Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

Chapter 237 Corrupted Ancient Serpent

The so-called "Palace of Bliss" is located deep in the backstreets of Tatunbto, an area where urban redevelopment has not yet been completed, and the roads have not even been widened.

Even if the road were widened, Du Yi, with his physique, wouldn't be able to get in. If he were to walk into the city like that, he would probably crush half of it—as for why the other half of the city wasn't crushed, it's because he was walking sideways.

This is the downside of being too big; you can't go anywhere you want.

Fortunately, Du Yi had already mastered the method to shrink.

Although the method of shrinking was not very stable, as long as the battle was not too intense, his transformation would not collapse like last time. So, after a short while, Du Yi transformed back into a small snake that was a little over a foot long.

"So, which of you can take me there?"

Du Yi looked at the priests.

Unfortunately, none of the priests could do it. On the one hand, it was because putting the serpent god in their sleeves was too blasphemous. On the other hand, even though they reached out to the serpent god after his repeated orders, they couldn't lift the foot-long serpent body off the ground.

"It's like carrying a mountain..."

After several more attempts, Sathek the Greatsword finally had to give up.

"This is something I really can't do."

"It's okay, I don't blame you."

Du Yi could roughly understand why. Obviously, the Ignivas people's old technique for manipulating fire, after he modified it to shrink his body, still had some problems with adaptability. Even if the flames gathered together, they were still just flames. This thing has no weight; it's just that the temperature is a bit higher.

But if it were Du Yi's system, it would be a completely different story. His body had indeed shrunk, but his weight had only decreased slightly.

Perhaps in Du Yi's eyes, this was already a huge reduction, but it was clear that for these ordinary humans, "this little weight" in his eyes was already quite heavy.

"We need to get used to this difference in perspective sooner rather than later. Otherwise, if we accidentally kill some important person one day, will we still be able to build the spaceship?"

As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding," and since Du Yi needed these local natives to help build the spaceship, he inevitably had to give them extra care on a regular basis.

This act of care, in the eyes of the four priests, naturally became a gesture of kindness from the serpent god, which made them once again sigh at the kind of life they had lived when they worshipped the bird-headed sun god.

Fortunately, that bird-headed sun god has already become the new energy barbecue grill that the snake god talked about.

So the four priests led the way while whispering among themselves. However, this honor made Du Yi feel a little uncomfortable. He had deliberately shrunk so that he could go in quietly. Now that the four priests were standing next to him like four bodyguards, who could not see him?

"You guys, move closer together."

Du Yi simply took charge himself, having the four priests walk in pairs, while he simply slipped between them, completely hidden by their figures.

That way, nothing should be noticeable; at least, Du Yi himself felt it was very well hidden.

However, this secret was as conspicuous as a guiding light to the chosen champions outside the city.

"That ancient snake actually shrank on its own!"

The chosen champion had already spotted the opportunity and even drew his longsword on the spot.

"This unstable transformation, if we can strike that ancient serpent with a sword at this moment..."

"Then you'll be the first one to get crushed."

Elias remained expressionless.

"Yes, this method can indeed clear out those local natives, so the question is, who among you can get into that city now?"

Yes, that's the biggest problem, and that's why they're so determined to get rid of these local natives.

It wasn't surprising that these local natives accepted the God of Courage's blessing. After all, there was a price to pay for receiving the God of Courage's blessing: to prove one's courage to the God of Courage. And the way to prove it was that these chosen champions had come here, and this planet would become the arena for the chosen champions until the next champion emerged from among them.

These local natives would be influenced by the god of wisdom... Well, although it's somewhat unexpected, it's still within the realm of possibility. After all, the development paths chosen by these local natives are quite strange. Their pursuit of skills and knowledge would attract the attention of the god of wisdom, which is not surprising.

But now, even the god of joy has turned his gaze to these local natives.

The Temple of Elysium has been built. Clearly, the God of Pleasure values ​​this land highly and even intends to bestow blessings upon it, allowing the local natives to ascend to demonhood.

The so-called ascension is the process of reshaping the soul by changing the form of the body—although the god of courage may occasionally do something similar to his chosen ones, it is a testament to courage and a blessing known as ascension.

This ascension to demonhood is absolute corruption, a reshaping of the body and an absolute distortion of the will.

But it is also a way for the god of pleasure to express his importance.

This means that if they enter the city, they will also come into the sight of the god of pleasure—not the previous ritual to attract the god of pleasure, but truly entering the sight of the god of pleasure.

These two are not the same thing. They can withstand the former, but the latter would corrupt them on the spot.

"But now, the ancient serpent has gone in on its own."

Seeing this, Elias relaxed considerably.

He had initially thought that the ancient serpent had suddenly become excited and wanted to do something in the past few days, but now it seemed that it had ultimately been influenced by the god of pleasure—whatever the reason for the ancient serpent's desire to enter the Temple of Bliss was no longer important at this moment.

The mutation began the moment the ancient serpent stepped into the Temple of Bliss.

No one can escape the influence of the god of pleasure.

After all, courage can be lacking, cowards are everywhere; knowledge can be disregarded, illiteracy is commonplace; but the pursuit of happiness and pleasure is something etched into the instincts of every living being, even into their very soul.

In other words, this ancient snake will definitely...

"……Um?"

Just as Elias was observing from afar on the hillside, the direction of the Elysian Temple in the city suddenly began to shake.

Chapter 238 True Happiness

Du Yi entered the temple surrounded by four priests.

It's called a temple, but it's more like an underground structure where those who refused to make a covenant with him hide and do things that can't be seen in the light of day—of course, Du Yi doesn't see anything shameful about it, since he had already seen much more outrageous content when he was still human.

Compared to entertainment that challenges human values, the local natives gathered here are playing something quite rudimentary.

