Chapter 5: Can You Do Something Fancy When You Encounter an Animal Asking for a Mouth Seal?

The moment their gazes met, Feng Xue froze; those tiny, bean-like eyes reflected sunlight naturally, yet radiated an inexplicable liveliness.

Feng Xue didn't understand snakes much, and since Bai She only appeared as a rare mutated or albino variant, he couldn't even tell if it was venomous—and as for his phone… he had to consider whether reaching for it might be perceived as a threat.

Although theoretically, a one-foot-long snake wouldn't target humans, this was an aberrant species with eight hundred years of lifespan left—who knew if it had some carnivorous cultivation ability?

Thinking of this, Feng Xue activated the over-the-shoulder view and double-checked the lock on his own lifespan, hoping it would give him more confidence.

Seeing Feng Xue remain motionless for so long, Bai She surprisingly curled the tip of her tail to scratch her head, then, as if remembering something, transformed into a flash of white light and vanished from sight.

"???"

Feng Xue, unable to comprehend Bai She's logic, was momentarily at a loss—but at the same time, he couldn't help exhaling in relief that no danger had occurred.

"Cheer up—this at least proves that creatures with absurdly long lifespans truly exist in this world."

Feng Xue comforted himself, recalled his drone, and decisively abandoned further searching in the mountains.

He was just an ordinary person; though he had supernatural abilities, they offered no help in combat. Knowing that a suspected demon with centuries of lifespan existed was enough. As for the rest—let alone whether he could handle a centuries-old demon, even if he somehow captured or killed it using weaknesses, he had no means to utilize it.

With his drone and his supernatural ability named 【Gazing at Lifespan】, finding demons didn't seem difficult; by contrast, he really needed to enter human society first and seek ways to exploit demons.

Generally speaking, at this point one should consider plants—perhaps stumbling upon a thousand-year red fruit or ten-thousand-year ginseng—but the problem was, his 【Gazing at Lifespan】 showed "theoretical remaining lifespan," not "age." Animals rarely exceed a hundred years; any exceptional case was easy to spot. But plants… their lifespans stretched into six digits before his eyes, making it nearly impossible to find the special one.

Even if he somehow lucked into a heavenly treasure, he wouldn't dare eat it raw without knowing proper combinations. And besides, heavenly treasures were often guarded by aberrant beasts—he was immortal once his lifespan was locked, but injuries, disabilities, and ailments could still happen!

With these countless dilemmas weighing on him, Feng Xue maintained 【Gazing at Lifespan】 and walked steadily down the mountain.

"Sssshhh…"

A sudden rustling of leaves echoed, accompanied by a six-digit lifespan appearing on his screen—Feng Xue spun around, and the white figure emerged again from the grass.

But now, the snake's tail was wrapped in leaves and weeds—the strange rustling had come from these "burdens."

Seeing Feng Xue stop, the little white snake quickly whipped her tail, beginning to adorn herself: a small flower crookedly perched atop her head, her body coiled with grass and leaves into a pagoda-like shape, resembling a straw cloak, while the tip of her exposed tail curled around a twig, its broad leaf held upright like an umbrella—utterly adorable, like a creature from a fairy tale.

"What is this?"

Feng Xue was bewildered by the snake's bizarre behavior; whether it was an illusion or not, he thought he saw a hint of anticipation in those bean-like eyes.

As an insider (meaning a web novel writer), Feng Xue's mind held vast amounts of data; as he repeatedly reviewed topics related to demons and spirit beasts, a possibility suddenly surfaced in his mind.

For the nth time glancing at the lock above his head, Feng Xue finally decided to take a gamble—he took a deep breath and blurted out in rapid-fire rhythm:

"You're a 168cm-tall, slim-waisted, long-legged, jet-black straight-haired, oval-faced, breathtakingly beautiful, tear-mole-bearing, chuunibyou, wickedly charming-eyed, cold-outside-warm-inside, occasionally sarcastic, cello-playing, deeply-in-love-with-me, high-transparency black silk qipao-wearing high school girl!"

