Sealing and Affirmation

The stream gurgled, farmland, thatched huts, a veritable outdoor paradise.

The fence gate opened, and an old woman with slightly disheveled hair and a kind face walked out, carrying a wooden basin full of clothes to the stream. A yellow puppy, just weaned, ran around her playfully.

Suddenly, the little yellow dog barked towards the stream.

Woof woof woof~!

The old woman paid no mind until she reached the riverbank and saw the enormous figure in the shallow water...

With a clatter, the wooden basin fell to the ground. The old woman, beyond astonished, saw the full form of the figure and immediately knelt down, kowtowing and muttering.

"Oh dear, how terrible, how could a dragon suddenly fall from the sky?"

The old woman, who had never seen such a thing, naturally mistook the White Snake for a fallen dragon. After all, the largest snake she had ever seen was at most as thick as her arm. Just as the old woman finished speaking, the still unconscious White Snake felt a strange aura settle upon it. Its weak soul seemed to be infused with energy, gradually recovering. It didn't know that this was the legendary Sealing and Affirmation.

Sealing and Affirmation was a dream for many spirits, a recognition and a blessing.

To be more specific, after the rise of humanity, spirits who wished to cultivate the orthodox path had to receive human Sealing and Affirmation. Without it, they were merely beasts, not recognized spirits.

The best scenario was for human cultivators to perform Sealing and Affirmation and offer blessings to spirits. Through human words, the future potential of a spirit was confirmed. Generally, the higher the human's cultivation, the better, and the greater the effect of the Sealing and Affirmation. Legends said it was best for a powerful being to perform Sealing and Affirmation nine times. All spirits who cultivated the righteous path yearned for this, except for those who followed the evil path.

Sealing and Affirmation by ordinary people also had some effect, greatly aiding future enlightenment, provided they did not commit wanton acts of killing.

For example, if you happened to encounter a cultivating snake in a certain place, you couldn't call it a snake; you had to call it a dragon.

With the flourishing of humanity, humans were the most spiritual of all beings. Words spoken by humans carried a certain spiritual essence. If you called it a snake, it was almost equivalent to decreeing that it would never transform into a flood dragon or a true dragon, with unimaginably severe consequences. It could even provoke the snake spirit's retaliation. If you called it a dragon, the snake had a high chance of achieving enlightenment. In doing so, you would have shown it kindness and it would not harm you. Otherwise, karma and karmic debt would befall you.

Of course, offering blessings was best. If not, it didn't matter much, it only increased or decreased the chances.

The old woman's unintentional words had performed Sealing and Affirmation for the White Snake, earning its gratitude.

The little yellow dog barked on the bank, and the old woman rolled up her trousers and waded into the water, trying to pull the White Snake out.

The mountain stream water was icy cold. Prolonged immersion in the water caused the White Snake's body temperature to drop, and its vitality weakened. The old woman pulled it out of the water to bask in the sun, inadvertently speeding up its recovery.

Seeing that the "dragon" was still unconscious, the kind old woman even found an incense burner at home and lit an incense stick in front of the White Snake. The clueless old woman felt that if offering incense to ancestors was beneficial, then offering incense to a dragon would be the same. She even found a straw mat and placed it under the dragon's head.

The White Snake remained unconscious.

Its injuries gradually healed, with granulation tissue and tender new scales growing on the wounds. The wolf blood essence it had consumed provided immense nourishment, equivalent to a high-grade medicinal herb.

A few days later, the White Snake awoke.

As the White Snake lifted its head, it immediately saw the incense burner, the kneeling old woman, and a yapping puppy before it.

At the first glance of the old woman, it felt a strange sense of connection, as if it should repay her.

It dipped its head three times, expressing its gratitude.

The old woman was overjoyed to see the "dragon" nod. It was clearly the dragon greeting her, and she immediately began making wishes again, wishing for a bountiful harvest and for her deceased husband to have a good reincarnation.

The White Snake was speechless...

Spirits and humans were on different paths. The White Snake swam into the forest but did not go far. It vaguely felt that the old woman had been kind to it, and kindness must be repaid. An old woman living alone would have many difficulties, and it could offer help at the appropriate time. Kindness should be repaid promptly. The ancient Chinese myth of the White Snake was terrifying; a majestic great spirit capable of summoning wind and rain and stirring up monstrous waves offered itself in marriage to repay a life-saving kindness. It was too frightening! If someone saved your life back then, and you saved their life now, wouldn't that be enough? Why make life worse than death?

Thus, the White Snake temporarily resided in the woods not far from the old woman's home.

Its injuries healed, and consuming the Grey Wolf's essence pushed its cultivation further. As for hunting spirits and drinking their blood, that was out of the question. Such activities were not suited for the White Snake; it preferred to swallow clouds and exhale mist on the mountaintop.

Unexpectedly, it waited for half a year.

Sometimes, fate works in peculiar ways. The secluded paradise far from the city was about to face disaster. The world's great trends, after long periods of unity, would divide, and after division, would unite. The surging flames of war reached the remote mountain village on the edge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The government conscripted young men, landlords took the opportunity to seize land and raise taxes, and so-called heroes rose up in rebellion. The impoverished village was left without any able-bodied men.

Several rounds of conscription had taken all the young men over fifteen years old, leaving only the old, the weak, and the women.

Without its young men, the mountain village naturally became a target for bandits.

One day.

The White Snake, as usual, had poor eyesight. It wasn't until it climbed the mountain slope behind the village that it used its infrared senses to see the village ablaze, thick smoke billowing, many humans wandering around the village, and houses burning...

It was obvious what was happening: it had been raided.

Bandits and brigands were an ancient profession that flourished in ancient times. Anyone could invest in it, especially during times of chaos, when they could roam freely. If they were lucky, they might even be recruited by the government and become local officials. Of course, it all depended on luck.

After a moment's thought, it twisted its body and parted the grass, heading towards the old woman's home.

The bandits were wreaking havoc in the village. Because the old woman's house was relatively secluded, the bandits had not yet reached it. The rough bandits swaggered to the old woman's doorstep and saw a giant white snake standing upright. Before they could even scream and flee, a white shadow flashed, and the snake's mouth clamped down on a hapless bandit, flinging him away!

"A monster..."

Its tail whipped out, sending two bandits flying. The raised snake head then slammed down, its mouth engulfing a bandit's head. It shook the head back and forth, then released its grip. The corpse of the dead bandit collapsed limply to the ground.

The snake's body reared up, and it opened its mouth to issue a warning!

Hiss~!

The remaining bandits fled in disarray, terrified by the eight-meter-long giant snake.

Behind it, the old woman suddenly knelt down.

The White Snake turned back and stared blankly at the old woman, not understanding why she was kneeling again. If it had hands, it would have helped her up long ago. It couldn't possibly use its mouth to help someone, as that might scare them to death.

"Divine Dragon above... please save our village..."

"We can barely survive anymore, sob sob..."

The white-haired old woman knelt on the ground, weeping profusely. The White Snake couldn't comprehend why the world was in such a state of suffering. The village had no young men, the pots were empty of grain, why?

After a brief consideration, it shook its head.

There were so many fierce bandits, each armed with swords, spears, and bows. If it charged forward, it might be killed and become their food. It was enough to protect its benefactor. Being a hero wasn't that easy, and besides, it was a snake. It would be fortunate enough not to eat people, so how could it become a savior? Thus, the White Snake coiled at the entrance of the old woman's home, gazing at the billowing black smoke in the village from afar.