Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

The sun rises in the depths of Zhongshan Mountain.

The once babbling brook has been swept away by muddy rain and turbid water, and the riverbed has been violently widened and stirred up.

A dark black... a large red and black snake responded to the fox's call, its head splitting open as water flowed up.

"You mean, those people in the new village, they've also put me on their altar?"

"Yes, judging from the appearance of the statue, it should have been newly carved by Village Chief Zhongyan," the fox replied.

"This is a bit..." Huai Nian shook his head, and the withered branches and leaves piled on him fell off in a rustling sound. "I didn't expect this."

The people offered sacrifices, and the strange beasts of Zhongshan sought them but could not obtain them; now, they have obtained them without the people having done anything.

"In the new village, are there any other people who, like the village chief, have my image enshrined?" the giant snake asked.

"For now, only the village chief's family is present."

"However, I noticed that he still had some unused wood at home, and all the tools were laid out in front of him. It seems he plans to make more statues of you for the whole village to worship."

The white fox truthfully recounted what it had seen, while simultaneously feeling puzzled.

It couldn't understand why, when being worshipped was clearly a good thing, there was a hint of something incomprehensible in the sound of the candle...

Confusion and resistance.

Back then, the wolf king, who was arrogant about his bloodline, tried every means to obtain offerings from the villagers in the mountain village, which was similar to Xincun.

Using both kindness and severity, five years were wasted; all that was left was to resort to force and kneeling in supplication, and all that was gained was the offerings of a hundred people.

Moreover, the incense offerings stopped in less than two years.

"Candle..." The white fox had barely uttered a single syllable of inquiry when it immediately swallowed the rest of its question back down its throat.

Just do what Zhu instructed; there's no need to ask about anything else.

"What do you want to ask?" Huai Nian glanced at the white fox.

It lowered its head, its mouth opened and then quickly closed, looking completely like it wanted to say something but couldn't.

"You want to ask me why I don't like offerings from the people?"

"Yes." The white fox nodded.

"Offerings from the people is also one of the means to break the shackles of the three realms and become a great demon. It can even help me go to a higher level."

"Who wouldn't like something pure?" The giant serpent snaked its way out of the river and coiled itself on the rocks. "But according to you, mine is like that of the Mother Goddess..."

Do you understand?

"I don't understand." Facing the candle, the white fox only told the truth.

"Never mind if you don't understand. Is there anything else?" Huai Nian asked.

"Candle, your body..." the white fox said worriedly.

Originally, the giant snake was entirely black.

But now, beneath the black scales, blood could be seen surging. The snake scales didn't look like scales at all; instead, they looked more like strips of cloth used to stop the bleeding of an injured person.

"My current appearance is the inevitable result of cultivation." Huai Nian secretly opened a scale on her body and took a look. "Mother Goddess also saw it. Apart from the pain, it's not a big deal."

"You can go back now. Just check on the new village every few days. Unless it's a natural disaster or man-made calamity they can't control, they don't need help, understand?"

"Understood." The white fox nodded and turned to leave.

As Huai Nian watched the white fox's figure disappear into the dense forest, the dark cloud that had been hanging over her heart finally dissipated.

"My existence has taken away the incense offerings that should belong to my mother, which is why I am restless... However, in Xincun alone, there are only about two hundred believers."

"Perhaps, like the Prison Wolf, this incense offering will naturally die out after a while... It shouldn't have much of an impact on Mother."

On the moss-covered rocks by the shore, the large snake found a rare moment of peace and comfort.

It stretched out its body, its ribs supporting its round, bucket-like snake body, making it look somewhat flat.

"Continue your cultivation."

After stretching and resting for a while, the large snake slithered back into the murky stream.

This is a place carefully selected by Huai Nian, a place to refine the essence of the moon and absorb the essence of the sun.

The source of the stream is the melting snow from Zhongshan Mountain and a secluded underground spring.

The combination of the two should have been chillingly cold, but the heavy rain during the Awakening of Insects, carrying earthy moisture, rushed into the mixture, neutralizing much of the coldness.

