“Right here,” Liu Sheng said.

A moment later, Liu Sheng circled above a patch of forest several times. After confirming there was no danger, he swooped down.

Amidst the rising white mist, his true form appeared.

With each use, his technique became more refined.

Sitting down under a tree, he summoned his panel, reviewed his previous thoughts, and with a shift of his mind:

“Consume all Spirit Essence points to deduce the Iron Scale Snake…”

In an instant, on the panel, ink cascaded like a waterfall.

Amidst the swirling light and shadows, his mind… seemed to be drawn into it, experiencing it firsthand—

【Year One, you were born in the snake cave…】

【Year Two, you had already dominated the snake cave and avenged your parents and siblings. You began to systematically poison and eat the venomous snakes in the snake cave…】

【Year Three, several beautiful female snakes wagged their tails at you. You killed them and ate them…】

【Year Four, you were eating snakes…】

【Year Five, you were eating snakes…】

…

【Year Fifteen, the entire snake cave had been emptied by you. More and more venomous snakes were dropped from above each year, but you ate them all. You vaguely sensed that some changes were occurring within your body. Your Iron Scales became tougher, your strength greater, your speed faster, your venom deadlier, and you could endure hunger and thirst better. You began shedding your skin…】

…

【Year Twenty-Four, you killed the last venomous snake dropped in this year. Over these years, more and more venomous snakes were dropped in, and they grew stronger and stronger, but none were your match… They became your meal. You did not mate, did not play, did not hibernate. Every day, you were either killing snakes or on your way to eat snakes. You were a venomous snake devoid of emotion. You began your ninth shedding…】

【Year Twenty-Five, after completing your ninth shedding, you were two zhang long and as thick as an arm, with formidable Iron Scales and sharp fangs. The new venomous snakes dropped in this year were all 'Snake King' level formidable creatures, each one large, fierce, and highly venomous… If it were you at the start of your shedding, you would not have been their match. But now, they could only wail, flee, and finally become your meal. A mysterious Qi, born within you at some unknown time, permeated and strengthened your Iron Scales, muscles, bones, and fangs… In the depths of your being, you sensed that if this Qi could fill your entire body, you would undergo a transformation in your life level…】

【Year Twenty-Six, you discovered that the mysterious Qi within your body would continuously grow stronger as you consumed venomous snakes… You needed to eat more venomous snakes, but the quantity dropped in each year was simply not enough. You realized for the first time that this snake cave had become a hindrance to your life's transformation. You became exceptionally irritable, and the hard stone walls around the snake cave were repeatedly shattered by you, layer after layer… Either give you more venomous snakes, or let you out!】

【Year Twenty-Seven, only one venomous snake was dropped in this year. It had bluish-green Iron Scales, a slender body, and was two or three times your length. It was very handsome… And very fragrant! It was a bit different; it actually flicked its tongue at you to greet you… This was a venomous snake that had achieved sentience! It said that snakes were inherently noble and would never be slaves, and it wanted you to help it transform and break out of the snake cave. You asked how to help it transform. Tears of sadness flowed from its eyes, and it opened its mouth, inviting you to crawl inside… You lowered your head and slowly swam to its mouth, taking the opportunity to bite its vital point, injecting venom, and severing its spine. Before it died, it kept flicking its tongue and saying it was impossible… You were just an anomalous snake; how could you kill it, a snake spirit! A snake spirit? It really was fragrant!】

【Year Twenty-Eight, the year you ate the bluish-green snake spirit, you never felt hungry. Your strength had increased again, enough to directly kill opponents of the bluish-green snake spirit's caliber. The mysterious Qi within your body had grown much stronger, but it was far from enough to fill your entire body. You felt confused… So, the moment the cover was lifted again, you shot up and drilled out of the hole. A strong hand reached out to grab you. You coiled around it, opened your mouth and bit down. Your fangs seemed to pierce a layer of tough Qi membrane, sinking into flesh and injecting venom… You successfully escaped from this mountain cave!】

【Year Twenty-Nine, after overcoming countless hardships, you arrived at a valley. This was a paradise for venomous snakes, tens of thousands of them… You were overjoyed!】

