bestfiction Chapter 175 Encounter with a Giant Serpent
Chapter 175 Encounter with a Giant Serpent
After gathering a large quantity of cordyceps, Ye Qingchen looked at her harvest with satisfaction, thinking that she had indeed reaped a bountiful harvest. Finding the carriage ride too bumpy, she simply got off and walked. Along the way, sunlight filtered through the leaves, creating dappled patterns of light and shadow. A gentle breeze brought a touch of coolness. However, just as Ye Qingchen was walking leisurely, she suddenly heard a strange noise ahead. Looking closely, she saw a huge snake appear before her.
The giant snake was clearly startled, raising its head as if to taunt the uninvited guests. Ye Qingchen was still some distance away from the snake, but even so, she could clearly see that its body was enormous, at least twenty meters long and as thick as a large bowl. Its scales gleamed coldly in the sunlight, sending chills down her spine.
Ye Qingchen inwardly cried out in alarm and quickly said to Gu Mochen beside her, "Your Highness, let's not provoke it and retreat immediately." Her voice trembled slightly, revealing her inner fear.
Upon hearing this, Gu Mochen was about to order everyone to turn back when he saw the giant snake pounce on them with lightning speed. Its gaping maw was nearly half a meter long, seemingly capable of easily swallowing a frail person whole. The snake was already flicking its tongue as it lunged at them.
The enormous python flicked its scarlet tongue, its cold gaze sweeping across the crowd as if selecting its prey. Suddenly, its eyes fixed on Ye Qingchen, who was holding a bunch of flowers and plants. The cunning snake seemed to think that this seemingly frail and helpless woman was the easiest target in the group.
Faced with such a perilous situation, Ye Qingchen no longer cared about maintaining the dignified demeanor of a so-called princess or her hidden martial arts skills. Without hesitation, she used her lightness skill, her figure flying away from the spot like a ghost. At the same time, she reached into her bosom and pulled out a gleaming soft sword, throwing a handful of silver needles at the giant snake. The silver needles pierced the snake's body many times, making it look like a hedgehog, but it was not affected at all.
Seeing this, Gu Mochen, who had been watching Ye Qingchen's safety closely, tensed up and quickly drew his soft sword from his waist, ready to support her at any moment. Gu Mochen always kept this soft sword concealed in his belt, just in case. Ye Qingchen, on the other hand, had just retrieved her soft sword from a mysterious spatial dimension. Actually, she had originally considered taking out her portable musket, but considered that it would be too conspicuous and could potentially cause unnecessary trouble. However, if it truly came to a life-or-death situation, she might not care about such things. But now, facing the giant python before her, she was confident that with her own skills and the help of others, she could hold her own.
Grandpa Lu, standing to the side, frowned deeply, his face filled with worry. He held the legendary dog-beating stick in his hand, but now, this stick, which had once struck fear into the hearts of countless vicious dogs, seemed somewhat ineffective. The saying goes, "Strike the snake at its seven-inch mark," but the problem was that this python was enormous and agile; approaching and accurately striking its vital spot—its seven-inch mark—was no easy task. So Grandpa Lu said to Gu Mochen and Ye Qingchen, "Strike the snake at its seven-inch mark; hitting anywhere else is useless!"
Lord Guan stared wide-eyed at the enormous python before him, his face filled with astonishment. He had never seen such a massive snake on this mountain before. The python's body was as thick as a large tree, its scales gleaming with a chilling light.
Lord Guan gripped his longsword tightly, a weapon that had accompanied him through countless life-or-death battles, yet even he felt a pang of trepidation facing the colossal figure before him. His men, along with Gu Mochen's group, also stood ready, longswords in hand. Meanwhile, Bai Zhi, Fu Ling, and San Qi, three women, each wielded a sharp longsword, their figures gleaming with heroic grace.
However, despite the imposing appearance of their weapons, they proved somewhat ineffective against the giant python. The python nimbly twisted its body, easily dodging their attacks, as if the weapons posed no real threat to it.
Moreover, this giant snake clearly had no intention of letting them go. Its cold eyes were fixed on the group, as if guarding an extremely important treasure. At this moment, Ye Qingchen became its primary target.
Ye Qingchen originally intended to use her expertise in silver needles to deal with the giant python, but after several attempts, she discovered that the needles were completely unable to penetrate the python's hard scales. Seeing the python open its blood-red maw and lunge at her again, the situation was extremely critical. However, due to the chaotic situation, she couldn't immediately use other, more complex weapons.
At this critical, life-or-death moment, a glint of light suddenly flashed in Ye Qingchen's usually clear eyes, like a lightning bolt piercing the dark night sky. Without hesitation, she opened her cherry-like mouth and called out to the crowd, "Everyone, please quickly place your weapons on the ground so I can use them! Remember, just gently place them on the ground! Oh, and by the way, the friend with the dog-beating stick, please don't put it down yet!"
Upon hearing Ye Qingchen's words, the crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their faces showing a mixture of disbelief and skepticism. However, when they saw even the Prince himself had already unfastened his sword and obediently placed it on the ground, their doubts lessened considerably. Nevertheless, with a touch of hesitation, they slowly bent down and carefully placed their weapons gently on the ground.
Seeing this, Ye Qingchen lightly touched the ground with her toes, her figure soaring into the air like a graceful swallow. She displayed her exquisite lightness skill, moving freely through the air like flowing water. At the same time, her slender hands danced with dazzling speed, skillfully manipulating the numerous swords scattered on the ground. Under her control, these swords seemed to come alive, rapidly rising with her gestures and internal energy, and then uniformly converging into a powerful stream of sword energy.
Ye Qingchen suddenly swung his hands, and the sword stream composed of countless swords, like a roaring and surging dragon, rushed straight towards the giant python's vital spot. In an instant, sword light flashed, sword energy crisscrossed, and accompanied by a deafening roar, this incredibly powerful move, "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Heart," struck its target hard.
In fact, Ye Qingchen had never actually practiced this move before. At this moment, she was purely relying on her extraordinary wit and agile reflexes to manipulate these swords as if they were delicate silver needles. The incredible skill she displayed not only left Lord Guan and the ministers watching from the sidelines speechless and dumbfounded, but even the well-trained and battle-hardened guards were astonished, their eyes wide with disbelief as they stared at the seemingly delicate and beautiful woman before them.
Especially Grandpa Lu and Gu Mochen, who had been by her side the whole time, were so shocked by Ye Qingchen's sudden and stunning performance that they were speechless for a long time. They simply couldn't imagine that the delicate princess, who usually needed to sit quietly in the carriage to recuperate, could unleash such earth-shattering power at a crucial moment. At this moment, Ye Qingchen was no longer just an ordinary woman in their eyes, but rather like a war goddess descended to earth, radiating an incomparably dazzling light.