Chapter 475: Chapter 469: Discovering a Small Snake with ’King’ on Its Forehead

A week had passed in a flash since the earth-shattering incident on Monkey Mountain in the Yaoling Mountain Range. For the past seven days, the demons of the mountain range had talked of little else. Their discussions centered on either the legendary Seventy Two Celestial Tribulations or the pitiful Snake Spirit who survived the tribulation, only to fall into the clutches of a Demon King.

In all of history, no Demon had ever survived the fatal tribulations. One had to admit that the Snake Spirit was truly exceptional. It was precisely this excellence that attracted the jealousy and murderous intent of two Demon Kings.

There were only five Demon Kings in the entire Yaoling Mountain Range. One Demon King tried every trick in the book but failed to kill the Snake Spirit. It took another Demon King’s sneak attack to finally end it all.

What was even more baffling was the appearance of a woman in white after the Snake Spirit was killed.

The woman first wept bitterly, then vowed to slaughter the entire rat lineage. For the past seven days, not a single mouse could be seen in the Yaoling Mountain Range; it was as if they had all been scared into hiding.

Rumor had it that the Gray Demon King himself had given the order for all Rat Demons—be they Awakened, Spirit Monsters, or even Demon Spirit types—to go into hiding.

To the surprise of all the demons, it seemed even the Gray Demon King himself was extremely wary of the woman in white. In the end, he went into hiding as well.

Yet even so, within the past three days, that frenzied woman had still managed to kill many Demons of the rat lineage. It was said that she had killed a full five at the Demon Spirit level alone.

One must understand that every Demon Spirit was transcendent and uniquely blessed. Even if they were rats, their bloodlines were noble and extraordinary. To think they were killed just like that.

Even more shockingly, the previously low-key Snake Race had also gone berserk. They mobilized their entire clan and launched a mouse-hunting campaign across the Yaoling Mountain Range.

In just seven short days, as many as a million rats had died at the fangs of venomous snakes.

This bloodbath left countless other races trembling in fear. Every single snake seemed to have gone mad, overflowing with viciousness.

........

Within the Yaoling Mountain Range, there was a very famous Purple Bamboo Forest. As far as the eye could see, there was a sea of bamboo. Stalk after stalk of purple bamboo shot up, tall and straight, as if trying to touch the sky. Unlike ordinary green bamboo, the lower part of each stalk was purple. They were called Purple Gold Bamboo, and they were tough and unyielding.

And this region belonged to the White Demon King’s Azure Bamboo Forest territory.

A new day had just dawned. The sky was misty, a vast expanse of haze. After an hour or so, brilliant golden sunlight sprinkled across the sea of bamboo, creating shimmering waves of jade and gold—a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

The dense bamboo groves were half-hidden in the mist, rustling like waves in the wind. One could see patches of a lustrous green, like jadeite. Viewed from above, the forest looked like a jadeite wall embedded in the mountain soil. These vigorous and upright purple bamboos seemed to vie with the heavens for height!

Whenever a light rain fell, the patter would drum against the bamboo. The sound of the wind, the rain, and the falling leaves—each note echoed like a beautiful melody, overwhelmingly beautiful.

If such a bamboo forest existed in human society, it would undoubtedly be a top-tier tourist destination, packed with people every day. It was simply that beautiful.

Everyone knew the White Demon King’s true form was a hedgehog, which seemed to have nothing to do with bamboo. But as it happened, this particular hedgehog was exceptionally fond of bamboo. The entire Azure Bamboo Forest territory was filled with all sorts of bamboo groves.

The Purple Bamboo Forest was the most famous among them. Legend had it that long, long ago, before the White Demon King had reached the Demon King Level, he was still undergoing his Cultivation in the human world. He fell in love with a human woman, a poet who especially loved to write poems about bamboo.

"I love bamboo because it stands tall and unyielding, no matter how the wind blows or the rain falls. It’s like the strongest person in the world."

