Chapter 179: Training

The Underworld King Snake had crawled behind them at some unknown time. Its huge head lifted high, and the forked tongue in its mouth kept flicking in and out, making a hissing sound.

Its yellow vertical pupils stared fixedly at the two women, making them break out in a cold sweat, too terrified to move a muscle.

Even Han Saier’s teeth chattered uncontrollably from fear. This was the instinctual dread that humans, especially women, felt toward such a giant serpent monster.

But just when Han Saier and Lin Yuexi were almost scared out of their wits, a stone suddenly flew through the air and smacked the Underworld King Snake on the nose with a sharp crack.

The Underworld King Snake’s head jerked back, and it let out a threatening, low growl.

“Step back.” Zuo Zhicheng slowly emerged from the woods. He tossed a mangled, bloody corpse in front of the Underworld King Snake. “You can’t eat these two women. Eat all these corpses instead.”

The Underworld King Snake naturally couldn’t understand Zuo Zhicheng’s words, but there was clear fear in its eyes as it looked at him. After several rounds of testing each other, the Underworld King Snake ultimately couldn’t resist its innate bloodlust. It opened its mouth and swallowed the corpse in one gulp.

When it slithered forward to swallow another corpse, Zuo Zhicheng slapped it on the head. Although his strength was no match for the snake’s, it still recoiled several meters. The chill contained in that slap left it unsettled.

“You eat only when I say you can eat.” As Zuo Zhicheng spoke, he threw another corpse in front of the Underworld King Snake.

Han Saier, watching from the side, was now filled with shock and fear. “You want to train this monster?”

Zuo Zhicheng didn’t turn around. He kept most of his attention on the Underworld King Snake and replied casually, “Yes.”

In fact, he had originally intended to kill the Underworld King Snake. But during their final confrontation, he sensed a willingness to surrender from the snake. Perhaps due to its long lifespan or its unique form, Zuo Zhicheng tested it and found that it possessed a certain level of intelligence.

So, he developed the idea of training it and turning it into his pet. After all, with the grove of Psychic Energy Fruit, he wasn’t short on Spiritual Energy Food for the time being. If he could successfully train the Underworld King Snake, it would greatly enhance his own strength.

However, a snake’s nature was fundamentally different from that of lions, tigers, cats, or dogs. Whether it could actually be trained was uncertain. If it proved impossible, he would have no choice but to kill it or lock it away.

Watching the Underworld King Snake devour the corpses on the ground one by one under Zuo Zhicheng’s supervision, Han Saier and Lin Yuexi felt a deep chill. Even though these Dìyù Gate members had been their enemies moments before, seeing them end up in a snake’s belly evoked a sense of sorrow for their fellow humans.

Finally, Han Saier gathered her courage and asked, “Mr. Zuo Zhicheng, are you sure this big snake isn’t dangerous?”

“Don’t worry. A full stomach makes it less dangerous.”

No matter how unique the Underworld King Snake was, it was still an animal. Zuo Zhicheng knew that feeding was crucial when taming such a dangerous creature.

But he was still thinking about how exactly to train the Underworld King Snake. Firstly, snakes couldn’t hear vibrations in the air; they could only sense vibrations through the ground. That meant it couldn’t hear human speech but could perceive footsteps.

Secondly, their eyesight was very poor, and they saw the outside world as a blur.

However, Zuo Zhicheng needed to test the specific traits of the Underworld King Snake to understand it better.

Just as the Underworld King Snake finished swallowing one corpse, Zuo Zhicheng’s body suddenly shook violently, emitting intense tremors. If one had Spiritual Energy Vision, they would sense that his movement was like a fireball suddenly expanding, with threads of flame soaring into the sky.

In that instant, Zuo Zhicheng had released a large amount of thermal energy through his muscles.

The Underworld King Snake seemed to sense something too. It suddenly raised its head and looked warily in Zuo Zhicheng’s direction.

‘Its ability to perceive heat changes is quite good.’ During their first battle and the recent fight where he defeated the Underworld King Snake, Zuo Zhicheng had vaguely realized that the serpent likely possessed an organ similar to a heat-sensing pit.

Heat-sensing pits were a unique organ of pit vipers, highly sensitive to infrared rays as fine as 0.01 millimeters. This allowed them to locate prey through body heat.

However, the Underworld King Snake’s heat-sensing organ was clearly more complex and superior to ordinary heat-sensing pits.

Zuo Zhicheng experimented by flexing the muscles in his right hand slightly. As he released a trace of heat, he kicked another corpse toward the Underworld King Snake.

The Underworld King Snake hesitated for a moment but ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation of food. It swallowed the corpse in one bite.

Zuo Zhicheng attempted to use changes in his body’s heat to form various commands to direct the Underworld King Snake. But this depended on the snake’s memory capacity and its ability to perceive heat.

Many snakes had very weak memories, only able to recall events for a short time. However, the Underworld King Snake’s brain was clearly more developed; otherwise, it wouldn’t possess even basic intelligence.

Next, Zuo Zhicheng made sure to release the same thermal signal each time he offered food. This was only possible because he had achieved the Grand Completion of Qi Training, possessed high Physique Strength, and had precise control over his body.

What he needed to do next was to associate the thermal signals from his body with the snake’s actions, turning them into instinct for the Underworld King Snake.

He tossed another corpse in front of the Underworld King Snake, but this time, he didn’t emit the thermal signal.

Just as the Underworld King Snake moved to swallow the corpse, Zuo Zhicheng took a swift step forward. His figure flashed as he slapped the snake’s head, then immediately stepped back.

The entire sequence was so fast that it seemed as if he hadn’t moved at all.

The Underworld King Snake let out a low growl, looking both wary and aggrieved as it stared at Zuo Zhicheng.

It was confused in its mind. Didn’t you throw this to me for me to eat?

What Zuo Zhicheng wanted to teach it was that it could eat only when the thermal signal was given.

The initial training proceeded bit by bit in silence. Half an hour later, after the Underworld King Snake had finished devouring the dozens of corpses scattered around, it obeyed Zuo Zhicheng’s commands about nine times out of ten.

‘Its level of intelligence is decent, but it still requires extensive training.’ Zuo Zhicheng patted the Underworld King Snake’s head, much like he would pet a small dog.

The Underworld King Snake itself seemed drowsy. It had just eaten its fill, and since it was winter, its snake instincts urged it to sleep immediately.

But with Zuo Zhicheng watching, it wasn’t allowed to do so. The Underworld King Snake’s Physique Strength was more than sufficient to withstand the winter cold; it was merely its snake nature that made it prefer hibernation.

After patting the Underworld King Snake’s body, Zuo Zhicheng turned to look at Han Saier and Lin Yuexi. The two women were shivering from the cold, their lips slightly blue, but they hadn’t dared to disturb Zuo Zhicheng.

Now, seeing Zuo Zhicheng look their way, they trembled involuntarily, especially Han Saier, who let out a sharp gasp as if afraid Zuo Zhicheng would feed them to the snake.

The moment the gasp escaped, Han Saier covered her mouth in embarrassment and asked, “Mr. Zuo, do you have any instructions for us?”

“Have you rested enough? Can you walk on your own?” Zuo Zhicheng thought for a moment and said, “Never mind, you two are too slow. I’ll carry you on my back.”