Don't Mess with that Turtle

Outside the valley, Su He felt a warning in his heart, a sense of crisis unique to his beastly intuition.

Because of his status as a transmigrator, Su He's beastly instincts had always been inferior to other wild beasts', and it was only after recent evolution that these instincts had improved slightly, although this was still the slowest of all his developing abilities.

The Green Snake inside the valley knew he was there and was very wary of him.

This was normal. Among wild animals, predators of equal combat power rarely enter each other's territory unless they intend to fight for dominance over that living space.

Standing at the entrance of the valley, Su He roared inward: "Ao~"

I have no hostile intentions, just seeking friendship!

He didn't know if the Green Snake could understand his roar, but he subjectively expressed this intent. We are both on the path to becoming demons; shouldn't we at least have the Spirit Wisdom, right?

Didn't turtles evolve vocal cords for the purpose of communication?

Perhaps like how ears evolved to understand the roar of crocodiles, the sounds produced by evolved vocal cords naturally make sense to all creatures?

Inside the valley, silence prevailed as usual, with no response.

Even the hissing of other snakes was meaningless, at best conveying hostility.

"Ao~"

I, seek friendship!

Su He made his intentions more concise.

Still there was no response from within the valley.

"Ao~"

If you don't answer, I'll take it as yes, I'm coming in!

After roaring, Su He still did not receive a response; the hostility within the valley neither increased nor decreased.

This one was a tough nut to crack, even slower to react than those ordinary crocodiles.

Muttering to himself, Su He didn't know what to do next. Returning would be quite unsatisfactory, and entering directly might provoke even greater hostility from the Green Snake, leading to a fight—this was the snake's den, after all.

Su He wasn't afraid of snakes— provided they didn't use poison.

He hesitated, and the moment he took a step, three venomous snakes struck simultaneously at his exposed hind leg and tail.

Su He's face changed instantly as he whipped his tail around to look, finding three venomous snakes hanging onto his body, their sharp fangs desperately gnawing at his skin but— unable to penetrate.

Several evolutions had not only made his shell extremely hard but had also toughened his skin, which was now too robust for the bite force of the snakes to break through the turtle's hide.

Venom sprayed onto him just slid off.

Swiftly, Su He rubbed the venom onto the grass and hurried back to Tinghai Lake to wash his hindquarters.

A quarter of an hour, half an hour…

The bitten areas didn't feel the slightest discomfort, not even itching. The snake venom had not penetrated the skin.

Refusing to believe it, Su He grabbed a wild chicken by the neck, restraining it by its tail as it sprayed venom over his body. This was a mildly venomous snake, one that couldn't even kill a chicken.

Su He didn't go into the water, continuously watching the skin that had been soaked in snake venom, with no discomfort appearing. The same held true when he tested other venomous snakes.

Feeling reassured, Su He proceeded into the valley with an unstoppable gait.

Venomous snakes appeared frequently around him, their hissing warning sounds never ceasing. This time, the sounds had meaning— generally telling Su He to get out of Snake Valley.

Su He was unimpressed; this place was nothing but a storage room for the Dragon. If he wasn't asking for something from the Green Snake, each and every one of them would be like spicy little strips to him.

Snake Valley was shaped like the character "甲." The entrance to the valley was narrow and dark, only about three yards wide, but once inside, it opened up to a space as large as a football field, complete with a small lake, next to which grew an old willow tree.

Coiled on the willow tree was a huge Green Snake.

It had grown bigger since the last time he saw it, from a small Jade Green Snake into the form of a python, yet it didn't have the typical small head and large belly. It was proportionally balanced, with sinuous movements, quite alluring.

The Green Snake perched on the willow tree, lowering its head and tirelessly flicking its forked tongue at Su He with a rustling sound.

Amidst the hissing, there was nothing but hostility; it hadn't produced a single complete word.

There was definitely no chance of communication now; it had only been two months since the beasts began eating Demonic Fruit, too short a time to engage in deep discussions.

Being able to understand each other's simple words was already an achievement.

Su He was there merely to see how the Green Snake obtained its demon magic and how it practiced it, but in such a hostile state, the Green Snake certainly wasn't in the mood to cultivate.

He needed to find a way to lower its guard.

