The blunt appraisal shattered the last vestige of composure on Tagorihime's face.
As a veteran sage snake of Ryūchi Cave who had received enlightenment from the White Snake Sage and cultivated for a thousand years, she had always prided herself on her bearing and appearance. Humans who wandered into this place usually revered her and made offerings to her; never had anyone so bluntly scorned her ugly form.
Even as a nonhuman creature, her fixation on appearance and dignity ran deep.
"Insolence!"
Her low rebuke echoed through the cavern, her voice stripped entirely of its earlier ethereal gentleness, leaving only a cold, piercing edge.
Tagorihime's cheeks tightened slightly. Two slender, sharp, snow-white fangs emerged between her lips, glinting coldly, and the natural energy surrounding her instantly surged into a frenzy.
The pale blue natural energy was dense and concentrated, carrying the chill unique to Ryūchi Cave as it enveloped the entire cavern.
"An insignificant human dares to pass judgment on a sage!!!!?"
Tagorihime's eyes turned ice-cold, her fury rising.
"In the name of the first trial, I pronounce judgment. Your words today were insolent and contemptuous of a sage. For this first trial of entry into Ryūchi Cave, I declare that you have utterly failed! And those who fail... become food!!"
The instant her words fell, a dense chorus of scraping snake scales rose from the dark depths of the cavern.
Rustle-!
Countless massive pythons shot out from cracks in the rock walls and dark corners, their bodies coiling around the walls and across the passage in a densely packed mass.
At the same time, Tagorihime swept her sleeve sharply.
With a hum, the spatial structure of the entire cavern was forcibly rewritten.
"Sage Art: Earth Vein Maze!"
In an instant, the straight, unobstructed cavern passage visibly bent, intersected, and