Invincible Snake Emperor

Chapter 537: Chapter 524: A Massive Misunderstanding

Tu Xiao’an found it a bit hard to understand why anyone would enter the Path of Reincarnation just to be reborn as a snake.

One could only say that Demon King Liu’s ambition was too great. He had already cultivated to the Rank Three Peak, making him the strongest living being in the world. He was invincible, so why make things so difficult for himself?

"Before my adoptive father entered Reincarnation, he spat out his Lifebound Golden Core and split it in two. He had me swallow one half, which caused my cultivation to skyrocket and gave me the aura of a human, a snake, and a dragon. The other half was buried deep within a mountain."

Upon hearing this, Tu Xiao’an asked curiously, "Why bury half the Golden Core in a mountain?"

As a Third stage Peak Demon King, it went without saying just how precious and terrifying Demon King Liu’s Lifebound Golden Core was. Anyone who consumed it would experience a massive surge in their cultivation—a true transformation.

Giving it to his adoptive daughter, Luo Ziyun, made perfect sense. But why split it in two and bury the other half in a mountain? That was very strange.

Luo Ziyun’s eyes were as clear and bright as stars as she said, "My adoptive father said that once he left, he might never be able to return. The Snake Race cannot be without a king, but an ordinary Snake Species, even if it cultivated to the level of a Demon King, would be no match for the other four Demon Kings."

"So, my adoptive father came up with a plan. He would bury half of his Golden Core deep within a mountain, hoping to use the mountain’s Power of Nature to nurture an unparalleled Snake Species. If it was successful, that snake’s bloodline would be peerless and its potential limitless. He believed it would be able to cultivate quickly and ascend directly to the throne as king."

As she spoke, Luo Ziyun stared so intently at Tu Xiao’an that it made his skin crawl.

"What are you getting at? You don’t actually think I’m the snake that was nurtured from Demon King Liu’s half a Golden Core, do you?" Tu Xiao’an’s scalp tingled, feeling as though he’d been struck by lightning.

Luo Ziyun’s beautiful eyes shimmered as she spoke in a soft, gentle voice. "Xiao’an, did you know? The first time I saw you, you felt so familiar, as if we had met long ago. My adoptive father split his Lifebound Golden Core in two and had me consume one half, hoping that I would one day be able to find the Snake Species he nurtured. I was to secretly protect him, help him become king, and restore the Snake Race to its former glory."

Tu Xiao’an was utterly dumbfounded, standing there stunned as if he were carved from wood and clay.

’So that’s why Luo Ziyun has been so good to me. She thinks I’m the Snake Species nurtured from Demon King Liu’s half a Lifebound Golden Core.’

But deep down, Tu Xiao’an knew he wasn’t that snake at all.

He had been a human who died, was chosen as a host by the Devouring System, and was then reborn as a snake. The two scenarios were completely different.

’I wasn’t nurtured by some Golden Core.’

"Ziyan, listen to me. You’ve misunderstood. I’m not the snake you’re talking about," Tu Xiao’an explained hastily. Although Luo Ziyun had mistaken him for the wrong person—no, the wrong snake—due to a bizarre twist of fate, it had ultimately been a stroke of good luck for him.

’He hadn’t lost anything from it; in fact, he’d been secretly protected and helped by a supreme expert all this time.’

Luo Ziyun gave a dazzling smile and shook her head. "Xiao’an, my feelings are never wrong. The Golden Core was split in two, and the two halves can sense each other. Otherwise, how could I possibly find you among the countless Snake Species in the world? The moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew. It was you. Our fate was sealed five hundred years ago."

’What’s next? Did Demon King Liu betroth you to me, too?’

’This misunderstanding was getting out of hand. Tu Xiao’an had no idea how to even begin to explain.’

"Ziyan, I wish it were me. I really don’t want to disappoint you after all you’ve done. But I’m really not that snake. You’ve truly, truly mistaken me for someone else," Tu Xiao’an said with a helpless, wry smile.

"It is you. It’s you. It has to be you. There’s no mistake," Luo Ziyun insisted, her conviction absolute.

Tu Xiao’an was speechless. "Are you really just going by your woman’s intuition? Is that all it takes to be so certain I’m this prophesied snake?"

"It’s not a woman’s intuition. It’s the Golden Cores sensing each other." Luo Ziyun thought for a moment before continuing, "But that’s not the only reason I’m sure you were nurtured by the Golden Core. There’s another important one."

"Oh?" Tu Xiao’an’s eyes lit up. "Then tell me. What’s the other reason?"

"The other reason is that you are a snake from Bai Town’s She Mountain. You later became the Snake King, worshipped by the local people."

Suddenly, an idea flashed in Tu Xiao’an’s mind. He froze as if turned to stone. "Don’t tell me Demon King Liu’s half a Golden Core was buried in She Mountain."

"Heh. My adoptive father, Demon King Liu’s, half a Golden Core was indeed buried in She Mountain. You guessed right, Xiao’an. It’s a fact. You are the prophesied Snake Species. Otherwise, how could you be so exceptional? Why else would you be crowned a King the moment you proved your path, with the ’King’ mark manifesting on your forehead? Do you think our Snake Race is completely devoid of talent? That it’s so easy to become the revered king of the Snake Race?" Luo Ziyun’s eyes were like shimmering pools, deep with emotion.

This time, Tu Xiao’an was truly floored. Luo Ziyun’s explanation was so convincing that he almost started to believe it himself.

’It all seemed to fit perfectly.’

"Think about it. Could you have remembered the wrong mountain? Maybe Demon King Liu buried it in a different one," Tu Xiao’an said, his expression turning grim.

Luo Ziyun rolled her eyes. "It’s impossible. I’m the one who personally buried that half of the Golden Core in She Mountain. My adoptive father didn’t do it."

"Five hundred years ago, the mountain in Bai Town wasn’t actually called She Mountain. Its name was Baihua Mountain, and there were hardly any snakes there. But after I buried my adoptive father’s half a Golden Core, venomous snakes began to appear in increasing numbers, and the Snake Species there multiplied rapidly. Eventually, Snake Catchers appeared in the area, and the locals started calling it She Mountain."

The more Tu Xiao’an listened, the more his mind reeled. He was left speechless, listening to the point where he started to question his own existence.

"Xiao’an, I know this is hard for you to accept, but it’s all true. For the past five hundred years, I’ve been silently watching the changes on She Mountain. When I later heard that a snake in Bai Town was being worshipped by the locals as the Snake King, I had a feeling that the snake nurtured by the Golden Core had finally appeared. I was planning to go find you, but then you unexpectedly came to Wencheng yourself. I’ve been living in seclusion in Wencheng for the last hundred years."

"What does that prove? It proves our meeting was fated. Even if I hadn’t gone looking for you, you would have been drawn to me by some unseen force. Our bodies contain the power of the same Golden Core. We share the same origin, so we were bound to meet sooner or later."

Tu Xiao’an retorted stubbornly, "If I hadn’t walked into your rundown noodle shop that day, we would never have met."

"No, we would have met sooner or later," Luo Ziyun said, a playful glint in her eyes. Her features were as lovely as a painting, and a faint smile graced her lips.

Tu Xiao’an was struck speechless, not knowing what to say.

’The woman’s logic was sound and her evidence irrefutable, but only Tu Xiao’an himself knew the truth. No matter how eloquently she spun her tale, he was not the prophesied Snake Species she described.’

’As for how such a colossal misunderstanding had come about, Tu Xiao’an couldn’t figure it out. He just felt that there had to be a flaw in some crucial detail.’