As long as you can endure the pain and not burst the riverbed with your tail, the stream water can keep washing over your body, helping you dissipate the heat of the sun and the coldness of the moonlight.

"This 'Three Qi Transformation' makes me feel like a lump of pig iron in a blacksmith's hands. The essence of the sun is the furnace that tempers me, and the hammer is also the great iron hammer..."

In the rushing stream, a large snake poked its head out, raising it towards the sky, silently waiting for noon or late afternoon—

These two times are when the sun is at its most intense.

"If you want to become a useful weapon, you must endure the repeated destruction of the sun and the moon."

With this in mind, the giant snake straightened up in the stream and looked down to examine itself.

The jet-black snake scales clung tightly to its body, leaving no gaps. Steaming blood vapor churned beneath the scales, appearing and disappearing like a red-hot iron in a furnace breathing.

"I am no longer human, but a snake, and my body is my strongest weapon. Since I am destined to suffer anyway, why not use my body as a weapon to forge myself?"

Huai Nianxin had an epiphany, and like a sharp sword, he plunged into the middle of the stream, cleaving through the turbid current.

"Forged by the great sun, tempered by the bright moon, body and mind are refined..."

The ancient book hidden deep in its neck flew out quietly and hovered in the air at a slight angle.

The pages turned, revealing a golden character amidst the white paper.

Huai Nian looked up, and their eyes met.

"Again?"

Prepare yourself for the impact immediately. After waiting for a long time, the golden character did not rush into your sea of ​​consciousness and stir up trouble as it had in the past.

"What's going on?" The giant snake moved its eyes and peeked out.

The golden inscription floated in mid-air, like an unclaimed treasure chest waiting for a destined serpent to open it.

"This is... not forcing me?" Huai Nian looked up at the words suspended in the air. "Anyway, it's always good to have more skills, so let me see what kind of inheritance is in this book."

The giant snake stretched out its head and touched the words with its forehead.

The moment it touched the ground, the golden light scattered and entered the giant snake's sea of ​​consciousness, transforming into spirituality.

The Thousand Hammers and Hundred Refinements

"Humans coexist with heaven and earth and all things, and their bodies can be forged like metal and stone."

"The 'Thousand Hammers and Hundred Refinements' chapter is laborious and demanding, and its practice is not easy. It is a miraculous method that uses hammering, forging, and polishing to remove impurities from materials, making them pure and clear in color."

After carefully examining the spiritual essence, Huai Nian naturally understood how to temper her body like forging iron.

"This book can read minds? I just had the idea of ​​forging my body into a divine weapon, and this 'Thousand Forgings' manual pops up?"

"As expected, it's still my mother... The fact that this book ended up in my hands is definitely related to her."

Huai Nian shook his head, shaking off the irrelevant thoughts in his mind, and turned to the unique thermal sensing perspective that snakes possess.

Amidst the interplay of hot and cold, countless wisps of pure Yang energy from the great sun could be clearly seen emanating from the air.

It is noon, the beginning of the day when the sun is at its strongest and hottest.

"Let's give it a try."

Huai Nian's entire body was taut with snake scales, his forked tongue flicking as he channeled the sun's essence into his body.

The familiar, excruciating pain immediately rose.

My throat felt like it was being stabbed, and my body temperature soared as if I were being boiled in hot water. My blood and vital energy evaporated, surging outwards but being locked up by scales, stagnating on the surface.

The giant serpent sank into the stream, loosened its grip on the sun's essence, and instead tried to guide it to burn inch by inch from its throat to its tail.

Distracted again, he guided the refined Yin Moon Essence within his body to flow over the organs and flesh that were just a hair's breadth away from being charred and burned to death.

"This is truly unbearable for a human!"

Huai Nian trembled all over in pain, and almost couldn't hold on several times, loosening the scales that were locking away her blood and energy.

"But I am a snake... what humans cannot tolerate, I can!"