As the light grew increasingly intense, an extraordinary Snake King aura surged, majestic and inviolably sacred. It was somewhat reminiscent of the Cyan Dragon’s birth, causing the very heavens and earth to change color.

What was different, however, was that as the shedding progressed, this Snake King aura billowed out in all directions, roiling the clouds.

The Yaoling Mountain Range trembled.

"Hey, look! Where did all these snakes come from???"

Someone with sharp eyes spotted a great number of venomous snakes slithering in from unknown locations, gathering around the perimeter of the giant, ancient tree.

However, these were no ordinary venomous snakes. There were Awakened Snake Species and those at the Spirit Monster level. Some were as small as a finger, while others were Giant Snakes tens of meters long.

The aura of every single snake that slithered over was incredibly powerful.

It seemed as though any snake that wasn’t an Awakened Snake Species was unworthy of even approaching the ball of light that radiated the Snake King’s aura.

More and more of the Snake Race arrived, drawn from every corner of the Yaoling Mountain Range. Filled with reverence and excitement, they completely encircled the giant, ancient tree.

This encirclement terrified Tree Spirit Charlie. These were all venomous snakes that could kill without leaving a trace of blood. Not only that, they were all Cultivated Snake Species, many of them Spirit Monsters capable of human speech.

If they were to attack his tree, he would die without a burial place.

Before long, Monkey Mountain had all but become a Snake Cave—a domain of the Snake Race, who had usurped the territory.

An endless stream of the Snake Species slithered in. At a minimum, every one was an Awakened Snake. As time went on, the snakes that arrived later were even more terrifying.

Just then, a peculiar Demon Spirit with the upper body of an old man and the lower body of a snake’s tail appeared beneath the giant, ancient tree.

Its half-human, half-snake form resembled the legendary Nuwa.

This was a Demon Spirit Snake Species that had been cultivating for many years. It seemed to have lived for countless ages, and the aura it exuded was ancient and sorrowful, like a man entering his twilight years.

Elder Snake looked up at the glowing mass of the shedding, suspended in the air, and became incredibly excited.

"Five hundred years... A full five hundred years... My King, you are finally returning! Returning to rule our Snake Race!"

HISSS... HISSS... HISSS...

At Elder Snake’s words, all the Cultivated Snake Species that had slithered over prostrated themselves in reverent awe. An indescribable light flashed in their myriad pairs of Snake Gazes.

It was as if the lineage of the Snake Species was on the verge of rising once more, filled with glory and excitement.

More and more of the Snake Race arrived until, in the blink of an eye, the ground was a writhing carpet of them. The combined aura of the snakes converged, creating a chill colder than Antarctica itself.

Mind you, these were all Snake Species at the level of Awakened Spirit Monsters.

Every single one was a prime specimen of the Snake Species.

Snake Catchers prided themselves on capturing rare Snake Species, yet any single one of the snakes gathered beneath the ancient tree could have become the Snake King of an entire mountain.

"Isn’t that Elder Snake? Why would he be here?"

While fending off the Chaotic Beast’s attack, the White Demon King noticed the half-man, half-snake’s presence and was stunned.

Everyone knew that the Yaoling Mountain Range had five Great Demon Kings. They were the Five Great Immortals of folklore, who had cultivated for untold years.

Among them was Demon King Liu, an incredibly terrifying Snake King whose power surpassed even his own.

Demon King Liu’s path of Cultivation was that of a Snake Becoming Dragon. Five hundred years ago, his Cultivation was already heaven-defying. He was practically the recognized leader of the Yaoling Mountain Range, the most powerful of all.

As for how strong he was, he had already cultivated to the Peak of Rank 3 and was attempting to break through to become a Rank Four Divine Spirit.

In the end, Demon King Liu tried to defy the heavens and change his fate, undergoing a complete Transformation into a Dragon in a bid to become a Rank Four being.

Unfortunately, Demon King Liu failed. He went into seclusion and was never seen again, and the Snake Race of the Yaoling Mountain Range became exceedingly low-key.

And that Elder Snake was once Demon King Liu’s personal attendant. He now commands the lineage of the Snake Race in the Yaoling Mountain Range.

’Could this snake be related to Demon King Liu?’

The White Demon King instantly recalled many secrets, his eyes flickering.

’It seems this is more complicated than I imagined.’ At that moment, the White Demon King even began to regret showing up.

.......

