The caretakers of the Clear Sky Academy, specifically the old man, were not fools. The problem with the Sunset Rain Snake is that it was only a mutated variation of the more common Poison Rain Snake. Upon advancing to tier 5 it had the chance to mutate, and so it couldn’t be controlled when such a terrifying creature showed up. It also showed their Beast Taming skills that they could contain the Sunset Rain Snake so successfully.

The huge defensive barrier was large enough for the snake to have its own territory and not feel as if it was being trapped. Since it didn’t feel trapped, then it had no reason to assault the barrier. If they instead tried to capture the snake with Formation Arrays then it would retaliate and its venom would cause immense damage to the arrays. Since the Sunset Rain Snake was not waiting for them to enter, then it meant Sage had the opportunity to get the drop on the little beast.

That’s another reason it was so dangerous, when the Sunset Rain Snake underwent its mutation it didn’t grow larger, it actually shrunk in size. The Poison Rain Snake it evolved from was as thick as a man’s thigh and twenty feet long, while the Sunset Rain Snake was only as thick as a wrist and six feet long. This smaller size made it more difficult to detect, but also contributed to why Sage had chosen to take this job. A tier 5 with such a small body meant it had a pretty high quality bloodline and also he was eager to test out its venom.

Sage didn’t bring out the Purple Mist Sect to help him this time, rushing towards the den he found in the center of the territory. It was actually quite easy to find with Foresight as he just had to prepare to destroy a huge swath of trees, and he could see the results of the action. Then he’d stop himself just before he actually released his attack. After repeating this action three times he saw the Sunset Rain Snake shooting out of a hole in the ground. Since he knew exactly where the snake was hiding he could attack preemptively, spitting a stream of Poison Qi into the hole in the ground.

For this attack he used the Searing Greenrose Miasma, as he hoped that its intangible nature would be less corroded by the Sunset Rain Snake’s venom. Sage rushed forward towards the snake’s den at high speed, but when he’d closed half the distance his eyes widened and huge pieces of rock and dirt were shot into the air as he changed direction. He shot towards the side, circling around the snake’s den instead of rushing towards it. A shower of shimmering golden liquid full upon his previous location, raining upon a hundred foot radius. This shower immediately started moving, sweeping towards his changed position.

While running, Sage quickly pulled the ring from his finger and sent it into the Inner World. A moment later he sent the rest of his storage equipment and the Magic Tools he was wearing to the Inner World as well. The clothing he wore stemmed from the Wardrobe Spider he wore around his waist, so there was a moment of temporary nudity as he pulled out a simple robe and pulled it over his shoulders. Luckily there was no one else around to notice this momentary failure or highlight his embarrassment. With that done, he changed directions again and dashed towards the snake.

With the change in direction, the rain of shimmering venom caught up and intercepted him. The drops of shimmery liquid splashed against his Jade Mantle and almost instantly corroded it. The layer of energy was like ice meeting a boiling liquid and it melted away rapidly upon contact. Sage wasn’t deterred, continuing to charge through the spray and close in upon the snake. The Sunset Rain Snake had slithered out of its den and had its head lifted towards the sky, spewing out a geyser-like spray of shimmery gold liquid. As Sage got closer it’s head continued to lower and the rain that was splashing onto Sage turned into a hose aimed directly towards him. He juked to the side, avoiding the poisonous spray for a few more steps. He ducked underneath and then flipped over it, taking rapid evasive action as the snake kept moving its head to try and catch him with the venom.

He could only do so much and as he closed within the last few steps the firing arc of the snake’s venom was too wide for him to avoid. The snake only had to move its head slightly while he had to completely circle around behind the snake to prevent being hit. At this vital instant he stopped avoiding the spray of venom and let it strike his chest as he took the last step to close the distance. The flood of liquid washed away the rest of the Jade Mantle that was sheathing his body and soaked him as he dove forward and snatched the neck of the Sunset Rain Snake with both hands.

Despite its terrifying venom and high tier for its size, the Sunset Rain Snake was nowhere near as powerful as other Demonic Beasts purely from a physical perspective. Even a normal rank five Cultivator could overpower it physically, if they could survive long enough to grab hold of it that is. This was the reason for Sage’s confidence in capturing the Sunset Rain Snake. Their comparatively weak physique was no match for his own body that was considerably stronger than most Cultivators.

The venom of the Sunset Rain Snake not only burned through the Jade Mantle, it also spread throughout his body and burned away every shred of Qi with vicious efficiency. After being soaked with so much venom it reached such a high level of concentration that it could instantly corrode all of the Qi that he produced. Thankfully, his second meridian system and the Poison Dantian were able to draw in enough of the Sunset Rain Snake’s venom that it prevented Sage from dying. For other Cultivators, Qi impregnated every fiber of their being once they reached a certain rank. Faced with such a large part of their body corroding away would cause them immense amounts of damage and lead to a gruesome death. The more powerful the Cultivator, the more their body was intrinsically tied to Qi which meant the damage they suffered intensified.

Only with the unique poison absorbing abilities taken from the Fire Bellied Cobra so long ago was Sage confident enough not to be pushed to death by the Sunset Rain Snake. Even so, its venom was powerful enough to burn away every last bit of Qi inside his body and fill him with debilitating pain. It was only because of the Pain Demon locked away inside the mental fortress of his Spirit Cultivation that he could continue to move unhindered. Once he grabbed hold of the Sunset Rain Snake’s neck he shifted his grip to control its head and suffered the slaps of its tail against his body as he controlled its mouth to aim away from himself.

That was risky, but I still succeeded. Glad nobody saw that. Maybe the old man did, but he should have enough tact not to mention it.

Upon seeing this mission, Sage knew that it was unlikely for others to easily complete, but was perfect for his own advantages. It was also extremely unforgiving as someone that failed to capture the Sunset Rain Snake could also end up causing permanent damage to their cultivation even if they survived to escape. The snake’s venom was just too malicious and hard to defend against that most would rather not take the risk. This was mainly because the rewards for the task were not that high. It seemed the Clear Sky Academy didn’t lose much by keeping the snake contained, and could afford to wait for someone who could complete the job without requiring immense remuneration.

Funny enough, even Sage wouldn’t have bothered to take the job if it were not for the hidden benefits he could get out of it. The Sunset Rain Snake’s venom could be quite valuable to him, and there was also the chance he could ‘steal’ some of its essence energy for breeding with the ‘Mutate’ technique. He had thought it would be an easy job given his abilities, but just as he started his approach he saw a very unfortunate result with his Foresight and had to change plans. In his vision he saw the Sunset Rain Snake’s venom starting to corrode the Universe Ring and so he immediately changed his plans. This also led to that unfortunate moment of nudity, but thankfully no one was around to watch.