Lei Que was poisoned by the snake venom, collapsed onto the muddy ground, and found himself in a very sorry state. Trying to stand up again, his legs wouldn't cooperate, so he quickly took out a small gourd from his bosom, poured out two elixirs, swallowed them, and then made an effort to sit cross-legged and concentrate his energy to expel the poison.
The Red Snake swiftly slithered over, ready to swallow Lei Que whole.
At that moment, a straight jet of black air shot out from the woods, and he heard a very familiar shout, "You can't kill him!"
The Red Snake was all too familiar with this black air; it was Xuan Turtle's.
Although disgruntled, the snake stopped its action, raised its head, and looked toward the woods.
A black turtle with a shiny shell quickly crawled out of the forest, flailing its four large claws in haste to come over, "You can't kill him!" It brought its massive head close to Lei Que for a closer look and then said to the Red Snake, "Quickly suck out your venom!"
The Red Snake was unhappy, "Why can't I kill him? I want to kill him!"
Xuan Turtle snapped angrily, "Are your old habits flaring up again? Be careful, or I'll tell the King!"
"The King only told me not to kill indiscriminately. Just now, this man released his Flying Sword to kill me, so naturally, I can counterattack!" the Red Snake said coldly. "The King is a dragon! He is not human! He would never allow us to be attacked and killed without fighting back."
Xuan Turtle was at a loss for words, but then said, "You still can't kill him, this child saved me..."
The Red Snake snorted coldly, "To save a human, you're actually making up such a shoddy excuse!"
"I'm not making it up; it's true."
"True? That's laughable! How old is he? You've been this large for twenty years—are you saying he saved you while he was still in his mother's womb?"
"It was five hundred years ago." Xuan Turtle sighed. "Back then, I was only the size of a palm, caught by a fisherman. It was he who bought me from the fisherman's hands and released me back into the river."
The Red Snake obviously didn't believe her, "Keep making up stories. I'm listening, though it's not at all pleasant."
Xuan Turtle shook its shell and lifted one of its front claws to point backward, "My turtle shell naturally forms the shape of the Eight Diagrams with the patterns of the Luo Book, as you know. I've been contemplating it for many years, and though I've yet to fathom its secrets, I've gained some insights. At least I've deduced that the Black Dragon King will achieve extraordinary accomplishments, and because you went to assist him in his duel with a human, we formed this bond of good karma, leading to today..."
"Enough! Shut your mouth!" Red Snake scoffed. "On that day when the King was dueling with that Taoist in the forest, anyone with eyes could see the King's divine skills were vast and his mana was limitless. Even without what you've said, I would have sworn allegiance to him."
"Even if that's the case, I have since received guidance from the King, and have learned some mysteries of the arts. I've calculated that this child is the person who saved my life in the past."
"Even if he is your life-saving benefactor, I will kill him!" Red Snake, paying no heed, opened his mouth wide, ready to swallow again.
Xuan Turtle hastily intervened once more, "I've also calculated that he will save our lives again in the future!"
Red Snake paused, his cold serpentine eyes staring at Xuan Turtle, then suddenly burst out laughing coldly again.
"Don't you believe it? The results of my calculations are truly so. Otherwise, why would I insist on saving him if we have no relation?"
"You've always been this soft-hearted," the Red Snake said as it withdrew its body from the attack position and turned to swim toward the shore.
Seeing this, Xuan Turtle became cheerful, "So you finally believe what I said?"
"I don't believe it," Red Snake's answer was very straightforward.
"Then you're planning to let him go?"
"Not necessarily." Red Snake sucked in forcefully toward the shore, retracting the Array she had previously laid out and inhaling all the red mist into her belly, then continued to swim forward.
Yao Suxiu was still inside the yellow light circle when the red mist suddenly disappeared. He thought Lei Que had come back to save him but was shocked to see a huge snake rapidly swimming towards him.
He figured that Lei Que was unreliable—if he couldn't defeat Red Snake on his own, what good would the Magical Treasure he left behind do? He didn't dare stay inside any longer. He took off running, leaving the protective range of the light circle and headed upstream.
If he had stayed inside, Red Snake wouldn't have been able to do anything about him for the time being. That was why she retracted the Array to scare him out, and sure enough, he couldn't withstand the scare and left the light circle. Red Snake opened her mouth to inhale and sucked him through the air to her front.
Facing the enormous snakehead, filled with curved, sharp, fine teeth, Yao Suxiu was so frightened he nearly wet himself. He collapsed to the ground, continuously kowtowing and begging, "General Red Snake, spare my life! General Red Snake, spare my life!"
Red Snake awkwardly communicated with him in human language, "Only one of you can live between you and that Taoist. You go kill him, and I'll let you go. Otherwise, I'll let him go and eat you."
Seeing there was still a chance to live, Yao Suxiu didn't hesitate and immediately got up from the ground, "I'll go kill him!"
The snake and the man returned to the original spot, where the Xuan Turtle had already placed Lei Que on its back and was carrying him towards the woods.
"Stop!" Red Snake hissed loudly, "I haven't agreed. Do you think you can just leave?"
The Xuan Turtle stopped helplessly, "What do you want?"
Red Snake opened her mouth wide and sucked Lei Que down from the turtle's back, throwing him onto the ground, "I spared his life for your sake, but that doesn't mean I won't let someone else kill him. Today, only one of them will survive!"
"How can you do this!" Xuan Turtle was dissatisfied.
"Why can't I do this?"
"You want them to kill each other!"
"That's exactly what I want—to see them kill each other. I really enjoy watching humans slaughter each other!" Red Snake swung her head proudly, "Humans claim to be the wisest of all creatures, possessing great Wisdom, but from what I've seen, they're no different from other beasts. They'll fight over a bite to eat or a mate, and kill each other. Go on, kill him, and I'll spare your life."
Her last sentence was directed at Yao Suxiu, who summoned the courage to walk towards Lei Que.
Lei Que was not unconscious; he had taken an Emei Sect Detoxification Elixir, clearing his lungs and intestines from poison. Now his Dantian was twisting with pain, his belly gurgling violently, and he was unable to control his bowels and bladder, which were involuntarily leaking, leaving his pants soiled. However, he felt much better mentally, though his left side was unresponsive, while his right hand and foot could still move but were hardly agile. Lying on the grass, he watched Yao Suxiu, with a fierce expression, approaching closer and said in immense grief and indignation, "I just saved you! If it weren't for me, that Demon Snake would have eaten you by now, and yet you're trying to kill me?"
Yao Suxiu clenched his teeth and said fiercely, "If I don't kill you, I won't survive! Taoist, it's not my choice; don't blame me. If you want to blame anyone, blame your low Dao Level and inadequate Mana, for being unable to defeat them. If you could have killed them with a single move, none of this would have happened!" He picked up a stone the size of a bowl and viciously smashed it onto Lei Que's head.
With a "crack," Lei Que was struck backward and fell into the mud, his head bleeding profusely as fresh blood covered half of his face and the damp ground beneath.
Xuan Turtle angrily exclaimed, "You repay kindness with enmity; you won't die a good death!" As she spoke, she was about to smash Yao Suxiu with a claw.
But Red Snake stopped her, "If you interfere again, don't blame me for turning against you! I've already spared him according to your wish. Now it's humans' own internal conflict; you have no say, nor do I. Let's see who kills whom."
Xuan Turtle glared at her resentfully, "You're too despicable!"
Red Snake got angry as well, "I'm despicable? I'm despicable? I think you're the despicable one!" She lunged forward, wrapping her long body around Xuan Turtle, and then said to Yao Suxiu, "Hurry up and kill him! Once you're done, I'll let you go!"