Invincible Snake Emperor

Today was the Snake King Festival, which one could say was Tu Xiao’an’s own personal holiday. Although the Snake King statue at the head of the long, serpentine procession had not yet been unveiled, it was carved in the likeness of his current snake form.

Once this Snake King statue was enshrined in the temple’s main hall, his Power of Faith would become an endless, surging torrent, like the waters of the Yellow River.

The Snake King’s influence in Bai Town had already reached its Peak. The procession of hundreds of thousands of people through the streets, following the Snake King’s tour, spoke for itself—the scale was vast and unprecedented.

But they didn’t know that the real Snake King was right there in that sea of people, celebrating the Snake King Festival along with them.

The Snake King’s procession concluded three hours later. At around 1:00 PM, it returned to the front of the Snake King Temple.

At that moment, countless people, their hearts pounding with excitement, gazed at the Snake King statue, which was draped in a large red cloth. They were all eager to witness the magnificent statue with their own eyes.

According to reliable sources, this year’s Snake King statue was not in human form, but was instead a likeness of the Snake King’s true body.

Moreover, rumor had it that it was crafted by the Lord Snake King’s own decree.

To see this statue was to see the Snake King himself.

No one knew where this rumor had started, but its credibility was considered very high, filling everyone with anticipation.

The Snake King statue stood before the temple, and the ceremony was about to begin. The area around the Snake King Temple was already packed so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through. It was bustling, congested, and filled to bursting; every last inch of standing room was occupied.

People could be seen on rooftops, in the branches of the large scholar tree, and even clinging to utility poles.

Dozens of drones hovered in the sky above the Snake King Temple, filming from the air. The people didn’t want to miss a single detail.

The atmosphere among the people of Bai Town was electric, like a raging Flame burning toward the heavens. Shouts and cheers filled the air, never-ending.

They were all eagerly awaiting the official start of the ceremony and the reveal of the Snake King’s true face.

Tu Xiao’an, hidden quietly within the teeming crowd, couldn’t help but give a wry smile. ’There are just too many people. I feel like this fake human form of mine is going to get squeezed until it pops.’

A sea of people surged forward, everyone scrambling to get to the front row, because obviously, that was the only place to get a clear view.

DONG...

Suddenly, a sonorous bell toll echoed from the temple’s bell tower. The sound was ancient, solemn, and its long, reverberating peal struck a chord in the hearts of the thousands upon thousands of people.

In an instant, everyone unconsciously held their breath, their gazes fixed in the direction of the sound. The scene, which had been buzzing with excitement just a moment before, fell completely silent. You could have heard a pin drop.

Everyone looked up, their faces solemn. They knew the ceremony for the Snake King statue was truly about to begin.

Just then, an old man with a full head of white hair emerged slowly from the temple hall. He held a Snake Staff, his back was hunched, and his steps were slow and faltering.

As his weathered, time-worn face came into view, a wave of solemn respect washed over the crowd.

Li Defeng. He was the most venerable and respected elder in Bai Town, a man of lofty status—a living fossil.

The ceremony was about to begin, and the question of who would remove the large red cloth from the statue was a matter of great importance and tradition.

You couldn’t just pick anyone. The person had to be highly respected, experienced, and someone who commanded the trust of the people.

Li Defeng was just such a man; there wasn’t a soul in Bai Town who didn’t respect him. His skill as a Snake Catcher had long since reached a hall-of-fame Level. His apprentices were not only found throughout Bai Town, but all over the world. In his youth, he was Bai Town’s most exceptional Snake Catcher—a Snake King among men. In his old age, he dedicated himself to passing down every one of his techniques.

What earned him the most respect was that he taught not just the methods of catching snakes, but also a specific attitude and cultural understanding of them.

The old man truly revered and worshiped snakes. He would never treat them as mere animals or as tools for making money. Like most traditional artisans, he was content with a simple life. Though he possessed a great skill, he never flaunted it, silently taking it upon himself to preserve and pass on the culture.

Being a Snake Catcher was a profession, and catching snakes was a craft—a cultural treasure and the crystallization of ancestral wisdom passed down through generations.

His most oft-repeated saying was, ”You can catch a snake, but you must not kill it wantonly. Since you make your living from the snake, you must naturally respect and cherish it.”

It was like the common saying: only if you love life will life love you back.

If you kill snakes wantonly, you will not gain wealth, but will instead invite a bloody calamity from them.

Clearly, Li Defeng was Bai Town’s foremost, hall-of-fame Level Snake Catcher. It was only fitting that he be the one to unveil the Snake King statue.

During the earlier disaster on She Mountain, it was Li Defeng whom the people had begged to go to the Snake King Temple and ask the Snake King to appear to vanquish the Demon.

The bell had rung, the old man had appeared, and the crowd remained pin-drop silent, not daring to make a sound.

Although Elder Li Defeng was advanced in years and his eyes were deeply sunken, they remained profound and bright, appearing full of spirit. Despite his faltering steps, he radiated a solid, powerful presence.

He walked before the statue covered by the large red cloth. The man in Taoist robes at his side quickly presented him with three lit sticks of incense, then obediently stepped aside.

The people standing in the front row were all individuals of high status. They had long been waiting with incense in hand, watching the old man with reverence.

Li Defeng raised the three incense sticks high. He first bowed deeply to the Snake King statue, then prepared to kneel and kowtow in worship.

But then, something strange happened: no matter how he tried, the old man’s knees would not bend.

A handsome man in the crowd looked on with an expression of panic and helplessness. ’My dear grandmaster, please don’t try to kneel anymore. I’m not worthy of it!’

It was normal for everyone to kneel during the Snake King Festival, but this year was different. Tu Xiao’an was the Snake King, and the statue was carved in his image.

Tu Xiao’an could ignore others kneeling, but Li Defeng? He was a different matter entirely. How could Tu Xiao’an possibly allow him to kneel before his own statue?

When Li Defeng was unable to kneel for a long moment, many people realized what was happening. It had to be the Lord Snake King, unwilling to let the old man kneel.

”Elder, please don’t kneel. The Lord Snake King is considerate of your advanced age and does not wish for you to perform the grand obeisance.”

The man in the Taoist robe, Li Shun, quickly stepped forward to advise him.

Li Defeng could feel that Formless, noble power and understood the situation. Still, he insisted on bowing three times to the statue. Then, he turned to the crowd and declared in a clear, resonant voice, ”Our Bai Town has been under the Lord Snake King’s protection since ancient times, blessed with favorable weather and the people’s well-being! In ancient times, a Snake King appeared to eliminate the Huo Luan! Today, a Snake King has appeared to vanquish Demons and subdue devils! To be blessed by the Snake King is the greatest fortune of our Bai Town!”

As soon as the elder finished his sentence, the man in the Taoist robe raised a hand and shouted, ”Kneel!”

In an instant, like a collapsing mountain, the dense sea of people all knelt. The scene was unbelievably grand and utterly breathtaking.

They went down in waves, until only one young man remained standing. Instantly, countless gazes shot toward him like daggers, and the terrified young man hastily dropped to his knees.

’Sigh... what has this all come to? Now I have to kneel to my own statue,’ Tu Xiao’an mused with a wry, self-deprecating smile.