Chapter 207: The Youth and the Snake

Zuo Zhicheng looked at the youth’s calm face and said lightly, “Then, I will take a piece of flesh from you. After that, I will give you one thousand coins. Is that okay?”

The youth nodded, a flicker of determination in his eyes. Suddenly, he said, “Sir, you are very powerful, right?”

“Hmm?” Zuo Zhicheng glanced at the youth on the operating table but did not respond to the question.

“I heard people in the manor say you are the Heavenly Serpent King, leader of the Four Kings, the strongest man in the entire Southern Bay.” The youth still mustered his courage and said, “Could you… make me stronger? I do not need the money. I can follow you. I will be very obedient.”

The corner of Zuo Zhicheng’s mouth lifted slightly. He saw a familiar light in the other’s eyes—the light of hatred. He remembered seeing too many such gazes on the battlefield in his previous life, all from children in their teens or twenties.

It seemed there was more to the story of this youth’s parents’ deaths, but Zuo Zhicheng did not care about that.

Infrared Vision opened, and he scanned the faint, almost extinguished Innate Primordial Breath in the youth’s body. After a moment of thought, Zuo Zhicheng said, “Wanting to become stronger… I can indeed give you a chance. But with your aptitude, you might die. Are you still willing?”

The youth swallowed hard. Though there was a hint of fear in his eyes, it was quickly overshadowed by hatred. “Even then, I will not regret it.”

Zuo Zhicheng sneered. “Fine, then. I can give you a chance. What is your name?”

“My name is Xu Hongfei.”

“Good, Xu Hongfei. I will now begin the surgery. After it is over, you will no longer be yourself. You will be my tool, my blade, the Jian in my hand.”

A mysterious light flashed in Zuo Zhicheng’s eyes. The next moment, anesthesia was injected into Xu Hongfei’s body, causing him to lose consciousness completely.

“But you will never be yourself again.”

…

He did not know how much time had passed—maybe a few hours, maybe a few days.

Xu Hongfei groggily opened his eyes; white light flickered before him.

A few minutes later, his mind fully awakened. Waves of weakness and soreness swept over his entire body, accompanied by severe dizziness and pain in his head.

Zuo Zhicheng’s voice sounded beside him. “You slept for too long. You will feel a bit dizzy. Get up and walk around; it will help.”

Xu Hongfei rubbed his head and slowly sat up. He realized he seemed to be in some sort of basement, with countless bright flames illuminating the entire space brightly.

He suddenly and instinctively touched the sole of his right foot. There seemed to be a wound there. Lifting his foot to look, he found that where the wound should have been, it had already healed completely—a fresh, red scar like a centipede lay there.

That was the location of the Life Grove, Earth Fiend. Xu Hongfei did not know what a Life Grove was. Looking at the wound, he only thought, “I do not remember having this before the surgery. Now that I am awake, the wound has already healed. It seems I really slept for a long time.”

Zuo Zhicheng’s cool voice came from afar. “Do not just stand there foolishly. You wanted to become stronger, right? Come here.”

Xu Hongfei slowly walked over and saw Zuo Zhicheng sitting in a wheelchair. In front of him was a mangled corpse.

Seeing the corpse, which had clearly endured some kind of torture, a wave of nausea rose in Xu Hongfei’s heart, but he forced himself not to vomit.

Zuo Zhicheng looked at Xu Hongfei’s pale face and nodded. “From now on, you will temporarily be my assistant. Wrap this corpse up.” Zuo Zhicheng pointed to a large sack on the ground, then pushed his wheelchair and turned to a desk on the other side.

Xu Hongfei stared at the increasingly disgusting corpse on the operating table, a strong sense of revulsion flashing in his eyes. But in the end, he stepped forward and began placing the corpse into the sack piece by piece.

Zuo Zhicheng glanced at him but did not look further. Instead, he began recording the recent experimental data from the documents on the desk. This was his practice of using death row prisoners for human body modification. Unfortunately, his experience in this area was too limited, and almost none of the prisoners survived.

