Sage rode the Spirit Stairs, the name for the Magic Tool elevator or lift, and traveled down to the middle tier. This was the most expansive tier, filled with large wilderness areas separated into different types of terrain, each populated with their own sets of Demonic Beasts. The ‘ground’ level for this tier was actually a few floors higher than wilderness outside so those who arrived had a great view of the wide open areas outside. Sage traveled down a few flights of stairs and walked past a large gate out to the ‘wilds’ before reaching his destination.

The construction of the large hallways and the system of gates made it obvious that this place he was in was set up to create a path for livestock to travel down and be moved from this room to the outside. Stepping inside, he was on a wide path with many gates that could drop from the ceiling every dozen feet or so. To either side were a pair of large and small doors from which various sounds of beasts and other creatures could be heard. Sage walked past the many animal cages to reach an office at the end of the hall. There was a man in a messy apron pushing a cart full of raw meat that gave Sage a careful look over. Sage walked past and entered the office room where he saw a man with short white hair, balding on the top, and wrinkled skin. Yet, the strange thing was that even with these two signifiers of his age, the man was still large and well built. Like a man who’d spent his whole life in a weight room. Getting closer, Sage modified his appraisal as he saw the many scars covering the old man’s hands. A man who’d spent his whole life lifting, but not in a calm and clean weight room.

“I’m here to help with the Sunset Rain Snake.”

The old man was mixing herbs and small jade bottles of ingredients together in a large pestle, but stopped when Sage entered. After hearing what he said the man nodded, “The Sunset Rain Snake? Can you really handle it? Two people have already overestimated themselves and had to spend a fortune on medical fees. You aren’t eager to be the third, are you?”

Sage shook his head, “Don’t worry, I’m quite confident.”

Matching his gaze for a moment, the old man finally nodded, “Alright, wait outside for a few minutes I’m almost done here. I’ll lead you over afterwards.”

Sage gave the man a short bow and left the office, moving to wait outside. This place didn’t care much for courtesies, so he was left to stand there on the hard stone ground with nothing but the sounds and smells of the various beasts to accompany him. The man pushing the cart of fresh meat had disappeared to somewhere else in the short time that Sage had been in the office. There were eating sounds coming from one of the doors, so he assumed the man was in there feeding something. After a few minutes the worker walked out of the room Sage assumed he was in, pulling the now empty cart behind him. He glanced at Sage again but didn’t bother to interact, instead walking over to a door to the side of the office and pulling his cart in. He rolled the cart back out, loaded with a different type of meat than the last time, pushing it towards one of the other animal cages.

After the worker repeated this feeding action three more times, the office beside Sage finally opened and the strong old man stepped out. He caught sight of Sage as he finished wiping his hands on a towel. He threw the towel back into the office and then waved to Sage to follow along. The two of them walked out of this animal storage area and to the big gates that led to the ‘wilds’. The old man went through a few procedures at the gate to release some protective arrays and then the two of them walked outside.

It was much less restrictive in this ‘open air’ area. The floor they were on had thirty foot high ceilings to match the thirty foot wide tunnel that connected the wilderness area to the beast cages, but it still felt like they were indoors, especially when thinking about the immense mountain of a building above them. Now that they’d walked out onto this terrace area, it felt like he’d entered a calm forest. The strong old man brought out a little sack and pulled open the two drawstrings. Whatever was in the bag released a strange scent after it was opened and the man hung the sack from his belt. The man didn’t bother explaining, but after walking beside the man for a few minutes and studying the scent, Sage was pretty sure it was used to keep the majority of the Demonic Beasts from bothering them.

They moved slowly, which Sage guessed was to keep from disturbing the beasts and terrain, as they would certainly leave some destruction in their wake if they moved at their full speed. Sage could tell the old man was at the same rank as he was, which was basically a given since Sage was not wearing the uniform of the academy, nor was he being escorted by anyone from the school.

It took them half an hour to travel tens of miles to where a barrier was erected. A Formation Array was glowing with power and restricting a large portion of the forest. They stopped outside of it and the old man brought out a token which started to glow as he used it to connect with the formation.

“The Sunset Rain Snake is somewhere inside. Since you said you’re confident, you must already be familiar with it. Once you have control of it, return here and I’ll escort you back.”

The barrier was already shifting and a door sized opening appeared on it. Sage jumped through it without bothering to reply. His right eye had already changed, glimmering with stars in the depths of his pupil. As soon as the barrier opened, there was the chance that the Sunset Rain Snake was nearby. If it were to escape from the barrier because he was too busy talking to the old man then it would be free to cause more trouble. Also, it was likely that Sage could get kicked from the Clear Sky Academy and banned for failing so badly.

Once he was inside the barrier, the opening closed rapidly and Sage relaxed slightly as he swept his gaze around the area. The most dangerous moment had just passed as the barrier was interfering with his vision. Now that he was inside, he could rely upon his Foresight to warn him of the Sunset Rain Snake’s position.

There was a reason that this old man, a Nascent Soul, had to get outside assistance in order to deal with the Sunset Rain Snake. They even had to place such a huge defensive formation over this area to deal with it. That’s because the Sunset Rain Snake was notorious for its terrifying venom. Not only was it potent, but it had an absurd amount of it. The Sunset Rain Snake got the ‘rain’ in its name from the sheer volume of venom it could produce and also spit. It was actually somewhat similar to Sage’s second set of Qi meridians, the Sunset Rain Snake’s venom was not just a substance produced by a single organ but made up a large portion of its body. It spit out thousands of tiny droplets, creating its own spray of rain that made it extremely difficult to avoid.

Worse yet, the effects of the Sunset Rain Snake’s venom were terrifying as few could defend against it. Their venom had the power to corrode the energy of the Heavens and Earth. Most Cultivators would resist poison by using their own Qi to block it from spreading. This most common tactic set up barricades inside the body to prevent the poison from reaching their vital places. Once the concentration of poison was great enough, it would take too much of their Qi to resist and force them into a choice between letting the poison destroy their bodies, or becoming helpless to resist their opponent. Since Qi was derived from the energy of the Heavens and Earth, it was also subject to the corrosive effect of the venom.

Not only was the usual method to resist poisons barely effective, the Sunset Rain Snake’s venom also hamstrung most defensive Qi techniques and barriers.