The vast Huangquan Lake stretched endlessly across the underground expanse its murky surface normally as still as death. But now it was in violent upheaval churned into a maelstrom as if some colossal force from beyond the mortal realm had descended to claim it. The lake roared without sound spinning in a reverse spiral like an inverted dragon twister drawing everything into the point above it where a droplet no larger than a human thumb floated calmly in the void. That droplet was the Yi Yuan Heavy Water a divine substance of the highest grade born between heaven and earth. The scene was almost absurd. A thumb-sized droplet swallowing an entire lake. Yet the truth was before everyone's eyes. It was like a bottomless abyss drinking greedily without pause.
The black yellow waters rushed upward vanishing into the droplet's surface without creating the slightest splash. It was as if they were returning to their origin their existence erased the instant they touched the divine liquid.
Time passed. The change was not slow. Anyone with eyes could see the lake's surface dropping lower and lower. What was once level with the surrounding cavern floor now lay hundreds of zhang below. Jagged stone walls that had been submerged for countless years were revealed their surfaces blackened and slick with the residue of unending cold.
Medusa stood by Soul Miesheng her gaze locked on the lake below. Her flawless face did not often show surprise but now her long lashes trembled slightly. "What is that?" Her voice was low yet carried a note of intrigue.
From within the depths of the lake came a sound like countless chains being dragged through water a relentless clattering of movement. The originally yellowish water now rolled with vast clouds of black mist rising in great surging waves. But it was not truly mist.
Soul Miesheng's vision pierced the gloom and he saw them clearly. They were snakes each as thick as an arm their scales deep black and dull without luster their bodies moving with an oily sluggishness. These were no natural creatures. Their forms were born of the yin chill and deathly resentment accumulated in the Huangquan over endless ages.
His expression cooled. His palm shifted slightly ready to strike them from the air. But before he could act the Yi Yuan Heavy Water rippled with soft azure light. That brilliance fell silently across the mass of black serpents. The instant it touched them a trembling cry seemed to echo without sound and one by one they burst apart like fireworks their forms unraveling into fine red mist that dissipated into the cold air. The power was not raw destruction but a purification so absolute that the serpents' existence was simply denied.
The devouring continued. More and more of the lake water rushed upward into the droplet. As the minutes passed the boundaries of the lake became more defined. For the first time in untold years the bottom edges began to show their shape.
Soul Miesheng felt the rippling pressure that came in pulses from the Heavy Water. Its aura surged with each rotation first scattering outward then pulling inward crushing the space around it before calming again. The sensation was like the heartbeat of some colossal celestial beast.
The droplet finally spun one last time then with a flash of movement sliced through the air reappearing before Soul Miesheng's face. It looked unchanged no larger than before but the aura it exuded was deeper far more condensed. He weighed it with his senses and his brows lifted. Its power had risen to the very peak of the ninth tier.
The weight in his palm when he held it was not something the eye could see. It was a crushing density that seemed to bend reality itself. Even a Saint of the highest realm would struggle to bear it without preparation. More than that the Heavy Water now held within it the bone-chilling yin force of the Huangquan something it had clearly chosen to keep.
Zi Yan's eyes sparkled as she leaned in curiosity making no effort to hide her fascination. She poked the droplet gently with her slender finger. To Soul Miesheng's surprise the Heavy Water responded to her touch its surface glimmering and swirling as it rubbed against her fingertip like a spirit beast seeking affection. Zi Yan laughed a bright sound that echoed through the cavern.
Soul Miesheng's mouth twitched slightly. He remembered how indifferent the droplet had been when he first tried to awaken its will ignoring his commands unless forced. Now one touch from this girl and it was behaving like a tame pet. He shook his head storing it back into his body with a wave of his hand. His fingers pinched Zi Yan's cheek lightly. "Careful. If you eat too much and get fat no one will want you."
