Chapter 357: Swallowing Sky Snake

As soon as Kong Feichen spoke, Chen Mobai's expression changed.

The three Palace Masters of the Immortal Gate were all Nascent Soul Venerables, not just any, but late-stage or even Grand Perfection existences. On the Local Star, where the two Deification Patriarchs had been in seclusion for centuries, they were the most powerful figures, effectively the rulers of the Immortal Gate's Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens, Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, and three hundred million inhabitants.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, and I won’t tell Qing Nü.” Chen Mobai said slowly after a moment’s thought.

“My sister, being in a place like the Heaven-Mending Group, certainly won't give up the chance to investigate the truth,” Kong Feichen said. “If she truly delves into it and angers the highest authorities of the Immortal Gate, even Venerable Taohua of the Jumang Daoist Academy might not be able to protect her.”

Chen Mobai shook his head regarding Kong Feichen’s concerns. “You simply don’t understand the strength of the Four Great Daoist Academies. Of the Immortal Gate’s fourteen Nascent Soul Venerables, three are from the Jumang Daoist Academy. Furthermore, our Dancing Weapons Academy and Jumang are closely allied; while killing someone might be difficult, protecting someone is more than sufficient.”

“The three Nascent Soul Venerables who originated from Jumang, two of them are no longer at the academy, and it’s not certain that Dancing Weapons will step forward for my sister.”

“We’ll see about that when the time comes,” Chen Mobai said. Chen Mobai was too lazy to explain the intricate upper-level relationships between the Daoist Academies to a traitor like Kong Feichen. Instinctively, he felt it was best not to get involved in this matter. However, he could find a way to give this Restriction-Dissolving Pill to Qing Nü.

Seeing Chen Mobai’s attitude, Kong Feichen had no choice but to accept it. After all, he dared not contact Qing Nü directly, and Chen Mobai was the only person he trusted near her.

“Are there any side effects after taking this pill?”

“No, you’ll just feel much lighter.”

Listening to Kong Feichen, Chen Mobai nodded and placed the pill into the box of colorful vegetable pellets he was bringing for Qing Nü. Without close inspection, it would be impossible to notice it.

“You’re just going to give it to her like that?” Kong Feichen asked, his bird-like beak twitching slightly, seemingly a little incredulous.

“Otherwise, how?” Chen Mobai replied. Chen Mobai’s willingness to help was already a favor due to his friendship with Qing Nü.

“Alright then,” Kong Feichen conceded, not daring to say more, as he was the one asking for a favor.

“Can you help me raise this snake?” Kong Feichen suddenly asked as Chen Mobai was about to leave.

“I’m afraid not,” Chen Mobai replied. Chen Mobai constantly traveled between two realms; he barely had time for a relationship, let alone raising a pet.

“Do you know about the Ruyi Sect?” Kong Feichen asked a question that left Chen Mobai bewildered.

“Yes, I do,” Chen Mobai replied. “It’s an ancient lineage from before the current era, known for absorbing all things and phenomena to refine a single drop of Grand Heavens Ruyi Essence. It’s hailed as the foremost school of mystical arts.”

“This snake was imbued with a Heaven-Swallowing Art by Patriarch Longhu of that ancient lineage,” Kong Feichen explained. “It can devour and refine spiritual objects containing spiritual energy. If it consumes enough, its bloodline can revert to its ancestral form.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Chen Mobai asked, completely perplexed.

“This Heaven-Swallowing Snake is one of the Ascendant Sect’s masterpieces in ancient biological research,” Kong Feichen continued. “Patriarch Longhu arranged all the dragon and serpent type genes that ever appeared in the history of the Local Star into its bloodline. If, during the bloodline reversion, it doesn’t die from genetic collapse, it can condense a trace of the most precious True Spirit Blood.”

