Once he devoured her, Tu Xiao'an would also obtain her Ice Frost Power—another incredibly potent Elemental Attribute Power.

'So be it. I'll make this woman the stepping stone to overcome my Heart Demon.'

He was a snake, a giant snake, a being that devoured everything.

"Do you really think I'm just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered?"

Tu Xiao'an's gaze was electric. A cold aura, thick with Killing Intent, radiated from him.

A sneer touched Leng Shuang's ethereally beautiful face. "Snake Spirit, stop putting on a brave front. Even the Rank Three Snake Flood Dragon is half-dead. I'll admit you're resilient, but that's as far as it goes."

This Purple Gold Snake was covered in wounds, a spent force. The fact that it had held on this long was already terrifying.

After all, the Rank Three Snake Flood Dragon had already fallen.

"Is that so? You think that since I knew you were using me, I wouldn't keep an ace up my sleeve?" Tu Xiao'an jeered, his Killing Intent intensifying.

Leng Shuang stood there quietly, gazing at him from afar. "In that case, I'd like to see what this ace of yours is."

"Then watch closely."

With a single thought, Tu Xiao'an acted.

Instantly, fragrant fruits materialized out of thin air. The Purple Gold Snake frantically swallowed them, and its wound-riddled body began to heal at a visible rate.

Hm?

Leng Shuang watched, astonished, and a flicker of greed appeared in her eyes.

There was no doubt about it; the small fruits the Snake Spirit was eating were treasures. The exotic fragrance alone was enough to make her want them.

Watching it desperately devour the fruits one by one, she felt an inexplicable sense of pity for the wasted treasures.

"Hmph..."

After devouring a full twenty Snakeberries, Tu Xiao'an grunted. A powerful energy surged within him, and a formidable, frigid aura erupted from his body in an instant.

Immediately, a dazzling golden light suffused his scales, enveloping him in a brilliant glow like the War God's Golden Armor.

He looked completely reborn, radiant and shining.

Then, Tu Xiao'an's demonic eyes locked onto the peerlessly beautiful woman as he repeated to himself, 'Devour her. Devour her.'

"Do you know why I came, even though I knew full well you had ulterior motives?"

Tu Xiao'an gave a devilish smile. "It's because I wanted to see what you were up to. And because I was confident enough to face anything."

'Who was playing whom was still an open question.'

"Haha... HAHA..." The hovering Purple Gold Snake burst into a wild, arrogant laugh. "You reap what you sow! I will devour you and make you the stepping stone to overcome my Heart Demon! After this, I'll be a true snake! And I will take your Ice Frost Power for myself!"

"Snake Spirit, you must be mad! You're dreaming!" A deep blue aura flared around Leng Shuang as she watched him with wary eyes.

The formerly one-centimeter-long Purple Gold Snake tilted its head to the sky and roared. A majestic power erupted from it like a raging tsunami as its body instantly swelled to thirty meters, transforming it into a towering behemoth.

Tu Xiao'an was in a frenzy. 'Once I devour this woman, it'll all be over! The Rank Three Snake Flood Dragon will be my prey, too!'

'Today, I will ascend to a whole new level, unlike any other.'

ROAR—

The thirty-meter Purple Gold Snake roared at the peerless Leng Shuang, and the powerful shockwave sent her flying.

'Dealing with a mere human is all too easy,' Tu Xiao'an thought, 'especially in my strongest, true form.'

WHOOSH—

His long, thick tail whipped toward the airborne Leng Shuang. If it managed to coil around her, her fate would be sealed.

"Ice Seal!"

But Leng Shuang was no pushover. Anyone who could become a team leader in the Demon Management Bureau was not to be underestimated, especially one who possessed an Elemental Attribute Ability.

As she uttered the two words...

A blast of deep blue energy instantly froze the sweeping tail solid.

The deep blue energy then surged up the massive serpent's body, freezing it inch by inch.

In the span of three breaths, the thirty-meter Purple Gold Snake was turned into a lifelike ice sculpture—a breathtaking sight.

'This beast... flying into a rage just like that. It's courting death.'

Leng Shuang's steps were as light as the wind. She moved like a phantom to put distance between herself and the massive ice sculpture, uncertain if her Ice Seal would hold him.

This Rank Two Snake Spirit was abnormally powerful.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Before Leng Shuang could even catch her breath, the giant, snake-shaped ice sculpture suddenly shattered.

"You're still too weak. Unless you reach Rank Three, you're no different from an ordinary person in my eyes."

Tu Xiao'an didn't even take the Rank Three Snake Flood Dragon seriously, let alone a mere Level 29 human.

Her Ice Frost Power simply wasn't strong enough.

"Weak..."

"What did you say? You're courting death!" This woman was incredibly arrogant and ambitious. Her power was among the greatest in Wencheng; to be insulted by a mere Snake Spirit was unforgivable.

Her voluminous purple hair danced in the wind, a stunning sight. Dressed in fluttering white robes, her features were as perfect as a painting. A cold gale swirled around her as she extended a slender hand. With a gentle push, a giant palm of frost materialized and descended, causing the air to plummet in temperature as it loomed over the Purple Gold Snake.

ZING—

Tu Xiao'an's now-massive Snake Pupils narrowed. The gaze from his left eye solidified, and in a flash, a beam of red light shot toward the giant descending palm.

The beam of light pierced straight through it. Astonished, Leng Shuang hastily dodged.

SPLAT!

A bloody hole was torn through her left shoulder, blood gushing out.

"His gaze can materialize... Heavens!"

Leng Shuang glanced at her left shoulder, shocked yet again by the Snake Spirit's power.

'He's too strong. This is definitely the power of a Rank Three Creature.'

'This is bad. I'm no match for him.'

When experts clashed, it only took a few exchanges to know where they stood.

"Thinking of running away?"

The Purple Gold Snake's towering body rose into the air, looming high over the white-robed Leng Shuang. It was a fierce and terrifying sight, its gaping maw like the Hell Abyss itself.

"I am a team leader from the Demon Management Bureau! If you kill me, you'll be put on humanity's blacklist. Not only will you be unable to live in the human world, but you'll also be hunted by every Martial Cultivator in the nation!"

Leng Shuang pressed a pressure point below the wound on her left shoulder to stanch the bleeding, her eyes fixed warily on the Purple Gold Snake as she delivered her threat.

"I'm not going to kill you," the Purple Gold Snake said.

A flash of joy sparked in Leng Shuang's heart. 'It seems my threat worked.' She knew that this Snake Spirit, Tu Xiao'an, wanted to make a life for himself in Wencheng.

'If he kills me, he won't be able to survive anywhere.'

"I said I was going to devour you. Eat you. One bite is all it will take."

"You came here secretly to claim the Rank Three Snake Flood Dragon for yourself. No one knows your whereabouts. If I eat you here, you'll vanish without a trace. No one will ever suspect me."

At these words, Leng Shuang fell into a complete panic. Pinned by the gaze of the thirty-meter Giant Snake, she was gripped by the terrifying dread of her own death.

'Have I finally played with fire and gotten burned?'

The greater the prize, the greater the hidden peril.

This Snake Spirit had far exceeded Leng Shuang's calculations. He was completely beyond her control, and now, he had become her death warrant.