Demonic Cultivation: Devouring Ten Thousand Demonic Beasts
Chapter 14: Jiao (Flood Serpent)

Chapter 14: Jiao (Flood Serpent)

The moment they stepped out of the hut, Langtian froze.

A cold, bone-deep chill ran down his spine, and his blood turned to ice. Never in his life had he imagined witnessing such a sight.

"S-Senior Sister Yue Ling..." he stammered, eyes wide. "Wh-what is that?!"

Shangguan Yue Ling merely patted his shoulder. She looked ahead with a smug smile, eyes gleaming with pride as she puffed out her chest. "Hehe, how is it? Beautiful, isn’t it?"

Langtian slowly turned back toward the spectacle before them—and nearly forgot to breathe.

Standing before them was the colossal skeleton of a demonic beast—a serpent so immense that its rib bones alone towered high above the house they had just left. Each curved rib arched like a pale bridge into the sky, some ending in jagged, broken stumps, others still perfectly smooth and polished by time and wind.

Even the skull was enormous enough to fit five whole houses inside. Its fangs jutted like curved ivory spears, each as thick as an ancient tree trunk. The empty eye sockets gaped down at them, dark and hollow.

The creature’s remains sprawled across the valley, coiling and looping like the fossilized spine of a forgotten god.

Even in death, the sheer aura it radiated was enough to make Langtian tremble. An invisible pressure weighed on him, prickling his skin with goosebumps. He realized nothing else stirred in the valley—not a bird, not an insect, not even a whisper of wind. It was as if the world itself held its breath in the presence of this ancient titan. His heart thundered in his chest.

"D-Dragon?" he managed to choke out.

"No, not quite a True Dragon," Yue Ling corrected, a grin on her lips. "It’s a Jiao — a demonic Jiao, to be precise."

"R-right..." Langtian muttered. He still couldn’t tear his eyes away from the massive skeleton, as though the sight had devoured his very soul.

Now that she mentioned it, he noticed the telltale details that marked the creature as a lesser dragon. A Jiao wasn’t a True Dragon — but it was close. In cultivation lore, a serpent striving to become a dragon had to undergo six transformations, each more profound than the last. There were six stages: Snake, Python, Giant Python, Jiao, Horned Serpent, and True Dragon. Only after reaching the Horned Serpent stage could the beast attempt the Heavenly Tribulation — the final test to be acknowledged by the heavens as a True Dragon.

The Jiao stage was the fourth step in this epic journey. By that point, the serpent would have sprouted clawed limbs and grown hardened scales like armor. Its body would be massive, and it would even possess the ability to manipulate wind and rain; some Jiao even developed rudimentary wings or could fly short distances. However, it still lacked the signature dragon horns and the divine essence of dragon qi.

Even so, a Jiao was a force of nature. A beast at that level could tear down mountains, shatter cities, and summon storms with a single roar. It straddled the boundary between mortal beast and divine creature.

So then... why was a Jiao here?

At this scale, with bones so massive and thick, this creature must have been at least Rank 8 — maybe even Rank 9 — a true terror of the cultivation world. And yet, here it lay, reduced to nothing but bone, coiled in eternal silence within this cursed valley.

"Yeah, I killed it," Yue Ling said casually, as if discussing the weather. "Then I turned its skeleton into a lawn ornament to scare off other demonic beasts."

"WHAT?!"

Langtian whipped his head toward her so fast his neck cracked. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "R-Really?!"

Yue Ling burst into laughter, clapping a hand over her mouth. "Of course not, dummy!" she managed between giggles. "This skeleton was already here when I found the place. I just built my little hut next to it. The Jiao’s lingering aura is so terrifying that most of the beasts in this area don’t dare come near. It’s the perfect natural defense, don’t you think?"

Langtian blinked. "...Oh."

Yue Ling shrugged. "As for how this Jiao ended up here? No clue. I stumbled across this place by accident. It was already long dead when I arrived—just bones left."

Langtian exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

"Senior Sister, you scared the life out of me," he complained.

"Wait, wait." Yue Ling held up her hand, grinning impishly. "You seriously thought I was strong enough to kill that thing?"

"Yeah!" Langtian blurted out. "You said it so convincingly!"

She snorted with laughter. "That’s adorable. If I really were strong enough to slay a demonic Jiao, do you think I’d still be stuck here for ten years living off demonic beasts?"

"Right..." Langtian muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Yue Ling waved him off. "Alright, enough talking. Come on, let’s go."

"Senior Sister, where are we going now?" he asked, tearing his gaze away from the towering skeleton at last.

"Hunting," she replied over her shoulder with a playful wink.

Langtian stiffened. "You mean... demonic beasts?"

"Duh." Yue Ling rolled her eyes. "What else is there to hunt around here?" She shot him a cheeky grin. "Relax. You don’t have to fight yet. Just stick close to me, watch carefully, and help me extract the materials afterward."

"O-okay." Langtian swallowed hard. He nodded shakily and followed his senior sister into the darkness.