The Power of the Serpent God (Part One)

*Still needs more than half a month to recover?* Mo Fan thought in quiet surprise. *Could those bargain-bin Blood Serums I fed it have actually had some unintended effect?*

As it turned out, his guess was right. The Plague Blood contained in the Blood Serums was a prized delicacy for the White Demon Eagle — but for the Totem Xuan Serpent, it was an extraordinary tonic that had fully replenished the vitality lost during its transformation.

Councillor Luo Mian never imagined that the very sins he had committed would end up fueling the Totem Xuan Serpent's swift recovery, sending it back now to claim his wretched life.

His face twisted with fury. The once-immaculate goatee he'd always kept so precisely groomed was blown into wild disarray by the lingering shockwaves. He leveled a trembling finger at the Totem Xuan Serpent and snarled, "I spared you once — and this is your gratitude? Fine. If you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish. A Totem? Creatures like you should have been buried beneath the sands of ancient kingdoms long ago, consigned to the annals of extinction. Kill you, and this world loses one more Totem."

The Totem Xuan Serpent gazed down at him with imperious contempt. Even as Councillor Luo Mian raged and roared, one massive coil of its body had silently swung around and slammed toward him.

Luo Mian's reflexes were quick enough — he instantly sank into a pool of shadow, his silhouette splitting into two, then four, each phantom scattering in a different direction. There was no telling which was the real one.

*What level has Luo Mian trained his Shadow Fade to?* Mo Fan thought, startled. *Splitting into that many phantom copies to confuse an enemy — that's a realm I haven't come close to touching yet.*

Luo Mian's illusions might have fooled anyone else, but they could not escape the Totem Xuan Serpent's piercing gaze. Its body came crashing down with devastating force, churning up a massive wave of earth that unerringly chased after one particular shadow.

The earthen wave surged like a dragon and slammed into the shadow. Luo Mian scrambled out from within it in a panic — but the wave still hurled him more than a hundred meters through the air.

Gritting his teeth, he dragged himself upright and, at maximum speed, completed the high-tier Shadow Element spell — Night Sovereign's Dominion.

It was already night, and Night Sovereign's Dominion became a curtain of absolute darkness, impenetrable to any light, blanketing the area around Councillor Luo Mian and transforming it into his Domain.

Luo Mian was assembling his Constellations with remarkable speed. He had to use the high-tier spell as cover — at the rate the Totem Xuan Serpent was pressing the assault, he would have no chance of completing any Transcendent Tier magic otherwise. Seven Constellations linked together formed a Transcendent Tier Star Palace, and that was a process of considerable complexity.

The Totem Xuan Serpent drew in a sharp breath, its body swelling slightly. A heartbeat later, teal-green venom seeped through the gaps between its scales. Rather than dispersing like a gas, the poison condensed and coalesced into something astonishing — the very shape of the Totem Xuan Serpent itself.

Nine colossal sky-reaching pythons of condensed venom materialized, more like world-shattering teal hurricanes than creatures of flesh.

With a thunderous shriek from the Totem Xuan Serpent, all nine venom-python hurricanes slammed toward Councillor Luo Mian's Domain. Night Sovereign's Dominion covered a considerable stretch of ground — but it was still dwarfed by the sky-reaching pythons the venom had conjured.

One of the towering pythons crashed into the Domain, shredding the black curtain apart in an instant. Toxic mist flooded in, rapidly surrounding Councillor Luo Mian, who had deluded himself into thinking the darkness would shield him.

The mist was thick as a wall — completely impassable. Trapped inside the poisonous fog, Luo Mian now had eight more venom-laced sky-reaching pythons bearing down on him.

Each impact shook the earth and rattled the sky. The teal toxic storm raged without restraint, and through the swirling poison Mo Fan could only catch glimpses of Councillor Luo Mian flailing in desperate defense.

Luo Mian apparently wielded the Light Element as well — ordinarily the most effective magic for purging poison. But his Light Element spells were devoured by the serpent's venom in an instant. The venom was utterly merciless: nothing survived inside that toxic fog, not even a Transcendent Tier Mage.

Every one of Luo Mian's defenses crumbled under the nine venom pythons' assault. His body was saturated with poison, dark blotches spreading across his skin.

Councillor Luo Mian was already standing at death's door. The Totem Xuan Serpent's venom was all but impossible to counter.

But a villain like this — how could he be allowed such a clean, swift death? The Totem Xuan Serpent drew in another deep breath, pulling every last trace of venom back into its body. The powerful suction that followed dragged Councillor Luo Mian toward the serpent's maw. Tumbling through the air, the moment Luo Mian realized he was about to be inhaled into a gullet as vast as a cave, a jolt of desperate clarity seized him. With tremendous effort, he played his final card.

Golden light erupted from his body, coalescing around him into an enormous golden shield — large enough to encase him entirely, like a gilded room — and it held.

The Totem Xuan Serpent's fangs clamped down on the shield with full force. Its bite could crush stone — yet even so, the shield refused to shatter.

The Totem Xuan Serpent opened its jaws once more and bit down savagely.

**Clang!**

Like biting into a solid diamond. The impact actually jarred the serpent's own fangs, and even then the golden shield showed only a hairline crack.

Safe inside the shield, Councillor Luo Mian instinctively smoothed his goatee. A pale smile crossed his ashen face. Thank heavens for the diamond shield the Tribunal had bestowed upon him — without it, the Totem Xuan Serpent would have crushed him in a single bite. The shield's duration was substantial; it would buy him considerable time.

But then — the Totem Xuan Serpent curled its tongue, and in one fluid motion swept Councillor Luo Mian — diamond shield and all — straight down its throat and into its stomach.

If it couldn't bite through the diamond shield, no matter. A serpent's stomach can digest anything — including a golden diamond shield.

When a serpent swallowed prey whole, the creature inside was often still alive. To let Councillor Luo Mian dissolve slowly in gastric acid was its own form of torment — and in the slow rot to come, fully conscious, he would have all the time in the world to reflect on his crimes.

Councillor Luo Mian was not ready to die like this. As he tumbled down the serpent's throat, he screamed with everything he had at the two figures perched atop the serpent's head: "The Eagle Red Grass bracelet is still on my wrist! If you let me die here, the entire city of Hangzhou will be ravaged by White Demon Eagles — tens of thousands will perish!"

"Let me go, and I'll return the bracelet. Your friend is already dead — what use is revenge now? You'd be far better off releasing me. As a Councillor, I can bestow upon him every posthumous honor imaginable. And I can give you two anything you desire."

Councillor Luo Mian was afraid. Every last shred of his imperious arrogance had dissolved before the Totem Xuan Serpent.

He had heard tales of the city's guardian deity and its fearsome power — but standing against it himself, he finally understood how laughable his vaunted Transcendent Tier magic truly was. They were not even in the same league.

He did not want to die. All he could do now was beg — however low he had to sink.