Chapter 79: Between Mountains and Seas
Deep mountains. Rustle, rustle, rustle…
The faint sound of reptiles slithering through dried leaves and grass came from somewhere unknown.
Slender rays of morning light filtered through the gaps in the branches and leaves.
Xiao He poked her head out from the grass, the small jade sphere with the carved mark held in her mouth.
She wandered through the forest, occasionally stopping to orient herself.
The jade sphere in her mouth glowed with a faint white light.
“…”
This way.
After some exploration, the little snake slowly slithered in a certain direction.
This was north of Lingyuan Marsh, the easternmost part of the Flame Mist Mountain Range.
If one went further north and crossed the mountains, one would enter the territory of Qi Prefecture.
Xiao He searched and looked as she went.
Finally, in the distance, she spotted something by a cliff edge, glowing with a faint white halo.
The glow of the jade sphere in her mouth no longer brightened.
Xiao He looked around, saw no one, and quickly slithered toward that place.
“There really is another one!”
Arriving at the edge of the light, she looked closely and indeed found another jade sphere, identical to the first.
It also had a carved mark that was wide in the middle and narrow at both ends.
The snake child instantly transformed into human form, her smooth little feet stepping on the green stone of the cliff as she leisurely lay down.
She held one in each hand, giggling happily.
The “toys” actually appeared in a pair.
How could this not make her happy?
She raised her small hands, holding the jade spheres up toward the morning sun.
“Huh?”
She slightly rotated the two jade spheres until the carved marks were standing upright.
“What’s…”
A hint of confusion appeared on her small face.
“They look… like a pair of eyes.”
“They are eyes.”
A cold female voice suddenly came from behind, startling Xiao He so much that her hands trembled and the spheres almost flew out.
She quickly turned around and retreated a few steps.
From deep within the forest, a woman in white walked forward, watching Xiao He with great interest.
“You… who are you?!”
Xiao He was terrified.
Yan Yan had told her that the cultivation world outside was chaotic.
One slip and you could be captured to refine pills.
“Are you an evil alchemist?!”
“Alchemist?”
The woman was stunned, completely not understanding what this child was talking about.
But she paid no mind to that.
“You’re questioning me? I should be asking you—why are you taking my magical artifact?”
Now it was Xiao He’s turn to be confused: “Magical artifact?”
She looked down and held up the two jade spheres with her small hands.
“You mean this?”
The woman in white nodded: “That’s right.”
With a flash of white spiritual light, the two jade spheres slowly floated away.
Xiao He instinctively reached out to grab them, but they were too high, and she couldn’t reach.
“This is my magical artifact. I simply passed through here before and accidentally lost it.”
“Today I was lying in wait here to see if I could catch you.”
The woman in white suddenly put on an indignant expression.
“I caught you, you little thief!”
“Xiao He is not a thief! Xiao she is not a thief!”
Xiao He was flustered and her face turned red: “I picked this up!”
“I’m returning it to you anyway!”
“Really?”
The woman took a few steps closer, approaching Xiao He, her expression somewhat skeptical.
The snake child puffed out her chest, speaking righteously: “Of course! Xiao He is a good child! I would never steal!”
“Alright, since you’re returning the items…”
“I’ll let it go.”
The woman in white flicked her sleeves and turned around, a faint fragrance drifting into Xiao He’s nose.
“Sniff, sniff…”
“Sniff, sniff…”
Xiao He suddenly widened her eyes: “You are… a demon.”
“…”
The woman in white tilted her head, a sly glint flashing in her eyes.
“Yes, what about it?”
Her figure suddenly transformed, actually becoming a great white python!
Coiling around Xiao He.
Actually…
She had been observing Xiao He for quite some time.
So young, yet already possessing spiritual intelligence and able to take human form.
This talent, in the entire demon world of Chu Kingdom, could be considered excellent.
Those two jade spheres were just something she had casually crafted in her spare time, imitating human artifact refinement techniques.
They held no value.
If she could use these two little toys to lure a promising demon seedling, it would certainly be a great gain.
After some push-and-pull, she finally struck up a conversation with this child.