Tu Xiao’an, in the midst of his shedding, noticed the dense mass of Snake Species below. He wasn’t particularly surprised. The last time he had ascended the throne, he had attracted all the venomous snakes from Snake Valley, who came to prostrate themselves in worship and perform an ancient enthronement ceremony.

This time, he was to officially become a Rank 3 Snake King and command all snakes under heaven. It was only natural for the Snake Race to appear and witness the birth of their King.

Hm?

’There’s a Snake Demon Spirit here, too?’

Tu Xiao’an sensed a half-man, half-snake Demon Spirit below and was rather shocked. He had never seen a snake that looked like this before.

’Is it cultivating in the image of Nuwa?’

What shocked Tu Xiao’an most was that this half-human, half-demon Snake Demon Spirit was actually at the Pseudo Demon King Level.

The aura it exuded carried an ancient air, yet it was incredibly vast and powerful. It was undeniably at the Pseudo Demon King Level.

"My King, for this old servant to see your return in my lifetime... the heavens truly bless our Snake Race!"

Tu Xiao’an froze. ’A being at the Pseudo Demon King Level is calling me King?’

’Why does he act like he knows me?’

"My King, you are almost there. Allow this old servant to help you."

As soon as Elder Snake spoke, his seemingly murky eyes revealed a frenzied light. He turned to the prostrating Cultivated Snake Species and commanded, "Hurry and offer your insignificant lives to the King!"

"HISSS..."

"HISSS..."

"HISSS..."

A large snake at the Spirit Monster level opened its gaping maw toward Tu Xiao’an and exhaled a breath of air.

This breath formed a glowing sphere of Energy that flew directly into Tu Xiao’an’s serpentine body.

Tu Xiao’an was startled. A pleasant warmth spread through his entire body, as if he were suddenly filled with power.

’Heavens, this is Life Energy!’

Under normal circumstances, Tu Xiao’an’s system would have issued a notification.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining 1000 points of Evolutionary Energy."

Looking back at the snake, after spitting out the sphere of Energy, it went limp and collapsed, dying in an instant.

But this snake, a Spirit Monster, seemed to die peacefully, as if it were a death well-earned.

’Willingly sacrificing its own life?’ Tu Xiao’an was utterly stunned. ’But I haven’t done anything.’

’I haven’t given any command.’

What followed was a scene that was terrifying to contemplate. One after another, the accomplished Cultivated Snake Species gazed up at the sky, opened their gaping maws, and spat out a sphere of Energy, offering their very lives to the snake above who was about to become the Snake King.

Snake after snake died quietly as streams of Life Energy flowed into Tu Xiao’an’s body.

CRACK... CRACK... CRACK...

With the Life Energy and life Essence of so many snakes inside him, Tu Xiao’an’s shedding speed suddenly accelerated.

His Snake Skin began to crack rapidly, bursting with rays of scorching light—at times silvery-white, at times gold and silver, at times violet-gold—a magnificent and dazzling spectacle.

RUMBLE...

The light surrounding Tu Xiao’an suddenly flared, becoming like a great sun hanging high in the sky, rising higher and higher.

His Snake King aura grew even more majestic and extraordinary, looking down upon the world with supreme arrogance.

’This half-man, half-snake Demon Spirit is helping me?’

’It’s making these Cultivated Snake Species offer their Life Energy to help me quickly become a Rank 3 Snake King.’

’Why is it helping me?’ A great doubt rose in Tu Xiao’an’s mind.

’This is an unbelievable stroke of luck.’

As snake after snake offered up their Life Energy, Tu Xiao’an received immense benefits. If his shedding was successful, his power would be far greater than before.

’It’s because I’ve absorbed so much nourishment all at once.’

"Madness! This is madness! Has the entire Snake Race gone insane? They’re throwing away their lives just to empower this Snake Spirit that’s successfully Crossing the Tribulation!"

The hidden onlookers were shocked beyond belief.

They watched the suicidal actions of snake after snake. These were all intelligent beings, incredibly clever, yet they were willingly sacrificing their own precious lives.

Was it really worth it, just to ensure the success of this one Snake Spirit?

In less than ten minutes, over a hundred accomplished Cultivated Snake Species had committed this ritual suicide, leaving the ground littered with their corpses.

And the phenomenon continued. More snakes would gaze toward the sky, spit out their Life Energy, and die peacefully, as if this was their destiny—something they were born to do.