The shadow of a serpent taller than a mountain range loomed before them, its surface wreathed in powerful energy fluctuations reaching the fifth rank.
This overwhelming pressure felled many members of the family who were also descendants of the White Devil, yet Leilin seemed utterly unaffected.
Not only did his expression remain unchanged, he even critiqued the terrifying beast as though he were appraising merchandise.
This attitude immediately ignited Kende's furious rage.
"Hsss!" the Devil White Phosphorus Serpent roared, diving straight downward.
Rumble! The ground rippled violently, its center caving in to form a terrifyingly massive crater.
Vaguely, enormous roars and the shadow of a white serpent swept through the chasm.
Shocking explosions rang out one after another, merging into a continuous wall of sound, until finally a colossal white serpent shadow was sent flying backward, blood spraying across the sky.
"Impossible!"
The great serpent tumbled through midair and reverted to the human form of Kende, though his body was now covered in countless tiny wounds, his clothing long since shredded. His face was a mask of disbelief.
"How is this possible! How can anyone surpass me in raw strength? I am the beloved child of the Ruler Mother, a fifth-rank White Devil noble!"
Boom! A streak of black light flashed past, and Kende spat blood once more, hurtling backward.
"Nothing is impossible! A fifth-rank giant serpent's strength may be formidable, but compared to the ancient Thousand-Eyed Giants, Golden Titans, and the like, it still falls far short…"
Leilin's dark figure slowly materialized. Behind him, a spectral image of a bizarre multi-armed race took shape, its body suffused with a brilliant golden radiance, as though it had solidified entirely. It became a golden divine statue.
Though he appeared slender and slight, beneath Leilin's black cloak seemed to lurk some primordial beast—its terrifying power making even the Devil White Phosphorus Serve tremble with dread.
"Hand over your blood and soul obediently, and I might grant you a somewhat more comfortable death!"
As Leilin advanced step by step, Kende let out an odd shriek and transformed into a streak of white light, ready to abandon his family and flee.
Snap! Dark red chains materialized once more, sealing off the entire White River Valley.
"Your strength is inferior to mine! Your speed is inferior to mine! Even in the manipulation of dreamforce, you are still inferior to me!"
Leilin stated these facts calmly, walking forward with measured steps.
"No!" Kende's figure retreated continuously until his back nearly pressed against the wall of chains.
This pitiful posture filled
"Great Ruler Mother! I am willing to offer everything I have—please send forth a clone to protect your descendant!"
Driven to the brink, Kende's face twisted with resolve as he activated a sacrificial magic array.
Silver light flashed, and then a shower of blood sprayed outward. A still-dripping arm fell directly onto the magic array.
"As for the offering—it shall be the flesh and blood of your own offspring!"
Boom! Crimson flames burst into blazes, and an invisible, divine attention descended upon this place.
Beneath the red flames, Kende's arm melted away, ultimately forming a blood-red mask. A vast will used it as a vessel to descend.
"Ruler Mother! Please shelter your descendant!" As the mask took shape, Kende's face was deathly pale and one hand clutched the grievous wound on his shoulder, yet excitement gleamed in his eyes.
"Experiment—commencing!"
But before him, Leilin murmured a quiet word to himself.
"Chirp chirp…" A puff of gray light flew from his breast, containing a single, dreamlike gray feather suffused with the power of chaos.
The hazy gray radiance swirled around them, even forming a gray canopy overhead.
"The Feather of Chaos possesses concealing and obfuscating power, but what its actual effectiveness will be—especially after summoning the Mother of Myriad Serpents' clone—remains to be tested!"
Leilin's eyes flashed with keen light. Though the Filthbird had already told him plainly, Leilin still placed greater trust in his own judgment.
If he arrived here and found problems, there would be no need to throw his life away in the
"Chip! Record the scene in detail—focus on collecting data!" Leilin ordered silently.
[Ding! Task established. Commencing external environment scan. Data collection in progress!]the Chip responded faithfully.
The blood-red mask opened its eyes, revealing a pair of orbs imbued with a strange, bewitching power. The moment their gazes met, the bloodline force within Leilin's body surged toward revolt once more.
"The clone of the Mother of Myriad Serpents…" Leilin murmured.
"Great Ruler Mother! It is him! He dares to slay your descendant—even to use us to forge beast souls! This evil act must be punished!" Kende bellowed, while the will within the blood-red mask stared silently at Leilin.
"So we finally meet—Mother of Myriad Serpents!" Leilin's voice traveled through his True Spirit directly into the mask of the sacrificial array.
