The morning sun, gently peeking through the gaps in the leaves, fell upon Liu Sheng.
He was bare-chested, revealing a robust physique, his legs squatted, his waist and hips twisting, and his breathing was three short and one long, like a crouching fierce tiger.
Holding a thirty-two-jin iron saber, he slowly practiced the Eight Forms of Mountain-Splitting Saber Technique he had just learned, starting from the Fierce Tiger Sitting on the Slope...
Fierce Tiger Descending the Mountain, Violent Tiger Leaping the Ravine, Angry Tiger Piercing the Forest, Vicious Tiger Gouging the Heart, Hungry Tiger Pouncing on the Lamb, Subduing Tiger Clipping the Tail, Black Tiger Splitting the Mountain—eight forms in a row, without a single pause.
However, the originally violent and swift saber technique, executed with wide, sweeping movements, became slow and soft in his hands, like grinding a millstone.
His muscles bulged, veins pulsed, and a large ridge on his back undulated like a spiritual snake swimming; sweat poured down like rain, collecting into a small puddle at his feet.
A wisp of Qi and blood circulated spontaneously within his body, flowing continuously through his limbs and bones with his movements.
After half an hour.
He let out a low roar, like a young tiger's roar, and the tightened strength in his body dispersed; his pores immediately spewed out a large amount of sweat...
"My Qi and blood have almost doubled compared to yesterday. Is it because I refined the Iron Scale Snake Incarnation?"
Liu Sheng sheathed his saber, wiped the sweat from his face, and vaguely had a guess in his heart.
Thinking of the Iron Scale Snake, he quickly summoned the panel. He had been too indulged in pleasure last night and missed the deduction; now was the perfect time.
"Consume 30 points of Spiritual Essence to deduce the Iron Scale Snake!"
"【Year One: You were born in the snake cave. The snakes hissed, showing inexplicable hostility towards you. Perhaps you were not meant to exist in this world.
One day later, your parents in this life were devoured by the snakes, and your siblings were all lost.
As you were about to die, you desperately sprayed venom, poisoning several opponents. The snakes feared you, and you survived...】
【Year Two: You have already dominated the snake cave and avenged your parents and siblings.
All male snakes who disrespected you have been poisoned and eaten. You now possess all the female snakes in the snake cave.】
【Year Three: You copulated with six beautiful female snakes...】
【Year Four: You copulated with ten lovely female snakes...】
【Year Five: You copulated with female snakes...】
...
【Year Ten: You have ruled the snake cave for too long and monopolized all resources, attracting dissatisfaction from some of your offspring and female snakes.
They banded together and challenged you.
You killed them and ate their corpses.】
【Year Eleven: The first female snake you copulated with died of old age.
You did not follow the snake's instinct to eat her, but instead dug a pit and buried her.
You hoped she could continue to accompany you.】
...
【Year Sixteen: Your remaining first batch of offspring gradually died of old age.
Snakes are cold-blooded animals; you did not have much affection for them.
But you restrained your instincts, dug pits in the corners, and buried them.】
...
【Year Twenty: The pits in the corners grew more numerous, but the snake cave remained crowded.
Because every year, new venomous snakes would enter from the hole above.
Sometimes you would wonder what was outside the hole, but the snake's lazy instinct kept you content with the status quo.】
...
【Year Twenty-Five: This autumn, you felt a chill you had never experienced before.
You noticed that your originally glossy black scales had become dull, and your movements had slowed down somewhat.
You still killed all the male snakes that challenged you and ate them.
But you were injured for the first time.】
【Year Twenty-Six: Your scales began to shed, and your movements became even slower.
You still killed all the male snakes that challenged you.
But your wounds took two months to heal.】
【Year Twenty-Seven: You felt increasingly powerless.
You, who had never hibernated since the year of your birth, wanted to hibernate for the first time.
You barely managed to kill all the male snakes that challenged you, covered in wounds.
You sensed that there seemed to be an unprecedented restlessness in the snake cave.
