Laying flat in an unlit region of the cave, the Snake Demon appeared inconspicuous, unless someone paid great attention to its hiding spot, it would prove very difficult to spot it.
At that moment it stared at the weak human before with anticipation of the meal it was about to receive, for the Snake Demon, a human was a rare tonic which was hard to come by.
Although these little humans appeared weak, they were still a change of diet for the Snake who had been feeding purely on the local demon beasts due to rarely encountering humans who encroached within its territory.
It licked its lips in greed as it eagerly stared at the unassuming Wang Jian who was walking slowly towards its attack range, however just as its prey was about to move a step closer, the other little human suddenly called out to him which caused him to stroll away from it.
The Snake Demon stared ferociously at the little human who ruined its opportunity hatefully, it would have pounced out of its hiding place straight away if it wasn't for the object clasped into the hands of the black-haired little human which caused its instincts to feel a sense of danger.
As a Snake Demon, its intuition has never failed it before, so the beast knew that despite the two humans appearing weak, the item held by one of the humans still poses a threat to it.
Even so, the Snake Demon didn't believe that the other human discovered it, prompting them to warn the other one.
The Snake Demon was filled with confidence knowing that even cultivators who were stronger than it would find it difficult to discover it, nevermind a bunch of little humans who were far weaker than it.
Still, when that little human seemed to be talking to the one with the intimating object and pointing within its direction causing him to turn pale, it began to doubt himself.
Though when it felt a threatening aura raising from the object it was wary of it knew that it had been found, hurriedly making a move to avoid the blow, it proved a tad to slow to react as the intended strike landed upon the Snake Demon causing it to bellow in agony.
A bloodthirsty aura emanated from the beast as it frenziedly charged at the humans, knowing its intended ambush failed, it quickly discarded attempting to take them down with a sneak attack and decided to end their lives through one strike.
To the Snake Demon, the only concern from the two humans was from the strange object, without it, the beast could slaughter them easily.
Wang Jian meanwhile felt shocked at the sight of the fierce Snake Demon charging at them from out of nowhere. Previously, he was sceptical of Li Fen when she described her suspicions of the cave being home to a demon beast, one which was lying in wait to launch an attack.
Wang Jian whom since entering the cave didn't find anything unusual originally wasn't convinced that Li Fen could locate a demon beast whereas he couldn't find anything.
Now, however, he sighed in relief that he chose to trust Li Fen in using his artefact to attack the spot she described.
Originally he believed that it could greatly waste the limited essence contained within, worsening their situation even further if Li Fen proved to be wrong.
Luckily, in the end, he chose to confide in Li Fen, as a brief thought of not putting much essence into the attack did cross his mind, though he still decided to go through it, using enough essence out of the artefact to kill an average Journey-Man Ranked beast.
One unexpected thing though was that the demon beast in question was far more formidable than he imagined with it taking the full-blown attack of the artefact with only minor injuries.
Instead, the beast seemed to be even further enraged, as the injuries inflicted by the strike only fueled its blood lust.
Hurriedly, Wang Jian released another wave of attack from the artefact, as its reserves plummeted even further launching an attack stronger than the previous one, sending the Snake Demon staggering back from the blow.
This time the Snake Demon didn't get off as lightly, and a large wound decorated its hide, crimson blood dripped steadily from its large body forming a small puddle.
For the Snake Demon though this amount of blood was only a small percentage in comparison to its large size, so it did little to hinder its battle power.
A vicious gleam filled the eyes of the beast as it stared at them predatorily, it long noticed that the threat emanating from the artefact has grown far weaker in comparison to before, and it knew that it was the perfect moment to finish its two opponents off.
Not a single thought of retreat filled the mind of the demon beast, as it knew that would cost it to lose the item within its territory which has allowed it to advance so swiftly.
A normal demon beast may debate internally whether the risk was worth it just to kill a bunch of humans after all magical beasts grew more intelligent as they advanced and the battle right now, to most demon beasts is not worth it, as they would gain nothing from killing a bunch of humans with far weaker cultivation.
Even normal animals in Earth would think about whether it's worth the cost of injury or a threat to their life to take down certain prey, and this was no different from magical beasts.
Yet the Snake Demon wasn't your average magical beast, and it had long decided it would do whatever it took to guard its benefits which were the encounter it had received within its current abode. For this, it was willing to take everything, even its own life!
Wang Jian worriedly said, "Should we escape? I only got one shot left at that beast before the artefact would turn useless."
Li Fen, on the other hand, knew it was not worth going outside now that they had used the majority of the essence contained within the treasure on the Snake Demon before them, as it would likely prove insufficient to now guarding them against the potential threats they would face outside the cave.
Instead, it was better to remain here after they deal with the Snake Demon as the place was long devoid of other beasts, likely a result of the Snake Demon making its territory known. It should keep them safe for a time, long enough for the reinforcements from Yueguang City to make it.
"Just do it, our best is to place everything onto hiding here! We got no other options, if we walk around out there, the pursers after you will have more of a chance to find us! If not them the demon beasts would prove just as dangerous!" Responded Li Fen.
The decision was made in a mere moment, but at the choice which would determine their fate upon setting up within Devil, Fall Valley was a vital one which would determine their fate.
"It look likes the treasures true power should be shown, although it has been heavily drained, the last strike will be the strongest! Let's see if you will remain standing!" Wang Jian said.
