The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

Just as Jiang Chuan was about to make another move, the Mountain Spirit suddenly raised his head and looked towards the distant valley: "Tonight is the night of the full moon, and a 'miracle of the world' is about to appear there."

Jiang Chuan followed her gaze and saw a strange hissing sound coming from the distant valley, as if some enormous creature was awakening. Immediately afterwards, a huge roar and the sound of an avalanche mingled together, causing the main peak of Cangling Mountain to tremble slightly.

"What is that?" Jiang Chuan asked in surprise.

The mountain spirit did not answer, but simply gazed silently in the direction of the valley.

As the sound drew closer, a gigantic snake head emerged from the valley, its size astonishing, almost matching the summit of the main peak of Cangling Mountain.

Jiang Chuan was stunned by the sudden sight and instinctively gripped the Huangshan Sword in his hand: "This is... the Xuan Snake?"

The mountain spirit nodded: "That's right, but what you see is just the remnant soul left behind by the Xuan Snake a thousand years after its death."

"A remnant soul?" Jiang Chuan asked in confusion.

The mountain spirit explained, "Hidden Spirit Mountain is a special place, rich in spiritual energy, which can condense some powerful remnant souls. The strange phenomenon you saw is the manifestation of the remnant soul of the Xuan Snake on the night of the full moon."

Jiang Chuan was shocked and looked up at the enormous snake head. The snake head's eyes were like two bright moons, cold and deep, as if they could see through everything. Although its body was illusory, it exuded a chilling pressure.

"The Xuan Snake... is actually so powerful." Jiang Chuan muttered to himself.

The mountain spirit said calmly, "The Xuan Snake was once the guardian of Hidden Spirit Mountain, and its power far exceeded your imagination. However, it has long since died, and what remains now is nothing but a remnant soul."

Jiang Chuan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Then why did its remnant soul appear? Could it be because of some kind of supreme treasure?"

The mountain spirit glanced at him, and the shopkeeper replied, "You are very clever. The reason why the remnant soul of the black serpent can manifest is because its bones have merged with the valley. And its bones contain powerful energy."

Jiang Chuan's face lit up with excitement: "If I can find the bones of the Xuan Snake, perhaps I can advance my cultivation level even further."

The mountain spirit nodded: "That's right. However, the bones of the black serpent are not so easy to find. Although its remnant soul has appeared, its bones are hidden in the deep valley, and only those who are truly destined can find them."

Jiang Chuan took a deep breath and said firmly, "No matter what, I will try."

Just as Jiang Chuan was about to continue questioning the mountain spirit, he suddenly noticed that her figure was becoming illusory.

Under the moonlight, her figure gradually dissipated like smoke.

"Are you leaving?" Jiang Chuan asked, somewhat surprised.

The mountain spirit said calmly, "My mission is complete. The rest is up to you."

Jiang Chuan hurriedly asked, "Then how do I find the bones of the Xuan Snake?"

The mountain spirit's figure had almost completely vanished, leaving only a clear, cold voice: "Follow your intuition; it will lead you to the answer."

Before the words were finished, the mountain spirit's figure completely disappeared into the moonlight, leaving only a cold and desolate night.

Jiang Chuan returned to the cave, leaned against the stone wall, and closed his eyes to rest. The light from the campfire illuminated his face, making him appear exceptionally resolute.

"I'll head to the valley first thing tomorrow morning to find the bones of the Black Serpent," Jiang Chuan muttered to himself.

After a sleepless night, Jiang Chuan rested and recuperated in the cave, constantly reviewing the key points of swordsmanship taught by the mountain spirit and the shocking scene of the remnant soul of the Xuan Snake in his mind.

As dawn broke, he got up, packed his bags, and prepared to head to the valley where the remnant soul of the Xuan Snake had appeared the previous night.

Jiang Chuan stepped out of the cave, took a deep breath of the cold morning air, and then summoned the Nine-Colored Spirit Deer from his storage bag.

He had obtained this nine-colored spirit deer by chance; it possessed extraordinary speed and could run like the wind. Jiang Chuan mounted the deer, gently patted its neck, and said, "Today, we'll rely entirely on you. Take us to that valley."

The nine-colored spirit deer seemed to understand his words, let out a neigh, and ran towards the valley.

Along the way, the cold wind howled, and the scenery on both sides flashed by like phantoms. Jiang Chuan gripped the saddle tightly, his heart filled with anticipation and trepidation.

They arrived near the canyon in just half a day.

