Ning Xue remained silent, and Orochimaru also lost interest in chatting.
"Sa, Menghulu, let me see how much you weigh."
The moment he finished speaking, he lay prone on the ground, his head pointed at Ning Xue, and his mouth slowly opened.
Then, snakes swarmed out.
First one, then two, four, ten, hundreds, thousands.
Countless snakes spewed out from Orochimaru's mouth, densely packed and overwhelming, spreading in all directions like a black tide.
The snakes vary in size, some are as thick as an adult's arm, while others are as slender as tree branches.
In the dense group of snakes, those cold vertical pupils stared at Ning Xue.
"Myriad Serpent Array."
The group of snakes rolled forward and surged forward at extremely fast speeds.
What's even weirder is that while each snake is squirming, a sharp blade is slowly spit out from its mouth.
That is a replica of Kusanagi Sword. Although it is not as sharp as the real thing, the quantity is enough to make up for the quality gap.
Countless snakes and countless swords dragged deep scratches on the ground.
The hissing sounds gathered into a suffocating buzz, sweeping towards Ning Xue.
The snake tide was a hundred meters wide, spreading out from left to right, and its speed was so fast that it almost blocked all escape routes.
Ning Xue Without hesitation, he exerted force on his feet and jumped back. The moment his body was in the air, his hands had already completed Hand Seals.
"Water Release, Water Wave."
A 100-meter-wide wave spewed out from his mouth, rushing towards the surging snakes like a flood that broke a bank.
The moment the water flow collided with the snakes, a dull impact sound was made.
The snakes were rolled backwards by the current, some were dispersed, some were swept under the water, and some tried to swim upstream by biting Kusanagi Sword, but in the end they could not withstand the force of the current.
But Ning Xue did not stop. While he continued to output Water Release, his gestures changed slightly.
Fine ice crystals began to appear in the water flow. Those ice crystals spread and condensed at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning the originally flowing water into a huge block of solid ice.
"Zizi--"
The ice spread rapidly among the snakes, freezing the struggling snakes one by one in the ice.
Their bodies froze, and their open mouths, spitting swords, and twisted postures were all frozen in that weird moment.
Although the scope of the ninjutsu was large, there were still a few snakes that managed to escape before the ice spread.
They crawled out from the edge of the ice, twisted their bodies and rushed towards Ning Xue.
But as soon as they crawled to Ning Xue's feet, before they could even open their mouths, their heads were crushed by his precise kick.
After struggling for a few times, the snake slowly lost its voice, leaving only a pool of thick blood at Ning Xue's feet.
Orochimaru stood behind the snake group, looking at the frozen snake tide, and raised his eyebrows.
"Just freezing it won't do it."
There was a hint of ridicule in his voice, as if he was reminding a student who had only done half of the problem.
Ning Xue has no answer.
He just raised his hand and opened a hair-thin gap among the snakes frozen by the ice.
The opening extends deep into the ice, and through the cracked gap, one can clearly see the scene inside the ice.
In the cross section of the ice, the flesh and blood of the snakes could be faintly seen, as if they had been cut by something sharp.
To freeze is to kill.
This is Ning Xue's answer.
Orochimaru looked at the scene exposed in the crack, the smile on his face did not change, but his golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly, as if he was re-examining the silent white-haired boy in front of him.
"Good control skills."
He said softly and still stood there with his arms crossed, not moving.
Ning Xue didn't move either.
The two faced each other.
The wind blew, picking up dust and ice chips on the ground, drawing an invisible line between them.
Then, without warning, Ning Xue moved.
He did not rush forward or retreat, but suddenly raised his right arm and slashed the Ice Blade condensed in his hand towards the ground under his feet.
"Qiang--!!"
Ice Blade collided with metal and sparks flew everywhere.
The moment Ice Blade fell, the ground beneath his feet suddenly bulged, and a figure emerged from the soil.
That is still Orochimaru.
No, or rather, it's another Orochimaru.
