Invincible Snake Emperor

Chapter 593: Chapter 573: Spiritual Rank

Her ink-black hair cascaded down like flowing clouds, spilling to her waist. With her Treasure Sword in hand, she waved it toward the Taotie clone on the roof. A silvery-white crescent arc suddenly flashed through the air, followed by an incomparably sharp wave of Sword Qi that surged forward.

The Fierce Beast Taotie seemed to know how powerful Luo Ziyun was and came prepared. It suddenly leaped, dodging the sharp Sword Qi, then let out a ferocious roar. The world seemed to tremble and the skies to churn. Like a tiger descending from the mountains, it distorted space as it lunged toward Luo Ziyun.

At the same time, the two Taotie outside the courtyard, not to be outdone, charged straight at Luo Ziyun. An utterly savage aura erupted from them, as if they were determined to swallow this woman whole.

Luo Ziyun was as pure and graceful as an Exiled Immortal from the heavens. She brandished her Treasure Sword, her movements so fluid she seemed like a phantom. The three Taotie couldn’t even graze the hem of her robes.

Perhaps because she had spent too long with the Snake Race in the Yaoling Mountain Range, her sword strikes were like a white snake flicking its tongue, HISSING through the air. Her blade moved like a roaming dragon weaving between her foes. At times, she was as light as a swallow, launching herself from her sword’s tip; at others, she was as sudden as lightning. She paid the three Fierce Beast Taotie no mind whatsoever.

A flash of silver rose in the courtyard, and a fountain of blood erupted from a Fierce Beast.

In just a few short moments, one Fierce Beast was torn to pieces, its green blood spilling across the ground.

A few breaths later, Luo Ziyun’s expression turned icy, her Killing Intent palpable. With a few more sweeps of Sword Qi, the second Taotie was torn to shreds.

These enormous Fierce Beast Taotie had brought cataclysmic disaster upon human cities, but before Luo Ziyun, they were no different from livestock. The last one couldn’t escape its fate either, and was sliced in two with a single stroke of her sword.

Just like that, in less than a few minutes, all three of the Taotie clones that had surrounded her were dead.

Luo Ziyun’s deeds were of immeasurable merit; for every Taotie clone she killed, she indirectly saved countless lives.

”Fairy, you’re so powerful! Are you a savior sent down by the heavens?”

The Jade Little Snake was so stunned it was at a loss for words. It knew this woman was powerful, but it never expected her to be *this* freakishly strong. ’I really backed the right horse,’ it thought. ’I absolutely backed the right horse.’

”Shut up. You talk too much. Would it kill you to not suck up for once?”

Luo Ziyun rolled her eyes. ’A venomous snake that’s such a kiss-ass... what’s that about?’

Just then, Luo Ziyun frowned again. The people in the old house still hadn’t come out. ’Are they trying to take all their valuables with them?’

’They really value money more than their lives.’

’If I hadn’t come, even ten lives wouldn’t have been enough to save the people in this house.’

Besides, the old house was already teetering, ready to collapse at any moment.

’Hmph. Fine. If they want to die, let them.’ Luo Ziyun had other Taotie to kill; she had no time to waste here.

She turned to leave, but suddenly, the door to the old house opened. A beautiful young woman rushed out, supporting a woman in her forties.

’A mother and daughter?’

Luo Ziyun saw their pale faces and figured they must have been terrified. Although displeased, she didn’t lash out.

”Benefactor, please accept these three kowtows from my mother and me! We will never forget this act of saving our lives as long as we live!”

The moment Wen Qiu was outside, she hastily pulled Tu Xiaoyue down to kneel before Luo Ziyun, weeping with gratitude.

If this woman, who seemed like a Celestial Immortal, hadn’t appeared to turn the tide, she and her daughter would have died long ago.

Wen Qiu wasn’t afraid to die; at her age, death was just death. What mattered was that this woman had also saved her daughter. The debt of gratitude was too heavy to ever repay. For the moment, all she could do was kneel and kowtow her thanks.

Luo Ziyun glanced indifferently at the mother and daughter kneeling before her and said, ”What precious item are you holding that made you risk your lives? Do you value wealth more than life itself?”

’Three Taotie attacked at once. Only I could have handled that. Even if a Demon King had shown up, they would have been in for a huge fight.’

’I told this mother and daughter to run for their lives, yet they insisted on dawdling inside for several minutes.’

Wen Qiu clutched the object in her arms tightly. Without offering an explanation, she simply continued to kowtow to Luo Ziyun, her gratitude evident in her expression.

”Mom, stop bowing. Let me do it.”

Tu Xiaoyue couldn’t bear to see her mother so subservient and hurriedly began to kowtow toward Luo Ziyun herself. This was a life-saving debt, after all; no amount of bowing was too much. Besides, it was true that they had behaved poorly.

’Someone came to rescue us out of kindness and told us to come out, yet we dawdled inside. Anyone would be at least a little annoyed.’

”You don’t need to bow to me,” Luo Ziyun said, her curiosity piqued. ”I’m just curious about what you’re hiding there. Can you let me see?”

She wanted to see what this mother-daughter pair had brought out with them at a time when their lives were on the line.

”You must think this is silly, Benefactor,” Wen Qiu said softly, shaking her head. ”It isn’t anything valuable. It’s not worth a look.”

Luo Ziyun’s stunningly beautiful face took on a cool expression. ”And what if I insist on seeing it?” she asked lightly.

Tu Xiaoyue had witnessed the Fairy’s terrifying power and didn’t dare provoke her. ”My mother is just holding a Spiritual Rank,” she explained.

”A Spiritual Rank?” Luo Ziyun sounded a bit surprised, finding it hard to believe.

’Are there still people this sentimental these days? Willing to throw away their own lives for a relative who died long ago?’

’All for a simple Spiritual Rank?’

”Benefactor, you saved our lives. We wouldn’t dare lie to you,” Tu Xiaoyue said. ”It really is a Spiritual Rank. It belongs to my younger brother.”

”May I see it?” Luo Ziyun’s expression softened considerably.

Wen Qiu trembled slightly and looked at her daughter. Tu Xiaoyue gave her a reassuring nod.

No matter what, the woman had saved them. The request wasn’t unreasonable.

Wen Qiu gritted her teeth, unwrapped the Spiritual Rank from a white cloth in her arms, and reluctantly handed it over. ”This is for my youngest son,” she said. ”He passed away so young. As his mother, how could I just abandon my son’s Spiritual Rank and run for my life?”

Upon hearing this, Luo Ziyun suddenly felt a flicker of respect for the pale mother. She gave a slight bow. Where she had first extended one hand, she quickly brought up her other to receive the Spiritual Rank with both.

When her gaze fell upon the spotless Spiritual Rank, her beautiful eyes froze as if branded to its surface. They slowly widened, as though she had suddenly fallen into a trance from which she could not break free.

”Benefactor, what’s wrong?”

For a full minute, Luo Ziyun cradled the Spiritual Rank, staring blankly at it. She was completely motionless, as if turned to stone.

What kind of person was Luo Ziyun? She had lived for more than five hundred years—what great storms had she not weathered? She hadn’t even batted an eye when facing the combined assault of three Taotie clones. Yet now, because of the few words carved on the Spiritual Rank, she fell into a stunned silence, her mind going as blank as a sheet of paper.

The Place of My Son, Tu Xiao’an