Deep within the twisting, mist-shrouded peaks, the legendary Snake Valley coiled—a domain ruled entirely by the serpentine race. At its core lay the Snake Cave, a cavernous, subterranean labyrinth. The air here was heavy and humid, thick with the musky scent of ancient earth and shed scales. Countless tunnels crisscrossed the darkness, forming a huge, interconnected community that felt more like a capital city than a mere den.
The inhabitants of the Snake Cave were anything but primitive. Having achieved the Golden Core stage of cultivation or higher, the vast majority had successfully transformed into human form, though most retained certain serpentine traits: eyes that occasionally flashed with a golden vertical slit, a subtle sway to their posture, or an unnaturally cold smoothness to their skin.
A low, collective murmur of thousands of voices filled the cavern. Snake demons gathered in small, tight clusters, their conversations a mixture of social politics, cultivation gossip, and reptilian plotting.
Then, the noise abruptly ceased. A wave of oppressive majesty swept out from the deepest recess of the cave, instantly quieting the entire population. All eyes, human and half-human, turned respectfully forward, waiting in absolute silence for their matriarch.
The Snake Mother emerged.
She was a figure of devastating, mature beauty, appearing to be in the prime of her twenties, yet possessing an aura that spoke of millennia. Her body was impossibly hot and charming, draped in silken robes that emphasized her perfect, voluptuous figure—a deliberate, mesmerizing display of maternal power.
Yet, this image of classical femininity was terrifyingly undercut by her true nature. Rising from the intricately coiled hairstyle atop her head were four massive, iridescent snake heads. They hissed softly, constantly twisting and shifting, their long, forked tongues flickering in and out as they observed the crowd. Their sharp, intimidating eyes casually scanned the demons, making every creature feel as if it were being weighed for obedience, or perhaps, for consumption.
"Greetings, Master!" The collective reverence was absolute, a thunderous, hissing bow that swept the floor.
Stepping forward from the crowd, a woman covered entirely in a simple black robe knelt on one knee. Her voice was strong, clear, and imbued with youthful passion—the sound of true loyalty.
"Master, since Senior Sister Xiao Bai departed on the mission to assassinate the Imperial Master, we have received no word. She must have been grievously injured. I humbly beg you, Master, allow Xiao Qing to leave the cave immediately and begin the search for her!"
The moment Xiao Qing finished speaking, the silence was shattered by a chorus of resentful, gleeful voices.
"Master, I think that white snake has simply betrayed us! She probably swallowed the master's treasure and ran off to join the humans!"
"She's too self-righteous to be loyal, Master. Perhaps she and Xiao Qing are already plotting our downfall! They always believed they were too pure for the rest of us!"
The chatter was a storm of barely veiled malice. Most of the snake demons disliked Xiao Bai intensely. Her reserved, almost haughty self-righteousness, and her steadfast refusal to engage in the Valley's prevalent culture of promiscuous mating and casual entanglement, had made her and Xiao Qing social pariahs.
In their primitive, serpentine view, all snake demons should "play together"—a social norm that Xiao Bai and her fierce companion had consistently scorned. Their resentment, now that Xiao Bai was missing, spilled out as cruel, gloating satisfaction.
Xiao Qing listened to the vicious gossip, her black-robed shoulders trembling. Her eyes narrowed into slits, almost spitting fire. Only the presence of the Snake Mother prevented her from transforming and viciously striking down the gossiping fiends. She knew that Xiao Bai's reputation as the 'purest' and 'most beautiful' snake demon earned her the most jealousy.
"That is enough!"
The Snake Mother had grown impatient with the noise. Her voice, when raised, was like the sudden, sharp crack of a whip. The cave instantly fell silent, the snakes sinking their heads in fear.
"Xiao Qing, you are granted permission. Go at once. Find Xiao Bai and the jade hairpin, and bring them both back to me." The Snake Mother commanded, her tone final.
"Thank you, Master!" Xiao Qing was overwhelmed with relief. She offered a deep, grateful bow and immediately shot out of the cave, a blur of black smoke and focused determination.
The Snake Mother watched her go, and a profound, calculating look settled in her majestic eyes.
"Tokiwa!"
She subtly winked at a large, muscular snake demon standing proudly near the front. Tokiwa was one of the strongest Golden Core cultivators in the cave, and one of the snake demons who had persistently, and violently, sought to mate with Xiao Bai. His hatred for her successful evasion was boundless.
Tokiwa instantly understood the unspoken order. A cruel, anticipatory pleasure flashed in his eyes, and he slipped out of the cave, following Xiao Qing at a discreet distance.
The surrounding snake demons buried their heads, pretending to see nothing, but a wave of collective, vengeful pleasure rippled through the den. Everyone knew the Snake Mother had just delivered the coveted White Snake into the hands of one of her most dangerous rivals.
Meanwhile, Lord Pig and Xiao Bai (still in her immense, stunning white python form) were making their way slowly toward a secluded mountain pass when Zhu Hao felt a surge of raw hostility directed their way.
He turned his tiny head to look back down the mountain and saw a huge, muscular black python scrambling toward them with desperate speed—the messenger from the Xuanshui King.
"Little snake, halt! Where do you think you're going!" Zhu Hao roared, his voice surprisingly deep and commanding for his size.
Lord Pig charged. If a creature dared to harbor hostility toward the glorious Pig God and his valuable Experience Point source, its destiny was predetermined: death and absorption!
Xiao Bai turned her colossal head, her intelligent, now-recovering eyes examining the approaching python. She didn't recognize it as one of the Snake Valley brethren, but even if she had, she remained indifferent. She only cared about her pig.
