“When I was young, I obtained a snake-rearing method. I used it for over twenty years, cross-breeding seventeen types of venomous snakes to cultivate a highly toxic snake…”
The stall owner cautiously put on a pair of Iron Gauntlets and retrieved a foot-long, unusual snake from a black jar.
It had a triangular head, blood-red eyes, was as thick as a chopstick, and its entire body was covered in black scales, with only a thin line of silver-white on its belly. It coiled weakly on the stall owner’s hand…
Yet, it squeezed the Iron Gauntlets, making them creak and twist out of shape.
What immense strength!
The stall owner pulled out a sharp dagger and forcefully struck the unusual snake’s body, causing sparks to fly, but the snake…
Was completely unharmed!
Its scales were hard, its body small but powerful, and as for its venom…
Just by looking at its triangular snake head, one could tell its toxicity was extraordinary.
“I named it the Iron Scale Snake. Its venom is overbearing, instantly fatal upon contact with blood, and once it enters the body, it will gradually transform the blood into venom…”
The stall owner reached out and stroked the small snake’s head, saying in a low voice:
“Unfortunately, its Bloodline has collapsed, and it doesn’t have many days left to live.”
That’s perfect, it makes it easier for me to bargain down the price!
Liu Sheng’s eyes twitched slightly, and a look of regret appeared on his face:
“What a pity. Sell it to me cheaper, and I’ll take it back and try to keep it alive…”
The stall owner put the Iron Scale Snake back into the snake jar, hesitated for a moment, and quoted 100 taels of silver. After a fierce negotiation, it was finally sold for 50 taels of silver.
According to him, even if the snake died, selling it to a restaurant would still fetch over 40 taels.
With the transaction complete, Liu Sheng, carrying the snake jar, went to a pharmacy to buy a large bag of realgar, then left the city and found a secluded open space, preparing to refine his second Incarnation first.
“Although this snake is dying, it’s strong, highly venomous, and impervious to blades and spears. I need to be careful not to mess up…”
He first sprinkled a circle of realgar around the snake jar, then poured some on himself, and then, twenty steps away, sprinkled another circle of realgar and stood within it.
Then he pulled out a flying knife and, with a “smack,” shattered the snake jar.
“Hiss! Hiss!”
Instantly, a dark light shot up into the air, sweeping a dozen steps horizontally, and lunged towards him.
A sweet, cloying, unusual fragrance drifted with the wind, making one’s head feel dizzy…
Not good!
Liu Sheng quickly held his breath, and a green glow circulated in his pupils, capturing the trajectory of the dark light in mid-air—
The swaying snake tail, the snake body tensed like a spring, the open snake mouth, and the venom seeping from the tips of its fangs…
“Whoosh—!”
The next moment, a willow-leaf knife shot out like lightning, hitting the Iron Scale Snake’s open mouth.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Then, three more followed in quick succession, hitting its seven-inch mark one after another.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
Amidst a series of metallic clashes, sparks flew, but it only managed to knock it away.
“Hiss, hiss~”
Under the stimulation, the Iron Scale Snake struggled wildly, spewing venom from its mouth, corroding large pits in the surrounding grass, trees, mud, and rocks.
They were dense, with green smoke rising.
“Sprinkling so much realgar was useless? And even the flying knives made of refined iron couldn’t break its defense…
It seems there’s only one last method left!”
Liu Sheng’s eyelids twitched. After a slight hesitation, within the white mist, his Blade-tailed Finch Incarnation appeared.
“Chirp chirp~”
The Blade-tailed Finch chirped softly, flapped its wings, and transformed into a green streak of light, flying out. Its tail feathers swayed, sweeping past the Iron Scale Snake’s seven-inch mark in a flash!
“Clang~”
In an instant, sparks flew, but it only cut a small opening.
“Hiss, hiss~”
The Iron Scale Snake counterattacked, its body twisting, trying to coil around him, but Liu Sheng, having activated “Magpie Eyes,” avoided it in advance.
For a time, one snake and one bird fought for their lives, from the ground to mid-air, and then from mid-air to the trees, fiercely, with sparks flying everywhere.
