The enormous white, cold, and dark silhouette stood where the peregrine falcon had just been, emanating a thick atmosphere of decay that had condensed into mist, appearing in front of Xu Ran.

The green fog swirled around Xu Ran, accompanied by an unbelievably foul stench, slowly inching closer bit by bit, the scant air remaining in the atmosphere assimilated by this eerie green mist.

For a moment, the air that Xu Ran and the peregrine falcon could breathe diminished, causing their faces to turn slightly red, making Xu Ran’s porcelain-like face appear as if it had been brushed with rouge.

Xu Ran’s eyes, emitting a faint golden light, watched the inching green fog without any expression of tension aside from his slightly reddened face.

For Xu Ran and the peregrine falcon now, not breathing for a short while would pose no issue.

"Hiss—"

In the distance, the snake skeleton monster coiled on the ground, its yard-long forked tongue flicking in and out, each flicker releasing waves of green mist. Its hollow, green glowing eye sockets fixed on Xu Ran, revealing a somewhat gloating expression on its skeletal snake head.

"This snake skeleton monster actually has such intelligence?"

Xu Ran was somewhat surprised, raising his eyebrows at the curious phenomenon of the snake skeleton monster’s slightly gloating expression.

Just when the snake skeleton monster appeared, it had burrowed up from the ground, carrying with it a strong aura of decay and a presence from the Netherworld, constantly proving it was a Demon Beast long dead, buried in this eerie valley, becoming the tomb guardian Snake Demon of this massive corpse.

Under these circumstances, no matter how advanced one’s cultivation or how strong one’s body, they cannot resist the erosion of time, let alone preserve their spirit.

This was why Xu Ran was astonished by the strange expression that had recently appeared on the snake skeleton monster’s face.

The green mist, condensed by the snake skeleton monster, had unknowingly approached Xu Ran’s body, now only a meter away.

The condensed green breath had settled somewhat onto the ground, instantly evaporating into steam. Looking down, bubbles of corrosion appeared on the soil stained by the green mist, and within a single breath, the eroded area had formed a fifty-centimeter pit.

The peregrine falcon, in a safe position, witnessing the green mist capable of directly corroding the land, dilated its pupils, eyes filled with concern.

The sudden strong attack from the snake skeleton monster was still vivid in memory; had it not been for Xu Ran saving it, the falcon might have become one of the white skeletons beneath the valley ground.

And the green mist leaking out from the snake skeleton monster had such power.

It could corrode the land directly!

The valley was particularly eerie, with the ground’s sturdiness unimaginable, and even such a place could not withstand the corrosion of the green mist, showing the incredible power it held.

Though the peregrine falcon’s eyes were filled with worry, it continued to trust that Xu Ran could handle the snake skeleton monster before them. Otherwise, it would have already rushed in to fight the snake skeleton monster, seizing a lifeline for Xu Ran.

Seeing this scene, Xu Ran’s eyes narrowed, suddenly enlightened.

"Hmph!" Xu Ran snorted coldly, scornfully saying, "So, this is why you were gloating!"

The next moment.

A waft of white mist rose around Xu Ran, encircling him like an invisible shield, tightly safeguarding his body, preventing even the slightest bit of green mist from penetrating.

As Xu Ran anticipated.

The once unstoppable green mist, capable of utterly eroding any substance touching it within moments, now suddenly halted.

But upon encountering the mist formed by the Innate Qi, the green mist acted as though it had met its nemesis, unable to advance even a bit. Moreover, the green mist within the snake skeleton monster began diminishing continuously, and the green flames within its eyes visibly shrank.

Instantly.

The previously gloating expression on the snake skeleton monster’s face turned into confusion.

It couldn’t understand why the human before it remained unharmed, why its unstoppable green mist stood still, unable to advance, and why the green mist within its body was diminishing.

All these events happening on its small-brained snake head couldn’t be fathomed.

Yet instinct within its body told it the green mist was useless against the human before it.

It immediately retracted all the surrounding green mist back into the snake bone from its hollow eye sockets.

Immediately, the originally white snake skeleton took on a faint green hue, countless complex and chaotic runes emerged within, a single glance would cause mental disarray, this entirely green snake skeleton monster looked as though it had just returned from Netherworld Hell, appearing particularly ghastly.

"Why is it gone?"

Xu Ran watched the green mist disappearing in the air, sighing slightly disappointed.