Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 663 Snake Town
Call ~
Huhu~

With heavy breathing, a monster, still roughly humanoid, stretched out its coiled body. Flowing muscles peeked through its lapis lazuli scales, revealing its chilling claws, powerful bony wings, and heavy breastplate.
Even with Qin Huai's current discerning eye, this host body, which has undergone dual transformations of snake venom and dragon blood, is an invaluable killing machine. It almost perfectly combines the characteristics of snakes, yakshas, ​​and dragons, and its strength has soared to the peak of the Eight Extremes, only one step away from becoming a mythical creature.

Unfortunately, Qin Huai's original intention to control the host body has been completely corrupted by the demonic influence, and he has become a follower of the Ba Hui.

However, considering certain factors in dealing with Ba Hui, Qin Huai had a backup plan. Instead of immediately extinguishing the thought, he chose to mobilize his Guizhen Qi to send it into his heart, using abundant Tianrui blood to bind and imprison it, preventing it from affecting his normal thoughts of taking over the host body.

"This feeling...is truly amazing."

The same hoarse hissing sound came from the host's throat. Qin Huai could clearly feel that all his senses had become much more sensitive. His vision, hearing, touch, and smell were all a hundred times stronger than before.

Qin Huai savored the feeling of ascending to heaven just now, and could basically confirm that this host body had obtained the common abilities of the snake-like species. Not only had its perception been comprehensively enhanced, but its physical recovery ability had also become much stronger.

"Is this the benefit that the Pakhi provides to believers of the species?"

Qin Huai discovered that both of these abilities possessed by the genus *Serpentina* seem to be related to how to better sacrifice pain.

"That's interesting, but peeling your own skin next is a really difficult skill."

Qin Huai extended his dagger-like claws, tapped the tough scales on his arm, then raised them high and slowly sliced ​​across the middle of his scalp. Soon, the scalp split open, revealing the flesh and blood with intertwined blood vessels underneath.

Immediately afterwards, Qin Huai tore off his tattered clothes, took out several Xuanbing ropes from his storage items, and tied his feet, waist, abdomen, and left hand to the thick beams on the stone platform to secure his body.

Immediately afterwards, the Qi energy hidden deep within the body emerged, flowing between the skin and flesh on the surface of the body, like a precise and sharp scalpel, separating the two.

"what!!!"

The excruciating pain of peeling, amplified a thousandfold, surged into the brain's nerve center like a tidal wave. At first, it was extreme pain, but gradually this pain turned into itching, and the itching became more and more intense, spreading throughout the entire body.

When the intense itching reached its peak, Qin Huai, whose body was restrained, struggled desperately. At that moment, he felt as if ants were biting his entire body, and the pain and itching were almost unbearable.

At the same time, several surrounding high platforms trembled slightly, the air in the center distorted, and Qin Huai's senses began to change simultaneously.

Sight, taste, smell, and hearing.
All of these things gradually merged together, forming a completely new perception that ordinary people cannot understand.

Through this extremely peculiar perceptual ability, Qin Huai broke through a certain perceptual limit.

He saw at the highest point of the cavern, the deepest part of what should have been the dense rock ceiling, in a vast, unfathomable abyss of darkness, where countless even more terrifying shadows danced with the sun, something was moving.

Qin Huai caught a whiff of the gaze emanating from that thing, tasted the terrifying aura emanating from that gaze that made him tremble uncontrollably, and saw the strange rhythm brought about by the slight movement of that thing.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

Qin Huai felt that it was very, very far away from her, yet its melody was so charming and clear.

He couldn't find a corresponding reference in reality for this melody. If he had to say, the roar of the Blood Asura and the flames burning on the body of the Fearful King in the Demon-Infested Illusion were somewhat similar to this thing.

But this thing is far, far more powerful than Qin Huai is now. The weak host is like sand compared to a mountain in front of it.

"Is this the Ba Hui?"

An almost intuitive judgment welled up from the bottom of his heart. Even though Qin Huai had no idea what he was sensing, he subconsciously relaxed his grip on the demonic thoughts.

Immediately afterwards, his distorted senses inexplicably returned to normal.

In that instant, Qin Huai seemed to feel the Ba Hui, high in the sky, glance at him.

But he had no time to think about these things; most of his attention was focused on fighting the dual torment of mind and body.

As Qin Huai continued to twist, his body slithered upwards like a snake, and after much effort, he finally managed to squeeze out.

