"Die, Nie Kong!" Snake Yun and Snake Weng pressed closer, their malevolent visages growing sharper. As they darted forward, their bodies suddenly morphed—one into a small, inky black serpent, the other into a large, vividly patterned ophidian. Seeing that Nie Kong had not summoned the Flower Spirit for such a long time, their caution waned.

"Do you possess the capability?"

Nie Kong roared with laughter, allowing Mei Wu's body to meet their charge head-on without evasion.

Having cultivated to this point, Nie Kong was immensely satisfied with his strength. The only vexation was that although he possessed power comparable to a Heavenly Spirit expert, he struggled to manipulate the elemental spiritual energy of heaven and earth for ultra-long-range attacks like true Heavenly Spirits did, leaving him somewhat constrained in combat. However, fortunately, Nie Kong possessed the formidable "Crimson Star Battle Body"!

As long as he didn't encounter formidable foes like the Spirit God Hall Master or the Snake Lord, even the attacks of ordinary Heavenly Spirit experts, while he couldn't claim to ignore them entirely, would find it exceedingly difficult to truly threaten his life. At this moment, he could completely rampage among his enemies like a crab.

"Bang! Bang!"

In an instant, Snake Yun's impact left a small white mark on Nie Kong's arm, and Snake Weng's sweeping giant tail left his waist feeling slightly numb. But just as they made contact with his body, Nie Kong's hands struck out simultaneously: his left hand aimed two fingers toward the small black snake, while his right palm lunged for the patterned snake.

However, the strength of Snake Yun and Snake Weng surpassed that of the Serpent Spirit tribe member they had slain in the Forbidden Spirit Marsh a few days prior, and they were certainly not comparable to the Cave Spirit Master whose essence he had fused with moments ago.

With two whooshes, the instant their skin touched, the two snakes slipped away like loaches, darting dozens of meters before whipping their bodies in the air and attacking once more.

Seeing this, a thought sparked suddenly in Nie Kong’s mind. The Snake Lord, capable of killing him, was presently locked in battle with his mother and unable to disengage, while these two Serpent Spirit powerhouses before him posed no real threat to his life. Since there was no mortal danger, why not...

"Surging Sea of Flowers!"

In that instant of thought, the phantom image of the "Purple Luo Illusionary Spirit Incense" shot out from between Nie Kong's brows. Purple flower buds rapidly proliferated and burst open at a terrifying speed, quickly saturating the space within twenty to thirty meters with purple floral shadows. These shadows then surged like an overwhelming tide, engulfing the charging Snake Yun and Snake Weng.

"Boom!"

Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, the black snake and the patterned snake shrieked as they shot out from the left and right, their movements tinged with alarm. Nie Kong was greatly surprised. Since acquiring the "Crimson Star Battle Body" and the "War God Star Seal," he hadn't used the skills comprehended by the little fellow for a long time. He hadn't expected that this, his first deployment of the eighth-tier symbiotic combat skill, "Surging Sea of Flowers," would possess power not much weaker than the "War God Star Seal."

"Aiya ya!" the little fellow chirped triumphantly.

Nie Kong sensed briefly and then understood: upon reaching the eighth tier, any skill the little fellow manifested would carry its medicinal essence. That essence could neutralize a hundred poisons, and poison was the inherent nature of the Serpent Spirit tribe. Once the medicinal essence contacted their bodies, it would readily dissolve the snake venom within them.

Stripped of their venom, the Serpent Spirit tribesmen's offensive power would be severely diminished.

No wonder the two snakes were so panicked; these skills were their nemesis! Seeing the black snake and the patterned snake snap and bite in furious frustration, Nie Kong’s interest soared.

"Surging Sea of Flowers!" "Dreamlike Illusion!" "Shadow Trace Maze!"

"..."

"Three Thousand Finger Sword!" "Raging Heaven Blade Three Kills!"

"..." "Overlord Battle Seven Heavens!"

"..."

Roaring sounds continued unabated.

Nie Kong unleashed the skills comprehended by the little fellow, the spirit techniques of the War Tribe, and the methods inherited from the Crimson Star and Overlord Star tribes, one after another, against Snake Yun and Snake Weng—some even learned and applied on the spot. In this intensely fierce engagement, the two Serpent Spirit powerhouses served entirely as Nie Kong's sparring partners. As time wore on, Nie Kong's movements became smoother and more fluid, whereas the offensive momentum of Snake Yun and Snake Weng gradually slowed. Seeing Nie Kong grow more energetic with every exchange, showing no sign of fatigue, while their own connected essence power rapidly depleted, Snake Yun and Snake Weng secretly suffered. More than once they wished to break away, but with the Snake Lord remaining high above, they dared not flee first.

