Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

The violent tremors shook the entire village, and some flimsy roofs were even blown off by the impact. Everyone in the village was awakened on the spot, but they quickly retreated back into their blankets.

Their excessive fear of overwhelming power prevented them from even running away; all they could do was huddle up, trying to find a sense of security.

The four alien adventurers who were preparing to escape were terrified.

Looking at those muddy hands, still steaming, they dared not think about escaping anymore.

But at that very moment, the pair of giant, closed hands of earth loosened their grip.

"He runs fast."

Du Yi shook his head as he watched the ashes fall from the giant hand of earth.

Clearly, the one who spoke to him just now was not his true form, but merely an avatar woven from vines.

"But... do you really think you can escape?"

Du Yi closed his eyes.

That was a blood connection from the depths of their souls, a blessing the Tatumbutu people had for their descendants—but now, that blessing has turned into boundless rage!

With Du Yi's encouragement, this anger transformed into an invisible blade, following the bloodline connection deep within his soul, crossing the barriers of mountains and seas, and heading straight for the distance.

Chapter 318 A Thousand-Mile Chase

Headquarters of the Serpent Cult, Mount Kemennu.

Long ago, this place was also called Da Mang Mountain. It is said that at that time, this place was rich in a precious medicine called "Lingzhi" - but as time went by, this medicine seems to have disappeared.

This has directly led to the already desolate mountainous areas becoming even more deserted.

After the arrival of the Serpent Worship Cult, the place did not become much more lively. Instead, as the cultists spread snakes, insects, and poisonous plants, it became increasingly sinister and terrifying. Coupled with the large number of monsters that occasionally appeared around Mount Kemennu, the entire mountain had become a veritable demon cave.

However, those monsters that prey on people do not attack the members of the Serpent Worship Cult. According to the cult's archbishop, this is because the followers of the Serpent Worship Cult are already tainted by the aura of those monsters when they first join—of course, in the mouths of the Serpent Worship Cult, this is not the aura of monsters.

In the eyes of the Serpent Cult, this is the aura of the starry sky, and those so-called demons are nothing more than races from the stars.

Breaking free from the shackles of the earth and soaring towards the distant starry sea has always been the ultimate goal of the Serpent Worship Cult, a vision inherited from the ancient giant serpent and passed down from the previous era.

"After all, the planet we live on is really too barren."

In the ruins of Stonehenge, Septimus, the Archbishop of the Serpent Cult, opened his eyes.

The exact date of Stonehenge's construction is unknown. According to ancient legends, this megalithic structure was once a passageway connecting to the outer world—however, with the arrival of a great war, all the passageways to the stars were destroyed, and even the ancient civilization was lost to time.

And it was the survivors after that great war who created the civilization we have today.

However, some traitors betrayed their former ideals and the vision passed down from the previous generation. They became complacent and even wanted to die on this planet for the rest of their lives.

"And now, even the great serpent god who has awakened..."

Archbishop Septimus's face darkened.

The sudden awakening of the Great Serpent God was already extremely unexpected to him, but what surprised him even more was that the Great Serpent God would refuse the blood sacrifice—this was simply illogical. After all, this was the best method that the Serpent Worship Cult had spent generations researching, and the Great Serpent God had no reason to reject it.

Furthermore, historically, the Great Serpent God killed far more people than they did.

Putting aside everything else, just take that great war that took place in ancient times. Weren't all those people from the previous generation wiped out by the great serpent god?

It was by devouring the people of the previous generation that the great serpent god obtained that incomparably powerful force, and thus had the last laugh in that ancient war, even swallowing the four chaotic gods from the starry sky.

The serpent that devours the heavens and the earth—that's what later generations called that great serpent god. It's a symbol of brutality and destruction, the ultimate force that devours everything.

But now, this great serpent god, who symbolizes brutality and destruction, is attacking him just for a bunch of monkeys?

"Luckily, this time it was just a stand-in, otherwise..."

Archbishop Septimus couldn't help but feel grateful for his wise decision, and even subconsciously drew a vertical line on his chest, a prayer gesture used by the entire Serpent Worshipping Church.

But with that one stroke, Septimus's chest split open.

