She Yuyan, gave Xiao Tian a long, searching look, then rose from her seat. She moved behind her chair and twisted a hidden mechanism several times. A secret door slowly ground open.
"What you seek lies within. I trust you will keep your word." Xiao Tian glanced inside, then casually tossed the man in his grip toward her. She caught him, deflecting the force with a practiced hand, and cradled her son.
Seeing his restraints had been removed, she murmured to him, "Lei'er, rest for now." She pressed a finger to his sleeping acupoint, and the young man instantly lost consciousness. Gently, she laid him upon the long, throne-like chair she had occupied earlier.
Taking him inside would be impractical. She knew her son's nature too well—if he were left to roam free, complications were inevitable. And from the moment she had deflected Xiao Tian's throw, she had understood the truth: the young-faced man before her was stronger than she was. Even if every soul in the Heavenly Serpent Mansion united against him, it would not be enough. Her sixth sense whispered a darker warning: if she moved rashly, she would die. Without even the chance to resist.
She straightened and faced Xiao Tian and the two women. "Follow me. What you need is inside." She turned and led the way, moving as though the path ahead held no threat at all.
"Once we enter, stay close. Touch nothing," Xiao Tian murmured to the two behind him.
Han Yue and Qing Lin nodded, their eyes sharp with vigilance. They had already resolved themselves—if anything went wrong within those depths, they would throw away their lives to shield him.
Xiao Tian led them into the passage, quickly closing the distance behind She Yuyan. As she walked, she occasionally swept her hand against the walls, and seals shimmered briefly before fading—restrictions being deactivated, one by one.
Twenty minutes passed in the winding corridor before they halted before a stone door. She Yuyan pressed her palm against an engraved handprint. The aura of a Dou Zong erupted from her, Dou Qi pouring steadily into the imprint. Light swelled, and the stone door slowly creaked open.
Beyond it lay a curtain of light, and through that shimmering veil, the vague outline of a massive tomb-like structure could be seen.
Xiao Tian felt a flicker of recognition. This light curtain was similar to what he had encountered in Jia Nan Academy's Hidden Book Pavilion.
She Yuyan produced an object resembling a jade pendant and let it hover before her. Her hands flew through a series of seals, and the pendant blazed with radiance. She forced a drop of essence blood from her body and let it fall onto the jade. The pendant instantly turned dark crimson and merged into the barrier of light. The curtain tore slowly open, forming a portal just wide enough for a single person.
Now Xiao Tian understood. This was a spatial lock—a highly specialized one. Opening it required three components: a specific token, the Dou Qi signature of the Heavenly Serpent Mansion's cultivation technique, and the essence blood of their lineage. Remove any one, and the door would never yield. It was why he had not planned to force his way in from the start. The Heavenly Serpent Mansion had once been a power in the Central Plains, one that had produced a Dou Zun. When a Dou Zun hid something, even other Dou Zuns would find it nearly impossible to locate—they could manipulate space itself.
"Why does this feel so much like the Hidden Book Pavilion?" Han Yue studied the light curtain, an uncanny familiarity prickling at her.
"It is exactly that." Xiao Tian confirmed her instinct, then explained the concept of a spatial lock to Qing Lin, who had been watching with open bewilderment.
Qing Lin nodded slowly, comprehension dawning. "So it's right there—but not really there. Is this how space is wielded?" Curiosity sparkled in her eyes.
"You'll reach that realm very soon, once we retrieve what's inside." Xiao Tian stroked her hair gently.
He had no concern that She Yuyan might overhear. When he took the item later, the truth would reveal itself anyway.
Han Yue watched the tender exchange with a trace of envy—though whether it was Qing Lin's fortune she envied, or the affection Xiao Tian lavished on her, she couldn't quite tell.
"Ahem. This is hardly the place for the two of you to flirt. Follow me." She Yuyan's patience had run dry. Was it truly appropriate to behave this way in front of a widow?
"Mansion Master, lead the way."
She wasted no further words. With a sway of her slender waist, she stepped through the portal of light. Xiao Tian followed, then Qing Lin, then Han Yue.
They emerged directly into the tomb's interior. Serpent totems coiled across every wall. She Yuyan pressed onward without pause, passing numerous stone doors. Through them, Xiao Tian sensed the desiccated remains of various snake-type magical beasts.
At last, she guided them to the tomb's deepest chamber. After forming another seal to open the final door, the four stepped inside.
"This is an Ancient Heavenly Serpent. Our ancestors discovered it by chance. It was already in this state when they found it. Most likely, it fell during a failed tribulation." She Yuyan gestured toward the space ahead, her explanation a preemptive measure. She wanted no misunderstandings—no accusations that she had deceived them.
Before them lay a mummified serpent, dozens of feet long.
"So massive… and so terrifying." Qing Lin and Han Yue stared at the desiccated corpse.
This had once been a Nine-Headed Heavenly Serpent, a rare variant. But now it was a husk—flesh long gone, shriveled and hollow, only a layer of enormous scales and serpent skin stretched over a skeleton, lying silent on the ground. It had been dead too long for Xiao Tian to gauge its original level, but it was certainly no lower than seventh-tier.
"And what is this one thing you want?" She Yuyan asked.
"You'll know soon enough. Don't ask about what you shouldn't. And do not disturb me." Xiao Tian glanced at her, then returned his focus to the mummified corpse.
"You—" She Yuyan nearly shattered under his dismissive tone. For years uncounted, she had occupied the highest seat, spoken with absolute authority. Never had she endured such humiliation. Her fury surged—and then, with her strength so clearly inferior, she swallowed it. She retreated to the side, refusing to look at him. Out of sight, out of mind.
She grumbled inwardly. *So handsome, yet so black-hearted. And does he have to be so unpleasant? I only asked a simple question. Was it necessary to snap at me like that?*
And from the main hall all the way here, he had barely glanced at her. His expression hadn't shifted once. Was she truly so old now? Had she lost her charm? She maintained herself meticulously. Hadn't she always heard that women like her held the most devastating power over young men?
She appraised her own curvaceous, alluring figure. No issues there. Then she stole a glance at Xiao Tian, then at Qing Lin and Han Yue—at their figures, their faces. *Ah. Never mind. Misunderstanding resolved.*
Xiao Tian, sensing She Yuyan nearby, caught her expression shifting wildly through a dozen different phases. He wondered privately if the woman was possessed, performing some kind of silent theater. Had she known what he was thinking, she would have completely broken down.
The air inside the chamber was faintly strange, carrying the barest trace of an aphrodisiac quality. It could be blocked with Dou Qi easily enough. But the implication was clear: snakes were inherently lustful by nature. Even in death, that influence lingered.