"Little pig demon! You seek death!" The black python shrieked, its cold, vicious eyes alight with cruelty. It had witnessed Lord Pig's earlier, terrifying speed. It knew it could not outrun the pig's flight. Therefore, it chose a high-risk, high-reward move: it opened its immense, bloody mouth and lunged, intending to swallow the small golden target whole, ending the threat instantly.
Clang!
The python snapped its jaws shut.
"Lord Pig!" Xiao Bai screamed, the sound echoing through the mountains. Seeing her savior, her mentor, and her sole emotional anchor swallowed in a single, careless gulp, her immense white body convulsed with grief and rage. Her immense form rushed forward, driven by an anguish that threatened to shatter her newly recovered spiritual stability.
"Not good!" The black python suddenly felt a horrifying premonition—not from the charging white behemoth, but from the lack of resistance in its stomach. It realized with chilling clarity that it hadn't bitten the pig demon; it had bitten nothing.
It had been fooled. It hadn't even registered the technique.
Phantom Clone!
One of Zhu Hao's invaluable, low-level magical powers had just saved his life—a power that allowed him to instantly project a realistic, distracting illusion while his true self moved to a safer, more advantageous position. The sheer confidence of the enemy python had been its downfall.
Laugh!
The next moment, Zhu Hao's figure materialized in a flash. He was a perfect golden light that shot through the air. The Flying Eight Wings were his tool of execution, powered by the energy he had just accumulated.
Swish!
The attack was surgically precise. The golden light passed cleanly through the base of the black python's neck.
"How is this possible...?" The black python's eyes glazed over, filled with a look of disbelief and utter, furious unwillingness. Its defense, which could withstand the attack of several Golden Core cultivators, was rendered useless, sliced open like cheap tofu.
Bump!
The python's massive head detached and crashed to the ground, raising a plume of dirt and pulverized stone.
"Killed a Golden Core Python, Energy +100, Experience +100 (Total Energy: 1448.1053 + 100, Total Experience: 1132.2021 + 100)"
"One hundred points! Another hundred points for a Golden Core creature!" Zhu Hao felt a surge of greedy excitement. "It seems my initial hypothesis holds true. If I continue this calculated extermination, I can reach Level 5 in no time!"
"Lord Pig, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Xiao Bai lumbered toward him, rubbing her enormous white head against his tiny, golden body with agonizing care. Her eyes, larger than Zhu Hao himself, were sparkling with raw, intense worry.
In that moment of terror, watching him seemingly swallowed, she had truly understood the depth of her dependency. She needed her tiny, arrogant pig.
"It's quite alright, Xiao Bai. A hero must always test the mental fortitude of his companion," Zhu Hao said smoothly, not mentioning that he himself was briefly terrified. He hopped onto her massive head, stroking the silky scales with his little paws.
"Now, we must focus. Your body is too large, and you are dangerously unstable from absorbing the disciple's magic power. We need to find a secure valley for proper refinement and meditation," he commanded softly. "Lord Pig needs you at your full power!"
"Yes, Lord Pig," Xiao Bai obediently rumbled.
Zhu Hao drove the colossal white serpent into a deep, rarely traversed mountain valley. There, in a secluded natural depression, the pig and the snake began their joint seclusion.
Or, to be precise, Xiao Bai began her frantic, necessary cultivation.
As for Zhu Hao, the mighty Lord Pig—the being destined to reach the pinnacle of all worlds—cultivation in the traditional sense was utterly beneath him. Cultivation was for those without an external cheat system! It was impossible, unthinkable, and utterly unnecessary.
With a simple thought, the Light of the Pig God materialized before his eyes, shimmering with golden energy.
The Light of the Pig God
Name: Zhu Hao
Race: Pig Bear
Level: Level 4 (Energy 0/10000, Experience 0/10000)
Energy: 1548.1053
Experience: 1232.2021
World: None (Note: You can travel through the world by consuming energy and experience)
Exercises:
Magical Powers: Heavenly Dragnet, Death Scythe, Law of Heaven and Earth, Eight Wings of Flying, Diamond Indestructibility, Phantom Clone, Purple Demon Eye, Soul-Locking Chain, Earth Escape, Heavenly Cruel Kick (Energy 0/100, Experience 0/100)
Backpack: Taiyin True Skill (Energy 0/100, Experience 0/100), Water Control, Stab, Black Chicken Mouth, Venom, Three Heads (Energy 0/1, Experience 0/1)...
"Ah, there's a new, dedicated entry for the Taiyin True Skill!" Zhu Hao observed, his little brow furrowing in concentration. The system had automatically added the sinister skill harvested from the National Master's disciple into a new section, signaling its high value and potential for integration.
The Taiyin True Skill was a shortcut, a way to devour others' power. It perfectly aligned with Lord Pig's philosophy of minimal effort for maximum gain.
"Why waste time reading dusty scrolls and sitting cross-legged for decades? I'll simply absorb the knowledge!" Zhu Hao declared.
"Absorb Taiyin True Skill!"
The system chimed instantly:
"Consume 100 energy (1448.1053 remaining) and 100 experience points (1132.2021 remaining) to instantaneously reach the first level of Taiyin True Skill! New capacity acquired: Devour and Refine Demonic Essence (Tier 1)."
A surge of cold, focused energy instantly integrated the skill's complex cultivation methods directly into Zhu Hao's divine consciousness. He didn't have to meditate, breathe, or follow a single mantra. He simply knew. He now possessed the foundation of the very skill that had been used to hunt Xiao Bai—and crucially, he now knew how to refine the chaotic, unrefined power that was currently overloading her system.
A sinister, golden light flickered in his Purple Demon Eye. The path to Level 5, and the annihilation of the Nascent Soul-level National Master, now seemed not just possible, but inevitable. All he needed was a few more Golden Core snacks and his Xiao Bai to complete her metamorphosis.
The seclusion had truly begun.