“Is that true?” Chen Mobai asked. Although Chen Mobai had never studied subjects related to biological spirit beasts during his many years at the Dancing Weapons Daoist Academy, he was familiar with the term “True Spirit.” The Immortal Gate’s only living True Spirit was the one enshrined by the Kunpeng Daoist Academy, equivalent to a Deification cultivator. However, even this Kunpeng’s True Spirit body was reportedly incomplete. “Is the Ascendant Sect really that incredible?” Chen Mobai was skeptical.

“Such a precious item, and you’re giving it to me to raise? Aren’t you afraid the Ascendant Sect will come after you?”

“There are plenty of these things,” Kong Feichen replied. “After Patriarch Longhu completed the gene sequencing, he cloned tens of thousands of them and released them onto a suitable planet in the universe, allowing them to devour and evolve from each other. According to the Ascendant Sect’s plan, the ultimate Heaven-Swallowing Snake that evolves will consume all of its kind and that entire planet, possibly having a chance to evolve into a complete True Spirit.”

After hearing Kong Feichen’s words, Chen Mobai’s gaze completely changed. He controlled the Miasma Cloud Prison to lift the miniature black snake within it to his eye level.

“Once I learned about this, I went to that Serpent Star and captured one,” Kong Feichen explained. “Then I infused it with the spiritual consciousness impurities that I had stripped and removed from Yang Jing. After all, it’s also a part of my sister, and I couldn’t bear for it to return to the Serpent Star, where it might be eaten by its own kind. But this thing is too well-known within the Ascendant Sect, so it’s inconvenient for me to keep it by my side. I was hoping to find an opportunity to release it into a desolate, spirit-energy-devoid place and let it fend for itself.”

“What exactly is this Heaven-Swallowing Art inside the snake?” Chen Mobai asked. Chen Mobai activated his Void-Piercing Spiritual Eyes and, as expected, discovered something different in the little black snake’s abdomen: a restriction, the most complex and intricate he had ever seen, yet he couldn't detect any spiritual energy fluctuations from it.

“The Heaven-Swallowing Art was evolved by Patriarch Longhu from the Ruyi Sect’s grand techniques,” Kong Feichen elaborated. “While the Ruyi Sect uses it to integrate all spiritual energies and refine a Grand Heavens Essence, he uses it to devour spiritual energy and refine the bloodlines of all mythical dragon and serpent genes within the snake’s DNA, hoping that one day its bloodline will revert and transform into a True Spirit body.”

“Patriarch Longhu is quite the talent!” After listening to Kong Feichen’s explanation, Chen Mobai couldn’t help but clap in admiration.

Right there on the lake, he condensed a wisp of pure water spiritual energy and channeled it into the little black snake’s mouth from a distance. The snake swallowed it directly. Immediately, his Void-Piercing Spiritual Eyes saw the restriction in its abdomen subtly fluctuate, followed by an invisible force surging through the snake’s entire body, seemingly purifying its bloodline.

“Can one choose the type of True Spirit Blood that ultimately condenses?”

“I’m afraid not; it’s purely up to luck.”

“Does your Ascendant Sect have any successful examples?”

“On that Serpent Star, one condensed a trace of White Dragon Blood, and another condensed Bashe Snake Blood,” Kong Feichen replied. “However, both were taken by Patriarch Longhu for research, as he reportedly wanted to cultivate True Spirit bodies to see if they could serve as the Sect Master’s reincarnated form for his third Corpse Dissolution.”

Hearing this, Chen Mobai’s gaze towards Kong Feichen changed again. To be able to obtain such information, it seemed Kong Feichen was doing well within the Ascendant Sect.

“Bloodline reversion is like a lottery, but there must be a range of True Spirit Blood types that can condense, right?”

“Only Patriarch Longhu would know that,” Kong Feichen said, shaking his head. “Heaven knows how many dragon and serpent genes he actually sequenced.” Kong Feichen indicated that Chen Mobai could imagine any mythical dragon or serpent creature that had appeared in Local Star’s legends and whose fossils had been unearthed.

“Candle Dragon Blood, that should be possible, right?” Chen Mobai asked. Kong Feichen hesitated. He knew that the Kunpeng Daoist Academy’s Six Imperial Sutra could only be fully cultivated with Candle Dragon Blood. Since any citizen of the Immortal Gate could download cultivation techniques, even Deification-level ones, the Ascendant Sect also had copies of the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment chapters of the Six Imperial Sutra. Given the existence of the Heaven-Swallowing Snake, Patriarch Longhu would certainly have included the Candle Dragon Blood gene in its sequencing. After all, if one truly evolved Candle Dragon Blood, it would essentially guarantee the successful cultivation of the complete Six Imperial Sutra, one of the Immortal Gate’s top Deification-level grand techniques. Its potential far surpassed the ancient methods of their pre-ancient lineages.

“I’m not certain about that either, but I think it’s likely,” Kong Feichen replied. “After all, the Kunpeng Daoist Academy did possess Candle Dragon Blood thousands of years ago. By stealing some ashes of cultivators who had refined Candle Dragon Blood, it would still be possible to extract the corresponding gene fragments.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai, for Qing Nü’s sake and also because he had a good impression of Yang Jing, reluctantly agreed to raise the little black snake.

“Let me state upfront,” Kong Feichen warned, “the Heaven-Swallowing Snake’s evolution requires devouring a vast amount of spiritual energy-rich objects. If you wish for True Spirit Blood, you might need to feed it for hundreds of years to trigger the opportunity for transformation, and even then, success isn’t guaranteed. In a place like the Immortal Gate, where resources are strictly controlled, you must not attract the attention of the relevant departments.” Given the Ascendant Sect’s capabilities, they had only managed to cultivate two successfully evolved Heaven-Swallowing Snakes in hundreds of years. Kong Feichen didn't believe Chen Mobai could achieve the same. His reason for revealing the Heaven-Swallowing Snake’s secret was merely to tempt Chen Mobai into keeping the little black snake as a lifelong pet. The amount of spiritual energy needed for bloodline reversion and achieving True Spirit status was immense; even the Ascendant Sect felt it was unachievable. They had simply taken a short-sighted approach, directly capturing the only two successful ones on the Serpent Star for research.

“I understand,” Chen Mobai said. “Now, quickly leave the Immortal Gate’s territory, or if the relevant departments catch you, Qing Nü will likely be implicated.”

Chen Mobai waved his hand, signaling Kong Feichen to leave. “Note down this forum’s website,” Kong Feichen said. “If you want to contact me, just leave a message there, saying you’re looking for 'Flying Bird.'”

Chen Mobai noted it in his mind but certainly wouldn’t use his main account to access it. Given the Immortal Gate’s power, he had reason to suspect the forum was insecure and already under surveillance, perhaps waiting for more visitors to arrive before sweeping them all up. However, while his main account couldn’t go, his alt account didn’t matter. If Chen Mobai wanted to find Kong Feichen in the future, he could simply log in from the Heavenly River Realm using his “Turtle Immortal” account. No matter how resourceful the Immortal Gate’s cyber information department was, could they possibly go to Giantwood Ridge to check meters?!

After watching Kong Feichen leave, Chen Mobai condensed five-element spiritual energy and fed it to the Heaven-Swallowing Snake, but found that it didn’t eat everything. It was a bit picky, only consuming wood and water spiritual energy. Presumably, its bloodline wasn't strong enough yet to devour everything. He then took out a low-grade spirit stone. The snake wasn't picky about this and even swallowed it quickly, but then it immediately choked, seemingly suffering from indigestion. Its throat swelled up significantly, taking the exact shape of the spirit stone. Chen Mobai flicked his finger, helping it crush the spirit stone. Then, due to too much spiritual energy entering its body, the Heaven-Swallowing Snake began to coil up, motionless, as if hibernating.

