A hint of anger could be seen in the eyes of the Matriarch and it made the incoming cultivators freeze in place. Their bodies shivered like they were standing in the freezing cold without clothes and their legs trembled like a newborn calf.
They cultivators were stuck like this for a couple of seconds before the Matriarch finally withdrew her gaze.
~Gasp~
The group took a breath of relief and felt their control return.
"Now tell me why you shouldn't be punished for intruding in my hall without permission?" The matriarch demanded.
"M-Matriarch! It's something that warranted this intrusion, please forgive us." One of the cultivators said.
"And what might that be?" The matriarch said, easing up a little.
While it was certainly a violation of rules to enter this chamber without permission, the matriarch knew that there wasn't anyone who would dare to break it without a significant reason.
"We are coming right from the temple of the serpents, the Statues of the Ancestral Serpents have opened their eyes!" They finally said.
Hearing this, a look of seriousness along with anxiety appeared in the eyes of the matriarch.
"Statues? Not a statue?" She asked firmly.
"Y-yes! Two statues to be exact. Now three of the seven statues have opened their eyes." The cultivators replied.
"I have to see this myself." The matriarch said before she turned around and teleported.
She reappeared with in a dark hall. Its roof was held up by hundreds of pillars that looked like snakes were winding up on them. This was none other than the Temple of the serpents, one of the holy sites of the Serpent Moon sect.
At the end of this hall, one could see a circular area. The matriarch had appeared right in the center of this area. Around her seven statues could be seen. Each of the statue was over a hundred meters tall and was exquisitely made.
Each statue represented a different kind of a serpent and had fine details carved onto it. Every scale, ever curve and every ridge was perfect, making it seem like the statues were all alive.
If it were not for the fact that these statues did not emit the slightest bit of vitality, it would be easy to think that they were simply petrified.
But among these seven statues, there were three that had their eyes opened. Not just that but these eyes were all glowing.
One of the statues with the glowing eyes had a long and bulky body with six legs. Each of the legs had three claws on it and they were curled up around the serpent's body right now.
The other two statues on the other hand were different. They didn't have any legs, but instead they looked to be mirror images of each other. They were also located right next to each other.
When the matriarch saw that it was these two statues that had opened their eyes she was stunned.
"How can it be these two? They're supposed to be the last to awaken…" The matriarch muttered to herself in disbelief.
She stood there, trying to wrap her mind around the fact.
'The Saintess! I need to tell her right away!' The Matriarch thought to herself.
~shua~
Then, in the next moment, the space rippled around her before she teleported away.
Across the planet, there stood a tall mountain. It was the tallest mountain on the entire planet and towered high above the clouds. The Matriarch had appeared about a thousand kilometer away from this mountain.
She started to fly towards the mountain and covered a large amount of distance every second. Yet even then, there was no change to the mountain. It seemed like the Matriarch was still in the same place.
An unknown amount of time passed before the Matriarch finally reached the base of the mountain. From her point of view, the mountain looked like a heavenly wall that reached all the way to the heavens.
Nothing could be seen beyond it and all the sides seemed to be covered by it. The space seemingly warped and twisted, not allowing one to have a proper sense of things. And with the dense forest that covered the mountain, it only made things difficult to figure out.
The forest was filled with towering trees that were easily a few kilometers tall in height. And even then, they looked like normal sized compared to the entire mountain. Just from this, one could understand how tall the mountain really was.
The sounds of beasts could be heard in the forest and thousands of eyes could be seen piercing through the darkness.
~gulp~
The matriarch swallowed her saliva, knowing how dangerous this place was. Even with her status and cultivation, she wouldn't be arrogant enough to take the denizens of this place lightly.
From this point on, the Matriarch didn't fly, but ran on foot. Despite that, her speed wasn't the least bit affected and she could traverse it smoothly. Weaving through the towering trees and interweaving vines was as easy as walking down a plain for her.
And yet the cries of the beasts made her keep her guard up.
~HISS~
But by the time she reached half way to the mountain, a cold hissing could spread across the area.
"It's me, senior!" The Matriarch stopped in her place and bowed while cupping her hands.
~rustle~
~Crack~
The trees moved and bent while the leaves rustled. A massive presence could be felt approaching from the distance. If one looked from above, they would see the towering trees parting to make way for something large.
Soon, a pair of dark yellow eyes could be seen glowing in the shadows. The eyes were larger than an elephant and glared at the Matriarch.
~hiss~
"What have you come here for? The Empress has not opened the sacred mountain to anyone!" A voice filled with a murderous aura spoke.
The Matriarch was afraid, but still spoke.
"Holy Guardian, the Saintess needs to know that two more Ancestral serpents have appeared in the world!"
