"In the wilds of Yongzhou there thrives a strange snake, black of body with white markings. Where it touches grass or trees, they wither and die; if it bites a person, there is no remedy."
Having written to this point, Liu Zongyuan set down his brush with a sigh. Stepping to the window, he murmured, "The people's livelihood is hard; harsh governance is more ferocious than a venomous serpent! Ever since the fourteenth year of Tianbao, state affairs have rotted away, and now even strange snakes run rampant across the countryside!"
In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, the Emperor Zhidao Dasheng Daming Xiao finally succumbed to folly. The Prince of Dongping rose in rebellion, and the resplendent golden age came tumbling down in a single stroke. Though the revolt was eventually quelled, years of war followed, regional warlords carved up the realm, and the prosperity of old was never restored.
From then on, demonic auras rose across the Divine Land, evil spirits multiplied, and at court treacherous sycophants held sway while eunuchs wielded power. Men of principle and ambition like Liu Zongyuan were exiled to remote, desolate hinterlands, left with no way to realize their grand aspirations.
Just as this thought crossed Liu Zongyuan's mind, a black wind suddenly howled outside his window. A venomous serpent patterned with alternating black and white rings surged from a drainage ditch onto the street. Wherever it passed, grass and trees withered in an instant!
This was the very strange snake from his writings, possessing incomparable toxicity!
Only, this serpent was monstrously enormous—more than thirty feet long. With a single sweep of its tail, houses collapsed and roofs caved in; with a breath from its gaping maw, toxic mist billowed into the air.
Townsfolk screamed and fled in terror through the street, not daring to linger for a second.
At the corner of the street, a plump white pig had been munching on cabbage. Caught unawares, it inhaled a single breath of the toxic mist, kicked its four hooves, and dropped dead on the spot!
Suddenly, a raggedly dressed youth charged in from behind. He threw a punch, and the surging wind of his fist howled like a gale, blowing the toxic mist clean away.
Filled with inexplicable terror, the great serpent fled for its life at top speed. When the boy caught up, it had no choice but to wheel around and fight for its life, only for the youth to launch into the air and plant a flying kick directly beneath its jaw.
The serpent went flying as its world spun. The youth darted forward, leaping into the air, ten fingers dancing like lightning as he struck point after point along the joints of its spine in rapid succession.
A series of crisp snaps rang out like crackling firecrackers. Everywhere the boy's fingers struck, the serpent's sinews and bones dislocated.
In a mere breath, the youth had tapped all the way from behind its head down to the tip of its tail, completely dismantling every bone in its body and leaving it utterly paralyzed!
Seeing this, the people on the street burst into cheers, shouting, "Xiao Ying! Magnificent work!"
The youth's name was Xu Ying. He had long limbs and slender, delicate fingers, though years of sun and wind outdoors had tanned his skin.
He was a well-known snake-catcher in Lingling County of Yongzhou. Though only fourteen years old, he had already mastered extraordinary skills.
Xu Ying gripped the serpent's tail and was about to drag it away when Liu Zongyuan stepped outside and called out to him. "Xu Ying, what do you catch snakes for?"
The youth paused. Recognizing Liu Zongyuan, Sima of Yongzhou, he hurried forward to bow politely. "Sima Liu, once this snake is dried with beeswax, it can be used as medicine to cure leprosy, crippling spasms, scrofula, and malignant sores, to slough away dead flesh, and to kill parasitic worms. The regional inspector proclaimed that whoever can capture such a snake will be exempt from taxes."
Liu Zongyuan smiled. "That sounds like a good thing."
Xu Ying's expression darkened. "My grandfather was a snake-catcher, and he died catching snakes. My father was a snake-catcher, and he also died catching snakes. I have followed my father learning the art of snake-catching for six years now, and I fear that one day, I too will die catching snakes."
Touched with pity, Liu Zongyuan said, "I am good friends with the regional inspector. I can ask him to excuse you from this corvée and restore your ordinary taxes."
At those words, the great serpent spoke in human tongue, crying out, "Lord Liu speaks well! Xu Ying, it wasn't easy for me to cultivate diligently all these years! Spare me, pay your taxes, and let me cultivate my demonic arts in the mountains!"
Liu Zongyuan jumped in fright, blurting out, "It's a snake demon?!"
