Kapitel 86: Chapter 86: The Silver Frost Python Demon

The moment the spirit stones were inserted, the Two Elements Life and Death Array locked onto the giant serpent at its center.

The serpent, trapped, immediately began to struggle, thrashing its massive body and sending dust and debris flying in all directions.

Lin Xiao didn't hesitate; he swiftly manipulated the array. The nine life gates retreated, and the ninety-nine death gates opened wide. In an instant, the array tore apart the thick black sludge coating the serpent's body, shredding it into pieces.

Within seconds, the serpent was stripped down to nothing but black, rotting flesh. It let out a pained roar, flailing its head against the unyielding walls of the array. However, its attacks had no effect; the barrier remained unscathed.

Lin Xiao then concentrated thirty-six death gates on the serpent's weak spot, its vital seven inches, while the remaining death gates launched attacks from different directions.

Already wounded, the serpent couldn't withstand the relentless assault from the Two Elements Life and Death Array and collapsed with a thunderous crash.

But the array wasn't done yet. The ninety-nine death gates gathered energy for a final blow. Suddenly, nine beams of light shot out from the gates, taking the form of sharp sword energy that slashed across the serpent's body.

In an instant, the serpent was sliced into ten pieces, silencing it forever.

Despite seeing the serpent cut into pieces, Lin Xiao wasn't satisfied. He activated the array's ultimate move: Soul Annihilation.

As the array's most powerful attack, it targeted the serpent's soul. Light enveloped the serpent's corpse, gradually shrinking and constricting around its soul.

The serpent hadn't anticipated that even its soul would be detected and captured. It thrashed desperately.

"Hiss—"

Eleven years ago, it had barely survived and fled here to recover. It couldn't die like this! It wasn't willing!

No matter how hard it struggled, the light surrounding its soul remained unbroken. All resistance was futile.

Suddenly, as the serpent continued to fight against its restraints, the light constricted sharply.

In the next moment, the serpent's soul was crushed by the tightening light, shattering into countless fragments that dispersed like falling stars, vanishing into the air within the array.

The serpent's body, now devoid of its soul, quickly decayed into a heap of blackened, rotting flesh. A foul stench of decay filled the air as its corpse decomposed.

With its target completely destroyed, the Two Elements Life and Death Array had fulfilled its purpose. When Lin Xiao deactivated the array, the array disk spat out five spirit stones.

Looking at the five spirit stones, Lin Xiao thought, "This array is pretty interesting. It even refunds the unused spirit stones."

This was the last thought he had before everything went dark, and he collapsed to the side.

——

When Lin Xiao next awoke, he found himself staring at the familiar ceiling of his room. The roof above had a crack that had been leaking for years, despite his father's many attempts to fix it. Just recently, Lin Xiao had repaired it with his spells.

He felt a heavy weight across his entire body, as if every bone had been crushed, causing him great pain. He immediately used his spiritual energy to circulate through his body, easing the discomfort.

As the spiritual energy flowed through him, Lin Xiao began to feel better. Turning his head, he saw his father, Lin Da You, asleep at his bedside.

Next to his father was a black wooden log—none other than Liao Pantou, still clutching his soul-nurturing wood.

Sensing Lin Xiao's awakening, Liao Pantou emerged from the log's wooden confines, careful not to disturb the sleeping Lin Da You. He opted to communicate with Lin Xiao through telepathy instead:

"You're finally awake."

This was Lin Xiao's first experience with telepathy, and he stared at Liao Pantou in confusion.

Seeing his bewildered expression, Liao Pantou asked incredulously through telepathy:

"You don't know how to use telepathy?"

Lin Xiao honestly shook his head. He had forgotten about it when creating spells.

Seeing this, Liao Pantou sighed and patiently taught Lin Xiao the basic telepathy technique—a must-know skill for any cultivator.

Fortunately, the technique wasn't difficult, and Lin Xiao quickly mastered it. Now they could communicate normally.

Lin Xiao hurriedly asked the question that had been nagging him:

"Wasn't I poisoned? How…how did I get back here?"

Liao Pantou stroked his beard and replied through telepathy:

"After you left, I returned to the sect and happened to run into Sun Yi Gao and Lin Yun. When they heard you had gone off to face the serpent demon alone, they were worried and decided to follow you. I went along with them."

"When we arrived nearby, we heard loud noises and guessed it might be you. We followed the sounds, but halfway there, the noise stopped. After searching for a while, we found you lying in a tree hollow, along with your array disk and five spirit stones."

At this point, Liao Pantou quickly added:

"Your array disk and spirit stones are on the table outside."

Lin Xiao then asked:

"But I was poisoned, wasn't I? Why do I feel fine now, aside from some soreness and fatigue? Did you save me, Senior?"

Liao Pantou responded with a disdainful expression:

"When we found you, we also discovered the serpent's corpse nearby. I inspected it and found it was a Silver Frost Python. It must have failed to ascend to dragonhood and somehow ended up possessing a Spirit-Devouring Beast's body. How foolish of it—possessing a Spirit-Devouring Beast only limited its abilities."

Realizing he was straying off-topic, Liao Pantou redirected:

"The poison wasn't very potent. Although I didn't have any antidote pills on me, I noticed you had Spring Mist Grass in your spirit field—the main ingredient for crafting antidote pills. The alchemy furnace in your pill room is top-notch, so I reluctantly guided Sun Yi Gao through the process of refining an antidote."

"You were lucky—Sun Yi Gao has quite a talent for alchemy. Even though he's only at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, he managed to produce a mid-grade pill on his second try. You should know that if it had been a low-grade pill, it would have only relieved the symptoms but not completely cured the poison."

Of course, Liao Pantou wasn't about to admit that the real reason he didn't refine the pill himself was that, despite being a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, he had never managed to create a mid-grade pill!