The moment his body sank into the lake, the water felt like a thousand ice needles piercing his scales, bringing a chill with it.
The chill was secondary.
Within the icy water was a dense Spiritual Energy that far surpassed the outside world.
’What a place, this Tai Ze Lake. Could this really have been a Dragon Fall Land?’
He parted his serpentine jaws.
A strange light flashed in his eyes.
Tai Ze Lake had another name.
Dragon Transformation Lake.
The reason for this name...
...came from a thousand-year-old legend about a dragon falling to form the lake.
According to legend, a thousand years ago at noon on a midsummer day, the clear sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds.
The common people witnessed a crimson-gold dragon weaving through the clouds.
It was finally struck by lightning, spilling its blood across the sky as it fell and smashed a massive ravine into the earth.
The flowing Dragon Blood soaked into the ground, forming a trench thousands of miles long.
Afterward,
it rained torrentially for three consecutive years, filling the ravine to form a lake.
Whenever the weather was overcast and rainy,
some fishermen could still hear a low dragon’s roar from the bottom of the lake.
Hu Qi had no way of knowing if this legend was true.
However, the Spiritual Energy within it was indeed exceptionally abundant.
By comparison,
it was several times more concentrated than in other places.
Along the way, he had passed a few other places with slightly richer Spiritual Energy.
But none of them could compare to this.
Hu Qi guessed that there was likely more than one Spirit Vein beneath Tai Ze Lake.
In this world,
Spiritual Energy was somewhat similar to the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy of Earth Star.
Although it was everywhere, its concentration varied from thin to dense.
Some places had dense Spiritual Energy, like an overflowing Spiritual Spring.
Other places had thin Spiritual Energy, like a tiny, dried-up stream.
Spirit Veins, on the other hand, could be seen as the very source of Spiritual Energy.
They were the veins of the earth itself, endlessly nurturing and transporting Spiritual Energy.
And at the nodes of these Spirit Veins, the Spiritual Energy was even denser.
Spirit Veins were further divided into three different qualities: high, middle, and low.
The better the quality of the Spirit Vein, the higher the concentration of Spiritual Energy, which was more beneficial for breathing and Cultivation.
Some Cultivators’ Immortal Sects, and even Demon Cultivators’ Cave Mansions, would choose to establish themselves in such places.
If one could take root and cultivate at such a node, Spiritual Energy would flood into the body like a torrent with every breath, and their Cultivation speed would far exceed the norm, achieving twice the results with half the effort.
Hu Qi’s goal was crystal clear.
He had to find such a Spirit Vein Node and make it his own place of Cultivation.
The question of whether it already had an owner was not within his consideration.
Thinking of this,
Hu Qi closed his eyes and slowly released his Perception Power, spreading it out like an invisible net to meticulously sweep every inch of the surrounding water.
A moment later, his eyes snapped open, and his body abruptly lurched.
Like a black bolt of lightning, he shot off in the direction he had sensed.
The two snakes behind him followed closely.
Although they didn’t know where this "big brother" of theirs was going, they simply followed.
They were already used to it.
As he continued forward,
Hu Qi discovered that Tai Ze Lake was slightly different from an ordinary lake.
Perhaps because of the abundant Spiritual Energy, the aquatic life within was extraordinarily rich.
And their flesh was tender and delicious.
There was one other thing.
The lake’s shape was strange.
It didn’t gradually slope from shallow to deep like a normal lake.
Instead, it had a sheer drop-off.
Only the first few meters at the very edge were a shallow area.
Further in, the bottom plunged vertically downward.
Clear water meant it was shallow; green water meant it was deep; black water meant it was an abyss.
As they dove deeper, the surrounding light grew dimmer until it was pitch-black, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
However, for the three Spirit Monsters, including Hu Qi, this was nothing.
Although the two smaller snakes were not as powerful as Hu Qi,
they had benefited from the Spiritual Energy he gathered.
During this time, they had also cultivated a few wisps of Demon Power.
With this, they had entered the ranks of Spirit Monsters.
By channeling just a hint of Demon Power into their eyes,
everything before them became clearly visible.
As for Hu Qi himself, with his Taiyu Serpent Bloodline,
he didn’t even need Demon Power. The darkness had no effect on him whatsoever.
...
Deep at the bottom of the lake.
In a cave sealed by silt,
tiny bubbles continuously floated up from the cracks in the mud.
They made a soft GURGLING sound.
BANG!
Suddenly,
a loud noise erupted at the entrance of the underwater cave.
The cave even trembled slightly.
The next second,
the gurgling sound of bubbles vanished.
Inside the pitch-black cave blocked by silt,
two azure eyes suddenly lit up.