He checked the time, then looked at the little black snake. Realizing he didn’t have a spirit beast pouch, he couldn’t openly carry it where others might see it. After some thought, he returned to Small Leaf Island, then used the Turtle Treasure in his room to teleport to the Divine Tree Secret Realm, where he placed the snake. However, to prevent it from wandering off after waking, Chen Mobai took out a Profound Mist Talisman and activated it. A hazy white mist enveloped an area of five li around it. This talisman was one of his tests as a second-tier talisman master. With Zhuang Jialan’s help, he had mastered it quite well, achieving success seven or eight times out of ten. Its purpose was to create a misty confinement, not only obscuring vision but also obstructing spiritual sense.

“I wonder what kind of True Spirit Blood it might produce,” Chen Mobai murmured to himself. He estimated that for Candle Dragon Blood, the most precious in the Immortal Gate, the Kunpeng Daoist Academy would even be willing to trade Core-Formation spiritual medicines. However, even if the Heaven-Swallowing Snake truly evolved Candle Dragon Blood, Chen Mobai wouldn’t reveal it. Wouldn’t that clearly expose his communication with a wicked cult?!

But then again, since the Ascendant Sect could use biotechnology to create Heaven-Swallowing Snakes, there’s no reason the Immortal Gate couldn’t do the same! Or perhaps they lacked talents like Patriarch Longhu? That shouldn’t be it; the Immortal Gate also had Venerable Yuanxu, and certainly more talents than a wicked cult. Perhaps there was some unspeakable reason they couldn’t openly do it, or they were secretly doing it without the public’s knowledge. Oh, right, Senior Brother Chi Shicheng was from the Immortal Gate’s ancient biological research department, wasn’t he? When they returned after the sparring session, he could pretend to be interested and ask about these matters.

Having made up his mind, Chen Mobai left Small Leaf Island.

Fortunately, the other members of the Dancing Weapons Daoist Academy hadn’t returned yet, and Luo Hezheng had been out of sight for several days. It seemed the Four Great Daoist Academies had gathered materials for a batch of third-tier pills and were discussing their refinement and distribution. Chen Mobai wasn’t particularly concerned about this, as his Pure Yang Scroll was still far from reaching Foundation Establishment perfection. Once again, piloting the Scarlet Cloud Mist Gauze transformed into a cloud boat, Chen Mobai returned to Wood God Island.

“Hmm? This vegetable pellet tastes a bit different,” Qing Nü mumbled, not suspecting anything as she ate the pellets Chen Mobai brought her one by one. When she bit into the Restriction-Dissolving Pill, her slender, beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly as she chewed and mumbled.

“It’s a new flavor from their place, just released today,” Chen Mobai said, not batting an eye, uttering a white lie. Qing Nü said “Oh,” nodded, picked up her chopsticks, and finished the entire box of colorful vegetable pellets.

“Though this new product tastes ordinary, I feel much lighter after eating it,” Qing Nü remarked.

Hearing Qing Nü’s words, Chen Mobai laughed heartily, then immediately called her over to help control the flame temperature for refining medicine, skillfully changing the subject.

“When you come back today, remember to bring me another box of the same vegetable pellets as yesterday,” Qing Nü said.

“Eating vegetables all the time isn’t good,” Chen Mobai countered. “Look how thin you are; it’s not pretty. I’ll bring you some meat today.” Chen Mobai could no longer conjure up a Restriction-Dissolving Pill, but he had his own methods. He scrutinized Qing Nü’s slender yet well-proportioned perfect figure, insisting she was too thin and didn’t look good.

“Really? Do you truly think I’d look better with a bit more flesh?” Qing Nü asked, seemingly very concerned about this evaluation. She touched her cheek, feeling as if she wasn't as round and pleasing as Yan Bingxuan.

“Mmm! You have to trust my aesthetic sense; I’ve seen many beauties,” Chen Mobai said, patting his chest, indicating his professional judgment.