Those ancient seal script characters weren’t as obscure as other classical texts; instead, they were written in a style much closer to modern language. So Shawn Young quickly understood what it meant—
"I am Elder Thomas of the Clear Sky Order. I cultivated and attained enlightenment here in the Spirit Cavern, ascending to immortality. Two thousand years later, whoever enters this cave must be destined by the Scarlet Viper’s bite. The Scarlet Viper is a serpent with a crimson body, strange in nature and extremely venomous—yet it is a magical beast born from the wonders of heaven and earth..." As Shawn Young read the first line on the silk, his heart skipped a beat!
"Clear Sky Order? So that old Taoist was Elder Thomas! Scarlet Viper’s bite? That Scarlet Viper—could it be the one that bit my little buddy in the tunnel? If that’s the case, then that snake really—damn! Of all places to bite, it had to bite right there..." Shawn Young was seriously resentful of that Scarlet Viper.
Turns out, the silk detailed the Scarlet Viper’s background—it was an extremely rare magical beast from ancient times. Magical beasts, like humans, possess intelligence and can cultivate to become spirits, even ascend to immortality. When the Scarlet Viper was born, it was five feet long. Unlike other snakes, as it aged and cultivated, its body didn’t grow longer—instead, it shrank, losing an inch every five hundred years.
While cultivating, the Scarlet Viper absorbed the energy of heaven and earth, the essence of sun and moon. After thousands of years, it became incredibly fast and its body was impervious to blades and bullets—even a cannon couldn’t break its skin. And its venom was so deadly that even a golden immortal wouldn’t survive a bite.
But fate is unpredictable. Despite its power, the Scarlet Viper had a huge weakness—every thousand years of cultivation, it had to face a breakthrough and a heavenly tribulation, a critical moment for all magical beasts. Only by surviving this ordeal could it hope to become truly enlightened.
Tonight was precisely the Scarlet Viper’s once-in-a-millennium moment—its fifth time facing the tribulation of ascension. If it could endure this, it would become a true spirit and ascend to immortality!
During this time, its body became sluggish and its senses dulled. All the essence in its Viper Heartstone and venom concentrated in its tongue and fangs. When Shawn Young suddenly barged into its lair, pulling out his little buddy to pee, he stepped right on it! Instinctively, the Scarlet Viper struck—injecting five thousand years’ worth of cultivated essence mixed with venom straight into Shawn’s body. Thanks to the miraculous power of the Heartstone, the venom didn’t kill Shawn instantly!
Not only did Shawn survive, but he also got lucky—he accidentally absorbed the Scarlet Viper’s five-thousand-year Heartstone essence! All that cultivation was handed to him on a silver platter. Once the Viper lost its Heartstone, it aged rapidly and died, while Shawn hit the supernatural jackpot, absorbing the five-thousand-year power that countless cultivators could only dream of.
Elder Thomas, already an immortal, had long foreseen this day. By fate’s arrangement, Shawn would stumble into the Spirit Cavern and absorb the Scarlet Viper’s Heartstone essence during its tribulation—thus gaining the most crucial qualification to inherit his legacy: the "body of the Scarlet Viper."
The Viper Heartstone was the purest, most masculine force in the world, and since Shawn Young was still a virgin, he perfectly met the basic requirements to inherit Elder Thomas’s cultivation.
But there was a catch—the vicious snake venom was mixed with the Heartstone. When the Scarlet Viper bit him, both entered Shawn’s body together. So Elder Thomas left Shawn a specially refined Divine Remedy to purge the venom.
Yet, fate had other plans. Even though Elder Thomas could predict events thousands of years ahead, it’s unclear whether he forgot or deliberately omitted something—he left Shawn a Divine Remedy that was originally white, cloud-like, fragrant, and delicious. But after being stored for so long, it had expired and spoiled. The detox effect was greatly weakened, though it still worked fine for cleansing and strengthening the body.
Most of the Scarlet Viper’s venom in Shawn’s body was neutralized. The Viper’s nature was incredibly peculiar, and its venom was the purest masculine force. The tiny bit left inside Shawn triggered a bizarre side effect—his little buddy grew noticeably larger! And to Shawn’s utter shock, that wasn’t the only aftereffect. This stuff was seriously intense…
As Shawn read further, he realized Elder Thomas’s silk didn’t mention this side effect at all. Instead, at the end, it simply asked Shawn to bow three times before the master’s earthly remains. In return, he’d receive a great gift.
“Hmm… Just three bows for a reward?” Shawn muttered. Sounded easy enough, so he knelt on the straw mat and respectfully kowtowed three times before Elder Thomas’s lifelike body—"Thud… Thud thud…"
Then something magical happened—at the exact moment Shawn finished his third bow, Elder Thomas’s earthly body suddenly turned into a wisp of smoke and faded away. With a heavenly hum, the master’s remains vanished right before Shawn’s eyes, as if he’d never existed.
Shawn stared in disbelief at the incredible scene. Just then, the old sandalwood box beside Elder Thomas’s straw mat popped open by itself with a crisp snap. Overcome with excitement, Shawn rushed over…
The chapter isn’t over yet ^.^—click next page to keep reading!