A Chaotic World

"Remember to stick close. I will not be waiting for any stragglers!" Old Qiao yelled.

"Yes, yes, you have said that more than once already," someone answered.

"What's that tone? Are you complaining?" Old Qiao narrowed her eyes at the man, and the latter immediately turned silent.

The group had left Whitewind Town a day ago, and were now deep into the Shimmering Plains.

Old Qiao led the way while the rest of the group trailed behind her.

Out of the hundreds in the group, majority were people who were tagging along for safe passage. There were only around thirty who were Old Qiao's true subordinates, people who had been following her for ages.

These people were positioned at the front of the pack, walking alongside Old Qiao as they advanced.

As Old Qiao had said, the group would be continuing on without waiting for stragglers, and it was up to the others to keep up. Of course, due to their wariness of the dangers of the region, they were not moving at a fast pace either, so any decently trained martial artist would be more than capable of following their pace.

Just like that, the huge group trudged forward step by step in an arrowhead formation.

Old Qiao's men was directly followed by the groups with a higher cultivation level, with the average cultivation level gradually declining the further back it went.

This was not something planned by Old Qiao, but a result of the law called survival of the fittest. After all, the nearer they were to Old Qiao's men, the safer it should be. The stronger groups naturally would not willingly relinquish such advantageous positions to others.

Positioned near to the end of the group, Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue looked around curiously, taking in the unfamiliar scenery before them.

From its name, the Shimmering Plains sounded like a beautiful place, and it was pretty much true.

Constant heavy snowfall created a white painting that stretched into the far horizon. Tall snow dunes created texture to the terrain, while frozen lakes acted as decoration.

It was a grand sight, one of such purity that it cleansed the eye.

Unfortunately, this beautiful scene was accompanied with danger at every turn, and that was not even considering the harsh winds that slapped the faces of every traveller.

"Look out!" someone in the group suddenly shouted.

A huge snow dune to their left started to rise, large amounts of snow being shaken off as a giant serpent emerged from beneath. It was as white as snow, with light blue dots on every piece of scale.

Screech-!

The giant serpent cried out as it appeared, creating high frequency sound waves that propagated towards the group.

"Shit! Guard your eardrums!" Old Qiao yelled.

This was no longer their first encounter with beasts in the Shimmering Plains, so everyone had been on their toes. They instantly reacted to the warning by Old Qiao and channelled their Origin force to protect their ears.

Lu Tianzi immediately pulled Nanlan Qianxue close, well aware that her relatively low cultivation level meant that she was that much more vulnerable. With that, he guarded not only himself, but also Nanlan Qianxue with his Origin Force.

Yet even with such quick reactions, not everyone escaped unscathed.

"Argh!"

"My ears!"

Cries of agony sounded out as some bled from the ears. The sound wave from the giant serpent had been strong enough to overcome the Origin Force protection layer of many of the weaker martial artists.

"What the hell is that?!" one of the men asked as he stepped up beside Old Qiao.

"Pure Snow Serpent King, one of the strongest beasts that can be found in the Shimmering Plains!" Old Qiao answered with a frown on her face. "Our luck really went to shit this time!"

"Pure Snow Serpent King?!"

Those who heard her words could not help but exclaim in horror.

The Pure Snow Serpent King was a beast notorious as a tyrant of the Shimmering Plains.

It was said that there were not many of them in this huge region, and they spent most of their time hibernating underground. However, they would rise from their slumber when someone wandered into close proximity, turning into the fearsome predator that few would be able to escape from.

An adult Pure Snow Serpent King was almost unmatched within the Origin Core realm, possessing strength equal to that of a Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist!

To have roused a Pure Snow Serpent King from its hibernation, they were truly unlucky!

"Battle Formations!" Old Qiao shouted.

The thirty or so of Old Qiao's men reacted instantly, moving quickly as they got into position like seasoned warriors.

Seeing how decisively they moved, the rest of the group could not help but feel slightly assured.

"Left flank, attack!"

Ten of these warriors dashed to the right of the Pure Snow Serpent King and unleashed their attacks on the huge beast without hesitation.

Everyone watched as various attacks shot towards the Pure Snow Serpent King, only to be dodged by a hair's width.

Standing at the back of the group along with Nanlan Qianxue, Lu Tianzi narrowed his eyes as he carefully observed the Pure Snow Serpent King's movements.

The huge body of the giant serpent definitely did not result in a loss of agility. In fact, it was much faster than many smaller beasts that he had encountered before.

"Left flank, retreat! Right flank, attack!"

The earlier attackers hurriedly backed off just before the Pure Snow Serpent King swept its tail over, while another ten warriors ran out to the left of the giant serpent and attacked.

This time, a few attacks managed to hit the Pure Snow Serpent King. Even though these attacks barely managed to damage its tough scales, it was enough to cause the giant serpent to cry out in rage.

Screech-!

It was another sound attack, but this time everyone was more prepared for it. Only a few still screamed in agony as their defences proved to be lacking against the powerful beast.

Whoosh-!