The great serpent shouted, "My maternal grandfather was a snake demon, and he died at the hands of a snake-catcher! My parents were snake demons, and they died at the hands of snake-catchers! Now I am one hundred and twenty years old, and I thought I would escape this doom, cultivate into a flood dragon, and devour you bastards! Who knew that today I would also die to a snake-catcher—"
Xu Ying raised a hand and gave a gentle tug on its jaw, dislocating its chin so the snake could speak no more.
With reddened eyes, Xu Ying said, "Lord Liu, catching snakes allows me to survive. If my taxes are restored, I fear I won't last long before starving to death. If not driven to desperation, who would risk their life to hunt snake demons?"
Dragging the serpent demon behind him, he walked away dejectedly.
Tears welled in Liu Zongyuan's eyes. Sighing with emotion, he lamented, "Who would have thought that the venom of taxation is far worse than any serpent! Poisonous as this strange snake may be, what is far more venomous is extortionate taxation!"
Returning to his room, he brandished his brush like the wind and penned the timeless masterpiece An Account of the Snake-Catcher.
Xu Ying dragged the snake demon home and tossed it into a large vat. Night was already falling, too late to deliver the snake to the yamen to fulfill his duty, so he would have to wait until dawn.
He lit the stove, cooked a meal, scarfed it down, and fell into a deep sleep.
Inside the vat, the serpent wriggled desperately, trying to realign its dislocated bones. Around midnight, fierce bailiffs stormed the village like bandits, smashing, burning, looting, and barking orders for the villagers to hand over their taxes.
Jolted awake, Xu Ying rose, lit a lamp, and peered into the vat. Seeing the snake demon still there, he let out a sigh of relief before lying back down to sleep.
The snake demon continued its painstaking efforts to set its bones. After who knew how long, it finally reset its lower jaw, just as the sound of Xu Ying getting out of bed drifted over.
The snake demon sank into despair.
Dressed and ready, Xu Ying came to the vat and glanced at the serpent once more. The snake demon stayed motionless, thinking, Just wait until I reset the bones at the back of my head. I'll snap my head up when he least expects it, give him a vicious bite, and send him to join his grandfather and parents!
Facing the morning sun, Xu Ying breathed slowly, silently circulating the Taiyi Guiding Technique.
With each breath, the sunlight falling on his face seemed to brighten as he inhaled. Tiny motes of light could even be seen floating in the air, vanishing into his body along with his breath.
A faint rumble of thunder sounded within his belly, rolling up from his dantian, gradually rising to his throat and nasal cavity, before the thunder slowly sank back down, returning steadily to his dantian.
Within moments, heat radiated from Xu Ying's body, and wisps of white vapor curled into the air.
His skills had not been taught to him by his grandfather or father.
In truth, he was not his father's biological son, but a child found and taken in by his grandfather.
His father and grandfather bore the surname Jiang, while Xu Ying was surnamed Xu. Seven years ago, when a great fire swept through Xujiaping, his grandfather had rescued him from the blaze and brought him here.
Xu Ying remembered little of that fire, but in a haze of memory he still recalled a breathing method: the Taiyi Guiding Technique.
With nothing better to do on ordinary days, Xu Ying practiced according to the Taiyi Guiding Technique. By now, he had cultivated it for seven full years.
He had had no idea what purpose cultivating such a thing served. Since he had time to kill anyway, practicing a bit in the morning didn't take long.
During his cultivation, he discovered its greatest benefit was that when his qi and blood circulated downward, his stream when urinating became much straighter than before, sparing him any worry of wetting his shoes.
"This thing is useless; all it does is help you piss farther," Xu Ying had once scoffed.
Only when he grew older and accompanied his grandfather and father to catch snakes—and beat a giant serpent to death—did he realize the Taiyi Guiding Technique was far more than just a way to piss farther.
Xu Ying taught the Taiyi Guiding Technique to his grandfather and father, but they had begun learning too late in life. Their progress was slow, and one after another, they still fell in the pursuit of catching snakes.
Now, only Xu Ying remained in the family.
Three years ago, Xu Ying had already cultivated the Taiyi Guiding Technique to its pinnacle, his qi and blood coursing like surging thunder.
He could clearly sense that there was a path beyond, that his qi and blood could undergo further transformations, but unfortunately, he did not possess the subsequent arts.
Behind him, the serpent demon poked its head quietly out of the vat. At the sight, it was struck with sheer terror.
Xu Ying devoured the essence of the sun to temper his qi and blood even faster than it could. The speed at which he refined solar essence couldn't even be called absorption—he was like a monster opening a voracious maw to swallow whole the profound mysteries of the morning sun!
