Lu Man's face turned pale, filled with disbelief. She had thought that the black-robed young man was the easiest to deal with among those present.
But unexpectedly, he was the most terrifying!
For a brief moment, she had felt as if her soul was dissipating, a fear she had never experienced before. Since the start of her cultivation, she had never felt this powerless.
The Sky Serpent Mansion had some understanding of soul power, yet she had never heard of anything like a soul seal before.
"Just what is his cultivation level?" Lu Man looked at Xiao Bai with newfound respect. At first, she had assumed he used some kind of special treasure to put her at a disadvantage.
But the soul power he had just displayed in that brief glance—she had only ever felt such pressure from Dou Zong experts. Could he be a Dou Zong?
Recalling Medusa's usual cold and prideful nature, yet seeing how she treated this man, Lu Man became almost eighty percent certain of her guess.
"Lu Man, what are you doing? Hurry up and act! Otherwise, I'm out of here!"
The Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor was in a dire state, his body covered in wounds. Focused entirely on his fight with Medusa, he hadn't noticed what had just happened. But when he stole a glance mid-battle, he saw Lu Man standing motionless beside that black-robed youth. A flash of anxiety crossed his eyes as he urged her through voice transmission.
Lu Man cautiously glanced at Xiao Bai. As for White Fang's urging, she could only smile bitterly in response.
Run? Run where?
If this man beside her was truly a Dou Zong, she'd like to see White Fang try escaping. Could he outrun a Dou Zong who could manipulate spatial forces?
"Ahhh!"
A sharp scream rang out as Medusa's energy strike slashed across the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor's body, leaving him badly wounded. His tattered wings flapped as he desperately retreated, trying to flee in a specific direction. Enraged, he shouted:
"Lu Man, you have fun with them! I'm not sticking around for this!"
"Hai Lao, stop him!" Xiao Bai commanded.
Hearing this, Hai Bodong instantly moved to block the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor's path. With a flick of his sleeves, a surge of icy blue cold energy erupted from his body, sweeping through the air like a raging storm. A vortex formed in an instant, with countless ice blades swirling within.
"Profound Ice Annihilation!"
The Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor saw the incoming attack, but there was no time to change course. With Medusa closing in from behind, his eyes flashed with determination.
"Get out of my way!" he roared, choosing to tank the attack head-on and charge directly at Hai Bodong.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his hastily cast technique get overpowered, and the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor charging straight at him, Hai Bodong yelped in shock and quickly dodged aside. He wasn't about to take a direct hit from a crazed magical beast—that could be fatal!
With Hai Bodong out of the way, the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor felt a wave of relief. Enduring the numbing pain across his body, he flapped his eight wings, leaving behind only afterimages as he shot thousands of meters away in an instant.
"Xiao Bai, I…" Hai Bodong landed in front of Xiao Bai, his face slightly awkward as he hesitated to speak.
"It's fine," Xiao Bai said calmly.
At that moment, Medusa also landed beside them, speaking indifferently: "That guy relies purely on speed. If he's determined to flee, there's no catching him."
Xiao Bai's gaze lingered on her for a moment before a subtle smile formed on his lips. He nodded lightly and said, "You've worked hard."
Lu Man, seeing that Xiao Bai had chosen not to pursue, finally let out a sigh of relief. As long as White Fang managed to escape, he could report back to the mansion. The elders would definitely send powerful reinforcements, and when that happened, she might regain her freedom!
If both of them had been captured here, that would have been disastrous. It was common for them to go years without returning from a mission—if no one reported their situation, who knew how long it would take for the mansion to even realize something had gone wrong?
Xiao Bai stood with his hands behind his back, gazing in the direction where the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor had disappeared. Suddenly, he turned to look at Lu Man.
"He escaped… You seem quite pleased."
"Heh… No matter which faction you belong to, I advise you to let me go. Otherwise, the Sky Serpent Mansion is not a force you want to provoke!"
