Chapter 2: Titles of Respect_1

In the trickling stream beside the village, with water of azure green seeming calm on the surface, an undercurrent raged below.

Indeed, it accorded with the old saying "Clear water means shallow depth, green water signifies depth, and black water implies abyss."

Within the depths of the azure green stream, a deadly trap lay hidden.

At this moment, Yibai concealed his entire serpentine body under the water. His scales were naturally green, and with the help of the water's green hue, he perfectly camouflaged himself.

He was like a natural born predator, waiting for his prey to arrive.

"Here they come!"

Yibai could smell it, two unusually strong scents of blood drawing closer to the stream.

He lifted his gaze, peering through the surface of the water towards the bank of the stream.

Under his watchful eye, two ragged children approached.

"These are definitely not human!"

Yibai couldn't help but exclaim in his mind.

In his sight, these two children appeared like beasts donning human skin. He could smell the stench of blood, even through the stream between them.

Furthermore, most importantly, these two children lacked the aura of the spirit of all things that humans possessed.

How should it be described?

To put it simply, it was as if two corpses were walking.

Yibai was astounded, yet his serpentine body remained still, allowing the stream to wash over him without stirring.

His eyes coldly focused on one of the children.

He was waiting for an opportunity.

An opportunity to kill with a single strike!

The instincts inherent to his body allowed him to hunt perfectly.

On the bank of the stream, the two children, with dead fish eyes and eerie smiles on their faces, held hands and walked to the edge of the water.

One of the children, seemingly following an instinct, was about to step into the stream.

But just as the child was about to enter the water, he suddenly froze, staring intently at the stream.

Bang!!!

A huge serpent's head burst from the water, instantly creating a splash.

The child didn't even have the chance to react before being bitten and dragged to the bottom of the stream.

The other child stood completely dumbfounded on the spot.

Yibai, from the bottom of the stream, took advantage of the immense biting force of his own body and completely crushed the monster child in his mouth before swallowing it down.

Before he could fully relish the sensation,

he sensed a multitude of bloody scents rushing towards the stream.

Were these monsters dogs? Their noses were so sharp.

But Yibai was not panicked in the slightest.

With a thought, he flickered from view and disappeared from his spot.

...

Immortal Cultivation Realm.

Within the deep pool.

Yibai returned to this place once more.

"This creature..."

Yibai could distinctly feel a burning heat surging in his belly.

He knew he was digesting.

After all, this was the Immortal Cultivation Realm, but he hadn't begun to cultivate; as of now, he was just an ordinary Great Serpent.

It was only because he had traversed through worlds that this Great Serpent gained a bit of intelligence.

Thus, his digestion was similar to that of an ordinary serpent.

Yibai controlled the belly of his serpentine body, rubbing it against the uneven bottom of the pool, attempting to accelerate the digestion.

As he moved, he could clearly feel the heat in his belly intensifying.

This heat, like a mass of air, wandered through his body until it reached his serpent's head.

Hum...

Yibai only felt a buzzing in his head, dazed for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

Upon recovering, he could distinctly sense the change within him.

His head seemed a bit clearer, this feeling was mysterious, as if he had suddenly gained insight.

"Eating monsters didn't seem to make me stronger? No, I must have become stronger."

Yibai felt an indescribable sensation.

But he just felt it.

He had become stronger.

According to Yibai's knowledge, the first step of a demon's cultivation was to awaken spirituality, which is to say, to unlock simple spiritual intelligence.

The second step was to 'become a spirit.'

For him at the moment, he should be progressing towards becoming a spirit.

In that case, he was on the right path, and all he needed to do was to continue on it.

"Does this count as growing a brain?"

Yibai felt his own changes.

But before he could fully sense his transformation, a streak of shadow suddenly darted past him, fast as an arrow released from its bow.

He only felt a flicker before his eyes, not having time to react.

"What the, why run so fast?"

Yibai didn't understand why, muttering to himself, but his actions were quick as he ran after the shadow ahead.

His speed was even a bit faster than the shadow.

He didn't know why he had to run, but seeing that shadow flee, he subconsciously followed suit.

"What the, Royal Serpent, why are you following me?"

The shadow, noticing Yibai catching up, stopped in its tracks, bubbling at the mouth and staring at him with dead fish eyes.

This was a giant carp that measured over six meters in length.

"I don't know either, why are you running?"

Yibai regained his wits, and he stared at the carp in front of him, not feeling unfamiliar.

He had a good command of the creatures in the lake that possessed spiritual intelligence.

This carp was essentially his neighbor.

"The Mountain Lord from the neighboring mountain sent people to bestow blessings upon us, how could I not rush over, and you, a dragon in the making, how could you be so slack? You don't even know about such an important event."

The carp fluttered its fins, rolling its eyes—though it always looked like it had dead fish eyes no matter how it rolled them.

"There's such good fortune? Take me with you, then."

Upon hearing this, Yibai instantly understood why the carp was in such a hurry.

The neighboring Mountain Lord, he was aware of him; by the side of the deep pool stood a tall mountain, and deep within the mountain, the Mountain Lord resided.

The Mountain Lord was a tiger indeed.

A tiger, the king amongst mountain beasts, thus called the Mountain Lord.

His reputation was something Yibai often heard about.

It was said that the Mountain Lord was a Great Demon who had succeeded in his cultivation and frequently used Ghost Servants to lure travelers into the forest, devouring them to increase his own cultivation.

This Mountain Lord was arguably the most powerful demon Yibai knew of.

"Then let's not waste time. If it weren't for the fact that you and I are somewhat kin, I wouldn't even tell you about it," said the carp, swiftly swimming ahead with hurried fins.

"You, Little Dragon, lead the way quickly," insisted Yibai as he twisted his serpentine body, following the carp and setting off.

Little Dragon was what they called this carp.

Every carp that sets off on the path of cultivation dreams of becoming a dragon, and it was said in legends that the carp would transform upon leaping over the Dragon Gate, hence calling a carp Little Dragon was hoping for a stroke of good fortune.

Demons didn't interact with each other as bluntly as humans, who could call out an animal's true form directly; doing that would only offend the other party.

As it was already difficult for demons to cultivate, a bit of luck could make their efforts twice as effective.

Therefore, demons usually addressed each other with respect.

For instance, others would call Yibai 'Royal Serpent' or 'Dragon Breed,' instead of just a snake.

Calling a tiger 'Mountain Lord.'

Calling a carp 'Little Dragon.'

And calling a Weasel 'Weasel Immortal.'

There were many such etiquettes among them; in short, demons didn't simply expose each other's true nature upon meeting. Such behavior would also be considered detrimental to the other's cultivation.

If even wicked cultivators would fight to the death without reconciliation, let alone the already challenging existence of demons…