Chapter 119: Mo Lin Who Died Twice in a Row
Although the Buddha Pagoda possessed the ability to borrow souls to search for bodies, its speed was not fast.
Therefore, when Jingyue followed along the Ning River and reached the vicinity of the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce, he happened to witness the moment the Anaconda Demon Mo Lin broke free from the Earth Rank experts of the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce’s western district and leapt into the river.
After chasing the Anaconda Demon, the last remnant of souls left behind by Wuzhen and Jingchen inside the Buddha Pagoda was finally consumed completely.
His own ability was adept at tracking, but not at subduing enemies. Thus, Jingyue had no thought of pursuing the Anaconda Demon into the Ning River. Instead, he bowed toward the Buddha Pagoda:
“Death is not the end, only a transformation of form. May my junior brother swiftly ascend to the Pure Land. Amitabha.”
After saying this, he put away the Buddha Pagoda and went to meet Dong Li and the others.
Although Jingyue had lost track of Mo Lin who had entered the river, based on his deduction, Mo Lin had most likely returned to the place where it had left before.
There was only a small chance that it had left Ningjiang County to begin growing elsewhere.
In Jingyue’s eyes, Mo Lin’s intent was too strong—after entering the river, it had never thought of going ashore. When it finally did come ashore, it directly caused havoc at the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce. Clearly, it had targeted the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce specifically.
Such strong intent meant that once it completed its goal, it would often return to its original place, especially after facing significant danger along the way—for instance, the threat Dong Li and the others had posed to Mo Lin.
This was an instinct to seek safety, a pattern of thought that even Demonic Beasts could not escape—familiarity always represented a degree of safety.
Thus, after losing Mo Lin, Jingyue was not in a hurry.
He had even thought of summoning souls within the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce.
After all, since Mo Lin had wreaked havoc there, it must have committed plenty of killings within.
If he merely stood inside the Chamber of Commerce, countless souls slain by Mo Lin would emerge, giving him a chance to track Mo Lin again.
Unfortunately, seeing the furious appearance of Dong Li and the others, the Chamber’s vigilance would undoubtedly be at its peak.
If he was caught summoning souls there, Dong Li and the rest would surely strike at him in anger.
Thus, Jingyue abandoned that idea.
Instead, after he took the initiative to greet Dong Li and accepted the first “bounty order” from him, he returned to Wuzhen’s Child-Giving Temple and began searching in the vicinity for traces of Mo Lin.
Yet, to his surprise, even after a full month, he had not seen any sign of Mo Lin.
This caused Jingyue to doubt his confident judgment:
“Could it be that I was wrong?”
“Was this Anaconda Demon truly so daring, that after wreaking havoc in the Chamber of Commerce, it would still venture into some unknown place?”
“Or perhaps… this mountain range was not its safest place at all? Maybe it had another place in mind?”
This made Jingyue troubled, even somewhat regretful.
Had he known this earlier, he might as well have risked summoning souls in the Chamber of Commerce behind Dong Li’s back.
But just when Jingyue’s doubt deepened and he was about to leave this place, he suddenly discovered a figure.
It was a black-scaled giant anaconda, coiled up within the forest and resting.
For once, even the usually calm and expressionless Jingyue could not hide his delight:
“What a stroke of fortune! I searched high and low in vain, only to find it here without effort. To think I would encounter the Anaconda Demon again at such a time!”
At once, Jingyue resolved to strike against Mo Lin and avenge his junior brother Jingchen.
However, unlike his junior brother, though he was of the upper Earth Rank, he was not skilled in martial techniques. All his ability lay in the soul—Soul Arts.
Soul summoning, soul guiding—these were his fortes.
The White Horse Temple had entrusted him with investigating the cause of Jingchen’s untimely death not only because he happened to be in Yongzhou, but also because his spells were most suitable for finding culprits.
Now that he had found the murderer of his junior brother, Jingyue had no intention of launching a sneak attack.
After all, to Earth Rank Demonic Beasts, resting did not mean they had abandoned their vigilance. If he struck recklessly at the Anaconda Demon, with his skills, he might not succeed.
Instead, he would employ a safer, more concealed method to make this Anaconda Demon pay.
The monks of the White Horse Temple were not to be trifled with.
“Om mani padme hum…”
Jingyue formed hand seals and chanted in Sanskrit.
In the next moment, Jingyue’s soul actually separated from his body!
After his soul form emerged, he glanced at the slumbering Anaconda Demon Mo Lin and let out a silent chuckle.
With a thought, Jingyue’s soul burrowed straight into Mo Lin’s body.
Meanwhile, Mo Lin, still sleeping deeply, remained utterly unaware of the change!!!
……
Great Qian Dynasty, Yongzhou region. Many mountains, and within them, snakes.
“Hiss—hiss—”
A little Grass Snake slithered out from the forest.
“Sigh, I’m so hungry…”
Mo Lin—at this moment merely this little Grass Snake—had already gone hungry for several days. It now urgently needed food.
Just then, it spotted a Field Mouse.
Mo Lin pressed its body tightly against the ground, moving downwind toward the Field Mouse.
“Chirp—chirp—chirp!”
The moment Mo Lin leapt from the grass to strike, the Field Mouse seemed to have sensed its presence ahead of time and darted away.
Mo Lin could only fall back to the ground, watching helplessly as the Field Mouse fled into the distance.
“Another failed hunt… If only I had that ability, I surely wouldn’t fail.”
Mo Lin sighed, then suddenly paused:
“Wait—what ability was I talking about?”
“Why do I feel as if I’ve forgotten something very important?”
Mo Lin thought for a long time but could not recall what it had forgotten. Helpless, it shook its head:
“Forget it. After all, I’m only a little Grass Snake. There’s nothing important worth remembering. Compared to that, I should hurry and find new prey.”
“So hungry…”
“Hiss—hiss—”
Just then, a chilling sound came from behind Mo Lin, making its scales bristle.
Mo Lin turned around in fright, only to see a snake more than twice its length, with a body much sturdier than its own, glaring at it coldly.
Its scales were black, with yellow diagonal patterns, and the black markings on its head happened to form the character “王” (“King”).
“The King Rat Snake!”
Mo Lin panicked. It had run into the so-called King of a Hundred Snakes, the King Rat Snake!
The King Rat Snake was not gentle or timid. When encountering another snake trespassing on its territory, it would mercilessly drive it away.
“Hiss!”
As expected, upon seeing Mo Lin, the King Rat Snake decisively launched an attack.
Mo Lin was only a small Grass Snake. How could it possibly contend with the powerful King Rat Snake?
In just a few moves, Mo Lin was firmly entangled. In the end, it was strangled to death by the King of a Hundred Snakes…
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
Mo Lin, whose body spanned hundreds of meters, suddenly awoke from its sleep, trembling in lingering fear:
“Scared me to death… So it was just a nightmare. How could I possibly die at the hands of a King Rat Snake? After all, I had killed a King Rat Snake back then. I clearly possess that ability…”
Mo Lin frowned:
“What ability do I have again?”
Shaking its massive anaconda head, several meters wide, Mo Lin muttered:
“Forget it, I won’t think about it anymore. I’ll just go back to sleep. Hopefully, I won’t have another nightmare this time.”
With that, Mo Lin adjusted its position and drifted back into a comfortable sleep.
At that moment of slumber, a King Rat Snake only two meters long appeared out of nowhere, slithering silently within a hundred meters of Mo Lin’s enormous body. It flicked its tongue lightly:
“Anaconda Demon, sleep, sleep… Amitabha…”