Sealing and Affirmation

The babbling stream, farmland, and Thatched Hut made the place look like an earthly paradise.

The fenced courtyard gate opened, and an elderly white-haired woman with slightly disheveled hair and a kindly face came out, carrying a wooden basin full of clothes toward the stream. A newly weaned little yellow mutt ran around her, frolicking wildly.

Suddenly, the little yellow dog began barking toward the stream.

Woof woof woof~!

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

With a clatter, the wooden basin fell to the ground. Once the astounded old woman saw the figure clearly, she dropped to her knees with a thud and began kowtowing, muttering under her breath.

"Oh heavens, this is terrible! How could a dragon suddenly fall from the sky?"

Having never seen much of the world, the old woman naturally mistook White Snake for a dragon fallen from heaven. After all, the largest snake she had ever seen was only as long as an arm. Just as she spoke, the still-unconscious White Snake suddenly felt a strange aura settle upon her. Her weakened soul seemed to be infused with energy and gradually recovered. What she did not know was that this was the legendary Sealing and Affirmation.

To demons and spirits, Sealing and Affirmation was something they dreamed of obtaining—a recognition and a blessing of fate.

More specifically, after the Human Path flourished, spirits and monsters who wished to cultivate the orthodox path had to receive Sealing and Affirmation from humans. Sealed as demons, they remained demons; affirmed, they were no longer demons.

The best outcome was for human cultivators to offer blessings and affirmation to spirits, confirming through human speech the heights a spirit could attain in the future. Generally speaking, the higher the human's cultivation, the better; the higher the cultivation, the greater the effect of the affirmation. Legend had it that receiving affirmation from a great expert nine times was best of all. Every spirit cultivating the Righteous Path hoped for such a thing—except, of course, those wicked demons of the evil path.

Affirmation from ordinary people also had a certain effect and was of immense help in attaining the Dao later on, provided one did not recklessly commit bloody sins.

For example, if by chance you encountered a snake cultivating somewhere, you could not simply call it a snake. You had to call it a dragon.

With the Human Path at its peak, humans were the spirits of all creation, and words spoken by human mouths carried a certain spiritual power. If you called it a snake, it was almost equivalent to declaring that it would never transform into a flood dragon or true dragon. The consequences were unimaginable, and it was highly likely to invite the snake spirit's revenge. But if you called it a dragon, the snake would have a great chance of attaining the Dao. Then you would have done it a favor, and it would not harm you. Otherwise, karma, retribution, and sinful debt would fall upon you.

Of course, blessings were best. It did not matter much if one did not offer affirmation—it merely increased or decreased the chances.

With one unintentional sentence, the old woman gave White Snake Sealing and Affirmation. She had done White Snake a favor.

The little yellow dog barked from the bank as the old woman rolled up her trouser legs, waded into the water, and struggled to drag White Snake out.

The mountain stream was icy cold. Prolonged soaking had lowered White Snake's body temperature and drained her vitality. By pulling her from the water and letting her bask in the sun, the old woman unintentionally sped up her recovery.

Seeing that the dragon still would not wake, the kind old woman even dug out an incense burner from home and lit incense before White Snake. Knowing nothing, she felt that if offering incense to one's ancestors brought benefits, then offering incense to a dragon should be the same. She even found a grass mat and placed it beneath the dragon's head.

White Snake remained unconscious.

Her injuries gradually improved. Flesh sprouted from the wounds, and tender new scales grew in. The wolf blood essence she had drunk provided tremendous nourishment, at least equal to a fine medicinal tonic.

Several days later, White Snake woke up.

The instant White Snake raised her head, she saw the incense burner before her, the old woman kneeling and kowtowing, and a little puppy barking nonstop.

The moment she saw the old woman, White Snake felt an inexplicable sensation in the depths of her heart, as though she ought to repay her.

She nodded her snake head three times to express her gratitude.

The old woman was delighted to see the dragon nod. Clearly, the dragon was greeting her. At once, she began making wishes again—wishing for a bountiful harvest, wishing that her long-dead husband could be reborn into a good life.

White Snake was speechless...

Humans and demons walked different roads, worlds apart. White Snake slithered into the forest but did not go far. In a daze, she felt that the old woman had shown her kindness. Kindness had to be repaid. An elderly woman living alone faced countless inconveniences, and White Snake could help when the time came. A favor should be repaid early. The ancient Earth legend Legend of the White Snake was terrifying—an imposing great demon capable of summoning wind and rain, raising monstrous waves, had actually offered herself in marriage just to repay a favor. Was that not terrifying? They had saved your life back then; could you not simply save theirs now? Why make it into a living hell?

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

Her injuries healed, and consuming Grey Wolf's blood essence advanced her cultivation further. As for hunting spirits everywhere, eating their flesh, and drinking their blood—she decided against it. That was not suited to White Snake. She preferred Swallowing Clouds and Exhaling Mist atop mountain peaks.

Unexpectedly, she waited for half a year.

Sometimes, things simply happened by such coincidence. This secluded paradise far from the city met with calamity. The great currents of the world dictated that what had long been united must divide, and what had long been divided must unite. Surging flames of war reached the remote mountain village on the edge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The authorities seized able-bodied men, landlords took the chance to annex land and raise taxes, and so-called heroes seized the moment to rise in revolt. The impoverished village no longer had any strong laborers left.

After several rounds of conscription, every young and able-bodied man over fifteen had been taken away, leaving only old people, the weak, and women.

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

One day.

As usual, White Snake's nearsightedness was severe. Only after she climbed the slope behind the village did she use infrared sensing to see flames rising within the village, thick smoke billowing into the sky, and many extra humans wandering about inside. Houses were burning...

One look was enough to tell what had happened. Bandits had come.

Banditry, that ancient profession, had flourished exceptionally in ancient times. One could say anyone could buy into it. Especially in Chaotic Times, bandits were like fish in water, living free and carefree. With good luck, they might even be recruited by the authorities and transform into high-ranking local officials in the blink of an eye. Of course, it all depended on luck.

After some thought, she twisted her body through the grass and headed toward the old woman's home.

Bandits ran rampant through the village. Since the old woman's home was rather remote, they had not yet reached it. When the local bandits swaggered up to the old woman's gate, they saw the enormous White Snake rearing upright. Before they could scream and flee, a white blur flashed past. Snake jaws clamped around one unlucky bandit and flung him away viciously!

"A monster...!"

Her tail lashed out fiercely, sending two bandits flying. Her raised head suddenly plunged down and closed around another bandit's head. She lifted him and shook him violently, then released her jaws. The dead bandit's body dropped limply to the ground.

Her body rose upright, and she opened her mouth in warning!

Hiss~!

The Remaining bandits fled in panic. An eight-meter-long giant snake was simply too terrifying.

Behind her, the old woman suddenly fell to her knees.

White Snake turned back and stared blankly at the old woman, unable to understand why she was kneeling again. If she had hands, she would have helped her up long ago. She could hardly use her huge mouth to help someone up—she might scare the person to death instead.

"Divine dragon above... please, save our village..."

"We can barely go on living, boohoo..."

The white-haired old woman knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly. It was truly difficult to imagine. White Snake could not understand why the people of the world were so wretched, why there were no young men in the village and not a single grain of rice in the pots. Why?

After thinking briefly, she shook her snake head.

There were so many fierce bandits, each armed with blades, spears, bows, and arrows. If she really rushed over, she might be killed and become extra provisions. Protecting her benefactor was enough. Being a hero was not so easy. Besides, she was a snake. It was already good enough that she did not eat people—how could she go around playing savior? Thus, White Snake coiled at the old woman's gate and watched the village's black smoke billow in the distance.