Suddenly, someone shouted. Ryan Ling and the others jumped in fright. Looking over, they saw something mysterious rolling in the water by Clearwater Lake, sending waves splashing over two meters high. The people releasing animals for merit were instantly swept up, and a nearby makeshift dock was smashed to pieces by a surge of force.
Faced with such a shocking scene, not just the villagers but even those bluffing 'demon-banishing experts' scattered in panic, running for their lives.
In the chaos, the young woman’s ankle gave a loud crack—she’d sprained her right foot at that moment. But now, almost everyone was only thinking about saving themselves. Who would bother with her?
Meanwhile, as the mysterious thing churned in the lake, thick freezing cold qi rose from the water near Greencrest Garden. The chill was bone-deep and terrifying; in an instant, parts of the lake froze over. Several slower villagers, especially some four- or five-year-old kids, burst into tears in fright.
This freezing qi was obviously no joke. Forget kids— even adults couldn’t withstand it. Once you got caught up in it, surviving was anyone’s guess.
"Warren, Frank, Jason—save them!" Seeing all this, Ryan Ling didn’t hesitate for a second. He charged straight in, not caring about his own safety.
Seeing Ryan rush in, Warren and the others were scared too, but with Ryan leading the charge, none of them dared slack off. They all rushed in after him.
The young woman was stunned—she hadn’t expected ‘heaven-sent heroes’ at a time like this. She called for help, and Ryan yanked her up. She was about to thank him, but Ryan shoved her straight to Jason, then hurried off with Warren toward the lake.
Frank worked fast—he carried several slow-moving kids straight to safety, while Jason dragged the young woman out of the freezing zone.
Just then, Jason and Frank wanted to charge in again, but Ryan shouted, “Don’t come any closer!”
Everyone else—ritual performers and villagers alike—scattered in all directions. Only the young woman stayed, hiding in the bushes, both nervous and curious as she watched Ryan.
By now, Jason and the others knew how dangerous things were. Even Frank, with his zombie body, didn’t dare make a move.
On the other side, Warren Yuan was drenched in sweat. He whipped out a handful of talismans and flung them into the lake, making the water explode like he’d tossed in a bunch of grenades.
But even that couldn’t drive away the lake monster. It kept thrashing the water, spraying white freezing qi from below. Warren was prepared—he pulled out a palm-sized black umbrella, muttered a chant, and the umbrella instantly expanded into a three-meter shield. He hurried to block the freezing qi.
No matter how fancy Warren’s tricks, the moment that freezing qi hit, the whole umbrella was stripped to its frame in a blink. The qi blasted Warren head-on, sending him flying five or six meters.
The monster in the lake wasn’t done yet. Its freezing aura doubled and surged straight at Warren, clearly out for his life.
Right then, Frank the zombie dashed over and shielded Warren. But the freezing qi was way too fierce—Frank’s body froze solid in an instant, crashing to the ground like an ice block.
"Frank..." Warren shouted hoarsely, but his own limbs were already frozen—he couldn’t move at all.
In that moment of crisis, the monster in the water let out a chilling laugh and sent another blast of freezing qi. Ryan didn’t hesitate—he burned an Iron Body Talisman to block it.
The Iron Body Talisman made his whole body as tough as steel—he could resist blades, fire, and cold. But when the freezing qi hit Ryan, he felt like he’d been thrown into a thousand-year ice cave. Not just his skin—even his organs froze solid in a blink.
He’d never felt anything like this before. In a blink, he thought he’d end up just like Frank—or maybe even worse.
Off in the distance, Jason panicked too—he whipped out his pistol and fired wildly into the water. But the bullets did nothing. Instead, it just made the lake monster totally furious, and its huge body suddenly surfaced.
In an instant, everyone just about wet themselves.
The real culprit haunting Greencrest Garden was actually a white snake as thick as a barrel. Half its body rose out of the water, spewing white freezing qi from its mouth. The sight was so horrifying that the young woman fainted on the spot. Even Jason, who’d survived gunfights and death traps, collapsed in terror.
Right then, Frank and Warren couldn’t move at all, and Ryan was in mortal danger too. It looked like they’d all be swallowed by the white snake any second.
At that life-or-death moment, something flashed inside Ryan—some divine power. The white snake recoiled in shock, as if it had seen something terrifying. Its three- or four-story-high body crashed back into the lake and vanished.
With the white snake gone, all the freezing qi on shore quickly faded under the blazing sun. Warren and Frank slowly thawed out.
Ryan just collapsed onto the ground.
Nobody said a word for nearly half an hour. Then Warren shuffled over to Ryan and asked, "Master, are you okay?"
Just now, Ryan had blocked most of the white snake’s freezing qi. Even with his steel body, it was brutal.
Ryan shook his head, still freaked out remembering what just happened. At the most dangerous moment, that battered, yellowed ghost-path manual—the Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art—had its five cover characters flash inside him. Just that flash seemed to unleash a huge power, scaring the white snake away.
Thinking about it now, the System was totally right—the Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art really is a treasure, top-tier stuff. He’d actually underestimated it before.
But why the manual suddenly triggered its power, Ryan had no clue.
Not the time to dwell on it though—getting out of here was the smart move.
Everyone was more or less frozen stiff. Even Jason, who’d charged into the freezing qi, could barely move his hands and feet.
"Where do you guys live? I’ll drive you back, but can I come with you? I’m really scared!" The young woman burst into tears. The group froze, realizing they’d completely forgotten her—her pants were soaked, she’d really wet herself in fright.
"Alright, just drive us back first!" Ryan checked his System data and knew this woman was definitely Tiffany Tian, manager of Greencrest Garden in Grand Bay Town. Taking her along might be useful later, and besides, a bunch of grown men couldn’t just keep lying around in the sun. If the white snake came back, they’d be toast.
Soon, Tiffany drove them back to Lily’s Country Inn. Lily Liu and Sophie Su were horrified by their condition, quickly stoked the fire, boiled water for baths, and fussed over them all afternoon. By evening, everyone finally started to recover.
"So what do we do now?" After dinner, the group gathered again, and Ryan spoke first.
"We have to take down that white snake. It’s huge, and its scales are getting rough—it’s about to shed. Once it does, it’ll become a true demon, and with its vicious nature, it’ll bring a bloodbath to the nearby villages, maybe even here!" Warren had clearly thought it through, and made a throat-slitting gesture as he spoke.
After Warren finished, everyone clenched their fists and fell silent.
"So there’s no way? We’re just gonna watch it turn into a demon and start killing people?" Jason couldn’t hold back, jumping to his feet.
"A way?" Warren glanced at Ryan. Ryan had saved everyone at the last second, but even he didn’t know what had happened.
Plus, according to Warren, the white snake was about to become a full demon. Now that it was wary, it wouldn’t show itself easily, and Clearwater Lake was huge—it could hide anywhere. If it got enough time, it’d definitely transform. Even with the Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art, all they could do then was run for their lives.
Seeing Ryan stay quiet, clearly troubled, Warren gritted his teeth and said, "If we want to catch this white snake, there’s only one way: find a demon-subduing artifact. And fast."
"An artifact? Where are we supposed to find one on the fly?" Ryan shook his head. Magical artifacts were rare treasures—you couldn’t just ‘go find’ one.
Just then, a lazy voice sounded outside: "Big-Head Warren, you were hard to track down! What are you doing way out here?"
Hearing that, Warren slapped his thigh and grinned: "Fa Hai’s here to subdue White Suzhen..."