Chapter 31: Want it! Also want it! And want it even more! (Please add to favorites! Please keep reading!)

Hearing this, Shao Heng's thoughts churned.

Looking at Zhu Wushuang, who appeared not much older than herself, yet was capable of battling the snake demon she spoke of, it seemed the woman must be nearing the late stage of the First Realm and had likely begun her cultivation from a young age.

Even so, to possess her current cultivation level, this woman was definitely not of low-grade aptitude.

"Sister Yan Ning, what do you think?"

"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Wushuang, who looks only slightly older than me, to already be at the middle stage of the First Realm. To have the cultivation to contend with that snake demon is truly..." Shao Heng's face showed envy. She bit her lip, and after a moment of hesitation, she agreed.

"I am honored by Fellow Daoist Wushuang's regard. I am willing to lend my meager strength!"

Zhu Wushuang's smile grew even brighter, and she spoke with blunt directness: "That snake demon is located within a cave on this mountain."

"Even though it has become a demon, the hibernating nature of snakes remains unchanged. Therefore, the White Snake Demon has been lacking energy lately. Once the Jade Fruit matures, I will lure it away. It won't suspect a 'luring the tiger away from the mountain' scheme for a while. You must take the opportunity to seize the Jade Fruit then, and our mission will be a success!"

The value of a Second-Grade precious medicine was more than ten times that of a First-Grade one, and it was far rarer.

Shao Heng nodded and replied, "Very well!"

"Fellow Daoist Wushuang has planned meticulously; we shall surely succeed!"

Having received the flattery, a look of satisfaction unconsciously appeared in Zhu Wushuang's eyes.

"Then I shall take you to the snake cave immediately. The Bone-Stripping Jade Fruit should mature in about half a day. I cannot find anyone familiar enough to help me on such short notice, and since I feel an instant kinship with you, Sister Yan Ning, I decided to invite you."

Shao Heng had no reason to refuse.

After a few words of consultation, the two women set off toward a specific location on the mountain.

They concealed their auras and moved across the snow without leaving a trace. After about fifteen minutes, they finally spotted a cave.

The entrance was covered in withered weeds and a thin layer of snow, making it difficult to discover.

Shao Heng looked around, inspecting the area carefully; nothing seemed amiss.

Standing at the cave entrance, she did not smell any stench of decay; instead, there was a surprisingly elegant and light fragrance. This perfectly matched the description in the *Encyclopedia of Spiritual Medicines* she had read: *"Bone-Stripping Red Flower, eight petals, shaped like a lotus, emitting a clear fragrance that can travel for a mile."*

Zhu Wushuang, like Shao Heng, wore inconspicuous white clothing suitable for the snowy terrain. She sent a voice transmission: "The snake demon is inside the cave. The demon race possesses strong physical bodies but weak souls; their spiritual sense at the same realm is far inferior to us humans. As long as we conceal our auras well, there is a high probability the White Snake Demon will not detect us."

"This fragrance is the scent of the Red Flower. When it grows increasingly faint and eventually vanishes, the flower will wither and the fruit will form. I will time it perfectly to lure the White Snake Demon out at the critical moment, and then you shall enter the cave."

Shao Heng nodded, and she and Zhu Wushuang waited patiently in hiding.

Looking toward the cave, Zhu Wushuang felt in high spirits, calculating silently: *Once I secure the Jade Fruit and refine this Second-Grade spiritual medicine, it will be enough to advance my cultivation further, condensing six hundred cauldrons of mana to break through to the late stage of the First Realm. When I enter the Mysterious Moon Secret Realm, I will naturally have more confidence.*

Once she smelled the fragrance beginning to fade rapidly, Zhu Wushuang immediately lunged into the cave.

As she acted, her mana could no longer be hidden. This time, Shao Heng perceived it clearly—this woman already possessed over five hundred and eighty cauldrons of mana.

Shao Heng's fists gradually tightened, her entire being like an arrow poised to leave the bow.

*Bang!*

*Hiss!*

Roars of the snake demon echoed from within the cave, and a streak of white shadow suddenly lunged out from the cave, chasing after Zhu Wushuang.

The snake demon's true form was massive, over ten feet long; it was more accurate to call it a python.

Its scales were dense and pure white, making it nearly indistinguishable when mixed with the snow. Only its black vertical pupils and the crimson tongue it flicked from time to time were enough to make one's scalp tingle.

The White Snake Demon's long tail was bound by a bundle of blue silk, the other end of which was held by Zhu Wushuang. As she pulled outward, the snake demon could only be passively moved regardless of how it writhed.