At this moment, a dark arrow cut through the air and directly struck the Pure Snow Serpent King. It pierced straight through the tough scales of the giant serpent and planted itself in its body.

Blood spurted out from the wound as the Pure Snow Serpent King recoiled from the impact.

"Everyone, attack!" Old Qiao shouted while loading another arrow.

This time, not only her trusted subordinates acted.

Many of those tagging along with the group saw this as a chance and joined in as well, unleashing their attacks all at once. Hundreds of attacks of different forms flew across the air towards the Pure Snow Serpent King.

Unfortunately, the Pure Snow Serpent King was far too agile.

Some of the attacks connected, but most of them missed.

As for Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue, they simply watched on from the back, not lifting a finger to help.

With Lu Tianzi's perception, he could tell that while this Pure Snow Serpent King might seem terrifying, Old Qiao was likely to be at least just as strong.

Since that was the case, there was no need for him to act carelessly and reveal his cards for no good reason, especially since they were being watched.

At this moment, dark mist coiled around the arrow as Old Qiao steadily pulled back her bowstring. It appeared to be the same dark arrow that she had released earlier, only that she was packing much more power into this one.

Whoosh-!

Upon its release, the dark arrow cut through the air just like the one before, heading straight for the Pure Snow Serpent King's head.

Distracted by the other attacks, the Pure Snow Serpent King did not even notice the arrow approaching, leaving it absolutely defenceless towards the incoming arrow.

Even before the arrow hit, the corner of Old Qiao's lips had already started to tilt upwards.

However, the result was something completely out of her expectations.

The surface of the snow dune around the Pure Snow Serpent King burst open, and dozens of men flew out from underneath.

One of whom appeared right in front of the dark arrow and raised a white shield towards it.

Bang-!

The dark arrow smashed into the white shield, and the dark mist around it instantly dissipated just like darkness being vanquished by the light.

At the same time, the holder of the shield was also sent flying backwards for a good few metres, but eventually managed to come a stop.

"What's happening?!"

"Who are these people? Where did they come from?"

The group fell into disarray at the unexpected turn of events.

A group of men just suddenly appeared out of nowhere to protect the Pure Snow Serpent King?

No, perhaps what's more shocking was the fact that the Pure Snow Serpent King actually showed no signs of intending to attack those men!

"Be careful! Everyone back up and regroup!"

It was Old Qiao's voice that snapped everyone out of their daze. They immediately moved behind Old Qiao and her men, nervously readying their weapons just in case.

The newcomers hovered in the air around the Pure Snow Serpent King, looking down at them with what seemed like absolute confidence.

"Are you the leader of the group?" one of the newcomers came forward and asked with arms crossed.

His facial features were attractive, and his body was packed with muscles that were apparent even from under the thick layer of fur that he was wearing. With his cultivation level at the Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm, he exuded a domineering aura that would make even martial artists of the same cultivation level step back in apprehension.

"What do you want?" Old Qiao snapped back. She looked confident on the surface, but the cold sweat appearing on her forehead betrayed her true thoughts.

"Easy," the muscular man said. "Hand over all of your valuables and you will be able to keep your heads. Don't worry, we will leave you enough necessities to get out of the Shimmering Plains alive."

"Bandits?" Old Qiao gritted her teeth in frustration. "And if we refuse?"

"That would actually make things even easier," the muscular man chuckled. "Just die and we will take care of the rest."

"Even as bandits, you should pick the right targets," Old Qiao replied. "You might be strong, but we have the numbers. Even if you are powerful enough to beat us, do you really think that your men will survive? Just for some money, is that really worth it?"

"You think my men will die? With just you?" the muscular man shook his head as though he had just heard something ridiculous. "It seems that you still don't understand the situation that you are in. It doesn't matter that there are hundreds of you. I will be able to take care of the bunch of you all by myself!"

"Stop, Qin'er."

A bearded man spoke while standing on the top of the Pure Snow Serpent King's head. No one even noticed when he got up there.

"Yes, Master," the muscular man immediately lowered his head in obedience.

With that, the bearded man turned his gaze towards Old Qiao. He did not say anything. Instead, he suddenly released his aura in full force.

Just by releasing his aura, the bearded man conjured a storm of energy, adding even stronger gales to the icy winds of the Shimmering Plains. At the same time, an overwhelming pressure fell upon the hundreds of people within Old Qiao's group, threatening to force them to their knees.

No, it did not merely threaten to force them to their knees.

Many of them truly had their knees buckle, falling to the ground in despair.

As for the rest who managed to hold on, it took a great deal of strength just to keep themselves from trembling, be it due to the overexertion or simply out of fear.

The bearded man retracted his aura as quickly as he had released it, for it had already served its purpose.

Having been subjected to this powerful aura, those in Old Qiao's group finally understood the situation that they were in.

There was no mistake, the bearded man was an Overlord realm powerhouse!

In the face of such absolute strength, numbers no longer mattered. Not to mention the hundreds of them, the result would not change even if there were thousands of them.

No matter how much she hated it, Old Qiao could only close her eyes in resignation.

"We surrender."