Chapter 166: A Person Without a Past, Black Serpent Transforms into Flood Dragon

“Senior Brother, how’s the situation on your end?”

Deep within a massive cavern, Lian Mu stood inside, communicating with the Chief team.

As expected, she had ended up alone again. The moment she entered, she was teleported into a collapsed cave. To make matters worse, the cave seemed to be connected to an underground water source—within moments, water had begun to rise around her feet.

She had already contacted the Chief team and learned they were in an unfamiliar forest on the island, likely far from her location.

Lian Mu had assumed that upon entering the Illusion Realm, the Heart Realm Trial would begin immediately. But after waiting here for a full fifteen minutes with no sign of activity, she began to suspect that certain conditions had to be met to trigger the trial.

“We’re fine. But it’s strange—there are barely any demonic beasts around here. We tried heading out of the forest to search along the beach, but Junior Brother Baili used a tracking talisman to scout ahead and found nothing at the island’s edge either—just a wide ring of blue flowers,” Guan Huailin’s voice came through the communication talisman. “Junior Brother Xu suspects there’s something off about those flowers. Do you see any on your end?”

Lian Mu replied, “I fell into a cave. I can’t see outside, but I’m not hurt.”

“That’s good,” Guan Huailin said. “Junior Sister, do you think we should head toward the beach or go deeper into the forest?”

Lian Mu felt a chill around her legs. Looking down, she saw the water had already risen past her calves—it wouldn’t be long before the entire cave flooded.

Above her, a tangled web of vines crisscrossed the ceiling. Flying straight up would be difficult; her only option was to climb through the gaps in the vines.

She placed one foot against the cave wall, grabbed a thick vine, and began to climb. As she did, she answered, “Why are you asking me, Senior Brother? I’m not part of the Chief team. I can’t decide your direction.”

Besides, she had her own problems to deal with.

“Sorry, I’m just a bit uncertain. I thought, if it were you, you’d probably consider things more thoroughly than I would—and your luck’s better too.”

Lian Mu said, “Senior Brother Guan, you’re the Team Leader. This is your decision to make.”

A suspicion crept into her mind. During the time she had returned to the sect, members of other sects had likely been whispering in Guan Huailin’s ear. The old Guan Huailin would never have deferred to her like this, especially not when she wasn’t even familiar with the Chief team’s current situation. Handing over such a critical decision to her—this wasn’t like him.

“Senior Brother Guan, believe in yourself. When you led the team in the previous rounds, the Chief team never suffered any losses. That’s already better than most of the other sects’ leaders.”

By comparison, the Chief teams of the other three sects had all taken losses. The Azure Profound Sect’s Chief team hadn’t been eliminated, but during the White Tiger West round, they were a mess—completely stripped of all their spirit materials.

The Returning Immortal Sect’s Chief team had been the most stable, largely thanks to Guan Huailin’s leadership.

“Junior Sister, you’re the second-seat sword cultivator. You should’ve been with us…”

Lian Mu knew what he was about to say and quickly cut him off. “I’m not joining this discussion. I’ve got something important to handle. That’s all for now. Senior Brother Guan, I trust you’ll choose the right path.”

With that, she immediately cut off the communication talisman and tossed it into the water. The used talisman dissolved instantly upon contact with the water, vanishing without a trace.

Lian Mu continued climbing the vines. Halfway up, she suddenly felt a chill on her neck, followed by a breath against her ear.

She reached up and touched something cold and long—it had coiled around her wrist.

Turning her head, she saw the vines near the cave entrance were crawling with black snakes, their bodies entwined, their eyes glowing red.

So it wasn’t vines covering the cave after all—it was a mass of writhing black snakes.

Lian Mu: “…”

Could her luck get any worse?

The Pangu Illusion Realm must have it out for her. Every time she entered, she ended up in some bizarre place—and always alone.

Holding her breath, Lian Mu gave a sharp shake of her arm, flinging off the snake coiled around her wrist. One hand gripped the vine tightly while the other reached for her sword.