He's practicing an art of my demon race! The serpent's eyes widened in bewilderment. Isn't he human? How can he practice our demonic techniques?
As the sun rose higher in the sky, Xu Ying slowly brought his breathing to a halt, and the serpent hastily pulled its head back.
Once the sun rose high, the fiery nature in the sunlight grew scorchingly intense. If one practiced guiding arts at that time, their qi and blood would grow hotter and hotter, putting them at risk of spontaneously combusting at any moment!
Excessive practice only harmed the body. If one carelessly practiced too long, accumulating more and more fiery energy within, they would need to harvest the brilliance of the moon on the night of a full moon to neutralize the heat and preserve the purity of their cultivation.
Xu Ying approached the vat, reached in, and pinched the serpent demon's seven-inch mark, hoisting it out. With an amiable expression, he said, "I'm not a bloodthirsty person. I ask, you answer, or I kill you. Understood?"
The serpent demon nodded repeatedly.
Xu Ying set it down and asked, "How did you become a demon?"
Eager to please, the serpent replied, "My grandfather was originally an ordinary venomous snake. One day he wandered into Qinyan Cave, and half of the cave suddenly collapsed, revealing a scroll of scripture and a gourd of elixirs. After eating the pills, grandfather suddenly awakened his wits, becoming far cleverer, capable of speech, and able to read. He practiced according to that scroll of scripture and became a demon. Later, he passed the scripture down to my parents, who passed it down to me. You could say our family lineage has an orderly heritage and deep scholarly roots."
Xu Ying nodded slightly. "Bring out your family's scripture and let me see."
The serpent demon hesitated.
Xu Ying picked up a fist-sized stone by the well and squeezed hard. Four or five drops of water were wrung straight out of the rock.
The youth opened his hand, and the stone crumbled into powder. "How do you compare to this stone?" he asked mildly.
The serpent made up its mind in an instant. Opening its mouth, it spat out a scroll of scripture.
Xu Ying opened the scripture. Recorded within was a guiding technique called the Great Sun Guiding Technique, as well as a martial fist technique called the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist.
"You're a snake without hands or feet. How on earth can you practice the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist?"
Xu Ying couldn't help laughing. "Isn't this a martial arts technique meant for ox demons or elephant demons?"
The corners of the serpent's mouth twitched. It thought, Having anything to cultivate is good enough; who am I to be picky? Aren't you practicing our demon race's guiding technique yourself?
Xu Ying leafed through it. The Great Sun Guiding Technique was similar to his Taiyi Guiding Technique, but after examining it for a moment, he found its rate of absorbing solar essence was far inferior to that of his own technique.
The Great Sun Guiding Technique documented their current realm: the Qi Harvesting stage.
Harvesting qi meant gathering the essence of the sun—those condensed motes of sunlight—to strengthen the physical body and elevate qi and blood.
Xu Ying frowned. Just like his Taiyi Guiding Technique, the Great Sun Guiding Technique in the scroll cut off after the peak of the Qi Harvesting stage, devoid of any subsequent methods!
"Did you feel that after reaching the peak of Qi Harvesting, there was still a path ahead?" Xu Ying asked.
The serpent demon answered cautiously, "After cultivating to the pinnacle, I only felt my qi and blood surge with boundless fullness, as if ready to break through a bottleneck, yet I could not find where the barrier lay."
Xu Ying frowned, got up, and went to the main hall, retrieving a book hamper.
He dumped out the scrolls from the hamper, spreading them across the floor.
The serpent demon was astounded to see that the scrolls were all sorts of guiding techniques, dozens of them in total!
Over the years, Xu Ying had caught not only snake demons, but other monsters as well; nearly every demon within dozens of li had passed through his hands!
These demons had enjoyed all kinds of fortuitous encounters—some stumbled into ancient abodes, some listened to scriptures whispered by stone walls, others discovered grotto-heavens beneath the water—and cultivated into demons through them.
Yet every single technique they possessed could only be cultivated up to the Qi Harvesting stage, with no further steps!
The Taiyi Guiding Technique Xu Ying currently practiced was no different. Although it could continue enhancing his qi, blood, and cultivation, he could clearly feel that a path lay ahead; only, the path was abruptly cut off into boundless chaos, leaving nowhere to place his feet.
"Why do all these techniques cut off at the Qi Harvesting stage?" Xu Ying frowned, muttering to himself.
