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Just thinking about the time after he'd devoured Qing Lan, he felt a surging tide of regret.

Looking back, Qing Lan's expression had been so relaxed precisely because he was just one of many wisps of soul.

Qing Lan now looked relaxed, but also a bit apologetic. However, to the Thousand-Faced Monarch, it just looked like mockery.

It was as if he were seeing…

Don't overthink things. Something shackled my cultivation is all, so I split into thousands of soul remnants to gain enlightenment through experiencing life. You were just one of the many toys I used to that end.

I hadn't expected my "death" to trouble you for so long. I'm actually a bit embarrassed!

How truly ridiculous!

Here he was, a glorious yao monarch, yet he'd tormented himself over this for over ten thousand years. Qing Lan's existence became like a taboo, something he viciously buried in the very depths of his subconsciousness, a sore spot he dared not touch.

It really hadn't been worth it!

The Thousand-faced Yao Monarch stared intently at Qing Lan, as if staring could vent his rage.

His gaze was resentful as could be as he looked into Qing Lan's eyes. They were utterly calm, without the slightest ripple of emotion, but the calmer he was, the less able the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch was to vent his fury.

What had he agonized over?

What had he blamed himself over?

What had he regretted?

Nothing but a single wisp of soul! How could that possible be worth his ten thousand years of inner turmoil?

But although he didn't know it, Qing Lan's outer calm didn't mean he was emotionless on the inside.

As they stared each other down, Qing Lan couldn't help but think back to their first meeting, ten thousand years ago. He'd only just saved the snake that became the yao monarch. Even before taking on human form, the little snake loved looking him in the eye.

At the time, the snake's gaze was crystal clear.

The snake's eyes shone with gratitude; then, at least, the snake understood that concept. Although he was just a snake, there was no sign of a snake's nature… at least, he wasn't so cold-hearted then.

And the little snake loved nothing more than following Qing Lan around. It didn't matter where Qing Lan went; the snake was sure to follow, cautiously slinking through the grass. When the snake truly couldn't keep up, it would obediently return to their wooden hut, climb onto the stone in front of the door, and wait bitterly.

When the snake saw Qing Lan return, its eyes lit up with delight, and its soft tongue would lick Qing Lan's hand.

This was why Qing Lan found himself growing increasingly fond of the snake he'd saved by sheer coincidence. He'd never married or had children, but despite having no experience with such things, he took on a fatherly role and treated the snake like his son.

He particularly loved the snake's clear gaze, and the snake loved looking into his eyes too to express its gratitude.

Now, their eyes met once more….

But the feeling was not the same as it had been back then. The current yao monarch's eyes were utterly vicious, and they brimmed with the innate cold-bloodedness of snake kind.

He really had changed!

Or rather, Qing Lan was well aware that from the moment the snake pounced on him and devoured him while he was injured, he ceased to be his former self!

He was a king among snakes, a profound serpent, a creature that trampled the corpses of others to achieve its despotic ends.

"Little…." Qing Lan instinctively started to call out the yao monarch's childhood nickname, from back when he was still a little green snake, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he forced the words back down.

This wasn't the Little Green he remembered; this was the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch of the yao race.

Qing Lan couldn't call him "monarch" either, though. Finally, he glanced calmly at the yao monarch's familiar face. "You should leave."

"What? Are you letting me go?" the Thousand-faced Yao Monarch froze, then laughed. "Didn't you come to take my life? Don't tell me you realized your mistake and want to make it up to me? Let me tell you….I don't need that."

"Pipsqueak, what nonsense are you talking now?" Even with Qing Lan there to keep him in check, Cang Xiong couldn't help but lose his temper. "What does Boss Qing Lan owe you? He saved your little life, he treated you like family, he taught you martial arts and the dao, and he helped increase your cultivation. Yet, while he was out hunting for medicine to make you medicine and had a bit of an accident, you devoured him, right down to his spiritual essence?"

"You're unrepentant. That's one thing, but now you think Boss Qing Lan somehow wronged you? Well, he was wrong, wasn't he? He was wrong to save an ungrateful little wretch like you. It's true; snakes are no good!"

"Say what you want," said the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch without so much as looking at Cang Xiong. His gaze was instead fixed on Qing Lan. "There's no way I can leave; after all the work it took to get here, there's no way I'll give up just like that. Who do you think you are? Who are you to lecture me?"

"Ha…." Qing Lan sighed, and when Cang Xiong heard it, his heart shook.

He'd known Qing Lan for ten thousand years, and Qing Lan had always been his good-tempered boss. He was friendly to Cang Xiong, despite his temper, and to the troublesome, prickly firebird. Qing Lan had always been patient and accepting.

But when Qing Lan sighed, Cang Xiong could tell that he was truly in pain!

"Boss, let me slaughter this filthy beast for you!" Cang Xiong took a sudden step forward. He wasn't sure if he were imagining it or not, but the ground seemed to shake beneath his foot.

"You really won't leave?" Qing Lan asked once more.

