Chapter Six: Plunder, The Coiling Serpent’s Martial Display

A thirty-meter drop is something even a Hunter cannot survive.

Mi Chen plummeted through the air, yet he did not give up. When exploring a secret realm, one must always think three steps ahead. He drew his long blade and drove it forcefully into the rock face beside him. The seemingly solid stone was pierced with ease; it was not pure rock, but a mixture of weathered snake skin and stone. His sharp blade left a long gash in the wall, yet his descent continued unabated.

Mi Chen extended his left hand, focusing his magical power into his fingers, and slammed them into a crevice in the rock. He was using his own hand as a buffer to break his fall. Flesh and bone ground against the jagged stone, and in an instant, his hand was a mangled mess of blood and torn tissue. The excruciating pain made the veins on his forehead bulge, but he did not let out a single cry.

It worked. His speed slowed significantly. Mi Chen hit the ground, having saved his life at the cost of his left hand. But it was only a temporary reprieve. He looked up to see the imposing shadow of the Coiled Serpent. It turned its head, its eyes glowing with a cold, violet light. Trapped at the bottom of the pit, all paths cut off, there was nowhere left to run.

Was this truly the end? But why did the Coiled Serpent not strike immediately?

Mi Chen sensed something amiss. In his current state, the serpent only needed to shift its massive body to crush him and everything around him into dust. He looked behind him.

"That is..." His pupils dilated. *Heaven has not forsaken me!*

Hidden within the mixture of snake skin and stone was an amber orb the size of a basketball. It was crystal clear, and inside lay a tiny snake the size of a palm. Looking closely, the creature’s body was rising and falling slightly; it was still alive.

The Coiled Serpent was one of the few monsters capable of reproduction, though it was less about bearing offspring and more about a form of reincarnation. Connected to the earth's veins, the serpent possessed nearly infinite magical power. Under the influence of this endless energy, its body would continuously expand and deform. However, the serpent’s physical form had a limit; once exceeded, it would perish from the inability to contain the surging power. Thus, it had evolved the ability to gestate a new vessel.

The small snake in the amber was the serpent’s future body. Whenever the creature felt its current form reaching its limit, it would transfer its soul into the new vessel to begin a new cycle of consumption and growth. In a sense, the Coiled Serpent achieved immortality through this infinite cycle of self-reproduction.

However, there were two major drawbacks. First, after transferring to a new body, the serpent underwent a long growth period during which its strength would wane significantly, falling even below that of the lowest-level wandering monsters. To solve this, it usually hid itself in the deepest veins of the earth to absorb magic and avoid enemies.

The second drawback was the most fatal: in each generation, the serpent could only gestate one new vessel. If that vessel were destroyed, death would be its only outcome. Yet, the new vessel could not be hidden in the earth's veins, as the vast, turbulent magical energy would easily tear the fragile form apart. Furthermore, the soul transfer required a long time. Therefore, the safest course of action was to keep the amber hidden as close to itself as possible.

At this very moment, Mi Chen was standing right next to the Coiled Serpent’s new vessel.

He still held his long blade in his right hand. Though the serpent was powerful and its scales impenetrable, its new vessel was incredibly fragile. The man who had been in a desperate, life-or-death situation now held the power of life and death over the monster. The tables had turned in an instant.

Mi Chen decisively grabbed the amber orb.

"ROAR!!!!!"

The Coiled Serpent let out a deafening, terrifying roar. A massive shockwave, mixed with flying shrapnel, lashed out like rain. Mi Chen did not retreat; instead, he stepped forward and held the amber up with a mocking grin. "Hey, hey, hey! Aren't you afraid your precious little treasure might fall?"

"I can't guarantee I'll hold onto it very tightly, you know."

As a Tier 3 monster, the Coiled Serpent possessed a rudimentary level of intelligence, even if it could not understand Mi Chen's words. Seeing the amber swaying precariously, it immediately ceased its roaring. It did not even dare to move its body, terrified that the vibration might damage the orb.