’Hm? Who dares disturb my peaceful slumber?’
PLOOSH.
An undercurrent surged, and the silt at the bottom of the lake exploded outward.
CRACKLE!
The sound of electricity suddenly erupted, and a pale white light instantly illuminated the surroundings.
It allowed one to see the creature’s appearance.
It had a python-like body, long and flexible, a full five meters in length, and was covered in dark blue scales.
This was a giant electric eel.
However,
its bellyful of rage paused when it came outside and its gaze fell upon the creature before it.
A few meters ahead,
a pair of enormous, crimson snake pupils, like red lanterns, emitted a faint red glow.
The other party’s gaze was looking down on it condescendingly.
"Who are you? Why have you come to attack my Cave Mansion?"
Seeing this,
and sensing the Spirit Monster aura emanating from Hu Qi,
the electric eel spoke. Its voice was cold and androgynous, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.
It too was a Spirit Monster that had refined its Transverse Bone and stepped into the Qi Cultivation Realm.
However, when Hu Qi saw the Electric Eel Spirit Monster appear and sensed the power fluctuations of the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation Realm emanating from it,
he couldn’t be bothered to waste words on it.
In an instant, his figure shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Like a thin black line, he lunged straight for the Electric Eel Spirit.
His cavernous maw opened, and his sharp, savage fangs glinted with a cold light in the gloom.
"You want to die? Then I’ll grant your wish!"
Seeing this, the Electric Eel Spirit Monster snorted coldly.
A flash of killing intent instantly crossed its azure eyes.
The blue scales all over its body bristled slightly, and a faint electric current could be seen weaving and gathering between them.
The next instant,
several blue-white electric currents shot out from its body, brightly illuminating the originally dim waters of the lakebed.
The surrounding water was ionized, creating large white bubbles and forming a lethal electric net with a five-meter radius centered on itself.
A normal electric eel is only about 1.5 to 2.5 meters long.
As a five-meter-long electric eel,
the current it could release was terrifyingly strong.
It could instantly knock down a water buffalo and cause significant burns.
Not to mention, the electric eel before him was a Spirit Monster.
With the enhancement of Demon Power, the strength of its current would only be greater.
Even if the Black Snake Spirit Monster before it was also a Spirit Monster,
it was confident enough to severely injure, or even kill it.
However, in the next moment,
something incomprehensible happened.
Hu Qi’s body met no resistance. He completely ignored the electric net and lunged forward, biting down on its body.
His sharp fangs pierced its body in an instant, as if cutting through tofu.
Excruciating pain shot through it.
The Electric Eel Spirit Monster’s expression changed drastically.
It was just about to fight back,
but in the next moment,
it discovered in horror that its body had become numb and stiff.
On the outside,
where Hu Qi had bitten it,
blackness instantly spread outward like ink on rice paper, covering the Electric Eel Spirit Monster’s entire body.
The Electric Eel Spirit Monster died!
Modification Point +8 (9%)
A line of crimson text appeared before his eyes.
Hu Qi had thought his venom was strong,
but he never expected to poison a Spirit Monster of the same Qi Cultivation Middle Stage to death in a single instant.
Looking at the corpse of the Electric Eel Spirit Monster,
Hu Qi had no intention of letting it go to waste.
He opened his mouth and swallowed it in a few gulps.
Under the effects of his Spirit Devouring Talent,
his originally bulging belly began to visibly and rapidly shrink.
The energy contained within the Spirit Monster’s corpse was absorbed by him.
At the same time,
Hu Qi could also feel wisps of Spiritual Energy being stripped from the giant Electric Eel Spirit Monster’s corpse in his stomach and entering his body.
This allowed him to condense a few more strands of gray Demon Power.
...
「A few more days passed.」
The area where the underwater cave had been was now tightly shrouded in darkness.
Only a few faint undercurrents slipped through the crevices in the rock.
Hu Qi’s body, which had been coiled up like a black boulder, suddenly stirred.
His scales scraped against the rough cave wall, making a soft rustling sound.
Suddenly,
he opened his eyes. His blood-red pupils emitted a faint red glow, illuminating his surroundings.
[Skill: Profound Scale Qi Absorption Record (Entry-Level) △]
...
[Modification Point: 1941 (20%)]
This Profound Scale Qi Absorption Record was a method for breathing in Spiritual Energy exclusive to snakes, which he had created using the Guixi Qi-Introducing Record as a blueprint.
Looking at the text on the panel,
Hu Qi didn’t delay.
"Crimson! Modify and upgrade the Profound Scale Qi Absorption Record for me!"
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter