Invincible Snake Emperor

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Malignant Disease

She Mountain was known as the home of a hundred snakes. This didn’t refer to one hundred individual snakes, but rather as many as a hundred different species.

This was one of the reasons for She Mountain’s fame. It seemed that any kind of bizarre, venomous snake, no matter the species, could be found there.

A large boulder stood proudly at the foot of She Mountain as the wind howled down from the peak. A crystalline, silver-white snake slithered toward the mountain’s stone steps as fast as lightning. Once it reached a certain height, it dove directly into a dense thicket of shrubs.

This snake was, of course, none other than Tu Xiao’an.

The emergence of the Supreme Profound Snake on She Mountain was an incredible opportunity for any Snake Catcher to strike it rich. Reputed to be a living Treasure Medicine, and once even used as tax payment by ancient emperors, this long-lost ancient Snake Species was a highly coveted prize.

Catching this one snake was the equivalent of bagging a villa. Who could resist that?

Even people who weren’t professional Snake Catchers wanted to go up the mountain and try their luck.

Tu Xiao’an’s purpose for going up the mountain wasn’t money. He hoped this miraculous snake could cure his mother’s lung cancer.

He had no other choice. It was a long shot, but he had to hope the snake was as miraculous as the legends claimed.

At one in the afternoon, Tu Xiao’an reached an altitude of three hundred meters on She Mountain. As he scanned his surroundings with his Snake Pupils, his eyes filled with astonishment.

He saw numerous Snake Catchers, Snake Baskets at their waists and leg bindings on their calves, conducting a carpet search of the dense forest.

The scale of the operation was immense. There were so many people it was like a sea of heads.

The appearance of the Supreme Profound Snake had sparked another massive snake-catching frenzy in Bai Town. The fervor was even more intense than it had been for the rumored Vampire Snake a few months prior.

The Vampire Snake was now like an abandoned child, completely forgotten. To the Snake Catchers, that snake was a source of humiliation they were unwilling to speak of.

As Snake Catchers, being afraid of a snake was a blow to their pride. But they couldn’t help but be afraid. That snake was too powerful, unbelievably ferocious, and it attacked people on sight.

A simple bite would have been merciful. That wasn’t the most terrifying part. As its name suggested, this snake drank blood. Any creature it targeted would be drained completely.

Just like a Vampire.

Ordinary venomous snakes wouldn’t attack a person unless they were disturbed or their territory was invaded.

In fact, most snakes are timid and not the irredeemable villains people make them out to be.

But the Vampire Snake drank blood on sight. Now tell me, wouldn’t you be afraid?

’Hopefully, it’s dead,’ the Snake Catchers who had been powerless against it all secretly thought. Fortunately, that snake hadn’t made an appearance in a long time. No one knew if it was dead or alive.

But the ancient Supreme Profound Snake was different. Although highly venomous, it wasn’t considered particularly formidable. It was tiny and delicate. What kind of trouble could such a small snake possibly cause?

They were powerless against the Vampire Snake, but surely they could handle this tiny little thing. That’s why She Mountain was now crawling with Snake Catchers, all determined to capture it. Whoever succeeded would have brought great fortune to their ancestors—and would be rich.

Seeing She Mountain once again swarming with Snake Catchers, Tu Xiao’an shook his head with a look of resignation.

During the last snake-catching frenzy, the one sparked by the Vampire Snake, he had been a hunter—and a fairly well-known one at that. But in this new frenzy, he had become a snake.

A high-quality venomous snake, no less.

If a Snake Catcher saw him, there was no way they’d let a venomous snake like him go.

For these Snake Catchers, catching the Supreme Profound Snake would be a huge score. But even if they couldn’t find it, it wasn’t a total loss. She Mountain was home to countless venomous snakes; they certainly wouldn’t be going home empty-handed.

Catching a venomous snake like him would be an excellent consolation prize.

In terms of breed, Tu Xiao’an definitely qualified as a rare Snake Species.

’I have to be careful. I can’t let them find me!’

Tu Xiao’an wasn’t afraid of the Snake Catchers, but he didn’t want any unnecessary trouble. Besides, so many of them around wasn’t entirely a bad thing. At the very least, they might help him find the Supreme Profound Snake.

Otherwise, with She Mountain being so vast, finding one tiny little snake would truly be like finding a needle in a haystack.

’No rush,’ he thought. ’I’ll just lie in wait.’

There’s a good and bad side to everything; it all depends on your perspective. Tu Xiao’an was, at heart, a cheerful and optimistic guy.

With his mind made up, Tu Xiao’an decided to find a place to hide and do his best to keep his high-quality venomous snake self from being discovered.

A group of people stood in a circle under a towering ancient tree, looking as if they were discussing something important.

With no news of the Supreme Profound Snake for the moment, Tu Xiao’an couldn’t resist quietly slithering over to see what the commotion was about.

Under the ancient tree, a good seven or eight Snake Catchers, all with Snake Baskets and leg bindings, were gathered around a man and a woman, listening intently.

The man was in his early fifties. He had a well-maintained figure that hadn’t gone to seed, but his posture was a little awkward, as if he were injured.

The woman beside him was in her twenties. She was fashionably dressed, tall, and very easy on the eyes—a classic beauty. You could tell at a glance that she was from a big city; her bearing was completely different from that of the girls from small towns or villages.

”Listen up,” the man said. ”I am determined to have this Supreme Profound Snake. Whoever catches it for me, I’ll give you a three-million-dollar reward.”

The speaker’s name was Shen Qingshan, a wealthy boss from the provincial capital. He wasn’t in the snake business; he wanted the Supreme Profound Snake for other reasons.

”Don’t you worry, Boss Shen,” one of them replied. ”You came to the right people in Bai Town. That Supreme Profound Snake is as good as yours. We’re the best Snake Catchers around here.”

When Shen Qingshan heard that the Supreme Profound Snake had appeared on She Mountain, he had rushed to Bai Town and hired these Snake Catchers at a great expense to help him.

”Excellent. Then I shall await your good news right here, masters.”

”Just watch us, Boss Shen.”

With a glint in their eyes, the group of Snake Catchers fanned out to search for the Supreme Profound Snake.

”Dad, do you think they can really catch the Supreme Profound Snake?”

The beautiful young woman, Shen Xinru, who had been quiet until now, spoke, her face etched with worry as she looked at her father.

”Sigh... It all depends on your father’s fate now,” Shen Qingshan said, rubbing the bridge of his nose, his expression one of utter exhaustion.

Shen Xinru looked at her father with a pained expression. ”Dad, even if they do catch the Supreme Profound Snake, can it really cure the chronic illness you’ve had for so many years?”

”I don’t know,” he admitted. ”But it’s my only hope.”

In his younger years, Shen Qingshan had been bitten by a venomous creature. The poison was never completely cleansed from his system, leaving him with a lingering affliction. A malignant, venomous tumor had taken root somewhere in his body, causing him unspeakable suffering.

He had consulted famous doctors, specialists, and even folk healers, trying every remedy imaginable. But the affliction was like a Formless Fierce Ghost, relentlessly tormenting him. Then, by a stroke of fate, Shen Qingshan learned of a folk remedy from a reclusive master. The master told him of a particular snake; if he drank its Snake Blood, the residual poison in his body would be eliminated, and the affliction would be dispelled.

And that snake was none other than the ancient Snake Species, the Supreme Profound Snake.