Chapter 1

The strange mist sealed the heavens and the earth. The air was eerily cold, and crimson rain fell thick and fast, the firmament as scarlet as splashed blood.

On the desolate wilderness, no grass grew for thousands of miles around, the ground a charred black.

An imposing temple stood tall, a hundred meters high, constructed from massive stones and crossbeams. It was simple yet ruggedly grand, serpentine patterns carved along the outer edges of its stone gates.

On the altar within the temple sat a hideous snake head. The flesh was almost gone, resembling a skull, dozens of meters large, a terrifying hill of bone that exuded waves of brutal, foul air, chilling those who gazed upon it.

Outside hung a massive plaque with three powerful characters: "Snake King Temple."

"Offer incense, kowtow!"

A large black Labrador retriever paid respects to the snake head on the altar before the temple.

He was Hu San. Behind him stood Huang An and dozens of other members of the Dog Gang. They stood on their hind legs, their front paws clasped in salute. They appeared foolishly comical, yet their expressions were serious, their scarlet eyes filled with a savage light. None of them were to be trifled with.

"Bring the sacrifice!" Hu San barked.

A female goat was brought forward, her eyes filled with terror, bleating piteously for mercy.

She had merely cursed the king cobra a few times, then urinated on its dismembered remains. For this, she had been captured by the Dog Gang.

"Spare me! I'm beautiful! I have a great figure, C-cup, oh, no, D! Don't you men like D-cups? I'm willing—"

"Thwack!"

Hu San bit through her neck. Two gang members, standing upright, lifted the female goat with their front paws and ascended the steps to either side of the altar, splattering her blood on the snake head.

Hu San gazed at the snake head with reverence. "Lord Snake, you loved live offerings in life. Your subordinate has brought you a fragrant, alluring female goat, with a first-rate figure! Please, enjoy!"

"Swish, swish, swish…"

Crimson blood rained down, drenching the parched snake head.

A strange scene unfolded.

The skull-like snake head, almost split apart by lightning and fire, absorbed all the blood without spilling a drop.

It drank blood like a snake.

Instantly.

Veins of blood appeared, coiling around the cracked skull-like head, and waves of brutal, foul energy spread out, creating an oppressive aura of power.

The two gang members who had offered the sacrifice trembled and fell down the steps, dropping the female goat.

Hu San peered closely at the snake head and saw that the bones of the blood-soaked head were beginning to heal. The charred black skin was peeling away, revealing new bone, a shimmering silver, like jade or divine silver.

His pupils constricted, and a trace of excited joy appeared in his eyes.

"Could it be that Lord Snake isn't really dead? Lord Snake is still alive?!"

Hu San trembled with excitement. The snake head on the altar was drinking blood. This bizarre scene filled Hu San with boundless hope.

"Go, find more sacrifices! I want Lord Snake to eat his fill, to eat his fill! I will resurrect Lord Snake!" Hu San barked his orders. "Forget it, I'll go myself!"

He left two gang members to guard the Snake King Temple and personally led a team to hunt for sacrifices.

Silence returned to the desolate wilderness.

Two large dogs stood guard before the Snake King Temple, oblivious to the two thumb-sized maggots crawling swiftly from the ground in the mist, quietly burrowing into their fur.

Instantly, their eyes glazed over. A moment later, their gaze returned, but now it was a chilling, sinister cold.

"Tap, tap, tap…"

Footsteps echoed as the black-robed high priest emerged from the strange mist, carrying a skull staff. He approached the Snake King Temple, seemingly unnoticed by the two Dog Gang sentries.

They had been taken over by the maggots, their brains invaded and controlled, turning them into living corpses.

The black-robed high priest glanced at the plaque hanging on the temple.

"Snake King Temple?! Nonsense! A pathetic creature that failed to become an ancient beast dares to call itself a Snake King?" The black-robed high priest sneered.

In the Great Desolation, those called Kings were all demon kings of a region, possessing the power to move mountains and overturn seas, their bodies thousands of meters tall, like primeval behemoths, terrifying beyond measure.

He would have to detour to avoid such behemoths.

He entered the Snake King Temple and, gazing at the hideous snake head on the altar, hurried forward excitedly, carefully examining the bones.

"Old bones vanish, destroyed in thunder and fire. New bones are born, reborn from destruction, like jade divine silver, sacred and majestic, hiding the aura of a king…"

The black-robed high priest analyzed and observed, stroking the snake head bones with his withered, claw-like fingers as if they were a priceless treasure. Suddenly, his body shuddered, and tears fell from his eyes as he was overcome with excitement.

"Isn't this the characteristic of demon king bone?!"

The black-robed high priest was shaken, trembling with excitement.

"This king cobra actually broke through to become an ancient beast at the last moment, and directly achieved the status of demon king!"

"Furthermore, it shattered the heavenly shackles of this abandoned ancient star, pulverizing the shackles of flesh and blood!"

"Such foundation and talent…"

The black-robed high priest was incredulous. He had never seen such a terrifying creature in the Great Desolation.

To be able to break through dense layers of flesh and blood shackles was unimaginable.

"Could it be that you are truly an ancient evil god reborn…?"

The black-robed high priest speculated but couldn't be sure.

Such beings existed too long ago, having vanished before the endless passage of time. He had sensed a different aura before, but now he thought the possibility was too remote.

But.

He couldn't imagine what other creature could be so monstrous, more terrifying than the king-class and emperor-class species of the Great Desolation, able to break so many shackles to defy the heavens and advance to become an ancient beast, directly becoming a demon king.

A demon king was a level nine ancient beast whose bones had evolved into demon king bones, resulting in a massive increase in strength, far surpassing ordinary level nine ancient beasts. That was why it was called a demon king.