"Having played for long enough, it's time to end this!"

Nie Kong suddenly let out a strange laugh! Five clusters of brilliant light consecutively erupted from within his body, layered upon themselves as they hurtled toward Snake Yun and Snake Weng, who were positioned over thirty meters away.

Five-Fold Overlapping Seal!

"Whoosh!"

Exhausted to the point of death, the two stared at the whistling golden star seals with a flash of horror in their eyes. Suddenly, a sharp screech erupted from the Throat Banner; two pieces of blood-red silken cloth flew out simultaneously, hovering above their heads. In an instant, countless serpent shadows rushed out of the banners, fearlessly surging upward.

Witnessing this, Nie Kong was slightly surprised, then a mocking smile curled the corner of his lips. Relying on such a meager serpent swarm could block the "Five-Fold Overlapping Seal"?

"Boom!"

However, precisely at that moment, a sound like thunder and lightning resonated from the high heavens. Nie Kong instinctively looked up to see the Snake Lord’s massive, blood-red serpent phantom tearing through the entanglement of countless roots and tendrils, plunging downward like a meteor. Nie Kong frowned slightly. The Purple Luo Illusionary Spirit Incense rushed out from between his brows, constructing a thick, towering vine wall before him, while simultaneously instructing the little fellow to prepare to deploy the "Life Barrier."

But in the next instant, Nie Kong suddenly realized the Snake Lord's target was not him, but the heavily layered "War God Star Seals."

He wants to save them?

Just as this thought flashed through Nie Kong's mind, the Snake Lord's blood-red long tail plummeted from dozens of meters up, piercing through the yet-to-disperse Five-Fold Overlapping Seal in a flash. It coiled around the two Serpent Spirit experts enveloped in golden light, then shot away into the distance like a streak of light.

"Go!"

Almost simultaneously, the Snake Lord’s grim voice thundered around Jiyang City.

Nie Kong blinked in surprise, quickly looking around. He saw boundless serpent shadows manifesting in the void to the south and north of the city, blocking Mu Qingyi and Mu Jinzhu. Following that, both powerful auras streamed eastward. By the time Mu Qingyi and Mu Jinzhu tore apart all the serpent shadows, the two figures were gone.

They left so decisively?

Nie Kong felt the urge to intercept one, but seeing his mother showed no sign of pursuit, he suppressed the thought. The strongest among the four was his mother, Mu Xueyi; only she could hold the Snake Lord. If she didn't move, Nie Kong rashly attacking might draw the Snake Lord’s attention, which would be troublesome.

His figure flashed, and Nie Kong appeared on the city wall.

At this moment, the sky-obscuring tree shadows covering Jiyang City began to contract rapidly. Within seconds, the "Ancestral Heaven Divine Luo Tree" was only about twenty meters tall. The trunk flickered, and Mu Xueyi returned to her true form in the void. Then, clad in flowing white, like an immortal descending to tread the air, she landed beside Nie Kong.

Nie Kong said with slight regret, "What a shame. We only took out a few Cave Spirit Masters; not a single Heavenly Spirit expert was left behind. It would have been great to shear the Snake Lord bald."

"Kong'er, you think they are that easy to keep?"

Mu Xueyi gave Nie Kong an amused side-eye. "That Ten Thousand Serpent Banner is a supreme treasure of the Serpent Spirit tribe; only four exist in total, and all four were brought out. If your two opponents had used them earlier, they would have fled long ago, even against your War God Star Seal. Furthermore, Snake Qianbian has served as the Serpent Lord for over two hundred years. I still have some gap when compared to him; holding him off for that long was already quite good."

"Haha..."

Nie Kong let out a hearty laugh, then noticed a faint trace of weariness beneath the lines of his mother’s brow. It seemed the prolonged struggle with Snake Qianbian, the Snake Lord, had exhausted her greatly.

Hmm, Snake Qianbian... Snake Qianbian? (Snake Who Needs Beating?)

Thinking of this, a strange smile appeared on Nie Kong's face, but it was suddenly interrupted by a tremendous roar. Looking over, he saw the entirety of Jiyang City erupting in cheers...