Chapter 426 - Raising a Snake to Become a Dragon

Qingluan tore the Demon Suppression Seal off the Ice Sword, and its eight white feathers withered into ash.

Deprived forever of the Immortal Path, Qingluan picked up the barely breathing White Snake and flew towards the mountains beyond.

Unable to escape Bai Tuo Mountain due to the loss of its feathers, Qingluan faced the Demon Sealing Sword Formation’s Barrier, which was three thousand layers deep within the mountain.

For three days, Qingluan carried the White Snake, spiraling high in the snowy skies of Bai Tuo Mountain until a layer of thick snow that wouldn’t shake off covered its wings.

It flew lower and lower, finally landing in the snowy earth, leaving a long, vivid trail of red.

Its belly feathers were bloodstained and wilted, wounded inside out by the mountain’s Sword Formation.

After an agonizing three days, it finally plummeted.

Lying in the snow, Qingluan began to pluck its own feathers, flapping its wings to spread the plucked feathers over its body.

The White Snake thought it was cold and used its tail to help brush the feathers over itself.

Qingluan cried out joyfully, nudged the White Snake away with its head, then opened its mouth and breathed fire, igniting the feathers on its body.

Soon, nothing was left in the snowy ground but a patch of char.

It turns out, Qingluan had been plucking its feathers to give itself a cremation.

Above, the vast sky stretched into eternity; below, the world of white snow.

The White Snake stared blankly at the scorched remains for a long time, its body coated with snowflakes and not departing.

Until the light of several torches ignited in the mountains, carried by several youths pursuing the escapee from the Sin Sword Pool.

Startled awake, the White Snake shook the fine snow from its body, tentatively touched the scorched patch with its tail, then, bracing against the wind and snow, burst into a room.

That was when Fang Geyu discovered that the place Qingluan had landed was a small peach blossom courtyard.

She thought to herself how foolish this snake was.

To have its own dwelling courtyard on Bai Tuo Mountain meant that the owner of this cottage must have a high status within the Xijian Sect.

To barge in headlong, if it encountered an elder Sword Cultivator, it was likely it could be cleaved by a single sword stroke.

The scene abruptly shifted.

The view had now entered the cottage.

Fang Geyu was astonished.

Through the intricate, hollowed-out flower-patterned window, snow drifted in, and her sleeves fluttered with the wind.

Woken in the middle of the night, the cottage owner stood before the window—a child of particularly small stature.

He was only about four or five years old, his features tender enough to pinch water out of, and even though Fang Geyu wasn’t fond of children, one look and she found him exceedingly handsome and adorable.

Fang Geyu looked around but couldn’t see the White Snake; it had hidden itself well.

What a pity, she thought, for not a single disciple of the Xijian Sect was a vegetarian.

A thorough search, and it would still struggle to escape.

As expected, the voices of the youths came from outside.

“Young Master, a demon fled from the Sin Sword Pool tonight.

We followed its trail here and saw that the reckless Snake Demon seemed to have barged into the Young Master’s chamber.

Fearing that the demon might harm the Young Master, we beg for the Young Master’s forgiveness for our impromptu intrusion.”

It turned out to be the heir of the Xijian Sect.

It was unclear which Sect Master’s son he was.

Whether they were exploiting the Young Master’s youth or were genuinely concerned for his safety, the youths didn’t wait for a response and pushed open the door, charging in with some others.

The child by the window, stunned, watched them enter.

Perhaps startled by their sudden intrusion, his little pale face, already pale as jade in the snow, retreating a few steps, kicked over the inkstone on the desk.

Black ink stained much of his sleeves.

Seeing how frightened the Young Master was, the youths remained respectful on the surface, yet none approached to comfort him.

A flicker of disdain in their eyes, they no longer bothered with this inarticulate Young Master and searched the house on their own.

Their search turned up nothing.

They glanced at the opened window and began to grumble, “In such cold weather, the Young Master really doesn’t take care of himself, keeping the window open while sleeping.”

However, Fang Geyu could tell they were actually complaining that the child had let the window stay open, thereby allowing the White Snake to escape.

With no demon energy found in the house, they left in a hurry to continue searching the mountain.

The howling wind and snow entered through the window.

The young heir shuddered as if feeling cold and, quite sensibly, moved a stool himself to close the window, then sat at the edge of the bed, swaying his little feet.

He slowly rolled up his wide, ink-stained sleeves.

Seeing this scene, Fang Geyu was shaken.

Wrapped tightly around his delicate arm was a White Snake, its piercing, tusk-like teeth sinking into his arm, causing fresh blood to flow.

The blood was hidden by the black ink stains on his translucent sleeves and went unnoticed by others.

A four or five-year-old child able to endure such pain?

