2: Chapter 2

"A weak and pathetic thing, lacking even the qualifications to enter the banner."

That voice planned on its own, cold and certain, "My precious banner never harbors useless Divine Souls."

Xu Rufeng silently turned his head back.

Fine.

He said to himself.

What kind of nonsense is this.

A faint cracking sound came from the edge of the eggshell.

Xu Rufeng retreated into that narrow darkness, a dry, powdery sensation lingering on the tip of his tongue.

It wasn't food, but more like licking the peeling dust off a wall.

Hunger was like a thin string, tightening deep within his invisible abdominal cavity.

He closed his eyes—if a snake could even perform such an action—trying to ignore the hollow echo of his stomach.

It was very quiet all around, so quiet that he could hear the rustling sound of his scales rubbing against the inner wall of the eggshell.

Those noisy thoughts from before, those notions belonging to his "younger sister" and "younger brother" filled with disdain or cold calculations, had already been blocked behind an invisible barrier.

It was the System that did it.

He only needed to make a request in his consciousness, and that barrier would silently descend, filtering out all the mental noise that did not belong to him.

Silence is nice.

Although this silence is a bit too absolute.

He tried to recall things from earlier, those fragments belonging to a "human": the tactile sensation of fingers touching a screen, the sound of traffic from outside the window, the temperature of food melting on his tongue.

But his memories were like paper soaked in water; the edges were blurred, and the details had faded.

The only thing that remained clear was that final thought—the absurdity of "older brother" and "enemy" being treated as the same.

Time outside the eggshell seemed to pass very slowly.

He could feel his body changing, a certain warm current slowly accumulating beneath his cold scales, like an underground river gradually rising with the tide.

The System would occasionally pop up notifications, those numbers and words flashing through the corners of his consciousness, but he didn't bother to interpret them.

Sleepiness came in fits and starts, like tides crashing against a reef, sometimes submerging him, sometimes receding, leaving behind a sharper hunger.

When he woke up again, he decided to try once more.

He pushed his head against the gap, and light seeped in, faint enough to only outline the arc of the eggshell's inner wall.

He extended his tongue to capture the particles in the air—there was no scent of food, only the smell of dust and some kind of stale plant roots.

A shallow pit remained where the edge of the eggshell had been bitten, revealing a paler layer underneath.

He leaned in and gnawed off another small piece.

It still wasn't something that could alleviate his hunger, but the act of chewing itself brought some comfort.

His teeth—if a snake had teeth—transmitted the tactile sensation of crushing hard objects through his skull, a slight vibration.

He stopped and listened.

Outside the barrier, those two existences seemed to still be operating on their own trajectories.

One was repeatedly attempting some kind of cycle, its breath fluctuating; the other was immersed in cold deductions, as if sharpening a blade.

He could feel their "positions," like two fires of different temperatures in the darkness, but their specific thoughts had been blocked.

That was fine, too.

He curled his body back up, letting the darkness wrap around him again.

The warm current was still accumulating, slow and steady.

The System popped up another notification, but he didn't look at it.

The hunger was still there, but the sleepiness was heavier.

He let himself sink down, sinking into that pure darkness without any noise.

He didn't know how long it had been, perhaps a long time, perhaps just an instant.

The warm current suddenly became turbulent, like a bursting river rushing through every inch of his torso.

A certain barrier had been broken, and a faint cracking sound came from inside his body—not from the eggshell, but from somewhere much deeper.

Immediately after, a brand-new power surged from the depths of his bone marrow, rapidly permeating his scales, muscles, and blood.

He opened his eyes.

The hunger still existed, but it had become more distant, like a shadow seen through frosted glass.

In its place was a sense of lightness, as if the invisible chains originally wrapped around him had loosened a few links.

The System notification sound rang out at this moment, steady and mechanical.

He didn't respond, just stayed quietly in the eggshell, feeling his body after the change.

His scales seemed tighter, his breathing was longer, and he could even hear the faint sound of his own blood flowing.

Then, he pushed open the eggshell again.

This time, the gap widened a little.

The eggshell was strangely soft; when his teeth sank in, it felt like biting through a layer of oil-soaked membrane.

His throat constricted violently, and sour water churned in his stomach.

Xu Rufeng had always been a glutton.

