Volume One: The Emperor’s Sword Chapter 37: Dance of
The colossal being reappeared, radiating a terrifying sense of oppression. The mere pressure it exuded was enough to leave Yun Que and Mu Qingyao nearly immobile. All the schemes they had devised before became utterly useless the moment the tree demon’s true form emerged. The two of them had used every ounce of strength and relied on traps just to severely injure one of its hands—what could they possibly use to fight now?
There was nothing left but to await death.
Mu Qingyao seemed utterly drained, barely managing to stand upright as she staggered. Her flower spirit root allowed her to sense clearly the level of the giant tree demon’s aura.
“Seventh level…” The moment she uttered these two words, it was as if all her strength had left her. She could not muster even the slightest will to fight. Even as the First Sword Disciple, a rare talent of the Yan Kingdom, faced with an enemy so vastly beyond her own realm, she was utterly powerless.
With a third-level tree demon, there had still been hope of a struggle. But a seventh-level tree demon was equivalent to a late-stage Core Formation grand cultivator—stronger even than her own master.
The monstrous tree demon looked down from on high, its protruding barky eyes fixed intently on the insignificant humans below, its gaping maw exuding a foul stench.
“Run, its target is me.” Mu Qingyao stood with her back to Yun Que, her voice resolute and unwavering.
“At this point, do you really think I could get away?” Yun Que let out a helpless, almost joking laugh.
The tree demon had no intention of allowing them time to converse. With an ear-piercing roar, countless vines unfurled from its treetop like a curtain, enveloping them both. At the same time, thick gray roots burst from the earth, writhing toward them.
In her despair, Mu Qingyao raised her sword, pointing it at the surging vines and roots—prepared to meet her end.
Yet, to her own surprise, when confronted with death, she felt uncommonly calm. Memories flickered before her eyes: her mother, who died young; her distant father; the scheming family; the beauty coveted by outsiders; and the childhood pain that no effort could erase.
In the end, only loneliness remained.
A lonely girl startled awake from nightmares, curled up in a corner of a vast room, hugging her knees, too afraid to sleep.
Who would have guessed that beneath the icy exterior of the Mu family’s eldest daughter, there lay a side so fragile and helpless?
She, too, wished someone would protect her.
But there was no one.
No one truly cared for her.
No one brought her warmth.
No one understood her helplessness.
No one could ward off her nightmares—she could only struggle awake alone.
A life devoid of joy—death might even be a relief…
At last, Mu Qingyao smiled—a smile of liberation.
Just as she closed her eyes, ready to embrace the nightmare called death, she saw a figure appear before her—not tall, but standing between her and oblivion.
The figure turned and smiled at her, just as the mischievous boy with a rabbit had done in her childhood.
Fool…
Mu Qingyao cursed silently, yet her heart felt inexplicably warm.
She did, however, find it odd.
The figure held not a rabbit, but a small black porcelain bottle.
With a snap, the bottle’s lid was opened.
As Yun Que tipped the bottle down, a terrifying behemoth appeared out of thin air!
A giant python, coiled like a serpent array, sprawled before the tree demon, stretching over thirty feet long—like a small mountain!
The python was eyeless, flickering its crimson tongue, its body jet-black and speckled with starlike dots that made one dizzy if stared at too long. The moment it appeared, an aura no weaker than the tree demon’s erupted forth.
The Great Demon, the Blind Serpent!
At the brink of death, Yun Que had released this seventh-level beast, sealed within the porcelain bottle.
A seventh-level tree demon was more than they could handle, but a seventh-level blind serpent could match it!
This hidden card was an extremely dangerous gamble for Yun Que.
Unless all hope was lost, he would never have released the serpent. It was not his spirit beast, but a wild great demon of the seventh level—disaster would follow it wherever it went!
Mu Qingyao was so stunned her mind went blank.
She had been utterly hopeless, never expecting a turnaround at the edge of despair.
Upon the serpent’s emergence, the tree demon halted its attack, contracting its crown and swaying its roots, clearly shifting to the defensive.
The towering blind serpent flicked its tongue, its head slowly turning downward. Even without eyes, the angle of its head made it clear—it was “looking” at Yun Que.
It was Yun Que’s first time seeing the blind serpent’s true form. Though he had sparred with it daily within his spiritual sea, using it as a target, witnessing it in reality was still deeply shocking.
Not only was the serpent massive and fearsome, but its body was covered in terrible wounds!
