Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Time flies when you're in the mountains; you settle down and cultivate yourself, and before you know it, ten days have passed.

The soil absorbed the three days of heavy rain during the Awakening of Insects season, and the stream that had been forcibly widened returned to its original state, the river channel narrowed again, and the water murmured.

The giant snake that had been cultivating in this place has long since disappeared.

But they didn't go far.

In the forest by the stream, one snake trail after another crisscrossed, and the soil was unusually soft, as if it had been cut by a knife or plowed by an ox.

These are the marks left by the large snake as it slowly moves forward, its scales scraping against the soil.

Huai Nian is shedding her skin.

After a full month of cultivation, the blood and energy that had evaporated from his body were almost entirely locked by his scales at the junction of his scales and skin.

Now, that place, bathed in fresh blood, has grown new scales and is eager to break free from its constraints and breathe fresh air.

"After the pain subsided, it itched—it was truly torture!"

"Why would the humans of this world create the 'Thousand Refinements' manual, a cultivation method that tortures themselves like this?"

The giant snake turned its head, bared its fangs, and pierced a hole in the remaining old skin that clung tightly to its body.

Then, with a forceful upward thrust of its head and neck, it tore off a small piece of old black skin with a ripping sound, revealing new, bright red scales inside, as red as blood jade.

Huai Nian used his sharp teeth to hook the old skin and peel it off little by little. When it was long enough, he raised his head and hung it on a high rock protrusion.

Once it was securely attached, the giant snake lay prone on the ground and slowly swam forward.

Old snakeskin is extremely tough; as long as you can maintain a slow pace of movement, you can tear it from head to tail.

The large snake's belly scales stood up one by one. Through countless trials and tribulations, its muscles, as if cast from gold and iron, released terrifying power with each contraction and expansion, causing its enormous body to slowly writhe.

The pain of actively tearing off the old skin entered Huai Nian's mind, overshadowing the itching of the new scales rippling all over his body.

However, this slight pain is nothing compared to the agony of being burned by the sun's essence.

The larger the python, the longer it takes to shed its skin.

Having lived two lives, Huai Nian is quick-witted and decided to take the initiative to peel off her old skin.

Even so, it took nearly three days to finally peel off the last layer of skin from my body.

"Cultivation requires painstaking effort, laying a solid foundation..."

The last piece of snakeskin was peeled off, and Huai Nian crawled to the stream and used the water as a mirror to look at himself.

As expected, after molting, the once jet-black snake had turned into a crimson snake.

"I wonder how strong my scales, which are covered in snake blood, are."

The giant snake coiled its body, opened its mouth, and bit down on its own body.

Huai Nian only felt some pressure after applying enough force to pierce through the old skin.

With continued force, the snake's fangs began to ache, and four rows of dense white spots appeared on its crimson scales.

Huai Nian then felt a little pain.

"The suffering wasn't for nothing. Now, my scale armor's defensive power is more than double what it used to be."

The giant snake opened its mouth and suddenly lashed out with its tail.

The tail swept across like a long whip, forcefully drawing away the air, and visible ripples spread instantly.

The ripples landed with a loud crash, sending earth and stones flying, leaving a long, narrow gash in the ground.

"Your internal energy has also improved considerably..." Huai Nian looked at the deep pit in the ground and nodded in satisfaction.

In the past, when fighting with the Golden Ape King, he had to carefully dodge its extremely powerful arms to avoid being captured and wielded as a snake whip.

just now……

"I wouldn't say I could crush him, but at least I can now go toe-to-toe with him and subdue the Golden Ape."

Thinking of this, the giant snake raised its tail in front of it.

In a daze, it seemed as if I saw myself when I was still human, when I was still a little demon.

If you found a straight stick, it would immediately cause all the rapeseed flowers within a ten-mile radius to bend over.

"I suppose I've fulfilled my past life's wish in this life," Huai Nian murmured.

I'm planning to smoke a few more times to get used to my body, which has just shed its skin.

Suddenly, a series of fox howls echoed through the forest.

The echo was short and rapid.

Huai Nian pictured the white fox running breathlessly in her mind.

"candle!"

The clean-loving white fox was now only focused on running, oblivious to the countless mud spots that covered its body.

It blindly drove through the forest, crossed the stream, and almost hit Huai Nian when it landed.

"South...south of Zhongshan..."

"What happened in the south?" Huai Nian said, lowering her tail and stroking the fox's head. "Think back to what you saw, and figure out what you want to tell me."

With something steady and powerful pressing down on its head, the white fox instantly felt reassured.

It gasped for breath three times, the scene it had just witnessed flashing through its mind, and words welled up in its throat: "I saw that place south of Zhongshan Mountain, called Shanshui Dongtian..."

"Candle...your body..." The white fox looked up and saw the snake's current appearance, so surprised that she forgot what she was going to say again.

"Tell me what you want to tell me first." Huai Nian curled the snake's tail tip and tapped the white fox on the head.

"I saw a flower-like medium being born in that place, the Mountain and Water Cave! The Golden Ape King, the Prison Wolf King, the Mountain Lord, and the Great Black Bear were all blocking that spot!"

With a "thump," the white fox was jolted awake from its surprise and finished speaking in one breath.

"Although Zhongshan is the place where the medium should be born, but..." Huai Nian withdrew his tail.

"Candle, how did your body turn like this... the color of blood?" the white fox asked after a moment's thought.

"I've become stronger."

Huai Nian gave a simple reply, then pulled out his tail again, and the long, narrow wound reappeared on the ground.

This immediately dispelled all the worries in the white fox's heart.

"Mountain and Water Cave Heaven?" Huai Nian stretched. "Is that the big cave that the Yangtze River cuts through Zhongshan Mountain to the south?"

"Yes, that flower hasn't borne fruit yet. The Golden Ape King and the Mountain Lord are each occupying their own territory, and it looks like they're about to fight," the white fox replied quickly.

"Mediator...mediator," Huai Nian murmured, the tip of her tail dropping down and tapping the soil repeatedly.

Compared to humans, demons are born with strong bodies and powerful blood, but they are bound by three shackles from birth.

Physical body and blood, vital energy, spirit and intention.

Only by breaking through these three shackles can one be called a great demon and be qualified to move forward.

Most demonic beasts can break through the first two shackles by following their instincts during cultivation.

Only the path of God, this shackle is mysterious and ethereal, and without the right opportunity, one may never be able to break free in one's lifetime.

The medium is a key given by the spirit of nature and the spirit of Zhongshan, a key that can unlock the shackles of divine thoughts and intentions.

"Besides them, who else has arrived?" Huai Nian asked, looking up.

"I didn't smell the bloodhounds..." the white fox thought for a moment, "The Black Crows and Golden Rocs have all been driven away, and I can't see any eagles or falcons."

"Hmm..." Huai Nian remained silent.

The golden apes worked together to drive away the other competitors and ultimately won the medium based on their strength; this is a case of the strong ruling.

It is an unchanging iron law of nature.

They can fully believe in this ironclad rule, but they cannot allow this rule to limit their thinking.

Huai Nian lowered her head and looked at her body, which had been transformed over the past ten days through countless painful trials and tribulations.

Perhaps one can break free of shackles without needing a medium.

"Although the strong still reign supreme, I can use this opportunity to deal with that golden ape first..."

"Subdue them!"