Chapter 10

"The holy light just now, was it a merit?" Arin's snake eyes lit up. No wonder he couldn't explain it clearly.1

The merits and virtues that had descended upon him had invisibly enhanced Arin's wisdom and increased his blessings. This would allow him to turn misfortune into fortune and live a long life.1

For spiritual beings, possessing merits and virtues meant having deep roots, and it provided the opportunity to become a generation of animal immortals in the future—gods in the eyes of the people.1

The greatest obstacle to becoming a god was the need to undergo a catastrophe when one's cultivation reached a certain level. Only by successfully crossing this catastrophe could one ascend to the rank of immortals. If one had merit and virtue to protect the body, the Heavenly Tribulation would be kinder and not fatal.1

Monsters full of evil were most afraid of the catastrophe because they lacked merit to protect their bodies. If they carried a body full of resentment, they would undoubtedly perish during the catastrophe. Many demon kings, like giant crocodiles, preferred to reincarnate rather than face the catastrophe, knowing they were bound to die. Their cultivation relied on cannibalism, and they still hoped to achieve immortality.1

Arin hadn't expected that bringing rain would earn him merit. This was an unexpected boon. Were the people at the bottom of the mountain so desperate for water?1

The scales of merit and virtue continued to manifest above his forehead. One, ten, one hundred...! The scales of meritorious deeds sprouted like bean sprouts breaking through the soil, seemingly endless. In the end, a thousand meritorious scales were imprinted on Arin's forehead, making his snake head appear as if it wore a crown, adding a sense of supreme majesty. It was extraordinary and refined, with auspicious omens.1

This head, protected by a thousand merits and virtues, was now invulnerable to swords and guns, water and fire. Thunder would never harm it. If Arin's entire body were covered with merit scales in the future, he would be immortal, living as long as the sky and the earth.1

"If it weren't for my mana being depleted, I would love to bring another rain," Arin murmured excitedly. But he knew there would be opportunities in the future.1

After the excitement subsided, he realized, "My body is too weak now. I need to shrink and relieve the pressure."1

The terrifying body spanning sixty feet began to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye. This was the benefit of the large and small wishful spells. In a blink of an eye, the giant snake of sixty feet became about ten feet long.1

"Now, every hundred years I strengthen my Taoism, my body also grows by ten feet. When I become the snake king in the mountains, I will find a new place to practice," Arin thought. The forest was too small to accommodate his body.1

He closed his eyes and activated the ten-thousand-fold time acceleration. In an instant, with a flick of the finger, time passed by, drowning the sun and the moon, and confusing the universe. Arin entered that dreamlike, ethereal state again.1

With a thousand years of Taoism, Arin's snake body began to exude a unique, domineering aura. This invisible arrogance made the birds and beasts in the nearby forest tremble, bowing low in fear.1Strangely, a large number of poisonous snakes began swimming towards him from all directions in the mountains and forests. These snakes crawled close to Arin, the ten-foot giant snake, waiting quietly as if awaiting their king's awakening.1

This was just the first batch. Under the influence of Arin's aura, a large number of snake creatures in the deep mountains awoke. They swam towards him in an endless stream, densely packed like locusts crossing the border. Even the little snake spirits who had practiced felt it and trembled all over. A mysterious force in the dark was calling them, irresistible and undeniable, like an imperial decree.1

These snake spirits were grotesque and strange. Some had long antlers, some had yellow hair, some had four legs, some had two heads, and some had wings on both sides. There were even those with dragon heads and phoenix tails, black and white, with different colors, sizes, and lengths. These snakes had cultivated to become refined, and their blood had undergone mutations. Or perhaps they had practiced some kind of demon technique, making them look very different. Some were even weirder, resembling lizards or lobsters. There were also those with the head of a bull and the body of a snake, the head of a horse and the body of a snake, and those with a cockscomb on their heads. Some had bodies like square seals, some like slings...!1Any one of them could be a disaster for a region.1

"King of snakes?" they murmured, stopping their practice and making strange noises. All kinds of ghosts and snakes swam out like a tide, rushing towards Arin. The number of immature poisonous snakes was even greater, forming a snake tide.1

As Arin continued to practice, his aura grew stronger and stronger, drawing all the snakes in Tianxing Mountain towards him.1Fifteen days later, when Arin reached 1,500 years of cultivation, the snake-like aura on his body became even more intense. Thunder and lightning flashed in the sky, like a raging monster trying to tear the clouds apart, breaking free from the thick clouds' shackles. The huge thunder seemed to roar both in the sky and underground.1

In a black water pond in Tianxing Mountain, a python demon with dark scales several tens of feet long soared into the sky from the water. It exuded a terrifying evil spirit and strong resentment, the mark of deep sin.1"The breath of the snake king? How is it possible? A new snake king will appear in Tianxing Mountain?" the python demon wondered.1

"Hmph, it's not easy to be the king of snakes. You have to overwhelm the other snakes," it thought, its gigantic body meandering away in a flash.1

Any snake demon with more than a thousand years of Taoism was eligible to compete for the throne of the snake king. Once you overwhelmed the other snakes, you would ascend the throne, becoming the king of snakes in the mountains and commanding all the snakes in the world. None would dare disobey.1

But a thousand years of Taoism was just a qualification. To truly become a snake king, one needed thousands of years of practice. Without it, it was wishful thinking.