Old Aram's hoarse voice reverberated through the forest, carrying with it a trace of regret and desolation of a descendant of the last generation. Beside him, a blazing blaze seemed to have brought Sheyan back to the story of thousands of years ago.
"After a series of compromises, the Sun Sect and Coiled Serpent Sect finally reached a balance. The ritual of inheriting the power of the 'Stairway of the Sun' had also undergone countless trials and tribulations. Then, the process became fixed – Sacrificial ceremony → Receive the blessings of the Coiled Serpent God (i.e., being bitten by a serpent) → Absorb the powder of the dried leaves of the 'Stairway of the Sun' → Immerse in the torrential current of the cave. Thus, even if a brave warrior failed the trial, he would peacefully perish under the influence of the coiled serpent venom, and wouldn't lose control and harm others. "
After listening till here, Sheyan finally understood. The primogenitor virus concealed within the 'Stairway of the Sun' possessed the unique trait of strengthening and reassembling the genetic elements of living creatures. However, most living creatures would either perish, or be unable to adapt to the mutation of the virus, turning into terrifying monsters that had lost their rationality. As far as humans were concerned, there would at most be 1 out of tens of millions who possessed the physique to withstand the power of the virus! Even if the physique of the Ndipaya barbarians was superior to modern humans, the chances of success were pitifully small.
Instead, the venom of the coiled serpent was basically akin to an industrial catalyst. It could distinctly lubricate and neutralize the destructive effects of the primogenitor virus on the human body. Hence, the success rate was greatly enhanced. When the sacred relic of the Coiled Serpent Tribe was taken away by Old Aram, the most crucial link was lost.
Instead, the remaining Ndipaya barbarians didn't know what a virus was. They were all brainwashed by religion, believing that piety could make up for all faults, and that the God would reign supreme over everything. Hence, they followed convention and continued with the ritual of inheriting the power during the full moon. The outcome was imaginable. Under the exceedingly low success rate, massive amounts of biochemical abominations were incessantly produced.
Those selected to inherit the power of the 'Stairway of the Sun' were all elites of the tribe. After these elites were infected, they were transformed into terrifying biochemical abominations that assaulted the inner circle of the Ndipaya barbarians. Thus, the devout Ndipaya barbarians instead viewed this as a test of the sun god's wrath.... in addition, there was a minute chance of success after consuming the 'Stairway of the Sun' powder. Thus, the occasional lucky individual would be deemed as a blessing bestowed by the sun god!
Hence, the ceremony would continue like drinking poison to quench one's thirst, forming a vicious cycle of 'The more pressing the pressure ahead', the more 'the ceremony needed to be held'. If Sheyan didn't appear in time, it wouldn't be long before everyone in the inner reaches of the Kijuju Marshland would perish under the encirclement of the mutants.
This was the truth behind the decline of the Ndipaya clan after the departure of old Aram!
Of course, Guarba and the rest who successfully suppressed the 'Primogenitor Virus' and obtained strength from it, were naturally individuals who had 'transitioned' four years ago when the Coiled Serpent was still around.
At this point, the final riddle in Sheyan's heart had been resolved. The history of the entire Ndipaya tribe was now crystal clear. Sheyan looked at the horizon and nodded.
"I understand. Then, will you let me get the Ouroboros?"
Old Aram gazed at Sheyan with an expectant gaze.
"Hurry and chase that thing away from my side! The faster the better. But … … remember, you cannot use force. Otherwise, it will incite me to attack you. You can't possibly withstand my assault! "
A sinister notion involuntarily surfaced in Sheyan's heart. That was the benefits of slaying Old Aram, a direct descendant of the Ndipaya Empire's royal clan. Yet he quickly discarded that notion. Because the realm would inevitably consider the possibility of a vicious and merciless individual slaughtering an entire village upon entering this world. Old Aram bore the heavy responsibility of continuing the royal bloodline. Being able to escape from the inner reaches of the Kijuju Marshland, he would definitely possess his ancestral 'oil under the soles of one's feet'. Moreover, his concealment techniques would definitely be top-notch. Hence, killing him by force was impossible.
After observing that unremarkable little serpent, Sheyan probingly extended his hand … … the sacred object didn't react at all. From the looks of it, the serpent completely disdained to acknowledge him. Such a disdainful attitude was as though the serpent wasn't worth wasting its venom … …. Sheyan then attempted to make physical contact with it.
Old Aram cried out loudly for him to be careful. Instead, his body's reaction was to slap Sheyan's back. That slap caused Sheyan to see stars and his nose to bleed profusely. The imprint of five fingers on his face was incomparably distinct, as his ears buzzed for half a day before he regained his senses … ….
Sheyan finally regained his breath and couldn't help cursing out loud. Instead, he noticed Old Aram's innocent gaze resembling that of Ouyang Feng. Sheyan could only sigh deeply.
