Chapter 232: Snake Emperor?
"Hahaha, Zhou Fan! I never, ever expected this! I set this trap for you, but in the end, that woman Ah Lian swooped in and reaped the benefits. It must be fate!"
On the other side, Li Mei, who had slowly recovered from some of her injuries, was now laughing uproariously. It was an exaggerated laugh, her eyes filled with immense hatred—hatred for Zhou Fan, and hatred for Ah Lian!
She never would have imagined that Ah Lian would bribe her own clansmen and have them kidnap Chen Feng at such a critical moment!
Although she didn't know Ah Lian's motive for doing so, the mere fact that Ah Lian had turned her clansmen against her, causing them to betray her, was enough to earn her hatred!
"I will kill Ah Lian, of course, but you will also die here today!" Zhou Fan had also seen what just happened. He hadn't anticipated this sudden turn of events either, especially the part where Ah Lian had bribed more than a dozen of Li Mei's subordinates!
"Heh, you think you can kill me? Did you really think I would dare claim I'd kill you to avenge my niece and son with only this much strength?" Li Mei smiled viciously. She watched as her subordinates were slaughtered like cabbages by Zhou Fan and Bai Zhi, their numbers now down to a mere dozen. She slowly stood up straight, a light green talisman held between her fingers.
"Isn't it just that black python? Call it out. I've been wanting to see what this thing is all about," Zhou Fan said, sweeping his Li Hen Sword out to cut down the last few enemies before him. He stood with his sword held horizontally, looking at Li Mei with disdain.
As for the few remaining enemies, Bai Zhi was more than enough to handle them.
"Ignorant child! How insolent! How dare you disrespect my clan's Snake Emperor!" Li Mei snorted coldly and, right before Zhou Fan's eyes, swallowed the light green talisman whole.
Then, Li Mei let out a strange cry and chanted something Zhou Fan couldn't understand at all.
The next instant, to Zhou Fan's astonishment, Li Mei's eyes flew wide open before she fell stiffly to the ground, dead.
Zhou Fan was dumbfounded.
'What's going on?'
'Did this woman go through all that just to commit suicide?'
But in the next second, a sinister, cold aura instantly enveloped Zhou Fan, startling him into high alert. He immediately activated his Pupil of Slaughter and scanned his surroundings warily.
As the sinister aura grew thicker, Zhou Fan felt as if the blood in his veins was about to freeze solid. He hastily circulated his Longevity Technique, activating the Tai Chi Diagram formed by his Bodhi Heart and the Nether River Dead Water. Only then did he feel slightly better.
In the next instant, a wisp of black smoke slowly drifted out from the Baihui Acupoint on the crown of Li Mei's head. It then coalesced in midair before Zhou Fan, forming a Big Python fully twenty meters long.
It was pitch-black from head to tail, and its eyes, each the size of a grown man's fist, were locked onto Zhou Fan. It flicked its long tongue out menacingly, as if it wanted to pierce Zhou Fan's chest and devour his heart.
At the same time, Bai Zhi finished off the last few enemies. When she turned and saw the Big Python, her jaw nearly dropped to the floor in shock.
She had traveled far and wide over the years and had seen her fair share of strange and bizarre things, but this was a true first.
"Child, you have killed my servant. Do you admit your guilt?" the Big Python questioned, staring at Zhou Fan for a moment before suddenly speaking in a human voice.
"Holy shit, you've gained sentience? You can talk? Guilt my ass! Keep blabbering and I'll kill you too!" Though Zhou Fan was shocked that the python could speak, his innate arrogance would never let him back down.
"You disturbed my secluded cultivation, killed my servant, and not only do you refuse to admit your guilt, you now dare to speak so insolently. In that case, die!"
The Big Python's mouth didn't move, yet every word reached Zhou Fan's ears with perfect clarity. Then, with a swing of its body, its tail—as thick as a young tree—whipped horizontally toward Zhou Fan.
WHOOSH!
Feeling the wind generated by the tail's passage, Zhou Fan knew that if he were hit, he would be gravely injured, if not killed outright. He immediately raised his sword to block.
BANG!
A deafening crash!
Even though the Li Hen Sword had absorbed most of the force, Zhou Fan's body was still sent flying uncontrollably three or four meters to the side before he could barely manage to stop.
PTHOO!
The moment he stabilized himself, Zhou Fan felt a metallic tang in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood. His face turned deathly pale in an instant.
One move. A single move was all it took to severely injure Zhou Fan.
Shocked, Bai Zhi saw that Zhou Fan was injured. Without a second thought as to whether she was any match for the Big Python, she darted forward, leaped into the air, and viciously stabbed her dagger toward its tail.
"Don't!"
Seeing Bai Zhi's actions, Zhou Fan cried out in alarm and rushed forward. He knew the terrifying power of this Big Python; it was not something Bai Zhi could possibly contend with.
But he was too late.
"Insolent!"
The Big Python's voice was sonorous. That single, casually spoken word was enough to make Bai Zhi, still in midair, shudder. Her stabbing motion paused for a split second.
Then its tail lashed out again, viciously striking Bai Zhi's waist and sending her flying.