Volume One Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Full Moon

Fists collided at the tip of the serpent’s tail, and Shang Qingwen’s body was hurled backwards by an immense force, gliding through the air for dozens of meters before barely coming to a halt. The crimson serpent, relying on its massive size, remained unmoved. Flicking its numbed tail, it wasted no time, offering Shang Qingwen not a moment’s respite. Its cavernous maw, steeped in blood and foul wind, swept down to devour him.

Suddenly, darkness blanketed the serpent’s vision. The domain of shadow, which it had encountered before, emerged again all around. Employing its old tactic, the serpent swung its colossal tail like a heavenly axe, cleaving at the shadowy canopy overhead. Yet this time, there was no sensation of striking anything solid.

With Shang Qingwen distracting the serpent and Chen Luoluo assisting, the blacksmith Jian Xin crafted a far more complete shadow domain, lacking the glaring flaws of its previous iteration.

A gigantic sword of shadow descended from above, its mighty blade seeming capable of cleaving mountains. The serpent writhed and darted, desperate to evade, but the domain of shadow was centered upon its own body; no matter how it twisted or fled, it could not break free.

Its neck suddenly swelled, and a blast of blood-red dragon’s breath shot toward the pressing shadow sword, searing and corroding the blade until it was in tatters. The serpent’s massive tail swept furiously again, sending a silent shadow axe flying from the other side.

Though the axe shattered under the tail’s blow, a human silhouette appeared, and with exhausted strength, struck the red serpent’s tail with a fierce punch.

Though aged, the power of his fist remained. Shang Qingwen’s blazing sun fist cracked the scales of the serpent’s tail once more, then he withdrew, melting back into the encircling shadows.

No blood spilled from the wounds on the serpent’s tail; instead, each scale seemed forged from blood itself. Yet as cracks appeared, a vent was opened for the restless shadows within the domain.

Thousands of shadows surged forth like ravenous specters, pouring into the serpent’s wound. Dense darkness battled with crimson for dominion over the territory. Rooted in the wound, the shadows spread, expanding their grip across the red scales.

Though the serpent was highly resistant to toxins and medicines, it had no answer for the corrosive invasion of these shadows. It tore away the shadowy vines clinging to its body, but more shadows grew from the domain, countless black hands seemingly intent on dragging the serpent into the endless darkness.

A black moon arose from within the serpent’s golden eyes. Blood mist exploded from its body, and a mighty shockwave sent the lurking Shang Qingwen flying once more.

Beyond the shadow domain, Jian Xin pressed his hands against the black barrier; when the tremendous force struck, he was shaken so hard he spat blood.

Within the body of the pseudo-dragon viper, the aura of another, the Moon-Devouring Viper, began to surge rapidly.

Of the two vipers brought back from the Land of Strife, the pseudo-dragon viper was the red serpent’s backup form. Should it fail to reclaim its former shell, it could continue the battle in this vessel. The Moon-Devouring Viper, besides serving as nourishment, possessed a unique innate ability critical to the red serpent’s plan.

As a member of the Moon-Devouring lineage, the Moon-Devouring Viper was among the rare beasts able to capture and control foreign moons in the Outer Realm. By synchronizing with the moon’s projection, it could dissolve the shell encasing the moon’s core. Once the Moon-Devouring Viper consumed the core, it could wield some of the moon’s power, making it nearly unrivaled among its peers.

When the red serpent discovered this Moon-Devouring Viper in the Land of Strife, its revenge plot quietly began.

Returning to the northern desert, it lay in wait for years, controlling the moon viper to devour the moon, parasitizing the King of Jackals to sow chaos...

All of it, every step, was for this resurgence.

Fortunately, the tides of the lunar phase arrived not too late; its old adversaries had not all perished, granting it the chance for vengeance by its own hand.

The serpent opened its massive jaws in a wild roar. The black moon vanished from its eyes, only to appear behind its back.

The black moon core was incompatible with the shadow domain; its immense repulsion forced the torrent of darkness away from the serpent’s body.

In the next instant, the moon reversed, and its core was reconstructed.

Outside the shadow domain, the heavens were suddenly roused. Massive currents of alien force, drawn by the tidal power, converged wildly upon the site, crushing and grinding the domain until Jian Xin’s realm was forcibly shattered.

The storm raged, thunder and lightning crackling. Chaotic flows altered the clouds above, arcs of violet lightning swirling across the sky.

The fierce winds dragged everyone toward the center. As the serpent broke free from the darkness and tore through the domain, another shockwave erupted outward.

Wounded and suffering backlash, Jian Xin clenched his teeth, struggling to remain conscious. The shadows beneath him were weakened, but they still gathered to support his body.

Seeing Jian Xin injured again, Shang Qingwen realized the battle could not be dragged out any longer.

