He never would have thought the Snake Demon from this marsh would actually side with Cao Yan and ruin their plans!

Her strike successful, the Snake Demon quickly retreated to Cao Yan’s side. Her slit pupils burned with flames of hatred. Her forked tongue flicked out as she said urgently, "Hey, you, boy from the Cao Family! I’ll team up with you!"

"These scum from the Moon Worship Sect captured my sister and threw her into the Blood Saber Sect’s headquarters in Cyan Yang Ancient City. I still don’t know if she’s dead or alive!"

She paused, a hint of helplessness in her voice. "I wanted to enter the city to find her, but I discovered they’d placed a ward on the gates. You can get in, but you can’t get out. I had no choice but to retreat to this Mist Marsh and wait for an opportunity!"

At her words, Cao Yan’s mind instantly flashed back to the fall of the Blood Saber Sect...

A Snake Demon had broken into the Blood Saber Sect’s Main Altar that night and massacred its members. That was what had reduced the Blood Saber Sect, once one of the three great factions, to the half-dead shell it was today.

The cold valley mist swirled around his face, dampness seeping into the wound on his shoulder. Cao Yan pushed down his thoughts and said in a low voice, "Senior, your sister might still be alive! According to our investigation, the Snake Demon who wreaked havoc in the Blood Saber Sect that night escaped. The Government Office is still conducting a massive search, but they haven’t found a single trace of her."

"If we can get out of this alive, I swear on the Cao Family’s hundred-year reputation that I will use the full might of my family to help you find your sister!"

The Snake Demon’s slit pupils narrowed. Her forked tongue darted between her lips, stirring a barely perceptible, acrid breeze. With almost no hesitation, she said, "Deal!"

As the word left her lips, her Demonic Power rippled, twisting the nearby mist into a Serpent Form. It coiled around her for a moment before scattering into the cold wind, a display of her uncanny strength.

Two against three!

One of them had a blood-soaked shoulder, the other had revealed her demonic form, but Cao Yan’s grip on his saber hilt tightened, and a faint light gleamed in his eyes.

He saw a chance to turn the tide, a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation.

However, the men from the Moon Worship Sect were clearly prepared.

"Hmph. A mere Snake Demon, daring to act so brazenly before us!"

The uninjured Moon Worship Sect master snorted. The hem of his robe swept across a dry twig on the ground, making a soft SNAP.

He pulled a yellowed piece of talisman paper from his robes. Its corners were embroidered with dark purple, demonic markings. He exchanged a look with his injured companion, and they both began forming hand seals, muttering an incantation. Their voices, muffled by the mist, had an eerie quality that made one’s skin crawl.

The Yellow Talisman instantly burst into flames!

Acrid black smoke, tinged with a foul stench, billowed out. It couldn’t disperse in the thick fog, instead congealing into a gray-black cloud that choked the air and made one’s throat tighten.

Several chains forged from Dark Primordial Qi shot out from the light of the burning talisman paper. The glowing cyan Runes on each link were piercingly bright in the mist. As if alive, they whistled through the air—SWISH! SWISH!—and flew toward the Snake Demon like lightning!

"Damn it! It’s the Demon-locking Chain!"

The Snake Demon’s heart seized. Tapping her toes on a wet Stone, she sent a spray of mud flying as her figure turned to flee like a wisp of white smoke.

But the chains seemed to have eyes, homing in on the aura of her Demonic Power. They were faster than a startled bird in the fog, closing the distance in the blink of an eye!

With no time to think, Cao Yan lunged forward. His Flaming Dragon Saber carved a dark red arc through the mist, whistling sharply as he slashed viciously at the chains!

SWOOSH!

But the blade passed straight through the chains as if they were nothing but shadows.

’This is bad!’

Shock jolted through Cao Yan.

Before he could regain his footing, Bai Nan and the two Moon Worship Sect masters were already charging, their feet slipping on the wet ground behind him!

The chains ahead of them solidified once more. Hissing like vipers, they shot through the mist and mercilessly pierced the Snake Demon’s shoulder blades and abdomen!

"Ah!"

The Snake Demon shrieked in pain. The sound, laced with her Demonic Qi, was so powerful it shook the surrounding mist, causing tiny water droplets to condense and fall before her.

Her form abruptly changed. Her upper body remained that of a woman in white, but her lower half transformed into the long, scaled body of a Cyan Snake. Its scales gleamed with a cold light in the mist, and its tail whipped across the ground, kicking up spatters of mud.

Her tail thrashed wildly against the ground. Clumps of black mud and dead roots flew up, SPLATTING against the rocks as she struggled to break free of the chains.

But the glowing cyan Runes on the eerie chains suddenly flared to life. The light wrapped around her serpentine body, feeling like sharp thorns digging into her flesh. No matter how she thrashed and writhed, the chains only constricted further. Beads of blood began to seep from beneath her scales, smearing into pale red streaks in the mist. It was a ghastly sight.

She was far stronger than the two Moon Worship Sect members, but now she was like a beast caught in a net, every movement bringing heart-rending pain.

"AH!"

In her agony, the Cyan Snake Demon coughed up a cloud of foul-smelling white mist. Her enormous serpentine body writhed wildly in the valley. The tip of her tail snapped a dead tree in half—CRACK!—but she still couldn’t escape the chains’ grasp. All she could do was watch helplessly as they constricted ever tighter.

"Senior!"

Cao Yan’s eyes were wide and bloodshot with fury. He raised his saber to charge, but Bai Nan saw the opening and intercepted him. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Bai Nan’s Long Saber, slick with condensation, came slashing down. The wind from the attack alone stung Cao Yan’s face!

Cao Yan had no choice but to bring his saber up to block. CLANG! The crisp sound of steel on steel rang out. The impact sent a numbing jolt up his arm, trapping him in the engagement.

The battle had taken a disastrous turn in an instant!

Cao Yan was once again trapped in a desperate one-on-three fight!

The one hundred and fifty-odd men in the valley watched, their eyes burning red. They clenched their teeth so hard their jaws ached, and even their breathing was ragged and trembling.

Most of them were in the Blood Nourishing Realm, with only a few having reached the Blood Refining Realm. They had all been disarmed, left empty-handed to huddle in the mist like lambs to the slaughter.

But as they watched Cao Yan, saw his blood-soaked robes and his figure that refused to retreat even half a step, a fire they had long suppressed finally burned away their fear.

"Let’s take these bastards on!"

Several disciples suddenly drew hidden daggers from their pant legs and waistbands. Roaring, they charged forward, hoping to relieve some of the pressure on Cao Yan.