The serpent’s body was riddled with gaping injuries, the smallest several feet long, each forming a festering pit in its flesh—a horrifying sight.
Its true form had already been severely injured!
Yet even so, the scarred and battered blind serpent was still terrifying—its ferocity undiminished.
Seeing the serpent’s wounds, Yun Que immediately thought of the Medicine Man.
He wondered whether it was the Medicine Man who had inflicted such wounds in an attempt to tame the serpent, or if there was another cause.
Feeling the serpent’s gaze, Yun Que raised his head, unafraid, his entire being exuding a sharp intensity, as if he were a blade—just as he was within his spiritual sea.
Under the oppressive atmosphere, the blind serpent slowly turned its head, opening its jaws wide and baring its fangs toward the tree demon.
Yun Que finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With the tree demon before them, if the serpent had turned on him, he would have had no option but to call for Uncle Wang’s help.
Tongue flicked, treetop swayed.
As the two titans stood in deadly standoff, Yun Que drew Mu Qingyao slowly backward.
No sooner had they escaped the tree demon’s range than the blind serpent and the tree demon launched their attacks!
The serpent’s tail, as thick as a water tank, cracked through the air with a shriek.
Countless tree roots wove together into a net that blotted out the sky, descending upon them.
Thunderous crashes erupted!
Sand and stone flew; the earth shook and mountains shifted!
The clash of two seventh-level beasts could only be described as terrifying.
Yun Que and Mu Qingyao lost their footing, stumbling amid flying debris and dust.
The battle did not last long; it ended swiftly.
Large swathes of the tree demon’s crown were torn away by the serpent’s fangs, and the roots were left broken and strewn about.
The blind serpent, too, suffered heavy blows—its battered body now bore a dozen more bloody wounds.
The two monsters drew back from each other, as if by mutual agreement.
The fierce exchange had been but a test; each had tasted the other’s difficulty.
The tree demon tightened its crown, its grotesque eyes rolling to fixate longingly on Mu Qingyao, as if unwilling to let go.
Suddenly, its crown spread wide like a giant parasol, as if issuing a warning.
The blind serpent remained coiled, flicking its tongue slowly.
Still, the standoff continued.
Suddenly, the tree demon’s strange eyes glanced skyward into the distance, as if it had discovered something. In the next instant, it chose to retreat.
Withdrawing its roots, the massive tree demon rumbled as it burrowed into the earth and vanished.
Seizing the moment, Yun Que dashed to the serpent’s side amid the swirling dust, flipped the porcelain bottle, and sealed it away once more.
He exhaled heavily, his heart pounding.
Today, he had truly danced on the edge of a blade!
To pit wolf against tiger sounded easy, but it was all too likely to be devoured by either.
A single misstep would mean utter annihilation.
Finding Mu Qingyao, the two hastened away.
They ran all the way to the foot of the mountain before stopping.
Exchanging a glance, Yun Que burst into laughter. Mu Qingyao forced a faint, awkward smile, but in that awkwardness was a unique beauty.
They had finally escaped with their lives!
“That serpent…” Mu Qingyao’s face was clouded with worry.
“It’s fine, it can’t get out. Just keep it secret for me,” Yun Que said, winking.
Mu Qingyao studied him for a long moment, asked no more, and nodded solemnly.
Yun Que almost wanted to pat her head and praise her, but a glance at the hovering Flower Spirit Sword curbed that impulse.
The matter of the Medicine Man’s schemes was too dangerous—he did not want Mu Qingyao entangled in it.
He hadn’t thought much of it before, but now, after seeing the blind serpent’s true form, Yun Que was increasingly convinced that the Twelve Zodiac Conspiracy was a staggering plot.
Anyone caught up in it could easily be crushed to pieces!
A sharp sound sliced through the air, drawing closer.
Sword lights streaked in from the direction of the Sword Palace, approaching swiftly.
At their head was a gentle-looking woman with a long braid trailing to her ankles, the sword light beneath her feet shimmering illusorily, making it seem as though she walked upon empty air.
Behind her came Elder Gu Zhaoyang of the Eastern Court and Elder Quan Yu of the Southern Court.
Yun Que did not recognize the woman, but from the posture of the accompanying elders, it was plain that her status was extraordinary.
“Swordmaster!”
Mu Qingyao instantly recognized the gentle woman and bowed deeply in greeting.