"Emperor of the Komoin! You dare appear before me?!"
The eyes in the mask showed a flicker of confusion, then erupted in fury. A tremendous voice boomed directly into Leilin's mind: "The power of chaos! You have allied with the Filthbird? You have sealed this region?"
The gaze shifted, locking onto the gray feather suspended in midair.
"Let us call it a temporary cooperation." Leilin's face wore an expression of sincerity as he bowed to the clone of the Mother of Myriad Serpents, performing a solemn salute. "So then, great Mother—is there any possibility of reconciliation between us?"
"Only if you willingly surrender the Komoin Serpent Emperor bloodline and allow me to seal it!"
The clone of the Mother of Myriad Serpents fell silent for a moment before answering coldly, as though this were already the greatest concession possible. Leilin's gaze turned glacial.
Sealing the Serpent Emperor bloodline would mean not only that he could never advance further, but even his sorcerer rank would regress to the fourth tier.
This was something he absolutely could not accept.
"So… negotiations have broken down. As expected." Leilin sighed, activating the Feather of Chaos in his hand.
A crystallized node of chaotic power from before materialized, blazing in Leilin's palm.
An enormous torrent of chaotic force, blended with Leilin's own power, surged forward like a tsunami and swallowed the sacrificial magic array whole.
Burst! Crimson light erupted from the mask, wavered almost immediately, and was then engulfed by the vast deluge of gray chaos.
"H-How… how is this possible?" Kende stared blankly, as though the god in his heart had come crashing down.
Earlier, Leilin and the clone of the Mother of Myriad Serpents had both communicated through soul transmission, so the onlookers could not comprehend what had actually transpired.
All they saw was that Leilin, cloaked in black, exchanged a glance with the Mother of Myriad Serpents' clone mask—and then the clone was consumed by the gray power emanating from him.
The Mother of Myriad Serpents was the supreme being to them, the origin of all their bloodlines, and she had been defeated this easily?
The speechless shock robbed even Kende of his will to resist.
[Ding! All data recorded. Confirmed—no information has leaked!]the Chip's mechanical voice reported, and Leilin let out a breath of relief.
He had used the power of chaos to seal the surroundings specifically to ensure this clone would have no way back, that it could not transmit even a shred of information.
Otherwise, even if he destroyed this clone, the Mother of Myriad Serpents' true body would come for him immediately.
Fortunately, the Filthbird's assistance had made the difference—its power was supremely suited to obfuscation, even temporarily severing the connection between this clone and the Mother of Myriad Serpents.
"The reason the Mother of Myriad Serpents' clone just now did not merely lose to the Filthbird—it was caught off guard, and with my assistance as well…"
Leilin possessed this clear understanding and would not grow conceited over having destroyed a mere energy clone.
Such a loss would mean about as much to the Mother of Myriad Serpents as a single fallen hair would to a normal person—utterly insignificant.
Still, this was a good beginning. At the very least, Leilin could now confirm that with the Feather of Chaos assisting him, completely concealing his identity to infiltrate the Holy City should pose no problem.
"With the power of chaotic rules masking me, supplemented by the Chip's analysis, unless I encounter a rule-level existence's true body in person, I have the means to evade detection!"
Leilin felt his tension ease, his confidence in his plan growing ever stronger.
"How could the Ruler of Myriad Serpents, the Supreme One, fall so easily? How can that be?!"
Walking up to Kende, the man was clearly no longer in his right mind. For those who carried the bloodline, the Mother of Myriad Serpents was everything—they simply could not accept this.
"Once he regains his clarity, doubt toward the Mother of Myriad Serpents will likely take root within him, the seed of understanding that the Mother of Myriad Serpents is merely a powerful entity rather than an absolute god. One day that seed will sprout, driving him to seek transcendence of his own power… with perhaps a one-in-a-hundred-million chance that he awakens the Devil White Phosphorus Serpent's emperor bloodline, becoming a sixth-rank existence… and then, like me, either break free of the Mother of Myriad Serpents' bonds, or be drained to death by the Serpent Curse!"
The Chip's quick analysis projected a flood of possible futures.
This was not the power of prophecy, but rather precise prediction of the future through vast data analysis and behavioral modeling.
Though the margin of error was still enormous, Leilin had faith that one day the Chip might even achieve the level of a god of foresight, simulating and deducing every event—past and future—within an entire world.
"If that level were reached, I would probably have reached the ninth rank myself…"
Leilin sighed inwardly. "What a pity—you won't have that chance."
A dark-red blade of light swept past, and Kende's head fell to the ground.