"If you love it, then I will plant a forest of bamboo for you."

The bamboo forest was planted, but the woman he loved had long since returned to dust. The scenery before him was endlessly beautiful, yet twilight was already approaching. Without her to see it, it was all in vain.

A mortal’s lifespan is less than a hundred years, and in ancient times, it was even shorter.

Of course, these were all just rumors. ’A mere hedgehog, so sentimental?’

A Demon King’s rise to power is built upon a mountain of corpses. Of course, for the White Demon King, who had lived for who knows how many ages, it was perfectly normal to have a few unusual stories.

The current Five Great Demons were once known among mortals as the Five Great Immortals. They had countless followers and lived carefree, joyous lives.

Amidst this dense sea of bamboo—where spring breezes rustled through green mountains and purple stalks, where sweet dew rested on green leaves under a warm sun—in this picturesque Purple Bamboo Forest, a young woman in the prime of her beauty approached with graceful, lotus-like steps. She was like an ethereal Fairy, so beautiful it was breathtaking.

The young woman was very familiar with this Purple Bamboo Forest. She came here every day, as if it were her own backyard garden.

Purple Gold Bamboo was a special variety. There was water inside the stalks. When water sits inside ordinary bamboo for a long time, it turns red. But the water inside Purple Gold Bamboo was a purple-gold color. Moreover, it was an incredibly sweet and delicious nectar.

Drinking it had remarkably beneficial effects on the body.

Every morning, the young woman would come to collect the bamboo water. In the early morning, many of the sturdy bamboo stalks would secrete water that clung to their surfaces like dewdrops, magically refusing to slide off.

Each drop was shiny, transparent, and perfectly round, containing Spiritual Qi.

In truth, she didn’t need to go to such trouble. She could simply cut down a bamboo stalk and find plenty of water within its segments.

But the young woman was kindhearted and couldn’t bear to harm even a single stalk of bamboo.

As usual, she carried a small glass bottle in her hand, weaving through the sea of bamboo to collect every dewdrop clinging to the Purple Gold Bamboo stalks.

These dewdrops had a short life. As soon as the sun shone on them, they would evaporate.

This method of collecting dew from the bamboo stalks was extremely tedious, but the young woman’s face was alight with a youthful smile, and she never seemed to tire of it.

Just then, as the young woman approached a tall, straight stalk of Purple Gold Bamboo covered in dewdrops, she suddenly froze. Coiled at the base of the bamboo was a small snake.

The snake seemed to be hibernating. It lay motionless on the ground, completely unaware of her presence, even as she stood right before it.

"Wow... what a pretty little snake."

The snake was small and exquisite. Its body had three different striped patterns, so magnificent they looked as if they had been added with oil paints.

It was so beautiful it didn’t seem real, completely lacking the fierce appearance of an ordinary snake.

The young woman crouched down, wanting to touch its head to see if the snake was still alive.

But suddenly, her alluring, cherry-like lips parted in surprise. Imprinted on the little snake’s forehead was the character for "King."

Perhaps it was because of the faint sunlight, but the character even seemed to shimmer with a faint luster.

The young woman’s beautiful eyes darted about, and she smiled faintly. ’As expected of the Yaoling Mountain Range. Even the snakes here are different from the ones outside.’

"Little snake, are you hurt?"

Seeing that the exquisite little snake didn’t react after she stared at it for a long while, the young woman grew bolder. She reached out with both hands and scooped the little snake up into her palms.

Surprisingly, the little snake was only about fifty centimeters long, a perfect fit in her slender, pale palms.

Even when held in her palms, the snake still showed no reaction. Its eyes were closed. She examined it carefully but couldn’t see any injuries on its body.

But its entire little body was unusually cold, like holding a popsicle.

The young woman, however, wasn’t bothered. She wasn’t afraid of the cold at all; it was as if she were long accustomed to it, because her own body was also very cold.

One could even say her body was just as cold.