Brandon Feng was so scared he was about to wet himself, but he still kept up his Young Master act, barking orders at Ryan Ling’s crew: “None of you idiots move! Save me first, damn it!”
Ryan Ling frowned—he already couldn’t stand Brandon Feng, and hearing that tone just made it worse. He shot a look at Warren Yuan and the others.
Warren Yuan instantly got the hint and shouted, “Young Master Feng is truly brave! Willing to sacrifice himself so we can capture the serpent monster—this is a legendary feat. I’m sure the people of Peachvale County will build you a shrine and carve your name in stone!”
“Exactly! Young Master Feng, you have to keep the serpent tangled up and buy us time. If we kill it, you’ll get top credit—everyone will remember you!” Harvey Jin and Jason Lin chimed in together.
Frank Qin still couldn’t quite speak like a regular person, but he nodded vigorously anyway.
“You—you guys actually…” Hearing all this, Brandon Feng’s face turned completely green.
Even the white snake seemed confused, like it thought this hostage was totally useless—couldn’t even play the part. So it whipped Brandon Feng straight at Ryan Ling.
That actually worked—Ryan instinctively caught him, and in the process, tilted the Demon-Snaring Bowl in his hand. The white snake took advantage of the opening, slipped away, and dove straight into the water.
“Great, now we’re screwed!” Ryan Ling gritted his teeth and shoved the shivering Brandon Feng aside. That idiot really messed things up.
“What now? The white snake definitely won’t show itself again, not even if you beat it to death!” Warren Yuan and the others crowded around. They’d just blown their best shot—catching it again was going to be tough.
But just then, the Demon-Snaring Bowl in Ryan Ling’s hand suddenly trembled and shot off by itself—like it had a built-in tracker—flying straight toward Clearwater Lake.
Clearly, this Demon-Snaring Bowl wasn’t about to let things slide—plus, it was the serpent’s natural enemy. The prey was practically airborne; no way was it going to let the snake just escape.
“What a treasure! Quick, everyone—onto the speedboat, follow the artifact!” Ryan Ling was buzzing with excitement, thinking this magic item was worth every penny.
They all piled onto the speedboat, itching for action.
Meanwhile, Brandon Feng finally got his bearings. He stared at the flying Demon-Snaring Bowl, panting and wide-eyed. “How do these bumpkins have a magic artifact?” he blurted out.
Right after he spoke, his face lit up with pure greed.
After circling a huge loop over the lake, the Demon-Snaring Bowl finally stopped above a desolate stretch of shore. No doubt, this was the white snake’s real hideout.
The air around them was freezing—even in the heat of July, this place was covered in frost. One side of the lake was glazed with a thin layer of ice.
The white snake was cold-blooded, and everyone had already seen how its icy breath worked. No doubt it was lurking right under these waters.
Ryan Ling and the crew whipped out all their gear, bracing for a showdown.
The Demon-Snaring Bowl started spinning like crazy, blasting out intense, eerie golden light. The beam smashed into the water’s surface like heavenly thunder striking down a demon.
Suddenly, a horrific screech echoed from the lakebed. A massive serpent shape thrashed around, desperate to escape, but under the bowl’s power, it was like a giant pair of tweezers had clamped down—totally locked in place.
“Amazing! A magic artifact really is on another level—way better than a spirit tool. Without this thing, we’d have to drain the whole lake just to find the white snake, let alone catch it!” Warren Yuan couldn’t help but marvel.
Harvey Jin was just as stunned. He’d thought seventy billion for this so-called artifact was maybe a bit much, but seeing it now, he figured even seven hundred billion would be worth it.
Ryan Ling nodded—having the Demon-Snaring Bowl made everything so much easier. If nothing went wrong, the white snake would be sucked into the bowl within minutes.
But right then, the white snake at the bottom of the lake suddenly slammed itself against the boulders on shore with all its might—like it would rather die than give in.
In seconds, the lake surface was streaked with bloody water and a choking stench.
“This white snake’s got some chastity issues!” Jason Lin’s eyes went wide.
Warren Yuan and Harvey Jin both nodded, but then zombie Frank Qin suddenly pointed at the water next to the speedboat and shouted. Everyone looked—there was a huge patch of bloody snake skin floating up.
“Wait, something’s off! The white snake isn’t trying to die—it’s using its last bit of strength to shed its old skin and become a spirit!” Ryan Ling snapped to attention.
"Damn it, don’t just stand there—open fire!" Warren Yuan yelled. If the white snake managed to ascend, they’d be the ones getting killed.
Everyone unleashed everything they had on the lakebed, while the Demon-Snaring Bowl sensed the danger and cranked up its suction power.
But luck was on the serpent’s side—a blazing sun vanished, replaced by a sky full of thunderclouds. A massive thunderstorm swept over Clearwater Lake.
That was a huge boost for the white snake’s ascension.
With the thunderstorm raging, none of their gear worked right—even the Demon-Snaring Bowl lost some of its punch. The torrential rain gave the white snake the final push it needed to ascend.
Suddenly, a deafening boom came from the lakebed as the white snake shot into the air. Its blood-soaked body was washed clean by the rain, revealing flecks of gold. Two sharp horns sprouted from its head, and its massive, regal hood unfurled.
No doubt about it—the white snake had ascended.
Even the Demon-Snaring Bowl’s magic couldn’t control the ascended white snake. Sensing it was game over, the bowl withdrew its power and dropped onto the speedboat.
"Head back!" Ryan Ling shouted without hesitation. If fate wouldn’t let the white snake die, there was nothing they could do. Now that it had ascended, their only option was to run.
"The boat—it’s stuck!" Jason Lin, who was driving, shouted in panic.
The white snake was charging at them, furious.
"These country bumpkins are toast. That white snake is way too strong—can’t believe it managed to ascend in all this chaos!" Brandon Feng watched through his binoculars from the shore.
"Young Master Feng, our guys are all in position—even the rocket launchers are ready. Should we help them out?" a burly man in a suit asked.
"Help them? Are you brain-dead? Anyone who tries to steal my thunder deserves to die!" Brandon Feng snorted, then his tone softened a bit. "But once they’re all dead, make sure you fish out that magic artifact for me. No way those idiots deserve something so good."
"Y-yes, sir!" The burly man snapped to attention.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang—the white snake rammed the speedboat, splitting the hull and flooding the boat. It was about to capsize.
The white snake was right in front of them—there was no way to escape now.
"Screw it, I’ll fight you to the end!" Jason Lin didn’t hesitate—he grabbed a machine gun and started blasting.
Harvey Jin grabbed another gun—now two of them were firing like crazy.
Warren Yuan didn’t hesitate—he unleashed an explosive talisman. Zombie Frank Qin fired a barrage of razor-sharp flying swords at the white snake, and even the Demon-Snaring Bowl soared up again.
Obviously, everyone was fighting to the death, making their final stand!
But none of it worked against the ascended white snake—not even the powerful explosive talisman could hurt it.
The Demon-Snaring Bowl raged, but its power was no longer lethal to the white snake—it couldn’t control it at all.
"It’s over, you’re all doomed! So what if you’ve got a magic artifact? You country bumpkins are still ahead of me—hahaha!" Brandon Feng laughed gleefully, not caring about saving anyone.
But as the backbone of the team, Ryan Ling had to think fast. Even if he couldn’t kill the white snake today, he refused to just watch his brothers die.
Suddenly, he heard Granny Soul’s voice in his ear: "What’s going on? Why’s it so chaotic out there?"
"Senior, you came at the perfect time! You must have a way to deal with this demon, right?" Ryan Ling’s heart leapt—like grabbing a lifeline in a moment of crisis...