However, the nine-colored spirit deer suddenly stopped and let out an uneasy neigh. No matter how Jiang Chuan urged it, it refused to take another step forward. Helpless, Jiang Chuan could only dismount, gently stroke the nine-colored spirit deer's head, and say, "It seems you have also sensed the danger here. Then wait for me here, I'll be right back."

The nine-colored spirit deer seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, retreated to the side, lay down on the ground, and looked around warily.

Jiang Chuan took a deep breath, gripped the Huangshan Sword in his hand, and walked alone into the depths of the canyon.

As soon as Jiang Chuan stepped into the canyon, he felt a strange warmth wash over him.

In stark contrast to the icy wilderness outside, this place felt like another world. A strong smell of sulfur permeated the valley, making it somewhat unpleasant. Jiang Chuan covered his mouth and nose, proceeding cautiously.

He discovered that this was a vast hot spring valley, with steaming hot springs everywhere, bubbling and gurgling. Although the vegetation in the valley was sparse, it exuded a vibrant life, and every leaf shimmered with an unusual luster. Jiang Chuan carefully searched along the edge of the valley, not missing a single corner.

Finally, he saw the remains of the enormous moon-gazing serpent.

The snake's body was winding and twisting, its scales gleaming coldly in the sunlight, resembling an ancient mountain range lying across the valley. Jiang Chuan was overjoyed and stepped forward to examine it closely. After confirming that the large snake was indeed dead, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems the mountain spirit was right; this black serpent really is just a remnant soul," Jiang Chuan muttered to himself.

He began exploring along the remains of the giant serpent, hoping to find some valuable treasures.

He carefully searched the crevices between the snake bones and scales, leaving no place unchecked where treasure might be hidden. However, after a thorough search, he found nothing.

"Is there really no treasure here?" Jiang Chuan said with some disappointment.

Just as he was about to give up, he suddenly thought of the snake's head. A thought struck him, and he walked towards it. The snake's head was enormous, like a small hill. Jiang Chuan struggled to climb onto the snake's head and crawl into its mouth.

The inside of the snake's head was pitch black, filled with a putrid stench. Jiang Chuan frowned, lit a luminous pearl, and illuminated the surroundings. He searched carefully inside the snake's head, and suddenly, he discovered a palm-sized, clear green pebble, lying quietly deep within the snake's head.

Jiang Chuan's heart stirred. He picked up the pebble and examined it closely. The pebble had a smooth surface, emitted a faint glow, and seemed to have a mysterious power surging within it. Jiang Chuan speculated that this might be the soul stone of the Xuan Snake.

"I can't believe I actually found it!" Jiang Chuan was overjoyed and put the soul stone into his pocket. For cultivators, soul stones are extremely precious cultivation resources, which can not only improve cultivation level, but also be used to refine magic weapons.

With this soul stone, his strength will definitely reach a new level.

After a short rest in the hot spring valley, Jiang Chuan felt utterly exhausted; the days of travel had left him desperately needing to relax.

He spotted a hot spring not far away, its water crystal clear and steaming. Jiang Chuan's heart stirred; he decided to wash away the fatigue of the past few days first.

He took off his clothes and jumped into the hot spring. The warm water enveloped his body, making him feel incredibly comfortable.

Jiang Chuan closed his eyes, savoring the moment of tranquility. However, just as he let his guard down, a strange fragrance wafted into his nose.

Jiang Chuan was startled and immediately opened his eyes. He was very curious about the strange fragrance; what could emit such an alluring aroma? Curiosity drove him to leave the hot spring and head towards the source of the fragrance.

He followed the path through the hot spring valley, venturing deeper into the thick fog. The fog obscured visibility, forcing Jiang Chuan to rely solely on his keen senses to navigate.

After searching for a while, he finally found a strange little tree growing on Hot Spring Tingzhou.

This sapling is only a little over a meter tall, with a twisted trunk and a greenish-yellow fruit shaped like a small snake hanging from its branches.

The fruit emitted a faint glow, and its fragrance emanated from it. Based on his knowledge of spiritual herbs, Jiang Chuan judged it to be a precious medicinal herb.

"I never expected to find such a precious medicinal herb here!" Jiang Chuan was overjoyed and carefully picked it. He knew that this kind of precious herb was extremely helpful for cultivation, and if he could refine it into a pill, it would definitely allow his cultivation to reach a higher level.

Jiang Chuan took out a jade box and sealed the snake fruit inside.

However, just as he was about to leave, the pebble in his arms suddenly began to vibrate. Jiang Chuan took the pebble out in alarm and saw that its surface was covered with cracks, and something seemed to be struggling inside.

Jiang Chuan was startled and carefully examined the pebbles.