One has to pursue something while alive; at the very least, one's tongue shouldn't suffer.

Even livestock know to pick good forage.

He would trade every copper coin he saved for food, wanting to taste everything edible; rarely was there anything he couldn't swallow—but this time, he had hit a wall.

A crack opened on the left eggshell, and a small, greenish-gray head poked out, two sharp white points visible in the slit of its grinning mouth.

He didn't need to listen to those thoughts; just by looking at that wriggling posture, he knew it was mocking him.

Immediately after, he noticed two suspicious dents left on the eggshell opposite him as well.

A hiss was squeezed out from his throat.

You've also gnawed on the eggshell, what right do you have to laugh at me?

Xu Rufeng was so angry he laughed, removing the barrier to his hearing.

That familiar voice immediately pierced into his mind: "Ha! So even the ugly Flower Snake doesn't know that eggshells can't be eaten!"

"Hmm? It called out... what is it saying? Hateful! I cannot understand! Is it laughing at me? Could it have seen the tooth marks on my shell? Impossible... young snakes have not yet opened their spiritual wisdom. Unless... is it a returned soul like me?"

Xu Rufeng froze.

Information rushed in like a tide.

So that one couldn't understand snake language either.

A faint, crisp cracking sound came from the right side.

A head poked out from the third egg.

Was the Daoist Lord also woken up by hunger?

One green and one flower-patterned head turned simultaneously, four black-bean-like eyes flashing with anticipation.

"Hiss—"

"Strange. Why are these two stupid things staring at me? Could they have noticed my abnormality?"

Xu Rufeng abruptly turned his head back.

He didn't want to be exposed yet.

Just a moment ago, he had secretly set the rules—this game of "see who hides the deepest" only truly began now.

"Why did this Flower Snake suddenly turn its head? Could it be able to pry into my thoughts?"

The thought pierced in like an ice pick.

Xu Rufeng's pupils constricted sharply.

Just at this moment, three round objects rolled obliquely into the cave entrance.

Plop. Plop. Plop.

The bird eggs stopped at the edge of the mud platform, just a few steps away from the snake nest.

The Daoist Lord's attention was immediately drawn over.

"So it was just sensing the movement of a living thing. I was overthinking it; young snakes have not yet solidified their Divine Soul, how could they peep into minds."

Xu Rufeng breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

A shadow suddenly flashed before his eyes.

"Bird eggs! They belong to me!"

"These things should belong to me!"

Two thin shadows, one green and one white, darted out of the nest, fast as taut bowstrings.

Snakes that are starving even hunt with ferocity.

They each used the tips of their tails to wrap around an egg, then simultaneously turned their heads, venomous fangs aimed at the plumpest one in the middle.

Xu Rufeng suddenly raised his head.

Three eggs, three snakes—do they still want to take more?

If he doesn't fight for them now, not even scraps will be left.

Wait.

He glanced rapidly at the light screen floating in the depths of his consciousness.

[Name: Xu Rufeng]

As the red light surged beneath his scales, Xu Rufeng felt a faint cracking sound from the depths of his bones.

That wasn't pain, but rather something dense being rearranged.

A warm current spread along his spine, the edges of every snake scale slightly hot, as if tempered by invisible flames.

He subconsciously tightened his muscles, and clear dents were pressed into the fine sand on the ground.

[Refining complete. Physique increased to 113 points.]

The instant the voice rang out in his consciousness, his vision suddenly became much clearer.

The trajectory of insect legs trembling in a distant rock crevice, the arc of dust particles rotating in the air—all became capturable.

He tried to lift his tail—the black shadow brought up a short, sharp whistle as it swept through the air.

Just then, new information flooded into his mind.

[Discipline younger siblings, reorganize distribution. Reward: Refining Points three, unknown Spirit Seed one.]

Xu Rufeng turned his head, his vertical pupils locked onto the other side of the rock cave.

Two slightly smaller snakes were entangled beside that nest of bird eggs, and the green-patterned one had already put the largest one into its mouth.

His tail lashed out before he could even think.

The sound of breaking wind startled the white-scaled one.

It raised its head alertly, but it was too late to fully dodge—the black shadow struck its flank like an iron chain, and amidst the screeching sound of scales rubbing, the entire snake was slammed against the rock wall.