As if an invisible blade had ripped open his chest, Septimus's robes were instantly stained with blood.

"What...how could this be?"

Septimus looked down at the wound on his chest in disbelief. He couldn't understand what kind of attack this was. There was no danger around him, yet the penetrating wound on his chest was still going deeper.

Judging by the depth of the puncture, it was clearly intended to completely pierce his heart as well.

"So, what exactly is it..."

Septimus, who had lost too much blood, was already experiencing blurred vision.

But in his last moments of consciousness, he still saw those eyes.

Those were the eyes of the giant snake that he had just seen with his stand-in.

"A curse originating from bloodline..."

Archbishop Septimus lost consciousness completely.

Meanwhile, Du Yi, far away, also withdrew his intention to launch a long-range attack.

It wasn't about gathering soil with consciousness, nor about igniting flames with consciousness, but rather about following that faint sense of the unseen and directly tearing apart the target's body—this was the first time Du Yi had ever known that magic could do something so convenient, even from thousands of miles away, even though he still didn't know where the target was, it could still kill people invisibly.

"As long as a connection can be established, a curse can be used to take a life directly. The stronger the connection, the better the effect of taking a life..."

After a moment of observation, Du Yi roughly understood how this curse-based life-reaping technique worked.

"I'll have to be more careful from now on. What if someone uses my things to establish contact with me and then curses me..."

The ever-cautious Du Yi couldn't help but start thinking about how he should deal with similar attacks.

Then Du Yi realized that he didn't seem to need to pay much attention to this.

The first step in a curse is to establish a certain connection with the target at the soul level. Then it comes down to a contest of soul strength – simply put, whoever has a stronger soul can exert influence on the other person.

His greatest strength right now is his soul.

"Then maybe I could deliberately throw some things out to fish?"

In just a moment, Du Yi had already come up with fifteen rather vicious ways to harm people, such as deliberately releasing items related to himself so that potential enemies could curse him... However, after only thinking about it for a short while, Du Yi gave up.

Instead of scheming against people at such a peripheral level, it's better to just use his superpowers.

So... is this it?

Du Yi questioned the depths of his own soul.

He had initially thought that the Tatumbutu people were asking him to help protect their descendants, but now it seemed they were asking him to help punish their unfilial offspring. He had initially thought that the Snake Worship Cult had some other explanation, but who would have thought that the so-called archbishop was simply evil.

And now, this so-called archbishop has also been killed by him. Shouldn't he have fulfilled the request of these Tatumbutos people?

"What's going on? It doesn't seem to be over yet?"

Feeling the fluctuations deep within his soul, Du Yi frowned slightly.

But immediately, he regained his kind expression.

This was because the awakened local people had already walked towards him.

Judging from his timid and apologetic expression, he seemed to want to express his gratitude.

"No need, really no need."

Seeing that the villagers had even brought out eggs, Du Yi quickly shook his head.

He didn't do anything. Even if he tidied up the fields, it was just a piece of cake for him. Strictly speaking, he didn't even need to lift his hand. He only needed to have a thought to get everything done.

Just as Du Yi was about to refuse, his appetite, which had been dormant for who knows how long, was attracted by the meat and eggs offered by the villagers.

"This is……"

Sensing the unusual energy emanating from the ingredients, Du Yi fell into deep thought.

Chapter 319 New Ingredients, Understanding of the Heart

In the past, ordinary meat, eggs and vegetables were never worth Du Yi's attention.

At that time, he was so big that only mammoths, which were enormous, could give him a slightly palatable taste. As for beef and mutton, they could only be used to make skewers—not cut pieces of meat for skewers, but whole cattle and sheep skewers grilled on logs. Only such large ingredients could give him some feeling of fullness.

But now, Du Yi sensed something different from the meat, eggs, and vegetables that the villagers brought.

If large mammoths and whole cattle and sheep replenish his body, then right now, with these meats, eggs and vegetables, he could clearly feel that these things replenished his soul.

"This...isn't this just ordinary ingredients?"

Du Yi was somewhat puzzled. After all, he had seen these kinds of meager, food-filling foods before, but he had never felt this nourished when he saw them in the past. Why was he feeling this way now...?

