The Rat Cultivator

Chapter 170: Variant Spirit Snake

Before long, the Fleshy Crest Snake King’s bloated silhouette appeared at the entrance of the ore vein cavern.

He struggled violently, his grossly swollen belly wedged tight against the rock walls. He writhed and twisted, hissing in exertion as he fought to force his gelatinous bulk through the narrow opening. Every inch of progress seemed to require monumental effort.

Panting heavily, he finally popped through the gap, spilling onto the cavern floor in a heap of exhausted scales.

Wu Yuan watched the pathetic display with deadpan silence. He mentally noted that a demon beast of the Snake King’s caliber should not be winded by a minor crawl. It was a glaring testament to the Snake King’s utter degradation; he was a lazy, gluttonous addict whose entire existence now revolved around his next chemical fix.

The Snake King laid on the floor, gasping for air. As he tried to steady himself, his eyes darted upward, catching sight of his massive, distant relative—the Black Water Flood Dragon Snake—still strung up and being harvested alive.

The Snake King audibly gulped. He swiftly plastered a sycophantic, fawning smile across his face.

“Congratulations, Great King, on your glorious conquest of Polong Lake!” he groveled. “This lowly snake has brought specialized tribute for Your Majesty!”

“These are elite specimens, painstakingly crossbred from my finest stock! I personally oversaw their diet, feeding them only the sweetest spring water and Spiritual Qi-infused rice. Their meat is extraordinarily tender and bursting with pure energy—the perfect delicacy for Your Majesty’s refined palate!”

He puffed his chest, jittery with pride. “Most importantly, every single one possesses a trace of true dragon blood! Only a delicacy of this caliber is fit for the Rat King!”

As he spoke, a specialized squad of rat demons marched into the cavern in perfect unison. They carried several thick bamboo poles on their shoulders. The poles were as thick as an adult man’s arm, their surfaces polished to a mirror finish and radiating a soft, ambient spiritual light.

Wu Yuan arched an eyebrow. “You cultivate your livestock inside bamboo?”

The Snake King eagerly nodded, eager to please. “Great King, I dare say no demon in this realm understands snake husbandry better than I do!”

“I sifted through tens of millions of serpents in Snake Valley to find the perfect genetic base. By combining them with the Blood Essence you so graciously provided, I induced a draconic mutation. Out of countless generations, only two viable breeding pairs emerged.”

“I aggressively interbred them,” he continued rapidly, his eyes wide. “The moment the hatchlings are born, they are sealed inside these specialized bamboo tubes. They are fed an exclusive diet of spirit spring water and botanical essence. The goal is to entirely suppress their feral demon nature and cultivate pure spirituality. The exact moment they Awaken their latent dragon blood, they are ripe for harvesting.”

“If harvested too early, the bloodline is inert. If harvested too late, their feral instincts awaken, polluting the meat with violent energy and ruining the entire crop.”

Wu Yuan’s scientific curiosity was piqued. He stepped down from his platform, approaching the rat squad. He took one of the bamboo poles, inspecting it closely.

Intricate, naturally occurring spirit patterns spiraled up the surface of the bamboo. Though fragmented and incomplete, the patterns vaguely resembled the coils of a dormant dragon.

Fascinating, Wu Yuan mused. I have never encountered biological spirit patterns mirroring a draconic form before. They seem intrinsically linked to the dragon aura within. I must extract and analyze this later.

Using a single claw, Wu Yuan precisely drilled a small hole into the bamboo, careful not to damage the structural integrity of the spirit patterns. He tapped the wood lightly.

A tiny spirit snake, no thicker than his thumb, poked its head out of the hole.

Its scales were translucent, smooth as polished jade, and emitted a soft, internal luminescence. A faint, rosy hue pulsed beneath its skin, like the glow of a setting sun. Its head was perfectly round, and its large, pitch-black eyes blinked innocently at Wu Yuan, radiating pure, untainted curiosity.

This was the first time the creature had seen anything outside its dark bamboo prison. Utterly fearless of the towering Rat King, it flicked its tongue, let out a soft hiss, and slithered directly onto Wu Yuan’s outstretched claw.

Wu Yuan observed it with clinical detachment.

Suddenly, the tiny snake seemed to yawn. Its jaws unhinged, revealing two needle-like fangs.

In a flash of blinding speed that left the Fleshy Crest Snake King paralyzed with horror, the tiny snake lunged straight for Wu Yuan’s face.

But to Wu Yuan’s hyper-tuned demonic senses, the attack was laughably slow. He casually pinched two fingers together, plucking the serpent out of the air.

The spirit snake thrashed wildly, wrapping its tiny body around Wu Yuan’s finger like a twisted cord. Realizing it couldn’t break his grip, it opened its jaws and bit down with all its might on Wu Yuan’s skin.

SNAP.

Wu Yuan’s flesh was tempered like Geng Gold. The tiny snake’s fangs shattered instantly upon impact.

Tears immediately welled up in the creature’s pitch-black eyes. It stared up at Wu Yuan pitifully, emitting soft, high-pitched whimpers as if begging for its life.

Wu Yuan glanced at the terrified Snake King and chuckled darkly. “A true draconic lineage. Even a mind this blank cannot suppress its innate violent nature.”

Seeing that the Rat King wasn’t offended, the Snake King exhaled a massive sigh of relief. He scratched his head awkwardly. “It seems my methodology requires further refinement! I had no idea the specimen was so aggressive. I was solely focused on the genetic yield; this is the first time I’ve actually unsealed one.”

Wu Yuan looked back at the toothless little snake, which was still stubbornly trying to gnaw on his impenetrable finger. The corner of his mouth twitched in a faint smile. He tossed the creature into his mouth and bit down.

Instantly, a concentrated burst of pure blood energy detonated across his palate.

It was vastly different from the dense, heavy energy of the Blood Jade Mulberry. This energy was vibrant, hyper-active, and thrumming with intense spirituality. It sent a jolt of euphoria through his system; his very flesh seemed to sing.

However, it was also violently aggressive. Like a territorial predator invading a new domain, the tiny speck of dragon blood attempted to hijack Wu Yuan’s internal energy network and dominate his physical form.

It was a futile effort. Wu Yuan’s cultivation was a roaring ocean; he effortlessly crushed the tiny, arrogant spark of draconic will, brutally assimilating the pure energy into his own reserves.

He swallowed, his mind racing. He looked down at the sycophantic Snake King.

“Your methodology is sound,” Wu Yuan stated clinically. “The aggression is a foundational genetic trait of the dragon bloodline. It cannot be bred out. It is hardcoded into their DNA.”

But internally, Wu Yuan was stunned.

The physical vessel of that snake had been pathetically weak—its Spiritual Qi and blood volume were negligible. Yet, the purity of the dragon blood hidden within its microscopic veins was absolutely terrifying.

It was easily on par with a true Flood Dragon, entirely eclipsing the genetic purity of the massive Black Water Flood Dragon Snake currently bleeding out in his cavern. And yet, the tiny snake had displayed absolutely zero physical draconic traits. If he hadn’t physically tasted the genetic code himself, he never would have believed the Snake King’s claims.

Wu Yuan had always known that Snake Valley harbored a deep secret, but he had never prioritized investigating it.

Now, the truth was undeniable. Whatever anomaly lay buried at the heart of Snake Valley… it was intimately tied to a true, ancient dragon.