she reached out to grab the wooden pendant on Xuan Zhen's sword behind his back, and laughed: "This knife really has some of our witch tribe's style, only the pattern seems to be like——"

  Xuan Zhen's eyes narrowed, and in an instant, he raised his hand to grab her pale wrist, smiling: "Miss, this thing is extremely important to me, I absolutely cannot give it to you. As for apologizing, that's even more unreasonable, absolutely impossible."

  The girl in purple clothes was pinched by him, crying out in pain. Her big, bright eyes rolled around a few times before she finally softened her tone and said: "Alright, alright! I don't want that knife anymore, nor do I want you to apologize. Just let me go quickly." After Xuan Zhen released his grip, she hastily retreated several steps, rubbing the red and swollen area on her wrist as she muttered to herself: "I was going to tell you..."

  "What?" Xuan Zhen was taken aback, suddenly realizing that something was off. In his haste to push the girl's hand away, he had forgotten to continue covering his mouth and nose. A few words later, he had already inhaled the miasma into his body. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and his vision began to blur. He felt himself becoming lightheaded and dizzy, and before he knew it, he had fallen to the ground.

  "I was going to tell you, the miasma here is very potent, and if it comes into contact with your skin, it can be toxic enough to knock a person out!" The purple-robed girl in the midst of the miasma, however, seemed completely unbothered, taking slow steps forward as she smiled brightly at Xuan Zhen and said, "You bad guy, you know now, don't you?"

  Xuan Zhen was stunned, and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. In his daze, he barely managed to say one last sentence: "Why didn't you... say it earlier!"