Righteous indignation surged through the serpent demon, and it fumed, "I think someone is targeting my demon race! They destroyed all our techniques and left only the Qi Harvesting stage behind! This is most likely a conspiracy by you humans!"
Xu Ying shook his head. "If someone had the power to destroy the subsequent techniques, why not destroy everything entirely? There must be more to this."
As he leafed through the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist, his expression shifted slightly.
This fist technique was a martial method, and its practitioner did not have to be an ox demon or an elephant demon; any race could practice it. Of course, if a serpent demon wished to cultivate it, it would first need to transform into human form to possess limbs.
The Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist had unique ingenuity in mobilizing qi and blood, multiplying their circulation speed and erupting with instantaneous power like that of a colossal elephant—hence the name "Divine Elephant Strength"!
As for "Bull Demon," it came from how, when unleashing the fist technique, the speed of qi and blood was so violent that maintaining sanity became nearly impossible, plunging the practitioner into a demonic frenzy!
Beyond that, this martial fist technique caused one's body to swell in an instant, growing several inches or even a full foot taller than usual!
Hands and feet would grow larger as well!
Xu Ying grew intrigued. Previously, when subduing snake demons and other monsters, he had relied purely on brute strength; he was not proficient in martial arts. With this Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist, his strength was bound to soar!
Just then, a villager's voice called from outside: "Ah-Ying, come out to worship the gods!"
Xu Ying tucked the scripture into his robes, gave the serpent's nape a light pinch, and said, "When I return from worshipping the gods, if you haven't left, I'll dry you in beeswax and hand you over to the authorities. Also, don't harm anyone."
Feeling its neck bone click back into place, the serpent demon was overcome with shock and delight.
Xu Ying stepped out of the courtyard and walked to the ancestral hall of Jiangjiatian. The villagers looked sickly and gaunt, clad in tattered rags, yet the ancestral hall was built with magnificent splendor, resplendent and breathtaking.
Men and women from every household in Jiangjiatian made their way forward. Wealthy landowners carried boiled chickens and ducks along with thick incense candles; destitute peasants presented fruit and white rice, holding three sticks of incense as they walked one by one toward the ancestral hall.
Those who truly had nothing came empty-handed, just like Xu Ying.
Xu Ying followed the villagers inside. Smoke curled and billowed like mist. Behind the incense burner stood a carved wooden idol sixteen feet high, painted bright crimson, draped in green robes, with a green face and protruding fangs.
Amidst the burning incense, smoke snaked into the nostrils of the wooden idol.
The wooden idol's chest suddenly swelled as it drew a long breath, sucking every wisp of the villagers' incense into its belly.
The wooden idol gradually transformed into flesh and blood. Leaping down from its shrine, it snatched up the chickens, ducks, and fruit offered by the villagers and began devouring them. In its delight, it even grabbed incense and candles, stuffing them into its maw and chewing ravenously.
Today was the first of the month, the day of divine worship. In the ancestral halls of neighboring settlements like Xujiajing, Yangzitang, Shuangji Bridge, and Shagouwan, incense smoke rose like clouds.
Statues carved of wood, molded from clay, cast in bronze, or forged of iron awoke within the smoke, transforming into bodies of flesh and blood to feast upon the incense and delicacies offered by mortals.
In the mountain god shrines and dragon king temples among the great peaks and rivers around Lingling, misty vapors drifted just the same; even in the city's City God Temple, the City God awoke to receive sacrifices.
Not only in Lingling, but throughout Yongzhou, throughout southern Xiang, and across the entire Divine Land, incense curled everywhere. The statues safeguarding every village, township, walled city, and commandery awakened one after another to receive the offerings of the common people, presenting a spectacle of great prosperity.
Yet ever since Emperor Zhidao Dasheng Daming Xiao succumbed to foolishness, plunging the realm into chaos and shattering that golden age, feudal lords had carved up the land, imperial authority had vanished, and the majesty of the gods across the Divine Land was no longer what it once was, gradually taking on an aura of decline.
"Xu Ying! Jiang Shu! Jiang Lu! You paupers came empty-handed without offering me a single stick of incense or candle!"
Inside the ancestral hall of Jiangjiatian, the deity flew into a rage, slamming the altar table as he bellowed, "I only eat two meals from you a month, and the food you revere me with can't even fill my belly! Does your Jiangjiatian still want favorable weather and abundant harvests? To anger a god—are you not afraid I will bring calamity upon you?!"