Chapter 1425: Between Reality and Illusion

Everyone was stunned by the sheer, unbelievable contrast. The elephant, whose massive body had been so imposing just moments ago, now looked like a mere snack inside that enormous, blood-red mouth.

The elephant struggled frantically, but after two powerful bites from the enormous mouth, the distinct sound of bones shattering echoed, and the elephant went still. It was devoured with horrifying ease.

The elephant herd trumpeted mournfully, clearly distraught by their leader's fate, but none dared to help, scattering in panic to escape.

Then, with a few massive swallowing motions, the enormous mouth completely devoured the elephant. Seemingly noticing Zu An and his companions, a long body instantly rose upright, and a pair of eerie vertical pupils fixed on them.

It was then that Zu An and the others finally got a clear look at the creature: a colossal black snake, many times larger than the one they had encountered in the Marquis Sui's tomb swamp. Its dark brown head was like a massive locomotive, and its yellow-brown eyes with their vertical pupils looked incredibly dangerous. The occasional flick of its black forked tongue sent shivers down their spines.

Zu An swallowed hard. The saying, "a man's greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant," came to mind, but he had just witnessed a snake actually swallowing an elephant...

The giant snake seemed to disdain the group, finding them too small with too little meat. It merely glanced at them before turning and swimming away.

How could such a creature hide in water so shallow?

However, they had no time to ponder this question; they quickly gave chase. This giant snake was clearly the Xiūshé they were looking for, and they couldn't possibly let it escape.

Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had recovered much of their strength and naturally harbored no fear of such a colossal creature. They struck one after another; the New Moon Wheel and Flying Snow Sword simultaneously targeted the great snake's vital points.

The great snake seemed to ignore their attacks, continuing to glide forward unconcerned. Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen felt a flicker of annoyance. Was it truly disregarding them to such an extent? They were renowned Grandmasters, after all. Even an Earth Immortal would suffer considerable injury from their attacks if they didn't dodge.

However, the next sight made them widen their eyes in disbelief: the New Moon Wheel and Flying Snow Sword passed directly through the great snake's body, as if nothing were there. The colossal black snake's form gradually faded, becoming almost transparent before vanishing completely.

"What happened?!" The group gathered, exchanging bewildered glances.

"Could it have an invisibility skill and be ambushing us nearby?" asked Yu Yanluo.

They vigilantly scanned their surroundings. Yan Xuehen shook her head. "That's unlikely. I can't sense its presence at all. Moreover, the Xiūshé is enormous. Even if it were invisible, it couldn't hide all traces. The surrounding water plants and trees would betray its position."

"That's right, I can't sense its presence either." Yun Jianyue, still uneasy, waved her hand. The New Moon Wheel expanded its alert radius, buzzing as it patrolled a wide circle in the distance, but found nothing.

Zu An looked at Yu Yanluo. "Can you communicate with it?"

Yu Yanluo looked puzzled. "I can indeed sense that it belongs to the snake family, but when I tried to contact it just now, I couldn't. I don't know why."

"Could this Xiūshé be a legendary spatial-type powerhouse?" Yun Jianyue's expression suddenly turned grave.

Yan Xuehen's face changed. "That would be problematic."

Cultivators in this world awaken with a specific elemental affinity. Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth are the most common, but there are also rare types like spatial, and even the legendary temporal affinity. Such cultivators are extremely rare in history, but once they appear, they are often incredibly difficult to deal with. For example, spatial-type users can teleport at will, escape through spatial leaps if they're outmatched, and their bodies can constantly shift between tangible and intangible states, making it very difficult to strike their physical form. Such individuals are a headache for everyone.

The Xiūshé's state just now seemed to be somewhere between tangible and intangible, which explained why all their attacks passed through it. The thought of facing such an opponent made their heads ache.

The group then pursued the direction in which the great snake had vanished. Along the way, they noticed the water wasn't particularly deep; it would be quite a challenge to accommodate the Xiūshé's enormous body, further strengthening their belief in its spatial abilities.

They searched for a long time, but unfortunately found no trace of the Xiūshé. Just as they were at a loss, they suddenly spotted a small boat ahead. And there was a person standing on it!

The group was startled, their first thought being that they had encountered the Demon Emperor again, as they were the only ones who had entered this unknown land this time. However, they quickly saw that it wasn't the Demon Emperor, but someone dressed as a fisherman.

"Be careful," Yun Jianyue warned with a grave expression. "Any human able to exist in this unknown land might be a super-powerful expert."

Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo nodded in agreement, ready to strike at any moment.

Zu An, however, felt a sense of déjà vu. He recalled encountering other humans in the secret realm behind the Brightmoon City Academy, where he had even resolved the First Emperor's fatal "death and division" predicament.

At that moment, the man also noticed Zu An and his group, gesturing at them with what seemed like anger. Yan Xuehen and the others grew even more tense, bracing themselves for an attack.

Zu An couldn't help but say, "He might not be as formidable as you think."

The women were puzzled, but as they drew closer, they suddenly realized that although the man on the boat appeared agile, there were no spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from him. There could only be two reasons for this: either the man had achieved a state of "returning to simplicity," with a cultivation so profound that they couldn't possibly discern it; or, he had no cultivation whatsoever and was just an ordinary person.

"What are you doing? You've scared away all my fish!" the man complained indignantly as they approached. His accent was peculiar, like a local dialect, but still somewhat intelligible.

It was then that they confirmed he was indeed just an ordinary man with no cultivation. Instantly, the three women's faces flushed with embarrassment, realizing how over-the-top their reaction had been.

Zu An took the opportunity to apologize to the man, while discreetly handing him a silver ingot. The man's displeasure immediately vanished, replaced by a wide smile. "Oh, you're too kind, too kind. Those fish aren't worth this much, really."

Zu An chuckled inwardly. He used to find it hard to understand the saying, "Gold and silver are not inherently currency, but currency is inherently gold and silver." Now, his personal experiences in various worlds had taught him that gold and silver were indeed universal currencies.

"No need to be so polite, Uncle," Zu An said. "We were hoping to ask you about something." Given Zu An's current status, a single silver ingot was of no concern to him.

"Please speak, young master. I'll tell you everything I know," the fisherman replied eagerly.

Zu An asked, "Uncle, do you know about the Xiūshé—er, that large black snake? Where does it usually appear? Where can we find it?"

The fisherman looked startled. "Why are you looking for the Bashé?"

"Bashé?" The group wondered if that was the local name for the Xiūshé.

However, from his tone, he clearly knew about the Xiūshé, which pleased the group. Yan Xuehen seized the opportunity to say, "We heard the Xiūshé was wreaking havoc in the vast Dongting Lake and causing suffering to the people, so we specifically came to eliminate this menace for the common folk."

They had expected a warm welcome from the local, given their stated purpose. To their surprise, the fisherman's face immediately darkened. "I knew there was something strange about your attire! So you're those detestable Eastern Yi people! I don't want your filthy money, get out of here!" With that, he pulled the silver ingot he had just tucked into his pocket and threw it directly at them.

This sudden turn of events bewildered the group. Zu An quickly said, "Uncle, there must be some misunderstanding. We've never even heard of these 'Eastern Yi people.'"

"Go on, go on! I don't care if you're Eastern Yi or not! If you're here to kill the Bashé, you're not welcome. Get out!" He said, shooing them away with the bamboo pole in his hand, as if speaking another word to them would bring bad luck.