Fortunately, this Iron Scale Snake’s Bloodline was already collapsing, and it was not at its Peak. Before, its muscles were weakened by the realgar, and its mouth was pierced by the flying knife…
After repeated weakening, it was already at the end of its rope.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
A moment later, Liu Sheng seized the opportunity, sweeping past like an afterimage, and his tail feathers struck seven times in one go…
Each strike heavily hit the Iron Scale Snake’s seven-inch mark!
“Pfft!”
The snake’s head flew off, blood splattered, and the remaining snake body writhed on the spot for a while before finally becoming still.
It wasn’t until a ball of white light emerged from the snake’s corpse that a line of ink-brush characters finally appeared in his vision…
【Detected Iron Scale Snake soul essence * 1. Do you wish to refine it to obtain the “Iron Scale Snake” Incarnation?】
Liu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and eagerly made his choice.
“Refine!”
Instantly, the white light surged, drilling into his body.
It transformed into wisps of cool Qi, surging within his body, seeping into his skin, muscles, tendons, bones, and internal organs…
Soreness, stinging, and an indescribable pain quickly spread throughout his limbs and bones.
His entire being felt like iron on an anvil, repeatedly forged, quenched, and re-quenched, again and again, as if being skinned and de-tendoned, de-fleshed and de-boned…
Then reassembled, then disassembled and forged again, then reassembled, in a continuous cycle, until a complete metamorphosis occurred—
In his mind, a segment of “snake” memory surged in…
A quarter of an hour later, all the unusual sensations receded like a tide.
Liu Sheng let out a long breath, recovering his senses, almost wondering if he had been dreaming earlier.
Only the flickering ink-brush characters before his eyes confirmed that all of this was real…
【Successfully refined Iron Scale Snake soul essence, obtained Iron Scale Snake Incarnation…】
【You have gained the “Snake Form” and “Iron Scales” blessings from the Iron Scale Snake’s talents.】
“Two new talents, they seem a bit ordinary…”
Liu Sheng blinked, feeling a touch of disappointment. He had been in so much pain earlier that he almost died!
However, after checking the changes in his body, he was immediately overjoyed.
His physique was a bit leaner than before, but his strength had increased significantly. When he casually threw a punch, his limbs moved, and power flowed through them in sections…
It actually made a “whoosh whoosh” sound like a soft whip cracking through the air.
His strength had probably doubled…
His muscles, like iron plates repeatedly forged, adhered to his bones, lean and condensed. When he exerted force, his skin tightened, and his veins, like thin snakes, twisted and turned, hard and tough, as if covered in a layer of scales.
His defense greatly increased!
More importantly, he found that his bone flexibility had reached…
An inhuman level.
With each breath, his spine undulated like a snake, as if it had come alive.
He casually extended his hand, and his left hand wrapped around the back of his neck, touching his right chest.
He could duck his head under his crotch and kiss his own lower back!
His neck could directly rotate 180 degrees, allowing him to see his heels…
If it were at night, it would probably scare people to death.
In addition, his body’s balance and coordination greatly improved, especially in narrow, irregular areas, where he could perform movements similar to those of a snake.
Unbelievable!
He pulled out a flying knife and stabbed it into his forearm, but it felt like piercing a layer of smooth scales. Not only could it not break through the defense, but most of the force from the knife tip was also deflected.
It wasn’t until he used six or seven parts of his strength that it barely broke the skin, leaving a speck of blood.
“These 50 taels of silver… are too well worth it!”
Liu Sheng’s eyes curved into slits, and the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears.
He had previously thought about getting a tortoise or ox-type Incarnation, with thick skin and flesh, to improve his frontal combat ability.
He didn’t expect such a pleasant surprise, refining an “Iron Scale Snake” Incarnation, which not only greatly enhanced his defense but also his strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination, all gradually showing inhuman tendencies.
The only regret was that he didn’t gain the terrifying venomous talent of the “Iron Scale Snake.”
However, I can transform~
“Iron Scale Snake, transform!”
Instantly, white mist rose…