The female snakes, who had always been submissive to you, began to refuse your copulation.
You killed them.】
【Year Twenty-Eight: You were stripped of your 'Snake King' throne and lost your rule over the snake cave.
It was a male snake that had become a spirit; its scales were thicker, its strength greater, and its venom stronger.
You learned for the first time that after an exotic beast becomes a spirit, its combat power greatly increases, and its lifespan significantly extends.
Unfortunately, it was too late. Your spine was twisted, and you lost all your strength, watching helplessly as it devoured you bite by bite.
Before you died, you looked at the hole above your head and couldn't help but think...
If you had crawled out of the hole in your early years, would you have... gained the chance to become a spirit?】
【You died, returning 2 points of Spiritual Essence.】
...
"It seems... leaving the snake cave is the key to this deduction."
Liu Sheng looked at the lines of text on the panel, as if he had become a snake...
He stayed in a snake cave for twenty-eight years, either killing snakes or copulating.
Until he was killed by a male snake spirit.
It felt a bit like the déjà vu he experienced when watching a 'Bad Boys Alliance' documentary in his previous life.
However, this failed deduction wasted 28 points of Spiritual Essence, which was more than the entire consumption of the previous Sparrow deduction.
Fortunately, he still had 134 points left, so he could deduce a few more times.
Liu Sheng pursed his lips, silently reciting "leave the snake cave as soon as possible," and then invested 100 points of Spiritual Essence to continue the deduction—
【Year One: You were born in the snake cave. The snakes hissed, showing inexplicable hostility towards you, simply because you were not meant to exist...
Year Two: You have already dominated the snake cave and avenged your parents and siblings.
All male snakes who disrespected you have been poisoned and eaten. You now possess all the female snakes in the snake cave.
You listened to your vague intuition, restrained your instinct to copulate, and thought about how to crawl out of the hole above.
You tried spraying venom on the wall, corroding holes one by one, enough for you to use as leverage to go up...】
【Year Three: You were spraying venom and digging holes...】
...
【Year Five: You dug holes along the wall all the way up, reaching near the hole.
You sprayed venom on the cover above the hole, and the venom corroded a small hole in the cover.
You successfully crawled out of the small hole...
You triggered the lightning array above the snake cave, were severely injured by the lightning, and fell back into the snake cave.
The snakes swarmed over...】
【You died, returning 95 points of Spiritual Essence.】
"There's even a lightning array on the hole cover? That makes sense... but it's such a trap!"
Liu Sheng's mental state was a bit overwhelmed, so he decided to pause for a while.
Anyway, he still had over a hundred Spiritual Essence points, so he could take his time...
No rush, I'm really not in a hurry at all!
Whoever says I'm in a hurry, I'll definitely get angry with them...
Damn it!
WTMDCNZZSBD!
—
At the same time.
Back at the Tong Family Courtyard, Wu Song, who had completed today's martial arts transmission, was invited to the study by Tong Bapi.
"Master Wu, please sit."
Tong Yuanwai smiled and clasped his hands together, inviting Wu Song to sit, then personally offered him tea.
"I'm not used to drinking tea. If you have something to say, say it quickly."
Wu Song glanced at him, his finger lightly tapping the tabletop, and the teacup in front of him...
Floated to the side!
A third-realm Viscera Martial Master, his Internal Strength was both rigid and flexible; when rigid, it was as hard as metal, and when flexible, it was softer than silk.
And he could injure people through objects.
This gentle tap seemed ordinary, but if he had harbored ill intentions earlier...
It would have been enough to severely injure him instantly!
Or even kill him on the spot.
Tong Yuanwai subconsciously shrank his neck, immediately suppressing the slight hint of cunning he had harbored, and said with a bitter smile:
"I'll have someone send ten jars of strong liquor to the Great Master later."
After speaking, his expression became serious, and he asked about Steward Cheng's murder:
"May I ask... Great Master, have you found the culprit these past two days?"