With White Fang having successfully fled, Lu Man's confidence surged once more.
"Oh? Is that so?" Xiao Bai responded indifferently.
Just then, a cold yet alluring voice reached his ears.
"The Sky Serpent Mansion has many powerful members. You'd best not kill her."
"Oh? Is Her Majesty… worried about me?" Xiao Bai turned toward the graceful figure beside him, his eyes filled with amusement.
Medusa sneered and didn't even look at him. She was only concerned about the Snake-People tribe, nothing more!
At that moment, a sudden scream rang out from the distance, followed by furious shouting:
"Who are you?! How dare you ambush me?"
"Do you have any idea who I am? I belong to the Sky Serpent Mansion! Do you not fear their revenge?"
"White Fang!"
Lu Man, who had just regained some confidence, cried out in shock. She instantly recognized the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor's voice. Her gaze then shifted to Xiao Bai in disbelief.
No wonder this man was so calm—there had been an ambush waiting in the distance all along! The realization filled her with both anger and frustration. Damn it! A Dou Zong and two Dou Huangs were already enough to suppress them, and yet they still set up an ambush? Where was their dignity?
Medusa also glanced at Xiao Bai in surprise. She hadn't expected him to have backup—and someone capable of beating the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor into such a wretched state. It seemed he had another powerful expert by his side.
Just then, a disdainful voice carried over as the distant screams gradually faded.
"Hah~ The Sky Serpent Mansion? So what? Comparing backgrounds with me? You're not even qualified."
Lu Man's expression changed as she looked at Xiao Bai uncertainly. From that tone alone, it was clear that this person didn't take the Sky Serpent Mansion seriously at all. Just what kind of background did this black-clothed youth have?
Xiao Bai, on the other hand, was speechless. Ever since Ling Ying's "social death," he had stopped pretending in front of him. After Xiao Bai had exposed his identity as Xun'er's guardian, Ling Ying no longer bothered to act discreetly. Though he hadn't mentioned the Ancient Eight Clans, his words and actions were no longer as restrained as before.
"Let's go take a look."
Xiao Bai led Qing Lin in the direction of the commotion, and the others hurriedly followed.
Upon arriving at the scene, they saw the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor lying on the ground, barely clinging to life. However, aside from him, there was no one else in sight.
"It's over… Even my last hope is gone…" Lu Man let out a silent lament as she took in the scene.
Xiao Bai walked straight up to the serpent's massive head and, without hesitation, placed a sealing formation over it. The sight shattered any lingering hope in Lu Man's heart.
Kicking the serpent's head lightly, Xiao Bai asked in an indifferent tone, "Can you still walk?"
White Fang weakly opened his eyes, gave Xiao Bai a glance, and remained silent.
Seeing this, Xiao Bai chuckled.
"W-What do you want?" White Fang asked nervously.
He had just seen the black-robed youth pull out a dagger, its cold gleam flashing under the light. The youth was holding it near his horn, as if measuring where to cut.
That horn was the most treasured part of his species, as precious to them as a human's face!
"Well, since you can't move, of course, I'll kill you and harvest your materials. A Sixth-Rank Magic Beast—leaving it here would be such a waste, don't you think?"
Xiao Bai spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. In his mind, he was already considering whether the venom in this horn would be useful to Xiao Yi Xian.
"N-No! I can still move!" White Fang was terrified. Ignoring the pain coursing through his body, he struggled to lift his upper half off the ground, albeit in an awkward manner.
Xiao Bai was inwardly impressed. *The physical resilience of magical beasts is truly ridiculous.* Just moments ago, this serpent had looked half-dead, yet now it could still stand.
"Uh… I can walk. I just can't fly right now…"
White Fang's triangular pupils showed a hint of flattery, as if he were afraid that Xiao Bai might truly go through with his words.
Seeing that Xiao Bai had put away the dagger without saying anything more, White Fang finally let out a long sigh of relief.
That was terrifying!