"Is that a threat?" The Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch's eyes flashed with disdain. "I'm no longer the little green snake you once played with like a toy. Do you think you can scare me? With just that brainless meathead of yours? Do you think he can do anything to me?"

"You little…" Cang Xiong forced himself not to lash out. It was up to Qing Lan whether he attacked or not.

"You want the treasures contained here, but you aren't fated for them. The moment you entered this place, you ought to have understood. The density of the five elemental essences in the air should have made it clear that you cannot lay your hands upon this place's good fortune," said Qing Lan.

"I understand." The Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch laughed in understanding, but of course, Qing Lan's words hadn't really enlightened him. "I was wondering how and why you were here, but between your words and the treasure in that Ye Zichen's hands… it seems you're one of the Yao-Sealing Pagoda's yao servants? You're quite pitiful, it seems. You spent all that time trying to break through your shackles, only to become someone's caged little pet. Haha, it seems you're far more pitiful than me! A mere pet of the Yao-Sealing Pagoda! But then, a pet like you is sure to go all out to protect his master!"

When Qing Lan heard that, he gently shook his head. He looked up to the sky and blinked. His eyes carried a hint of lamentation, as well as a bit of moisture.

He silently took several steps back. Cang Xiong instantly understood his meaning, and he stood between Qing Lan and the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch, blocking their line of sight. His bones cracked audibly.

He'd long since grown sick of the sight of this ungrateful beast!

"I admire your courage, whelp! No one has ever dared speak to me like that before. You're the first." Cang Xiong's eyes were as big as others' fists, and they were locked onto the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch. When he snorted, you could see puffs of white smoke. "What can I do to you? Try me and find out."

In a flash, Cang Xiong rushed at the monarch, like a moving, miniature mountain. The ground shook with every step he took.

It seemed they hadn't imagined things earlier; the ground really did shake with each step Cang Xiong took.

His left hand grabbed his right wrist, and he charged at the Thousand-faced Yao Monarch like an iron mountain.

The result was entirely within expectations; just like the first time, the monarch was flung into the wall like a cannonball. Just like the first time, Cang Xiong slammed his foot to the ground and stomped the monarch, as if trying to pound him into medicine.

Qing Lan stood a ways away, watching this play out. If you examined his eyes closely, you'd discover pain and lamentation. He still had affection for the yao monarch. For a few hundred years, he really had seen the serpent as his own child.

But this time, he didn't call Cang Xiong back. There was no need!

Massive, deafening booms rung out, one after another. The entire secret room was covered in dust, and there was a deep indent in the wall where the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch had slammed into it. Cracks spread out around him.

His entire skeleton had shattered; it seemed nothing remained of the monarch but a layer of skin.

Cang Xiong's massive hands grabbed him viciously by the head. This time, he didn't use his fists. Instead, he crushed him between his fingers.

However, the space suddenly solidified around Cang Xiong.

It was as if the very space around him were trying to restrict him. Cang Xiong narrowed his eyes and waved his arm. Then, the surrounding space shattered with a sound reminiscent of a breaking mirror.

"Playing with domains in front of me? Do you think you're qualified?"

But by the time Cang Xiong realized what was happening, the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch slipped from his hands. The skin sloughed off the monarch's ruined body, and in but a single breath of time, he was good as new.

"Interesting!" Cang Xiong grinned and laughed. He simply let the Thousand-Faced Monarch shed his skin, making no attempts to stop him.

As the monarch switched skins, Cang Xiong blurred like a shadow and appeared before him. The monarch hadn't anticipated that Cang Xiong could move with such speeds, and before he could react, Cang Xiong wrapped his hands around his neck.

"Shedding your skin? Let's just see how many skins you have to shed!"

The bones cracked beneath his fists, but Cang Xiong didn't kill him. He just waited until the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch shed his skin once more. He shed skin, regenerated, shed skin, and regenerated again….

The Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch said that, in his youth, he was Qing Lan's toy. But now it seemed that, as an adult, he'd become Cang Xiong's toy instead.

"Go on! Shed your skin. I've yet to get my fill of fun, and it seems you're quite good at shedding skin. I'd like to see just how long you can keep up with me." Cang Xiong narrowed his eyes at the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch. Even though his fist left the snake on his final breaths, Cang Xiong hadn't directly taken his life.

He wanted to slowly torture the yao monarch, making his life worse than death. This would help Boss Qing Lan vent, too.

"What are you so arrogant about? At the end of the day, you're just another of the Yao-Sealing Pagoda's pets, aren't you?" the Thousand-Faced Yao Monarch narrowed his eyes and laughed. "I was just testing you earlier, so I let you gain a bit of an advantage, but you really let it get to your head, huh? You think you're some kind of overlord now?"

The paper-thin monarch laughed calmly. Then, wave after wave of spiritual energy appeared around him.

A profound serpent many thousands of feet long appeared before Cang Xiong, its jade green eyes vicious and disdainful; Cang Xiong was an ant by comparison. "It ends here, you pets!"