Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

As the core territory of the Serpent People, the vault was heavily guarded. However, for Su Baichen, who possessed spatial powers, these defenses were practically useless.

He appeared directly inside the vault, ignoring the complex seals and formations. The glittering golden sight before him made him gasp – piles of gold coins, precious magic cores, rare medicinal herbs, the snake-people's centuries of accumulation were all laid out before him.

"I'm sorry, Cai Lin. I'll make it up to you later," Su Baichen murmured to himself, his storage ring shining brightly as he began frantically taking in items.

Gold coins poured into the storage ring like water, and magic cores and medicinal herbs were also swept away. In just two minutes, the once full vault was already half empty.

"That's enough. Leave the snake people some means of survival." Su Baichen restrained his greed, tore through space again, and headed toward his next target.

The royal treasury of the Gama Empire was Su Baichen's second stop. He appeared directly deep within the treasury, and facing the panicked guards, he simply waved his hand, and the guards instantly fainted.

"I need to borrow your country's wealth for a short time," Su Baichen explained to the guard.

The royal family's accumulated wealth far exceeded that of the snake-people, and Su Baichen's storage ring was quickly filled. Without hesitation, he knocked out several guards outside the treasury, took their storage rings, and continued filling them.

"Time is running out." Su Baichen felt anxious as time passed.

The nightmare of the Izumo Empire and its surrounding powers

In the next few minutes, the Izumo Empire witnessed an unprecedented "evaporization of its treasury".

Before the poison masters of the Izumo Empire could even react, their prized poison arrays were bypassed by spatial power, and their treasury was looted clean.

The treasuries of various factions, such as Luoyan Sect, Muzhi City, and Kuangshi Gang, are rendered useless in the face of Su Baichen's spatial abilities.

He appeared like a ghost, swept everything clean, and then vanished in a flash, leaving only dumbfounded guards and an empty vault.

"The last one!" Su Baichen felt the dozen or so full storage rings in his hand and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Crazy Shopping

When he returned to his room, there were less than five minutes left before the discount ended. Without hesitation, Su Baichen opened the system shop interface and began a shopping spree.

"Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill (Battle Through the Heavens Edition), buy! Heaven-Rank Battle Skill Scroll, buy! Star Meteorite Iron, buy!" Su Baichen almost didn't read the descriptions; as long as the price was within his budget, he would buy directly.

System notifications kept ringing out, and rare treasures appeared from the void, quickly piling up into a small mountain in the corner of the room.

In the last thirty seconds, Su Baichen bought whatever he saw, without even having time to look at the names of the items. When the last second passed and the promotion ended, he sat on the ground, almost exhausted, surrounded by the glow of various treasures.

"It's...it's over..." Su Baichen panted, looking at the harvest all over the room, a satisfied yet tired smile on his face.

The tranquility of the next day

The next day at noon, sunlight streamed through the window into the room, and Su Baichen was still fast asleep.

Yesterday's continuous spatial travel and shopping spree had taken a toll on his energy.

The eight-colored python on the bed slowly awoke, blinking its bright snake eyes and curiously surveying its surroundings. After a night's rest, it was noticeably more energetic.

The little guy first crawled to Su Baichen's pillow and gently rubbed his head against his face. When he didn't react, he turned around on the bed a few times on his own.

Soon, its attention was drawn to the pile of items on the ground.

Those were useless things and some materials that Su Baichen casually threw away before leaving yesterday, but in the eyes of the Eight-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python, it was undoubtedly a treasure trove full of surprises.

After confirming that its owner was still fast asleep, the Eight-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python gracefully flew off the bed and plunged into the pile of items, beginning its treasure hunt.

It carefully rummaged through the items with its tail and forked tongue, categorizing them according to its own understanding: shiny items were grouped together, pleasant-smelling items were placed on another side, and items with energy fluctuations were placed separately.

As it intently searched for treasure, an exquisite silver mirror caught its attention. The mirror's edges were engraved with intricate patterns, and its surface was as smooth as water.

The eight-colored python curiously approached and wagged its tail in front of the mirror.

