Chapter 007: Enemies on a Narrow Path

Xia Qianqian, who has always been directionally challenged, wandered around in the pine forest for nearly half an hour, only to suddenly realize that she had returned to her original starting point. Behind her, the pine tree that had been struck by lightning was now completely burned, emitting black smoke.

The unexpected change occurred at this moment; before Xia Qianqian's dagger could pierce the two-headed shadow-winged snake, it surprisingly sensed the danger first. Its two pairs of wings suddenly spread open, and with a rapid flapping of several times, it lifted its massive body, over one zhang in length, into the air.

Despicable, actually resorting to poison! Xia Qianqian suddenly crouched down and rolled on the ground to minimize her target, drawing out a dagger with her right hand

One zhang, half zhang... As the sound drew closer, Xia Qianqian calculated the distance in her heart. When she felt the two-headed shadow-winged snake pouncing towards her, she suddenly struck out and thrust the dagger fiercely.

That was close! Fortunately, it missed, otherwise I would have turned into a roasted human meat feast!" Xia Qianqian, still feeling a lingering fear, patted her chest and quickly got up from the ground, running away.

It is already too late to run now, the double-headed shadow snake with its bloodthirsty green eyes revealed, and its two gaping mouths aimed at Xia Qianqian's direction, "bang bang" it fired two beams of light, one red and one yellow.

The individuals who arrived were precisely two of the four who had been left outside the Dragon Gate by her, Zhang Yueyue and Sun Jinjian

The mountain beneath her feet is not particularly steep, with many gentle slopes; however, the pine forest seems to exude an odd atmosphere, making it difficult to discern the directions of east, south, west, and north

The light swiftly fractured upon contact with the air, transforming into two dense plumes of smoke, and the field of vision immediately narrowed until nothing was visible.

"Only one level apart, yet the difference in strength is so vast." Sun Jinjian remarked as he watched Zhang Yueyue swiftly remove the snake skin and retrieve the demon core after putting away the bell. "Fortunately, I am about to advance to the second level of cultivation, and I will have the ability to protect you."

With a thunderous bang, a deep pit nearly the height of a person appeared on the ground beside Xia Qianqian

She is not prepared to give the second thunder tribulation a chance to gather momentum; if she does not run now, then when will she?

The crimson golden bell immediately chased after, flying above the heads of the two-headed shadow-winged serpent, slowly circling yet not departing, as if waiting for its master's arrival

As the thunderclouds dispersed, Xia Qianqian continued to walk forward

The unluckiest thing was that she ran headlong into a two-headed shadow-winged snake, the most ferocious low-tier demon beast in the pine forest

"Is it really you? What a small world!" Xia Qianqian exclaimed in surprise after recognizing the visitor.

Almost at the moment she dove into the pine forest, a thunderbolt struck down, once again hitting an unfortunate pine tree with a lack of precision

The flapping wings summoned the wind, which formed a vortex that swept down, dispersing the nearby dense red and yellow smoke in an instant

As her vision cleared, Xia Qianqian widened her eyes and exclaimed into the air: "No way, this thing can really fly!"

With no way to escape, Xia Qianqian lacked the strength to withstand the thunder tribulation, so she could only crouch down with her head held, trying to minimize the target area that could be hit.

With a "pop," a beam of green light shot out from the bell, directly piercing through the seven-inch mark of the two-headed shadow-winged serpent

Almost at the moment she finished speaking, a streak of blue and white lightning descended from the sky. Xia Qianqian darted to the right with the fastest speed of her life, falling in a position that made her face meet the ground, barely avoiding the first thunder calamity

It is terrible, I have fallen into my own trap!" Xia Qianqian suddenly slapped her forehead

The variables changed too rapidly, and Xia Qianqian, who thought she was undoubtedly doomed, blinked in astonishment, still unable to come to terms with the drastic transformation.

The two-headed shadow-winged snake's body slanted, narrowly missing Xia Qianqian. After sliding several zhang on the ground with its massive form, it finally collapsed, leaving behind a deep trench several zhang long.

Hiss... indeed, the two-headed shadow-winged serpent, seeing its prey about to escape, could not wait any longer and launched an attack

Zhang Yueyue's slender fingers crawled up Sun Jinjian's cheek, enticingly asking: "Rival, do you really want to protect me that much?"

Just as she had hidden it, a man and a woman came running from a distance. They moved with remarkable speed, navigating through the pine forest as if it were flat ground, and in just a few swift turns and maneuvers, they arrived in front of the corpse of the two-headed shadow-winged serpent

Wow, no way, it can be struck off like this!" Xia Qianqian, completely unaware, thought she was just lucky and immediately laughed heartily, pointing at the raging thunderclouds in the sky and shouting, "If my luck is good, then let you be arrogant one more time. If you miss three times, then you can just go rest wherever you feel comfortable!"

Hurry, I just hunted a low-level demon beast, and its demon core will greatly benefit my cultivation. The melodious voice, as sweet as a lark, approached from afar

This double-headed shadow-winged snake is over 1 zhang long, with two lantern-sized heads glaring menacingly at Xia Qianqian, one above the other. Three pairs of sharp spines grow on its reddish-brown cheeks, and two pairs of unevenly sized fleshy wings dangle from its sides. The curved hook hanging from its tail glimmers with a sinister cold light

Fortunately, having grown up through hardships and challenges, she has long since honed her skills. Although she may not be a match for the demon beasts, she is not completely at a loss.

The astonishing thunderbolt, like a swift giant dragon, unleashed its power in the sky, roaring as it struck down fiercely. Just as it was about to hit Xia Qianqian directly on the head, it suddenly twisted and leaped several times, passing over her head and crashing to the ground.

This is it! Xia Qianqian suddenly jumped to the side and plunged into the bushes. At the same time, she was also prepared, gripping the dagger tightly with both hands and holding her breath in anticipation

Accompanied by Xia Qianqian's roar, the third thunder rolled through the thunderclouds, and with a sharp "crack," it fiercely streaked across the sky

Accompanied by Xia Qianqian's exclamations, the two-headed shadow-winged snake launched another fierce attack. After the loud "bang bang" sounds, the bushes were violently crushed by its body, which was as hard as stone. As a result, Xia Qianqian's body had nowhere left to hide, exposing her in front of the two-headed shadow-winged snake.

Xia Qianqian instantly regained her composure and rushed to the nearest pine tree with the utmost speed

However, as she ran, the thunderclouds moved along, faster than her. Accompanied by the continuous rumbling of thunder, the second lightning tribulation finally struck down fiercely towards Xia Qianqian.

At the critical moment, a strange metallic rotating sound suddenly emerged in mid-air, followed by the appearance of a bell made of red gold, about the size of a fist, behind the serpent.

The double-headed shadow-winged serpent emitted a sound of joy, its massive body once again diving towards Xia Qianqian.

Meanwhile, the pale yellow gemstone on the necklace worn by Xia Qianqian dimmed, transforming into an utterly ordinary small stone

If only cleverness could prevail, Xia Qianqian's eyes suddenly caught sight of a large thicket of bushes less than one person away from her side

Xia Qianqian turned around in astonishment, seeing the towering flames engulfing the pine trees behind her, her eyelids twitching: "Could it be that I am looked down upon by the heavenly thunder because I am an ordinary person without spiritual roots?"

This time, Xia Qianqian did not stay in place waiting for death; she dashed towards the nearby pine forest. She did not want to gamble her life on luck, as the fact that she had not been struck in the previous two instances did not guarantee that she would be safe the third time.

Xia Qianqian thought again that her path of cultivation was different from others, and perhaps this thunder tribulation was also different in power from that of others