"Uh?"
As his vision gradually adjusts to the environment that he is thrown into, Long Hua finds himself on an island.
The size of this island is similar to the treasure room that they were just in, being enough to hold an entire estate with plenty of room to spare for a large backyard garden.
Surrounding this island are the raging seas, while the skies are—
"…!"
Coiling about inside the dark clouds is a serpentine body of white scales.
Just one of these scales alone is already the size of an entire city, making it difficult for the mind to understand the sheer size of the creature that these scales belong to.
"Th-This is…"
Other than Tian Cheng, who is behind him, Long Hua also sees a black-haired old man dressed in a grey set of robes. The hair and long beard of this man can only be described as unkempt.
"…?"
Looking down at his storage pouch that is shaking, Long Hua takes it out of his pocket, and as soon as he opens it, two objects emerge.
In actuality, the two objects were originally one, but after being cut by his sword Qi, they were divided.
"Huang Wu's corpse?"
Due to the events of New Moon Village, Long Hua never got a chance to get rid of this corpse by selling it to Nian Yao Yao, as for why it suddenly decided to come out of his storage pouch—
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue, tendrils of mercurous liquid emerge from Long Hua's right sleeve, and wrap themselves around the corpse.
"…"
With a solemn expression on his face, Long Hua watches the two halves of the corpse come together under the mercurous liquid.
Rather quickly, the corpse seems to melt, and similarly to clay, the bundle of mercurous liquid is molded into the shape of a humanoid.
*Boom!!!* as the excess portions are cast away, the figure of an individual, who is dressed in a set of white robes with scale patterns—appears, and stands in the air surrounded by numerous droplets of silver liquid.
The face of this individual is the same as Long Hua's own, but the stiff expression they possessed—serves to immediately make them appear less human and more otherworldly.
In addition to them possessing long white hair, the thought of them being a true Immortal couldn't be more evident.
"What kind of situation is this?"
Despite having been freed from his casket with an intact body, Wang Bei Mu can't help but feel like he would have rather stayed inside of it under these circumstances.
Even if his cultivation base had been reduced to the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, Wang Bei Mu could still tell that there was something extremely eerie about this world that they had been transported to.
*Guuuuu!!!* as the serpentine body inside of the clouds makes an abrupt movement, portions of the clouds are forcefully thinned, allowing two orbs of azure-colored light to be seen.
It doesn't take any effort to figure out that these two orbs can only be the eyes of the colossal white serpent.
"…"
With his complexion as pale as it can be, Wang Bei Mu takes five steps back.
...…
Inside of the dreamscape—
"What kind of situation is this?! Where is the promised fated opportunity that a Chosen Child of the Heaven is supposed to receive by now?! Why are we suddenly in a "defeat the final boss" like scenario?!"
Completely lost due to the development of this situation, the Tai Xuan Emperor pulls at her own hair with the urge to scream.
...…
"…"
Glaring between the figure with the same face as himself and the colossal white serpent, Long Hua draws in a deep breath of air, and asks—
"Who are you?"
[You already know my name.]
Simultaneously, the white-robed figure and the colossal white serpent speaks.
With how massive the white serpent is, each time it moves its blood-colored maw, the clouds would part to reveal a row of fangs.
Two of the lower jaw fangs in particular rivals the size of cloud-piercing mountains, while two of its upper jaw fangs can seemingly puncture through an entire planet with ease.
[Why don't you attempt to call me by that name to confirm it?]
"Piss off."
Towards Long Hua's attitude, the Tai Xuan Emperor says—
(*-laoban, learn to act more humble! This person can easily kill you many times over!)
Laughter emanates from the white-robed figure and the white serpent in response to Long Hua's words.
"…Uh s-senior, may I ask—why was I brought here as well?"
Mustering up all his courage, Wang Bei Mu manages to voice this question. As far as he can tell, he shouldn't have anything to do with the core members of this situation.
Turning their azure-colored eyes towards Wang Bei Mu at the same time, the white-robed figure, and the white serpent answers—
[You are a sacrificial nourishment to my masterpiece. All living things must feed after all. However, due to the laws of survival, some things can only serve as prey, mere fodder for the predators that stand higher up on the food chain.]
With a cold tone of great disinterest, the voice answers as such—almost as if they were reading off a script.
"…"
Immediately, Wang Bei Mu's face twitches in response.
(My god, so this person is actually your third cheat, *-laoban?)
"Qie, shut your trap."
(…I'm only trying to lighten the mood a bit.)
Ignoring the Tai Xuan Emperor, Long Hua asks—
"…You said, this is supposed to be a testing ground?"
Even if his cultivation base isn't comparable to the peak period of his previous life, Long Hua could still tell that there are a few places in this world that are lacking when compared to the genuine article. However—
("I've finished creating…" Is what he said, that means he only just finished creating this world a few moments ago. Effortlessly creating a world like this, even if there are a few places that are lacking, this is still a proper world with a proper set of laws in it… Tch, just how strong is this person? This level of power… It probably surpasses the strength wielded by the Zang Luo Realm's Void Shattering realm practitioners.)
Towards Long Hua's question, the voice answers—
[Indeed, you must have noticed that the White Serpent King is rather defiant towards you. It is only proper that you demonstrate your abilities to stand above it.]
Guessing the White Serpent King to be the entity formed of the mercurous liquid, Long Hua frowns, and asks—
"Who the hell asked for this in the first place?"
[Was it not your wish to evolve, my masterpiece? As an incentive, I'd be more than happy to answer a few questions that you may have—should you manage to tame the White Serpent King.]