Her scabbard had been damaged during her fight with Mei Chengyu and she hadn’t gotten a new one yet. Oddly enough, that made things easier—she could draw her sword instantly without wasting time.

With spiritual energy surging in her hand, Lian Mu slashed toward the cave entrance, aiming to cut down the swarm of black snakes.

Sensing the searing sword aura, the snakes were instantly enraged. But before they could even react, several were sliced clean in half.

The remaining snakes slithered downward, following her scent. Dozens of them twisted together into a thick rope of serpents, baring their fangs as they closed in on her.

From a crack in the cave wall, a small snake crept silently toward her back. Just as she was fending off the others, it sank its fangs into her hand.

A searing, acidic pain shot through the back of her hand, nearly making her lose her grip.

Lian Mu: “…”

She hated swarms of anything.

Without hesitation, she flung Wealth Bringer upward. The sharp blade tore through the snake swarm, flying out of the cave and embedding itself firmly in the ground above.

She yanked the little black snake off her hand. Its mouth was still stained with her blood. Perhaps the scent of blood had stirred the others—they began to hiss and bare their fangs, growing more agitated.

Lian Mu snapped the little snake’s spine and hurled it into the swarm. Then, channeling her spiritual energy, she ignited the blood in its mouth, setting the entire snake ablaze.

Like tossing a lit match into dry grass, the fire spread instantly. The mass of snakes covering the cave entrance went up in flames, forming a giant fireball. Countless black serpents writhed and thrashed, then dropped into the water below, extinguished.

In no time, the upper layer of snakes had been completely incinerated, leaving the area above the cave clear.

Lian Mu finally climbed out and took in her surroundings. She was in a forest after all. Beside the cave was a massive boulder, and the ground sloped upward—she could keep climbing.

She looked down at her hand. The wound had turned black and was starting to itch.

The snake must’ve been venomous, but how potent the poison was, she had no idea.

Lian Mu frowned. “…”

She had planned to find the Azure Profound Sect’s Chief team first, hoping to use the opportunity to track down Fengyun Yi. But now, she had no choice but to return to the Returning Immortal Sect’s Chief team.

Ji Mingyue was of the Poison Gu Clan bloodline and a master of toxins. Lian Mu would have to find her and get the venom neutralized.

Starting off this unlucky could only mean more trouble was waiting down the line.

She thought for a moment, then pulled out her broom, preparing to fly up for a better view—when a thunderous crash suddenly erupted behind her.

The mountain stone, which had been still just moments ago, suddenly trembled and flickered for a split second. Lian Mu wondered if she was hallucinating from the poison.

The ground shook again, this time more violently. Cracks spread across the massive boulder, and shattered pieces of rock tumbled into the cave. From within the stone, an eye the size of a human head emerged.

It was golden, with a vertical slit pupil. As if it had been asleep for ages, a thin membrane still veiled the eye. When the membrane peeled away, the shape of the stone began to shift—it was a giant serpent. Its body was thicker than the trunk of a centuries-old tree, pitch black, and clearly of the same kind as the other snakes in the cave.

Lian Mu took two steps back, tightening her grip on her sword.

Just earlier, Guan Huailin had told her that demonic beasts were rare on this island. She hadn’t expected to run into one so soon.

Judging by its appearance, this black serpent was an earth-type beast that had likely been in deep slumber for a long time. Its scales had fossilized, and this cave was clearly its nesting ground for offspring.

Earth beasts just coming out of hibernation were notoriously irritable.

Lian Mu decided to strike first. Sword in hand, she charged toward the black serpent. But just as she raised her blade, a wave of dizziness hit her, and a shadow passed before her eyes.

She couldn’t see the serpent clearly anymore. In fact, she felt… sleepy.

“What the…”

The moment her body went limp and collapsed uncontrollably, Lian Mu truly thought she was done for.

……

……

“Ha, Lian Mu’s luck really ran out this time. Guess she used it all up back in Vermilion Bird South.”

Inside Hundred Fragrance Hall, a group of Venerable Elders had specially isolated Lian Mu’s image projection, placing it front and center for all to see.

