The Cause

Spicy strip!

Zhu Jiusi felt a bizarre word pop into his mind.

The python saw Zhu Jiusi turn back, flicked its tongue, and lowered its head. Its upper body had already reached the ground, while its lower body remained coiled around a tree branch three meters high.

A giant spicy strip!

Zhu Jiusi feared neither fierce tigers, hungry wolves, zombies, nor exotic beasts, but this kind of soft, noodle-like creature was his true natural enemy.

Impact attacks had limited effectiveness against the python; this thing's ability to disperse force was simply too strong.

He retracted the Beast Nest on his back into a backpack and slowly retreated, widening the distance between himself and the python.

Snakes were a high-percentage monster in Journey Survival. In his past life, he hadn't taken them seriously; whether by blade or spell, he could easily take them down.

This was his first time facing one with his physical body, and he had almost no experience in this regard.

But Journey Survival had only just begun, and the monsters were relatively weak. If he didn't take this opportunity to accumulate experience, he would inevitably suffer a great loss in the later stages.

Unless absolutely necessary, Zhu Jiusi did not want to hide in his nest and cower until dawn.

Zhu Jiusi retreated to a sufficient distance, eyes slightly lowered, then kicked off the ground and charged forward. However, the snake moved like a ribbon, softening backward, and its tail whipped down like a lash.

"Snap!"

A piece of rotten wood was smashed to pieces, but the Wild Boar was no longer in its original spot.

Zhu Jiusi's charge had been a feint; he had dodged to the side into an open area.

Given the python's size, moving the battlefield to an open area didn't affect it much. But for Zhu Jiusi to exert his true combat power, he needed enough space to initiate a charge.

The python flicked its tongue, swung its tail, and slithered over, following Zhu Jiusi closely.

The moment it reached him, it suddenly accelerated, its body blurring into an afterimage as it instantly lunged at Zhu Jiusi, coiling around him.

Beasts hunting never showed the slightest hesitation!

The python landed on him and instantly constricted, causing his River Mud Armor to emit a series of creaking sounds.

The moment the python coiled around him, Zhu Jiusi simultaneously activated Assault. He lunged forward, carrying the python with him as he slammed hard into a nearby boulder.

Boom!

The force of the constriction eased for a moment, but the next second, it tightened even further.

The python raised its head and bit down.

Up close, one could see the dense rows of fangs inside the snake's mouth.

Although it wasn't venomous, being bitten would certainly be unpleasant.

"Open!"

Zhu Jiusi let out a muffled grunt. The Beast Nest on his body suddenly expanded, acting like a hydraulic jack to force the python apart, stretching the thick snake body until it was pulled thin.

Assault!

The python was momentarily stunned, not knowing what had happened, but Zhu Jiusi had already activated his skill again. Taking advantage of the slight gap created by the expanding nest, he lunged forward, his single horn slamming fiercely into the python's belly and flicking upward.

Assault carried an inherent bursting effect, and the snake body, already stretched to its limit, could not withstand it.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound rang out. It was like a rubber band being snapped into two, and blood sprayed down.

Two severed sections of the body slid powerlessly off the Beast Nest, twisting and jumping on the ground.

This thing had extreme vitality; even like this, it still wanted to turn back and bite Zhu Jiusi.

Zhu Jiusi took a step back and retreated into his nest, waiting quietly for it to die.

There was a small, budding horn on the snake's forehead; it was no longer an ordinary creature, so killing it should yield materials.

While Zhu Jiusi waited, a private message came through on the Scroll.

It was that Fake Chef.

Heals Stomach Not Body: "Boss, the wolf-skin rug is done. Shall I send it to you?"

"Good!" Zhu Jiusi replied.

He suddenly didn't hold much hope; this guy's cooking had already disappointed Zhu Jiusi once.

A moment later, the trade arrived. A wolf-skin rug dropped down, a bit too large for the interior of the nest. However, the nest would continue to expand and grow larger in the future.

Lying on it wasn't exactly soft, and the wolf fur was prickly. But for a Wild Boar, it didn't matter; in Journey Survival, this counted as the ultimate luxury.

The wolf skin had been processed, with the stench removed as much as possible. Yet, to a Wild Boar, the wolf musk was still pungent.

