Chapter 39: The Thunder Dragon Python of the Deep Valley

"Absolutely not!"

Bai He rejected the request without a moment's hesitation. His attitude was as firm as a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.

Was she joking? They had just narrowly escaped the jaws of death, and this girl actually wanted to head back in? Even the map provided by Zi Dian Xiong marked the depths of the valley with a bright red "Forbidden" sign, stating clearly that it held a great terror that even the powerful ancestors of their clan dared not approach.

"Grandfather, aren't you curious?" Bai Chenxiang remained unmoved, merely tilting her head to look at him.

"I am not!" Bai He shook his head like a rattle. "My curiosity was beaten out of me thirty years ago by a sixty-thousand-year-old Earth King. All I want now is to watch you grow up safely, watch you inherit my position as clan leader, and then find some scenic place to spend my final years."

"But there is something good inside." Bai Chenxiang’s tone was as flat as if she were stating a simple fact.

The corner of Bai He’s eye twitched. He realized he had no way to refute that. By all logic, a secret realm capable of nurturing such unique wind and lightning forces must hide a world-shaking treasure at its core. A soul bone of astonishing age? A legendary immortal herb? Or perhaps even a slumbering, terrifying soul beast that had crossed the ten-thousand-year threshold? Each possibility was enough to drive the entire soul master world mad. Risk and opportunity had always coexisted; he understood this better than anyone.

Seeing the clarity in his granddaughter's eyes—which seemed to say, "I know what you're thinking, so stop pretending"—Bai He felt his hard-won psychological defenses crumbling at a visible rate. An internal struggle raged within him for a long time, finally ending in a helpless sigh.

"Sigh... what sin did I commit in my past life to end up with such a troublesome granddaughter?" He rubbed his aching temples, looking utterly defeated. "We can go, but you must stay close to me! If anything seems wrong, we turn back immediately. Do you hear me?"

"Mhm." Bai Chenxiang nodded obediently, though a trace of a subtle, triumphant curve touched the corner of her lips.

The grandfather and granddaughter moved one after the other, stepping cautiously into the latter half of the valley. As they ventured deeper, the surrounding scenery became increasingly strange. The cliff walls on either side were no longer a rough blue-purple but had taken on a glass-like texture, smooth as mirrors, with faint flickers of electricity dancing within them like small fish. In the air, the "heartbeat" sound became clearer and more powerful.

"Thump... thump... thump..."

The sound seemed to strike directly at the soul. With every vibration, the soul power within Bai He’s body surged, causing his blood to churn. He was forced to divert a portion of his soul power to protect his heart and pulse just to barely neutralize the impact of these strange sound waves.

Bai Chenxiang, however, was as unaffected as if nothing were happening. She walked with light steps, even closing her eyes with an expression of enjoyment. The wind and lightning forces within her body resonated perfectly with the frequency of that heartbeat. What was a burden to Bai He acted as the most soothing lullaby to her, making every cell in her body feel incredibly comfortable and at ease.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the path suddenly opened up. A massive underground cavern, as if the heart of the mountain had been hollowed out, appeared before them. The vault of the cavern was embedded with countless unknown crystals that emitted a soft glow, illuminating the entire space as if it were daylight.

In the center of the cavern, the source of the "heartbeat" finally revealed itself. It was a massive blue-purple crystal, over ten meters high! The crystal’s form was highly irregular, yet it possessed a kind of natural, intrinsic beauty. Countless thick, frozen bolts of lightning were sealed within the crystal, intertwined into a complex and mysterious web. At the very center of this web, a blue-purple energy core the size of a human head pulsated like a heart, radiating a terrifying energy that made one’s heart tremble.

"Thump... thump... thump..."

With every pulse, the entire cavern—and even the whole valley—would tremble slightly.

"The Heart of Wind and Lightning!" Bai He’s lips went dry. He had seen records of this rare treasure of heaven and earth in the oldest archives of his clan. Legend had it that this was a fragment of the world's primordial essence, born only after tens of thousands of years of sedimentation and evolution at the intersection of the two ultimate elements of wind and lightning. It was a supreme treasure, yet also a deadly trap, for such a treasure was inevitably accompanied by a powerful guardian.

His thought had barely formed when—

"Hiss—!"

A sharp, soul-piercing hiss erupted from behind the massive Heart of Wind and Lightning!

Immediately after, a gargantuan snake head, covered in blue-purple scales, slowly emerged from behind the crystal. The head was the size of a water vat. Its vertical pupils were a pure, burning purple, cold and devoid of any emotion. It simply watched the two uninvited guests who had trespassed into its territory, its scarlet tongue flicking out to create a series of crackling electrical sparks.

"Deep Valley Thunder Dragon Python!"

Bai He’s face turned deathly pale. His eight soul rings rose involuntarily from beneath his feet, and a powerful aura belonging to a Spirit Douluo erupted, firmly shielding Bai Chenxiang behind him. He stared fixedly at the giant python, his eyes filled with unprecedented gravity.

The Deep Valley Thunder Dragon Python was an extremely rare sub-dragon soul beast possessing a trace of diluted dragon blood. They were natural masters of lightning, and an adult Thunder Dragon Python’s strength could rival that of a powerful six- or seven-thousand-year soul beast. Looking at this one’s size and the near-solid lightning runes upon its scales, its age likely bordered on the hundred-thousand-year mark!

This was no longer a question of whether they could obtain the treasure. It was a question of whether they could walk out of here alive!

The Deep Valley Thunder Dragon Python was clearly infuriated by the sudden burst of Bai He’s aura. It let out a deafening roar, and its massive body slithered out from behind the crystal. Only then did Bai He see its full scale. What a terrifying beast! Its body was thicker than a barrel and stretched over a hundred meters in length, coiling around the Heart of Wind and Lightning, occupying almost the entire central area of the cavern.

A terrifying, suffocating pressure, like a collapsing mountain or a raging sea, swept toward the grandfather and granddaughter. Bai He gritted his teeth, pushing his soul power to the limit, struggling to hold on. He feared that today, he would have to stake his old life on this.

However, at this moment of extreme tension, where a battle seemed inevitable, a small hand gently tugged at his robe.

"Grandfather, don't be nervous."

It was Bai Chenxiang. She stepped out from behind Bai He, her small figure forming a stark and absurd contrast to the sky-obscuring giant python.

"Xiangxiang! Come back! It's dangerous!" Bai He was nearly driven mad with anxiety.

Bai Chenxiang ignored him. She simply lifted her head, gazing up at the massive, cold snake head. In those clear eyes, there was no fear, no retreat—only a pure curiosity and a trace of empathetic understanding. In her world of "Wind Whispers," she heard the giant python's inner voice.

It was not cruelty, nor was it a desire for slaughter. It was loneliness. A perpetual loneliness that had lasted for thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of years. It had grown alongside this Heart of Wind and Lightning. It guarded it, and it relied upon it. The Heart of Wind and Lightning was its home, its companion, and also a magnificent cage that held it captive. It longed for liberation, yet it feared the loss of its only anchor.

"Do you... also wish to go out and see the world outside?" Bai Chenxiang suddenly spoke, her voice soft, almost like a dream.

Her voice was not loud, but in the empty cavern, it clearly reached the ears of the giant python. The creature’s massive body froze abruptly. Those vertical pupils, burning with purple electricity, locked firmly onto the tiny human child who dared to look directly into its eyes. Within that cold gaze, a flicker of astonishment and confusion appeared.

This little thing... could it understand its heart?