After learning his lesson, Sheyan no longer dared to carelessly touch the serpent. After observing from afar for a while, he still couldn't find any loopholes. After all, he was only a sailor and not a zoologist. It was impossible for him to understand the habits of snakes like the back of his hand.
Suddenly, a thought surfaced in Sheyan's mind.
"Impossible, this serpent only bites Ndipaya barbarians! Oh right, this old man before me has only heard of the sacrificial process passed down by his ancestors, and hasn't personally witnessed it. Don't tell me, this damned serpent only bites those infected with the primogenitor virus? "
Thinking of that, Sheyan retrieved the loot he obtained from the Sun Altar. At this moment, Sheyan realized two grave problems.
Firstly, although he had severed half of the 'Stairway of the Sun' tendril, the tendril was still coiled around the sapling. In other words, if he wanted to retrieve it, he would have to retrieve both the sapling and the severed tendril of the main body.
Secondly, the Ndipaya barbarians had inhaled the powder of the withered leaves of the 'Stairway of the Sun'. Instead, he had directly harvested fresh leaves. According to normal botany theory, the virus contained in the withered leaves would definitely be much lesser.......
Nevertheless, Sheyan could only treat a dead horse as a living horse. He would take one step at a time and attempt to retrieve the 'Stairway of the Sun' sapling from the realm. Unexpectedly, after not seeing it for a long time, this sapling was actually not well-behaved in his personal space. One could observe its densely packed roots latching onto the meteorite fragment that Sheyan had brought back. It appeared to be absorbing the energies of the meteorite fragment in an exceedingly ample manner.
As for the tendril of the main body that coiled around the sapling, it appeared to have been devoured by the incomparably ferocious sapling as nourishment....
"This …... what should I do? Should I try plucking a leaf from the sapling first? "Sheyan pondered in his heart as he pulled out the sapling.
However, the moment the sapling of the 'Stairway of the Sun' appeared in his hand, the originally lazy Ouroboros suddenly became spirited. It stood upright and swelled up its head like a cobra. It quickly spat out its red and forked tongue and hissed threateningly!
What was even stranger was that the sapling of the 'Stairway of the Sun' also displayed a very strong aggressiveness. It jumped from Sheyan's hand to the ground and whipped its two tentacle-like roots in the air. Half of its roots quickly plunged into the ground after coming into contact with it, while the other half of its roots quickly absorbed the meteorite fragments that were surrounding it.
Sheyan clearly remembered that the leaves of the main body of the 'Stairway of the Sun' only had five colours. Yet now, the leaves of this sapling had reached seven colours! Now, it appeared that the 'Stairway of the Sun' was a viviparous plant. Its movements were extremely nimble, yet it possessed roots that could implant itself into the soil. It was difficult to determine whether it was a plant or an animal.
Suddenly, a grey shadow flashed. The coiled serpent had taken the initiative to attack the sapling of the 'Stairway of the Sun'! It bit down on the main stem of the sapling of the 'Stairway of the Sun'!
Faced with the enemy's attack, the 'sapling' of the 'Stairway of the Sun' was not to be outdone. Its two tentacle-like tendrils fiercely wrapped around the body of the coiled serpent and pulled it with all its might. The 'Stairway of the Sun' also secreted a powerful corrosive liquid that sizzled as it corroded the serpent's body. The serpent's skin was easily corroded and even penetrated into its flesh.
Obviously, the sense of pain of a plant was far lower than that of an animal. Moreover, while the 'sapling' used its tentacles to constantly corrode the enemy's flesh, it also constantly absorbed the corroded nutrients. It was a true example of 'nourishing battle with battle'. Even after the coiled serpent was in pain, it still refused to let go.
Because the stem of the 'Stairway of the Sun' was currently transparent due to its young size, it could be clearly seen that the two venomous fangs of the coiled serpent were constantly spraying traces of black liquid into the 'sapling', causing the branches of the 'Stairway of the Sun' to start twitching!
The two were like fire and water. The venom of the coiled serpent only had a paralysing effect on humans, but it was not fatal. On the contrary, it was the perfect counter to a rare plant virus like the 'Stairway of the Sun'! It was just that in the past thousands of years, the battle between the two was carried out indirectly in the body of the infected. It was not a direct confrontation between the virus and the venom like this! The outcome of such a battle could only be declared with the death of one party!
At this moment, the two spectators were stupefied. Sheyan was most afraid that both parties would suffer heavy losses, and he would be left with nothing. As for Old Aram, he hoped for the coiled serpent to die. He was most afraid that the coiled serpent would achieve a pyrrhic victory, before the heavily injured coiled serpent would once again swim back to his body and feast on his flesh and blood essence …... the pitiful Old Aram was only 30 years old, yet he looked like he was 60 years old. If the coiled serpent were to feast on him again, even if he didn't die, he would still be half-dead. (To be continued. If you like this work, I welcome you to donate your recommendation votes or monthly votes to me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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