“Wow…”
Xiao He was stunned by the other’s massive form.
“How many years will it take to grow this big…”
“As long as you cultivate normally, fifty years of cultivation will suffice.”
“Cultivate?” Xiao He pondered this word, seeming somewhat embarrassed.
The white snake suddenly paused, a rather absurd thought arising in her mind.
“You… haven’t ever cultivated, have you?”
Xiao He shook her head: “No…”
The white snake fell silent.
Never cultivated?
What did that mean?
Born with spiritual intelligence, naturally taking form…
The white snake suddenly transformed back into the woman in white, not daring to tease this child any longer: “You… are you some descendant of an ancient demon clan?”
“No, I grew up with Grandpa and Yan Yan since I was little…”
“Grandpa?”
The woman in white focused her gaze, as if she had found a demon “senior.”
“Where is your Grandpa now?”
“I mean no disrespect, I simply wish to pay my respects.”
Xiao He looked at her with a strange expression: “Grandpa? Grandpa is in the ground now.”
“In… in the ground?”
“He’s already dead.”
“?”
“That’s right, humans have very short lifespans. He died at eighty-seven.”
Humans…
The white snake found it somewhat absurd.
A snake demon actually recognizing a human as her grandfather.
But the more they talked, the more interested she became in this snake child.
The two demons sat down by the cliff edge, chatting.
Xiao He told the woman in white everything from her childhood.
This was the first time she had encountered another snake demon, and she felt inexplicably close.
The white snake also told her many things about the demon world.
“Xiao He, I think you should stop hanging around with that human cultivator.”
“Why don’t you come with us to Shangtong Mountain?”
“No, no, Yan Yan and I were both picked up by Grandpa, and we grew up together, so of course we have to play together!”
“I don’t want to play with strangers.”
The woman in white suddenly asked with a teasing tone: “Am I not a stranger?”
Xiao He was momentarily at a loss for words.
“We…”
“We are both snake demons.”
But she still used her clever little mind to come up with an excuse: “We might be relatives.”
“Hahaha…”
“Xiao He, come with big sister.”
“Go? Where?”
“To search for the Between Mountains and Seas.”
“Between Mountains and Seas? What place is that?”
The white snake pondered for a moment, finding it somewhat complicated, and wondering how to explain it clearly to this child who knew nothing.
After a long while, she spoke: “Between Mountains and Seas, it is said, is the pure land of all demons under heaven.”
“The demon world of Chu Kingdom is in chaos.”
“Many senior demon cultivators have left here, heading to the Central Domain to search for traces of the Between Mountains and Seas.”
“Between Mountains and Seas…”
Xiao He murmured the words.
It seemed to have a magical power.
“All demons under heaven have their hearts set on the Between Mountains and Seas.”
“But its location is known to none… only that it is roughly in the Central Domain.”
Central Domain…
Such a distant word.
Xiao He suddenly shook her head: “I won’t go.”
“I want to stay by Yan Yan’s side… he doesn’t like traveling far.”
“…”
The white snake looked at this snake child, not angered at all, but smiled gently.
“Of course.”
“That is your choice.”
“But you must begin cultivating properly.”
She suddenly tapped Xiao He’s brow lightly with her finger, and a faint strand of spiritual light sank into her head.
“If you continue delaying like this, I fear your spiritual nature will wither.”
“Plants and trees need a hundred years to flourish and wither; for us demon cultivators, the path of cultivation is even longer…”
She stood up: “Alright, I came here on important business.”
“If you change your mind and wish to search for the Between Mountains and Seas with us…”
“Then come find me at Shangtong Mountain.”
“But I’m afraid I cannot wait for you too long.”
“My name is…”
“Bai Qi.”
Her lingering voice echoed as the white figure transformed into a rainbow, disappearing into the depths of the clouds.
In Xiao He’s head, something new had appeared.
It was hazy and blurred, like being in a fog.
Fortunately, Grandpa had taught her to read.
“Mysterious… what… Dragon Transformation Chapter…”
…
Xuan Chi Dragon Transformation Chapter.