"Silence, Little Sha..." A crisp, girlish voice cut through from an unknown source, jarringly incongruous with the terrifying locale. It was only after this voice sounded that the movements of the Crimson Serpent halted.

Ye Xiu stumbled, crashing down from the air, his limbs still uncontrollably trembling. This was the terror of the Death God; he was certain that the Crimson Serpent could swallow him whole. To have the Death God perish in the maw of a giant snake—it was an utter disgrace to the lineage of the Death Gods.

"Little Sha, how could you play so roughly?" The girl's voice was gentle as she seemed to speak directly to the Crimson Serpent. "Hurry now, draw back your malevolence and come onto my arm."

"What! Did I hear that right?" Ye Xiu was still immobilized, lying flat on his back, staring only at the yellow sand above. How could he believe a young girl was commanding that enormous Crimson Serpent onto her arm? Was she a giantess? Was her arm larger than the three-story-high serpent?

"Ah, it seems a beauty has arrived!" Old Liu materialized from somewhere unseen; he had abandoned his valued Thin-Face Blade and descended straight into the deep pit.

Hearing Old Liu's words, Ye Xiu let out a long, shaky breath, finally regaining his senses. However, his muscles were so over-tensed that his neck remained stiff. When he finally managed to twist his head around, he saw standing opposite Old Liu was a girl about his own age.

"Who are you people, and how did you intrude upon my home?" The girl had delicate features and captivating lips, yet her graceful figure was shrouded in layers of complex silk skirts. Though the glimpses offered were tantalizing and held the gaze, frankly, the places men wished to see remained hidden. "Why did you two provoke my Little Sha?"

"My apologies, Miss, my name is Liu Kai; you may call me Old Liu. May I ask your honored surname?" Old Liu, a cultivator, transformed entirely upon meeting a beautiful woman.

The girl's gaze swept past Old Liu and settled immediately on Ye Xiu. She walked toward him; her high, black ponytail evoked the sweet feeling of a first love shared with a deskmate. She stroked the small Crimson Serpent in her hand. "My father named me Hong Ling, but sadly, I've never heard anyone else call me that. Why don't you try it, so I can hear it?"

"Are you kidding me? I should call you that just because you ask?" Ye Xiu admitted that he became somewhat numb in expression and speech when facing girls, but how could he, the dignified Death God, allow himself to be ordered around by a mere girl? Besides, he truly didn't know his age; he might have lived for several hundred years.

"Oh, come on, Hong Ling asked you to call her that, so just call her! What's with the hesitation?" Old Liu beamed, acting like a lovesick fool, patting Ye Xiu's shoulder. "If Miss Hong Ling hadn't stopped that Crimson Serpent, you'd be dead by now. What's the big deal about saying her name once?"

"Right, where is that snake? Is it on your hand?" Ye Xiu finally remembered his earlier shock. It was clearly a massive serpent; how could a young girl possibly control it? Yet, there it was—the Crimson Serpent called Little Sha, coiled obediently around the girl's arm.

"Since you can see it, do I still need to explain?" Hong Ling's tone held a touch of arrogance, as if Ye Xiu were indebted to her. "Call out! Or do you want me to have Little Sha take a bite out of you?"

"Hurry up and call her! Don't anger Hong Ling," Old Liu's fear now surpassed Ye Xiu's.

Ye Xiu sighed, thinking that face was secondary; life was paramount. Reluctantly, he asked with utmost seriousness, "Alright, Hong Ling, you mentioned your father? Where is your father? Do you live here alone?"

Though proud, Hong Ling possessed an intrinsically playful charm. Seeing Ye Xiu compromise, she was delighted. "I don't know where my father went. He just left Little Sha and me here and departed, so this is my home."

"Little Sha is this one," Ye Xiu pointed at the small Crimson Serpent, which indeed looked far cuter now that it had shrunk.

Hong Ling nodded, even leaning in to kiss the serpent with a smile. Then, she shifted her focus back to the two of them, her expression turning sharp. "My father said this place is the Nine Paths of Vicious Toxin Array. My father, myself, and Little Sha are only utilizing the array's malevolence to cultivate the secret arts of the Bone Sect. You two managing to infiltrate here are certainly no ordinary people. Speak! What is your purpose here?"

Seeing Hong Ling grow suspicious, Old Liu smiled brightly. "Don't misunderstand, Hong Ling. I am also a cultivator. As for this fellow, it's hard to say what he is. Our entry into the Nine Paths of Vicious Toxin Array is solely to cleanse its malevolence and save the common people from dire straits. We have absolutely no ill intent."

"You are a Daoist, then. And you?" Hong Ling seemed determined to get to the bottom of things. "I saw the purple flame in your hand when you were fighting Little Sha. You also use fire. Are you also a Bone Picker cultivating the Bone Sect techniques?"

Ye Xiu stuck out his tongue, unsure how to explain to the young girl. "I am a Death God, specifically from the Death Realm. As for why I also possess flame cultivation, I truly don't know myself. Otherwise, it's just as Old Liu said: we entered the Nine Paths of Vicious Toxin Array partly out of curiosity, and partly to save the populace of Dawn, hehe."

"Is that so." Hong Ling seemed to trust Ye Xiu's words, her eyes continually tracing his form while completely ignoring Old Liu beside him. "Just the part about saving all beings aligns with my father's original intention. Our lineage of Bone Pickers also plays a role in maintaining the balance of the mortal realm. However, the malevolence in this Nine Paths of Vicious Toxin Array is too heavy. My father used the Bone Sect Celestial Jar Array just to suppress the lower-level malevolence slightly, but he couldn't eliminate it entirely. What can you two possibly accomplish?"

"The lower-level malevolence? Does that mean Hong Ling, you know how to enter the lower levels?" As soon as the topic of breaking the array arose, Old Liu became serious. "If I'm not mistaken, that giant bone jar of yours is the key to connecting to the next realm. Can we descend through it?"

Hong Ling glanced back at the bone jar behind her and smiled faintly. "The Crimson Serpent Jar is inherently the center of the Bone Sect Celestial Jar Array; its existence is precisely what firmly contains the lower-level malevolence. I certainly know the way down, but I have one condition."

"Tell us the condition quickly!" It was clear Old Liu was determined to search every corner of this Nine Paths of Vicious Toxin Array. "I'll agree to any condition."

"Take me with you!" Hong Ling was direct, but the yearning in her eyes was obvious. "I want to find my father. He brought me here to live precisely because he was trying to eliminate the malevolence of the Nine Paths of Vicious Toxin Array. I believe he must be within this Vicious Toxin Array. I must find him."

"This..." Ye Xiu hesitated. He didn't know how powerful the Bone Sect secret arts were, but given the situation, this array was definitely lethal. A girl going down would have slim chances of survival. "You should stay here and wait for your father. It's too dangerous below; no one will be there to look after you."

"Do I need two useless people like you to look after me!" Hong Ling raised her arm with supreme confidence. At that moment, the Crimson Serpent seemed to sense Hong Ling's anger, flicking its tongue insistently.