Seeking the Hibernating Python

Seeing this, Bai Chuan's eyes lit up in an instant.

What was a pleasant surprise? This was a pleasant surprise!

Not only had he found a warm cave, but he'd also stumbled upon a two-meter-long King Python hibernating inside.

Now his next meal was secured.

Bai Chuan crawled over, a murderous glint in his eyes.

At the same time, perhaps sensing the danger, the King Python, which should have been deep in hibernation, suddenly twitched.

But it was too late.

In an instant, a claw wrapped in high-voltage current viciously struck the python's vital spot—its seventh section.

In that moment, the entire body of the King Python began to convulse.

Though the current lasted only an instant, the sharp venomous fangs seized that brief window to bite down, and the next moment, venom gushed out.

That wasn't the end. To prevent the prey from waking, Bai Chuan used both claws to tear at its scales relentlessly.

Scales flew, and blood splattered everywhere.

Within a single minute, this hibernating King Python had passed on to the afterlife, not even knowing what had hit it.

Staring at the dead python, Bai Chuan checked his stomach—still fairly full. After a moment's thought, he crawled back out of the cave.

Using his sharp claws, he scooped up a ball of snow and brought it back, covering the python's corpse directly.

Since he didn't want to eat it yet, and it was winter anyway, he might as well preserve it and eat it when he got hungry.

Done with that, Bai Chuan coiled up contentedly in the cave to rest a bit. He had to admit, having a pair of claws made so many things possible.

Then he looked around the narrow, shallow cave, shook his head in dissatisfaction, and got busy again.

This winter, he figured he wouldn't be hibernating. Since that was the case, he needed a good cave.

The one he had now—he looked it over and felt it was too poor.

First, he needed to dig deeper to avoid a repeat of last time. Second, the entrance passage had to be narrow and winding to keep the cold air from seeping in.

Finally, the resting area inside needed to be bigger, so he could store any leftover prey there.

After a brief consideration, Bai Chuan settled on a plan and got to work.

By evening, as the last trace of sunlight faded, the short winter day had quietly passed.

By then, Bai Chuan, who'd been busy for nearly a full day, had finally finished about half of his new cave project.

He looked at his claws, which were starting to show serious wear, and shook his head helplessly.

Good thing these claws could regrow, and thanks to Regeneration LV1, they grew back fairly quickly—just one night to fully recover. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare dig so hard.

But today was exhausting enough; he needed a good rest.

Having woken up and faced so much already, he also needed some time to sort things out and figure out his next steps.

With these thoughts flickering through his mind, Bai Chuan lay down to spend the rest of his first winter day.

The next day, crawling out of the cave again, Bai Chuan was pleasantly surprised to find that the snow had stopped falling.

This was a good omen, and it would save him unnecessary energy expenditure when moving around.

After all, as a snake now, he didn't know why he'd lost that ability—whether good or bad—where lower temperatures slowed his metabolism.

But now, to resist the cold, his body consumed a lot of energy to maintain its temperature the colder it got.

And consuming a lot of energy meant he'd get hungry faster.

In this winter, when food was hard to find, getting hungry too quickly was not a good sign—it could even mean death for a snake.

So the snow stopping was indeed a good omen.

Taking advantage of the good weather, Bai Chuan quickly left the cave and began exploring this winter world, which was utterly unfamiliar to him.

Along the way, he purposefully searched for tree hollows, rock crevices, and sandstone areas.

Last night while resting, he'd thought it over: snakes normally needed to hibernate, except for an oddball like him.

Since that was the case, why not use this winter's opportunity to hunt down some powerful snakes, devour them, and acquire their ability models?

For example, hunting pythons.

His size was already considerable now—reaching 5.5 meters in length.

He wasn't much smaller than most pythons, but his body lacked thickness.

Due to his innate nature, his body was flat and oval-shaped, able to expand quite a bit, but not round enough, and his muscle mass was relatively insufficient.

Unlike python species, whose bodies were round and packed with muscle.

Though evolution had given him explosive strength that might not lose to a python's in a burst, he couldn't compete in endurance.

At the same time, his body's flexibility and agility couldn't match theirs either.

It's well known that pythons are famous for their incredible constriction ability—and if their constriction is that strong, it goes without saying that their bodies must be both flexible and incredibly agile.

Otherwise, how could they coil around prey or enemies?

As for him, the Eye King relied on size too, but more on venom. Compared to a python's use of its body, his was like a minor sorcerer next to a great one.

Not to say it was completely useless, but a body that long had virtually no constriction ability.

For venomous snakes and the like, the only dangerous part was always the head. But for a python, the entire body was a threat.

So, if he could acquire a python's abilities, he would no longer have a single weakness. Growth in size would no longer be optional or of little use.

At that point, with a body that was entirely agile, possessing both a python's coiling constriction and lethal venom, plus claws, electricity, and invisibility...

Just how powerful would he be? What shortcomings would remain?

Just thinking about it made Bai Chuan feel a surge of excitement.

After all, in this kind of weather, once he discovered a hibernating python, he'd not only gain its abilities but also secure a food source—and it would take no effort at all, with zero risk.

It could be called a perfect, one-shot deal.

And so, with this thought in mind, Bai Chuan put in twelve times the effort to search.

Along the way, every sensory organ in his body was constantly sensing.

But sometimes, not everything you want can be achieved just by thinking about it. Heaven doesn't always grant wishes.

In such a vast mountain range, with an endless snow forest stretching beyond sight, finding a python hibernating in some hidden underground cave or secret burrow was no easy task.

If they were that easy to find, snakes would have gone extinct during hibernation long ago.

So, searching like this, Bai Chuan spent over a week.

Fortunately, during this time, he found the burrows of many other creatures—various snakes, frogs, rats, hedgehogs, and so on—so he wasn't completely without supplies.

Speaking of which, he had to mention hedgehogs. If he hadn't grown a pair of sharp claws, he might have been helpless against those spiky balls.

But now, with his claws and electric current working together, it didn't take long before those troublesome, once-untouchable creatures were torn apart and stuffed into his stomach.