Chapter 26

The Queen Snake, yes, that giant python must be the Queen Snake!

Xiaohai Ai remembered very clearly that his ancestors spent several generations to capture the Snake King. In the end, they only managed to kill the Snake King after suffering heavy casualties, and obtained the Dragon Spirit Pearl from its body.

At the time, his parents had told him that killing the Snake King was a stroke of luck. Where there is a king, there is a queen, and the Snake King was no exception. Snakes shed their skin, and the Snake King and Queen were no different. During the shedding process, they needed to be alone, which was the only opportunity to kill the Snake King. Otherwise, if the Snake King and Queen were together, no one could match them.

However, the difficulty lay in the fact that you never knew when the Snake King and Queen would shed their skin.

Perhaps the heavens pitied the Ai family's generations of effort, and they actually managed to encounter the Snake King by sheer luck, and the Queen Snake was not around.

Even so, Xiaohai's grandfather's two brothers and his eldest son died in the battle with the Snake King. Although they successfully killed the Snake King and obtained the unique Dragon Spirit Pearl, the cost was too high.

When the Dragon Spirit Pearl was implanted into Xiaohai's body, his grandfather was deeply worried. Once the Queen Snake discovered that her husband was killed, she would not let it go easily.

The Dragon Spirit Pearl was an extremely magical thing. It had lived in the Snake King's body for a long time, and although the Snake King did not know how to cultivate it, the special spiritual energy of the Dragon Spirit Pearl still brought great benefits to the Snake King. It not only helped it survive for a long time but also partially awakened its intelligence, making it extremely difficult to kill.

As for the Queen Snake, who lived with the Snake King, she also benefited from the spiritual energy of the Dragon Spirit Pearl. According to Xiaohai's grandfather's speculation, over the centuries, by continuously absorbing the spiritual energy emitted by her husband, the Queen Snake's intelligence might have been partially awakened.

Now, his grandfather's speculation has been confirmed. The Queen Snake, with partially awakened intelligence, although unable to command other animals, can control her own kind—snakes!

Xiaohai still remembers what his grandfather said before he died: the Queen Snake would never let the killer of the Snake King off. Moreover, she has a particularly keen sense of smell for the owner of the Dragon Spirit Pearl. Once she detects the presence of the Dragon Spirit Pearl, the life-or-death test for Xiaohai would begin.

Now, although the snakes have dispersed due to the Dragon Spirit Pearl, the Queen Snake will soon appear. She must be hiding somewhere nearby, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment!

Realizing this, Xiaohai was no longer afraid. What was there to fear? What must come will eventually come!

The vipers did not know where the Queen Snake was hiding, only that the snake swarm had received special instructions to kill any human that appeared before them.

But the Queen Snake never imagined that the Dragon Spirit Pearl in the Snake King's body would save Xiaohai's life! Otherwise, being bitten by so many venomous snakes, the Dragon Spirit Pearl would not have been able to save him.

Thinking about it, the sparrows' mention of frequent animal disappearances in the area must mean they became the Queen Snake's meals!

With this thought, he summoned a sparrow and ordered it to lead all its companions to conduct a thorough search of the forest to find the Queen Snake's hiding place. These sparrows were his scouts. He appointed a larger sparrow as the leader and gave it a rather unoriginal name:

Little Sparrow!

Xiaohai did not care about the name. He was focused on one thing: a giant python that had lived for hundreds of years must have more essence than a thylacine!

Xiaohai also knew a legend: where there is treasure, there are rare and fierce beasts. They are different from humans; they can obtain the essence they need from the treasure. Finding the Queen Snake might also lead to the treasure.

Xiaohai himself began to search. In less than twenty minutes, Little Sparrow hurriedly flew back to report that over ten sparrows in the reconnaissance team had gone missing.

They must have been eaten by the Queen Snake, who must be nearby! Xiaohai quickly asked for the location where the sparrows disappeared, and Little Sparrow quickly told him it was in the southeast direction.

Xiaohai gripped the straight-backed knife in his hand. A snake that had lived for hundreds of years would not be easy to deal with. He hoped this old knife could provide some help.

The stench in the air became more intense, and the remains of animals on the ground gradually increased. Xiaohai knew he was approaching the Queen Snake's lair.

Little Seven closely followed his master, vigilantly monitoring everything around them. In the sky, eight sparrows formed Xiaohai's aerial reconnaissance force.

In the distant forest, the bushes suddenly began to shake, and a huge black shadow flashed by!

The Queen Snake!

Xiaohai dashed toward it. His speed was so fast that even Little Seven could not catch up. By the time Little Seven arrived, it saw a giant python confronting its master!

