Chapter 1

In the wilderness, eerie mist surged endlessly, and a Snake King Temple, a hundred meters tall, stood within the fog.

A purple-robed old Daoist rode a dragon-horse, piercing through the strange mist.

His face was ruddy, his temples were bulging, his breathing was long, and his eyes were deep. A purple-gold gourd hung from his waist, a peach-wood hairpin was stuck in his hair, and a sacred hall pattern was embroidered on the cuff of his purple robe.

He was Bei Liu, an elder of the Great Wilderness Sacred Hall.

When the black-robed high priest sent the message, he was nearby on official business dealing with a rebellious tribe. He suddenly received a message from the Sacred Hall, asking him to work overtime and investigate the matter of the evil god Emperor Seed in this abandoned ancient land.

He was very angry and annoyed.

Because this trip had no travel expenses, no subsidies, and was assigned by a cabinet elder in the Sacred Hall who often made things difficult for him. Although he was also an elder, he was only an external affairs elder without a formal position.

His status was only slightly better than the black-robed priests who were temporary workers in the Sacred Hall, and he could be fired at any time.

He couldn't bear to lose this good job, so he had to come.

Because the Great Wilderness was dangerous, good jobs were not easy to find. Some small and weak forces were often exterminated, while top behemoths like the Sacred Hall were secure jobs that could last a lifetime.

Therefore, even though this external affairs elder was a temporary position, hundreds of millions of people would break their heads to try and get it.

And he would not have had such an opportunity if he hadn't saved a high-ranking member of the Sacred Hall in the past.

But that was all.

That high-ranking member of the Sacred Hall repaid his life-saving grace back then by making him an external affairs elder of the Sacred Tower. After observing that his aptitude was mediocre and that it was impossible for him to break through the Ancient Beast realm and advance to the next level in his life, and that he was of no value to him, he stopped paying attention to him.

"What is it like to be abandoned? It's certainly not comfortable."

His expression was bitter.

"When I was a child, a fortune teller touched my head and said that I had the potential of a demon emperor, born with outstanding talent. Bei Liu has worked hard for decades for this, but now he is stuck at level nine Ancient Beast, unable to even reach the level of a demon king, let alone a demon emperor." The old Daoist sighed, his face desolate, but he suddenly slapped himself and his eyes shone brightly.

"Bei Liu, don't be confused! Why are you doubting yourself again?! You have to believe in yourself, you can't slack off, you're the best!"

"You're still young, you're only ninety-eight years old. Compared to other old fogeys, you're still a child, so you still have a chance. You will eventually rule the Great Wilderness and become a giant!"

The old Daoist clenched his fist fiercely in the void to cheer himself up. His aura became condensed, his energy was as strong as a burning torch, and the head on his neck suddenly turned into a green-headed turtle, but with sharp fangs in its mouth, ferocious and terrifying.

"This appearance is so handsome. My father was a black turtle, and my mother was an alligator turtle. I was a mutated green-headed turtle born from crossbreeding, the only one in the Great Wilderness. Everyone avoids me."

His eyes were full of pride.

Because he only had one innate ability, which was "seeing green and getting green."

It didn't have any killing power, but the damage it caused made people change color. When facing an enemy, he only needed to show his green-headed turtle appearance, and the enemy would be turned green upon seeing it.

It was very strange and evil, and also very mysterious and incredible.

This kind of innate ability doesn't directly kill you, but it's more uncomfortable than killing you.

This was another reason why Bei Liu was favored by that high-ranking member of the Sacred Hall and brought into the Sacred Hall. But later, seeing that he could not break through the ninth-level Ancient Beast and advance to the next realm, and that this innate ability could not affect people of higher realms, he gave up on him.

"Ka ka."

Bei Liu twisted his neck, and instantly turned back into a human head.

"Slap~"

He patted the dragon-horse on the butt, urged the horse forward, and looked excitedly at the snake head enshrined on the shrine in the Snake King Temple.

"The snake head of a demon king bone. I didn't expect to have such a harvest on this business trip. Since this business trip has no subsidy, I'll just take it as my compensation."

Bei Liu's face was full of joy.

"A rare treasure. Snake heads made of demon king bones are not common in the Great Wilderness!"

He looked around at the strange mist, not seeing anyone else. There were two dead dog corpses at the entrance of the temple, with maggots wriggling and breeding on the corpses, fat and large, the smallest being the size of a thumb.

He frowned in disgust.

"This was raised by that temporary black-robed priest from the Sacred Hall." Bei Liu recognized it instantly based on the information the Sacred Hall gave him. He shouted loudly, "Where is the black-robed priest?! Come out and meet me quickly!"

There was no response, only silence.

"Temporary workers really can't be trusted!"

Bei Liu frowned, looked around vigilantly, and after getting off his horse, he had the dragon-horse check around, but found nothing unusual.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He took out a palm-sized jade talisman from his pocket, aimed it at himself, and smiled, showing his teeth. The jade talisman instantly unlocked with facial recognition, and a glowing screen appeared.

This was the light and shadow jade talisman issued by the Sacred Hall.

It could transmit sound over long distances, and could also make video calls, without needing to be charged. It only needed to be infused with Yuan Qi energy, making it environmentally friendly and convenient.

