9: Chapter 9 only allows two shots.

A Blue-ringed Snake larger than any he had seen before appeared in front of him. The one Su Mo had eaten earlier was only as thick as a wrist, but this snake's girth was actually comparable to an adult's waist.

Hearts Eye's pace immediately came to a halt, warily watching the flickering blue rings ahead.

Fortunately, this giant Blue-ringed Snake didn't seem to have noticed them. It was coiled up in rings with its head buried inside its body, making it impossible to tell exactly how long it was.

Su Mo patted Wits's head, signaling it to slowly back away.

After retreating a few li, Su Mo finally spoke with relief.

"You've lived here for so long, haven't you seen this snake before?"

"Yo~"

"You're saying you've never been this deep before."

No wonder then; the look in Hearts Eye's eyes just now showed that he was also surprised.

Su Mo rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment.

He was currently only three Blue-ringed Snakes away from reaching Rank 2. That giant Blue-ringed Snake looked very nutritious; perhaps it could even propel him to Rank 3 in one go.

But that thing looked a bit fierce; he didn't know if Wits could handle it.

He patted Hearts Eye's head and asked tentatively:

"Can you beat that snake?"

Unexpectedly, this time when Hearts Eye heard Su Mo's words, he actually hesitated for a while before making a sound.

"Yo~"

"You can't beat it, but you can escape..."

"Alright, I understand."

"Yo~ Yo-yo~"

Hearing Hearts Eye's reminder, Su Mo instantly burst into laughter.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Whether we succeed or not, there definitely won't be a lack of white porridge for you afterward."

Hearts Eye's response immediately strengthened Su Mo's resolve. He stood up and looked at his current physique:

"Isn't it just a slightly thicker belt? I'm 1.5 meters tall now, with eight hundred jin of force in a single arm swing. What do you have to take that!"

"Furthermore, adding Hearts Eye's combat power, even if we can't win, we can run."

"Let's do it!"

Riding Hearts Eye, they bypassed the giant Blue-ringed Snake and searched the surroundings for a long time but didn't find any other Blue-ringed Snakes. Perhaps the others didn't dare enter its territory.

This left Su Mo's wish to reach Rank 2 first to gain more confidence unfulfilled.

He looked up at the sky, which was exceptionally well-hidden by the canopy, gave a long sigh, and his gaze became sharp.

"Perhaps this is the will of heaven!"

Returning to where the giant snake was, it remained in its coiled position, looking like a pile of glowing poop.

Su Mo and Hearts Eye quietly observed from one li away from the giant Blue-ringed Snake.

"Wait a moment, I'll test it first. Don't be in a hurry to act."

"Yo~"

Hearts Eye responded quietly in a low voice, indicating he understood.

Then Su Mo jumped onto a tree trunk above his head, chose a hidden spot obscured by leaves, and quietly crouched down.

From this angle, he could see the Blue-Ringed Giant Snake clearly, but the Blue-Ringed Giant Snake might not necessarily discover him.

Silently activating his skill, a mass of white porridge large enough to cover the entire Blue-Ringed Giant Snake appeared above it.

The giant snake seemed to sense something; its body began to slither, and its head emerged from the gaps in its body to glance at the sky.

It immediately pulled its head back, and its entire body coiled even tighter, forming a blue tower-like shape.

The mass of white porridge crashed down, hitting the giant snake and splashing in all directions.

Although the momentum of the falling large mass of white porridge was great, it didn't cause the slightest harm to the giant snake.

All of this was within Su Mo's expectations, but what made him curious was why this giant snake didn't run away upon seeing the white porridge.

In this dark forest, where no sunlight reached and the temperature was extremely low, the snakes living here should also have habits favoring cold and dampness.

Previously, of the Blue-ringed Snakes he had eaten, not a single one didn't struggle violently when hit by the warm white porridge, wanting to leave the range of the white porridge as quickly as possible.

Now, however, the giant snake before him was uncharacteristically staying coiled in place, refusing to leave.

Su Mo squinted his eyes at the pagoda-shaped giant snake, having some suspicions in his heart.

"Could it be... it's protecting something?"

He immediately decided to test it more aggressively and said to Hearts Eye in a low voice:

"Hearts Eye, as soon as that snake sticks its head out, give it a hard shot!"

"Yo~"

Hearts Eye responded without turning his head, his eyes staring heatedly at the giant snake.

Another huge mass of white porridge appeared above the giant snake and crashed down in the blink of an eye.

After waiting for a few breaths, the giant snake made no movement and didn't even stick its head out.

"Heh... quite cautious, aren't you? However, if there's one thing I have plenty of, it's porridge..."

One mass... two masses... three masses... another ten masses of white porridge crashed down, and the area around the giant snake was covered in a thick layer. Hearts Eye couldn't help but stomp his hooves as he watched.

"Dammit! Still not coming out!"

"Then don't you ever come out!!"

A mass of white porridge that blotted out the sky appeared above the giant snake, similar in size to the one used to deal with the Black Bear.

The warm breath of the white porridge caused the temperature of the entire dark forest to rise significantly.

The giant snake finally felt that something was wrong and couldn't help but stick its head out to look at the outside world. Seeing the white porridge overhead, its tongue flicked violently.

"Hearts Eye! Shoot it!"

At the same time Su Mo growled in a low voice, a blue light ray carrying a scorching temperature shot toward the giant snake's head.

"Boom!"

The ray struck the giant snake's eye in the blink of an eye, blasting apart a patch of flesh and blood. Blue blood splashed all around.

"Hiss—"

The giant snake immediately let out a piercing hiss, but as the white porridge crashed down, the sound vanished instantly.

Su Mo immediately jumped from the tree onto Hearts Eye's back, grabbing on tight.

"The wind is tight, let's bolt!"

Hearts Eye turned his head and looked reluctantly at the towering waves of porridge behind him, then he made a catapult start, rushing two li away in the blink of an eye.

After a while, peace returned to the forest once again, and Su Mo rode back to the original spot on Hearts Eye's back.

At this time, a hole dozens of meters in diameter had appeared in the sky above the forest that was originally enveloped in darkness. Sunlight shone through the hole, and the cold air gradually warmed up.

From a distance, they could see the giant snake; it was still coiled in place and hadn't left, its head warily observing the surroundings.

However, its current state was not very good. One eye had already disappeared, and blue blood mixed with white porridge was dripping onto the ground.

"What could be so important that it won't leave even after suffering such a heavy injury?"

"Hearts Eye, how many more shots can you fire?"

"Yo~"

"Can only fire one more..."

"Alright, now aim for its other eye and give it another shot!"

A scorching blue light ray condensed from the antlers and streaked toward the giant snake's other eye.

Just then, the giant snake's tongue flicked, and it suddenly looked toward Su Mo and the others, while simultaneously raising its tail to block its head.

"Sizzle—"

The giant snake's tail was severed upon impact, and it immediately let out a pained hiss. A piercing red light emerged in its eyes, and its entire body twisted into the shape of a spring before flying out.

Su Mo was greatly alarmed upon seeing this.

"Oh no!"