Chapter 79: Between Mountains and Seas
Deep in the mountains.
The soft rustling of a reptile weaving through withered leaves and grass rose from somewhere unseen.
Slivers of morning light filtered through the gaps between the branches.
Little He held the carved jade sphere in her mouth, poking her head out from the undergrowth.
She wandered through the forest, pausing now and then to get her bearings.
The jade sphere in her mouth glimmered with a faint white light.
…
This way.
After testing the direction, the little snake slithered slowly forward.
She was at the northern edge of Lingyuan Marsh, at the easternmost tip of the Yanran Mountains.
A little further north, over the great mountains, would be the territory of Qizhou.
All the while, Little He searched and explored.
At last, in the distance near the edge of a cliff, she caught sight of something emitting a pale, white glow.
The glow of the jade sphere in her mouth ceased to brighten.
Little He looked around; seeing no one, she quickly made her way toward the spot.
“There really is another one!”
As she approached the source of the glow, she saw it was indeed another jade sphere, identical to her own.
It bore the same wide-at-the-center, narrow-at-the-sides engraving.
In a flash, the little snake transformed into a human girl, her smooth, bare feet resting on the blue stone of the cliff as she lay down leisurely.
She clutched a sphere in each hand, giggling foolishly.
The “toys” had appeared as a pair—how could she not be delighted?
She lifted her small hands, holding the jade orbs up to the rising sun.
“Huh?”
She turned the two spheres slightly, aligning the engravings vertically.
“How strange...”
A puzzled look crossed her youthful face.
“They look like... a pair of eyes.”
“That is exactly what they are.”
A cold, clear female voice suddenly sounded behind her, startling Little He so much that she nearly dropped the spheres.
She spun around and stumbled back a few steps.
From the depths of the forest, a woman in white approached with measured grace, her eyes fixed on Little He with interest.
“Y-you... who are you?!”
Little He was terrified.
Yan Yan had warned her: the world of cultivators was a chaotic place. If she was careless, she might be snatched away and used for alchemy.
“Are you an evil alchemist?!”
“Alchemist?”
The woman paused, clearly baffled by the child’s words.
But she didn’t dwell on it.
“You’re questioning me? I should be asking you—why are you holding my magical instrument?”
Now it was Little He’s turn to be confused. “Magical instrument?”
She looked down, lifting the two jade spheres in her small hands.
“You mean these?”
The woman in white nodded. “Exactly.”
White spiritual light flashed, and the two jade spheres floated gently from Little He’s grasp.
Instinctively she reached out to retrieve them, but they were already too high.
“These are mine. I lost them here by accident, passing through.”
“Today, I waited here on the chance that the culprit would return.”
Suddenly, the woman in white put on a look of righteous indignation.
“And I did catch you, little thief!”
“I am not a thief! I’m not a thief!” Little He protested, her face flushing red. “I just found them!”
“I’ll give them back to you!”
“Really?”
The woman stepped closer, suspicion in her expression.
The little snake straightened her back, speaking earnestly, “Of course! I’m a good child—I would never steal!”
“Well then, since you’re returning what you found… I’ll let it go.”
The woman in white turned with a flick of her sleeve, a faint fragrance drifting to Little He’s nose.
Sniff, sniff...
Little He’s eyes suddenly widened. “You’re... a demon.”
…
The woman turned, a sly gleam in her gaze.
“Yes, so what?”
Her figure shimmered and, in an instant, she became a great white python, coiled around Little He.
In truth...
She had been watching Little He for quite some time.
So young, yet already spiritually aware and able to take human form—such talent was rare, even among the demon clans of Chu.
The two jade spheres were nothing more than trinkets she’d fashioned in idle moments, imitating human cultivators. They were worthless.
If she could use these little toys to entice a gifted young demon, it would be well worth it.
Sure enough, after a bit of feigned aloofness, she’d struck up a conversation with the child.
“Wow...”
Little He gaped at the enormous body before her.
“How many years would it take to grow so big...?”
“With proper cultivation, just fifty years of practice.”
“Cultivation?”
Little He rolled the word on her tongue, looking a bit embarrassed.
The white snake paused, an incredulous thought flashing through her mind.
“Don’t tell me... you’ve never cultivated?”
Little He shook her head. “No…”
The white snake fell silent.
Never cultivated?
What did that mean?
Born with spiritual awareness, able to take human form naturally…
The white snake resumed her human shape, growing serious. “Are you a descendant of some ancient demon clan?”
“No, I grew up with Grandpa and Yan Yan…”
“Grandpa?”
The woman’s gaze sharpened, as if she’d discovered an elder of the demon clan.
“Where is your grandpa now?”
“No offense, I just wish to pay my respects.”
Little He’s expression grew strange. “Grandpa? He’s in the field.”
“In... the field?”
“He’s dead.”
“?”
“That’s right. Human lives are short. He died at eighty-seven.”
Human...
The white snake was bemused.
A snake demon, yet she called a human ‘grandpa.’
Yet, the more they talked, the more fascinated the white snake became with this little snake child.
Thus, the two demons sat side by side at the cliff’s edge, talking quietly.
Little He spoke of her life from childhood, telling the woman in white everything.
It was her first time meeting another snake demon, and she felt an inexplicable sense of kinship.
The white snake, in turn, shared much about the world of demons.
“Little He, I don’t think you should waste your time with that human cultivator.”
“Why not join us at Shangtong Mountain?”
“No, no, Grandpa picked up both Yan Yan and me. We grew up together—we have to stay together and play!”
“I don’t want to play with strangers.”
The woman in white teased, “Am I a stranger?”
Little He was momentarily at a loss.
“We’re… both snake demons.”
But she quickly thought of a clever reply, “Maybe we’re relatives.”
“Hahaha…”
“Little He, come with me.”
“Go? Where?”
“To seek the land between mountain and sea.”
“The land between mountain and sea? What kind of place is that?”
The white snake pondered, her expression complicated, searching for the right words to explain to a child who knew nothing.
At length, she spoke, “It’s said to be the pure land for all demons beneath heaven.”
“The demon world of Chu is mired in chaos.”
“Many elder demon cultivators have left for the Central Realm, searching for the land between mountain and sea.”
“The land between mountain and sea…”
Little He murmured the words, finding them strangely enchanting.
“All demons dream of it, but no one knows where it lies… Only that it is somewhere in the Central Realm.”
The Central Realm… such a distant place.
Little He shook her head. “I won’t go.”
“I want to stay with Yan Yan… He doesn’t like traveling far from home.”
…
The white snake looked at the little snake child and instead of anger, she smiled.
“Of course.”
“That’s your choice.”
“But you must begin cultivating, truly.”
She touched Little He’s brow with a finger, and a wisp of pale spiritual light seeped into her mind.
“If you delay any longer, your spirit may fade.”
“Even grass and trees need a hundred years to flourish and wither—how much longer the path for us demon cultivators…”
She stood up. “Well, I have other matters to attend to.”
“If you ever change your mind and wish to seek the land between mountain and sea with us…”
“Come find me at Shangtong Mountain.”
“But I may not be able to wait for you for long.”
“My name is…”
“Bai Qi.”
Her parting words lingered, as the lady in white transformed into a rainbow and vanished into the clouds.
Inside Little He’s mind, new knowledge blossomed, misty and indistinct.
Fortunately, Grandpa had taught her to read.
“Xuan… something… The Dragon Transformation Scripture…”
…
The Profound Naga’s Path to Dragon Ascendance.
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