Chapter 20: In the mountains there is no cyclical calendar; when the cold ends, one does not know the year

The inside of the cave was extremely dim, with no distinction of seasons, and even unaware of daybreak or nightfall.

In a meditative state, Ye Qin sealed off his five senses; changes in the outside world could not affect him unless he faced mortal danger, at which point he would awaken from meditation.

The surrounding scenery showed no change, as if it were a world unto itself, yet outside the seasons cycled endlessly.

As the weather gradually grew cold, the leaves turned from tender green to a deeper hue, then yellow, and finally drifted down slowly.

One falling leaf reveals the autumn of the world.

This mountain also welcomed its autumn; the maple leaves on the north side were completely red, covering hills and fields, reflecting the entire sky as if ablaze, looking magnificently splendid.

Branches bore abundant fruit; in the season of harvest, countless squirrels darted about, preparing for the coming winter, while many field mice and rabbits gathered the fallen fruit.

Time continued to fly by.

Until the cold wind howled, temperatures gradually dropped, traces of life on the ground grew scarce, and most creatures hid in their warm burrows, preparing to endure the long winter.

With the first snowfall, all fell silent; unnoticed, the earth was cloaked in white, as if renewed.

This year's winter seemed to arrive especially early; heaven and earth were blanketed in white snow, a desolate expanse, as if only this pure color remained.

And this was also Ye Qin's first winter after being reborn as the Snake Empress.

At this point, less than two years remained of its lifespan.

"Bang!"

However, when a gunshot rang out, it was especially conspicuous in the silent mountains, foretelling that this winter would not be peaceful.

In the mountains there is no cyclical calendar; when the cold ends, one does not know the year.

When the second heavy snow fell, Ye Qin finally opened his eyes; a faint glimmer flickered in his serpent pupils, and his entire aura shifted.

If before he had been somewhat restless, now he had settled down.

Like a raw jade continually polished and carved, it finally emitted its own unique radiance.

Perhaps this light is not yet strong, but it grows steadily in its own way; whether it will one day rival the sun and moon remains unknown.

Winter is naturally the season for serpent hibernation; moreover, Ye Qin had been immersed in contemplation, and only now did he awaken.

He crawled down from the white bone, stretched lazily, exerting himself to extend his body, as if he had just woken from a long sleep or taken a nap.

He felt no fatigue; instead, his spirit was full.

As his serpent body shifted, it seemed something fell away, producing a soft rustling.

"Huh?"

Ye Qin felt somewhat puzzled; his gaze fell to the ground, and he discovered that everything that had dropped was charred black scales.

He quickly raised his tail, looking somewhat surprised; his serpent body had grown considerably longer—before he could see the tip at a glance, now he could only see its winding form, estimating it to be over a meter long.

Most importantly, new scales had grown on one‑third of his body, a jade‑green hue full of vitality, forming a stark contrast with the black scales on the rest.

This bold black‑green coloration, even among serpents, is a trend‑setting presence.

"Although not handsome, it's not ugly either; it's quite distinctive, just a bit non‑mainstream."

Ye Qin couldn't help commenting; he now only hopes the scales on his other parts will grow quickly, and if this trend continues, they should be done soon.

This is in his own eyes, having grown accustomed to his serpent form, inevitably adding a few filters.

To an ordinary person, such a long snake with black‑green patterned markings would still look somewhat ferocious and terrifying.

"The White Bone Contemplation cultivation method should already be complete; we can enter the second stage."

His object of contemplation can now be said to be vividly lifelike, indistinguishable from reality, having reached the point of falsehood masquerading as truth.

While immersed in contemplation, Ye Qin could not even tell how to distinguish the illusory white bone from the real one.

"Gurgle——"

His stomach kept protesting.

Earlier, due to excitement and having just awakened from meditation, Ye Qin felt no hunger; now, calming down, he only felt his intestines twisting, his stomach burning as if on fire.

"I'm so hungry; I don't even know how long it's been—is the New Year coming soon?"

Ye Qin crawled out of the cave, intending to go outside to find something to eat, when a cold wind blew straight at him.

Heaven and earth were clad in silver and white; wherever one looked, all was pure white.

The single color was even somewhat glaring; not far off, the great trees had their branches bent under the weight, swaying on the verge of collapse, making it impossible to see their former lush foliage.

Icy snowflakes drifted down, landing precisely on Ye Qin's forehead, imparting a cool sensation that brought him back to himself.

"How did it become winter already!"

Ye Qin stared, dumbfounded; he clearly remembered that when he first entered meditation, it had been summer, yet upon opening his eyes it was already winter!

He thought he had meditated at most ten days or half a month; who would have imagined that so much time had passed!

No wonder his stomach was so hungry.

If it weren't for Ye Qin's cultivation, with true qi within his body, an ordinary snake that ate and drank nothing would likely have already turned into dried snake husk by now.

The white snow stretched far and wide, with hardly any trace of small animals.

After several days of snowfall, a thick layer had accumulated on the ground; Ye Qin's whole serpent body was nearly buried by the heavy snow, but fortunately his luck was good and he found a mouse hole.

Only the unfortunate mouse family was directly taken by Ye Qin.

Whether it was from extreme hunger or not, everything tasted fragrant; the mouse meat actually gave the sensation of barbecued chicken.

Compared to his former appetite, Ye Qin might have been full already; but for his now‑enlarged stomach, it was merely a bare minimum, and though the burning hunger feeling lessened, it was still far from enough.

He continued crawling, unaware of a steep slope ahead, because the thick snow had buried the original gradient, making it look like flat ground.

When Ye Qin crawled over, the snow suddenly gave way, like a pavilion in mid‑air, instantly collapsing; by the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

Due to inertia, the entire serpent slid straight down the slope, with no nearby branches or objects to grab onto.

"Oh no, this is going to be troublesome."

Ye Qin remembered that this place had been a steep slope before, but the heavy snow had altered the terrain, causing him to overlook it.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, Ye Qin fell heavily to the ground, hitting several branches along the way, but the expected pain did not come.

It feels like there's no sensation.

Ye Qin checked himself; he didn't even leave a white mark on his body, completely beyond his expectation, as if he had just rolled on flat ground.

He looked up at the steep slope; the drop was still considerable—if any other animal had accidentally fallen, they might not die but would be crippled.

Yet he was like an unharmed snake.

It seems that this closed-door cultivation, constantly contemplating the White Bone, has caused a qualitative change in my physique, making my bones and flesh stronger. White Bone Contemplation, indeed formidable!

Ye Qin was delighted; he never expected White Bone Contemplation to bring him such a great change.

When he first created the Contemplation Method, he chose to contemplate the ancient white bones, and he noticed his body continually growing stronger with the contemplation—this is also the repaying effect of contemplating the white bones.

And now, after closing himself off for a long two seasons, his physical body seems to have become strong to a certain extent, fully manifesting the White Bone Contemplation method!

And since his physical body is strong, does that also mean his strength has increased?

Looking at the small tree beside him, over half a person tall and as thick as an arm, Ye Qin was eager to try.

His tail whipped straight up.

Crack—

The whole tree was snapped at the waist, all the snow on it fell down, covering Ye Qin entirely, instantly forming a small snow pile.

Soon, a pointed snake head emerged from the snow pile; Ye Qin spat out a lot of snow scraps, hastily pulled his body out, and looked at the fallen tree beside him.

Nice fellow, the power of my tail is pretty fierce.

(End of chapter)