After dealing with those vexing vines, Xiao Buli finally got the chance to properly "entertain" the instigator of it all, the Serpent Demon standing inside the cave.
Of the twenty or so Serpent Demons originally inside the cave, only it remained aloft, seemingly a high and mighty emperor. From their behavior, Xiao Buli could roughly guess that the Serpent Demons residing in the cave evidently held a higher status than those in the large pits, although he didn't know whether they possessed intelligence or language amongst themselves. However, from the way those Serpent Demons saluted the ones in the cave upon first sight, it was clear they held respect for those Cave Serpent Demons.