No Years in the Mountains, Winter Passes Without Counting the Years
The cave was pitch black, with no distinction between the four seasons, and it was impossible to tell sunset from dawn.
Ye Qin, who was in a state of meditative absorption, had sealed his five senses, and the changes happening in the outside world could not affect him unless he encountered a life-or-threatening danger, in which case he would rouse from his meditation.
The surrounding scenery did not change at all, as though it formed a world of its own, yet the outside world went through the endless cycle of the four seasons, constantly shifting.
As the weather gradually turned cold, the leaves turned from tender green to deep, then yellow, and finally drifted down slowly.
A single leaf falls, and the world knows autumn has arrived.
This mountain also welcomed its autumn, and the maple leaves on the north side had completely turned red, covering the mountains and plains, reflecting the entire sky so that it looked as though it were on fire, appearing extremely magnificent and brilliant.
The branches were laden with fruit, and in the harvest season, countless squirrels shuttled among them, preparing for the coming winter, while quite a few field mice and rabbits picked up the fruits that had fallen to the ground.
Time still flew by.
Until the cold wind howled, the temperature gradually lowered, and the traces of living creatures on the ground became less and less, most creatures hid in their warm caves, preparing to survive the long winter.
With the falling of the first snow, silent and soundless, the earth was unconsciously draped in a silver attire, as if reborn.
This year's winter seemed to arrive exceptionally early, with white snow covering the world between heaven and earth, a scene of utter desolation, as if only this pure color remained.
And this was also Ye Qin's first winter after being reincarnated as a snake.
At this time, there were less than two years left until the limit of his lifespan.
"Bang!"
However, when the sound of a gunshot rang out, it was exceptionally distinct in the silent mountain forest, signaling that this winter was not peaceful.
No years in the mountains, winter passes without counting the years.
When the second heavy snow fell, Ye Qin finally opened his eyes, a faint, elusive flash of light sweeping across his snake pupils, and his entire aura had undergone a change.
If one were to say he still possessed a trace of restlessness previously, at this moment he had settled down.
Like a piece of uncarved jade constantly being polished and sculpted, it finally emitted a radiance uniquely its own.
Perhaps this bit of radiance was not powerful right now, but it was constantly growing and moving forward in its own way, and whether it could rival the sun and moon in the future remained to be seen.
Winter was naturally the season for snakes to hibernate, coupled with the fact that Ye Qin had been immersed in contemplation, he had only now awakened.
Crawl down from the white bones, he stretched lazily, trying his best to stretch his body, as if he had slept a long sleep or just taken a nap.
Far from feeling exhausted, he was instead full of energy.
As his snake body moved, it was as though something had fallen off, making a rustling sound.
"Eh."
Ye Qin was somewhat puzzled, his gaze falling to the ground, only to discover that what had fallen off were entirely charred black scales.
He hurriedly flicked his tail, a look of surprise on his face. His entire snake body had grown much longer; previously he could see the end at a glance, but looking at it now, he only saw a winding torso, estimated to be more than a meter long.
The most important thing was that a new set of scales had grown on one-third of his body, with a jade-green color, full of vitality, forming a sharp contrast with the black scales on the rest of his body.
This trendy black-and-green color collision was an existence leading the trend in the entire snake world.
Although it can't be considered good-looking, it's not ugly either, and it's quite distinctive, just a bit alternative.
Ye Qin couldn't help but review; he only hoped that the scales on the other parts of his body could grow out as soon as possible, and judging by this trend, it should be soon.
This was in his own eyes, having already grown accustomed to the snake body, inevitably tinted with a bit of a filter.
In the eyes of ordinary people, such a long snake, coupled with the black and green intertwined patterns, still looked somewhat fierce and terrifying.
The White Bone Contemplation Method should be complete now; I can enter the second stage.
At present, his object of contemplation could be said to be vivid and lifelike, indistinguishable from reality, and had reached the point of passing off the false as genuine.
When immersed in contemplation, Ye Qin could not even tell how to distinguish between the illusions and the reality of the bones.
Gurgle—
His stomach kept making sounds of protest.
