Chapter 11

Floating in the air, Lu Xiaoding found herself surrounded by pitch darkness, with no gastric juices or internal organs as she had imagined. What surprised her even more was that her body had turned white, like a layer of mist, leaving her utterly baffled and unsure of what had happened.

"Artifact spirit? Truly a spirit of great vitality, to possess a physical form." Suddenly, a voice came from behind her, and she quickly turned around to see a golden snake soul floating behind her.

"You are..." Lu Xiaoding was taken aback, then pointed at it in shock, "You are that big snake, and you can speak human language!"

The Wind Golden Horn Snake flicked its tongue disdainfully and said, "Human language? I am communicating with you using divine soul. Are you an idiot or a fool, not even knowing such a thing? That cauldron is your true form, isn't it? A creation of a cultivator."

"I have only been an artifact spirit for two years. Apart from refining pills in the alchemy room, I have only met one cultivator. It's surprising to meet something like you. Could we be of the same kind?" Lu Xiaoding, who had never seen a creature similar to herself outside of cultivators, instinctively felt a kinship with the snake soul.

"Ha, who is of the same kind as you." The Wind Golden Horn Snake circled around her, speaking with disdain, "I am a naturally born being of heaven and earth, different from you artificially created artifact spirits. No matter how much spiritual energy you possess, it is only for the use of humans, and you will always be confined to your true form. We, on the other hand, can cultivate physical forms without any constraints."

Lu Xiaoding waved her hand in disagreement, "What you say is not true. I now have a physical form, while you only have a beast form."

The Wind Golden Horn Snake licked its lips with its tongue and sneered, "Although I don't know what happened to you, an artifact spirit with a physical form, give me your divine soul. If I eat you, perhaps my physical form can be cultivated ahead of time!"

"What are you planning to do!" Lu Xiaoding clutched her chest, shouting in terror. This thing actually wanted to eat her!

"Hmph, divine souls can devour each other to enhance their own cultivation. Do you think I was guarding that Yihua flower for nothing? Of course, it was about to transform into a spirit. The cultivator dared to have designs on it. If I swallow it, I can strengthen my divine soul. But now, seeing you, I have the urge to drool. You are so delicious, I can hardly resist." The Wind Golden Horn Snake looked at her, almost unable to contain its desire. It had never seen such a tempting divine soul; just the smell made its mouth water.

Lu Xiaoding, though innocent and pure, was not stupid. She immediately put on a stern face and said, "I already have a physical form. Can your divine soul devour me?"

The Wind Golden Horn Snake burst out laughing, its eyes filled with pity, as if she were the biggest fool in the world.

"What are you laughing at!" Lu Xiaoding shouted, clearly displeased.

"Don't you know that a divine soul that has just acquired a physical form is the weakest and the most delicious food? Eating it provides abundant spiritual energy, yet it has little ability to resist, making it impossible to fight back!" The Wind Golden Horn Snake pounced on her, opening its mouth to bite her arm.

Feeling no pain, Lu Xiaoding struggled to shake it off but found she couldn't get rid of it. Her body, though solid, felt weak and powerless, while the Wind Golden Horn Snake's divine soul was abnormally firm, different from hers, with a sticky texture.

"You can't escape. Let me devour you completely!" The Wind Golden Horn Snake's triumphant laughter echoed in her ears as she watched her body being bitten piece by piece, a sense of death overwhelming her.

"Xiaoding! Let me out quickly!" Lu Yaohang, trapped inside the cauldron, was swallowed into the snake's stomach. She didn't know what was happening outside, but the recent tremor was not a good sign. Xiaoding might have been eaten by the snake.

She beat her hands bloody, even pulling out the black iron sword to try to pry open the lid. With a strong effort, the black iron sword snapped in two, but the lid didn't budge.

Lu Yaohang was in despair, tears of frustration streaming down her face, "I am such an idiot, too naive!"

"What about becoming a powerful cultivator? I am just a useless medicine boy! If I hadn't always dreamed of becoming strong, I wouldn't have brought Xiaoding out to search for medicinal herbs, nor would I have wanted to find treasures, putting her life in danger."

As she ranted, she suddenly burst into laughter, "I am just a useless waste. Talking about protecting her, I can't even protect myself. What a naive waste!"

"Shut up!" Suddenly, an impatient voice came from inside the cauldron, making Lu Yaohang stop and look around in the darkness, "Who!"