【Year Thirty, this year you ate over a thousand venomous snakes, and the mysterious Qi within your body grew stronger by another increment. But you realized that if you continued to eat like this, it wouldn't be long before you would eat all the snakes in the valley. A sudden inspiration struck you, recalling a scene you had witnessed along the way—some two-legged beasts would throw a single millet seed into the ground in spring and harvest ten thousand grains in autumn… So, you decided to “plant snakes.”】

【Year Thirty-One, your plan succeeded. After you intentionally controlled the number of snakes you ate each year and poisoned a dozen eagles and vultures that came to hunt snakes, the snake population began to slowly increase. You saw the hope of achieving sentience.】

…

【Year Fifty, you were coiled on the highest rock in the valley. You looked at the venomous snakes covering the mountains and plains, feeling content. Twenty years had passed, and the number of venomous snakes had increased nearly tenfold. You quietly increased your annual food intake to two thousand snakes, but the mysterious Qi within your body now only filled thirty percent of your body. Over these years, anomalous snakes in the snake population occasionally gained sentience and challenged your dominance. You discovered that the effect of eating one snake spirit was comparable to eating three thousand venomous snakes. Thus, you began to cultivate snake spirits. You actively sought out various precious plants and exotic fruits to feed the snake population. You mated with over a thousand female snakes, giving birth to venomous snakes with your Bloodline. You nurtured their growth and indulged their challenges to your status… And then, they became the resources for your transformation.】

…

【Year Sixty, while searching for precious plants, you conveniently caught a lost two-legged beast. This two-legged beast, named Lu Sheng, said he was going to the capital for the imperial examination and also talked about governing the country and bringing peace to the land in the future. But when he arrived at the snake valley, he was so scared that he fainted, and his pants were foul. So, governing the country and bringing peace… was just shitting in his pants. This was an interesting two-legged beast. You decided to keep him for amusement, listening to his stories every day to pass the time.】

…

【Year Seventy, Lu Sheng said you were a Dragon Bloodline. You asked what a Dragon Bloodline was. He replied that it was born from the wild mating of true Dragons. You felt he was insulting you, so you whipped him with your tail into the snake population, letting ten large, long female snakes mate with him. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful. He told you that he had read in an ancient text—there existed Dragon Bloodline anomalous snakes that resided in deep mountains and secluded valleys for a hundred years, devouring moonlight and yin dew. After a hundred years and a shedding, a Dragon pattern would grow on their head, and they would be called a 'Hui'. A Hui would become a Jiao in five hundred years, residing in deep pools and great rivers, with fleshy horns on its head, capable of summoning wind and rain… You firmly believed it.】

…

【Year Ninety, Lu Sheng died. He said that in their world, seventy was already rare, and he considered himself long-lived. His only regret was not seeing you transform into a Hui. Before he died, he touched your Iron Scales and said he wished to return to his roots, and he told you his home address… If you Undergo Tribulation and become a Hui in ten years, please send him home. You couldn't speak, you just nodded.】

…

【Year One Hundred, in the ten years after Lu Sheng's death, you felt loneliness for the first time. Even though the mountains and plains were covered with your descendants… you grew weary of them. You often lingered around a mound of earth by the rocks… That was Lu Sheng's grave. Fortunately, after decades of continuously devouring thousands of snake spirits, the mysterious Qi within your body finally filled your entire being. On a stormy night, you suddenly felt a stir and quietly left the snake population. South of the snake valley, in a damp, poisonous mist-filled area, you drilled a hundred zhang underground and began your tenth shedding… Your Iron Scales burst with blood, your skull split into three parts, and the earth Qi transformed into yin fire, burning upwards from your tail. If you succeeded in this trial, your bones would transform into a Hui, and Dragon patterns would grow on your forehead. If you failed… your bones and flesh would turn to ash, and a hundred years of hard work would be for naught.】

【Year One Hundred and Three, on the day of Jingzhe, when all things sprout, you… opened your eyes from the ashes!】

To the readers who have read this far, please give me some encouragement, some recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, turn the book to the last page, and count it as a read for me. Thank you all!