However, for these local natives, this level of activity was extremely stimulating, even to the point of being taboo—which meant that the appearance of the four priests gave them a real fright.

"You've already found out?"

Many people were even preparing to run away dressed, out of fear of the authority of the four priests, especially Sathek, the Greatsword-wielding warrior, whose divinely bestowed blade had yet to suffer a defeat.

However, they quickly realized what was happening.

What are they running for?

It should be these four priests who are running away.

"Since you're here, then don't leave."

Some soldiers who originally belonged to the law enforcement team came up, but judging from their unrestrained behavior, they no longer resembled soldiers at all.

"Stay here, join us, and share in the joy that the god of pleasure brings..."

"How can I receive it? I can't wait!"

Just then, a voice came from behind the four priests.

The sound did not come from any of the four priests; rather, it seemed to originate from beneath their feet. After the priests stepped aside, everyone saw the small snake, about a foot long.

It was a strange thing that a small snake could speak human language, and the snake's tiny body, less than a foot long and even shorter than a normal person's forearm, made everyone laugh.

However, as they laughed, they found themselves unable to laugh anymore.

Just because this voice sounds somewhat familiar.

Especially those law enforcement team members who were trapped here. They were all former divine warriors, and after they joined the Serpent God's side, they had indeed seen the Serpent God—a voice they could never forget in their lives, and now it was ringing out in front of them once again.

Looking closely, the black and gold patterns on the little snake in front of me seem somewhat familiar.

"This, this, this, this..."

Those law enforcement team members who realized what was happening immediately broke out in a sweat, while those who were still unaware of the situation were now vaguely sensing that something was wrong.

After all, even if they had never heard the voice of the serpent god, they at least knew the status of these four priests. In this vast Tatunbuto, these four priests could be said to be truly above ten thousand people.

So, to be treated with such respect by these four priests, even to be surrounded in the center...

Who else could it be?

"Puff-"

It's unclear who fell to the ground first, but soon after, everyone who had just stood up collapsed.

The fear in their hearts made their legs go weak. They didn't know how the serpent god would treat them. If the serpent god knew that they had begun to worship the god of pleasure in the endless sea of ​​stars...

"Yup!"

Thinking of this, the people who were originally panicked suddenly felt hopeful.

They had already come to believe in the God of Pleasure in the endless starry sea, and they believed that the God of Pleasure would surely come to save them. Right now, this Temple of Ecstasy was completely exposed to the God of Pleasure's sight, which meant that the God of Pleasure already knew everything that had happened here.

That is the god of joy in the starry sky, even the serpent god...

"……Um?"

It was at this moment that Du Yi suddenly sensed something was amiss.

An idea arose out of nowhere in his mind, as if it were an instinctive desire. His instinct told him that as long as he sacrificed everyone in this temple of bliss, he would receive the blessing of the god of pleasure.

"Why are you still offering sacrifices?"

Du Yi had always been somewhat averse to this kind of thing. After all, this so-called sacrifice didn't sound like something a proper deity would do—which made him immediately think that there was something wrong with this so-called god of pleasure.

But immediately, the thought that arose in my mind changed.

The thought reminded him that the god of pleasure sought pleasure, and this so-called sacrifice had to be related to pleasure—simply put, he wanted everyone here to feel happy for it to be considered a complete sacrifice.

"So that's it."

After realizing that things weren't as complicated as he had thought, Du Yi was no longer sleepy.

It's just about making these people feel happy, which isn't a big deal for Du Yi at all—although no matter how you look at it, these people all have their own needs, their own ideas, and their own different understandings of happiness.

But there is one thing they all have in common.

That is, they all have mouths.

As long as you have a mouth, you'll need to eat, and it's impossible to resist the temptation of delicious food. Du Yi couldn't guarantee anything in other aspects, but he was certain of this: he could make everyone present feel happy.

The thought in his mind did not resurface, and it seemed as if he agreed with Du Yi's approach.

Just as Du Yi was directing the four priests to set up the barbecue grill, that inexplicable thought in his heart finally spoke up.

"What do you mean by 'barbecue brings happiness'? Am I crazy or are you crazy?"

This time, what appeared in Du Yi's heart was no longer the vague idea from before, but words that couldn't be more direct.

"Do you really think this kind of thing counts as happiness?"

"What else? Isn't this joyful?"

Du Yi immediately retorted with a question.

In fact, Du Yi already knew from the beginning that this inexplicable thought in his heart came from the influence of the God of Pleasure—but it was still a bit too much to question his happiness so directly as to do so now.

Even the god of pleasure cannot question his skill.

Du Yi has absolute confidence in his barbecue skills, honed over thousands of years.

"Then I'll show you what true happiness is."

With that in mind, Du Yi began his performance.

Despite having a long tail without even fingers, it is more dexterous than human hands, placing all the cut beef on an open flame—clearly, this is the most primitive cooking technique, but high-end ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods.

"Feel the joy."

After observing the heat for a short while, Du Yi removed the beef that was already cooked.

Those present could already smell that fragrance that penetrated deep into their souls.

Chapter 239 Transformation

Although slaughtering cattle is still considered a heinous act in Tatunbhu today, many people have actually eaten beef before.

However, the aroma of this beef was completely different from what they remembered. Usually, the gamey smell of meat needs to be masked by spices, but they couldn't smell any spices at all. As for the gamey smell, there was none. Instead, there was a strange sweet fragrance that filled the air.

Although it has a sweet fragrance, and even contains oils, the fragrance itself is not cloyingly sweet, but rather a strange, refreshing sweetness that is even somewhat invigorating and uplifting.

"It's Yan Gaolan, I added Yan Gaolan."

Noticing everyone's confusion, Du Yi began to explain.