Facing a Snake Demon without a hint of fear?

It was clear that the death of Qingluan had devastated the White Snake.

Previously, disciples of the Xijian Sect had lured it with “little ghosts” to corrupt its spiritual energy.

Now, having drunk fresh blood, it was already showing signs of demonization.

A red wound between its brows grew grim and dark, demonic Qi surging.

This child epitomized unflinching bravery in his ignorance.

Fang Geyu was worried for him, but he remained completely unaware of the danger, lowering his head and kissing the White Snake between the brows.

The White Snake’s tail shot up!

But he firmly held it down, and when his lips left the little White Snake, his cheeks were puffed out like a round, tender baozi, then he spat out a mouthful of snake blood.

The child had mistakenly thought it had been poisoned.

Seeing the wound turn black, he had sucked out the poison mouthful by mouthful.

Therefore, the White Snake on the brink of demonization simply collapsed limply, its tail drooping, the blood having been drained almost to the point of unconsciousness.

The night deepened into silence.

The smart and lonely little child cleaned the blood carefully, gently removed the White Snake from his arm, and cradled it to sleep in the warm bedding for the night.

On the small, exposed arm outside the cover, two sharp, bright red dots stood out like cinnabar, deeply embedded.

Fang Geyu felt this child was incredibly strange.

If it were just a child’s nature, the instinctive fondness for small animals, wanting to secretly raise a pet, that would be one thing.

But children in normal families liked cute, fluffy kittens and puppies.

As for snakes, not only children but even adults are frightened at the sight—so why did this child treasure it, hiding it as if it were a precious jewel?

The scattered scenes fluttered once more.

Fang Geyu finally understood the answer.

The child’s father was the Heavenly Seal Sword Master.

When he appeared in Fang Geyu’s line of sight, clad in black and red swordsman attire, his features were blurry.

It was as if, in this memory, he feared the Sword Master so much that he never dared to look him in the eye, to the point where over time, even the man’s face had become indistinct.

Great expectations were placed on the young Heir of Tianxi.

Truly blessed with talent, he was exceptionally clever.

Hence, the Sword Master was extremely strict and even harsh with his only son.

He couldn’t play and scramble like ordinary children, nor could he let his mind wander to trivial matters or possessions, nurturing flowers, or animals.

For the perfection-seeking Sword Master, that was a waste of time and effort, a failure to strive for progress.

For such a small child, it meant reading scripture and learning swordsmanship for four hours a day, then practicing the sword when night fell.

After a long day of toil and exhaustion, he had no one to talk to.

The peach blossom courtyard was so quiet that not even a cricket could be caught.

But now, a little snake had come into his life, and he no longer had to gaze at the azure birds flying in the distance or watch the hawks hovering.

For some reason, Fang Geyu found herself feeling a soft spot for the plump child that tugged at her heartstrings.

She thought how there could be such a smart and adorable child in the world.

Even with such a ruthless father, he had not gone astray.

During sword practice, he would hurt himself intentionally, so he could get the Spiritual Medicine from the medicinal storehouse to apply to the wound where the White Snake had shed its scales.

Taking advantage of the fact that his own sword wounds were not serious, he would secretly lick them a couple of times, letting them scab and heal on their own.

The little snake he had nourished grew larger day by day, growing ever more fond of him.

The astute young heir, so smart, managed to keep others from noticing he was secretly raising a demon.

And the little White Snake had become the only demon to ever escape from the Sin Sword Pool on the records of the Xijian Sect.

It was unclear on which day time moved forward.

The ice and snow melted, wildflowers blossomed all over the hills.

The child, slightly taller, pointed to the sky and said to the little White Snake beneath him, “Xiao Bai, a dragon away from water, a tiger away from the mountain, will be subjected to human scorn…”

Under the fierce sun, his youthful eyes sparkled brighter than the sun itself, “You should soar high.”

And so, the small child took out a crystal-clear little horn from his chest.

Something important once lost was now retrieved by the child, who somehow had reclaimed it from those malicious youths.

The little White Snake was ultimately raised into a True Dragon by a child on Bai Tuo Mountain.

The Dragon Horn restored, the tribulation that was difficult to pass three years ago was transformed by his own hand.

Shedding snake scales, growing dragon claws, the fierce sun vanished, the world dimmed, and all things ended.

On this day, bright with spring, a dragon ascended.

With all the clouds and stars in the sky following behind it, thunderstorms and rain came out of the Heavenly Gate, shaking the Four Seas.

Amongst the grass, warblers flew, and amidst the splendid blossoming flowers, the White Dragon born in the vast sky, in the moment of celebration across the Four Seas and the birds soaring through the sky, lowered its proud head in deference.

Its whiskers kissed the child’s brow like a gentle caress.

Then it departed.