However, the air, which had been rippling like water, did not recover; instead, it fluctuated even more violently, colliding and tearing apart countless tiny black cracks.

With his entire body exposed to the air, Qin Huai was in so much pain that he couldn't breathe. His limbs and bones felt like they were being cut by knives, and his whole body was trembling slightly involuntarily.

The next moment, an extremely terrifying and desperate atmosphere spread from the dark crack in the center of the platform. It seemed to have some kind of powerful air pressure. Everything near Qinhuai was accompanied by creaking sounds. Countless bones were crushed and pushed aside, scattering into bone fragments all over the ground.

Struggling to his feet, Qin Huai trembled as he reached out and opened the wine gourd, then began to pour the sweet wine inside into his mouth.

The cool spring water slid smoothly down Qin Huai's throat, and before long, his entire body was completely covered with fine, white scales.

Taking out a large black robe from his storage container and covering his current terrifying host body, Qin Huai glanced at the entire snakeskin set bound by chains, mustered his strength to remove it, then tidied up the clutter on the table before collapsing headfirst into the now-formed void portal in front of him.

Murmur
With a series of bubbling sounds, Qin Huai's vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness.

When he woke up again, he was surrounded by a giant snake demon that was tens of meters long.

Atop the serpent's head stood a serpent-person priest shrouded in a wide conical hat, his long, slender, scarred arms gripping a scepter, his cold, eerie green eyes fixed intently on the faintly golden scales covering Qin Huai's body.

“I am the priest of [Serpent's Village], Iber. I won't waste any more words. I have only one purpose in appearing here, which is to guide you through the upcoming 'Trial of the Serpent'. Keep your molted skin safe and come with me.”

The purple snake's tongue flickered in and out, emitting a hollow hissing sound.

Qin Huai, now a snake-like creature, naturally understood what the snake-man was saying. He nodded, pushed himself up from the ground with his tail, and got up.

"Greetings, Priest Iber."

As Qin Huai greeted the visitors, he looked around and saw that the distorted buildings and bizarre cities he had seen in the murals had all come to life here.

The folded intestines, the dense bony forest overgrown with thorns, and the solid streets formed by the giant scale-like outer walls.

Towering towers, hills and snake nests, and wave-like rooftops and domes.

Numerous snakes of all shapes and sizes slithered and swam in the light and shadow of the building, curiously observing Qin Huai, this unique outsider. Qin Huai stared at the most conspicuous stone tower, about to speak, when the snake-man priest Iber seemed to know beforehand: "That is the Tower of the King Serpent. The Sage King Yu is waiting for you there."

"King Yu?"

Upon hearing this term, Qin Huai raised an eyebrow, nodded, and jumped onto the head of the giant serpent demon. Together with Iber, they swept past countless buildings with the image of the "Serpent of Pain" branded on their surfaces, until they reached the base of the tower.

Just as Qin Huai was wondering how to climb this tall tower with its smooth exterior, Iber spoke up.

"The second challenge, [The Power of the Serpent], requires you to climb to the top of the tower by any means you can think of. Only when you get there will you be qualified to learn about the challenges to come."

After saying that, Iber stepped forward and pressed himself against the bottom of the tower, as if demonstrating to Qin Huai. His thick, long snake tail tightly wrapped around the tower, and with terrifying muscle strength and friction, he circled around it again and again, climbing up as if walking on flat ground.

"That's it? But I can fly."

Watching Iber climb to the top in no time, Qin Huai chuckled. He reached out and touched the bone wings tucked into his black robe, but instead of soaring into the sky and publicly humiliating Ba Hui, he obediently followed suit, extending his own snake tail to the surface of the tower, preparing to climb.

The moment the two came into contact, Qin Huai felt an unusual slippery sensation.

"The coefficient of friction is so low?"

After confirming that there was no foamy or slimy substance on the surface of the tower, Qin Huai stared at the smooth stone exterior and unhesitatingly extended his gleaming claws.

When he was a child, he had seen electricians climb bare utility poles in the fields of his hometown to work at heights. Now, he used his powerful snake tail as a foothold, his claws as ice boots, and his hands as ice axes to carve into the rock and climb the tower.

"Outsider, I'm curious, why don't you use the wings given to you by Ba Hui to fly up the tower, instead of choosing the more strenuous and thankless climb?"