But lying on it didn't feel awkward at all. On the contrary, sleeping with the pelt of a natural enemy as a pillow felt quite good!

It even gave him the illusion of looking down upon the world.

If he had the chance to kill two tigers and use their skins to line his nest, that would be the true top-tier natural enemy.

As he thought this, the python outside finally died completely. Just as Zhu Jiusi had guessed, this snake was no longer an ordinary beast.

Beasts that attack at night and have already embarked on the path of exotic beasts do not leave behind corpses when killed; instead, they burst into their own unique essences.

A snake gallbladder and a small, singular horn.

[Monster discovered, naming available.] The Scroll appeared right on cue.

[Horned Snake.] Zhu Jiusi named it casually.

A piece of roasted snake roll appeared abruptly in front of Zhu Jiusi's lair.

Naming a monster comes with a small reward.

It was quite decent. Rewards of this type only appear at the very beginning of the Journey Survival. By the later stages, unnamed monsters become increasingly rare.

Zhu Jiusi carried the snake roll to the side and began to crunch on it, much like eating a spicy snack.

The taste was far superior to the roasted meat from the cook.

As he ate, Zhu Jiusi's gaze fell upon the snake gallbladder to the side.

After three years of Journey Survival, he had learned quite a bit of knowledge. Generally, snake gallbladders require processing, but with his current pair of hooves, he likely couldn't manage that.

Moreover, the rules of Journey Survival are clear. Human vehicles can be equipped with necessary functional devices.

Control consoles, pharmaceutical benches, artifact refining furnaces, and so on.

Demon lairs generally load things that directly enhance the demon itself—feeding troughs, spirit-nurturing platforms, and the like.

Before attaining a human form, he likely wouldn't have the chance to operate them himself.

By the time he reached that point, a snake gallbladder like this would be completely meaningless.

Thinking of this, Zhu Jiusi bit directly into the snake gallbladder, tilted his head back, and swallowed it.

This thing was too bitter; it couldn't be chewed.

As for the small horn, he had no idea what it could be used for.

Soaking it in wine?

Zhu Jiusi sent a message in the chat area looking to trade for wine.

The atmosphere in the chat area had improved significantly; no one was arguing anymore.

A few bloody corpses had brought everyone to their senses.

The Scroll flickered; Sword Seven had sent back the Moon Essence Dew. She must have just finished a battle.

She even included a note: Fine, don't come looking for me if you have more drool.

It seemed the last time he drooled had left a deep impression on her.

Returning to his lair, he tilted his head back and swallowed all the Moon Essence Dew. The cooling sensation washed over him again, and the little hands massaging his mind returned.

This feeling was addictive; Zhu Jiusi felt he might never be able to quit Moon Essence Dew.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and he gradually drifted into a deep sleep.

But this time, he didn't fall into a true, death-like slumber. The days of precarious living in the Journey Survival had truly begun.

With the two districts merged and six people from the other side just killed, someone might take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

Zhu Jiusi remained half-asleep and half-awake, staying in a state of constant vigilance.

Being a demon had its benefits.

In his past life as a human cultivator, this half-asleep state would have nearly broken him in the early stages.

Yet for a Wild Boar, this was actually the norm. Surprisingly, he could rest quite well, though he required a longer duration of sleep.

Zhu Jiusi's breathing remained steady.

On another path of survival, an ox cart sat in the middle of the night, and a young man of twenty-two or twenty-three sat restlessly upon it.

The name above his head shone brightly in the dark: No Bottle.

He had already given the list to the Master of Cloud Stack Cave, and a long time had passed; why hadn't that pig shown any reaction at all?

Was he injured from the previous battle? Or did he run out of Dao Discussion Cards?

If you're short on supplies, just say something! What is the point of sitting there like a statue? You turtle!

Or perhaps he was trying to be clever, and his act of self-exposure and showing selfishness had made that pig suspicious?

Various thoughts churned back and forth in his mind. In the end, he could no longer lie still, so he stepped down and paced around the ox cart, circle after circle.

"No, this won't do! I must make the Master of Cloud Stack Cave and that bunch from District 33 clash head-on."

No Bottle muttered to himself.

The mission given to him by the three Enforcers was that, no matter what, he had to make the Master of Cloud Stack Cave pay a sufficient price—preferably, his life!