As for the wheelchair beneath him, it was because he had transplanted Earth Fiend and was waiting for the Life Grove to fully adapt.

Unlike the previous transplant of Corpse Vein, this Earth Fiend had not undergone any prior cultivation or nurturing. Zuo Zhicheng’s own body still needed to refine it.

However, with Night Sea, which had already reached the Leakless Realm, his entire body was covered with the Life Grove’s tendrils. Therefore, the adaptation process for Earth Fiend would be quick. He estimated it would take about three more days.

By then, he would be able to use Earth Fiend to absorb and release the Primordial Magnetic Force. His body would become as light as a swallow; leaping dozens of meters, landing without a sound, and stepping on snow without leaving a trace would be effortless.

He would possess divine speed, greatly enhancing his mobility.

Suddenly, Xu Hongfei spoke up. “Sir… was this person… a bad person?”

A cold smile appeared on Zuo Zhicheng’s face. “Does that matter?”

“No… I just…” Xu Hongfei’s voice grew softer, as if he regretted asking.

“Just a death row prisoner. He was a lecherous thief who also had over a dozen lives on his hands.” Zuo Zhicheng said calmly, “I am not a good person, but I am not a indiscriminate maniac who harms ordinary people. I do not pursue evil for the sake of evil.”

“All experimental subjects are either death row prisoners who committed serious crimes or volunteers like you.”

“I am sorry, Sir. I spoke out of turn.” Xu Hongfei lowered his head and swiftly began packing the corpse.

Zuo Zhicheng did not say anything more. For him, that explanation was already an act of great mercy. After all, he needed people like Xu Hongfei—deadly assistants entirely trained by him. As long as they were obedient enough, he would let them practice Authentic Transmission Martial Arts and then transplant Life Groves into them.

That was better than handling everything himself.

For such people, besides having enough authority, it was important not to distance oneself too much, nor to let them see too clearly how cruel and cold you could be. That would only bring fear, not their full trust.

Letting them think you are cold and cruel but that you treat them as special—that made it easier to earn their trust.

After Xu Hongfei finished packing the corpse, Zuo Zhicheng pointed toward a corridor and said, “At the end of that corridor is the Snake Pit. Go in and throw the sack into the large hole there.”

“Yes.” Xu Hongfei nodded, carrying the sack toward the Snake Pit. But after only a few steps, he was panting heavily. His body was very weak, and he had slept for a long time, so naturally he could not carry it. In the end, he had to drag it along the ground.

After struggling to drag it dozens of meters through the corridor, a huge cavern appeared before Xu Hongfei. The opening led underground, dark and bottomless.

Hiss… hiss…

Suddenly, a pair of lantern-sized yellow vertical pupils appeared in the darkness, frightening Xu Hongfei so much that he fell to the ground. Zuo Zhicheng’s voice came from afar. “Just throw the sack in. Otherwise… it will eat you.”

Terrified, Xu Hongfei immediately pushed the sack into the hole. The pair of eyes lingered for a while before slowly retreating. From the pitch-black cavern came a strange swallowing sound.

The creature here was clearly the Underworld King Snake. Zuo Zhicheng had dug an opening for it, and now the Underworld King Snake had dug its own tunnel to come and go. All dead prisoners were used to feed it.

Besides convenience, he had discovered that after the Underworld King Snake ate the dead, it seemed to slightly enhance his Heartscape, Black Dread Prison.

Though the progress was extremely slow, it was better than wasting them.

Xu Hongfei, hearing the sounds from the darkness, was so scared his scalp tingled. He cried out in fear and quickly ran back to where Zuo Zhicheng was.

“Sir, what… what was that thing?”

There, Zuo Zhicheng acted as if nothing had happened and handed him a book.

“This is Authentic Transmission Martial Arts. Start practicing from the twenty-third form.”

“From today, until I confirm you are sufficiently qualified, you may not leave this underground space for even a moment—whether for eating, drinking, relieving yourself, or sleeping. I will show you where the food is and where you sleep and relieve yourself.”

“Any questions?”

Xu Hongfei stared intently at the booklet in his hands, his face showing a mix of sorrow and happiness.