Accidentally Reincarnated in Cultivation World-Chapter 376: Nine Headed Calamity Sperent Empress [1]

Yu Xuan found himself in the same place for the third time.

The first thing he did was calculate time mentally.

Nearly three hours had passed since the moment his first run began.

Time was still flowing, just not in a way that favored him.

"I need to keep track of this..." Yu Xuan muttered. His medallion remained completely unresponsive.

"And I don’t even know how long this loop will last."

Without hesitation, he turned and ran in the direction opposite the sun.

It was the same direction he had been dragged toward earlier – but this time, he moved willingly.

If nothing else, he could change direction later and test the limits of this place.

As he ran, he sensed it clearly.

His pursuers were still there.

But this time... they weren’t rushing.

’Did my self-destruction shock them? Or is there another reason?’ Yu Xuan wondered.

He was partly right.

It wasn’t every day someone chose to self-destruct without desperation, without hesitation and almost casually without caring for death.

That alone was enough to make even ancient monsters reconsider their approach.

After all he was their key.

More importantly, Yu Xuan realized something unsettling.

Since they retained their memories, he had become the fixed variable of this loop.

As long as he existed, the cycle continued.

And he didn’t even know if these were all the beings trapped here or merely the first batch.

As he continued forward, the landscape began to change.

The green plains slowly gave way to lusher greenery.

Trees emerged, first sparse, then dense, their leaves vivid and alive.

The air itself felt heavier and older.

At the same time, Yu Xuan felt it.

His pursuers were closing in again.

They weren’t hiding.

They didn’t need to.

Then.

Yu Xuan abruptly slowed.

And stopped.

Because he had no choice.

Ahead of him stood a tree unlike any he had ever seen.

Its trunk was ancient and gnarled, yet it bore only a single leaf – large, delicate, and strangely shaped like a reclining bed.

And resting upon that leaf...

Was a serpent.

Not just any serpent.

A nine-headed serpent.

Each head was elegant and serene, their scales shimmering with an otherworldly beauty.

The creature lay basking in the light, utterly at peace, as if the world itself existed only to cradle it.

Yu Xuan felt his breath catch.

His thoughts blurred.

’Damn it! What is happening to me?!’

Against his will, his steps carried him forward.

Toward the serpent.

As Yu Xuan drew closer, he was once again struck by its beauty, an almost unreal elegance that tugged at his senses.

But the moment he truly focused, he froze.

The serpent was... small.

Apparently the size of his hand.

It didn’t look like a colossus spiritual beast at all.

"...Huh?" Yu Xuan muttered, momentarily confused.

Using [Telekinesis], he gently drew the serpent toward himself, careful not to disturb it, and instinctively caught it – one hand at its tail, the other near its neck.

Then.

All eighteen eyes snapped open at once.

They locked onto him.

And the serpent spoke.

With all nine mouths.

"What an unruly young man, touching a lady so inappropriately." it said smoothly.

"...What?!" Yu Xuan blurted out, genuinely shocked.

Before he could react, the serpent’s body phased straight through his grasp, reappearing midair.

It gracefully performed a backflip and then.

CRASH!

Its tail slammed squarely into Yu Xuan’s head.

He was sent flying, crashing into the ground as he clutched his head and wriggled slightly in pain.

The nine-headed serpent floated above him, staring down with an unreadable gaze.

"Hm." x9

Nine identical hums echoed.

’Why does this hurt so much?!’ Yu Xuan groaned internally, utterly baffled. He couldn’t suppress the pain at all.

Since when did he start getting bullied like this?

Was his luck really that bad today?

The serpent descended and slithered closer, then began circling him... sniffing.

Yu Xuan felt something brush against him and immediately snapped his eyes open, now slightly red from pain, only to see the serpent sniffing him like a dog inspecting food.

For a split second, his brain short-circuited. Was being serpent food his fate?

"W–Wait! Miss Serpent!" Yu Xuan said hastily.

"My flesh really doesn’t taste good, I swear! How about I offer you some red-colored meat instead?"

As he spoke, the mental image of a certain red Asura surfaced clearly in his mind.

The nine-headed serpent did not bother responding to his babbling.

Earlier, she had sensed time reset twice.

Which meant only one thing.

A new challenger had entered this sealed land.

Now that this human stood before her, she was certain it was him.

In this place, she recognized every living creature except the intruder who triggered the resets. Yet that was not what truly caught her attention.

She lowered her heads and sniffed him again.

And again.

Her tongues flicked lightly, brushing against his karma.

She paused.

Then sniffed again, more carefully.

Finally, a strange feedback echoed through her perception, something akin to a five-star rating.

"...Oh?"

Her many eyes narrowed slightly in interest.

’So he did meet some younglings...’

The nine-headed serpent was no ordinary being. Among her peers, she was infamous – unimaginably strong, dangerously curious, and occasionally responsible for... certain incidents.

Members of her race were often feared, and misunderstood.

So learning that this human had not only encountered some of her young kin, but left behind a positive karmic imprint, left her unexpectedly satisfied.

She lifted her head slightly and spoke.

"Very well, I will not kill you a third time."

Yu Xuan stiffened.

She continued calmly,

"You have already suffered twice. However, touching a lady while she sleeps is a crime I cannot forgive so easily."

Her tail tapped Yu Xuan lightly on the head.

The pain vanished instantly, as if it had never existed.

Before he could even sigh in relief, that same tail coiled around his neck – not tight, but firm, while all nine heads settled above his own, draping over him like an elegant, terrifying crown.

Yu Xuan froze.

’...What now? Is she... is she going to kill me by choking my neck?!’

His thoughts spiraled wildly as he stood there, he was just too unlucky today!