Stronger with Crimson Modifier

Yet, Hu Qi still detected it.

This trace of essence had come from that Silverfish.

From beings powerful enough to easily destroy a world at the Apostle Level, down to the weakest bacteria, all possessed an essence.

Essence is the foundation of a living being’s existence.

The only difference lay in the amount of essence they contained.

Previously, his Spirit Devouring Talent could devour all things and convert them into nourishment, but it couldn’t plunder the essence possessed by living creatures.

But now, something seemed to have changed.

’Did the Taiyu Serpent Bloodline cause my Spirit Devouring Talent to undergo a Mutation?’

In just an instant,

Hu Qi understood the likely reason for this change.

To test his theory,

Hu Qi continued forward, devouring everything in his path.

Whether it was snails, small fish, or shrimp, he swallowed everything he came across in a single gulp.

A snake’s digestive fluids were naturally much more potent than a human’s.

Coupled with the boost from his Spirit Devouring Talent, Hu Qi had no concerns about digestion.

The only downside was

that the creatures here were rather small.

Fortunately, however, the stream was teeming with life.

The stream was only about five or six meters wide.

Given Hu Qi’s size, plus his Water Control Talent, there was virtually nothing in the stream that could oppose him.

After leisurely swimming around the stream until his belly was full,

Hu Qi stopped moving.

He could now completely confirm his earlier suspicion.

After devouring a living creature, he could indeed plunder its essence and absorb it into his own body.

If he continued like this, increasing his essence and condensing Divinity, ascending to the rank of a True God would be just a matter of time.

Unfortunately,

these creatures were too weak. Even if he ate them by the tens of thousands, the increase to his essence would be minuscule.

Later, once he grew stronger, perhaps he could try hunting some larger creatures, or even Spirit Monsters that had begun their Cultivation.

He pushed those thoughts aside.

His inverted-triangular head broke the surface, droplets of water sliding down his smooth scales.

The top half of Hu Qi’s head emerged from the water. His Crimson vertical pupils swiveled, his sharp gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

Generally, an ordinary snake’s vision was limited to a range of about two to five meters.

But he was different. He was not bound by this limitation and could see far into the distance.

Before him lay a verdant, deep valley filled with damp mist, exuding a tranquility that felt cut off from the rest of the world.

In the distance, a few small, brown-furred deer were leisurely bowing their heads to drink from the stream.

Their ears twitched from time to time, alert to any surrounding movements.

Just then,

Hu Qi seemed to sense something and looked up toward the sky.

High in the firmament,

three enormous, blazing suns hung, radiating a scorching light.

The sight was exceedingly strange.

However, he didn’t dwell on it.

After a brief observation, Hu Qi decided against venturing out into the wider world.

His body slipped back into the water.

Following the path he had come from, he soon returned to the deep, dark cave.

The cave was well-hidden and could serve as a temporary refuge.

According to the information from the Taichu Demon Refining Talisman, this world was home to Immortals who could achieve true immortality.

While he was still weak, it was necessary to lay low for a while.

The memory of being so utterly crushed by the White King was still fresh in his mind.

Immortals who could live forever were likely no different from True Gods.

They were not beings he could currently fight against.

At the thought of the White King,

a cold, murderous glint flashed in Hu Qi’s eyes.

If it weren’t for the Taiyu Serpent Bloodline,

he feared he would have truly died this time.

The terror of a True God was simply impossible to overcome with force.

The gap between the two was like a great chasm.

Trying to defeat a True God as a mere Apostle Level being was nothing short of a fool’s dream.

However, he would settle this score with him sooner or later.

CRACK... CRACK...

Just then, the faint sound of cracking eggshells echoed.

Hu Qi glanced at the scene inside the cave.

He saw that the two small snakes that had hatched earlier had broken the remaining eggs and were now devouring the liquid and shells.

However, there was no sign of any other hatchlings.

Apparently, out of the entire clutch of eggs, only the three of them had survived.

The rest of the eggs had been duds.

After a single glance,

Hu Qi didn’t intervene.