“So it’s come to this, after all...” he murmured. Flames blazed around him, tongues of fire illuminating his aged face.

The fire contracted violently, then shot upward, transforming into a blazing meteor that soared into the sky, determined to perish with the red serpent, to settle things once and for all.

Resolute in death, Shang Qingwen’s failing life force surged anew. The immense flow of alien energy in his perfected Outer Realm compressed within him into a single point, resonating with his boiling blood.

As he threw himself into battle, Shang Qingwen felt a sudden stirring in his heart, then sensed a crack forming atop the bottleneck of his cultivation.

Had he waited until he ascended to the Realm of Fulfillment before facing this beast, perhaps things would be much easier.

But it was too late.

His thoughts raced as he lunged at the red serpent, alien force and blood in harmony, will and spirit united, intent on dragging the serpent with him into death.

Yet as his blood-fire burned, his clouded pupils narrowed once more. Reflected within them, behind the serpent, the moon projection that should have been black was now white.

The alien moon had fully formed, hanging silently behind the serpent.

Golden serpent eyes locked onto Shang Qingwen’s figure. A sudden surge of repulsive force struck, sending the fully-empowered Shang Qingwen flying. He hurtled through the air for hundreds of meters before slowing.

Upon landing, he stared in disbelief at the serpent, unsure of what it had just done.

“It refined the moon projection and used it as a core to recreate an alien moon,” Mu Qing, now seemingly a commentator rather than a radar operator, sat down hugging his knees, calmly explaining to Shang Qingwen and Jian Xin.

“The alien moon possesses the power to control tides and repulsion. With the serpent controlling a moon, it naturally wields these abilities,” Mu Qing shrugged in response to Shang Qingwen’s gaze.

Hearing this, the elder’s already dry lips turned paler. With the power of tidal repulsion, even if he wished to die alongside the serpent, it would be impossible.

Jian Xin clutched his chest, summoning the scattered remnants of shadow from across the land, intent on fighting the serpent again. But the compounded injuries from two shattered domains were too severe, leaving him powerless.

“Hmm?” Zhang Tuzi, running up from afar, suddenly noticed something amiss. He quickly glanced around, realizing two people were missing.

“Where are young Qin Mo and Miss Chen?” he asked.

Shang Qingwen and Jian Xin were startled, scanning the area and confirming the absence of the two.

Could they have been blown further away by the aftermath of the battle?

“This is what Miss Chen left for you,” Mu Qing raised his hand and tossed a pill to both Shang Qingwen and Jian Xin.

“No need to worry. Those two… have gone mad.”

With that, Mu Qing fell silent, his eyes behind his sunglasses betraying a hint of anticipation as he gazed at the white moon behind the serpent.

Behind the crimson serpent, atop the white moon, two diminutive figures appeared, walking hand in hand across its surface.

Chen Luoluo held in one hand a concealment talisman gifted by her family elders, while tightly gripping Mo De’s wrist with the other, blending their auras as much as possible. Mo De allowed Chen Luoluo’s aura to envelop him, for only then could the concealment artifact hide them both.

The hollowed jade pendant in Chen Luoluo’s hand was intended by her grandfather as an escape talisman for his treasured granddaughter. The custom-made concealment array could erase all traces of her aura, helping her evade powerful enemies.

Yet this artifact, meant for flight, was now used by Chen Luoluo to approach a formidable foe at the perfected Outer Realm. One wonders if her grandfather, upon learning of her audacious act, would be filled with anxiety and dread.

By rights, after the Outer Realm, each minor realm’s power gap widens considerably. Chen Luoluo, just reaching the mid-Outer Realm, still stood a stage below the perfected red serpent, who should outclass her by far.

But as the saying goes, surprises abound in the world.

Deep within the Qin Emperor Mountains, a certain Ms. Mu—who preferred her name kept secret—once fought to the death against a late-stage foe with only early-stage Fulfillment cultivation.

Of course, Chen Luoluo lacked Ms. Mu’s monstrous combat prowess, but as the scion of the Chen family, she still possessed some trump cards. The price would be steep, but perhaps enough to turn the tide.

She had already entrusted healing pills to the Qin family elder, hoping the two perfected experts could soon recover and take over the aftermath.

As for dragging along the young man beside her, it was because Chen Luoluo relished combat and killing, but had no interest in dying in vain.

After employing her trump card, she would likely be completely drained and fall into unconsciousness, requiring someone to carry her out of harm’s way.

Mo De, aware of Chen Luoluo’s plan, offered no objection, rising to join her in skirting the battlefield and silently approaching the serpent’s rear.

Chen Luoluo conjured an ice step, and together they ascended to the moon.

The youth’s expression was as calm as the woman beside him, though his right hand, gripping his sword’s scabbard, flickered now and then with a copper glow.