No one appeared, but the voice spoke again, "Do you want to become a powerful cultivator?"

Lu Yaohang was stunned, never expecting such an opportunity to appear in the cauldron. Without hesitation, she said, "Yes, I will do anything to become strong!"

"I can help you, but you must do something for me." The tone in the darkness was playful, not serious at all. If not for the situation, Lu Yaohang would never have believed such a voice.

"Anything but killing my master and Xiaoding. I will do anything else to become strong, even if it means becoming a demon or a monster." She was willing to do anything, but she wanted to exclude the two she couldn't bring herself to harm.

The voice was clearly taken aback, then said irritably, "I am not crazy, why would I want you to kill those two!"

Relieved, Lu Yaohang's tone became more respectful, "Senior, whatever you command, I will do my best to fulfill it."

"I like you, woman. You are meticulous and ruthless, very cunning. If you gain strength, it might be interesting." The voice teased.

Lu Yaohang didn't respond, her flattery already reaching its limit. If she had to flatter every day to cultivate, she would rather the other party snap her neck immediately.

"Without any strength, yet possessing the stubborn and annoying pride of a sword cultivator." As if knowing her thoughts, the voice laughed, and suddenly two beams of light appeared in the cauldron, merging into her forehead.

The sudden change made Lu Yaohang quickly touch her forehead, but she felt nothing.

"This is a set of cultivation techniques and sword techniques. Mastering them to the twelfth level will make you powerful enough to dominate. Inability to open your spirit meridians is a minor issue; just drink the soup when Xiaoding cooks it. Without medicinal pills for her to refine, having such a good artifact spirit by your side and not using it is a waste." The voice seemed familiar with Lu Xiaoding, laughing at their lack of appreciation.

Lu Yaohang, however, didn't like hearing such words, and said firmly, "Senior, Xiaoding is not an object; she is my junior sister."

"Seems you like her? The task I want you to do is to protect her, and not let her die."

"I will definitely do it. As long as I am alive, I will not let anything happen to Lu Xiaoding." She was more than willing to fulfill this request. Even if it hadn't been asked, she would have protected Xiaoding. But now, if she didn't save her, her words would be in vain.

Lu Yaohang was about to beg this person to save Xiaoding, thinking that by the time she learned the sword techniques, Xiaoding would be long gone. Suddenly, a gust of wind hit her, and she was knocked unconscious.

In the stomach of the Wind Golden Horn Snake, besides a pile of dead beast corpses, there was a black iron cauldron, and Lu Xiaoding was lying motionless in the gastric juices.

A black smoke rose from the cauldron, forming a vague human figure. It looked at Lu Xiaoding on the ground and muttered to itself, "One soul, two joy and sorrow spirits, no ability to protect herself. I can't possibly complete her seven spirits."

"Bad luck for me. I'll give you half of my evil spirit. With me, losing half of my evil spirit won't make me a good person." After saying this, it slapped the cauldron, and a black light sphere flew out. The figure waved its hand, and the black light sphere split in half, with the remaining part merging into Lu Xiaoding's body.

After completing this, the black figure returned to the cauldron, and everything returned to calm.

Lu Xiaoding's divine soul had been devoured by the Wind Golden Horn Snake, and she didn't know how to deal with it. Suddenly, a black light appeared beside her, and the Wind Golden Horn Snake also noticed it, immediately stopping its devouring.

In its consciousness, a weak divine soul would be pulled into the stronger one's consciousness. Without its permission, nothing could enter. Of course, if it was stronger, it could force its way in.

"What is this! So evil..." It cautiously probed with its tongue, immediately retracting it in fear. The evil aura emitted by the black light was terrifying.

Lu Xiaoding didn't know what it was, but she didn't feel repulsed, instead feeling a sense of familiarity. She suddenly reached out with her half-bitten hand and grabbed the black light.

The black light, upon contact with Lu Xiaoding, instantly merged into her body, turning her previously white body partially black.

The Wind Golden Horn Snake, in surprise, saw the previously weak Lu Xiaoding suddenly grin at it, "Tasty?"

"You!" The Wind Golden Horn Snake could clearly feel that the artifact spirit, which it had devoured nearly half of, now had a different aura. If it was a helpless white rabbit before, it was now a venomous snake, with no change in strength but a different essence.

It suddenly realized it was scared! It roared in anger, opening its mouth to bite Lu Xiaoding's head. This change was definitely caused by the black light, and it had to devour her completely to prevent any further changes!