Chapter 48: Snake Spirit (3)

But in the next moment, that headache surged like a tide and almost drowned me.

Old Man Jiang glanced at me, and the next second something was stuffed into my mouth. It was a pill like object. It tasted bitter sweet and carried a cool minty sensation. It was not too hard to swallow.

I was planning to chew it a couple of times and swallow it anyway. I trusted Old Man Jiang completely.

But unexpectedly, he glared and shouted, “You silly kid, you greedy eater, are you trying to swallow it whole? Put it under your tongue and let it dissolve slowly, then swallow it bit by bit. Now sit down and rest.”

His shout nearly made the pill slip down my throat. Fortunately I coughed a few times and steadied myself, obediently placing it under my tongue and sitting down to rest.

It was intense, sitting there in front of an enormous snake spirit and resting.

Seeing that I complied, Old Man Jiang ignored me and instead looked at the snake spirit and spoke. His voice was strange. It was not very loud, yet it rolled like thunder without end, carrying a terrifying pressure that made people’s hearts tremble.

“You leave this place as cause. I perform the consecration of legitimacy for you as effect. How about it?”

It was such a simple sentence, yet the word how about it kept echoing in my ears over and over.

At least ten seconds passed before the sound finally faded.

I did not dare to sense the snake spirit’s emotions in detail anymore, but I could roughly feel a stirring excitement and surprise from it. I wanted to tell my master, but I realized he had already closed his eyes. Needless to say, he was clearly communicating with the snake spirit himself.

I was furious and cursed inwardly. Doing it himself looked so easy, yet he made things difficult for a poor child like me. Shameless. But I did not dare say it out loud.

A moment later, Old Man Jiang opened his eyes and continued, “Your attachment to this place is the cause you planted yourself. When the calamity comes here one day, do you think you can avoid the effect? Are you not afraid of the rolling lightning tribulation? Are you not afraid of being extinguished in body and spirit, leaving nothing behind?”

As soon as he said this, the snake spirit actually began to tremble. It suddenly started nodding, as if bowing to Old Man Jiang, or pleading for something. In short, I could no longer clearly perceive its emotions, only that it was afraid and seemed to be begging.

Old Man Jiang fell silent. He closed his eyes as if thinking, or sensing something. After a long time he opened them again and said, “I will grant you consecration of legitimacy, but the lightning tribulation and the day of transformation into a river dragon are not something I can control. That tribulation is originally set by heaven. I only hope you can restrain yourself and reduce harm to the human world. But remember, you must never undergo transformation into a river dragon here. There are plenty of great rivers and seas. Even if it is more difficult, you should go there. I swear here that if you do not abide by my words, my consecration will be completely void.”

The snake spirit nodded repeatedly, seemingly agreeing with Old Man Jiang’s words.

I watched in fascination, and even Su Rou was not as afraid anymore. A giant snake with spiritual intelligence that could communicate did not seem so terrifying after all.

After a while, Old Man Jiang’s expression calmed. He took out three sticks of incense from his bag, respectfully lit them, and inserted them into the ground. Then he bowed several times.

After that, he looked at the snake spirit not far away and said loudly, “Enter the river and become a flood dragon, enter the sea and become a dragon. One day, you will achieve rightful fruition.”

This was the first time.

Then he repeated it eight more times. In total, he recited it nine times.

I did not know if it was my imagination, but I actually saw gratitude in the snake spirit’s originally cold eyes. Were a few sentences really worth this? I simply did not understand the reason behind it.

Next, the giant snake moved, just as I expected. It easily pulled out its body from the soil. It was longer than I had imagined. I had originally estimated it to be about seven or eight meters, but once its full body emerged, I realized it was at least over ten meters long.

Everyone felt a bit afraid, except Old Man Jiang and Old Wu, who remained composed.

At that moment, Old Wu spoke, “It is moving to a new nest. Everyone make way. Do not disturb it.”

At this point, Old Man Jiang and Old Wu were undoubtedly the backbone of everyone present. As soon as Old Wu finished speaking, everyone quickly stepped aside.

The snake spirit slowly crawled out of the pit. Its enormous body created a suffocating pressure, but everyone forced themselves to stay calm and watched it move.

When it reached in front of Old Man Jiang, it paused, then suddenly raised the upper half of its body and opened its mouth wide.

I could not help but cry out, “Master!”

Old Man Jiang waved his hand, signaling that it was fine.

In the end, the snake spirit only nodded slightly toward Old Man Jiang, then lowered its body again and continued crawling.

Strangely, it did not wander randomly. Instead, it followed the path defined by the curtain. I did not know where I got the courage, but I slowly followed it, watching as it crawled down a small cliff and then disappeared from sight.

“It has left. Old Jiang, I cannot help with what comes next. You will have to handle it yourself,” Old Wu said to my master.

“Mm.” My master rarely showed such a serious expression as he nodded at Old Wu, then led me and Su Rou back the way we came.

At that time, the pill my master had given me had completely dissolved. I swallowed it with saliva. Honestly, it worked very well. In just a short while, my headache was gone. Soon after, a cool refreshing sensation lingered in my head, indescribably comfortable.

“Master, what did you give me just now? My head feels so much better now,” I asked, trying to flatter him since I had benefited from it, and I was genuinely curious.

“You brat got lucky. I only have one small bottle of that stuff. It was made by an old acquaintance of mine. It is excellent for calming the mind and sharpening awareness. It is hard to get now because good wild medicinal herbs that are properly aged are difficult to find,” Old Man Jiang replied straightforwardly, though some parts sounded vague.

I said, “Master, so you did not make it?”

In my heart, I already believed my master could do anything.

“Every craft has its specialist. Do you think I am a god? I cannot match him in making medicine. He comes from that lineage,” my master said, half muttering to himself.

I did not care much about it and did not ask further. I disliked needles and medicine anyway.

Since I was not interested, the topic ended there. While talking, we returned to the pit. My master stood silently in front of the stone gate, lost in thought.

Su Rou could not stand the silence and went off to pester Ding Xiaoge, asking strange questions about snakes. As for me, as his disciple, I could not leave my master at such a moment.

But I was still a child after all. After a few minutes of silence, I could not hold back anymore. I asked, “Master, why can we not say that the snake spirit is a snake?”

“Humans are the spirit of all beings, so naturally they have the pride of all beings. Those who cultivate the righteous path most desire a human’s consecration of legitimacy. If you call it a snake, you are unintentionally branding it as a snake. That alone can prevent it from ever becoming a dragon in this lifetime. If you shout that it is a snake in front of it, you are committing its greatest taboo. The anger from that is not something ordinary people can bear,” my master said while staring at the stone gate.

These were taboos. It was good to learn more about them.

I studied metaphysical arts in the future, so I would inevitably encounter many strange things. Learning these taboos early was useful.

“Then Master, were you just now performing consecration of legitimacy for it to become a dragon?” I asked curiously.

“Yes. But my consecration is only an external cause. Becoming a flood dragon might still be achievable, but becoming a true dragon is extremely difficult. In fact, ordinary people can also perform consecration of legitimacy for it, but the effect is far weaker than ours who cultivate the Dao. Moreover, I performed it nine times for it, which counts as the highest blessing I can give. Whether it can become a dragon in the future depends on itself,” my master replied directly, clearly emphasizing how difficult the path of cultivation was.