The air shimmered with tension as the Silver Horned Snake unfurled its serpentine body. The creature’s silver horn pulsated with an eerie black light for the first time, unleashing a shaft of darkness that shot towards Mason.
Without hesitation, Mason bolted forward, muscles coiling with determination. He raised a grey-coloured fist, the size of a boulder, about to unleash a thunderous blow—only to be met with a cloud of poisonous mist that enveloped him, suffocating and blurring his senses.
Seeing that Mason had been caught, Master Pike sprang into action, wielding the Ocean Wheel arts to bend the mist, transforming it into tendrils of essence that lashed out at the snake.
The tendrils whipped and twirled with a life of their own, forming blades that sliced through the poisonous haze like it was nothing.
The silver-horned snake hissed, a chilling sound that reverberated through the air. In retaliation, it aimed its horn at Master Pike, releasing bolts of black light that shot forth with deadly intent.
With reflexes honed from years of training, Pike redirected the flowing essence to absorb and disperse the black light, steam rising in thick plumes as essence clashed against essence. Yet the fight crescendoed into chaos when Madam Pang began casting another spell.
Sinister symbols danced in the air, swirling like shadows, aiming to bind the Silver Horned Snake in a web.
The Snake recoiled, angered by the intrusion upon its lethal domain, and lunged at Madam Pang, its massive form coiling and striking like a thunderbolt. Mason seized his opportunity at that moment, rallying through the poisoned miasma that sought to weaken him. He charged at the serpent with the ferocity of a primal storm, one fist connecting with the side of the creature’s head, causing it to twist violently.
In the ensuing chaos, the ground shook; powers clashed, reverberating across the landscape.
This…this is Essence Arts!
Ju whispered in awe as he quickly followed Aron and others into the nest.
“I guess I have to change tactics.”
Master Pike's hands moved rapidly as his fingers glowed, pressing all five together like a triangle.
An essence fluctuation rang through the air as the space between Master Pike's fingers grew solid and expanded into another massive ocean wheel; this one was much larger than the previous attack he had made and much more realistic. The ground underneath the Snake caved in, as the Ocean wheel closed in on the beast as if to completely bind it.
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The Mother Snake did not seem afraid as three opponents besieged her. The Snake’s head immediately puffed up as the beast spat out a larger blue mist to counter Master Pike’s attack. Meanwhile, its tail moved incredibly fast as it made contact with Mason's lower body. An expression of pain appeared on the Essence Artist's face as he flew backwards.
Madam Pang looked vicious as she waved her hand. A large black palm that seemed to equal the Snake’s size appeared in the air, hitting the snake in its white underbelly. For the first time during the fight, the spiritual beast expressed pain as it thrashed its body all over the place.
Master Pike's eyes lit up as he quickly pulled out five rotating beads. Placing them right in front of him, the beads floated high in the air and transformed into five large swords.
“Sword Pellets!”
Madam Pang had an odd expression when she saw this. Master Pike didn’t reply, as he immediately clenched his fists, and the swords shot towards the Snake’s underbelly, but this time the beast was ready. It immediately placed itself flat on the ground and opened
its large mouth. A massive blue mist came out and collided with the five swords. Master Pike frowned when he saw this, he rapidly made hand seals and the five swords moved upward and rained in front above, targeting its head. This quick change in trajectory did not give the Snake enough time to react as the sword collided point blank on the Snake’s head, a loud hiss full of pain rang through the air, as blue blood flowed on the ground.
One of the Mother Snake’s eyes was missing as the beast glided on the ground in Master Pike's direction. Its large fangs were pointed out as if the Snake wanted to swallow the Essence Artist in one gulp. But Master Pike sneered when he was this, he quickly moved his fingers and another ocean wheel formed, while he called out with a harsh voice.
“Madam Pang, Mason. You better stop holding back now. The real fight is about to begin!”
Madam Pang chuckled lightly as she extended her hands and chanted in an obscure voice. The black fog soon became much larger, and at the same time, it turned grey and spread on the ground where the Mother Snake was. As the grey fog came into contact with the snake's scales, the scales slowly began to lose their lustre.
The spiritual beast noticed its loss in vitality; however, its movement was severely limited due to Master Pike's restraining attacks and entanglement with Mason.
However, the beast was not completely helpless. A massive burst of essence covered the Mother Snake’s entire body as it broke free from the Master Pike ocean wheel and shot up into the air, still looking to crush the Essence Artist with its mouth.
But Mason was already ready. His body seemed to puff up, and he grabbed the snake’s tail. In an astonishing display, Mason lifted the snake's entire body off the ground for a moment and turned around.
“Come down for me!” He shouted in a grim voice and smashed the Spiritual Snake’s body, clearing all the vegetation and trees within thirty meters.
The beast trembled as its aura began to plummet. Individually, the Mother Snake was much more powerful than either trio. Still, working together, the coordinated attacks of Master Pike, Mason, and Madam Pang placed the fierce beast completely passive. However, this creature was one step away from being a Rank 2 spiritual beast. Without laying those eggs, the Mother Snake might have broken through already.
A blood-red glow shone from the Mother Snake's eyes as its entire figure radiated immersed pressure. Unlike previous times when its actions were filled with rough violence, this was more silent and insidious. The snake's brown scales trembled for a moment and extended forward. While trying to put down the snake once and for all, Madam Pang and Mason did not notice this action. It was Master Pike who was still alert.
“Shit, Mason, move away quick!”
But his warning came late. The brown scales of the snake gleamed with light and shot out of the Creature's body as sharp projectiles with astonishing speed.