Furthermore, because it cherished the ripening Jade Fruit and feared being caught in the crossfire of the fight, it did not resist with its full strength to break free.

As Zhu Wushuang dragged it out of the cave, she breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing a figure already darting into the cave, she raised an eyebrow and sneered.

"Excellent!"

Inside the cave, Shao Heng moved rapidly, thirty-six jade-white fine needles hovering around her.

When she reached the end of the cave, she saw blue crystals emitting a soft, shimmering light embedded in the stone walls. An opening had been carved into the ceiling, allowing sunlight to stream in.

Shao Heng looked toward the source of the fragrance. A red flower grew in a crevice of the wall, with only one last petal trembling, and in its center hung six berry-like, pale pink fruits.

As that final petal fell, the fruits rapidly turned an orange-yellow.

Before Shao Heng could act, three white shadows lunged toward her, and three stinking water arrows shot straight for her face.

The Jade Bee Needles were instantly released like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, destroying all the venomous water arrows.

Simultaneously, her movements were ghostly, as if she had turned into a phantom. After deploying her遁术 (escape technique), she turned to another part of the cave in the blink of an eye. As she pulled away, the Thousand-Strike Longbow was already in her hands.

Drawing with three fingers, she simultaneously condensed three mana arrows and shot them toward the white shadows in an instant.

All three arrows struck true. Shao Heng's aim was unerring, and the corners of her lips curled upward.

Those white shadows were all slender white snakes, clearly the offspring of the White Snake Demon. After being pierced by the long arrows, they were pinned to the walls, shrieking in agony. Shao Heng showed no hesitation, immediately triggering the arrows; three consecutive explosions turned them into a mass of dead, bloody sludge.

"Hmph."

Shao Heng had long anticipated that this cave would not be so simple.

Though this Three-Tailed Snake Demon did not have the deep cultivation of the one Zhu Wushuang was facing, it was still at the early stage of the First Realm.

If Shao Heng were an ordinary early-stage First Realm cultivator, given the ferocity and numerical advantage of these snake demons, her chances of escaping would be extremely low; she would have had to fight to the death, at best resulting in mutual destruction.

But she was not ordinary.

The Bone-Stripping Jade Fruit had completely turned orange-yellow. Shao Heng used her mana to collect them, storing them in a jade box before placing them into her storage ring.

Then, gripping her longbow, she sped out of the cave, rushing toward the battlefield where Zhu Wushuang and the White Snake Demon were fighting.

From a considerable distance, she could see the intense battle between the woman and the snake.

Zhu Wushuang held the soft silk, which, when whipped against the snake, struck like an iron rod. Combined with the colorful clouds surrounding her—clearly some form of spell—the snake demon was being driven back repeatedly; the advantage was obvious.

This was far from the "barely able to contend" situation she had described earlier.

Shao Heng shouted from afar, "Do not worry, Fellow Daoist Wushuang! I have followed your arrangement and slain all the small snake demons in the cave and obtained the Jade Fruit. I am just waiting for you to finish off this White Snake Demon!"

When a beast becomes a demon and develops intelligence, reaching the perfection of the First Realm allows it to grow a bone protrusion to speak human language, and ascending to the Second Realm allows it to transform into a human form.

With the snake demon's current cultivation, its intelligence was near-human. Understanding the implication of Shao Heng's words, it immediately roared with increased ferocity, risking its life to launch an assault on Zhu Wushuang.

Watching Zhu Wushuang's sudden expression of panic, Shao Heng gave a cold snort.

Knowing there were six Jade Fruits, this woman must have entered the cave before. She knew in advance that three small snake demons were hidden there, yet she had not mentioned it.

The Jade Fruit had the effect of cleansing the bones and tendons; the White Snake Demon likely left them specifically for its offspring.

While Zhu Wushuang could handle a middle-stage First Realm snake demon herself, she would have no time to stop the small snakes from consuming the fruit, which was why she wanted to bring someone along.

The strength of this person needed to be just about equal to the three small snakes—ideally, someone who could be used to tie them down so they could perish together.

And who else could it be but Shao Heng?

Shao Heng aimed her bow at Zhu Wushuang, who had regained control of the situation, and drew her string, preparing to shoot.

The situation of mutual destruction should be left to the White Snake Demon and Zhu Wushuang.

The six Bone-Stripping Jade Fruits—she wanted them!

The corpse materials of a middle-stage First Realm snake demon—she wanted those too!

And the treasures on this cultivator surnamed Zhu—she wanted those as well!