Chapter 166: Second chance

Chapter 166: Second chance

Yuan Ming naturally wouldn’t easily let go of such a good thing right in front of him. He immediately dug three feet into the ground and pulled out the entire Huangquan Tree, carefully storing it in his bag.

At the same time, the Soul Crows that were searching around in the sinkhole also made a new discovery.

Yuan Ming immediately rushed towards their location and saw another large opening at the other end of the sinkhole, covered by vines hanging down from the walls, making it somewhat concealed.

At this moment, the Soul Crow was standing on a stone protruding above the vines, with a round golden shiny piece in its mouth.

Yuan Ming reached out and called back the Soul Crow, taking the metallic piece from its mouth. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a golden-colored scale with unique patterns.

At first glance, this scale looked very similar to the one from the Golden Flower Poison Python he had killed earlier, but it was obviously much larger.

While pondering, Yuan Ming noticed something white sandwiched between the vines below.

He quickly reached out and pulled it out.

To his surprise, it was a shed skin from a snake or python-like fierce beast.

This piece of snake skin was about six feet long and as thick as a water bucket. It faintly reflected phosphorescence, giving it a distinct appearance.

"This scale and shed skin of this size are most likely from the Golden Flower Poison Python King," Yuan Ming thought, his heart skipping a beat.

He first released his spiritual sense to investigate and found no signs of living creatures inside. He then carefully pushed aside the vine curtain in front of him, revealing a gap, and began to explore inside.

Behind the vines was a not-too-long passage, and at a glance, he could see the other end. It seemed to be a wider underground cave, with either fluorescent stones or something else emitting a layer of eerie white light, adding a touch of strangeness to the atmosphere.

Naturally, Yuan Ming wouldn’t risk his life. With a thought, the Soul Crow flew into the cave through the opening.

Upon entering, he discovered that the vast cave was filled with towering stone pillars and hanging stalactites. The stones and walls were embedded with pieces of fluorescent stones emitting a blue-white light.

This cave was much larger than Yuan Ming had imagined.

After his Soul Crow flew inside for a while, he suddenly saw a huge creature that made him gasp in astonishment.

It was an extremely large Golden Flower Poison Python, coiled around a thick stone pillar like a small mountain. Its raised tail was still trembling slightly, making a "rustling" sound.

Outside its body, the golden scales emitted an extremely cold metallic aura under the blue-white cold light, appearing incredibly sturdy.

After observing for a moment, Yuan Ming had no doubt that this must be the Snake King of the Golden Flower Poison Python.ViiSiit novelbi/n(.)c/(o)m for latest novels

He calmly called back the Soul Crow and retreated to a safe distance from the cave entrance. He then took out the jade token given by the Baiye Scattered Alliance from his sleeve without any hesitation and crushed it.

The shattered jade token made a slight sound, flashed a blue light on the surface, and then went silent, without any further movement.

Yuan Ming temporarily stayed away from the cave entrance and returned to the entrance he came in from, remaining vigilant while quietly waiting for the members of the Baiye Scattered Alliance to arrive.

After a long time, people gradually arrived one after another.

Among them, only a small number of them found their way here through the passage Yuan Ming entered. Most of them relied on the mark of the jade token to find the incredibly concealed entrance to the sinkhole. Altogether, there were about a dozen people.

After waiting for about half an hour, Baiye arrived with two official members of their alliance.

"Is this the mark you sent?" Baiye came to Yuan Ming and asked.

"Yes." Yuan Ming opened his palm, revealing the broken jade token in his hand.

"Did you find the Snake King?" Baiye’s tone was serious, his eyebrows furrowed.

The casualty rate of temporary members was much higher than that of formal members.

Among the people who arrived here before and after, except for Bai Ye and Huan Shi, two Foundation Establishment cultivators, and a few formal members, the rest all looked somewhat disheveled, with more or less bruises and injuries. Many of the temporary members had complex expressions, with a hint of regret.

Compared to others, Yuan Ming was already in the best condition.

"Hao Gong, you have made great contributions by finding the location of the Snake King. Are you interested in officially joining our Bai Ye Alliance?" Huan Shi looked at Yuan Ming with admiration and said.

He had a deep impression of Yuan Ming, from the beginning when he made Tuo Zhe suffer, to Yuan Ming’s performance in the poisonous miasma, and now finding the location of the Snake King. So he sincerely invited Yuan Ming to join, not just empty words.

"I should accept the Vice Leader’s kind offer, but this matter involves many things, so let’s discuss it later," Yuan Ming smiled and clasped his fists.

"Alright. Let’s wait until we leave the Snake King Valley. The reward of three hundred spirit stones will be settled together," Huan Shi nodded with a smile.

Just as he finished speaking, Yuan Ming spoke up, "Vice Leader, can we settle my spirit stones now?"

"Hmm?" Huan Shi was taken aback by his eagerness.

Why so urgent? Huan Shi’s impression of Yuan Ming couldn’t help but decrease a bit.

"Didn’t we agree beforehand that everyone would have one chance to withdraw before attacking the Snake King? I want to withdraw now," Yuan Ming explained.

"Hao Gong, you were able to find this place almost unscathed, which shows that your strength is not weak. Why not take another step forward?" Bai Ye also became interested in Yuan Ming and asked.

His meaning was clear. Since they had come this far, why not take a risk? After the success, they might receive more rewards.

This was probably the thought in the minds of all the temporary members.

"I am just a mere Qi Refining cultivator. I am well aware of my own strength. I was able to safely arrive here all thanks to good luck. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to help everyone find the Snake King. As for the joint hunt, I won’t participate," Yuan Ming smiled and declined.

His words were very measured and didn’t overly mention his fear of the Snake King, so as not to affect others.

Seeing this, Bai Ye didn’t say anything more.

"Is there anyone else who wants to withdraw now?" Huan Shi then took out three hundred and ten spirit stones and gave them to Yuan Ming, then asked the others.

The formal members of the Bai Ye Alliance had nothing to say, but a woman’s voice came from the temporary members.

"I, I also want to withdraw."

Yuan Ming followed the sound and saw a woman with black armor on her body, revealing fair skin and a curvaceous figure. Her face was covered with a thin black veil. She was none other than Bai Rong, a member of their team from before."Is she also withdrawing?" Yuan Ming wondered in his heart.

Previously in the poisonous miasma, he had noticed her strange behavior, guessing that she was targeting the members of the Baiye Alliance. But now she also chose to withdraw, which made Yuan Ming somewhat puzzled.

Just when everyone thought the dust had settled and only these two were withdrawing, ten more people in the team voiced their intentions.

They also wanted to withdraw.

Seeing twelve people withdraw all at once, the expressions of Baiye and Huan Shi also slightly darkened.

Each person less meant that the pressure shared by the official members of the Baiye Alliance would increase, and the potential damage could be even greater.

However, in the end, they did not make things difficult for these people.

And these people, including Yuan Ming, after receiving the compensation of ten spirit stones, left the sky pit one after another, choosing to leave.

(End of the chapter)