“Look behind you,” I told Jing Ma with a devious smirk on my face.

  He frowned, looking over my face for any signs of trickery. No doubt he believed this was a final attempt to kill him or escape.

  It was his choice whether to listen to me or not. He’d asked for some last words, but I just might have a chance to live yet.

  A cracking sound echoed through the chamber. A breeze buffeted me and I had to cycle my qi to remain steady.

  Jing Ma levelled me with a steely gaze, but turned around. And then he leapt to the side right as the snake’s golden head smashed into the ground where he’d just stood.

  This time there was no delay in the snake’s movements. It seemed to be even faster than before.

  Jing Ma was haggard, but looking along the pristone, shimmering body of the snake and the way it tossed its bulk around without much effort, one might wonder if a battle had taken place at all.

  “You cursed beast! What trickery is this?” Jing Ma exclaimed, panting as his qi cycled erratically.

  I wondered if the man had any more tricks hidden away in that storage ring of his. If not, he might be meeting King Yama sooner than he expected.

  “Humansss are such foolsss,” the snake hissed, slowly raising its head until it was staring down at Jing Ma.

  Its eyes were no longer glowing crimson orbs. They had white sclera, golden irises, and vertically slit pupils.

  Its twin eyelids flickered up and down as it spoke. “Daring to ss-steal what doesn’t belong to you and then escape with your life intact. The Golden Millenium Dew is not yoursss to take.”

  Jing Ma seemed confident, defiantly staring up at the serpent as it berated him. “What? It belongs to you because you made this cave your home? Don’t make me laugh, dumb beast,” he snorted.

  The snake was unbothered by his jabs. Its aura had changed. Before, it seemed sluggish and confused while it battled against him.

  Now, it was perfectly poised. An air of confidence dripped from its every word and it only had disdain in its gaze as it looked down on Jing Ma.

  “Hmph! A beast dares to look down on this Jing Ma. We will see if you remain so arrogant when I rip out your fangs,” he harrumphed.

  With a flick of his sleeve he pulled out a jade bottle. This dude really loved drinking random liquids…

  Actually, I recognised the bottle. It was the one he’d stored the dew drop inside! Surely he wasn’t planning to consume it in the middle of a battle?

  That was madness.

  Although I probably wasn’t the right person to admonish him for that. Hadn’t I eaten the Ten Ascensions Lily while surrounded by dozens of hostile cultivators and beasts?

  I was enraptured by the unfolding events. However, Jing Ma had barely raised his hand an inch when the snake’s eyes narrowed and it let out a sharp hiss.

  “You dare!?”

  Before Jing Ma had a chance to consume the dew drop, the snake struck. It moved so fast I couldn’t even follow its body.

  All I saw was a golden blur. There was a crunch and a crash. The next thing I saw was Jing Ma crumpled against the cave wall.

  The jade bottle clattered against the ground, but didn’t shatter. The snake reached out its tongue and delicately wrapped it around the bottle, before tucking it out of sight in its mouth.

  Jing Ma coughed, spraying blood across the golden spirit stones. He pulled himself out of the wall, where a man shaped imprint remained.

  Golden dust coated the back of his robe, shimmering in the air as he straightened it out. “So, you got a little stronger? Is that supposed to scare me, beast?” he scoffed.

  The snake didn’t rise to his taunts, simply observing him with a steady gaze. I wasn’t sure why he continued to bluff. The outcome of the battle was clear.

  Jing Ma suddenly made a seal with his hand and tossed out three jade stones. Another formation.

  He started to mutter something under his breath. Before he could utter a second syllable the serpent struck, smashing its head into his chest.

  I heard the crack of ribs and saw a red mist as Jing Ma was blasted into the wall again. His body slowly peeled away and then fell to the ground.

  A quick inspection of his qi told me he was still alive, but barely. His dantian remained the size it had been after shrinking. Whatever he’d done to himself seemed to be permanent.

  Not that it mattered now. The snake unhinged its jaw and bit down on his still body.

  There was no resistance. It closed its mouth around him and then swallowed.

  I watched a slightly raised lump travel down its gullet and settle around its midsection. With that, Jing Ma was no more. The snake let out a satisfied hiss.

