Chapter 19

Under the cover of night, amidst the faintly visible small hills, a large, white and brown python, about ten meters long, rapidly darted through the tangled grass.

The massive snake body collided with some small tree trunks, causing the trees on both sides to fall, creating a bloody path that wound into the deep forest, where the python quickly disappeared.

Not long after, a handsome young man in a white robe stepped through the tangled grass, his feet barely touching the ground. With a light touch on the grass, he leaped several yards, as light as a swallow.

Following the blood trail, Ning Wuxie arrived at the base of a cliff. Among the piles of rocks, streaks of blood led to a cave where the blood trail disappeared.

Smelling a faint snake odor and the scent of blood, Ning Wuxie looked at the cave and frowned.

Although the giant python was severely injured, it could not be judged by normal standards. The fact that it could drag its heavily injured body so far demonstrated its remarkable vitality, which left Ning Wuxie in awe.

"Never mind, fortune lies in taking risks. Without opportunity, where would strength come from? Without investment, where would there be returns?"

With his resolve set, Ning Wuxie pulled out a dagger from his waist. It was about the size of his arm, gleaming coldly. He gripped it firmly and cautiously entered the cave.

As soon as he entered, a strong, pungent smell hit his nose. The cave was pitch black, but to Ning Wuxie, it was as bright as daylight. The ground was dotted with faint blue phosphorescence, and scattered bones lay around, including human skulls. Some skeletons still had traces of flesh.

Although he knew that demons ate humans to absorb their essence, seeing it in person still made Ning Wuxie feel uneasy. He suppressed his anger and the churning in his stomach, covering his mouth to hold back the urge to vomit.

"Huff... huff..."

After a few deep breaths, Ning Wuxie wiped away the sweat that had broken out on his forehead, and the feeling of nausea gradually subsided. Without looking at the bones on the ground, he quickly moved deeper into the cave.

This was clearly the lair of the snake demon. The stone cave had many twists and turns. If it weren't for Ning Wuxie's keen sense of smell as a wolf demon, which had already memorized the snake demon's blood scent, he would have gotten lost before finding the snake demon.

In the damp, spacious stone cave, Ning Wuxie saw the python coiled inside. A pool of blood lay beneath the snake, which was listless, its large head drooping on a rock, seemingly lifeless.

Ning Wuxie did not rashly enter. He first took a few looks from outside the cave. The snake demon had chosen a good spot; half of the cave was open space, and the other half was a pool of water. Drops of water fell from the upper rock walls, making a dripping sound. Moonlight somehow shone into the pool, and the ripples reflected light, creating swaying light beams.

Looking down, Ning Wuxie picked up a fist-sized rock and threw it at the snake's head.

Bang...

The rock hit the snake's head, but the demon snake showed no reaction, seemingly truly dead.

Ning Wuxie felt a sense of relief but did not let his guard down. He gripped the dagger tightly and slowly approached the snake demon's body.

The dripping water echoed, and Ning Wuxie had already transformed into his demon form, which was ten times more powerful than his human form. His true form was the strongest state for a demon cultivator.

"Hisss..."

Just as Ning Wuxie cautiously approached the demon snake, a sudden hiss sounded. The snake's head, which had been drooping on the rock, suddenly rose, its eyes glowing with ferocity, and its massive mouth opened, lunging toward Ning Wuxie.

It was fast, too fast. The snake's body was already enormous, and Ning Wuxie was only about two yards away. The snake's head shot forward in an instant, the stench overwhelming. Ning Wuxie felt a red flash before his eyes, and his demon body instinctively reacted.

Pfft...

Ning Wuxie's body twisted strangely, evading the demon snake's certain strike like a ghost. His dagger, held in his hand, instinctively thrust forward, piercing the snake's neck, the seven-inch mark. As the snake's head lunged forward, the dagger cut a wound over a meter long, and thick, dark blood slowly flowed out.

"Hisss..."

A mournful cry, the raised snake head fell to the ground, the ferocious eyes losing their life and slowly closing.

Ning Wuxie, holding the dagger, stood in a daze for a moment, looking at the snake's corpse. He felt a wave of fear, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. If it weren't for the sharp dagger and his early transformation into his demon form, he would have been devoured by the demon snake today.

In a fit of rage, Ning Wuxie stabbed the snake's body several times, then sliced open its belly, enduring the blood, searching inside. Finally, he found a fist-sized, ink-black snake gall.

Ning Wuxie pursued the demon snake for this. As a demon, he could cultivate and absorb the essence of the sun and moon, or he could strengthen himself by absorbing the essence of other lives through predation.

This is also why demons and monsters like to eat humans. However, absorbing blood and essence is a minor path, and Ning Wuxie would not do such things. Another way is to take the inner core and flesh of other demons, which can also rapidly strengthen oneself.

This is a world where immortals, Buddhas, demons, and monsters coexist. Ning Wuxie knew he could not be kind. On the journey to the West, countless demons and monsters were killed. Although Sun Wukong, a demon, was unrestricted, he mercilessly slaughtered demons. Tang Sanzang, though repulsed, could not stop him.

This shows that this world is also one of the survival of the fittest.

Ning Wuxie was clear about his identity, half-human, half-demon. He could hide it for a while, but not forever. Moreover, he did not want to live like a clown in the dark. In his previous life, he had lived such a life, but in this life, he wanted to live a brilliant life.

If his identity was exposed, Ning Wuxie would certainly not be accepted by humans. A demon is a demon, even with half-human blood.

Ning Feng and Ning's mother were his closest people, and they expelled him because of this, showing the human aversion to demons.

Humans and demons are different. In the future, Ning Wuxie would have to deal with evil demons, and kindness would only lead to a quicker death.

The snake demon had not yet transformed, and its essence had not formed into a demon core, but the snake gall was still a great tonic. For Ning Wuxie at this time, it was the most suitable. He collected the snake gall and, despite the nausea, drank two mouthfuls of snake blood.

The cold snake blood flowed into his stomach, causing a surge of heat. The strength he had expended on the way gradually recovered. Ning Wuxie turned to leave, but suddenly, a red light flickered beneath the snake's body.

"Hmm?"

Ning Wuxie stopped, turned around, and flipped the snake's body. In the center of the coiled snake, there was a small, foot-high tree, entirely red. The tree bore nine small, round, and lustrous red apples, with red liquid visible inside.

"Zhu Guo (Cinnabar Fruit)?"

Ning Wuxie was startled, then his face lit up with joy. No wonder the snake demon fought to return here. With these nine Cinnabar Fruits, it could save its life.