Brother, are you speedrunning the Three Great Immortal Lands here?

"Brother, are you speedrunning the three great sage lands here?"

"Brother Manji, this Sage Art is extremely treacherous!" White Snake Sage warned Manji with a worried look on her face.

By this time, White Snake Sage and Manji had grown familiar with each other.

Manji had also learned that this little white snake was, in fact, the White Snake Sage of later generations.

The current little white snake was still in the form of a young girl, not the old crone she would become in the future.

It was hard to imagine that the bright, lovely girl before him would eventually turn into that old woman.

"White Snake, I have never feared practicing Sage Arts!"

"Bring me another one!"

Manji sat cross-legged on the ground and spoke indifferently.

Seeing that Manji's mind was made up, the little white snake could only nod: "Brother Manji, rest assured, I will assist you from the side. If there are any issues, I will interrupt immediately."

"Then I thank you."

Manji nodded slightly.

Hearing this, White Snake opened her small mouth and bit down hard on Manji's neck, injecting natural energy to guide him.

Following this, Manji officially began to cultivate the Sage Art.

In just another short three hours, the aura of the Ryūchi Cave Sage Art appeared on Manji's body!

"You?! You actually... have already mastered it?"

White Snake Sage's pupils constricted! Her heart was filled with shock!

She had never seen a human capable of cultivating the Sage Art of Ryūchi Cave, and now, seeing it for the first time, the speed at which he mastered it was terrifying!

Hmph, this power is nothing more than mediocre... Manji thought to himself, the corners of his mouth curling up as he felt the sage markings appearing on his face.

He did not develop scales or snake-like features as Kabuto had.

According to the established rules, the more physical traits one manifested, the worse their mastery of the Sage Art was.

Take Jiraiya, for example; he failed to achieve a perfect Sage Mode, which was why he suffered such severe frog-like transformations.

Naruto, Hashirama, and Yakushi Kabuto had done quite well.

They basically only developed sage markings.

However, Manji had done even better than them!

He had not only learned the arts of Mount Myōboku but also those of Ryūchi Cave.

"Hiss... This child's talent is terrifying. What kind of monster did that guy White Eyebrow take in..."

Black Snake Sage, who was using a water mirror to observe Manji's cultivation from afar, exclaimed in wonder.

Just as Black Snake Sage was focusing intently on monitoring Manji through the water mirror, Manji slowly opened his eyes and looked directly at him through the void.

"Hiss... This child can actually sense that I am watching him!?"

Black Snake Sage was startled, his understanding of Manji's sensory abilities updated once again.

He is so strong; perhaps this person really could go and deal with that alien woman outside... Black Snake Sage pondered slightly.

About a month later.

Without any surprises, Manji had mastered and become proficient in the Ryūchi Cave Sage Art.

The only drawback was that Manji had not yet had the time to fuse the Ryūchi Cave Sage Art with those of Mount Myōboku and the Monkey Demon.

Once the Ryūchi Cave Sage Art was activated, the Mount Myōboku Sage Art could not be used.

Once the Mount Myōboku Sage Art was reactivated, the Ryūchi Cave Sage Art could not be used.

This was a problem.

The two were like two tigers that could not share the same mountain.

Fortunately, Manji's control was strong; otherwise, these two streams of sage power would have already clashed.

"Are you leaving so soon? Won't you stay a little longer?"

"Brother Manji? If you leave, there will be no one left to keep me company..."

White Snake Sage clung to Manji's arm, looking pitiful.

"No, White Snake. We shall meet again if fate allows."

Manji smiled slightly and slowly pulled his arm away.

Watching White Snake Sage look at him with such tender affection, Manji thought to himself: Could this little white snake have fallen for me?

Over this past month, White Snake Sage had frequently come to talk to him. Perhaps because Ryūchi Cave was filled only with snakes, White Snake Sage had developed unusual feelings for him.

"Sigh, fine. If you're willing to come back, you must come see me."

A deep, thick disappointment flashed in the depths of White Snake Sage's eyes.

"Mm."

Manji smiled slightly, then slowly headed toward the main hall of Ryūchi Cave.

The White Snake Sage of the future likes me?

That's a bit too absurd.

Although they say women are like fine wine, getting more mellow with age, but with a snake... Xu Xian would have something to say about that...

Sigh, forget it. If the future White Snake Sage gets too old, Manji wouldn't mind stepping in to manage Ryūchi Cave.

An elder in the house is like a treasure, after all!

"Manji, your talent is unprecedented, and I fear it will never be surpassed."

Black Snake Sage looked at Manji in admiration, then immediately changed the subject: "Do you need to add icing to the cake and choose a snake from Ryūchi Cave to form a summoning contract?"

"Since the Sage has spoken..."

"Then I won't be polite..."

Manji naturally knew that Black Snake Sage wanted to bind him to Ryūchi Cave.

Since he was already learning Sage Mode, there was no need to refuse.

"Brother Manji! Choose me, choose me!"

Before Manji could speak, White Snake Sage raised her hand impatiently.

Looking at the young girl before him who wanted to sign a contract with him—

"You..."

Manji felt slightly helpless, but as it stood, the only named individual in Ryūchi Cave was the girl in front of him, White Snake Sage.

Garaga, Aoda, Manda, or even the Three Snake Princesses—none of them had been born yet.

"Is this allowed?"

Manji cast an inquiring look at Black Snake Sage.

After all, he was signing with the future master of Ryūchi Cave; he still needed to seek the opinion of the "current chairperson."

Black Snake Sage focused for a moment, pondered briefly, and then nodded: "It is."

"That's great! Brother Manji, if you have anything to do in the future, you can summon me! Of course, you can summon me even if you don't have anything to do, just to chat. I'm very bored all by myself in Ryūchi Cave..."

White Snake Sage said, looking at Manji playfully.

Manji couldn't help but feel conflicted; he had actually signed a contract with the future founder of Ryūchi Cave...

"There is one more thing I wish to ask. Could the Sage tell me the location of Shikkotsu Forest?"

Manji inquired.

Hearing this, Black Snake Sage was slightly stunned and asked: "Why do you ask that?"

"I want to learn the Sage Arts of Shikkotsu Forest."

Manji didn't hold back and said it directly.

"What!? Brother Manji, you want to go learn the Sage Arts of Shikkotsu Forest too?"

White Snake Sage widened her eyes, looking at Manji in astonishment.

Black Snake Sage trembled, unable to help but look at Manji with a strange gaze: "You have already mastered the arts of Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and the Monkey Demon clan. These alone are enough to make you invincible in the world; there is no need to go and learn from Shikkotsu Forest."

Manji shook his head: "The enemies outside are too strong; it's better to have more insurance."

Seeing this, Black Snake Sage didn't say anything more and nodded: "With such talent, it would indeed be a pity not to learn it."

With that, he tossed a scroll to Manji.

"This is the location of Shikkotsu Forest. Shikkotsu Forest is different from Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave. To be precise, Shikkotsu Forest only has one existence, and that is Slug Sage..."