Black Snake Sentinels

The noon sun was scorching and blinding.

Wang Wu hid in a crack between the rocks. The exit was mostly blocked by several stones, and at least it looked safe.

But he was far from comfortable. He was desperately thirsty, and the rolling heat outside tortured him to the point of madness. This was very bad.

Wang Wu regretted not collecting dew last night. This kind of torment was too much for his frail body to bear and could easily lead to heatstroke or dehydration.

But he truly did not dare search for water.

In his daze, Wang Wu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. Then a force lifted him up. Just as fright scattered his soul, he saw a snake tail as thick as an adult's arm above him!

Fuck, he had been careless. He had only watched for danger outside the rock crevice and never expected this snake to sneak in from above.

The intense pain lasted only three seconds before turning numb. This snake was venomous.

At the same time, information surfaced.

"You have entered the edge of the Black Snake Clan's territory. You have been attacked by Black Snake Sentinels. Because your Bloodline Talent level is too low, your Danger Sense Talent has been suppressed!"

"Due to your defense level, you have suffered 5 points of piercing damage and 10 points of poison damage."

What the fuck!

Wang Wu was terrified at first, then quickly calmed down.

This body of his might look frail, but it was not so easily crushed.

And what the hell was the information provided by the status panel? It actually made him feel as if he were playing a game. This kind of cheat was exactly what he liked.

Suppressing the panic in his heart, Wang Wu forced himself not to struggle. The Black Snake Sentinel was above his head, biting him as it slithered upward. He had no opportunity for the moment.

Finally, when the Black Snake Sentinel carried Wang Wu to a wider section of the rock crevice, its head turned back and its belly was exposed. This was the moment!

With a swish, Wang Wu shot out his silver-gray claws and raked them across that gray snake belly, putting every ounce of strength he had into it.

That single strike ripped the Great Serpent open from belly to gut. Its whole body shuddered, and it immediately began wrapping itself around Wang Wu madly, trying to strangle him to death.

But the Great Serpent had forgotten that Wang Wu had not withdrawn his claws. The faster it moved, the longer the wound was sliced open. Although it eventually managed to coil tightly around Wang Wu, it lasted less than ten seconds before dying and collapsing into a limp heap.

At that moment, half of Wang Wu's body was numb, like a dog that had been cruelly buried alive...

Struggling free with all his strength, he could not care about feeling disgusted. First he drank the snake blood, then ate the snake gallbladder, and finally the snake meat.

The Great Serpent weighed more than ten pounds, yet he devoured seven or eight parts out of ten in one go.

"You have killed Black Snake Sentinels."

"You have eaten Black Snake Sentinels. Your Satiety +300 points."

"You have drunk snake blood and absorbed 1 point of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy."

"Your Self-Healing Talent has activated automatically. You consumed 100 points of Satiety to neutralize the poison damage. You consumed 50 points of Satiety to restore Health Points. This process requires one hour."

"Your Self-Healing Talent has recorded some characteristics of the snake venom. Once completed, you may gain perfect resistance to this type of snake venom. (1/5)"

Lines of information surfaced soundlessly, sending Wang Wu's thoughts rising and falling with them.

The earlier gains did not matter much, but that final message truly kept him from maintaining a steady state of mind.

Then there was nothing more to say. From today onward, the Black Snake Clan was Old Wang's brother.

Next, Wang Wu continued devouring the Black Snake Sentinel's remains. He even crushed and ate the bones, all for the sake of his Satiety.

There was no helping it. At this stage, although he could absorb and transform Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, that power was still incomplete. Only by relying on his Bloodline Talent could he possibly carry out his plan.

Wang Wu did not actively seek out Black Snake Sentinels, but since this rock crevice lay at the edge of the Black Snake Clan's territory, perhaps a second Black Snake Sentinel would come by.

He was too weak right now and could only rely on the terrain.

He waited for half the afternoon. Just as night was about to fall, Wang Wu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back, followed by numbness. Good fellow, this ambush without any warning was still so distinctive. Even the location of the attack had not changed.

