Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Unable to distinguish colors or speak, Huai Nian can only observe the world from the pure perspective of a snake.

The red serpent raised its head and looked at what it perceived as the sky, which was empty and deep, as black as pitch.

The earth was also black.

The rocks and soil exuded their own unique scents, yet they left only a cold, hard, and blurry outline in the snake's perception, as if they were silhouettes with details brutally shaved off.

The snake flickered its tongue again, sending countless tiny specks of light scattered in the air into its mind.

In a world that was originally empty, tree-like protrusions suddenly appeared.

"These should be trees..." The giant snake flicked its tongue again, and the images in its mind shifted accordingly.

In the blackness of the earth, many small, yellowish-brown dots suddenly lit up, slowly and stubbornly burrowing into the soil.

"These must be small insects from the soil."

The giant snake wanted to see more, so its tongue, which it rarely flicked in and out of, was now protruding almost every second.

The images in my mind were like a PowerPoint presentation I had made in my past life, refreshing frame by frame.

"That's somewhat interesting."

The giant snake continuously flicked its tongue as it meandered down the mountain forest, like a silent stream flowing along the ground, eventually merging into the surging river.

A deep blue expanse instantly filled my mind.

The snake's tongue licked the cool river water, and in the deep blue, many small, swimming blue dots appeared.

These tiny blue dots are much larger than the soil insects, and their streamlined body outlines can be clearly seen.

The river was swift, and the current carried everything downstream.

Most of the fish swim close to the rocks or lurk at the bottom of the water, using the terrain to mitigate the force of the rushing water.

"Even with Zhongshan's intervention, the water here remains swift..."

The giant snake sank completely to the bottom of the water, turned around, and swam away in the direction of the surging current.

The enormous crimson shadow meandered through the water. The expected resistance did not appear. Instead, an inexplicable force surrounded its body.

The surging river that came towards us suddenly became a force that propelled us upstream.

Instead of fleeing as they had in the past, the fish and shrimp living in the water followed the snake. The strong and healthy ones clung to the snake's tail, while the weaker ones followed behind.

Going upstream, swimming out of the mountains and waters, a "fish-dragon" belonging to the river has already gathered behind the giant snake.

At this moment, the fisherman on the shore looked at the scene on the river that he had never seen before in his life. His eyes and mouth were wide open, almost to their limit.

Countless fish swim upstream, their bodies filling the water with shadows.

If we cast a net like that...

It seems they're going to dredge up half the river.

May the mountain god protect you!

Before he could react, Zhong Song, who was fishing with him, shouted loudly, his voice like a mountain song, the melody echoing among the mountains.

He shouted to the sky, to the mountains, and to the Luo River.

He then threw down the tattered fishing net and placed the fish basket woven from bamboo strips beside him on the shore.

The Zhong brothers, Zhong Bao and Zhong Bao, who were traveling with him, were startled by Zhong Song and were about to scold him.

But they discovered that countless fish leaped out of the river, each as long as a person's forearm, and fell straight into the fish basket that Nuosong had placed on the bank.

"This..." The two brothers' eyes widened again, speechless.

"Quickly, quickly, this is a gift from the Mountain God during his inspection tour!" Zhong Song hurriedly explained.

"Fish basket! Fish basket!"

"You're still worried about your lousy net. What if casting it disturbs the mountain god's procession?"

"Oh, oh, oh!" The Chung brothers, Chung Po and Chung Po, seemed to wake up from a dream, and quickly threw away their fishing nets and put their fish baskets on the shore.

"May the mountain god protect us, may the mountain god protect us." The three knelt on the spot, closed their eyes and kept chanting.

As the splashing sound of the waves being broken by countless fish gradually faded away, the roaring sound of the Luo River echoed through the valley once more.

Only then did they dare to squint their eyes a crack.

All I could see were three fish baskets in front of me, each filled with fish about the length of a person's forearm.

"That's enough, that's enough." The three of them beamed with joy.

In the new village, it doesn't matter if a few adults eat less, but the children are at the age when they are growing.

The fat merchant brought only limited supplies, which worried the old village chief.

If you eat these fish and meat sparingly, and you can have some meat every day, it should be enough to last you for four or five days.

The Zhong brothers, Zhong Bao and Zhong Bao, stayed behind to guard the fish, while Nuosong returned to the village to call people to help carry them away.

As darkness fell, the villagers brought their baskets, laden with their catch of fish, back to the village.

The giant snake also swam to the corner where it was about to leave Zhongshan.

Before them, countless wisps of dark blue vapor surged and churned, the waves crashing against the giant rocks with a deafening roar.

The spring floods of the Jingzhe solar term have long passed, but the Luo River's waters remain as fierce as ever...

The giant snake turned its head and looked at the fish that were following closely behind it.

The weak had already been washed away by the current; what remained were stubborn creatures that had not yet become demons.

Upon closer inspection, their hearts were beating extremely fast, as if they were holding their breath to keep up with themselves.

"Since you're not willing to admit defeat, then keep up," the giant serpent murmured to itself, continuing forward.

Upon entering that bay, the water surged violently, as if mountains were collapsing and the sky were falling.

Not only is there an oncoming current, but also the force of eddies that cause water to crash against boulders and roll back.

Everywhere, under the heavens and on the earth, in all directions, there are undercurrents that seek to tear living beings apart.

Even the giant snake felt a slight resistance.

Countless fish behind it were overturned and swept away by the current.

Once outside the Zhongshan area, the giant snake lay across the Luo River, waiting for a fish to break through its encirclement and come to it.

a long time.

Not a single fish managed to escape the bay.

The giant snake remained motionless, its enormous body stretching across the water like a silent mountain range.

The moon rises.

Suddenly, a fish leaped out of the waves and splashed onto the shore.

Its tail thrashed wildly against the damp mud, inching forward little by little, the pattering sound drawing out the large snake.

It poked its head out of the water and saw a dark blue fish on the shore, desperately jumping towards it.

A hundred meters on land was like an insurmountable chasm for that fish, even more difficult than crossing a bay.

The fish hopped all the way to the shore, its heart pounding to its limit, unable to muster any more strength.

From nature's perspective, once it chooses to go ashore and leave the waterways, its fate, success, or failure is entirely up to itself.

The giant snake stood still in the water, its golden and silver eyes emitting a faint light, which fell on the fish struggling and thrashing its tail, but unable to move forward even an inch.

But nature is merciless, while living beings have feelings.

Having gotten this far entirely on their own, they have already exceeded the capabilities of fish.

Huai Nian felt he could bear the consequences of this fish's actions.

Its tail slowly rose and slapped the water's surface, instantly sending turbid white waves crashing onto the shore and swallowing the fish whole.

In the snake's vision, a power surged from within its own body, landing in the azure of the fish.

A tremendous force surged into every inch of the fish's flesh and bones, causing it to transform and finally transform into a crisp sound of chains snapping.

"Physical strength is a shackle."

"A new, resolute and resourceful demon has joined the waters."

"That's a good thing."

The power contained within his enormous body was virtually limitless; the power he had just used was merely a drop in the ocean.

The giant snake shook its head, turned and disappeared into the water, following the current towards the source of the Luo River.

As it flicked its tail, the surging water carried the unconscious fish back to Zhongshan.

P.S.: Chapter 40 has been adjusted, and the blessing the protagonist receives when descending the mountain has been modified.