The green-patterned snake was startled and let go, the bird egg rolling onto the sandy ground.

It curled its body up, emitting intermittent hisses.

Xu Rufeng swam closer, using his head to nudge the three bird eggs beneath him and coil around them.

He looked down at the two young snakes still trembling, his tail tip lightly tapping the ground.

[Mission accomplished. Refining Points have been issued.]

The warm current surged again from the depths of his body.

This time, he clearly felt something new taking root in his flesh and blood—not an increase in power, but something more obscure, an anomaly as if an extra layer of perception had been added.

He looked down at his scales; in the dim light, faint golden patterns seemed to float within the dark green base color.

The white snake tentatively raised its head.

Xu Rufeng glanced at it, and it immediately lowered its body, slowly retreating to the edge of the rock cave.

Xu Rufeng ignored them after that.

He turned his attention back to the bird eggs, his tongue extending to touch the tiny pores on the surface of the eggshells.

Rich vitality was fed back through the tip of his tongue.

He opened his jaws and swallowed the first egg into his throat, slowly and steadily.

A warm sensation slid down his esophagus.

Almost simultaneously, a translucent phantom appeared at the edge of his vision—it was the trajectory of sand particles whipped up by the wind outside the rock cave, the faint heartbeat of insect eggs deep in the rock crevices, the vibration of scales rubbing against soil as others crawled in the distance.

All information intertwined into a web; without needing to open his eyes, the movements within a radius of three zhang were all reflected in the depths of his consciousness.

He paused for a moment, digesting this sudden perception.

So that was what a Spirit Seed meant.

The little white snake's tail had been heavily struck, similar to the previous green snake; in pain, it flipped over, exposing the light-colored scales of its abdomen, let go of the tightly wrapped bird egg, and instinctively curled into a ring, rolling to the side.

The hissing sound was short and sharp.

The tip of Xu Rufeng's tail traced a smooth arc in the air, nimbly nudging the three gray-spotted bird eggs before him.

He raised his head, the scales on his neck reflecting the light in small, fragmented glimmers.

Victory had come too easily.

He hadn't even truly exerted any strength.

"Hiss—"

Who is it? How dare you attack from the shadows!

The green snake was, after all, different from ordinary young snakes; enduring the pain, she quickly propped up her front half, her pitch-black eyes turning toward the direction of the attacker.

The moment she recognized it was Xu Rufeng, her pair of small, round eyes widened slightly.

"Hiss?"

Is it that snake with the messy patterns?

"Hiss?!"

Is it that older brother in name?

The white snake also flipped over into a defensive stance, but the moment it saw the other's appearance clearly, its tail movement froze for an instant.

It noticed that this so-called older brother's body was a circle thicker than its own, and the length was also significantly greater.

They were clearly born from the same nest, their auras were so similar, and their bloodline must be extremely close—why was the other's growth rate so much faster?

But the hesitation only lasted for an instant.

Both snakes almost simultaneously swung their bodies, charging again toward the direction of Xu Rufeng and the bird eggs.

Food containing Qi and blood must never be conceded!

Slap! Slap!

Two figures were swept away once again.

Dull thuds of landing rang out one after another.

When the green snake raised her head again, the light in her eyes flickered uncertainly.

She was judging: were the previous two failures due to negligence, or was the opponent truly stronger than her?

"I have already guided Qi into my body, refined a wisp of Demon Power, and stepped into the threshold of a Yao Beast."

"The cultivation of the Yao Race requires blood food to nourish Qi and blood; these bird eggs must never be given up."

"That snake with the messy patterns is just slightly larger, not as clever as the white one beside it; the previous time must have been luck."

"Try again!"

"..."

Xu Rufeng's expression became somewhat subtle.

While hearing the voice in the green snake's heart, nearly identical thoughts also came from the white snake's side.

It was just that "I" was replaced by "this master".

Demon Power was changed to Spirit Power, and "snake with messy patterns" became "dull spotted snake".

How interesting, these two guys.

It's understandable that they don't acknowledge an older brother—one was once an Empress, the other was once a Daoist Lord; having lived through who knows how many years, it's reasonable that they wouldn't want to acknowledge kin.

But one thinks he's ugly, and the other calls him dull?

This is simply pushing their luck; it is truly too presumptuous!

"Hiss, hiss—"