Chapter 693: White Monster Snake

The mud around the hole at the bottom of the pond had no effect on Jinjia. His feet created ripples as he stepped on the mud, yet not a single splash of muddy water rose.

“Roar…”

The white shadow was slender, as thick as a large water bucket. The part already exposed was five or six *zhang* long, and it thrashed wildly in a chaotic manner.

“Hah!”

Jinjia let out a loud shout, thrusting his arms forward as the tip of the white shadow struck towards him.

The impact of the contact sent large amounts of mud and pond water splashing up, creating a downpour of muddy water.

Muddy water splattered everywhere with a "splish-splash" sound. Every direction was covered in mud, except for the small area where Jiyuan stood.

Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…

“Crashing… Splashing…”

Jinjia held the head of a massive snake-like creature in his arms, allowing it to twist and writhe. He stepped back, not because he was being pushed, but because he was actively pulling the monster out of the hole.

“Hiss… Roar…”

“Thump… Thump… Thump…”

The cavern at the bottom of the pond seemed to be constantly struck from below. As mud splattered, more and more cracks appeared on the exposed stone foundation.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

Swish, swish, swish, swish…

Countless stones of various sizes shot out, scattering beyond the pond.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang…”

Large rocks crashed into the surrounding buildings, seemingly cracking or even destroying distant structures. Yet, these damages quickly repaired themselves, and there were no screams from passersby or common folk nearby.

“Hmph!”

Jinjia let out another loud shout, slightly bending his knees before suddenly shooting backward.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble…

A large expanse of pond water mixed with mud exploded as a slender, strange snake, over thirty *zhang* long, was dragged out, its head firmly gripped by Jinjia.

“Roar…”

This strange snake was entirely white and extremely slender, with even its eyes being white. Only its forked tongue was black. It writhed frantically, like an eel hooked out of its hole by a fisherman. In the next instant, it transformed into a white blur, coiling around Jinjia.

“Crackling… Cracking…”

A sound of churning muscles came from where the white snake was tightly coiled. Jinjia’s body was completely obscured, entirely wrapped within the snake’s coils, but Jiyuan wasn't tense at all. This level of challenge was nothing to Jinjia.

No sooner had this thought formed than eerie black smoke began to rise from the white strange snake, its appearance distinctly ominous.

“Sizzle… Sizzle…”

A sizzling, corrosive sound was heard, but golden-pink light emanated from where the white strange snake was coiled.

“Crackle… Crackle…”

The area where the white strange snake was coiled began to bulge more and more, and golden light shone through the gaps in the snake’s body. Jinjia was reverting to his original form as a Yellow Turban Warrior.

“Hah, vile beast!”

Two arms, covered in golden armor, extended. One gripped the snake's head, which was attempting to bite, while the other seized it at its seven-inch point.

Jinjia spread his arms, and lightning burst forth. As his physique grew larger, the white strange snake could no longer coil around him. Instead, its upper body was pulled straight, like a white rope about to snap.

“Hiss… Roar…”

The white strange snake let out painful hisses and roars, its long tail thrashing wildly and striking both the pond and Jinjia. Mud and pond water splattered within the pond, and stones shattered, yet Jinjia remained completely still.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang… Boom… Boom…”

Originally, Jinjia could have simply torn the white strange snake apart, but Jiyuan's order was to capture it. So, at this moment, he gave a violent shake.

With a powerful jolt, the strange snake's body, whose vital point was already restrained, was instantly shaken apart and could no longer coil around Jinjia. Jinjia held the strange snake as if he were holding a long whip.

The thirty-zhang long, slender white shadow tore through the air. With a whistling sound, it straightened into a single line as it was swung, then smashed towards the ground.

Even though the formation had already been set, Jinjia still swung the white shadow along an alley and street, careful not to hit any houses directly. However, the snake's shadow striking the ground still caused bricks and stones to crack and houses to collapse.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble…

The ground trembled slightly, but Jinjia immediately exerted force in his hands and smashed the strange snake towards the other side again.

For over forty consecutive strikes, the surrounding streets were damaged, collapsed, then restored, only to collapse again. With the final strike, the white strange snake was smashed three *chi* deep into the flagstones, lying limp and unable to move.

Now restored to his golden armor and looking like a divine general descended from the heavens, Jinjia regarded the limp snake head in his hand with a contemptuous gaze. He threw it to the ground, stepped on it, then turned sideways towards Jiyuan and bowed.

“Your Excellency, I have captured this beast!”

By this time, Huli and the large black dog had long since retreated behind a house far from the pond. Only now did they tentatively step out a few paces, still not daring to approach.

Jiyuan frowned slightly, looking at the limp white strange snake on the ground. He originally thought he should have immediately thought of Bai Suzhen upon seeing a white snake. However, this snake was truly bizarre: its eyes were opaque, as if blind; its black forked tongue and the seemingly poisonous smoke emanating from it were equally eerie. It evoked only horror, utterly devoid of any romantic associations.

