I focused my Xuan Yang Qi onto my eyes and looked towards where I sensed danger.
Beside a willow tree by the dry riverbed, a pair of glowing green eyes appeared.
"What the hell is that?"
Perhaps sensing that I had discovered it, the pair of green eyes began to move. Against the backdrop of the night, the eyes shifted left and right, appearing to float.
Then, a pungent, foul odor assaulted my nostrils. It smelled as if rotten flesh had been sealed in a bottle for over a decade, causing me to gag.
However, I could now see what it was: a python, as thick as a bucket and twelve to thirteen meters long. Those two glowing green orbs were its eyes, and its half-meter-long tongue flickered in and out, sensing its prey.
If it were truly a python, I would have turned and fled, not daring to engage it. But it was merely a Yin Soul Serpent Spirit, and dealing with it would be easy for me.
First, I cast the Tian Qiao Seal on myself to become more agile. Then, I formed the Tian Tui Seal in my hand. Before the golden light even appeared, the python lunged. Its speed was far beyond what I would expect from a python.
Normal pythons are not fast crawlers; they rely on ambushing their prey. Otherwise, with their sluggish speed, they would starve to death.
At this moment, I could only roll on the ground, and the Tian Tui Seal in my hand dispersed due to the maneuver.
Its attack unsuccessful, the python quickly formed a serpentine coil, its body wrapping into a circle with its tongue protruding towards the center. Its two glowing green eyes stared fixedly at me, awaiting its next attack.
"What a cunning beast."
Just as I dodged, the python and I had switched positions. I was now by the riverbed, and the python blocked my path.
"You really think I'm afraid of you?"
This time, I formed seals with both hands. The Tian Tui Seal was completed in an instant. The golden light in my hand shone exceptionally bright in the night. Once the seal was formed, I sent it forth.
Perhaps sensing the threat of the golden light, the python hid its head amidst its coiled body and used its flesh to absorb the impact of my Tian Tui Seal.
I sneered inwardly. Did it really think this strike was for nothing?
"Hiss…"
As the Tian Tui Seal made contact with the python, it let out a piercing shriek that disoriented me. I quickly channeled my Xuan Yang Qi, which dispelled the dizziness.
Simultaneously, I focused my gaze on the python, wanting to see if it was dead.
When I looked, I was somewhat dumbfounded.
The python was not dead. The Tian Tui Seal had merely opened a large gash in its body. Yin energy was rapidly mending the wound, indicating that the attack had not been fatal. Instead, it had enraged the python. Its glowing green eyes had turned crimson, resembling lanterns lit during the New Year.
"Hiss…"
With a hiss, the python sprang towards me like a coiled spring, its speed even faster than before.
Although I was prepared, my mind could react, but my body was a step too slow. My shoulder was grazed by the python's body.
It felt as if I had been hit by a car. I rolled several times on the ground before stopping, my body nearly falling apart. My ears buzzed, as if filled with thousands of bees.
If it weren't for the enhancement of the Tian Qiao Seal, this blow would have surely killed me. But even with the Tian Qiao Seal, it took me a long time to recover.
However, the foul stench in my nostrils intensified. I knew it was preparing for its next attack, so I formed the Tian Tui Seal without opening my eyes.
Indeed, the tactic worked. When I opened my eyes, I saw it retreat several meters. Its scarlet eyes stared intently at my right hand, unwilling to advance.
Seizing this opportunity, I stood up again, wobbled for a moment, then steadied myself.
For now, I had forced it back with its fear of the Tian Tui Seal. But this was only a temporary solution. The only way to escape it now was to re-enter the Han River.
When I came here, I was only looking for Old Ghost. I didn't have anything suitable to deal with evil spirits on me, except for the Hu Kui Seal that could suppress my living aura. I had nothing else.
Having already unleashed one Tian Tui Seal, my internal Xuan Yang Qi could only sustain two more uses before being completely depleted.
Clearly, I couldn't expend all my Xuan Yang Qi on it. Even if I won, I wouldn't be able to proceed to the Yin Bamboo Forest.
The man and the snake stood on the bank, neither making a move.
I could endure the wait, but after a moment, the python's half-meter-long tongue began to flicker again.
Coiled in its serpentine formation, it raised its head high, indicating it was preparing to attack again.
"Damn it, I have to go all out."
I formed the Tian Tui Seal with my left hand and the Tian Su Seal with my right, hoping to drive the golden light of the Tian Tui Seal into the python's eyes. If successful, I would surely be able to escape its entanglement.
As soon as I finished forming the seals, the python, carrying its foul stench, shot towards me.
"Die for me, brat."
I crouched low, my legs in a bow. As it attacked me, I leaped to the side. In mid-air, I cast the Tian Tui Seal with my left hand and swung my right hand, which held the Tian Su Seal, greatly increasing the speed of the golden light from the Tian Tui Seal, targeting the python's eyes.
This strike was incredibly fast. Even under my Yin Eye's gaze, I only saw a streak of golden light vanish in an instant.
"Hiss…"
The python's two lantern-like eyes instantly dimmed. A pained hiss sounded again.
I ignored the dizziness in my head. Judging by its powerful cry, I knew I had injured it. It hadn't killed it, but if it recovered and reacted, it would surely kill me.
I scrambled and crawled towards the Han River.
As I was about to descend the riverbank, I felt a gust of cold wind behind me. Normally, I could have dodged it, but having used the Tian Tui Seal twice and the Tian Qiao Seal and Tian Su Seal once, my internal Xuan Yang Qi was almost depleted. I only managed to turn halfway around before I felt a sharp pain and tumbled into the Han River.
Lying on the icy riverbed, it took me a long time to recover. The cold air entering my lungs felt like being cut by knives.
But I couldn't afford to care, because the python had followed me into the Han River. Due to the cold, its movements were not as agile as on the bank, but it still flickered its tongue, searching for my position.
"Damn it, I'll kill you."
I casually picked up a stone and threw it at the eye I had wounded.
The stone bounced off its body as if tickling it. Instead, my action only further enraged it. Its head, like a wooden stake, rammed into me fiercely.
It had lost its speed from the bank, so I naturally avoided its attack by rolling to the side. However, the dislodged stones scraped my cheek.
The scent of blood instantly filled the air.
"Hiss…"
The moment I saw blood, I felt a sense of dread. For wild beasts, blood was an immense stimulant.
Now, it was as if it had locked onto me. Its half-meter-long tongue flickered towards my direction, emitting a sound akin to pleasure.
"Damn it, you snake, if I don't skin you today, I'll give you my surname."
I cursed it and bolted upstream.
I had the Hu Kui Seal on me, so I only felt cold in the Han River, not to the point of freezing to death. According to my estimation, the further upstream I went, the closer I would be to the Yin Bamboo Forest, and the colder the temperature would become. I, a living human, would surely be able to handle you, a creature that hibernates in winter?