He Lan Tianxia

"hiss--."

Murong Junlan took a deep breath. He had seen the snake swarms in the Ancient Cave of the White-Haired Woman and the Snake Swarms in the Spiritual Snake Cave, but he had never seen such a uniformly colored snake swarm. Red, blue, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple ringed snakes were all present, and strangely enough, they could even stand together according to different colors. If it were not a snake swarm, it would definitely be a beautiful sight. However, the scene at this moment was quite terrifying.

A triangular-headed golden krait was surrounded by the snake. Its head was slightly raised, and its scarlet tongue suddenly darted out from between its snouts, trembling rapidly twice in the air, as if the fingertip of death was lightly touching it, before it retreated back into that deadly silence.

The snake heads, covered in patterns, had eyes that seemed both open and closed, creating a sinister and solemn atmosphere reminiscent of a battlefield. The swarm of snakes seemed displeased by the intrusion of an enemy; they uniformly cast a solemn glance at the newcomers before uniformly returning their heads to their original positions. Their formation seemed to be telling the newcomers that they were not welcome.

"Watch the rope." Murong Junlan's thin rope went straight to the point. He had neither the time nor the inclination to speculate on the snakes' thoughts. Right now, the only way to advance was to clear all obstacles.

With a single sweep, it was clear that the triangular-headed golden ringed snake was no pushover. Its slight head-lowering dodge was enough to prove its agility. Finally, it flicked its tongue fiercely at Murong Junlan, as if to trip him up.

"You go down, I'll go up." Murong Junlan whispered to the Pavilion Master and then unleashed a killing spree. The Pavilion Master's Ice Lotus Sword also attacked like a storm.

The swarm of snakes instantly split into several lines, attacking Murong Junlan and the Pavilion Master from top to bottom. Inside the seven-story tower, the snakes surged and tumbled, creating a bloody storm. Severed snake heads and bodies, cut off by the thin ropes and the Ice Lotus Sword, flew everywhere, frightening the old tree spirit into screaming repeatedly. At first, it hid in a corner, but later, with too many snakes to fit on its feet, it cleverly jumped onto Murong Junlan's shoulder without waiting for his permission.

Murong Junlan had no time to pay attention to it and let it stay there. The Pavilion Master then tossed a small Ice Lotus Sword to the old tree spirit so that it could defend itself.

The severed snake head and body fell to the ground and kept lunging back. Strangely, the Nine-Story Demon Tower Master didn't know what kind of resurrection technique he had, but the severed snake head and body slowly grew back.

The snakes on the ground were spreading out thicker and thicker, leaving no place to step. Murong Junlan tried to set up a protective barrier several times, but the snakes' teeth broke through it. Murong Junlan and the Pavilion Master were finding it increasingly difficult to fight, as there was nowhere to stand. With wave after wave of snakes rushing towards them, Murong Junlan was starting to struggle. Suddenly, they heard the Pavilion Master cry out in pain, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Poisoned?" Murong Junlan was alarmed. The fact that the Pavilion Master's martial arts were already considered top-notch, yet he collapsed so quickly, proved just how potent the snake's venom was.

"Old man, I'll cover you, you go down and save the sect leader." This was a last resort; if they didn't save the sect leader, he would be devoured by the snake.

The old tree spirit looked at the sect leader, whose body was crawling with snakes, and then at the Ice Lotus short sword the sect leader had just given him. His previous timidity vanished in an instant, replaced by courage. In moments of absolute danger, sometimes an innate decisiveness is forced forth, and the old tree spirit was now standing tall with that same courage. Looking at the treasure the sect leader had entrusted to him in the midst of danger, the old tree spirit decided to use the Ice Lotus sword to save the sect leader. With a shout, the old tree spirit leaped down without hesitation.

The shout was so powerful it shook even Murong Junlan. He wondered how the old man could be so strong. Was he going to die for his cause? It seemed so. Asking a weakling who couldn't even catch a chicken to jump into a snake pit was tantamount to taking his life.

But no one was available, so they had to take this risky step. Murong Junlan flicked his hand and pushed, sending out a hurricane that pushed most of the snakes off the Pavilion Master's body. At that moment, the old tree spirit who had been shouting that he was going to die for his cause jumped down with the Ice Lotus Sword in hand, and the Ice Lotus Sword plunged into the group of red-ringed snakes around the Pavilion Master.

At the critical moment, a snake bit the pavilion master's shoulder. In his dazed state, the pavilion master instinctively turned to the side.

My God! This sword strike will surely kill the Pavilion Master. The old tree spirit's mouth gaped open in shock, and Murong Junlan was also terrified by the old tree spirit's fall. He regretted it, but it was too late. The only things he could do were knock the sword out of the old tree spirit's hand or kick the old tree spirit away. After weighing his options, he chose the latter.

*Thud.* Another powerful kick. The old tree spirit's body shot straight forward like an arrow. It wasn't that Murong Junlan was merciless; if he had kicked a little slower, the sword in the old tree spirit's hand would have plummeted with its body, and the tip of the sword would have directly slashed open the Pavilion Master's body, piercing his chest.

The old tree spirit was kicked until it was dizzy, but it dared not relax. It gripped the Ice Lotus Sword tightly with both hands, knowing that this sword could save its life.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. The old tree spirit heard the sound of something falling. It opened its eyes and was horrified. What it saw were bloodthirsty, knife-like snake mouths, and wherever the Ice Lotus Sword went, snake heads were torn to shreds. It never expected that this ice sword made of ice and snow would have such power.

The old tree spirit was excited. Just as it was about to pick up the Ice Lotus Sword and start a fight, a venomous snake's tail suddenly slapped its hand, and the Ice Lotus Sword fell to the ground. The old tree spirit was shocked. Its hand instinctively reached out and grabbed at the air. Thank goodness, it actually caught the Ice Lotus Sword again. At this moment, the Ice Lotus Sword was firmly embedded in the midst of the snakes.

The old tree spirit strained with both hands, trying to sit steadily on the sword hilt, like a golden rooster standing alone among snakes. He slowly exhaled, the surrounding silence suffocating. The old tree spirit slowly raised his head; this time, it didn't just gasp; it felt something damp beneath its trousers.

The triangular-headed golden ringed snake silently stared at the old tree spirit for a while, then flicked out its scarlet tongue and licked the old tree spirit's forehead, nose, and mouth... When the scarlet tongue wrapped around the old tree spirit's neck, the old tree spirit completely succumbed and fell off the hilt of the Ice Lotus Sword with a thud.

The triangular-headed golden-ringed snake used its tail to coil around the old tree spirit, its gaping maw about to swallow him whole, when a thin rope lashed out, ripping off a layer of skin from the snake's mouth. The tearing pain enraged the snake, and it abandoned the old tree spirit, its eyes filled with malice as it glared at Prince Murong, who was supporting the pavilion master, before darting forward with lightning speed...