Song of Adolescence

Chapter 260 Iron Crystal

They have caught the golden line snakes in sufficient numbers, they have also obtained the silver banded snake and now, all they were missing from Mu Chunfeng’s three flavours of snake galls was the last one. But, this iron crystal…

"Next, we should head directly for Crystal Island. But, to be honest." Tang Lian glanced at the two snake chiefs. "Is there really such a snake as the iron crystal in the world? If it does exist, why do people only know of the golden line and silver banded, but not the iron crystal?"

"Tang-xiong asked a good question, so let me ask Tang-xiong a question too," Mu Chunfeng said. "Since people only know of the gold line and silver banded, why is this place called Three Snake Islands?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment. That’s right, if there were no snakes on Crystal Island, then why was it called Three Snake Islands?

"In the previous dynasty, the Commander-in-chief of the Eastern Sea District once wrote in the 《Eastern Sea Treatise》 that someone once sailed past the Silver Snake Island and landed on Crystal Island. In the end, only one person returned. That person said that there was a giant snake on Crystal Island with eyes as large as a lantern but it couldn’t see anything. However, its sense of smell and hearing were extremely sensitive and it could open its mouth and swallow a grown man whole. Also, its body was like iron, impervious to blades and spears. But the man was already crazy at the time, and later he said that it wasn’t a snake but a dragon. In any case, it was a monster that lived far away on Three Snake Islands so whether it actually existed, at the very least it would be difficult to deal with. So, nobody bothered to investigate further. We’re the first to try," Mu Chunfeng said with self-satisfaction.

"Nobody has tried to go there before?" Lei Wujie asked.

"There are, but Crystal Island is very difficult to enter. Because there is a poisonous miasma, ordinary people will lose consciousness and die within ten steps into the island." Mu Chunfeng took out a medicine bottle and handed it to everyone. "So we’ll need this."

Tang Lian took a look. "Insect repellent pill?"

"I came here thoroughly prepared. I must bring back with me the three flavours of snake galls," Mu Chunfeng declared proudly.

Everyone took the insect repellent pill and continued to move forward. Crystal Island was actually very close to Silver Snake Island and you could reach the opposite shore just by crossing over a few reefs. But Crystal Island seemed to be enveloped in a thin layer of haze. Sometimes, a bird would fly across the sky but once it neared Crystal Island, it would suddenly fall straight down.

"There really is a poisonous miasma." Lei Wujie frowned.

Everyone held their breaths and walked forward cautiously. They had taken the insect repellent pills, so they could temporarily resist the poisonous miasma, but they were still feeling a little dizzy.

"This island really stinks too much." Sikong Qianluo frowned.

Indeed, there was a strong and sickening stench in the air.

"How do we find that large snake?" Lei Wujie asked. "If we wait any longer, I\'m afraid even after finishing that whole bottle, I’ll still die from the stench."

Mu Chunfeng said solemnly, "Perhaps it has already found us."

Suddenly, the group felt a dark shadow pass over their heads. They raised their heads up hurriedly but there was nothing.

"Ah!" A scream sounded, and everyone whirled around. One of the snake chiefs was instantly swept away by the tail of a giant snake. The snake\'s tail was several zhang long, almost the size of an adult giant python. It only appeared for an instant, but also disappeared in an instant.

"Gege!" The remaining snake chief exclaimed, and that was when everyone else realised that the two were actually brothers.

After a while, a black shadow crashed down. Everyone dodged the impact before they turned around to look and realised it was the body of the black-robed snake chief. But his entire body was limp and heaped into a pile, as if all the bones in his body had been pulverised.

The surviving snake chief wanted to go to him, but was pulled back by Tang Lian. "Qianluo, you protect Xiao Se. Everyone, be careful, don\'t fall behind."

Lei Wujie’s heart moved with a thought and his Heart sword unsheathed itself. He swung the sword abruptly and blocked that giant snake tail which lunged at them all of a sudden.

There was a loud "clang", as if the Heart sword struck a bell made of iron that was as sharp as itself. However, it didn’t even leave a mark on that body.

"Your skill at listening to the wind to perceive position has improved again." Tang Lian smiled.

Lei Wujie, however, did not feel the slightest sense of pride. He just nodded slightly and spoke in a rare serious manner, "The ancient books were right. This snake’s body is like iron, impenetrable by blades and spears."

"The key point is how it hides such a large body." Tang Lian frowned slightly, and the giant snake tail appeared again, and suddenly disappeared right after.

Xiao Se crouched down a little and put a hand on the ground.

"What is it?" Sikong Qianluo asked.

"Under the ground. Seems like something’s moving about." Xiao Se rushed to his feet and yelled at everyone, "Be careful! It\'s underground!"

As soon as he said it, the entire ground lifted up and everyone leapt off. The remaining snake chief wasn’t as skilled in his martial arts and he wasn’t fast enough. He was crushed immediately by that rising snake body and died instantly. The rest hurriedly tipped their toes and flashed to a distance. Then, they finally looked up and saw the true body of the iron crystal snake.

Its body was completely covered with a bronze-coloured scale armor, gleaming with a cold light. There were two large lumps at the top of its head which glowed with a reddish hue like lanterns. Those were its eyes as recorded in the ancient books. Although they were very large, they could not see anything. The entire snake was nearly ten zhang long and when it opened its huge mouth, it revealed a mouthful of fangs. At the same time, a foul gust of wind erupted, similar to the stench on the island except much more intense.

"So, the poisonous miasma on the island is produced by this snake. Just imagine how poisonous its own body is." Mu Chunfeng gasped a cold breath.

"It\'s just a snake, but it thinks it’s a dragon? Although I don\'t know what a dragon looks like, it can’t be as ugly as this guy." Lei Wujie jumped and slashed at the giant snake. His sword slashed at the giant snake’s back and he drew it all the way down its back.

They all heard a sharp sound as if the sword had scratched on a piece of iron.

The giant snake\'s body danced wildly, and threw Lei Wujie off violently. Lei Wujie landed on the ground and slid back over ten steps before coming to a stop. He wiped his sweat and sighed. "This time, none of our tricks are going to work."

As soon as he spoke, the giant snake smashed its body at them again.

Everyone leaped back again, and Tang Lian frowned. "We can’t continue like this. Even the Heart sword can’t penetrate its scales, then all our other weapons won’t have much effect either."

"Can we use poison?" Sikong Qianluo asked.

Tang Lian still shook his head. "Unless we can inject the poison directly into the snake\'s blood, otherwise with its own toxicity, ordinary poisons won’t have any effect on it."

Mu Chunfeng looked at the two red eyeballs of the snake. "Perhaps those eyes are its weakness. We have to find a way to strike there."

Tang Lian shook his head. "That’s way too close to the snake’s head. It’s too dangerous. If we’re not fast enough, we’ll be swallowed in one bite."

"Then, we just have to be fast enough." Xiao Se suddenly stepped forward and reached a hand for Lei Wujie. "Give me your sword."