  I relaxed.

  Then its head snapped towards me.

  I froze, a mouse caught by a predator. There was nothing I could do if the snake wanted to kill me.

  At the very least Wang Ren had escaped with the others. Hopefully they had the sense of mind to flee down the mountain so the snake couldn’t catch them.

  Powerful beasts didn’t tend to leave their territory. The snake leaned forward until I could feel the heat from its nostrils wafting over me.

  It hissed and opened its jaw. I closed my eyes and waited, but there was no sting of fangs closing around me.

  Cracking a single eye open, I saw the snake had raised its head once more and was appraising me with an unnerving seriousness. Fully opening my eyes, I returned its gaze.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  I coughed. “Excuse me, Senior, this worthless Junior begs your forgiveness for intruding on your cave,” I said, bowing to my waist in the hopes it might let me go.

  This was an intelligent beast, no matter what that idiot Jing Ma had said. Perhaps I could bargain with it.

  Clearly it cared more about the Golden Millenium Dew than my life. It had said as much while fighting against Jing Ma.

  “You smell… sss-strange,” it hissed.

  A shiver went down my spine as its head hovered around me. A forked tongue flicked in and out of its closed jaws.

  “This Junior apologises to Senior Serpent for his offensive scent,” I said, coughing once in embarrassment.

  Perhaps I should bathe more often. I didn’t need to eat or sleep much anymore but bathing regularly was simply good manners.

  A strange guttural sound rumbled in the snake’s throat as it raised its head up and then turned away from me. Its body started to peel itself from the ground as it slithered towards the stalactite in the centre of the cavern.

  “You smell like my old master. Why?”

  What!? What the hell was this turn of events… I was shocked for a second, but then everything became blindingly obvious.

  Old master. Who owned this mountain? Grandpa Guan. I almost wanted to burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

  Jing Ma had never stood a chance.

  “Is Senior perhaps referring to Grandpa Guan when Senior says ‘old master’?” I asked.

  The snake froze. Its gaze darted back to me for a second, but whatever it saw in my expression didn’t bother it.

  It continued slithering towards the stalactite, where it withdrew the jade bottle from its mouth. I saw a thin strand of qi extend from its body towards the bottle and then the stopper popped out on its own.

  With a deft flick of its tongue, it poured the golden drop of dew into the raised stone bowl that was on the cave floor beneath the stalactite. When I first saw the bowl I wondered if it was natural or carved, but clearly it held significance.

  Had Jing Ma not known how to properly use the treasure? Or was the snake doing something entirely different?

  “Come.”

  I didn’t dare to disobey. It still hadn’t answered my question yet. I had to assume I was correct and that Grandpa Guan was this snake’s master.

  If that was the case then we should be allies. Then again, with the man himself ascended and gone from this world, who knew whether this beast would feel any kinship towards me.

  I walked over towards the bowl. The golden drop had spread out to fill it, glowing softly. It resembled a glistening soup—all we were missing now were some spiritual noodles and perhaps some beast meat.

  I glanced at the snake. Not in a million years. I’d die the moment I moved.

  The snake looked down at the golden liquid for a few breaths and then turned to me. “How did you know Master Guan?” it asked.

  “We… became acquainted in Three River City. It’s near the Cloudy Falls Sect. After I was expelled from the sect I needed somewhere to live and Grandpa Guan gave me a building. Then, after he ascended, his disciple Chaoxing saved the lives of my friends and I, before sending us here to Million Flowers Celestial Peak. I owe them both a life debt,” I explained, giving the beast a shortened version of the events.

  It considered my words in silence, tongue flicking in and out of its mouth. It closed its eyes for a moment and then fixed its gaze on me.

  I saw hints of sadness mixed with joy in the corners of its eyes. It exhaled softly. “So, Master was finally ready to return home. I am truly happy for him, but I wish I was ss-strong enough to accompany him. I can only hope that when it is my time to as-sscend that he is waiting for me,” the snake hissed.

  That was actually pretty depressing. Grandpa Guan had clearly raised this snake and then abandoned it without so much as a goodbye.