Looking at Qin Huai, who had climbed to the top of the tower with an arrogant posture, a strange snake-man with snake-head eyebrows and a body full of strong muscles asked a question.

"Because this allows me to better demonstrate my strength."

Qin Huai raised his head and looked at the snake-man sitting on the throne in the center of the tower. Judging from the characteristics of the magnificent crown robe woven from black silk on his body, it seemed to have some connection with the Xia and Shang dynasties.

Upon closer inspection, one will also discover that this snake-man, whose status is clearly very high, has a pair of terrifying snake eyes, with pale green sclera and sharp, long golden pupils. Just a glance from him can send chills down one's spine.

"An interesting answer comes from the seeker of the truth in the world of mortals. I am King Yu, the sage of Ba Hui. Welcome to the Xia capital of the snake!"

The extraordinary snake-man stood up, opened his strong arms, which were tattooed with the pattern of a hundred rivers, and gave Qin Huai a perfunctory hug.

"Qin Wu greets the Sage."

pondering the meaning behind the name 'King Yu', Qin Huai clasped his hands together and returned the greeting.

“Iber, continue.”

Upon seeing Qin Huai's actions, King Yu nodded and spoke to the snake-man priest beside him.

"You have proven your strength by climbing the King Serpent Tower. The next challenge, the third one, is the Serpent's Fang. You need to completely destroy this scale before sunset."

After saying that, Iber took out a huge scale the size of a washbasin from his cloak and threw it in front of Qin Huai.

"Complete destruction?"

Picking up the scale that had been scraped off from some kind of giant snake, Qin Huai extended his claws, sharp as most rare cold weapons, and tried to scratch it, but failed to leave any marks.

Qin Huai thought for a moment, then unleashed his True Qi, which transformed into intense heat that baked the giant scales. After discovering that tiny, visible wrinkles had indeed appeared on its surface, he increased the heat until his claws could barely hold on. Then he changed the nature of his power, and a chilling cold instantly replaced the blazing flames, covering the entire scale.

It's still the same principle of thermal expansion and contraction that applies to all beings in the world!

Although the exact composition of this giant scale is unknown, the fact that it reacts under the scorching flames proves that its extraordinary properties are far more effective at damaging it than pure physical damage.

After a while, Qin Huai threw it directly onto the hard stone surface of the tower top. His claws shot out, as fast as lightning. Amidst clusters of cyan-gold light, sparks exploded at the point of impact. His claws struck the brittle giant scales again and again, producing a continuous clanging sound!

The Yaksha clan's strong bones and muscles, the snake-like sharp claws, the surging, magma-like Heavenly Blood flowing wildly through their limbs and bones, and crackling patterns gradually spreading across the surface of their massive scales.

A fierce golden light shot out from Qin Huai's eyes, and the swirling black ice shards resembled a blizzard!

Yu the Great and Yi Bo stared intently at Qin Huai's every move, whether it was the blazing blood and fire or the deep, icy ice crystals, they memorized it all and compared it with the many deities of the outer heavens.

"Blood Asura, Fear King, Jade Bodhisattva Slaughter, Flames, Ice. But if that's all, where did his dragon bloodline come from?"

Yu the Great and Yi Bo exchanged a glance, but could not recall any deity in the outer heavens who possessed the nature and characteristics of the dragon.

At the same time, Qin Huai's enormous claws struck the intersection of the hundreds of indentations on the surface of the giant scale, sending countless fragments flying in a whirlwind.

Qin Huai exhaled a breath of stale air, raised his ten fingers whose nails were almost worn down, and looked at the two snake people with inscrutable expressions: "It's so broken, it must be too much, right?"

"Naturally. The next challenge is [Snake's Offspring], which tests your vitality and reproductive instincts. You can choose to endure being slowly sliced ​​to death and demonstrate your self-healing abilities, or you can choose to go to the snake pit to breed. As long as you can impregnate six thousand female snakes within three hours, you will pass this challenge."

Iber gazed at the pale golden scales on Qin Huai's body, a hint of something indescribable flickering in his eyes.

"Come on, will you help me, or will I do it myself?"

Qin Huai tore off the loose black robe that covered his entire body, revealing a robust body that was completely different from that of ordinary snakes and vipers, and looked at Iber.

“I will do it, Iber, you get ready.”

Just then, a strange light flashed in the eyes of the sage King Yu, who had remained as still as a mountain, and he took the initiative to speak.

(End of this chapter)