Earlier, as soon as Jiyuan saw the white shadow, he had an immediate spiritual intuition linking it to past events, believing the death of the Deer Peace City God was closely related to this strange snake. But now, he was no longer so sure.

Although this strange snake was difficult to deal with, it seemed to be fighting purely by instinct, even appearing somewhat chaotic, utterly lacking in reason. Such an attack method was no match for Jinjia. It might cause some trouble for a City God, but it shouldn't be enough to kill one.

“Did it not kill the Deer Peace City God? It doesn't have that capability…”

“Perhaps it does…”

As soon as this hoarse voice appeared, Jiyuan lowered his head to his sleeve and took out the Xiezhi scroll.

“Do you know something, or have you recognized what kind of snake this is?”

The scroll unfolded. The Xiezhi within remained mostly still, only its eyes moving and mouth speaking, letting out a hoarse laugh.

“Snake? No, this is no mere snake… Though it is indeed rare. This is a *qiuchi*, originally of the dragon lineage. Its current state is utterly incoherent. Even so, if a City God were to be carelessly bitten by it, it would still be fatal!”

“This is a *qiuchi*?”

Jiyuan's brows furrowed as he looked at the white *qiuchi*, limp as a dead snake, under Jinjia's foot nearby. Jiyuan had actually heard of this creature, but only its name and some legends.

“Xiezhi, do you think *qiuchi* are sentient creatures?”

“Is there something you, Jiyuan, don’t know? Hehehehe… Well, I’m not sure if all *qiuchi* are sentient, but this one is definitely not coherent.”

“Hmm, I can tell.”

As he spoke, Jiyuan's thought moved, and the pond water, which had been parted, slowly flowed back to the center. The entire pond was once again filled with green ripples.

“Jiyuan, how do you intend to deal with this *qiuchi*?”

Though Xiezhi’s voice remained hoarse and flat, Jiyuan’s extraordinary hearing allowed him to perceive a hint of excitement in its tone.

“I haven't decided yet. Do you have any brilliant suggestions?”

“Why don’t you let me eat it! Let me eat it, or at least a part of it, like its head?”

The depiction of Xiezhi on the scroll became much more animated. The entire Xiezhi faintly emitted black smoke, pacing back and forth on the scroll, its eyes fixed on the *qiuchi*.

Jiyuan's eyebrow twitched, and he turned to look at the scroll again.

“If it loses its head, especially if you eat it, can it still live?”

“Hah… Good point, it probably wouldn't survive. So, to avoid waste, I might as well eat the whole thing!”

Jiyuan’s mouth twitched.

“I really doubt if you are a *Taotie*…”

As he spoke, Jiyuan directly rolled up the scroll, but Xiezhi’s voice continued to emanate from it.

“Jiyuan, Jiyuan, let’s make a deal, a compromise. I can eat its heart, even just its heart! Or its tail, just its tail would be fine… Jiyuan, just the tail…”

As Jiyuan placed the scroll back into his sleeve and briefly sealed the space within, Xiezhi’s voice abruptly stopped. He looked back at Jinjia, where the *qiuchi* still lay limp and helpless under his foot.

“Simply putting it into my sleeve like this might not be appropriate…”

Jiyuan rubbed his chin and looked at his sleeve. He and Xiezhi were far more familiar with each other than before, and he knew Xiezhi was not to be underestimated. Even within the painting, it was uncertain whether it would be safe to directly store the *qiuchi* in his sleeve.

Thinking of this, Jiyuan simply took out paper and brush. He floated the paper flat in the air, then held the wolf-hair brush, dipped it into the green pond water, and began to paint on the paper.

As the brush tip moved across the paper, water flowed across its surface and spread in all directions. The painting speed was far quicker than conventional drawing. Before long, a painting titled “Green Pond and Clear Shadow” was completed under Jiyuan's brush.

“Although I used a bit of a trick, I can still boast that my painting skills are truly not bad! What do you all think?”

Jiyuan showed the painting to the little paper crane and to the large black dog and Huli, who had been dumbfounded since the beginning. Of course, only the little paper crane responded, flapping its wings in applause.

“Chirp-chirp!”

Jiyuan smiled, said nothing more, and simply tossed the painting gently forward. At that moment, Jinjia also loosened his foot and stepped two paces aside. Immediately, the *qiuchi* on the ground was drawn in by the painting; its limp body slowly floated up and, in a whirlwind, vanished into the scroll.

“Plop!”

Large splashes erupted in the pond depicted on the scroll as the *qiuchi* entered it.

“With its confused mind, it might even think it's still in the pond!”

Jiyuan let out a slight sigh of relief, then turned to look at Huli and the large black dog behind him. At this moment, the two seemed quite close.

“Let’s go, time to head back.”