The words of the Matriarch were enough to dispel the murderous aura of the being in front of her.
~Rumble~
The silhouette of a large head rose above the trees and the dark yellow eyes moved along with it. Soon the head clouds be clearly seen. It belonged to a serpent that was grey and green colored and had horns on its head.
It opened its mouth before letting out a low hiss that traveled far and wide. Thousands of sharps teeth could be seen within its mouth, along with four long fangs that were like pillars and shone under the green moonlight.
"Go forth, the rest of the guardians will let you though." The massive snake stated.
"Thank you, Holy Guardian." The Matriarch finally lifted her head and continued running up the mountain.
But throughout the entire process she didn't glance at the massive serpent for even a moment. It wasn't that she would be admonished for it, but rather that she was terrified to look at it.
She had heard about the large serpent thousands of years ago. In fact, the first time she heard about them was when she was a mere child and her parents told her about them to scare her into obeying.
Coming in contact with such a being that was once the nightmare of her childhood was gravely terrifying.
'Despite my millenniums of cultivation, the holy guardian is still beyond my perception.' The Matriarch thought to herself.
She didn't waver from her task though and continued to run. This time her journey was a lot faster, and it felt like the very space was shrinking beneath her. The amount of time it took her to reach the halfway point was over a hundred times the time it was taking her to cover the remaining half of the distance.
It was simply incomprehensible.
"The sacred mountain is allowing me faster passage? Does it sense too?" The Matriarch was surprised.
The Sacred Mountain was rumored to be sentient and legends said that it even had its own spirit. Throughout the long history of the Serpent Moon sect, the Sacred Mountain had been the only constant that had never changed.
It still housed the ancient plants, and beasts that had long gone extinct in most of the worlds.
If it were not for the fact that it was the most sacred place of the Serpent Moon sect, it would probably have been useful as a resource farm.
Though that was only if they could actually go against the guardians that lived here too. Even the Matriarch herself would only last a few minutes against a single guardian, not to mention there were more than one.
As for their numbers? It was simply unknown.
Even the strength of the guardians was unknown. But what was known was their legends. The guardians had protected the Serpent Moon World for an unknown amount of time. They were the guardians before the Serpent Moon Sect was even created.
The Matriarch pondered on the sacred mountain and the mysteries of the guardians for a few minutes before she finally reached the top.
Here a quaint temple was built. A multitude of glowing fireflies could be seen moving around in the sky. These glowing fireflies gently illuminated the temple, making it seem like an untouched existence.
The Matriarch felt her soul calm down just by seeing this scene.
~thud~
After her momentary pause,, she quickly kneeled on the ground and slammed her forehead into the stone tiles with a loud thud. She lifted her head and was just about to kowtow again when a faint voice was heard.
It felt like bells were chiming along with it and they enthralled one's heart.
"Come in."
The Matriarch was stunned by this as it was different from what she had been told before by the ancestor.
"Y-yes!" She stood up but kept her eyes low.
Crossing the temple's threshold, the Matriarch could feel the change in the air.
'This is an entirely different existence… the laws here are so profound…' the Matriarch could barely believe her senses.
Without pausing, she continued and came to a halt before the main building of the temple.
"The Hundred and fiftieth Matriarch of the Serpent Moon Sect greets the Saintess!" The Matriarch said with a voice filled with utter worship.
A slight breeze blew, and the Matriarch's hair fluttered back.
"Lift your head." The chiming voice spoke once more.
The Matriarch did as was commanded and looked up, only to be dazzled by the beauty in front of her. Words were not enough to describe the woman that stood in the temple's doorway.
Her red hair hung like a waterfall of flames while her emerald green dress looked like it was carved straight from gems!
Faint snake scales could even be seen flickering on the dress and gold ornaments adorned it, increasing its charm by many times. Bountiful peaks were hidden behind the dress and above it a slender neck rose.
Finally, a face that could only belong to that of a goddess was seen.
Green eyes graced it with slit like pupils that could charm anyone, whether it be man, beast or a devil.
"I shall forever be thankful for allowing me to bask in your presence, Saintess!" The Matriarch said from the very bottom of her heart.
It had long since been her dream to meet the Saintess and this was the very first time she had the opportunity. There were many matriarchs in the past who never had the opportunity to meet the Saintess, despite their long lives.
"Mmm… What do you have to say? And where is your ancestor?" The Saintess questioned.
"The ancestor is currently in the southern Immortal court on our sect's business. She wouldn't be able to come in time to tell you about this urgent matter." The Matriarch answered quickly.
"I see… and what is it? Did you find out about more ancestral serpents?" The Saintess replied.
"Yes! Yes we did! This time there are two!" The Matriarch said with excitement.
"Two? Which ones?" A hint of excitement could be seen in the eyes of the Saintess as well.
"The Yin-Yang Twin Serpents!"