His body emerged from the ground, and his head emerged almost from the soles of Ning Xue's feet. The mouth had been opened to the limit, and a sharp sword tip could be vaguely seen extending outwards.
Kusanagi Sword.
Orochimaru obviously has no intention of relying solely on snakes to resolve the battle.
While Myriad Serpent Array was attracting Ning Xue's attention, he had already sneaked around Ning Xue's feet through the soil, preparing to launch a fatal blow from below.
And Ning Xue's Byakugan makes all this invisible.
Orochimaru's head continued to rush upwards, the Kusanagi Sword in his mouth had been fully extended, and the tip of the sword pierced Ning Xue's neck, trying to kill him with one blow.
But Ning Xue's Ice Blade was already waiting there, accurately blocking the tip of Kusanagi Sword's sword.
"Ding."
The crisp sound of metal collision echoed in the open area.
Orochimaru saw that the attack missed and was not interested in fighting, so he immediately changed his strategy.
His head flicked violently, Kusanagi Sword slid away from Ice Blade, and then his whole body emerged completely from the ground. His body turned around in the air and landed on the ground.
Ning Xue took a few steps back, distanced himself, held Ice Blade tightly, and looked at him coldly.
Orochimaru stood firm and looked down at his shoulder.
There was a shallow wound there, which was scratched by Ice Blade's remaining blow just now.
The wound was not deep and only a little blood seeped out, but it was enough to make Orochimaru look sideways.
"What a keen intuition."
Orochimaru raised his head, looked at Ning Xue, stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, his golden vertical pupils full of excitement.
"Or can you see through my actions?"
Ning Xue still has no answer.
He just silently placed Ice Blade in front of him in a defensive posture.
Orochimaru tilted his head, looked at him, and suddenly smiled.
"Don't talk? It doesn't matter."
He took a step forward, and the ground beneath his feet cracked under his footsteps, and gravel bounced around.
"It's the same thing after I knock you down and study it slowly."
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure disappeared from the spot.
Ning Xue's pupils shrank and he instinctively dodge sideways.
The next second, the figure of Orochimaru appeared beside him. With the five fingers of his right hand together, he used Supermodel Viltrum Hand Chop and stabbed his throat.
Ning Xue turned his head to avoid it, then swung the blade with his backhand to slash Orochimaru's wrist.
Orochimaru stopped his hand, turned sharply, swept his leg, and kicked Ning Xue in the waist and abdomen.
Ning Xue gathered Ice Armor to resist, and took the kick forcefully.
"Bang!"
A dull impact sounded, and Ning Xue was swept several meters sideways by this leg. Ice Armor shattered into countless pieces.
Orochimaru didn't give him a chance to breathe. He stretched his hands and wrapped them around like snakes, trying to tie Ning Xue's arms.
Ning Xue leaned back, and Ice Blade drew an arc in front of him, forcing Orochimaru's hands back.
The two exchanged more than ten moves in just a few seconds, but neither one took advantage.
"Bang!"
There was another collision, and the two of them retreated at the same time.
Ning Xue steadied his body and glanced down at his right hand.
I saw that the tiger's mouth had cracked open, and blood was slowly dripping down the handle of Ice Blade.
Orochimaru stood opposite, moving his slightly red fingers, with that chilling smile still on his face.
"Your Taijutsu doesn't look like Mist Village."
"It's a bit... like Konoha?"
Ning Xue didn't answer, but silently moved Ice Blade to his left hand and shook off the blood on his right hand.
Orochimaru's eyes fell on his changing hands and he raised his eyebrows.
"Can you also use your left hand?"
Ning Xue still has no answer.
He just held Ice Blade tightly, and his pure Byakugan eyes revealed from behind the mask were as calm as water.
Orochimaru looked at him and suddenly smiled.
"Interesting."
Like a magician performing a swallowing sword show, he slowly took out Kusanagi Sword stained with his own saliva from his mouth, pointed the tip of the sword directly at Ning Xue, and said.
"Let me learn from you. Is your left hand better or your right hand better?"