No sooner had the words left his lips than a cloud of white mist rose—and next, a figure burst from it. Feng Xue felt his collar tighten, then saw a face that perfectly matched his xp system staring him dead in the eye, her beautiful features flushed crimson, eyes blazing with murderous intent—

"Are you insane? Who taught you to do that kind of mouth-seal? Don't you realize I might be male? Ugh! Even if I were female, you still shouldn't seal me like that!"

"Ah, so personality and clothing can't be sealed?" Feng Xue sighed in disappointment, staring at the plain long robe she wore. The transformed snake demon widened her eyes:

"Is that the point?!"

"Oh, so you're going to kill me out of rage? Then can you make it quick? By the way, do you need my heart's blood for cultivation? Or do you prefer swallowing me whole?"

Seeing his plan to casually acquire a demon-immortal's "assistance in cultivation" fail, Feng Xue remained calm and deliberately goaded her into killing him outright.

The snake demon froze, then roared:

"What do you think I am? I'm aiming for true enlightenment!"

"Ah yes, yes, yes—then, esteemed Snake Demon Lady aiming for true enlightenment, could you please put me down? Or just give me a quick death?" Feng Xue spoke as if he only wished for immediate death, yet activated the over-the-shoulder view again.

He'd checked it countless times, but he still couldn't resist another glance.

But this time, he noticed a change.

It wasn't that the number above his head had changed—it was that he now saw, on the snake demon's forehead, another line of small text alongside her six-digit lifespan:

【Under Mouth Seal】

As his focus sharpened, the details unfolded:

【After being described in detail by a human, the subject transforms into the described form. If described as human, it gains 【Digestion of the Tongue Bone】, 【Speech】, and 【Talent Enhancement】 based on its original cultivation level, completing its transformation. If described with malicious intent as a degrading form, it loses cultivation.】

"Ah?" Feng Xue stared at the golden lock icon before 【Under Mouth Seal】, utterly stunned. Recalling the 【Lucky Break】 above his own head, he suddenly realized—his divine ability… might not be as simple as he thought?

"So, only supernatural events I've personally experienced or witnessed directly can generate such terms? Then why didn't I get a 【Nine Lotus Lamp】 term after my Nine Lotus Lifespan restoration? Was it because it was inevitable, so no lock was needed? Or is the baseline for the Nine Lotus lifespan reduction not the person whose lifespan was cut? Or did I cheat at mahjong?"

Feng Xue's mind was in chaos. Seeing the snake demon also appear conflicted, he decided to go all in—he focused his attention directly on the lock before 【Under Mouth Seal】.

Click!

Though no sound was made, after this auditory hallucination, the lock snapped shut. Feng Xue didn't hesitate—he shouted:

"You're a one-inch-long white snake!"

"Boom!"

White mist rose again—and there, dangling upside-down from his chest, was a tiny white snake, only an inch long, its tail still hooked around his collar, utterly bewildered…

Regarding cheating at mahjong: to achieve a pure Nine Lotus Lamp, you can only avoid being robbed by seeing others' tiles—you still rely on the dealer's luck. Whether you succeed depends entirely on the card-dealing goddess.

In truth, a pure Nine Lotus Lamp cannot take any tile from others; every tile must be drawn by yourself. The protagonist only has a god's-eye view—he can see all four players' hands. Avoiding being robbed and ensuring a win is possible, but he cannot guarantee he'll ever win a single hand in nine years.

For those unfamiliar with mahjong: a pure Nine Lotus Lamp is a hand where all tiles are of the same suit, with three 1s and three 9s, and one each of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. This hand can win with any tile of that suit—1 through 9—making it the second-most difficult hand to complete, after the Thirteen Orphans. Even in films, only cheaters or those with supernatural powers can achieve it, and even then, only under strict conditions.

For example, the Eternal Illumination of Tianma Palace must ascend the Heavenly Ladder (accumulating luck by winning small hands), while the one from Tianhe Street, Yan Gui Chao, cuts power lines to swap tiles (laugh).

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(End of Chapter)