The python was about ten meters long, with a flat head and a pair of small triangular eyes that glinted with a terrifying cold light.

Xiaohai took a deep breath. He was a bit puzzled. Although the python was huge, how could a snake that had lived for hundreds of years be only ten meters long?

The giant python launched the first attack.

The hunting method of pythons is basically the same: they use their massive bodies to suffocate their prey and then swallow them from the head.

Xiaohai dared not let it wrap around him and quickly dodged to the side, swinging his straight-backed knife with all his might.

He did not have much hope for this strike, as he was facing the Queen Snake, a creature that had lived for hundreds of years and shed its skin many times, making it almost invulnerable. However, strangely, when his knife struck the python, he saw a gush of blood spurt out.

Hmm, what was this? Did he find a legendary divine weapon?

Xiaohai did not have time to think about it.

The giant python, in pain, rolled over, sweeping Xiaohai with its powerful tail, and then quickly coiled around, trying to wrap him up.

However, Xiaohai's reaction and agility were far beyond what the giant python could imagine. At the moment the python was about to complete the wrap, he dodged like lightning!

The giant python had never encountered such a quick and agile creature. Just as it was about to launch another attack, it felt a severe pain in its body:

Xiaohai struck the giant python with another blow.

Two consecutive injuries made the giant python go berserk. It thrashed around, desperately trying to catch the human!

Xiaohai's several strikes all hit their mark, leaving the giant python with numerous wounds. Finally, it found an opportunity and wrapped around Xiaohai.

Before it could even celebrate, Xiaohai roared, "Die!"

Then, the giant python felt its essence begin to rapidly drain!

The speed of the drain was so fast that the giant python was terrified. Essence was everything to animals. Once it was drained, especially for a creature like a giant python, it would take at least ten to twenty years to recover!

Preserving its life was the top priority, so the giant python quickly released Xiaohai.

But now, if it wanted to escape, it had to ask Xiaohai if he would allow it.

A hand pressed against the giant python's body, and its essence flowed into Xiaohai, allowing the Dragon Spirit Pearl to absorb it fully.

However, after a short while, Xiaohai felt the Dragon Spirit Pearl stop absorbing essence. His hand was empty, and no more essence flowed in.

The giant python's essence was completely drained!

Standing up, he looked at the giant python lying on the ground, barely alive.

Wait a minute? Xiaohai was puzzled. After all, it was the Queen Snake. How could it have so little essence? It was even less than the black bear!

No, Xiaohai was very sure of his judgment. This giant python was not the Queen Snake!

"Be careful!" Little Seven's consciousness suddenly transmitted, but the warning was too late!

A black lightning bolt shot straight at him, moving as quickly and agilely as Xiaohai. Before he could react, his body was tightly wrapped!

He could not see everything, but Little Seven could see clearly!

Oh no, another giant python, but compared to this one, the previous one was just a small snake.

The python that wrapped around Xiaohai was probably about thirty meters long. Its entire body was a terrifying black, except for its tail and head, which were golden yellow.

Xiaohai could hardly breathe, but even so, he could feel that the python was not using its full strength.

He looked up and saw a huge snake head staring at him. Although the head was large, the eyes were no different from other snakes, long and narrow.

The blood-red eyes emitted a terrifying cold light, seemingly staring at Xiaohai coldly.

Xiaohai sent a thread of spiritual energy, quickly establishing a mental connection with the giant python: "Queen Snake?"

"Yes, I am the Queen Snake!"

Finally meeting the Queen Snake, the journey was not in vain. After all, humans could not see the Queen Snake unless she chose to appear. Xiaohai nodded toward the dead python: "Was that one a fake?"

"Yes, it was just a subordinate. If I hadn't sent it to impersonate me, how could you have been so easily caught?"

This was almost an illusion. A snake spirit, if it could speak, it would definitely be a snake spirit, and it even knew how to use strategy to deal with him!

"Dragon Spirit Pearl, Dragon Spirit Pearl!" A powerful consciousness repeatedly transmitted to Xiaohai's mind. The Queen Snake had fully sensed the presence of the Dragon Spirit Pearl.

"Return my Dragon Spirit Pearl!" The Queen Snake suddenly tightened its grip.

Xiaohai almost couldn't catch his breath. His face turned purple, but he managed to laugh: "Yes, the Dragon Spirit Pearl is in my body, but unfortunately, it has already merged with me. Even if you kill me, you won't get the Dragon Spirit Pearl back!"

The Queen Snake was furious. It was the thing she had longed for. But she knew the human was telling the truth:

Once the Dragon Spirit Pearl merged with a human, even if the Snake King were reborn, it could not be retrieved.