Previously, because of excitement and agitation, coupled with having just woken up from meditation, Ye Qin did not feel hungry, but now that he had calmed down, he only felt ravenous, with a burning sensation in his stomach like fire.
I'm so hungry. Who knows how long has passed? Is the Chinese New Year coming soon?
Ye Qin crawled out of the cave, intending to find something to eat outside, when a cold wind blew directly into his face.
The world between heaven and earth was clad in silver, and wherever his eyes could reach, it was a sheet of white.
The single color even made people feel somewhat dazzling, and the large trees not far away had their branches bent down, on the verge of collapsing, already losing their previous lush appearance.
Icy snowflakes fell slowly, landing precisely on Ye Qin's forehead, exuding a chill that also brought him back to his senses.
"How is it already winter!"
Ye Qin was dumbfounded. He clearly remembered that when he entered meditation back then, it was still summer, yet with the blink of an eye upon opening his eyes, it was already winter!
He had thought he was in meditation for at most ten days or half a month, but who would have thought that so much time had already passed!
No wonder his stomach was so hungry.
If it weren't for the fact that Ye Qin cultivated and had true qi within his body, replaced by an ordinary snake that didn't eat or drink, it was feared that by now it would have already turned into dried snake jerky.
The heavy snow drifted, and there were almost no traces of small animals.
It had been snowing for several days, and a thick layer had accumulated on the ground. Ye Qin's entire snake body was almost submerged by the heavy snow, but fortunately his luck was good, and he found a field mouse household.
It was just a pity for the field mouse household, which was directly wiped out by Ye Qin.
Perhaps because he was too hungry, everything he ate tasted delicious, and the field mouse meat actually tasted somewhat like roasted chicken.
Replaced by his previous appetite, Ye Qin might have already been full, but for him whose appetite had grown large now, it was only barely enough to lay a foundation. That burning hunger had finally decreased, but it was completely not enough.
He continued to crawl, not paying attention to a steep slope ahead. Because the snow had fallen thickly, the original slope was covered up, making it look just like flat ground.
When Ye Qin crawled past, the snow suddenly sank, like pavilions in the air, instantly suspended in mid-air. By the time he realized something was wrong, everything was already too late.
Under the effect of inertia, the entire snake fell directly from the slope, and there were no branches around that he could hook onto.
Oh no, this is going to be troublesome.
Ye Qin remembered that this place was a steep slope earlier, but the snow fell too heavily, altering the terrain to the extent that it caused him to overlook it.
"Bang!"
Along with a muffled thud, Ye Qin fell heavily to the ground, colliding with quite a few branches during the process, but the pain he imagined did not arrive.
It seems like there's no feeling at all.
Ye Qin checked; not even a white mark was left on his body, which completely exceeded his expectations, as if he had just rolled around on flat ground.
He raised his head to look at this steep slope; the drop was still quite large, and if any other animal had accidentally fallen, even if it didn't die, it would be crippled.
Yet he was like a snake that was completely fine.
It seems that this closed-door cultivation and continuous contemplation of white bones has caused my physical constitution to undergo a qualitative change, and my bones and physical body have become stronger. The White Bone Contemplation Method is indeed formidable!
Ye Qin was overjoyed, not expecting that the White Bone Contemplation Method would bring such a huge change to himself.
When he first created the Contemplation Method, he chose to contemplate the bones of the ancients, and he had already sensed that his body was growing stronger along with the contemplation. This was also the nurturing feedback brought by contemplating bones.
And now, after a long closed-door period of two seasons, his physical body seemed to have grown strong to a certain degree, fully manifesting the method of the White Bone Contemplation Method!
And since his physical body was strong, did it also mean that his strength had increased?
Looking at the half-person-high, arm-thick small tree beside him, Ye Qin was eager to try.
His tail lashed directly onto it.
"Crack—"
The entire tree was snapped in half at the waist, and all the snow on the tree fell down, covering Ye Qin entirely and instantly forming a small snow pile.
Soon, a sharp snake head poked out from the snow pile. Ye Qin spat out a lot of snow residue and hurriedly pulled his body out, looking at the fallen tree beside him.
Goodness, the power of this tail lash of mine is quite fierce.