---
Chapter 8: The Demon Snake
A chill ran down Flux’s spine the moment he felt it.
Something ancient stirred beneath the roots of a twisted tree ahead—its spiritual pressure oily and suffocating, like a heavy fog pressing against his chest. The faint hum of demonic qi tainted the air.
He barely had time to react.
BOOM!
The ground exploded as the demon snake erupted from the earth, a bck blur of scales and malice. It unched upward with terrifying speed, jaws wide, fangs dripping venom thick enough to hiss through the air.
“Fast—!” Flux jerked back, qi surging to his legs as he kicked off his sword and ascended rapidly.
The serpent’s bite missed by inches, and its venom struck the forest floor with a burning sizzle. Bark melted. Stones cracked. Even the air shimmered where the toxin nded.
High above, Flux steadied himself, eyes locked onto the beast.
Obsidian scales covered the serpent’s thick body, each one etched with dark crimson lines pulsing with demonic qi. Its slitted eyes glowed a sickly gold, and its maw opened again—revealing bckened fangs longer than daggers.
“Foundation Establishment… Fourth level at least,” he muttered. “That venom’s not just deadly—it’s corrosive. Even my sword might not withstand a direct hit.”
The serpent coiled around a thick tree trunk, shattering it as it lunged again.
Flux twisted midair, flipping backward, and sshed out a silver crescent of sword qi.
Cng!
It struck the snake’s fnk with a sharp crack, but only left a faint scratch. The scales gleamed, unmarred.
“Tch.” Flux clicked his tongue. “It’s like trying to slice through spirit-forged iron.”
The snake hissed and retaliated—its massive tail smming toward him like a hammer.
Flux barely dodged. The shockwave splintered the canopy and fttened the trees below. Leaves and splinters rained like shrapnel as the snake’s roar echoed through the woods.
“Alright,” Flux muttered. “Let’s try this.”
He reached into his pouch and flung three glowing needles toward its face. Each shimmered with tightly condensed qi, a trick he'd refined over the past week.
The serpent tried to shield its eyes, but one needle struck the edge of its left eye.
Ssskrreeee!
It shrieked, thrashing violently. Trees shattered beneath its weight. Birds scattered in panicked bursts.
Flux didn’t hesitate.
“Now!”
He dove in, bde whistling. With a surge of qi, he struck at its exposed underbelly.
Shhhhk!
A scale cracked. Blood, dark and thick as tar, oozed out.
“Finally.”
The serpent screamed, and then—its mouth opened, and a thick bck mist poured out like smoke from a dying furnace.
Flux’s eyes widened. “Poison fog!”
He fred qi around him, creating a barrier just in time. Below, the mist bnketed the forest floor like a creeping tide. Leaves wilted. Trees groaned. The ground turned bck.
“If I breathe that in, I’m dead.”
The serpent slithered through the mist with eerie grace, vanishing and reappearing like a shadow in fog.
Flux hovered high above, sweat trailing down his temple.
“This thing’s smart,” he muttered. “Can’t fight it head-on… not unless…”
He gnced at his sword. The runes along its hilt flickered faintly, waiting. Ready.
His eyes sharpened.
“This ends now.”
Flux steadied his breathing. Qi surged into his limbs, flooding his dantian and meridians with light. The wind shifted around him. The runes along his bde burst to life, glowing like starlight.
He lifted the sword above his head.
“Sword Control Art—Piercing Gale!”
He descended like a comet, spinning with the force of a cyclone. A spiraling vortex of wind howled around him, amplifying his momentum.
The serpent struck upward, its mouth open wide.
Too slow.
SHHHUNK!
The bde plunged through its wounded eye and drove deep into the skull. The demonic snake filed, letting out one final, thunderous scream that split the sky.
Then it colpsed.
The forest shook. Trees snapped. The air went still.
Flux nded beside the twitching corpse, panting hard. His robes were torn, streaked with blood. One sleeve was soaked through from a shallow gash at his ribs.
“That… was close.”
The body still radiated lingering malevolence, like the embers of a dying curse.
Flux stepped forward, sword in hand. With practiced precision, he sliced into the beast’s skull and retrieved a pulsing, deep red core. It throbbed in his hand, alive with demonic qi.
“This… could buy me everything I need for the next stage,” he whispered, slipping it into a jade container.
He set to work, harvesting the rest.
Fangs like knives. Thick venom sacs sealed in jade bottles. Armor-like scales still glimmering with spiritual resistance.
By the time he finished, the sky was already darkening.
The poisoned mist still crept through the forest, staining it with death.
Flux stood atop his sword and rose into the sky. Bloodied. Exhausted.
But victorious.
---
The flight back was slower.
Each movement sent a dull throb through his side. He pressed a hand to his wound, lips tight.
“Clipped by debris,” he muttered. “Could’ve been worse.”
Below, the forest was silent. No birds. No beasts. Just the slow crawl of venom.
When his cave came into view, he nearly colpsed in relief.
The moment he nded, he staggered to the fire pit and dropped to his knees. The familiar scent of dried herbs and smoke wrapped around him like a bnket.
“I’m alive,” he whispered. “Barely.”
He unpacked his satchel and pulled out a jar of salve. Lifting his robe, he grimaced at the bruise blooming across his ribs. He applied the paste, teeth clenched, and wrapped it tight with clean cloth.
After, he pulled out the demon core again and stared at it.
It glowed faintly, humming with dark energy.
“Yellow Leaf Pavilion will pay a fortune,” he murmured. “And I need every coin.”
One by one, he id out the serpent’s remains. Every scale. Every fang. Every vial of venom. Precious loot, harvested through blood and danger.
He lit the fire with a small spark of qi and roasted a strip of demon beast meat . As the scent filled the cave, he leaned back, arms folded, watching the fmes dance.
“That fight…” he muttered. “Too close. I need more defensive talismans. A formation. Maybe even a companion-type talisman spirit.”
He rotated the skewer.
“I’m getting stronger. But this world doesn’t wait. One mistake, and it’s over.”
When the meat finished, he ate in silence. The warmth soothed his body. Qi from the spirit flesh sank into his bones, slowly mending what his herbs could not.
Afterward, he crossed his legs and entered meditation.
Hours passed.
The first light of dawn streamed into the cave mouth when he opened his eyes. He stood slowly, no longer wincing.
“I can feel it… my qi’s senser. Steadier.”
He looked at his sword, then toward the forest.
" I'm now at the foundation establishment second level"
"I should return to the town now to sell and buy"
---
