Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

Chapter 248 The White Snake Immortal: A Kind-Hearted but Arrogant Young Man

"Heh heh... When has Ryuchi-dong ever cared about the process? Isn't it all about results?"

"We're out, and how we got out is not important."

Orochimaru looked up at Princess Ichikishima in mid-air, his voice hoarse and deep, a faint smile on his face.

"If Your Highness is not satisfied, you may choose one of us, master and disciple, as your opponent for a match."

Uchiha Gen wore a smile identical to Orochimaru's, and his attitude was quite assertive.

Princess Ichikishima felt a surge of anger. She had never encountered such an arrogant person since she began testing the cultivators who came to Ryuchi Cave. So be it! Did she think her thousand years of cultivation would be afraid of two brats?

"Okay, then I'll choose you..."

Halfway through her sentence, Princess Ichikishima suddenly received a message from the White Snake Sage, and could only angrily change her words.

"You've passed the test, now hurry up and go."

After saying that, Princess Ichikishima disappeared into the air, as if she didn't want to see the two of them at all.

The master and apprentice exchanged a smile, then stepped deeper into Ryuchi Cave, where they soon encountered the test from Tsuratsuhime.

Princess Tsurugi's test also utilizes her unique fairy technique, using her sharp teeth to bite her opponent's neck, which can make her body feel hot and unable to move.

It will also cause the opponent to hallucinate, thereby weakening the willpower of those who come to cultivate.

Princess Tsurugi disguised herself as a beautiful young girl.

She had long brown hair, wore a golden crown topped with a golden sphere, had pink eyeshadow that extended from black to her nose, pale skin, and three green magatama-shaped ornaments on her chest. She wore a white robe, giving her the air of a pure and sacred priestess.

In fact, she also has sharp teeth and a blue tongue. Unlike Tashin-hime's tongue, Tatsumi-hime's tongue is closer to blue-gray.

Her true appearance is comparable to that of the Heavenly Princess, a snake demon that could scare children to tears.

However, biting Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen's necks is no easy task, as both of them have more survival skills than the other.

After struggling for a long time, Tsuratsuhime still couldn't bite him.

"I'm not fighting anymore, I'm not fighting anymore. With your strength, you are indeed qualified to cultivate immortal arts. I'll consider you to have passed this test." Tuanjin-hime waved her hand helplessly.

The tests set up at Ryuchi Cave are, frankly speaking, to confirm whether the practitioners are qualified, unlike Mount Myoboku which is willing to give opportunities to those with affinity.

However, those destined to succeed who did not undergo the trials mostly failed in their cultivation and turned into stone frogs, their fate not much better than that of the cultivators in Dragon Cave.

"Thank you, Lord Tuanjin."

Gen Uchiha and Orochimaru were quite impressed with Princess Tsurugi's decisive attitude and immediately thanked her politely.

Princess Tsurugi nodded slightly, stretched out her arm and pointed to a road, saying, "You can go see the White Snake Sage now."

"Keep walking along that road until you reach a temple, then you'll arrive."

After thanking them again, the master and disciple continued along the road. After walking for about half an hour, a simple and solemn temple came into view.

Entering through the wide-open temple gate, a white-phosphorus Orochimaru sitting cross-legged on a throne soon appeared before the master and disciple.

With orange hair and yellow eyes, a green cat's eye stone on his chest, a purple silk ribbon as a headband, a military green bull horn-shaped ornament inlaid on the front of the headband, a red luminous pearl on his head, a pipe in his mouth, an extremely long body, two golden rings on his body, and an ancient and weathered aura.

"Greetings, White Snake Immortal."

Because they needed his help, and because the White Snake Immortal was an ancient monster who had lived for thousands of years and whose strength was unfathomable, the master and disciple were very respectful and polite.

One can be a little arrogant when facing the three confidants of the White Snake Immortal, but not when facing the cornerstones of the three holy lands.

Only with the presence of the White Snake Immortal, the Toad Immortal, and the Slug Immortal can a place be considered a sacred place; otherwise, it's just a snake cave, a toad mountain, or a slug forest.

Orochimaru and Gen Uchiha are not like Boruto and his group of children; they are adults.