When it saw its reflection in the mirror making the same movements, it blinked in surprise. Then, it tried various other actions such as turning its head, flicking its tongue, and spreading its wings, and each time the image in the mirror perfectly replicated its actions.

Looking at its incredibly cute reflection in the mirror, the Eight-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python proudly raised its tail and held its little head high, as if declaring itself the cutest pet in the world.

However, just as it was basking in its self-admiration, its tail accidentally bumped into an inconspicuous protrusion on the frame.

Suddenly, a strange light flashed across the mirror, startling the little guy, who immediately transformed into a beam of colorful light and flew back to the bed to hide beside Su Baichen.

The eight-colored python nervously poked its little head out, staring warily at the mirror.

After a while, just when it thought it was safe, a familiar voice came from the mirror:

"Little Cao Ying... I have great talent... I've sacrificed a lot for my sister."

"For my sister, I gave up cultivation, I gave up..."

The Eight-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python was all too familiar with that voice—it was the same crazy woman, Colorful Butterfly, who had grabbed its tail the moment they met yesterday and insisted that it call her "sister"!

The little guy immediately became alert and carefully observed the source of the sound.

It didn't have a good impression of this woman who called herself "older sister." It was touched and hugged right after it was born, and was forced to accept all kinds of intimate gestures.

"Bad woman! No good!" The Eight-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python labeled the butterfly with this name in its mind, but at the same time, it couldn't suppress its curiosity and slowly crawled out from beside Su Baichen, quietly approaching the magical mirror.

It wanted to know what this "crazy woman" was up to in the mirror...

Chapter 63 The Clever and Well-behaved Little Cai

An hour later, Su Baichen slowly woke up from his dream.

He opened his eyes, a glint of light seeming to flicker within them before disappearing into his deep pupils. He gently sat up, stretching his somewhat stiff body, his joints making a soft cracking sound.

"He slept really soundly," Su Baichen murmured to himself, his gaze then falling to the floor beneath the bed.

The little colorful snake was lying quietly on a pile of clutter. Its eight-colored scales shimmered with a dreamlike luster in the sunlight streaming through the window, like a miniature rainbow fallen into the messy room.

Its small head rested on its coiled body, its bright snake eyes half-open and half-closed, as if guarding something important.

"What are you doing, little one?"

Su Baichen's voice was still hoarse from just waking up, but it was full of tenderness.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the little snake immediately raised its head, its previously half-closed eyes instantly opening wide, its golden vertical pupils sparkling with childlike joy.

It glided lightly off the pile of clutter, swam swiftly to the bedside, climbed up the edge of the bed, and finally landed steadily on Su Baichen's shoulder.

Xiao Cai affectionately rubbed its head against Su Baichen's cheek, and the cool, scaly touch made Su Baichen chuckle softly.

He reached out and gently stroked the little guy's smooth back, feeling the delicate yet resilient texture of the scales under his fingertips.

Xiao Cai seemed to suddenly remember something. It lifted its head from Su Baichen's shoulder and eagerly pointed with its tail to the pile of junk under the bed.

Su Baichen looked in the direction it pointed and was slightly taken aback—the various items that were originally piled up in a mess had now been sorted and arranged in an orderly manner.

Ancient books, elixirs, and medicinal herbs were piled up in unbelievable order.

"You organized all of this?" Su Baichen asked, unable to hide his surprise.

Xiao Cai immediately raised its head, its tail held high, its snake eyes filled with anticipation of being praised.

Its slender body swayed slightly, just like a schoolchild waiting for the teacher's praise.

Looking at the little guy's adorable appearance, Su Baichen's heart softened, and he gently stroked its head: "I know, Xiao Cai is so capable. So what reward does my Xiao Cai want?"

The moment the word "reward" was uttered, Xiao Cai's tail wagged excitedly, like a cheerful little whip drawing an invisible arc in the air.

It quickly slid off Su Baichen's shoulder and swam swiftly into the depths of the junk pile. A moment later, it emerged again, this time carrying a delicate jade bottle with its tail.