After that, the treasure let out a gleaming light as a powerful might descended within, stronger than any attack released from the artefact so far.
The Snake Demon looked on in hopelessness, as it knew that it likely would not be able to survive this final strike.
The beasts original thoughts were that the item should be too drained to let off such a powerful attack but now it knew that it had lost its bet.
A brief thought of regret for not using its natural advantages in the cave to attempt another sneak attack crossed its mind, but knowing it could do little to change its outcome, it roared in frustration at it lunged towards the two humans.
At that time the artefact finally let off its strike splitting the Snake Demons skull open before it continued to disperse through its body, leaving the body of the beast cleaved in two.
Li Fen stared in awe at the power displayed by the artefact, the powerful Snake Demon which would pose a great threat to Master Ranked expert was dealt with just by the use of such treasure! It made her feel amazed at what Refiners can accomplish, even if it is a limited use item, it is still very strong!
Zhang Wei at the moment had to ruin her thoughts as he said, "You think this is good? The top-level Refiners can accomplish far more than this, artefacts of such level are considered low-quality goods in the stronger Kingdoms, although they are very precious and rare here, it is not that good to only be capable having the complete assurance of dealing with Journey Man experts. Although the power it can release can be a danger to Master Ranked experts, that is only if they remain still, the demon beast before you were only so easy to deal with as it underestimated the power of the artefact and was in an enclosed space! Not to mention in the end only your strength is what matters, even the most powerful artefacts created by a refiner are useless in front of true power. And they also require many rare materials and resources which are not available to the average cultivator, there would be few of such noble houses who can afford such an artefact within this Kingdom and that is just one on this level, nevermind the stronger ones."
Li Fen quickly threw away her delusions, in the end, Zhang Wei was right, all that matters is true strength. Additionally, at the moment she was incredibly poor, and could not afford to squander anything on such treasures.
On the other hand, in comparison to Li Fen, Wang Jian was feeling helpless as he held the valuable artefact his Father bestowed upon him within his hands. At the moment it had completely lost its previous lustre and now looked dim in comparison. It was something his father had spent a great deal of effort to obtain and had to call in numerous favours for, but now it had been completely used up leaving Wang Jian feeling as if he had lost his final lifeline.
Before he could barely maintain his calm, as he had the treasure which instilled a sense of security within him, but now his young age and lack of experience were truly revealed. No matter how much faster young children mature in this World in comparison to Earth, he was still a seven-year-old child who had been protected his entire life.
He felt his breath quicken as he began to panic as the situation they were truly in finally seemed to dawn on him, but as his stress began to worsen, he felt a small hand clasp around his own.
"Calm down, we are safe now. The Snake Demon is dead, and we should remain undisturbed for the next few days until your Father arrives with reinforcements from the City, don't let yourself down by falling at the last hurdle. We are now in the easiest part, in just waiting, remember all those back Home waiting for us, we cannot let them down by failing in such a way!" Li Fen said sternly.
In the end, she couldn't hold back upon seeing Wang Jian's fear-stricken face, even though she had a bit of a headstrong personality, she still wasn't completely cold-hearted at the sight of an upset young child. Especially, one who had been treating her nicely, so she had quickly made a move to reassure Wang Jian at the sight of him breaking down.
And it seemingly worked, as Li Fen's word of comfort noticeably motivated Wang Jian as he perked up a little, standing a bit straighter as if he was trying to appear more confident.
"Ah, your right. Mother wouldn't be happy if the son she raised to be strong shown such weakness at this moment!" He said determinedly.
After waiting a few minutes and seeing Wang Jian seemed to fine, she first approached the remains of the Snake Demon curiously, examing the lifeless beast she soon found a glowing object wedged within the flesh of the beast.
Thinking it to be what she thought it was, she dug through the flesh, retrieving a spherical core filled to be brim with essence.
Suddenly, she felt her core pulsate as she held the beast core within her palm, giving her the thought she could devour the object if she desired to.
Nonetheless, despite wanted to see the potential reaction it may cause, she did not choose to do so, as she had taken no part in the slaying of the Snake Demon, and it was thanks to Wang Jian's artefact that the beast was dead.
She had her morals and pride, she would not take something which she did not earn, especially from someone like Wang Jian who did all the work, even if it was from an external object.
She also felt partly in debt, as she knew the expense of the artefact used, so she said, "Hey, Wang Jian, catch."
Wang Jian looked up in response to Li Fens calling out his name and found that she threw something at him, nimbly receiving the item, he found that it was a glowing orb, as a Noble, he instantly recognised the item.
"Ah, you can have this if you want... I am from a noble family." He was about to continue further but Li Fen insisted that she would not take such a gift from him, so he only had to reluctantly accept. After all, it would make a good consolation prize to his Father, as such a core was still valuable to his family, and he could see that Li Fen would not accept it no matter how much he insisted.
From then on the two decided to explore the cave, as they believed that if a beast such as the Snake Demon's residence, there may be valuables located somewhere in the cave, something which they may as well find.
After exploring around the cave for a while, they seemed to found something worth searching into, it was an area which was clearly where the Snake Demon slept. As snakeskin which has been previously shredded was left in that area, indicating that it had been resting here.
The thing of note though was a small pond at the centre of that area, one which glowed a silver hue, indicating it was anything but unusual.