"Checking in! Bei Liu, external affairs elder of the Sacred Hall, number 258, on official business in the abandoned ancient land of the Forgotten Ancient Star, signing in!"

Bei Liu took a video of the surrounding strange mist with the jade talisman, and also filmed himself. When he filmed the Snake King Temple, he didn't film the snake head of the demon king bone.

He uploaded the check-in video, and the check-in was successful.

Bei Liu smiled. Half of this business trip was completed. Now, after collecting the snake head of the demon king bone, he would go back to the Great Wilderness, find an ancient city to get a foot massage, and eat, drink, and have fun before returning to the Sacred Hall to complete his mission.

Isn't that how business trips are supposed to be?!

It's just a pity that his female secretary, that beautiful snake, asked for leave to go home to visit relatives and didn't come with him, otherwise it would be even more comfortable.

As for investigating the evil god Emperor Seed, what was there to investigate? He could just make up a story.

"I'm just a worker who's just trying to get by. The more you know about some things, the faster you die." Bei Liu put away the jade talisman and led the dragon-horse into the Snake King Temple.

The Snake King Temple was a hundred meters tall, crudely constructed from huge stones and logs, but it was still grand and imposing. On the high shrine was enshrined a hideous snake head.

It was shaped like a skull, and almost all the flesh and blood had dried up. There were remnants of the destructive aura of lightning on it, but the exposed bones were like jade, and they also emitted a metallic luster. There was also a trace of the majesty of a demon king, which made people feel awe.

Bei Liu's eyes lit up as he looked at it.

"It really is a demon king bone!"

"Old bones disappear, destroyed in thunder and fire, new bones are conceived, reborn in destruction, like white jade and divine silver, sacred and majestic, with a hidden kingly aura..."

"Bei Liu, your luck is too good!"

He was very excited, but his eyes narrowed instantly.

"That's not right. That temporary black-robed priest must have also discovered this snake head of the demon king bone. Why didn't he take it away? Why would he leave it to me?!"

"Is there really such a good thing?"

"A pie falling from the sky and hitting me on the head. Maybe it's not good luck, but someone is spying on me from the roof, with malicious intentions..."

Whoosh~

Bei Liu retreated a step warily, ten zhang away from the snake head, staring at it intently.

But no matter how he looked at it, this snake head was a dead object, filled with a strong aura of death, without any vitality. But its huge mouth was open, and the fangs inside were like white bone spears, exuding an astonishing baleful aura, as if they could chew up all living things.

Bei Liu gasped. He hadn't paid attention just now, but now that he looked at it closely, this snake head was surrounded by ominous energy, full of weirdness and gloom. No matter how he looked at it, it was a little abnormal.

"How can a dead object have such a great fierce aura? Unless it was a giant beast when it was alive!"

Bei Liu's heart skipped a beat.

Working on business trips in the Great Wilderness was not that simple. There were many poisonous insects and fierce beasts lurking in the mountains and valleys. Without some skills and survival experience, he would have been swallowed by fierce beasts long ago.

He was able to live to this day not because of luck, but because of his strength.

"Mao Dan, come here!"

Bei Liu called out to his dragon-horse mount, but there was no response. He turned his head to look and was so angry that his mouth twisted.

He saw that the guy had actually shrunk into the corner, not moving at all. Hearing him call it, it quickly rolled its eyes, foamed at the mouth, and pretended to be dead on the spot.

"You want me to be cannon fodder again? Dream on!"

It spat hard, and the white foam in its mouth kept bubbling like soap bubbles.

Bei Liu's eyelids twitched in anger.

"If you weren't my cousin, why would I ride you on a business trip through the Great Wilderness?!"

He scolded angrily.

The dragon-horse ignored him and turned over to continue foaming at the mouth.

Bei Liu gritted his teeth, rolled his eyes, and said, "You go and test if this snake head is dangerous. Next time you're in heat, I'll let you mess around outside once, how about it?"

"Really?!" The dragon-horse jumped up with a "teng," its eyes excited, "Don't tell your cousin-in-law!"

"Okay! I won't tell him!" Bei Liu nodded, looking serious.

A look of joy and anticipation appeared in the dragon-horse's eyes. "You said it, don't go back on your word. Counting the days, there are still three days until my next heat."

"Wasn't your heat just two days ago?"

"Is it any of your business? Do you still want me to scout the way for you?"

"Okay, okay, Cousin, you're awesome. Please try to see if this snake head is dangerous." Bei Liu looked helpless.

If this second cousin's innate ability wasn't "danger perception," he wouldn't have brought her. She was in heat for twenty days out of the month, which made him not even able to [do what he wanted].

He sometimes even suspected that it was because he often showed off his green-headed turtle appearance, which the second cousin saw and unintentionally triggered the "seeing green and getting green" ability.

That's why this cousin was in heat every day, and wanted to give that second cousin-in-law a green hat every day.

"Da da da"

The dragon-horse stepped forward, its steps strong and powerful, slowly approaching the snake head on the shrine. Bei Liu gripped his hands tightly, both nervous and expectant, his eyes wide, but his steps quietly moved backward.

As long as something was wrong, he would be the first to run away.