All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

"It gets hotter and more humid the further we go in. This kind of environment is a favorite of snakes. I hope we can have some success today." Yang Pan muttered to himself as he cleaved a patterned snake in two with another stroke.

The deeper they ventured into the mountains, the more snakes they encountered. Along the way, Yang Pan had cut down countless snakes that had tried to bite him. The corpses of snakes of various colors were scattered in the grass on both sides of the road, and the stench of blood attracted many insects and rodents.

Even without much to show for it, Yang Pan is still an expert in snake-killing techniques.

Fortunately, these were all ordinary snakes, not as fast as the Bodhi snake, and Yang Pan was now more agile after developing internal strength, so he was not bitten.

However, the smell of withered leaves and rotting animal carcasses deep in the mountains made Yang Pan feel quite uncomfortable. Fortunately, there were few flying insects around, otherwise Yang Pan would have really considered turning back.

Continuing to wade through the surrounding vegetation, enduring the unpleasant smell in his mouth and nose, Yang Pan's eyes scanned the surroundings.

He didn't find any herbs along the way, even though there should have been some rare medicinal herbs deep in these mountains. In the past two years, Yang Pan had read many medical books in addition to his cultivation. After all, further internal energy cultivation involves meridians, and martial artists must have a sufficient understanding of the human body's meridians to cultivate internal energy.

It was during this process that Yang Pan gained some knowledge about certain medicinal herbs.

Yang Pan didn't believe that the herbs in the mountains had been completely picked clean by herb gatherers. If that were true, the snakes along the way should have been cleared away, and they wouldn't still be appearing in droves. Besides, the surrounding area was covered with dense weeds, clearly indicating the absence of human footprints.

Yang Pan had no clue about this situation, but he was unwilling to think about it too much, since the Bodhi Snake was his primary target.

Whoosh!

Just as Yang Pan took another step, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a shadow flashing past him out of the corner of his eye. The surrounding grass and trees swayed, and the dark figure vanished in an instant.

"Bodhi-curved snake!"

Yang Pan was overjoyed. Although the thing had moved quickly, he had managed to catch a glimpse of its golden scales. Combined with its speed, Yang Pan was now certain that it was his target.

Without hesitation, he swung his long sword to cut through the weeds blocking his path and strode after the Bodhi snake.

......

Susu!

Golden scales rubbed rapidly against the ground as the Bodhi Serpent's slender body moved swiftly, its forked tongue flicking in and out, sensing the myriad messages carried in the air.

Suddenly its snake body stopped, and its jawbone sensed a strong tremor coming from the ground behind it. In its hunting memories, it knew that the tremor was from a large prey approaching.

Common snakes generally do not prey on large prey, which is related to the snake's size and its ability to warn of danger.

Even if a snake can kill an animal that is too large with its venom, it cannot swallow it. Furthermore, large animals are also dangerous to ordinary snakes, and they generally do not dare to attack unless their territory is invaded or they sense danger from a large animal.

But the Boschu snake is swift and its venom is potent, placing it almost at the top of the food chain in the heart of this mountain range. Sensing a creature approaching, the Boschu snake, driven by its hunting instincts and a sense of danger, immediately stopped and lay in ambush.

It waits, waiting for its prey to get close before striking swiftly and killing it instantly.

Boom boom boom!

The vibrations grew stronger and stronger, and the distance drew closer and closer. Finally, just as the Bosqu snake sensed its prey approaching, all the scales on its body pushed forward, and its entire body shot out like lightning.

While suspended in mid-air, the mouth of the Bosqu snake was already open, and the venom hidden in its two fangs was ready to be released.

Snapped!

"Little thing, you're pretty fast!"

Yang Pan gripped the struggling, writhing golden snake tightly in his hand, a smile creeping onto his lips. This little thing was indeed fast; he'd chased after it, killing countless other snakes along the way, and just when he thought he was about to lose this Bodhi snake, it suddenly lunged at him from the opposite direction.

He hadn't learned any martial arts techniques, so his speed wasn't fast, but his reaction time was quite good. The fact that this foolish snake didn't run away but instead attacked him was exactly what he wanted.

"However, do snakes also have varying levels of intelligence? This thing's gall bladder shouldn't affect my IQ, right?" Yang Pan muttered to himself as he pinched the small snake in his hand and looked at its limp, noodle-like body.

His gaze continued to sweep across the surroundings. After the two discoveries of yesterday and today, Yang Pan had confirmed that the lair of the Bodhi Serpent was nearby. He only needed to focus on cultivating his internal energy techniques later; this place would then become his treasure trove of cultivation.

He had no intention of mobilizing people to search for the snake's nest. Firstly, the mountain range was not dangerous to him, and secondly, the rare and precious natural treasures were too tempting.