Ao~

Little snake, you are very beautiful.

Su He flicked a hand.

"Shah!"

The Green Snake suddenly spat out a dense fog, and with a swipe of its tail, the fog enveloped both it and Su He.

Su He immediately held his breath and closed his eyes.

The Jade Green Snake was nonvenomous, but this one clearly couldn't be dealt with by common sense. If Su He could evolve teeth, why couldn't the Jade Green Snake evolve potent venom?

Su He slightly lowered his head, straining to listen intently in all directions.

Whoosh!

The snake skimmed across the grass.

Here it came!

Ordinary Jade Green Snakes usually fed on insects and earthworms, having little combat power to speak of. Su He was curious what skills this Green Snake, on the verge of transformation into a demon, possessed that made it dare to attack directly.

Essentially a timid creature, but now acting so recklessly. It wouldn't even allow for a word of conversation before attacking on sight.

A miscalculation.

He should have observed it for a few more days.

Suddenly, the fog vibrated, and the Green Snake wrapped around Su He like a hemp rope, squeezing hard.

...

But there was no movement.

Squeeze again, still no reaction. Not even a sign of denting inward, Su He's Shell was tough — the high-quality meat had not been devoured for nothing.

The little snake was clearly strong, Su He suspected even an ox might be strangled to death by it, yet today's enemy was Su He.

The one thing Su He wasn't afraid of was a test of sturdiness and strength.

If it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to learn the demonic arts from the Green Snake, he would have already bitten off its neck in that instant. A snake that had already digested most of the Demonic Fruit was a great supplement, even without the dice's enhancement.

This little snake had suddenly obtained the Demonic Fruit and started evolving, not yet accustomed to using such a large body to fight! If it were Su He, he would never be so impulsive. Weren't there thousands of venomous snakes outside to be dealt with? Why would he opt for a one-on-one fight?

Why fight alone when one could brawl with a group?

After several unsuccessful attempts to strangle him, the Green Snake quickly retreated and slickly slipped away, its whereabouts unknown.

Su He listened quietly.

"Sizzle-snap!"

A subtle sound of water breaking came from the lake; the Green Snake had gone underwater.

Indeed inexperienced — what kind of snake goes underwater to fight a turtle?

Su He closed his eyes and crawled towards the pond by memory, then went into the water and opened his eyes.

The view underwater was pleasant, with a clear, stone-bottomed pool. In the middle of the small lake, a crevice had formed, a natural tunnel. The rift was quite large, two zhang long and one zhang wide.

No sign of the Green Snake underwater; it seemed to have escaped through the tunnel.

Su He swam in pursuit.

The tunnel twisted and turned, flanked by strange rocks adorned with snake skins of various sizes. For the past two months, the Green Snake must have been shedding its skin here.

Following the tunnel straight ahead, he emerged through an opening and was greeted by an expansive view — Tinghai Lake.

This tunnel connected Tinghai Lake with the Snake Valley small lake.

There was no trace of the Green Snake around, nor the scent of the Demonic Fruit; the Green Snake must have swum far underwater, its scent not reaching the surface.

A fruitless visit.

Of course, that wasn't entirely true. If the Green Snake remained uncooperative, then Snake Valley was a decent hiding spot, much better than the Pill Furnace Su He had prepared.

Su He identified the direction and swam toward Crocodile Beach. The entrance to the tunnel wasn't too far from Crocodile Beach, and he and the Green Snake were now truly neighbors.

Given its timid nature, the Jade Green Snake would probably not dare to return to Snake Valley for the next day or two. He'd visit again in a couple of days, this time bringing gifts — generosity didn't offend. Su He didn't believe he could bond with old crocodiles but fail to improve relations with a Green Snake?

As long as he shamelessly showed up time and again, he would eventually become a familiar presence to the Green Snake, no longer an enemy.

Su He swam toward Crocodile Beach, and even from ten miles away, a strong stench of blood wafted over.

Something had happened at Crocodile Beach. Su He cautiously picked up speed, and as he came closer, the roaring of crocodiles echoed incessantly.

Looking up, Crocodile Beach was a chaotic mess. Two groups of crocodiles were fighting fiercely, the water stained red with blood.