Nine Nether Heavenly Emperor
Chapter 362: Meeting Zi Ya

Chapter 362: Chapter 362: Meeting Zi Ya

Amidst the astonished gazes, the Priest of the Snake-man Clan flew with Shi Feng towards the Priest Hall, then slowly descended at the entrance of the Priest Hall.

"Greetings, Priest, and welcome to our esteemed guest!" The bigwigs of the Snake-man Clan greeted Shi Feng with the respectful etiquette of the Human Clan as he followed the priest down, clasping their fists and bowing.

This was also because Shi Feng had displayed great strength, and the Snake-man Clan held a reverence for the powerful. Another reason was that, although they had no fondness for the Human Clan, they could not defy the orders of the Priest Lord.

Shi Feng saw, among the crowd, a familiar figure. It was the same woman that Zi Ya, along with three other Snake-man Clan women, had pursued Li Liuxin with. This woman was called "elder sister" by Zi Ya, so Shi Feng had some recollection of her.

After a short while, the crowd at the entrance of the Priest Hall parted to the sides, creating a wide path for Shi Feng. The Priestess said to him, "Follow me, esteemed guest of the Human Clan!"

Next, the priest with the blue serpent tail led the way through the pathway in the crowd, with Shi Feng following behind her. The important figures of the Snake-man Clan came back together toward the middle, trailing behind Shi Feng as they all proceeded towards the interior of the Priest Hall.

Upon entering the Priest Hall, Shi Feng felt the light gradually grow dimmer, and what followed was a wave of ancient and mysterious aura.

In the midst of the Great Hall, not far away, Shi Feng saw a petite figure with a purple serpent tail coiled, sitting there.

"Zi Ya!" Peering at the familiar silhouette, Shi Feng murmured under his breath. He then realized that the ground where Zi Ya was situated bore a mysterious and ancient Array, from which eerie and mystical ancient energy emanated, seeping into Zi Ya’s petite body.

Looking at the ancient Six-Star Dark Array, and at Zi Ya within the grand Array, Shi Feng’s brows slightly furrowed as he spoke, "Is she cultivating?" He couldn’t determine Zi Ya’s exact condition.

"Look over there!" Instead of answering Shi Feng’s question directly, the Priest pointed to the deepest part of the Priest Hall.

Shi Feng, following the Priest’s guidance to the depths of the Hall, saw a giant statue. This statue was made up of eight colossal, fierce-looking Big Snakes, each a different color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and at the center, a massive multicolored Big Snake, formed from the convergence of these seven colors.

However, on one of the purple Big Snakes, Shi Feng recognized a familiar figure, with dense, purple scales covering its body and a sharp, purple horn on its head—it was the very Purple Serpent that Zi Ya had transformed into, though the statue was several times larger than Zi Ya’s transformation.

"This is the Eight Separation Divine Serpent, the great and supreme deity of our Snake-man Clan and also the ancestral god of our people!" Seeing Shi Feng’s gaze fixed on the statue of the Eight Separation Divine Dragon, the Priest came to Shi Feng’s side and began to explain.

"The Eight Separation Divine Serpent?" Hearing the Priest’s words beside him, Shi Feng muttered, the unfamiliar term something he had never heard before.

The Priest spoke to Shi Feng slowly, "In the Ancient Period, our clan’s deity, the Eight Separation Divine Serpent, soared through the heavens and earth, with all tribes submitting to it. However, a sudden calamity struck, transforming our deity into seven fragments. One of these fragments, the Purple Serpent Body, is now sealed within Zi Ya’s body. According to Zi Lin, you’ve witnessed it in the desert too!"

Upon hearing the Priest’s words, Shi Feng nodded and said, "Yes, I have seen it. At that time, I was still very weak and nearly lost my life!"

Shi Feng had not expected that the Purple Serpent, which Zi Ya had transformed into, was actually an avatar from an Ancient Period object.

The Priest continued, "Using Zi Ya’s flesh to release the power of Zi Li’s Serpent Body is naturally limited. To be blunt, if the true power of the Zi Li’s Serpent Body were to be unleashed, I estimate you wouldn’t have been so lucky that time."

"Uh-huh!" Shi Feng agreed with a nod. If it were as he said, then this ancient species, even if just an avatar, would certainly not be so simple to deal with if its full strength was truly aroused.

After the Priestess had told him all this, Shi Feng realized the situation and turned to Zi Ya, saying, "What are you doing now? Are you planning to release all the power of this avatar? If so, what will happen to Zi Ya?" Shi Feng couldn’t help worrying about Zi Ya. If they really stimulated the avatar’s power, Zi Ya’s body would be unable to bear it. Perhaps that avatar’s soul would take over Zi Ya’s body.

If that were the case, Shi Feng would definitely intervene to prevent such a thing from happening to this innocent and kind-hearted Snake-man Clan Girl.

Seeming to see what Shi Feng was thinking, the elderly Priestess continued, "The truth is, we also don’t know what will happen to Zi Ya! Whether Zi Ya will take control of the power of Zi Li’s Serpent Body or whether the Zi Li’s Serpent Body will take over Zi Ya’s flesh, or perhaps, the operation of the Dark Six-Star Ancient Array to stimulate the power of Zi Li’s Serpent Body won’t be successful at all since we’ve never tried it before.

But we have no choice but to do this because our Snake-man Clan is currently facing a great disaster!"

"Great disaster?" Shi Feng asked, having sensed that after beating around the bush, the old Snake-man Clan Priestess had finally come to the main point.

"In the desert, there exists an equally powerful ancient race left behind, known as the Dark Elf Clan. They can be said to dominate this desert, and no race dares to provoke them!" the Priest said.

Shi Feng had heard of the Dark Elf Clan before but didn’t pay much attention, given that in this world, he had only focused on those peerless powerhouses. During that time, he hadn’t heard about any extraordinary powerhouses emerging from the Dark Elf Clan.

The Snake-man Clan Priestess went on to say to Shi Feng, "Recently, Zi Ya saved a young Dark Elf in the desert. That young Dark Elf is a Prince of the Elf Clan, and possibly attracted by Zi Ya’s kindness and beauty, has already announced his intention to marry Zi Ya to our Snake-man Clan.

The importance of the sealed Zi Li’s Serpent Body within Zi Ya to our Snake-man Clan, you probably have some idea by now. We absolutely cannot let Zi Ya enter their Dark Elf Clan, but given our current power, we cannot possibly resist the Dark Elf Clan.

Therefore, we can only pretend to agree to them and then use the Dark Six-Star Ancient Array in the hopes of stimulating the power of the sealed Zi Li’s Serpent Body within Zi Ya to fight against the Dark Elf Clan!"

"What does Zi Ya think?" Shi Feng asked. He cared about Zi Ya’s own feelings. If Zi Ya also liked the Dark Elf Prince, he would have to help them and get the Snake-man Race to stop using the Ancient Formation on Zi Ya.

If Zi Ya was unwilling, then he would step in and help the Snake-man Clan. However, no matter what, Shi Feng was determined to stop the Snake-man Clan from using this Ancient Formation on Zi Ya—it was too dangerous for her!