Attainment successful. System awakening. Full activation initiated.

A series of messages began to chime in Tu Xiao’an’s mind.

"DING... Congratulations, Host. Your Battle Companion, the Super Celestial Peacock, Azure Owl, has successfully been raised to Level 29."

"DING... Congratulations, Host. Your Super Mutant, Golden Pupils, has successfully been raised to Level 29."

"DING... Congratulations, Host. Your Super Mutant, the Three-headed Evil Snake, has successfully been raised to Level 29."

’What???’

’In the ten days he was gone, those three little guys all went from Level 27 to Level 29?’

Tu Xiao’an gasped.

’What on earth did they do?’ Tu Xiao’an was stunned by the messages. ’There’s no doubt about it. To jump so many Levels in such a short time, they must have eaten Demon Spirit-level Cultivated Creatures.’

’And for all three Super level Creatures to reach Level 29, it couldn’t have been just one or two Demon Spirits that died.’

"DING... Congratulations, Host. Your Tree Spirit Charlie’s Cultivation has reached Perfection and it will undergo its Crossing the Tribulation in seven days."

Tu Xiao’an gasped again. ’Even the Tree Spirit is Crossing the Tribulation?’

’What on earth did I miss in the ten days I was gone?’

’Seven days later?’

’Apparently, the Tree Spirit’s tribulation was very considerate, giving it plenty of time to prepare.’

’As for me, my Tribulation came without any warning. The Heaven and Earth Law didn’t follow any script; it was dead set on destroying me.’

’Thankfully, that was all over now.’

While Tu Xiao’an was still processing the system’s messages, a streak of light suddenly shot out from the distant void. A massive beam of white light, like a river of stars reversing its course, came slashing down with unrivaled ferocity.

At that moment, a boundless Demon Qi filled the sky, blotting out the sun and dimming the countless stars.

’White Demon King?’

Tu Xiao’an had seen this kind of attack before on Monkey Mountain. Immediately, a sharp voice filled with killing intent echoed through the world. "You damn Snake Spirit! You’re still not dead? How dare you run wild in my territory? This time, your death is certain!"

"Hmph..."

The giant snake coiling over the Purple Bamboo Forest snorted. Its Snake Gaze watched the massive beam of white light slash toward it. With the might of a thrashing Divine Dragon, it whipped out its astonishing tail. RRRRIP! Space itself seemed to twist and tear, and a series of violent explosions rang out endlessly.

BOOM...

The world was bleached white, as if a hole had been punched through the sky. A wave of world-ending power surged out in every direction.

Huge swaths of the towering, sturdy Purple Gold Bamboo in the Purple Bamboo Forest were torn out by the roots.

"Aaaah!"

Su Rushi’s scream rang out. She was only human. Caught in this terrifying shockwave, she would undoubtedly perish.

"Form."

Tu Xiao’an’s Snake Gaze narrowed. He focused his Consciousness Power on her, creating a protective Light Shield so that she would remain completely unharmed.

’White Demon King, you should look at me with new eyes. I’m not the same Snake Spirit I used to be.’

A sweep of his tail had easily shattered the White Demon King’s massive beam of light.

Tu Xiao’an then sensed the White Demon King, his Demon Qi flaring, approaching like a bolt of lightning from dozens of miles away. It would take him no more than three breaths to arrive.

’I can’t take you away just yet. Wait for me. I’ll return in a completely new form and take you away from here, openly and with my head held high.’

His Snake Gaze, brighter than any star, fixed on the pale, beautiful girl below as he spoke the words in his heart.

Now that he had succeeded, there was one major task left: Demon Transformation.

’Besides, now isn’t the best time to deal with the White Demon King.’

SCREECH...

"White Demon King, this Snake King will settle the score between us. When I return, it will be the day you die!"

The giant snake, the ’King’ character flashing on its forehead, thrashed once more before soaring straight up into the azure sky, disappearing without a trace.

Down in the Purple Bamboo Forest, Su Rushi saw the giant snake fly away. Realization dawned, and she cried out in a panic, "Xiaoleng, don’t leave me! You promised you’d take me with you!"

SOB SOB SOB...

The young woman watched the giant snake fly away without a single glance back. No matter how she called out, it didn’t return. Her body trembled violently, and crystalline tears welled in her eyes before streaming down her cheeks. She sank to the grass, squatting down and crying her heart out.

"Xiaoleng, you liar snake! How could you just leave me? *Sob*... You jerk, you jerk, you big jerk!"

POP...

The space beside Su Rushi rippled, and a dapper, yet sinister, man appeared out of thin air. His expression was grim, his brow frosted over with an icy rage. He looked up at the sky, but not even a trace of the snake’s shadow remained.

"Hmph. Lucky for you that you’re fast. But sooner or later, I will kill you, snake."

Flames of fury burned in the White Demon King’s eyes. Then, he heard the sound of soft sobs. His gaze fell upon Su Rushi, who looked like a small, lonely animal licking its wounds.

Her cascade of long hair fell over her shoulders in a messy tangle. Her pale, slender legs were drawn up to her chest, her delicate arms wrapped around them as she cried, squatting on the grass.

The sight instantly melted the anger in the White Demon King’s eyes, replaced by a look of tenderness. He said softly, "Shi’er, hurry and stand up. Let Brother Bai see if you’re hurt."

"*Sob*... Xiaoleng flew away... He doesn’t want me as his master anymore."