Wang Wu was delighted. He chose not to resist. Just like at noon, when the Black Snake Sentinel climbed into the wider area above and began to turn around, his little claws suddenly sprang out and stabbed solidly into its belly. No matter how the Black Snake Sentinel struggled and coiled afterward, it could not change its fate.

Ten seconds later, Wang Wu smoothly secured his second kill.

Immediately afterward, he began eating like mad, all to pave the way for his Self-Healing Talent. This time, his Self-Healing Talent consumed only 80 points of Satiety to neutralize the poison damage.

His perfect resistance to snake venom reached 2/5.

A moment later, Wang Wu let out a satisfied burp. Before him lay a pile of broken bone fragments, while his Satiety had reached 245 points.

Yet he still felt a little stuffed. The Bloodline Talent of the Ancient Giant Bear truly was not ordinarily powerful.

Night had already fallen. Wang Wu burrowed as deeply as possible into the rock crevice. Only a fool would want to wander about at night.

As for whether any Black Snake Sentinels would come knocking that night, Wang Wu truly had no time to think about it. As his Satiety increased, he had already become so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open.

After settling himself, he closed his eyes and drifted into sweet dreams.

But the night was truly quiet, just like the night before.

When Wang Wu woke again, the sky had begun to brighten. Sunrise was almost here.

"Damn, I almost missed it."

He had been thinking constantly about how he had absorbed and transformed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy at sunrise yesterday. It seemed that only sunrise brought such benefits each day?

He quickly squeezed out of the rock crevice. Then his stomach gave an ill-timed growl, startling him. When he opened his status panel and looked, fuck, he had still had 245 points of Satiety last night, yet today it had dropped to 12 points. Was there any justice left? Any law left?

Wait, Growth Rate +0.5%?

Oh, then it was fine. Everyone was on the same side, so do not accidentally wound a friendly.

Bang.

Rolling out of the rock crevice, Wang Wu suddenly felt that the morning before sunrise was terribly quiet.

So quiet that it was somewhat eerie. The next second, he slowly turned around and looked up. Every hair on his body stood on end.

On the cliff where he had slept for two full nights, every protruding rock and every relatively flat spot held a Black Snake of varying thickness. A rough glance showed at least fifty or sixty of them.

The Black Snake Sentinels he had killed yesterday were only as thick as an adult's arm, but up there were ones as thick as calves, as thick as thighs, and at the very top of the cliff, a Great Serpent as thick as a water bucket. Coiled up, it looked like a dung mountain four or five meters high!

Holy shit!

How confident had he been yesterday to actually want to wage war against the Black Snake Clan?

However, Wang Wu quickly noticed something crucial. These Black Snakes were basically all positioned on the upper half of the cliff. There was no doubt that the higher one stood, the earlier it could bask in sunlight and the more Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy it could absorb and transform.

The moment this thought crossed his mind, how could Wang Wu dare delay? With drooping brows and a downcast face, he ran toward the other side of the cliff. The sun was about to rise, but he had failed to secure a spot. That feeling was terrible.

The cliff was not tall, only twenty or thirty meters above the ground. But around one corner of the cliff stood several unbroken chains of low hills. Sparse trees grew upon them, and even the trees around those low hills were sparse.

Clearly, this was also to prevent sunlight from being blocked.

But at this moment, Wang Wu became increasingly alarmed.

If that cliff was the Black Snake Clan's territory, then competition on this side was even fiercer.

On the crowns of some tall trees, hundreds or thousands of Red-winged Birds stood quietly, awaiting the sunrise. The largest Red-winged Bird was as large as an eagle.

Near the Black Snake Clan's territory, atop the first low hill, a Large Crimson Scorpion at least a meter long stood on a massive rock like an enlightened master seated in meditation, preparing to greet the sunrise.

Around the rock, as well as on every high point of this small hill, dozens of Crimson Scorpions at least half a meter long—or only twenty to thirty centimeters long—had firmly claimed their positions.

Then came the second hill, occupied by huge black centipedes along with more than a hundred centipede sons and grandsons.

On the third hill were five White Rats with flowing white hair—no, with white fur fluttering in the wind. At a glance, they were clearly not opponents to be trifled with.

Forget it. Wang Wu had no mood to keep looking. Was the Cultivation World this brutally competitive too?