His tone was teasing yet his eyes never stopped observing the surroundings. Without warning he stepped forward his right hand shooting into the stone wall ahead. Rock and gravel burst outward as his fingers closed around something thin and cold. He pulled and a figure was dragged forth tumbling into the open.
It was a man though to call him such felt wrong. His body was so emaciated that every bone was visible beneath paper-thin skin. Shackles of deep black metal pierced his wrists ankles and shoulders the chains extending back into the very bones of the earth. His eyes though sunken still held a flicker of pride mixed with desperation.
The skeletal figure dropped to his knees. "Senior save me. This place is not of my choosing. I was betrayed and imprisoned by treachery. If you free me I will pledge the loyalty of my entire Nine Nether Earth Python clan to your service."
The name Nine Nether Earth Python carried weight even among the ancient magical beast races yet Soul Miesheng's face remained calm. He recognized the man from the fragmented knowledge he had gleaned before. This was Yao Ming the rightful patriarch.
The mention of betrayal brought the image of Yao Tianxiao to mind the one who had been strutting arrogantly not long ago. Soul Miesheng's lips curved faintly. "I can free you. But your life and the lives of your clan will belong to me."
Yao Ming hesitated only a breath. He glanced at the drained Huangquan and the power radiating from the strangers before him. Refusal was a path that ended only in death. "I have no other choice. I agree. Once I am restored as patriarch my clan will follow your command."
Soul Miesheng nodded and examined the chains. They were hollow inside carrying a constant flow of the Huangquan's yin chill into the prisoner's body. The source was deep within the surrounding mountains.
"Destroy the Huangquan Yin Stones and the chains will break" Yao Ming said quietly.
But Soul Miesheng did not bother with such a task. He raised his hand and four clusters of purple-black flame appeared dropping onto the chains at each limb. The fire hissed against the dark metal eating through it in moments until the links crumbled into dust. Yao Ming gasped in relief though his weakened body could barely move.
Before he could stand Soul Miesheng's hand flicked and a thread of black light sank into his chest. Yao Ming's eyes widened as he felt the mark take hold deep in his soul.
"I have placed a soul seal upon you. Your life is mine."
"Yes my lord" Yao Ming answered through gritted teeth kneeling low in submission.
"Good. Then I give you a gift" Soul Miesheng said with a smile. He tossed a limp body before the kneeling patriarch.
Yao Ming froze then his eyes went blood red. "Yao Tianxiao." His voice was a growl of hatred. What followed was the sound of bones breaking and the scream of a man who had believed himself untouchable.
Soul Miesheng turned away. The politics of the Nine Nether Earth Pythons did not concern him. With Yao Ming's strength as a two-star Saint and the support of the Taixu Ancient Dragon clan regaining control would be a simple matter.
Instead his attention shifted to the deepest point of the lake now exposed. At its center yawned a rift into the earth so wide that even from above the other side could not be seen. From it poured the blackest Huangquan water a fluid so heavy and cold that even the Heavy Water had refused to touch it. The aura rising from it was more than chill it was an instinctive rejection something within it that no natural element wished to consume.
They descended into the rift. The deeper they went the darker it became until the faint glow of their own energy was the only light. Then the shapes emerged.
Bones. Endless piles of them. Some massive beyond belief others small enough to fit in a child's palm. Beast and human alike. And all of them lay in strange poses angled upward toward the surface as if each had died while attempting to flee from whatever lay deeper still. The oppressive air was heavy with the echo of that ancient terror.
Near the highest point where the escape might have been possible lay the remains of a great serpent its skeleton glimmering faintly with nine shifting colors. Even in death that radiance threatened to vanish at any moment like a candle guttering in the wind.
Medusa's breath caught. Her blood stirred with a heat she could not control recognition singing through her veins. "That is the remains of a Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python" she whispered her voice thick with longing.
Soul Miesheng looked down into the abyss beyond the bones his eyes reflecting the darkness. Something was here something that had slain beasts and humans alike and its presence had not faded with time.
(End of Chapter)
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