96: Chapter 96 A Twisted Fate

[Chu Sheng stood at the bottom of the valley, confronting that massive white snake.]

[The white snake was coiled next to the soul nurturing grass, covered in wounds. Its body, as thick as a water bucket, protected the soul nurturing grass tightly.]

[Its flickering tongue and vertical pupils stared fixedly at Chu Sheng. To be precise, it was staring at the demon refining pot in his hand.]

[Inside the pot, the Remnant Soul of the Red Python was frantically slamming against the walls, creating loud thumping sounds.]

["Stop hitting it, stop hitting it!"]

[Chu Sheng tapped the demon refining pot, "If you keep hitting it, I'll stew you into soup!"]

[The Remnant Soul of the Red Python didn't listen at all and slammed even harder.]

[Hearing the thumping, an emotion that Chu Sheng couldn't understand flashed through the white snake's eyes.]

["Do you two know each other?" Chu Sheng asked tentatively.]

[Just then, Chu Sheng's divine sense suddenly trembled.]

[Outside the valley, several familiar auras were lingering.]

[Chu Sheng extended his divine sense and his heart sank.]

[In half an hour at most, a large group of people would arrive.]

["Half an hour..." he muttered, "Is that enough time to slaughter this snake?"]

[He looked at the white snake.]

[The white snake also looked at him.]

[Man and snake stared at each other for three seconds, and Chu Sheng decided not to strike first.]

[If the Second Elder and the others rushed in while they were fighting, it would be a mess.]

[Just then, the white snake suddenly moved.]

[It opened its large mouth and spat out a white pearl the size of a baby's head.]

[The pearl hovered in mid-air, emitting a soft glow.]

["An inner core?!" Chu Sheng's eyes went wide.]

[For a demonic beast to spit out its inner core was equivalent to surrendering its life.]

[What did this snake want to do?]

[The demon refining pot vibrated even more violently.]

[With a "bang," the lid was pushed open, and the Remnant Soul of the Red Python actually condensed into a solid form, poking half its body out from the mouth of the pot!]

[It looked at the white inner core, then at the white snake, and let out a low hiss.]

[The white snake responded with a hiss, its voice filled with sorrow.]

[The two snakes gazed at each other.]

["Are they... in love?" Chu Sheng scratched his head.]

[Zhou Wantang's voice suddenly rang in his mind. It was a voice transmission she had left for him before leaving.]

["Master, I forgot to tell you something. Thirty years ago, there was a pair of snake demons in the Liuyun Mountain Range, one red and one white, both of whom had cultivated to the Condensing True Essence realm. Later, they were captured by the four major sects; the Crimson Python was suppressed beneath Qinglan Sect's Danxia Peak, and the white snake was suppressed here..."]

[Chu Sheng was stunned.]

["You two..." He opened his mouth, "Are you a couple that was forcibly separated?"]

[The white snake lowered its head and gently tapped the ground with its tail.]

[The Remnant Soul of the Red Python let out a mournful cry, desperately trying to rush out of the demon refining pot, but it simply couldn't.]

[The white snake looked at the remnant soul, its eyes full of grief.]

[Then, it turned to Chu Sheng and gently touched his foot with its tail.]

[Then it pointed toward the inner core.]

[Then it pointed toward the demon refining pot.]

[Chu Sheng froze for a moment, then suddenly understood.]

["You want to... enter the demon refining pot?"]

[The white snake nodded frantically.]

["To reunite with it?"]

[The white snake nodded even more crazily, its tail almost whipping out afterimages.]

[Chu Sheng fell silent.]

[He thought of Li Zhiyi, he thought of Wan Qing, and he thought of Liu Qingyan who was far away in Jin Xiao City.]

[If one day he and they were forcibly separated, across thousands of mountains and rivers, only able to gaze at each other from afar...]

["Sigh."]

[He let out a sigh.]

["Come in."]

[The white snake was overjoyed!]

[It swallowed the inner core back in one gulp, then turned into a streak of white light and whooshed into the demon refining pot!]

[Inside the pot, the Remnant Soul of the Red Python twisted frantically with excitement. The two glows intertwined, lingering and full of love.]

[Chu Sheng took a glance through the mouth of the pot and silently looked away.]

["See no evil, see no evil."]

[The demon refining pot grew slightly warm. With the two snakes working together, the nurturing power surged.]

[Chu Sheng's eyes lit up.]

["There's even a benefit like this? They're rushing to get in?"]

[He patted the pot.]

["Live well together and try to have a nest of little snakes."]

[Two protesting hisses came from inside the pot.]

[Having dealt with the two snakes, Chu Sheng finally turned his gaze toward that stalk of soul nurturing grass.]

[A faint glow, a crisp fragrance—a fifth-tier alchemy material, worth a fortune.]

[Chu Sheng walked over rubbing his hands, just as he was about to pluck it—]

[His foot hit something soft, and he almost fell.]

[He looked down and was stunned.]

[Buried beneath the soul nurturing grass was an egg.]

[White, about the size of a palm, with faint snake patterns on the shell.]

["Holy crap."]

[Chu Sheng crouched down and carefully dug out the egg.]

[The egg was warm to the touch, and something was faintly moving inside.]

["Is this... the white snake's offspring?"]

[He looked toward the demon refining pot.]

[An urgent hiss came from the pot. It was the white snake's voice, filled with pleading.]

[Chu Sheng understood.]

["You want me to take your child along too?"]

[The white snake's hissing grew even more urgent.]

[Chu Sheng looked down at the egg in his arms, and a crack suddenly appeared on the shell.]

[A small head poked out, wet and with its eyes still closed.]

[It sniffed, burrowed into Chu Sheng's arms, then curled into a ball and went back to sleep.]

[Chu Sheng: "..."]

["Your mother entrusted you to me?"]

[The little snake remained motionless, sleeping soundly.]

[Triggering Key Choice: A snake egg hatchling, how will you handle it?]

[1. Kill. Pull it up by the roots to eliminate any future trouble. But the white snake will hate you forever, and the couple in the demon refining pot might rebel.]

[2. Refine. Refine it into a pill, very nourishing. But killing it right after birth is too cruel, and the white snake is watching from inside the pot.]

[3. Raise. Just raise it. Anyway, Many Children, Many Blessings—one more snake isn't much. Maybe it can be a pet later.]

Chu Sheng sighed.

"Fine, I'll raise it."

["I'll give you a name... how about Xiao Bai?"]

[The little snake moved, seemingly protesting that the name was too basic.]

["Then how about... Gungun?"]

[The little snake continued to sleep, too lazy to bother with him.]

[Outside the valley, the faint sound of a noisy crowd could be heard.]

[The Second Elder's people have arrived.]

[Chu Sheng put away the soul nurturing grass, patted the snake hatchling in his arms, and then patted the demon refining pot at his waist.]

["Let's go."]

[He leaped up and disappeared into the night.]

[Behind him, the White Snake Valley remained silent.]

[Only the white snake that had stood guard for thirty years was gone.]

[At the entrance of the valley, the Second Elder rushed in with a large group of people, only to see an empty valley and the pit where the soul nurturing grass had been dug up.]

["Where is the person?! Where is the snake?! Where is the grass?!"]

[The Second Elder flew into a rage.]

[No one could answer him.]

["Second Elder, take your time searching."]

[He stroked the soundly sleeping little snake in his arms.]

["Let's go home."]