He coiled his body.

Although he could use his Spirit Devouring Talent to gather the surrounding Spiritual Energy,

since Spirit Monsters existed in this world, ordinary creatures naturally also had a chance to cultivate.

The only method was through breathing exercises

to absorb the Spiritual Energy of the world.

Therefore, he decided to give it a try.

With this in mind,

he calmed his mind and centered his spirit.

He began to control his breathing.

With the aid of his Spirit Devouring Talent,

instantly,

streams of Spiritual Energy, invisible to the naked eye, surged from all around and entered his mouth and nose.

The Spiritual Energy gathered, forming a thin, swirling mist that enveloped his body, creating a peculiar sight.

When the other two small snakes saw this,

a look of intense craving appeared in their eyes.

As a higher form of energy, Spiritual Energy

was of immense benefit to living creatures.

Driven by an instinctual craving emanating from their bodies,

they wriggled their slender bodies and slowly slithered closer.

However,

the instant they came within half a meter of Hu Qi,

his previously half-closed eyes snapped open.

SMACK!

His tail lashed out, moving like a flash of lightning.

It was too fast to track.

Immediately, a crisp cracking sound echoed in the quiet space.

The two small snakes had no time to react. Like kites with their strings cut, they were sent flying by an immense force.

They traced two arcs through the air before slamming heavily against a stone wall with a dull thud.

Dust trickled down from the stone wall.

The two small snakes lay limply on the ground, not moving for a long time.

After another moment, they finally shook their heads and struggled back up.

But, when they looked toward Hu Qi’s position,

their eyes revealed an almost human-like expression of fear.

They no longer dared to approach Hu Qi.

They only dared to hide in a corner of the cave,

occasionally glancing in his direction, their thoughts unknown.

After sending the two little ones flying with his tail, Hu Qi resumed his breathing exercises.

Although he possessed the Bloodline of the Taiyu Serpent,

he couldn’t achieve his goals in a single step.

It would require a long period of growth.

What he had to do was accelerate that process.

...

「Half a month passed.」

The light inside the mountain brightened and dimmed, then dimmed and brightened again, a cycle that repeated fifteen times.

「Inside the cave.」

A faint HISS HISS HISS echoed.

Following the sound, one would see a massive black snake coiled in place, its body measuring three to four meters long.

Its scales were as black as ink, so dark they seemed capable of devouring all light, exuding an unfathomable sense of pressure.

At this moment,

the black snake’s head was held high, its mouth half-open. Its Crimson forked tongue flickered constantly, making a strange sound.

The sound alone was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

However, upon closer inspection, one would discover that the flicking of its tongue was not random at all; it followed a specific frequency.

With each flick, a wisp of Spiritual Energy was drawn into its body.

SPLASH—

Just then, the surface of the water in the distance suddenly erupted in a splash.

Immediately after, two small snakes, one red and one yellow, quickly crawled out of the water.

By now, the two small snakes had grown to nearly a meter in length.

They appeared to be a type of constrictor snake.

Neither of them had fangs in their mouths.

However, having no fangs did not mean they were toothless.

A constrictor’s teeth curve inward, and they can have up to a hundred of them.

Like hooks, they helped pull prey into the mouth for swallowing. The more the prey struggled, the deeper the teeth hooked in, making escape from a constrictor’s bite extremely difficult.

Hu Qi, however, was different. He exhibited the distinct Traits of both a constrictor and a venomous snake.

At that moment,

the two small snakes, whom Hu Qi had named Ah Huang and Ah Hong, each held a living creature in their mouths.

One was a red-tailed Silverfish, still struggling and twisting, trying to break free.

The other was a fist-sized crab, still waving its pincers.

Carrying the food in their mouths, Ah Huang and Ah Hong

quickly approached Hu Qi and gently set down their offerings.

Then, they opened their mouths and also let out a series of HISS HISS HISS sounds.

Next, they lowered their heads to the ground and wagged their tails, like little puppies trying to curry favor with Hu Qi.

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