Evolving demon king bones was the sign and characteristic of a demon king.

But this king cobra, having just advanced to become an ancient beast, had evolved demon king bones. It was beyond imagination.

"Even if it's not an ancient evil god reborn, it must be an emperor-class species!" The black-robed high priest muttered excitedly, then burst into laughter.

"So what if it's an emperor-class species? I said that no creature can break through the flesh and blood shackles and still live. The laws of heaven are irreversible, and you are no exception. Your soul was scattered by the golden lightning."

"Now, you are dead, and your demon king bone is mine!"

"I'll use your snake body to nurture my little darlings, and I'll use your demon king bone to forge the most powerful demon king sacred artifact!"

The black-robed high priest laughed wildly.

The Black Wolf Tribe's ancestral artifact, that wolf fang, was a sacred artifact forged from the demon king bone of a demon king-level ancestor of the Black Wolf Tribe.

Its power had greatly diminished over the years, its sacred might not as prominent, but its destructive power was still astonishing.

The black-robed high priest looked forward to forging the snake head into a demon king sacred artifact, but suddenly slapped his forehead, his face full of regret.

"I shouldn't have notified the elders of the Holy Temple. If they come, will I still have a share of this demon king bone?!" The black-robed high priest lamented.

He had notified the Holy Temple too early, and now some elders might already be on their way.

"No, before the elders of the Holy Temple arrive, I must quickly refine this snake head!" The black-robed high priest gritted his teeth, his fingers clutching the snake head bone, wanting to take it away and find a secluded place to refine it.

Refining required a quiet space, free from disturbance.

"Hmm?! I can't move it? Is it that heavy?"

The snake head was unexpectedly heavy, as if it were welded to the altar.

The black-robed high priest refused to believe it. He roared, using all his strength, his arms trembling, his face flushed red, trying to move the snake head.

"Rise! Rise for me!"

He roared, his eyes wide, tears falling like rain, but he still couldn't move it.

"What's going on?"

The black-robed high priest released his grip, panting. In his perception, the snake head was lifeless, truly dead, yet he couldn't move it.

"Could there be something inside the snake head?"

He whispered his speculation.

Just as he spoke, a misty white light emanated from inside the snake head, mysterious, flickering.

As if to entice him.

The black-robed high priest was both startled and delighted.

"Hahaha, there really is a treasure inside the snake head!"

"No wonder this king cobra was able to rise up in this desolate ancient land where the spiritual energy is depleted, and even break through the shackles of flesh and blood to advance to become an ancient beast. It turns out there's a treasure in its head!"

"Ah, I'm such an idiot, I should have thought of it sooner!"

The black-robed high priest danced with excitement, then tried to find a way to retrieve the treasure, but even using his skull staff, he still couldn't break open the snake head bone.

"Demon king bone is indeed powerful!"

The black-robed high priest wasn't disappointed. On the contrary, he was even more excited and guessed that the treasure inside the snake head must be extraordinary.

He circled the snake head, lost in thought. "It seems that the only way is to enter the snake head to retrieve the treasure!"

He stretched out a finger, plucked out a handful of "little darlings" from his eye socket, and sprinkled them on the snake head. "Go, my darlings, help me retrieve the treasure inside."

However, as soon as these little creatures approached the snake head, they all died in a bizarre fashion.

"My little darlings all committed ritual suicide?!" The black-robed high priest felt a pang of heartache and circled the snake head, observing it.

The snake head was twenty meters big, and the eyes and nostrils were blocked with charred flesh, obviously inaccessible, and it would take time to clear a path.

It seemed that only the mouth was accessible, and it was wide open, pitch black inside, the upper jaw leading directly to the brain.

The black-robed high priest leaned forward to peer inside.

He saw that the inside of the snake's mouth was filled with charred, cracked flesh. Only the white, ghastly fangs remained, like bone spears, exuding a chilling baleful aura that made the black-robed high priest panic.

"Slap!"

He suddenly slapped himself on the cheek and whispered, "You waste, are you too cowardly?! Fortune favors the bold, the bold eat their fill while the timid starve to death. Besides, this evil snake is already dead, what's there to be afraid of!"

The black-robed high priest gritted his teeth and bent down to crawl into the snake's mouth.

"Whoosh—"

As soon as he took a few steps, the snake's mouth suddenly closed, sealing off heaven and earth, and a terrifying baleful aura and boundless vitality surged forth, as if an ancient behemoth were awakening.

"Ah—! You're not dead! You shameless, treacherous…"

The black-robed high priest screamed in terror and rage, but his voice was instantly cut off.

The snake's mouth churned, grinding its food.

In the eye sockets, the charred flesh peeled away, and scarlet vertical pupils opened and closed, emitting a cold, vicious, and cunning bloody light, gazing at the strange mist outside the Snake King Temple with anticipation.

"The truly brutal hunter often appears in the guise of prey. I suppose I am no exception…"

A deep voice echoed in the Snake King Temple, as eerie as a ghost's whisper.

Then, the snake's mouth opened again, the inside completely devoid of any bloody pieces of flesh, parched and lifeless, like a dead thing.

But the giant mouth gaped wide, as if waiting for its next prey…

At the same moment.

At the bottom of a sinkhole, on a vast wilderness.

A purple-robed old Daoist rode a dragon-horse, his hair in a topknot, a purple-gold gourd hanging from his waist. His eyes were deep and majestic as he hummed a leisurely tune…

"Don't ask me where I come from, my home is in the Great Desolation, why do I wander, wandering far to catch snakes and kill wolves…"