Su Mu jumped into the pond, grabbed the water snake, and pulled hard to save the Little Mahi.
At this moment, the water snake, with some unknown surge of strength, suddenly performed a death entanglement and wrapped around Su Mu's entire right arm.
Moreover, the terrifying squeezing force caused the bones in Su Mu's right arm to creak.
Am I, a dignified Foundation Establishment Cultivator, unable to handle a little water snake like you?!
Su Mu got angry, started operating his cultivation technique, spiritual power winding around his right arm, while his left hand punched towards the snake's head!
Thud—
The punch hit the water, causing a splash, but due to the refraction of light, it went a bit off target.
However, perhaps the water snake sensed Su Mu's immense power and was intimidated, so it quickly released its grip and prepared to swim towards the river outside the pond.
How could Su Mu let it escape so easily?
With his whole body submerged in the water, he grabbed the snake's tail and, with a powerful swing, threw the water snake onto the shore.
As soon as the water snake hit the ground, it coiled up, shivering, afraid to move.
Su Mu returned to the shore, rolled up his sleeves, and walked towards the water snake.
...
Unrivaled Continent, Kunlun Domain Sea.
A Heaven-Swallowing Holy Python was forcibly snatched away by a pair of giant hands from the void, and the shattered domain sea instantly returned to calm.
Not far away, several Human Race Great Emperors watching the scene wore expressions of fear as they looked at the void above.
"The Heaven-Swallowing Holy Python was taken by those void hands!"
"Did you see clearly?"
"I didn't see clearly... but why do I feel like those void hands were saving that Loach Dragon?"
"I think so too... we better leave this place quickly, it's too terrifying..."
...
On the shore, Su Mu had already dissected the water snake completely.
The snake had three treasures: snake skin, snake gall, and snake meat.
Su Mu skinned the snake, which was ten meters long and three meters wide, also finding the snake pill to be a great tonic.
The snake meat weighed over two hundred pounds.
Su Mu used a dagger to cut a large piece of snake meat and brought it to the edge of the shore, dropping it into the water in front of the battered Little Mahi.
"I avenged you, eat it, this is the spoils of war, you deserve a share too."
Little Mahi was stunned for a while but then showed gratitude, swallowing the large piece of snake meat in one bite.
In the next second, the wounds on Little Mahi visibly healed by more than half.
Seeing this, Su Mu's eyes lit up.
It seems this water snake was also a Spirit Snake?
"Next time you encounter a bully, just lure it to the shore, and I'll stand up for you."
Su Mu said to Little Mahi.
Little Mahi happily swirled around as if it had found a backer.
.....
Su Mu used a large iron pot to cook a pot of soup, and after it boiled, he added chunks of snake meat.
He added about thirty pounds, planning to keep the remaining hundred pounds for next time.
When the snake meat entered the pot, the previously boiling water suddenly turned cold, even showing signs of freezing.
Seeing this, Su Mu added several more batches of dry wood, making the fire much stronger, yet the water in the pot still showed no signs of boiling.
After boiling for a full five hours, it finally started bubbling.
Su Mu poked the snake meat with chopsticks, finding it as hard as ice.
After continuing to boil for another five hours, the snake meat finally softened, releasing a rich aroma.
Su Mu, who had been drooling the whole day, mixed a dipping sauce and continued to cook for another hour.
Su Mu picked up a piece of snake meat, dipped it in the sauce, and took a bite, savoring the rich aroma in his mouth.
"This is too delicious, damn it!"
With each bite, his toes curled with pleasure; he had eaten snake meat before, but this was the first time he experienced this kind of texture, so tender and fragrant, he couldn't bother praising it! Just focused on eating!
Ten hours of cooking, five minutes of eating!
Not even the soup was left, everything went into his stomach.
Su Mu, with both hands on the ground, belched in satisfaction.
Actually, sometimes I think being stuck in this place isn't such a bad thing, at least the days are quite enjoyable, and my cultivation is steadily advancing.
The only downside is the loneliness.
There's not even anyone around to talk to.
This river is too quiet; occasionally someone passes by, but they're protagonists from another world, just passing through and never stopping.
Just Little Mahi to keep me company.
But Little Mahi brings me treasures every day, and I help it with fights, so life isn't too boring.
After eating, Su Mu returned to the recliner to take a nap, eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating, occasionally patrolling the river.
While sleeping, Su Mu felt his whole body burning, as if drugged.
He suddenly opened his eyes, sat up, and found himself drenched in cold sweat.
His entire body felt like it was being cooked, so hot that Su Mu jumped around, unable to control it even by operating his cultivation technique.
The next second.
A surge of pure energy erupted in his stomach, spreading throughout his body via his meridians.
Su Mu knew it had to be the effect of eating that snake meat.
He sat cross-legged, ceased resisting, and instead operated his cultivation technique to slowly refine that energy.....
This lasted for three days!
By then, Su Mu's blood and qi surged, and his cultivation directly reached the Golden Core Realm!
And it was still rising!
It kept rising until it reached the Golden Core Ninth Layer before stopping.
At this moment, Su Mu felt an unprecedented sense of power!
A piece of snake meat had propelled his cultivation all the way to the Golden Core Ninth Layer—a dreamlike occurrence he could scarcely believe.
What kind of heavenly treasure was this water snake?
.....
In the days following, Su Mu's meals were all snake meat.
However, after consuming over ten pounds, his cultivation successfully reached Golden Core Great Perfection.
Later, after eating a few more pounds, although his qi and blood strengthened and his physical body became more powerful, his cultivation didn't rise further.
Su Mu decided to stop eating for now; he seemed to have encountered a bottleneck, one that couldn't be overcome merely by eating more meat.
.....
The next month passed without encountering any more transmigrators, and life was quite unspectacular.
Most of the time was spent patrolling the river, accumulating Favor Points.
What surprised Su Mu was the disappearance of Little Mahi, with no sign of it for a whole month.
But he didn't plan to call it back, letting it enjoy some freedom, perhaps it had its own family to accompany too?
This month, Su Mu was quite lucky, finding stranded little fish, shrimp, and crabs on his outings.
He earned more than a hundred Favor Points daily.
By the end of the month, he had earned over three thousand Favor Points.
[Host: Su Mu]
[Cultivation: Golden Core Great Perfection]
[Mastered Divine Techniques: Water Control, Swimming]
[Mastered Techniques: Cyan Heaven Dragon Transformation Technique]
[Water Beast Tamer: Apychelodraco]
[River Affinity: 0.06%]
[River Favor Points: 4325 points]
Su Mu planned to use four thousand Favor Points to directly increase his affinity to "0.1%"