Even if Yang Pan only hires ordinary people to search for it, it's hard to guarantee that some of them might discover the snake gall's effects for various reasons. Once this news gets out, how many martial artists wouldn't be tempted by a treasure that can increase internal strength?

By then, he probably won't be able to enjoy the snake gall bladder, which is beyond the reach of a third-rate martial artist like himself.

"A good day, let's continue tomorrow!" Yang Pan felt delighted at the thought of his internal strength improving rapidly again and prepared to continue exploring tomorrow.

Just as Yang Pan was about to leave with the snake carcass, he suddenly felt a series of noises coming from the bushes beside him.

Is today going to bring double happiness? Watching the bushes sway warily, Yang Pan secretly wondered if another Bodhi snake would appear.

*Splish splash!*

The thought had barely formed in his mind when a huge, dark shadow lunged at him from his sight.

Yang Pan's pupils contracted as he felt the stench of blood rushing towards him. He pushed off the ground and leaped backward, even in mid-air, he could see the enormous black shadow approaching. It was a giant python, the size of two adult fists, its body a mixture of brown and black!

So thick!

Just as he was beginning to marvel, Yang Pan felt a gust of wind sweeping towards the side of his head – it was the python's tail! Instantly, Yang Pan drew his sword, aiming the blade outwards at the attacking snake tail.

Thud! Splat!

The longsword collided with the snake's tail, the blade barely slicing through the snake's body and drawing a mouthful of blood, while Yang Pan's body also fell to the ground at that moment.

"How could there be a python?"

After landing, Yang Pan focused his attention on the giant python ahead, its twisting body crushing patches of grass. A sense of unease settled in his heart. He had felt the immense power emanating from the snake's body during their initial collision, yet even with that speed and strength, Yang Pan's longsword had only managed to barely pierce its scales.

Clearly, this giant python's scales provide far greater protection than those of ordinary snakes.

"However, it'll be perfect to use you to test my current strength!"

The giant python before him was probably three or four meters long. If Yang Pan had seen such a behemoth before his transmigration, his legs would probably have trembled. But now... Yang Pan flicked his wrist, shaking off a few streaks of blood from the blade.

After successfully condensing his inner strength, Yang Pan felt an urge to spar with someone. Unfortunately, Senior Brother Zhang was in a hurry to leave Xiangyang, so Yang Pan couldn't find anyone else to spar with. Now, this giant python that suddenly appeared was a good sparring partner.

Seeing its prey challenging it, the giant python flicked its tongue more violently, raising its body higher than Yang Pan's height, its massive head looking down at the small creature before it.

Yang Pan also looked up and met the giant python's eyes.

Whoosh!

Almost instantly, the giant python moved again, its mouth wide open, lunging to devour Yang Pan's head. Faced with this direct attack, Yang Pan shifted his feet, dodging to the side, while simultaneously mobilizing his internal energy from his dantian.

With a rushing sound, like flowing water, the internal energy surged into the meridians, flowing through the abdomen, to the chest, shoulders and neck, and finally through the arms and hands.

Yang Pan immediately felt a tremendous force supporting his arms, and the long sword that was originally quite heavy in his hands now felt as light as a feather.

Clang!

Yang Pan's wrist trembled, and the blade whistled as it sliced ​​through the air, slashing down at the snake's head in front of him.

Whoosh! The snake's head missed its target, but the python was not stupid. Its tail twisted and swept towards Yang Pan's waist and abdomen like a steel whip.

Feeling the strong wind coming from behind again, Yang Pan pushed off the ground with both legs and leaped into the air to dodge the snake's tail. At the same time, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the giant python's mouth was chasing after him and biting down again.

With his inner strength surging, Yang Pan's longsword flew from his hand, its tip flashing with a cold light as it pierced the giant python's mouth.

*Pfft! Hiss!*

The sound of a long knife piercing flesh and the giant python's painful roar rang out one after the other. At this moment, Yang Pan was in mid-air, his remaining internal energy continuing to surge in his palm. He clenched his five fingers into a fist and, using the speed of his descent, slammed it down on the snake's head like Mount Tai crashing down.

Bang!

The fist slammed down on the snake's head like a cannonball, the internal force penetrating the snake's skin and flesh to directly shatter the brain tissue inside its skull.

Hiss! As if in its final lament, Yang Pan saw the giant python's body stiffen for a moment after landing, before crashing to the ground. However, looking at the python's corpse, Yang Pan did not approach directly, but instead moved his feet slightly away.

He knew that some snakes could still bite even after their heads were cut off, and he wasn't sure if this giant python would do the same, so he simply moved away and waited for a while.

After all, he didn't want to be caught off guard and suffer a last-ditch counterattack from the python.