"My Lord, are you alright?" At that moment, Xiao Yao, a man of the same rank as Jiang Ming, arrived behind Ye Jingyu with several Cloud Guards. They were all wounded and looked exhausted, clearly having suffered severe trauma...

"I'm fine. How are the brothers?" Ye Jingyu's brow furrowed tightly, his eyes fixed on the pair ahead. He had expected reinforcements, but it seemed he should thank heaven if these newcomers weren't a burden...

"Only this many of my brothers are left..." Xiao Yao spoke with deep sorrow, yet his gaze remained firm, his eyes also fixed on the man and woman in front.

"Retreat..." Ye Jingyu gripped the Tianzun artifact in one hand, yet issued this command. He knew that if these men remained here, they would inevitably be killed by the mysterious danger. He had worked hard to enter the specialized organization of the Cloud Guards and hadn't established his own faction yet; how could he let them die so easily?

"But My Lord, we can't find any path out..." Xiao Yao replied with difficulty. Although they possessed the 'Cat's Eye' capability to see the road ahead, this canyon was a marvelous formation, looping back on itself in circles. Their meeting with Ye Jingyu was pure coincidence...

Hearing Xiao Yao's words, Ye Jingyu's brows knitted even tighter, and the look he shot toward the two figures ahead grew even colder...

The pair seemed to realize that killing Ye Jingyu now was not feasible, and they rapidly retreated backward. Ye Jingyu, who had finally locked onto them, was certainly unwilling to let them go. As long as these two remained here, regardless of whether they were connected to the bizarre occurrences, they surely knew the way out; they absolutely could not be allowed to escape so easily...

Seeing Ye Jingyu dart swiftly toward the pair, Xiao Yao was startled but didn't immediately pursue. He knew that their strength was insufficient to linger in this peril-ridden place, so he merely instructed those around him to be cautious...

But at that moment, a rustling sound came from the ground. They followed the noise and saw, not far off, a dense swarm of things crawling toward them. Upon closer inspection, they were snakes...

The largest was barely a meter long, the smallest less than a foot, but their advantage lay in sheer numbers. They were countless, writhing masses, each revealing cold, sinister eyes that stared fixedly at Xiao Yao and his group...

Even though Xiao Yao and the others were Cloud Guard elites with exceptionally resolute minds, seeing so many snakes caused a collective dread to creep up their scalps...

"Retreat..." Xiao Yao immediately gave the order. There were only a few of them; facing such a multitude of venomous snakes, there was no chance of victory...

"My Lord, we've been surrounded..." At this point, another Cloud Guard said, his face a mask of misery. Xiao Yao turned around and saw that they were entirely encircled by these dense, small snakes. The Cat's Eye could see dozens of meters ahead, but every visible inch was nothing but venomous reptiles, leaving not a single gap...

Faced with this scene, despair settled in everyone's eyes... Yet, they were Cloud Guards, after all, an intelligence agency of the Shu Yun Kingdom. Even knowing death was certain, they drew their weapons, preparing to slay as many snakes as possible before dying, to lessen the danger for their comrades...

"Whoosh..." A snake less than two meters from Xiao Yao suddenly sprang up from the ground, launching itself toward him...

Xiao Yao, being a Martial Master regardless, flicked his long saber, instantly slicing the snake in two. Black blood jetted from its body...

Xiao Yao's expression shifted; he knew this was a highly venomous serpent. He plunged a hand into his pouch, pulled out a pill, and swallowed it. The others, too, retrieved pills from their robes and ingested them simultaneously...

These were antidotes developed by the Cloud Guards themselves, capable of counteracting common snake venoms. Whether these were ordinary snakes was no longer a consideration for the few men...

As more and more venomous snakes lunged forward, their speed was terrifying, like a volley of sharp arrows...

Whether it was Xiao Yao or the remaining Cloud Guards, seeing so many snakes, they knew escape was impossible. They channeled their True Qi into their long sabers, continuously swinging one-handed, cutting down snake after snake. Black blood splattered all over them...

Occasionally, snakes latched onto them—on shoulders, arms, thighs, and knees—and as they became covered in the reptiles, their complexions darkened, and their spirits flagged...

Although their antidotes effectively halted the spread of the venom, this sheer volume of snakes could suffocate them even without the poison...

One Cloud Guard fell, then a second, then a third...

Xiao Yao had forgotten fear, forgotten despair. He instinctively wielded his long saber, frantically hacking at the serpents. Snakes were piled up to his knees before him, yet his striking speed slowed, and his face grew increasingly ashen...

Life force was continuously draining away...

Finally, he too collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with a vacant confusion. Countless small snakes crawled over his body, beginning to devour his flesh...

Snakes usually swallowed their prey whole, but these small serpents tore at the bodies of Xiao Yao and the others bite by bite—a truly horrifying spectacle...

At this moment, a man dressed in garish, multicolored clothing, covered in small snakes, walked over with a chilling demeanor and a pale, ashen face. He gazed upon the few corpses being continuously consumed and offered a faint smile...

"Children, eat slowly. Better food awaits you..." Having spoken, the man turned and bolted in the direction Ye Jingyu had fled. Those small snakes that were full or hadn't managed to feed followed him like a tide, moving deeper into the canyon...

Ye Jingyu was unaware of the tragic fate that had just befallen Xiao Yao and his men. He held the energy signatures of the two ahead locked down firmly, giving them no chance to escape...

As if sensing Ye Jingyu's relentless pursuit, the man with the spear suddenly spun around and thrust his weapon directly at Ye Jingyu's heart...

Without hesitation, Ye Jingyu flashed the Tianzun artifact in his hand, hacking fiercely at the spear shaft...

"Clang..." With a sharp resonance, the Tianzun and the long spear collided heavily. Ye Jingyu, relying on immense physical force, managed to hold the hilt, while the assailant, aware of Ye Jingyu's great strength, loosened his grip on the spear to evade the powerful recoil. But before Ye Jingyu could launch a second attack, the man grasped the spear handle with one hand, gave a gentle pull, and thrust again, aiming directly for Ye Jingyu's brow...