33 - Waking Up

Sorry for not updating. But I have returned to writing, The updates will be a bit irregular for a while.

Thank you for your patients.

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*cough**cough*

Baiyun woke up with dirt in her mouth.

Coughing the dirt out, Baiyun tried to sit up only to meet the ceiling of her confinement. Baiyun fell back, her head aching. She extended her hand and touched the vines that had imprisoned her. She could feel its rough texture, coiling as they kept her confined.

Baiyun took a breath. She then began to examine her surrounding. She was in a closed prison created with veins, probably by a nature cultivator. She could turn but not fully, her shoulder touched the top. She didn't have much space up or down.

And lastly, she couldn't sense anything outside of the veins. All she could feel were the nature and earth Qi.

For now she deduced that she was imprisoned by a nature cultivator, but not the exact motive. If they wanted her dead, they would have already. However, she was alive. That meant their motive is different. Ransom, probably.

With that settled, Baiyun thought back to her last memory. She remembered being puppeted and the dread of powerlessness. The image of her fighting a Chicken. Her knockout and the darkness closing. She thought back, even further, figuring that the smoke monster should have done something.

But she had survived. Someone should have defeated the monster and then imprisoned her here. She did not know why, but to figure that out she need to get out.

Baiyun pushed her palm against the veins and with her other, summoned a vial with poison. She chugged the poison into her mouth and pushed her Qi into the vein. Her poison attribute began to erode the vitality of the veins, killing them.

The accumulated Qi, cultivated by pushing her to the brink of death. Drinking various poison and absorbing them into her body. The poison in her body was the best the empire had to offer. More different poison she drank, the stronger she got. She might not be able to slay an enemy with sword, but she can nevertheless give them a painful death.

"Do not," A voice boomed into her mind, dispelling her poison form the veins.

She couldn't even fight the push, her Qi was pushed with sheer authority. The opponent was stronger than her. Baiyun braced, the veins uncoiled. Pushing her out of the ground. Baiyun emerged from the ground, the veins returning to earth.

Her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the cave, the glowing crystals revealing the jaggeder walls. Baiyun moved her head to look around. She looked at the rocky cavern, sitting up as she scanned for her kidnapper.

'Speak, human child. How did you arrive at this forest?' The authoritative voice boomed in her mind.

Baiyun senses turned to gear 5 as her head snapped in the direction of the voice. Her face paled at the dreadful realization. She was captured by a Verdant Serpent, one she only saw from the books. The massive snake covered in stone like scales with a patch of green. Its yellowish slited eyes looked straight into her soul.

Baiyun took a step back in sheer fear, her body shivering as it tried to fight its natural instincts. Her mind screamed for her to run but it knew there was no escape. This was no beast she could out run. She would die at the wrong thought.

'Speak,' It demanded.

Baiyun bit her lips, sending a jolt of pain to ward off fear. "I was puppeted by a smoke like beast. I do not know anything more."

'Hmm,' The serpent hummed in thought. 'Describe.'

"Its made of purple smoke and its eyes looked like twin lilac flames. Its voice raspy, like the death," Baiyun describe as much as she could

'Are there more humans?'

"Not that I know of," Baiyun answered, she couldn't exactly in position to not.

'Where is your home?'

"Tianxia Empire."

'Tianxia Empire?' The serpent have never heard such empire before. "Are you from the other side of the abyssal maw?"

"Yes," Baiyun answered.

'How did you cross?' Serpent was intrigued.

From young, the beasts were though to not cross the Abyssal Maw. He wasn't interested enough to check it himself. But from his interactions with other beasts, the maw was a Qi null zone, allowing no cultivator to fly across. Even building a bridge using Qi wouldn't work. Only way you could cross would be to build the bridge with hand, and no beast want to waste time doing that.

"I fell due to an explosion and managed to get to the other side," Baiyun answered not revealing much.

'Hmm, I heard humans were insane, but I have never heard one insane enough to blast herself to cross the maw,' The serpent sound almost baffles.

"I didn't," Baiyun defended herself of the accusation. "We were ambushed. We feel and my brother used his technique to push us towards the wall and we... we..."

Baiyun's voice started to die down as she remembered Jialiang.

But the snake doesn't seem to care as it noticed a point. They had used Qi to cross the maw, which should be on all account impossible. Did something change in the maw? Will they be finally able to escape this land and hunt humans?

He could feel a primal desire rising as he thought of the hunt.

But he decided to enjoy the meal before him. It has overdue its usefulness and time to eat. The Serpent willed its Qi, freezing Baiyun in place. Baiyun felt face contorted in fear as the gigantic snake opened its law mouth. Its yellowish sharp teeth covered in saliva. Its spited tongue waving as it liked her.

Its mouth fully encompassed her as the serpent tried to eat here whole. Baiyun confirmed her death as she braced.

*Boooom* *ZZUUUUUUZH* {Some Fire Force sound effect}

A beam of black drilled through the mountain, gracing the serpents scale, shocking it. The serpent ignored Baiyun and looked up. The hole in the mountain was clean as if the rocks were erased. The beam was unnoticed by his sense until its graced his scales. He looked through the hole, to find his aggressor.

A black dragon withered in Black flames. He could feel its anger mixed with frustration, however, it was not targeted at him. A large feline, a saber tooth with withe and green fur now covered in red as it bleed through its wound. It whole shoulder was missing, erased by the beam.

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