"The Holy City of the Hale Continent!"
Leilin murmured, studying the city that seemed as though it had been built by giants.
The entire city overflowed with light, and the most unforgettable sight was the colossal sculpture at its very center.
It was a woman radiating enchantment, her flowing hair spreading outward and transforming into all manner of strange serpent forms—traces of the Komoin Giant Serpent, the Devil White Phosphorus Serpent, the Three-headed Python, and countless other bloodline descendants of the Ten Thousand Serpents could all be found among those serpentine locks.
"That statue must have been modeled after the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, and I can see it so clearly from outside the city… judging by the proportions, the actual height of the sculpture must exceed ten thousand meters…"
Leilin's eyes were filled with admiration. Without the magic and other aids of this otherworld, such a feat would have been utterly impossible.
But the faint fluctuations lurking throughout the Holy City made Leilin's expression shift subtly.
He still could not perceive seventh-level existences, but the radiation of sixth-level Dusk Sun could no longer resist the Chip's scans.
Therefore, Leilin was certain that within this Holy City, there were at least ten or more sixth-level powerhouses—and every single one of them bore the bloodline of the Ten Thousand Serpents!
"Based on the intelligence gathered before, and what I witnessed last night—the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents is here too! I simply haven't been able to detect her yet!"
"Cough… cough…" Leilin suddenly began coughing violently.
"What's wrong, Nick?" Belinda and Sophia both turned to look at him, concern visible in their eyes.
"N-Nothing…" Leilin forced a smile and discreetly slipped his blood-stained hand inside his coat.
"Here in the Holy City, where the aura of the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents is even more concentrated, my life force is draining even faster. At this rate, I might not last more than a few years. But fortunately, a few years should be more than enough!"
"I just got a bit excited seeing such a magnificent city. Let's head inside quickly. Did you notify your friend?"
"I've already contacted Agnes—she'll be here soon!"
Belinda smiled. The three of them were currently standing outside the towering Holy City.
Three enormous arched stone triumphal gates loomed before them, along with bridges dozens of meters wide, beneath which roared a surging moat. The water, however, was black and seemed to emanate an ominous aura.
The gates were wide open, and many half-snake people—even pure-blooded descendants of the Ten Thousand Serpents—were queuing up in orderly lines to pass through.
"That's…" Leilin's pupils contracted slightly as he spotted a scene unfolding.
A line of people, long as a serpent, had come to a halt. A commotion arose near the gate, and then a half-snake person with black scales on his face was thrown out screaming and cast into the black moat.
"Ahhh—" The shrill scream cut off in an instant. After that, Leilin could only see white snake bones, and even those quickly dissolved away.
"Just now…"
Leilin shifted his gaze to the petrified serpent statues flanking every gate. The vertical eyes of the statues were now flickering with green light.
"It seems that when that snake-person tried to pass through, the statue's pupils turned bright red? Is this some kind of bloodline authentication device?"
Leilin felt a chill of retrospective fear—he hadn't detected anything wrong with that snake-person at all.
"These are the 'Ten Thousand Serpent Statues' found everywhere in the Holy City! Anyone impure in soul or bloodline, or anyone residing here without the Holy City's permission, will be identified and thrown into the Wailing Abyss!"
Belinda's expression turned somewhat grim. "And according to the Holy City's rules, whether it's a person of unknown bloodline or a wanted criminal, none of them can remain within the city!"
"Oh? So if you and I tried to enter anyway, the statues' pupils would turn red, and then a flood of guards would come after us?" Leilin stroked his chin. "Then what exactly does the Holy City offer that draws so many of our kin to flock here?"
"What it offers?" Belinda gave a bitter smile. "Quite a lot, actually! First, anyone granted permission to reside in the Holy City receives absolute personal safety guarantees—even across the entire Hale Continent, very few forces would dare mistreat a resident of the Holy City!"
"Absolute security?" Leilin nodded. In an era of constant peril, absolute safety would be a dream come true for many of the weak.
"Furthermore, the Holy City is the core of the entire Hale Continent. You can find any commodity here—even the highest-tier paths to power, the finest ritual offerings and beast souls… But most importantly—"
At the mention of the Holy City, Belinda's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Most importantly, the entire Holy City has been blessed by the Great Mother Sovereign. For all descendants who reside here, their bloodline purity will never drop in rank—and it will even continue rising with the length of their stay…"
Another voice came from nearby, accompanied by a streak of black light, and two new figures appeared at their side!