The serpent's body was patterned with interlocking dark brown markings. It was as thick as a child's waist, coiled around a great banyan tree, its yellow vertical pupils staring coldly at Li Tongya and the others.
"What a massive serpent!"
Even as he marveled, Li Tongya's hands formed seals without pause. Before the words left his mouth, a hazy golden light had already gathered in his palm.
The serpent hissed, flicking its crimson tongue. It opened its maw wide and spewed a thick cloud of black mist.
But the golden radiance arrived first, striking straight for the brown-patterned serpent's jaw. The impact knocked its head sideways, and the black mist splashed onto a nearby great tree.
The banyan tree sizzled and crackled. Its lush foliage was instantly corroded away, dissolving into black droplets that fell to the earth. Even the trunk, thick enough for two men to embrace, was eaten away by a deep layer.
*Hiss.*
Li Yesheng and the others recoiled in horror, on the verge of turning and fleeing.
"Watch it. Slowly back away." Having saved Li Yesheng and the villagers from the serpent's range, Li Tongya shook his head gravely and whispered.
As the group retreated step by step, the serpent did not pursue. It remained coiled on the banyan tree, watching them coldly.
Only when the banyan tree disappeared from view did Li Qiuyang speak timidly:
"The fruit is behind that tree!"
"No rush." Li Tongya waved his hand and instructed Li Yesheng:
"Go call up the village guards. Have every household bring long poles, iron shovels — bows if they have them. Bring everyone up the mountain."
"Yes." Li Yesheng assented and hurried down the mountain with the villagers.
Li Xiangping patted Li Qiuyang on the shoulder:
"You must have encountered this serpent while it was out hunting. Not only did you escape with your life, you found a fortuitous opportunity! Go back to the courtyard and cultivate. There's nothing more for you here."
Seeing Li Qiuyang, drenched in cold sweat, scurry down the mountain, Li Xiangping found a bluestone and sat down. He turned to Li Tongya:
"This serpent's scales are remarkably hard. A single Golden Light Art only shattered a few scales on its jaw."
"From its appearance, it's merely a low-order yao at the Embryonic Breathing realm. Its spiritual intelligence hasn't awakened — no matter how hard a beast's scales, what use are they?" Li Tongya replied calmly, carefully surveying the terrain.
Before long, the able-bodied men of Lijing Village streamed up the mountain. Hearing they were to slay a yao, they were equal parts terrified and exhilarated. They crept along behind Li Yesheng, treading softly.
Li Tongya surveyed the terrain, then sought out Liu Linfeng and asked:
"Uncle, I heard the Liu family killed a wild boar with a pit trap last year. For a serpent this large, how deep and wide should we dig?"
Liu Linfeng hesitated before asking cautiously:
"I've heard this serpent is a yao. It cannot be judged by ordinary reasoning. What if it can fly...?"
"It certainly cannot fly. Simply double your usual dimensions." Li Xiangping spoke up, silently thinking to himself:
*If this serpent could fly, would any of us still be alive?*
"Then it's simple!" Reassured by Li Xiangping's words, Liu Linfeng confidently took charge, directing the men to dig. He pointed and gestured with considerable authority.
Liu Linfeng had been cooped up for some time. In the past, though the Li family was powerful, they had at least shown the Liu family courtesy, consulting them on village matters. Now that the Li family had consolidated all the villages, Liu Linfeng dared not strut about anymore. These past weeks had been stifling. Finally given something to do, he instantly regained his vigor.
"This can't go on. My Liu family must find our place of usefulness under the Li family's wing, or we will inevitably decline!"
Even as he directed the digging, Liu Linfeng resolved internally.
Li Tongya had no idea so much drama played in Liu Linfeng's mind. He and Li Xiangping were busy applying Golden Light Art to arrowheads. If left unused, the technique could last six to seven shichen — more than enough for killing this serpent.
Each of them could apply the art perhaps a dozen times before their spiritual power was exhausted, after which they would sit in meditation to recover. By the time the men finished digging the pit and concealing the fresh earth with fallen leaves, the two had just completed their recovery.
The villagers took formation: pole-bearers in front, archers behind, each nocking an arrow enhanced with Golden Light Art. They crept cautiously toward the serpent.
When the vanguard reached the great banyan tree, they gasped in unison:
"What a terrifying serpent!"
The serpent was coiled on the banyan tree, its bright yellow vertical pupils striking dread into every heart. It opened its maw and loosed a thick cloud of black mist.
The men in front had been warned. They dropped their poles and fell back early. The black mist corroded nothing but a carpet of dead leaves and a few pole shafts.
But arrows trailing pale golden light followed close behind — shot from bows enhanced with Golden Light Art, razor-sharp. They struck the serpent's brown-patterned scales, sticking fast.
Disturbed for the third and fourth time, the serpent finally erupted in rage. It hissed, flicking its tongue, abandoned the banyan tree, and surged toward the group in a winding rush.
The men in front scattered instantly. Li Tongya and Li Xiangping rapidly fired Golden Light Art after Golden Light Art. The impacts made the serpent shriek in pain. It raised its golden pupils toward the two cultivators and charged.
But the two were not frightened — they were delighted. Seeing the serpent wind along the cliffside slope toward them, they shouted:
"Ready!"
The serpent surged forward — then felt the ground give way beneath it. It nearly plunged headfirst into the great pit hidden beneath the fallen leaves.
But the serpent's body was long. It didn't fall in immediately. Its head shot up, bridging across to the pit's other edge. It was about to climb out.
From the clifftop above, a group of villagers appeared. Together they shoved a massive bluestone. They shouted in unison:
"Drop!"
The stone fell — crashing squarely onto the serpent's back. Bones snapped. The brown-patterned serpent hissed once, then was pinned to the bottom of the pit. Its head reared high, its body bent into a U-shape, but it could not move.
"Hahahaha!" Liu Linfeng laughed long and loud from behind the group. Seeing his handiwork succeed, he nodded with deep satisfaction.
"Charge!" Li Yesheng roared. The men seized sharpened bamboo spears and drove them into the pit again and again.
Though the serpent's scales were hard, they could not withstand a dozen men stabbing relentlessly for half a shichen. They did not stop until the bamboo they pulled up was stained red.
After confirming three times that the serpent was dead, the crowd erupted in cheers. Each man was puffed with pride, chattering about how to extract the creature and carry it back to the village.
Leaving Liu Linfeng to oversee the work, Li Tongya and Li Xiangping took Li Yesheng and several trusted men, and quietly circled behind the great banyan tree.
Seeing the white bones scattered across the dense grass, Li Yesheng sighed:
"Li Yesheng went up the back mountain years ago and never returned. He must have encountered the serpent while it was hunting, and been devoured."
Li Xiangping nodded naturally. But Li Tongya gazed at the small tree with five bright red fruits hanging from it, his expression grave. He turned to Li Yesheng:
"Post men to guard this place. Let no one come near."