  I could understand that at his lofty realm, even a Foundation Building beast might not mean much, but it was a little cruel. Poor snake.

  “I’m sure your master didn’t forget about you,” I replied. “Senior Chaoxing explained that he had to rush his ascension, so perhaps there was simply no opportunity to say farewell.”

  “That… makesss sense. Master’s attention was never truly in this lower realm. If I had been more talented perhapssss…”

  I wasn’t sure how to continue. Luckily, the serpent broke the awkward silence for me.

  “In truth, I no longer have any use for the Golden Millenium Dew. I have cultivated using its power for a lifetime. Since you are an acquaintance of Senior Sister Chaoxing and Master Guan, you should ussse it,” the snake hissed, nudging me forward with its tongue.

  What the hell was this turn of events!? The serpent had mercilessly slaughtered Jing Ma for daring to take the treasure, but now it was just going to give it to me?

  Maybe it was more sentimental than I thought. Before blindly consuming the dew drop however, I wanted to know what it did.

  Jing Ma had said he could use the pure gold spiritual energy contained within to advance his cultivation and break through to the Core Forging Realm. That didn’t actually tell me what the treasure did.

  Until today I didn’t even know spirit roots or spiritual energy could have elemental affinities. This was a complete upending of everything I knew about cultivation.

  Of course, it was common knowledge that qi could take on an element. Cultivators would utilise this often, even using methods based around particular elements.

  All of the Cloudy Falls Sects’ arts were based around clouds and mist with water and air qi pivotal to mastering the techniques. Huo Ze Qiang had cultivated an art based around fire.

  However, I always assumed that the elemental qi was simply a result of some quirk of the cultivation method. What if some cultivators were simply more suited for particular arts or techniques because of their spirit roots?

  It was something to explore deeper when I had the chance. Another item on my endlessly expanding list of things to accomplish.

  First though, the dew. “Senior Serpent, what does the Golden Millenium Dew actually do?” I asked.

  It stared at me as if I was an idiot.

  “It is a natural treasure that allows cultivators to improve the purity of their qi. It is especially effective for those possessing gold affinity spirit roots as it can even improve the purity and quantity of their spirit roots,” it hissed. “Also, my name is Guan Jin. Stop calling me Senior Serpent, you ss-sound like an idiot.”

  I was almost certain that it was adding the extra ‘ss’ sounds for flair. There was no way an enlightened beast couldn’t talk properly.

  Then again, I wasn’t going to blame it for having a little fun. Also… Grandpa Guan sucked at names. Seriously, Jin?

  That meant gold in the local language. Had the old fellow simply looked at the serpent’s golden scales and given it such a basic name?

  “Senior Jin, then,” I answered, the snake nodding in assent. “You said this dew can increase the quantity of one’s spirit roots?”

  “That is an effect that has been observed, but only in cultivators bearing gold affinity ss-spirit roots. The effect is lessened the more impure the spirit rootsss, with it being almost negligible if more than four affinities are present,” it replied.

  Four affinities? Ah, of course. Xianxia logic. I’d read a mix of novels in my old life. While in traditional fantasy stories, having more than one element was a great boon, it was often the case in cultivation stories that having just one was the superior option.

  I was starting to think that Chaoxing’s evaluation of the Cloudy Falls Sect as third-rate had a lot of truth to it. Everything my predecessor had learned about cultivation there was flawed and incomplete.

  I stared at the glowing golden pool of dew. I could use the natural treasure myself and advance my cultivation.

  What we needed now was stability and security. Increasing my personal strength was one way to do that, but given the strength of the local forces I wasn’t sure I needed to rush.

  With Hu Qing dead, we had a lot of power to manipulate the other two major players. Instead, I had an idea I believed might prove more fruitful.

  It wouldn’t give us instant security, but it might allow me to learn some crucial information about cultivation which would massively benefit the sect in the long run. It all depended on whether Guan Jin would agree to my proposal.

  “Senior Jin, I appreciate your offer. However, I believe that one of my sect’s younger members might benefit far more from this treasure than I ever could,” I said hesitantly. “Would you allow them to consume it instead?”