Murong Yi watched the footage of Lian Mu barely holding herself up with her sword, then glanced at another image-recording stone showing the Chief team. He couldn’t help but press a hand to his forehead. “…Of all times, why now?”

On the Returning Immortal Sect’s image-recording stone, the entire team lay unconscious in a field of blue flowers. Guan Huailin had ultimately chosen the beach route, but before they even reached it, they were knocked out by the Yinghui Flowers growing along the edge of Penglai Island and entered the Heart Realm Trial.

Though Lian Mu wasn’t physically present with them, the rules of the Illusion Realm dictated that she, too, be drawn into the dream state.

“Don’t worry,” Cheng Ling said with a smile. “Once she enters the Heart Realm Trial, her body will be protected. The demonic beast won’t be able to kill her.” He paused. “But… whether she gets swallowed whole, well, that’s another story. No one wants to wake up inside a snake’s belly.”

Shang Liu’s gaze was fixed on a corner of the projection. “…What was that just now? Lian Mu… is she a spirit-blood fusion body?”

As soon as he spoke, the others noticed it too. Just moments ago, Lian Mu hadn’t had any fire-based items on her, yet the black serpent had suddenly caught fire. Living creatures were the hardest to ignite—this couldn’t be ordinary flame.

That little black snake had touched Lian Mu’s blood, and Lian Mu happened to have a fire Spiritual Root. Everything pointed to her being a spirit-blood fusion body. And she had already learned to wield her blood as a blade.

“Looks like it,” Cheng Ling squinted, examining the image. “You folks at Returning Immortal Sect really know how to keep secrets.”

Murong Yi snorted. “What, you expect us to strip down and show everything?”

Cheng Ling raised an eyebrow. “…Murong, you’re getting more uncouth by the day.”

“Spirit-blood fusion bodies are extremely rare, especially effective against demonic creatures. Pity that serpent isn’t one,” said the Sect Master of Crimson Sky Sect, his voice calm and measured.

Shang Liu raised a brow. “If it’s not a demonic creature, then what is it?”

The Sect Master gave a faint smile. “It’s a Spirit Beast. Forgot to mention—while demonic beasts are few and far between on Penglai Island, there are quite a number of Spirit Beasts. Of the few dozen still left in the world, half reside here. That Lian Mu just happened to run into a black serpent on the verge of evolving into a flood dragon—what a coincidence.”

“If she collapses now, she really might get swallowed whole. Especially since the sword she’s holding is forged from demonic beast materials.”

Murong Yi narrowed his eyes. “You planned this?”

“Murong, don’t be like that. The Illusion Realm’s teleportation isn’t something we control. She just had bad luck.”

Cheng Ling finally got to gloat. He hadn’t forgotten how Lian Mu had burned Changsun Li—he’d been waiting for the Returning Immortal Sect to take a hit.

“Lian Mu’s entered the Heart Realm Trial, hasn’t she?” Mei Chengyu said, pulling up the corresponding image-recording.

Everyone leaned in, eager to watch the show. But when they looked up, the image-recording stone was pitch black.

“Why’s it blank?” Cheng Ling asked. “Even if she doesn’t have inner demons, we should at least see her past, right?”

Murong Yi replied, “Lian Mu has no past.”

Everyone: “?”

Murong Yi’s tone was heavy. “She told me once that she fell ill a long time ago and lost all her memories.”

As he finished speaking, Lian Mu’s Heart Realm Trial was abruptly interrupted. On the image-recording stone, she hadn’t fallen asleep at all—instead, she was struggling to her feet.

The Sect Master of Crimson Sky Sect fell silent for a moment, then murmured, “A person with no past… is it truly that she has none, or is it that we’re not allowed to know?”

Murong Yi said, “So, Lian Mu doesn’t need to continue the Heart Realm Trial, right? It’s not like she chose to forget.”

The Sect Master of the Crimson Sky Sect closed his eyes for a moment. “…Her Heart Realm Trial—let it be. Consider it passed.”