With virtue

Male viper.

The Chu Ci says: "The male viper has nine heads."

However, the nine heads have become ghosts and gods, and are no longer visible.

The male viper seen in the world is formed by nine snakes swallowing each other, hence the so-called "nine-headed male viper".

Initially, the resentment transformed into nine snakes, each feeding on the vital essence of humans. When the nine snakes met, they devoured each other, their blood and flesh merging into black water, which gathered in a pool and gave birth to a male snake.

It resembles a giant python, with a crimson rooster comb on its head, within which a spirit dwells, a place where vengeful spirits reside.

Its body is covered in black scales, as hard as black iron, impervious to knives and axes, and unaffected by water or fire. It can spew poisonous smoke, which withers and scorches vegetation wherever it passes, and kills any person or animal that comes into contact with it instantly.

Its sound was like the wailing of an infant, which made the listener feel disoriented, unable to distinguish east from west, and left to await death.

The serpent originally had no horns, but the male serpent grew a crest, and was close to transforming into a dragon but had not yet done so. Therefore, its aura contained a trace of the breath of a true dragon, which was resentment containing yang and yin containing fire.

The *Lunheng* (Discourses Weighed in the Balance), in its chapter on "Poisonous Words," states: "Poison is the heat of the sun. All things under heaven that are born from the sun's heat are susceptible to poison. Thus, honey tastes sweet, and wild vegetables smell fragrant. The venom of a snake can kill flying creatures. Dreaming of a viper also signifies gossip. Fire is the symbol of gossip, and gossip is seen in vipers; they are of the same kind and share the same origin, being born of the same energy. Therefore, fire represents speech, and speech represents petty people. Petty people become demons through their words. The *Book of Poetry* says, 'Slanderous words are boundless, causing chaos in the four kingdoms.' If four kingdoms are in chaos, how much more so one person! Therefore, a wise man does not fear a tiger, but only the mouth of a slanderer. The mouth of a slanderer is extremely poisonous."

The poison of the male viper arises from the resentment of petty people and slanderers, combined with a bit of resentment from those who are upright and honorable. Thus, poison is produced. The words of the sage can dispel this notion.

Uh……

That's understandable. It means that the essence of the male viper is poison, and not just any poison, but the poison of words, which is a combination of the words of a slanderer and the resentment of an upright person. Therefore, it can be restrained by the words of a sage.

That's the logic, but what does it mean that the words of a sage can be refuted?

What constitutes the words of a sage? Does the Analects count? Or does it require a true sage to speak? That seems unlikely.

And now, where can we find a sage? Where can we find the words of a sage?

Even with the Analects, he only remembered two or three sentences from the compulsory education section!

Never mind, let's try anything, Chen Wanchuan can't hold out for long!

Immediately, Zhao Yunshu appeared, gathered his inner energy, and shouted, "Confucius said: 'Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar?!'"

He was a practitioner of spiritual cultivation, and his shout was full of energy.

This... must be the words of a sage, right?

But as soon as that sound was heard, the male viper turned its head.

Chen Wanchuan also turned his head.

Both the man and the snake were stunned.

Huh? It didn't work?

Confucius's words are useless? Aren't these the words of a sage?

Was Confucius not holy enough?

His mind raced, and then another phrase came to mind. He roared again, unwilling to give up: "Is it not the mark of a gentleman to remain unperturbed when others do not understand him?!"

The male viper didn't even turn its head this time, it just flicked its tail, almost sending Chen Wanchuan flying, but luckily Chen Wanchuan dodged quickly.

At this moment, Chen Wanchuan shouted, "Daoist Master! What are you doing?!"

Zhao Yunshu hurriedly exclaimed, "This thing can be restrained by the words of a sage, but it seems that my words about the sage are not working!"

"If everything a sage says is effective, then wouldn't any random statement be able to be countered? The sage has said so many things, shouldn't there be a few fixed statements?" Chen Wanchuan dodged the attack again and shouted with difficulty!

These words gave Zhao Yunshu a new perspective.

Yes!

A sage might have spoken at least a million or eight hundred thousand words in his lifetime. If every single word a sage uttered was truly useful, then even idle chatter and nonsense would probably be useful.

A few fixed sentences...

The male viper is the embodiment of the poisonous words of slanderous and malicious people, that...

Upon realizing this, Zhao Yunshu suddenly spoke up!

And on the other side-

Chen Wanchuan was struggling to stay afloat; his strength was gradually being exhausted, and he was pushed to his limit by the male viper, unable to dodge any attacks.

With that final push, he closed his eyes and essentially began to await his death.

But at that moment, Zhao Yunshu suddenly spoke up, saying, "Confucius said: 'Be respectful in your conduct, diligent in your duties, and loyal to others. Even among barbarians, these virtues should not be abandoned!'"

Fan Chi asked what benevolence (仁) was. Confucius said: "At home, one should be respectful and courteous; in handling affairs, one should be serious and conscientious; and in treating others, one should be loyal and trustworthy. Even when one is in the land of barbarians, these virtues should not be abandoned."

The sage uttered these words aloud, and the male viper suddenly retreated, its comb flashing as it let out a mournful howl!

Chen Wanchuan thus escaped with his life.

It worked!

Just as Zhao Yunshu breathed a sigh of relief, he saw that the male viper was not affected much. It was slightly injured but not seriously. Instead, it glared at Zhao Yunshu and charged towards him!

The male viper, gripped by pain and enraged, smashed an old pine tree beside the mountain road with tremendous force, sending splinters flying everywhere.

It abandoned Chen Wanchuan and turned to pounce on Zhao Yunshu. Its mouth was wide open, revealing a forest of barbed white teeth, and a stench wafted towards him.

It's useful, but not enough!

He darted to the side, dodging as he desperately searched his meager mental reserves.

Oh shit!

I haven't been reading enough books, it's so frustrating! I can't remember which dynasties or countries I've been to, and now I can't even quote a few words from the sages!

Now it's his turn to struggle, relying on his own strength to deal with the giant snake.

In the mountains and forests, a rumbling sound continued as a giant snake chased a Taoist priest. The priest desperately dodged and weaved, trying to think of something, but he couldn't come up with anything!

It is said that people will do anything when they are driven to desperation, but no one can think of the words of a sage!

However, at this moment, Chen Wanchuan, who was standing beside him, breathed a sigh of relief and forced a shout: "Confucius said: 'Those who are clever with words and flattering in appearance are seldom benevolent!'"

This saying was specifically used by sages to expose those who use flowery words, flattery, and hypocrisy.

This statement is obviously much more useful.

Upon hearing this sound, the male serpent's black scales suddenly stood on end, and several of its scales, which were as hard as black iron, burst off its body, splattering black blood onto the ground with a hissing sound, and etching many pits into the stone steps.

The crimson comb on the snake's head trembled violently, as if something inside was struggling desperately, emitting a sharp and hoarse wail that shook the entire forest.

Chen Wanchuan sat on the ground, panting heavily.

He was covered in dirt, a large piece of his clothes torn from his collar by snake fangs. Staring at the serpent he'd driven to this state with just a few words, he opened his mouth, muttering, "My goodness... this is better than a knife!"

However, he racked his brains, thinking of every book he had ever read in his life, but he still couldn't come up with a second sentence!

But he was quick-witted and immediately read the sentence aloud again.

Unexpectedly, the giant serpent was no longer affected; instead, it became even more ferocious!

A single statement can only be used once!

"Taoist Master, do you know anything else?!" Chen Wanchuan shouted!

"I'm thinking!" Zhao Yunshu gritted her teeth!

Damn it, I just can't figure it out!

Are we going to die because we're uneducated?!