"It seems there is a slight difference."

Du Yi vaguely sensed it.

The only difference is the reason for the gift.

Previously, the Tatumbhut people gave him food more like a simple task to complete. They provided a lot of food as a form of sustenance, while Du Yi was responsible for the security of the area surrounding Tatumbhut. The relationship between the two was more of a cooperative one.

Now, the meat, eggs, and vegetables that these villagers bring are simply out of gratitude.

This was a heartfelt expression of gratitude for his help in handling a task that would have taken the entire village at least half a month to complete. Although the villagers' eyes still clearly showed some fear of the enormous snake, their gratitude was genuine.

"This feeling……"

Du Yi even vaguely felt that his "Level 1" which had been stagnant for a long time seemed to have gained experience at this moment.

This reminded Du Yi of the roasted meat he had made before, the "food bestowed by the gods" by the people of Tatunbhut, which could increase the experience of the people of Tatunbhut. Ujat, the eagle-headed sun god who later became a new energy oven, once said that it was the food he roasted that aroused the consciousness of the people of Tatunbhut.

And now, these meat, eggs, and vegetables, imbued with gratitude, have also stirred his consciousness.

"In that case, I'll accept it."

After a moment's thought, Du Yi decisively accepted the ingredients.

However, following his usual practice, Du Yi did not keep the pot to himself. Instead, he gathered the clay and molded it into a large pot shape on the spot. After a brief period of intense firing, the clay pot was roughly formed.

After having the villagers rinse the pot with water to make sure it wasn't leaking, Du Yi started cooking the ingredients he had gotten from the villagers in batches.

This method is rather crude, but Du Yi's control over the heat and his understanding of the ingredients are quite proficient. Even with such simple conditions, Du Yi can still stew a pot of stew with perfect color, aroma and taste. This is the result of his centuries of culinary skills.

"Let's eat together."

Du Yi called over the villagers, asking them to bring their bowls as well.

The four alien adventurers naturally received a share as well; almost everyone present got a bowl of steaming stew—and Du Yi himself also got a bowl.

Even though the villagers brought him a lot of ingredients, Du Yi could clearly sense that if he only needed to nourish his soul, this bowl of hot soup would be enough.

After all, at this moment, what he is eating is not just the food itself.

It was not a question of gratitude from these people.

Du Yi found it hard to describe the taste of gratitude. It was perhaps a kind of sweetness, but not a rich, cloying sweetness. It was more like spring water drawn from a deep well in summer, which looked bland and tasteless, but had a refreshing sweetness after tasting it.

Even though the soup was hot, Du Yi felt a cool sensation as if his brain had suddenly relaxed, all the wrinkles had been smoothed out. This brief tranquility even reminded him of a long, long time ago, when there weren't so many people on the earth and mammoths roamed freely.

"That's... a really nice feeling."

Although it was just a bowl of hot soup, Du Yi felt full and satisfied after a long time.

"thanks for treatment."

He returned the wooden bowl.

However, after Du Yi finished eating, the villagers grabbed him and wouldn't let him leave. This time, there was no fear in their eyes, only greed and craving for the delicious food. Clearly, that bowl of steaming stew had completely shown them what real craftsmanship was, and now they wanted another bowl. They were even willing to bring out their best meat and vegetables.

"Forget it."

Seeing the villagers' enthusiastic expressions, Du Yi couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

Even if you pile on more ingredients, you can't make a dish this good again, because this time the most important ingredient is missing. If what's stewed in the pot with the other ingredients is greed instead of gratitude, then this dish will obviously be of a lower quality.

It was at this moment that Du Yi suddenly felt that his cooking skills, which had stagnated for a long time, seemed to have improved once again.

The mammoth seems to be less important now. He no longer needs to be confined to the ingredients themselves; instead, the emotions contained within the ingredients are the more important elements.

"Of course, it would be even better if there were mammoths."

As a seasoned mammoth connoisseur, Du Yi still believes that, in terms of ingredients alone, mammoths can always be classified as top-tier.

"But these are not bad either."

It was at this moment that Du Yi suddenly felt some fluctuations deep within his soul.

"Is this what you wanted me to eat?"