Both species are generally tolerant of their young.

"You two have come from afar, thank you for your hard work."

Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen replied politely.

In fact, Ryuchi Cave is not far from the Land of Fields. Ryuchi Cave is located in the Land of Stone, a small country between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.

Myobokusan is much farther away than Ryuchi-dong.

Mount Myōboku is located to the west of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, on the very edge of this world's landmass. Even for a ninja, it would take a month to travel there from Konoha.

As for Shikkotsu Forest, it is located in the deep sea between the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Water. Shikkotsu Forest is a special underwater forest, but it is not a forest in the ordinary sense.

"Congratulations on passing the test I set. However, magic is very dangerous. It's not too late to back out now..."

The master and apprentice naturally wouldn't give up when the time came, and both expressed their determination.

"Alright, since you insist, let's begin."

"Who wants to go first?"

"Of course, teacher, you should go first, because I only want to ask you, White Snake Sage, to teach me how to learn the Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode."

"I don't need to inject natural energy because I can clearly sense it and absorb it into my body."

Orochimaru was slightly taken aback when he heard Uchiha Gen's hidden meaning, thinking to himself, "What great ambition!"

Although he was confident that he could learn the Sage Mode of Ryuchi Cave, he was not confident that he could create a Sage Mode that was uniquely his own.

At least not for now. Perhaps we'll have a better grasp of it after learning it and conducting years of research.

In fact, Orochimaru attempted to train in Sage Mode in the original work and received natural energy from the White Snake Sage, a giant white serpent with sharp fangs.

Due to a problem with his soul, Orochimaru failed in his training, but his body withstood the snake-like transformation caused by the natural energy invasion of Ryuchi Cave.

To be precise, it did not collapse under snake transformation.

Orochimaru's ability to transform into White Phosphorus Orochimaru in the later stages was due not only to the scientific modification of his own body, but most importantly to the snake-like effect of the Sage Chakra within the White Snake Sage's body.

Because he injects natural energy through biting, and because of his own snake-like transformation, Orochimaru also likes to use biting to inject cursed seals into others.

The Cursed Seal is a substitute created by Orochimaru based on Jugo and the Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode; it can also be considered the prototype of the Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode.

The White Snake Immortal was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then burst into laughter: "Haha... What a proud and arrogant brat."

"Are you trying to create your own unique Sage Mode based on the Sage Mode of my Ryuchi Cave?"

Uchiha Gen smiled and said, "Your insight is indeed keen."

"Others are ultimately theirs; only a tailor-made sage-like system can truly suit you!"

The White Snake Immortal's snake head swayed slightly up and down, its mouth remained closed, yet its voice automatically emanated from it.

"Alright, alright, I've never seen a Sage Mode unique to humans before. I hope you succeed."

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me later."

Uchiha Gen bowed and said, "Thank you for your generosity, but I must correct one thing: that is my own Sage Mode."

"What suits me may not suit other humans. Even if other humans wanted to cultivate, they could probably only cultivate a simplified version that progresses step by step."

"Aren't you human?"

"Forehead……"

Uchiha Gen was speechless and had no reply for a moment.

"I was too hasty."

"Ha ha……"

The White Snake Immortal smiled, then opened his mouth, and his bright red forked tongue emerged, transforming into a small white serpent.

The white phosphorus snake snaked and twisted through the air at incredible speed, its mouth open, its sharp teeth gleaming coldly, as it lunged at Orochimaru.

The White Snake Sage's head was so large that if he bit it with his own sharp teeth, it would be like having two daggers or even a sharp knife inserted into Orochimaru's neck, which would be fatal.

Faced with a venomous snake attacking, even an ordinary ninja who knew beforehand that it was an injection of natural energy rather than venom would probably instinctively dodge or close their eyes.

Orochimaru didn't flinch or even blink, letting the white snake's sharp fangs bite into his neck.

Using his fangs as a medium, a surge of natural energy, roughly matching Orochimaru's chakra level, poured in all at once, far simpler and more brutal than the accelerated training methods of Mount Myōboku...

I'd like to give some feedback on the protagonist's Sage Mode. If you have a good one, it could replace what I'm thinking of.

(End of this chapter)