Seeing that the threat was effective, Mi Chen breathed a sigh of relief. He pointed toward the exit above, then raised the amber, signaling his terms to the serpent: *Carry me out, and I will return your treasure.*

To be threatened by such a puny human—the violet eyes of the Coiled Serpent burned with overwhelming fury. If killing intent could manifest physically, Mi Chen would have been shredded to pieces long ago. Yet, with its new vessel in his hands, it had no choice but to submit. *As long as the vessel is safe, I will kill this human the moment I get the chance—I will!*

Mi Chen knew exactly what the serpent was thinking. The duration of his antidote was ticking away; he could not afford to stay. The serpent lowered its body, and the deal was struck.

Mi Chen was overjoyed. He used his blood energy to partially heal his left hand. While it was no longer bleeding, he couldn't exert any strength, though it was enough to clamp onto the amber. He wedged his long blade into the serpent's scales, and as the creature reared up, Mi Chen was instantly carried several meters into the air.

They drew closer to the exit. The opening was only large enough for a person, and the serpent's massive body could not fit. If it tried to force its way through, it might crush the amber vessel. To prevent this, the serpent used its power to alter the terrain. With the sound of flowing water, the cave exit collapsed, gradually widening into a massive fissure.

They were finally out of the cave. Seeing his chance, Mi Chen leaped from the serpent’s body. Although Mi Chen had escaped, half of the serpent’s body was also exposed. At this distance, the serpent could easily slaughter him, but with the amber still in his grip, it dared not act recklessly.

If he handed over the amber, he would surely die. If he didn't, he still had a sliver of hope. The same logic applied to the serpent. Thus, man and snake stood in a standoff under the moonlight.

*I must not return this amber,* he thought. *But how do I get away?*

He scanned his surroundings with his peripheral vision, analyzing escape routes. To his left was a forest of giant trees; if he ran there, he might be able to shake the serpent off. But that was too much of a gamble. Having witnessed the creature's ability to warp the terrain, he knew that if it turned the ground into a quagmire or a swamp, he wouldn't stand a chance.

Mi Chen backed away slowly, while the serpent advanced, its eyes locked onto him, missing not a single movement. Suddenly, Mi Chen tossed the amber high into the air.

The serpent’s attention was instantly drawn to the orb. It did not notice the phase of the moon—it was a crescent moon. As the amber fell through the air, *BANG!*

Mi Chen pulled the trigger, shattering the amber into pieces with a single shot!

"ROAR!!!!!!"

The Coiled Serpent let out a piercing, furious, and utterly desperate shriek. The sound was so terrifying it made the entire secret realm tremble. It was going to kill him. But just as it twisted its massive body to crush Mi Chen in an instant, the mist descended.

A violet magic circle appeared on the ground.

"Random Teleportation!"

Mi Chen’s figure began to fade. He had been planning for this all along.

*BOOM!!!!!*

The serpent’s massive body slammed into the ground, leaving a giant crater, but Mi Chen was already gone.

Meanwhile, on a desolate plain somewhere in the Poison Moon Forest, Mi Chen regained his senses. The terrifying roar still echoed in his mind, leaving him with a splitting headache. After a moment, he let out a long, ragged breath. He had successfully teleported away. He had survived the ordeal.

He felt physically and mentally exhausted. Even with a temperament as strong as Mi Chen’s, he could not help but feel a lingering fear. His survival was as much about luck as it was about skill.

A message box popped up in his field of vision:

[Monster Hunted]
[Obtained Magic Power: 300+]
[Exceeds 2x total magic capacity; excess cannot be absorbed]
[Magic Power: 140 -> 420]

A surge of immense magical power flooded his body. In less than a day, Mi Chen’s magic power had reached 420, putting him at the level of a Two-Star Hunter. Feeling the explosive growth in his strength, Mi Chen felt a rush of excitement.

But that was not all.

[Obtained Skill: Coiled Serpent’s Martial Arts]
[Effect: When in an area with earth vein energy, you can create a circular zone with a 1m radius under your feet. Within this zone, magic power is infinite.]