Chapter 304

Leon looked over at the old hen that Tom, the senior member, was holding in his arms, its neck stretched out excitedly pecking at the “earthworms.” Then he looked up to see the massive chicken beak repeatedly tearing through the clouds, driving the Snake Bishop back time and time again. Leon couldn’t help but shake his head slightly, his eyes revealing a look of bewilderment as if from another world.

What the hell… What’s going on here? “This is the chicken I bought earlier outside, it’s from the stall right by the door where the fish seller is near the estate.”

In the miniature estate he sold, behind the kitchen was a small chicken coop with dozens of hens for egg-laying, perfect for dealing with these followers of the Snake Spirit, so I just borrowed them for a moment.”

Looking at Leon, whose soul and body seemed somewhat separated, still not fully freed from the Snake Spirit’s shrine, the laid-back youth began to explain:

“That Snake Spirit shrine is actually a snake egg. The narrow corridor we passed through before entering the shrine is equivalent to passing through its reproductive cavity, undergoing a simple incubation process, so our souls are temporarily ‘hatched’ into snakes.

As for the effect of that snake egg shrine, it’s roughly like amplifying our souls while drastically shrinking our bodies, then swapping the positions of our souls and bodies, turning us from humans with snake souls into snakes with human souls.”

“…”

“Didn’t get it?”

Looking at Leon’s still confused face, Senior Tom thought for a moment, then gave an analogy:

“It’s like the difference between babies and adults. Adults perceive the world mainly through their physical eyes, followed by thinking and cognition, which is first the body, then the soul; whereas unborn babies haven’t been born yet, their bodies don’t really exist yet, so it’s first the soul, then the body.

So when we enter the snake egg shrine, it’s equivalent to becoming unborn baby snakes, changing from the body preceding the soul to the soul preceding the body, swapping the priority of body and soul, which is equivalent to becoming a snake with a human soul.”

At this point, the laid-back youth paused briefly, then took out half a bag of salt that hadn’t been used up yet, waving it in front of Leon and reminded him:

“Remember? Before I entered, I performed three secret rituals beforehand. The second set, made of five metals, was to steal money from the Cat Spirit, while the first set, made of mercury, sulfur, and salt, was to control the soul and body.

These three materials represent the soul, the body, and the bridge between the two, which can exactly counteract the effects of the snake egg shrine. As long as I locked down the ratio between the three beforehand, I wouldn’t be affected by the effects of the snake egg shrine.”

“…”

In Leon’s silence, Senior Tom continued to explain: “This way, although I can’t directly interfere with the situation inside the ritual, my body won’t shrink infinitely, while your bodies were suppressed by the shrine. So as long as we send a chicken in, it’s enough to take out that bishop.

The only tricky part is the three-headed snake crown bestowed by the Snake Spirit, but you drew his attention正面正面, so I managed to summon three Holy Spirits who feed on snakes, simulated their marks with some materials, and forcibly dismantled that snake crown.

Without the life-saving snake crown, with his body being suppressed to the limit by the shrine and his soul strength also being suppressed by me, that bishop became weaker than even a chicken… Understand now?”

“…”

I guess I understand… kind of? Listening wasn’t completely baffling, but more like six out of seven holes being clear. Leon nodded stiffly, then asked:

“Senior Tom, are these… uh… rituals your main way of fighting?”

“More or less…”

The laid-back youth nodded upon hearing this, thought for a moment, then shook his head: “But rather than calling them a way of fighting, they’re more like how I ‘do things.’ I don’t fight.

Unlike you guys, my core abnormality is special, allowing me to connect with the world more closely and strengthen the effects of these mystical rituals, but there’s almost no direct damage or defensive ability.

“…”

Got it, you’re an old silver coin with strange methods.

…

After defining the laid-back youth in his mind, Leon couldn’t help but ask curiously:

“Senior Tom, before entering the gathering place, you prepared three rituals. What was the third one for? To deal with that Snake Spirit?”

“Not really.”

The laid-back youth shook his head: “The Snake Spirit is manageable. If you can step up and become the bishop, successfully trick it back, with intention against unawareness, I think it would be pretty easy to take it out. But… uh… wait!”

Looking at the venomous ball python that was stepped on by the old hen and then pecked on the head, Senior Tom quickly urged:

“He’s about to finish. You go around from the chicken’s butt direction, get ready to wrap around the statue of the Snake Spirit and take his place as the bishop hosting the ritual. I’ll help disguise you… hurry, hurry! It’s almost too late!”

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“Alright!”

Looking at the direction of the “chicken vs snake battle,” realizing it was almost over, Leon didn’t have time to satisfy his curiosity. He quickly followed Senior Tom’s instructions, went around from the chicken’s butt position, climbed onto the over hundred-meter-high black-and-white altar, and coiled himself around the tail of the Snake Spirit statue.

“Sizzle…”

With a sound similar to frying meat on a hot iron plate, Leon’s face involuntarily revealed a trace of pain.

There seemed to be some kind of restriction on this altar. For him, who wasn’t yet the bishop, every step forward felt like rolling on a mountain of knives, hurting from his body all the way to the depths of his soul. At the moment of contact with the Snake Spirit statue, there was even a feeling as if his soul was about to leave his body.

However, the situation soon changed.

As the old hen pecked and created a pit more than ten meters deep, then happily “clucked” and carried the now powerless venomous ball python into the clouds, the Snake Spirit statue, which had been trying hard to “resist” Leon’s contact and keep pushing him away, suddenly became friendly, directly letting him coil around its tail.

And as the wrapping action was thoroughly completed, as if completing some kind of mysterious ritual, Leon’s consciousness blurred slightly, suddenly connecting with an incredibly vast soul.

Hmm? My bishop?

Detecting something unusual, the Snake Spirit dwelling beyond a jade-green jungle turned its head, looking at the blurry little snake on its tail, and asked with a dignified expression:

“Weren’t you presiding over the ritual? Why did you suddenly come find me?”

(End of Chapter)