In the briefest moment, the great snake relived the course of its life.
It saw countless scenes it had forgotten—or had never remembered at all—from breaking out of its shell, growing up, and embarking upon cultivation, to once again enduring the agony of losing its offspring, grieving and raging through thirty-five years steeped in hatred.
More than two hundred long years vanished in the blink of an eye.
Bai Yujun's eyes returned to normal, and the fragments of memories and past events before the great snake's eyes disappeared.
Her small hand held the Pearl that Seals Thunder Clouds and Lightning aloft and offered it before the Black-striped Great Snake. Befuddled, the great snake did not know why it had willingly opened its huge mouth. Her small hand placed the pearl inside.
Bai Yujun casually closed the snake's mouth. The transaction had been completed. She had obtained what she wanted, and the great snake had gained its chance for revenge.
She suddenly recalled a saying from the mortal world: memory was the root of pain.
In the beginning, the great snake had been like all other birds and beasts, muddleheaded and confused, facing threats to its survival almost every moment. It struggled to live each day, instinctively breeding offspring to continue its life. Several times, its snake eggs had been destroyed by natural enemies, but back then, the great snake had yet to cultivate. Everything had been instinct.
Later, it awakened as a "spirit," and thus gained memories, along with sorrow and hatred.
Burdened by a blood-deep feud, it had suffered day and night for over thirty years. Revenge became the force that sustained the great snake, while its negative Killing Intent grew so heavy that it nearly fell into demonhood.
After considering it, Bai Yujun offered some guidance.
"It was