Ning Beichen hurriedly freed his right hand and grabbed at the dark shadow. With a series of snapping sounds, his wrist was entangled by something several times.
With the help of the firelight, Ning Beichen saw clearly that what had sneakily attacked him was a snake.
And these snakes were very strange. They had barbs on both sides of their mouths, a red fleshy crown above their heads, and were incredibly strong. The snake's body tightly wrapped around Ning Beichen's arm, making it creak.
If Ning Beichen hadn't been a Grandmaster, his arm would have been crushed by the snake.
"Hmph!"
Ning Beichen snorted coldly. With his left hand, two fingers moved like lightning, pinching the snake's head. With a forceful squeeze, the snake's head was crushed, and the snake's body coiled around Ning Beichen's arm loosened.
With a *plop*.
The strange snake fell into the bonfire.
"Eh? What is this?"
After the snake was burned by the bonfire, Ning Beichen found a crystal-clear, glowing bead in the fire, like a luminous pearl.
Ning Beichen took the bead out of the bonfire to examine it. It couldn't be burned by the fire, so it was likely not an ordinary item.
Then, Ning Beichen dared to lick it with his tongue and found it to be cool. Besides glowing, he didn't feel any energy.
"Could it be the snake's gallstone?"
"No, gallstones don't glow!"
"Could it be an inner core?"
"Ning Beichen, you're overthinking it. A snake with an inner core? Do you think snakes can transform into demons? If it had an inner core, it would have already killed you, a Grandmaster."
Ning Beichen chuckled at himself.
However, this bead was indeed very special. Ning Beichen didn't know its purpose, so he decided to keep it for now.
Much of what was known about cultivation had been lost, and many records had vanished. Otherwise, when Ning Beichen dealt with Ryan who used the Demonic Body Dissolution Technique, he wouldn't have had to go to Suzhou and Hangzhou to ask the Gusu Chen family for a solution.
Ning Beichen ate the tiger meat in a few gulps.
He knew that it was the scent of the tiger meat that had attracted these creatures. So, next time he ate, he had to be mindful of his surroundings.
This time it was just an unknown snake. Who knew what else might show up next time?
After eating his fill and resting for a while to refine the energy from the tiger meat, Ning Beichen got up and continued forward.
He refused to believe that he would walk down a path and end up nowhere.
Meanwhile, the old man with a goatee appeared in a magnificent underground palace and muttered excitedly.
"The Annam royal family, this must be the palace of the Annam royal family!"
"I'm rich... I'm rich."
Soon, the goatee old man found chests upon chests of jewels in a side hall of the palace, piled with many thick gold bricks.
"This must be all the treasure of the Annam royal family from that era!"
The goatee old man's eyes gleamed, and he pounced into the jewels and gold bricks, dancing with joy.
"Inheritance, for the inheritance."
After a burst of wild laughter, the goatee old man frantically rummaged through the chests.
Before long, an ancient bronze chest was opened, revealing many old books.
"Immortal Demon Palm, Great Sun Tathagata Contemplation, Startled Swan Body Refinement Method, Dragon Tiger Finger, and the Vajra True Scripture..."
"Hahaha..."
"I'm made, I'm made! With these things, I will definitely..."
The goatee old man laughed excitedly.
However, at that moment, he suddenly heard footsteps from outside. The goatee old man immediately hid in the shadows, his hand tightly gripping a sharp treasured saber.
The person who entered was Nangong Feiyan.
She had originally followed Ning Beichen into the portal, but after entering, the world spun, and she found herself somewhere else.
She didn't know where she was and had been searching for Ning Beichen for a long time without finding him. So, she followed the trail and unexpectedly discovered a palace located underground.
"These are Annam characters. This place must be the palace of the Annam royal family. It is rumored that the Annam royal family once possessed the Nine Palace Strategy. Since the Annam royal family disappeared, this Nine Palace Strategy has been lost. Perhaps it is in this palace..."
Nangong Feiyan became excited upon seeing the palace.
Before long, Nangong Feiyan also found the side hall where treasures were stored. Seeing the chests of jewels and the shimmering gold bricks piled like a pyramid on the ground, her eyes almost popped out.
Even though Nangong Feiyan wasn't short of money, seeing so much gold and silver jewelry and gold bricks made her eyes turn red.
Being not short of money didn't mean she didn't love money. With so much gold and silver, even if she couldn't use it, she could give it to her junior brother.
She knew her junior brother was different from her. Her junior brother was a man of great ambition, and their master only had him as a disciple. As his senior sister, she naturally had to help him and support him with all her might.
However, more than the gold and silver, she cared about finding the Nine Palace Strategy.
Nangong Feiyan went to the bronze chests containing books. Seeing the books inside made her eyes light up. Just as she was about to check if the Nine Palace Strategy was among them, a whistling sound suddenly attacked her from behind.
Nangong Feiyan was startled and tried to dodge, but it was too late. She only managed to shift slightly to the left.
*Swish*.
A saber struck her left shoulder. The blade cut into her flesh, and blood splattered.
Nangong Feiyan cried out in pain, feeling her arm become weak and powerless.
The goatee old man raised his saber and swung it towards Nangong Feiyan's head, intending to kill her right there.
Although injured, Nangong Feiyan was not weak. She quickly rolled like a lazy donkey to avoid the fatal blow and turned to see that the attacker was the old man who had accompanied Ruan Jinzhu.
"Heh heh heh..."
"You're alone. It seems even heaven is helping me today."
The goatee old man, holding the blood-dripping treasured saber, chuckled sinisterly.
"Don't get cocky. My junior brother will come and destroy you."
Nangong Feiyan's shoulder was cut, making her arm weak. She could only use the terrain to maneuver and evade the goatee old man.
"You can't escape. Just surrender and die!"
The goatee old man, holding his saber, chased Nangong Feiyan, threatening her.
"Pah!"
Nangong Feiyan spat out bloody saliva and said.
"When my junior brother arrives, you'll be finished!"
"Hahaha... Even if your junior brother comes, he won't be able to save you. Die!"
The goatee old man raised his hand.
*Whoosh*.
A small flying knife shot out mysteriously towards Nangong Feiyan's leg, and at the same time, his treasured saber slashed at her.
Nangong Feiyan dodged his saber but couldn't avoid the sneak attack.
*Thwack*.
The flying knife hit Nangong Feiyan's calf, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.