Suddenly, he realized that this was not a pebble, but a snake egg. The baby snake inside seemed to love the snake fruit on Tingzhou Island, and after sensing its presence, it began to eagerly try to hatch.

"Not good!" Jiang Chuan thought to himself. He knew that the baby snake hatched from this snake egg would definitely be extraordinary, and if it were to hatch, it would likely bring unexpected dangers.

Jiang Chuan hurriedly placed the snake eggs and snake fruit into the jade box and reinforced the seal once more.

However, just as he finished sealing, a huge splash came from the hot spring, and a huge shadow burst out of the water, accompanied by a strange, long hiss.

Jiang Chuan's heart tightened, and he immediately turned around, only to see a huge snake-like creature emerge from the hot spring.

Its body was even larger than the remains of the Moon-Gazing Serpent, its scales shimmering with a cold light, and its eyes, like blood-red lanterns, radiating a chilling light.

Jiang Chuan immediately sensed a strong killing intent; he knew he was in dire straits.

At this critical moment, he swiftly drew his sword, his Azure Wood Sword Qi and Pure Yang True Qi surging wildly within him, preparing to face this life-or-death test.

"No matter what you are, I, Jiang Chuan, will fight to the death to prevent you from succeeding!" Jiang Chuan gritted his teeth and roared in a low voice.

The enormous snake-like creature seemed to understand his words, letting out another hiss as it lunged at Jiang Chuan.

It was incredibly fast, arriving in front of Jiang Chuan in an instant. Its enormous snake head opened its blood-red maw and lunged at Jiang Chuan.

Jiang Chuan dodged the snake's head attack with a swift movement. He then unleashed the Rolling Sword Technique from the Great River Sword Intent, the sword light flowing continuously like water as it swept towards the snake's body.

However, the snake-like creature's scales were incredibly hard, and Jiang Chuan's attacks only produced a shower of sparks, failing to cause it any damage.

"How can these scales be so hard!" Jiang Chuan was shocked. He realized that the strength of this snake-like creature far exceeded his imagination.

The serpentine creature, having missed its first attack, launched another. Its tail, like a giant whip, swept towards Jiang Chuan. Jiang Chuan quickly jumped up, dodging the attack.

However, the residual force of the snake's tail still sent him flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

Jiang Chuan coughed up a mouthful of blood and struggled to his feet. He knew this couldn't go on; he had to come up with a solution. He remembered the key points of swordsmanship that the Mountain Spirit had taught him and decided to try combining sword intent and sword energy to unleash even greater power.

Jiang Chuan took a deep breath and adjusted his state. He perfectly fused the Azure Wood Sword Qi and Pure Yang True Qi, infusing them into the Edgeless Sword. At this moment, the Edgeless Sword shimmered with alternating blue and red light, radiating a powerful aura.

"Again!" Jiang Chuan shouted, unleashing the Azure Wood Sword Qi move from the Five Elements Sword Manual—"Ten Thousand Trees Facing Spring." The sword light transformed into countless azure sword energies, growing vigorously like trees in spring, enveloping the snake-like creature.

This time, the snake seemed to sense a threat, a hint of wariness flashing in its eyes. It twisted its body, trying to avoid Jiang Chuan's attack. However, Jiang Chuan's sword energy followed like a shadow, still striking its body.

"Hiss—" The snake-like creature let out a painful hiss, and wounds appeared all over its body, bleeding profusely. Jiang Chuan was overjoyed; he knew his attack had worked.

However, before he could rejoice for long, the snake suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out a black venomous mist.

The poisonous fog spread, instantly enveloping Jiang Chuan. Startled, Jiang Chuan quickly held his breath and circulated his inner energy to resist the erosion of the poisonous fog.

"This poisonous fog is terrible!" Jiang Chuan thought to himself, realizing the danger. He knew that if he remained trapped in the fog, he would eventually be poisoned to death.

Jiang Chuan used the "Gentle Breeze Step," his figure moving like a gentle breeze through the poisonous mist. Using his keen senses, he approached the snake-like creature. He intended to strike while it was injured.

Finally, Jiang Chuan located the snake-like creature. Without hesitation, he swung his bladeless sword, unleashing a sharp sword aura aimed at the creature's vital point. The snake-like creature seemed to sense the danger; it tried to dodge, but its movements were slowed by its injury.

"Pfft—" The sword energy struck the snake creature precisely at its vital point, causing it to let out a scream and writhe violently.

Jiang Chuan dared not let his guard down and continued his attack. He unleashed all his skills, unleashing wave after wave of sword energy towards the serpentine creature. (End of Chapter)