Upon seeing the jade bottle, Su Baichen was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized what it meant and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, "You, you've been busy for so long, just for this food? You're such a little foodie, all you know is eating, you have no ambition."

This jade bottle contains rare fire lotus seeds, each one containing pure fire-attribute spiritual energy, which is of great benefit to cultivators practicing fire-based techniques, and is also a precious item for spirit beasts to enhance their cultivation.

Xiao Cai, whose thoughts had been exposed by its owner, showed no shame whatsoever. Instead, it proudly raised its head, its bright red tongue flicking in and out with a soft hissing sound, as if declaring, "So what if I'm a foodie? I'm a foodie, and I'm proud of it!"

Su Baichen was amused by its appearance and gently tapped its little head with her finger.

However, the next moment, he unexpectedly handed the entire jade bottle to Xiao Cai.

"The whole bottle is yours, eat it!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cai's snake eyes widened suddenly, her golden vertical pupils filled with disbelief.

It blinked, then pointed uncertainly at the jade bottle with its tail, before pointing at itself, as if asking, "Is this really for me? The whole bottle?"

Su Baichen could clearly see that deep within Xiao Cai's shocked eyes, there was also a trace of barely suppressed anticipation.

"Yes, this whole bottle is yours, so eat it without worry."

Upon receiving confirmation, Xiao Cai's eyes instantly lit up with a dazzling light. With its nimble tail, it opened the bottle, and a hot and fragrant aroma immediately wafted out, filling the entire room.

Xiao Cai carefully tilted the bottle, and a bright red lotus seed slid into its mouth.

Su Baichen watched the "mukbang" quietly, her eyes full of tenderness.

He recalled what he had discovered when he scanned the jade bottle with his soul power—not a single fire lotus seed was missing.

This means that when Xiao Cai found this bottle of tempting lotus seeds while tidying up, she actually resisted her instinctive craving and didn't steal a single one.

This is an extraordinary display of self-control for a snake that has just developed sentience.

In Su Baichen's understanding, most newly born intelligent beings only follow their instincts, just like human babies who only know how to eat, drink, and sleep.

Xiao Cai, however, was able to resist the extremely tempting spiritual object, the Fire Lotus Seed. She not only understood the principle of working before enjoying, but also knew how to express her desires in a clever way. Her intelligence was truly astonishing.

"You little rascal, you're really something." Su Baichen sighed softly, reaching out to gently touch Xiao Cai's head as she was enjoying the fire lotus seeds.

Xiao Cai squinted her eyes in enjoyment, but didn't forget to push a fire lotus seed toward Su Baichen, as if inviting her master to share it.

Su Baichen shook his head and said softly, "You eat it yourself. This is a reward for you."

Watching Xiao Cai happily devour the fire lotus seeds, Su Baichen couldn't help but feel a pang of envy—envy that Cai Lin had such a highly intelligent companion beast.

But on second thought, Xiao Cai's high level of intelligence might be related to the earth-shattering tribulation it experienced at birth.

He remembered it clearly: the sky was terribly gloomy that day, with lightning flashing through the dark clouds, as if the gods were enraged.

When Xiao Cai was born, bolts of lightning as thick as buckets struck one after another. If it weren't for Cai Lin blocking them, and Su Baichen providing timely life energy assistance, this little guy would probably have died shortly after birth.

"You little rascal, you're so lucky!" Su Baichen sighed softly, his tone filled with both emotion and relief.

Xiao Cai seemed to understand her master's words. She stopped eating for a moment, raised her head to look at Su Baichen, and her eyes sparkled with dependence and gratitude.

It gently nuzzled Su Baichen's hand with its head, then continued to enjoy its delicious taste.

Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing the person and the snake in warmth and peace.

Looking at the little life on his shoulder, Su Baichen felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside him. Perhaps, this was fate.

In this dog-eat-dog world, isn't it a kind of luck to encounter such a spirited little life?

Xiao Cai seemed to sense Su Baichen's emotional change. She raised her head again and looked at him with her clear golden eyes, as if to say, "I will always be by your side."

Su Baichen smiled slightly and gently stroked Xiao Cai's head: "Okay, go back to cooking."