Her tear-stained face was a picture of heartbreaking beauty. When such a gorgeous and innocent young woman cried, she could melt even a ten-thousand-year-old iceberg.

The moment the White Demon King heard the name "Xiaoleng," he understood everything. A frigid glint flashed in his eyes, and his body instantly erupted with a terrifying aura, radiating intense killing intent and a despair as deep as the abyss.

Su Rushi flinched, looking up at him with a tremble in her voice. "Brother Bai, you’re scaring me."

WHOOSH...

The White Demon King’s aura vanished in an instant, replaced by a smile as warm as a spring breeze. "Shi’er, what are you talking about? You must have gotten a scare just now. Let Brother Bai help you back so you can rest. As long as I’m here, I won’t let anyone harm a single hair on your head."

Inwardly, the White Demon King was about to explode with rage. His cousin had been killed, and the Rank Three Dog Demon he had raised was also gone without a trace—it must have been killed as well.

In just a short time, he, the White Demon King, had lost two Rank Three Demon Spirits.

In front of Su Rushi, the White Demon King had to maintain his benevolent image, so he could only suppress his towering rage for now and escort her back to her pavilion to rest.

But an hour later, when the White Demon King emerged from the pavilion, his eyes shone with a vicious light. His killing intent and Demon Qi were boiling over. ’Heaven and Earth give birth to all things to nourish man. Man brings harm to all things, defying Heaven. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!’

In this territory of his, he was the one and only king. Anyone who dared to defy him would die.

An unkillable Snake Spirit had succeeded in its attainment, and it had even killed his cousin and his Dog Demon right under his nose. ’Damn it, damn it!’

’I must capture you and grind your bones to ash!’

The White Demon King soon appeared inside his Demon King’s Castle and issued a domineering command: "Summon all the demons! Issue the Demon King Slaying Order! We will hunt down and kill the Snake Demon!"

A Demon Spirit, whose true form was a goat, was wide-eyed with shock. A Demon King Slaying Order was not issued lightly; its influence was immense, even unprecedented.

But since the White Demon King himself had given the order, the demon didn’t dare say another word. The goat demon was currently in human form, but Demon Qi surged within his body. A shimmering horn bizarrely sprouted from the top of his head. He plucked the horn from his scalp with ease, walked to the main gate of the castle with a solemn expression, and began to blow into it.

"BLAAAARE—"

The goat demon used his own horn to produce a low, resonant call. Amplified by his Demon Power, the sound spread rapidly, crossing mountain peak after mountain peak until it had covered the entire Azure Bamboo Forest.

Everyone knew the Azure Bamboo Forest was the domain of the White Demon King, one of the five Great Demon Kings of the Yaoling Mountain Range. The territory was vast, more expansive than three of humanity’s largest cities combined, and filled with endless mountain ranges.

Countless races of Demons resided within, all living under the White Demon King’s rule. Now, as the horn sounded, the Demons of the Azure Bamboo Forest stopped what they were doing, one and all, and turned to look toward the source of the sound.

It was coming from the Demon King’s Castle!

"Gods, the horn has sounded! A Demon King Slaying Order has been issued to kill a Snake Demon that just achieved its attainment."

"Let’s go! The whole clan is moving out to find that Snake Demon!"

"To think a mere Snake Demon could force the Demon King to issue a Slaying Order... Quick, this is the perfect chance to curry favor with the Demon King! Let’s go catch that Snake Demon!"

The sound of the horn echoed throughout the vast Azure Bamboo Forest, sending the demons into a frenzy. Some scrambled through the forests, some of the flying bird-type Demons sprouted wings and shot into the sky, and a rare few even burrowed through the earth.

In an instant, the demonic races from every mountain and cave began using their various skills to search for the Snake Demon.

「Meanwhile, in another part of the Yaoling Mountain Range...」

The Gray Demon King was still puzzling over the madwoman who, one moment, seemed ready to drag him down with her, and the next, had simply flown away. When he heard that the White Demon King of the Azure Bamboo Forest had issued a Demon King Slaying Order to kill a Snake Demon that had just achieved its attainment, he finally understood.

’So that snake was still alive.’

’To think it survived his full-power, world-destroying attack.’

’Incredible. I can’t wrap my head around it. Is it some kind of unkillable cockroach? Its Life Force is just too tenacious.’

’They say cats have nine lives. Does this damned snake have eighteen?’

’Even if it had eighteen lives, surely it would have died for good by now.’

As much as the Gray Demon King found it impossible to believe or accept, the White Demon King had issued a Demon King Slaying Order. There was no mistaking it.

Suddenly, the Gray Demon King felt the urge to weep. He wanted to weep for his rat brethren who had died so tragically at the hands of the Snake Race and that madwoman. The snake had come back from the dead, but his children and grandchildren of the rat clan would never return.

They had died for nothing. Among the dead were countless Spirit Monster-level rats, and even seven or eight at the Demon Spirit level.

The Gray Demon King’s rat clan had suffered disastrous losses. And for what? In the end, that Snake Spirit was still alive and well, and had even successfully achieved its attainment.

He was furious. So furious he could vomit blood. So furious he felt like he would explode on the spot.

The Demons of the Yaoling Mountain Range were already in an uproar. Before long, the Gray Demon King also issued his own Demon King Slaying Order. Two Great Demon Kings had joined forces to command the execution of a single Snake Demon.

Their desire to kill the snake was plain to see.

From ancient times to the present, an event of this scale was truly unprecedented.