The First Immortal of Destiny-Chapter 487: Disaster of the Soaring Serpent (Part 1)_1

Shen Mo’s Escape Skill was already remarkable. Moreover, with the support of [Control Wind] and [Cloud Transformation], two great Skills, his escape speed was no less than that of a Spirit Sea Realm peak cultivator! Even without the aid of the Teleportation Array, he could still travel non-stop from Dingbo City to the Riverside Sect in just three days and nights.

However, Red Flame Country, which had been relatively peaceful during the Heavenly Demon invasion, had now become perilous and unpredictable. Between high mountains, vast rivers, and lakes, many new unknown regions had appeared where even his sense could not penetrate. He could subtly perceive imminent dangers lurking within these areas, invoking a fear that sent shivers down his spine. Upon getting closer, his [Danger Perception] Destiny would also alert him, relaying premonitions of danger to his mind. He could handle most dangers, but some, like the Heaven Patrolling Boat House and the Four-eyed Giant, could prove fatal with the slightest carelessness. To avoid unexpected trouble, Shen Mo had to steer clear of these places.

Along the way, he also encountered several creatures he had never seen before. Some were humanoid species but had significant differences in their facial features and limbs. For example, some had three eyes, others possessed four arms, some soared through the sky with feathered wings on their backs, and others moved by hopping on a single leg. There were also non-humanoid monsters, seemingly cobbled together from flowers, birds, fish, insects, and rare exotic beasts. Some were even non-corporeal, luminous entities resembling octopuses or jellyfish, communicating through flickering points of light. All sorts of strange and bizarre forms could be seen. Most of them appeared near these unknown regions, perhaps having emerged from within.

It was as if, after the Zone Barrier dissipated, the Red Flame Zone had become a giant sieve, allowing all sorts of creatures, clearly from the Outer Zone, to descend upon this land. Of course, Shen Mo currently did not know that this situation was not due to the dissipation of the Zone Barrier. Rather, it was the consequence of the leaves representing this world falling from the Universe Tree and intertwining with countless decaying leaves. The failure of Sound Transmission Talismans and Teleportation Arrays was also partly due to this.

Although he couldn’t grasp the full picture, it didn’t hinder Shen Mo from exploring the changing situation and reacting in ways that suited his interests and intentions. Whenever he encountered a type of Outer Zone creature, he would use "Insight into All Beings" to probe their background. The vast majority were Class II creatures; he hadn’t even encountered a single Class I creature, let alone ordinary mortals! As for Class III and higher creatures, they existed, but like the high-class cultivators in the Red Flame Zone, their numbers were not proportionally large.

Occasionally, there were beings that even "Insight into All Beings" could not scrutinize. Either their auras were terrifyingly formidable, their Cultivation Realms surpassing this Destiny’s detection range, or, like the Suspended Fairy Mountain and the Heaven Patrolling Boat House, they were not living beings but Evil Spirits. Shen Mo wanted to provoke neither type. The former could crush him with a mere flick of a finger; the latter were so bizarre and unpredictable that an encounter could mean death without even knowing how it happened.

Previously, with Shen Mo’s current skills and strength, while he might not have been able to act completely unhindered in the Red Flame Country, he could guarantee his own safety in most situations. But now, with so many taboo existences appearing in the Red Flame Country, he had to travel with extreme caution. Thus, a journey that should have taken only three days and nights ended up taking him over ten days of detours and cautious progress before he finally reached the borders of Qing State.

Shortly after Shen Mo passed Sishui City and entered Qing State from the direction of You State and Yu State, the scene that unfolded before him left him profoundly shaken, unable to recover his composure for a long time.

An immense Serpent Dragon lay coiled among the towering peaks of the Linjiang Mountain Range. It had no feet beneath its belly but possessed a pair of wings on its back. Both its head and body were strikingly similar to a True Dragon, differing only in minor details. At this moment, the Serpent Dragon’s eyes were closed, as if it had fallen into a deep slumber, its snores echoing through the mountains like claps of heavenly thunder.

The Riverside Sect’s mountain gate, situated outside the mountain range, along with Jiyun Town at the foot of the mountain, had vanished without a trace. The scene that had appeared in their original place was not unfamiliar to Shen Mo: it was the mountains and rivers of a corner in southwestern Qing State, dotted with several mortal towns and numerous mortal villages!

Further away, beyond the range of Shen Mo’s sense, he suppressed the shock in his heart, summoned several Demon Soul Generals, imprinted them with the Soul Splitting Rune, and dispatched them. Soon, through the feedback from the Demon Soul Generals, he ascertained the situation in Qing State. Except for the Linjiang Mountain Range and the southwestern corner, most of Qing State’s territory—including its rock and soil, mountains and rivers, cities and villages, and the hundreds of millions of creatures within them—seemed as if it had been erased from this world by some Great Divine Power. The vanished areas were now filled by other geographical features!

This...

Such a terrifying and absurd truth was laid bare before his eyes, yet Shen Mo still found it impossible to believe. He might not care about the life and death of other mortals and cultivators in Qing State. But the Riverside Sect held his closest relatives and dear friends. Now that they, along with more than half of Qing State, had disappeared, their fates unknown, how could he not be deeply affected!

Lingyin, Senior Sister Chen, Uncle Chen... Shen Mo’s eyes were somewhat vacant as he muttered to himself.

However, he quickly suppressed the immense emotional turmoil that threatened to shatter his Path Heart. He then used "Insight into All Beings" to try and probe the origins of the Serpent Dragon coiled in the Linjiang Mountain Range. This colossal creature had appeared out of nowhere; it didn’t take much thought to realize that the disappearance of more than half of Qing State was inextricably linked to it.

However, this Special Destiny, like previous attempts, failed to work its wonders.

[You attempted to spy on the information and weaknesses of the Outer Zone race, Soaring Serpent. Your Destiny’s quality is insufficient. Failure!]

Previously, when Shen Mo had tried to probe the Four-eyed Giant’s information, the panel had given a similar notification. If this Destiny was used on inanimate objects, phenomena, or other such Evil Spirits, there would be no feedback at all.

Soaring Serpent... Shen Mo murmured, then glanced at his Destiny Points, which had accumulated to 453 during this time. Upgrading its quality from Purple to Orange required one hundred Destiny Points per attempt, and he currently had enough for four tries! With the drastic changes in the world, wondrous creatures were appearing with increasing frequency. Upgrading "Insight into All Beings" sooner rather than later would be beneficial, especially now that he wanted to learn more about this Soaring Serpent.

Immediately, with a thought, he invested 100 Destiny Points into upgrading this Destiny.

[You consumed Destiny Points in an attempt to advance the Destiny "Insight into All Beings". Failure.]

[You consumed... Failure.]

There were no lucky breaks; all four attempts ended in failure.

Shen Mo wasn’t overly discouraged by this. After all, Destiny advancement was extremely difficult. Only by continuing to accumulate Destiny Points and making repeated attempts could he hope to succeed.

But with the failure to upgrade "Insight into All Beings", Shen Mo was momentarily unsure of what to do next.