'Wasn't this cold, sinister aura emanating from the cat the very same special Snake Race aura he had been searching for?'

It was no wonder Tu Xiao'an was so shocked. Imagine a cat giving off the aura of a snake—wasn't that turning the world upside down? Utter chaos.

As mentioned before, auras could not be faked. Humans had human Qi, and Demons had Demon Qi.

Different animals had completely distinct auras, just as no two people had the same fingerprints.

Besides, these were two entirely different creatures. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Just as Tu Xiao'an was marveling at this, his expression suddenly changed. A brutally powerful and unrivaled aura crashed down on him like a tidal wave.

In an instant, Tu Xiao'an stumbled back three large steps. The brutal aura swept through the lab like a tornado, leaving a trail of destruction. Vials of potions, equipment, and miscellaneous objects were all instantly shredded to dust.

A spider hidden in a dark corner fell from its web, killed instantly.

Countless tiny creatures perished under this aura, completely unable to withstand the pressure.

The snakes on the floor hissed, all of them coiling into tight balls and trembling.

Tu Xiao'an steadied himself and, despite his inner shock, let out a small sigh of relief. 'If that aura had been just a sliver stronger, my fake human form would have probably disintegrated.'

Then, Tu Xiao'an looked over and saw a pure white cat not far away, its fur standing on end, surrounded by a gale of formidable power. Its red eyes seemed to be on the verge of shooting out beams of light.

The cat's pupils were demonic and wicked, yet they looked exactly like a snake's. For a moment, Tu Xiao'an almost thought he was looking at a snake wearing a cat's skin.

From its eyes and its aura, anyone would mistake it for a snake—an incredibly powerful snake, one that might not even be inferior to Tu Xiao'an, the Snake King, himself.

Otherwise, the snakes outside wouldn't have defied his, the Snake King's, will.

'It's clearly a Cat Spirit, so why is it showing these strange signs?' For the life of him, Tu Xiao'an couldn't figure it out.

The Cat Spirit grew more and more savage. The Thunder Shock had put it at a disadvantage earlier, and now it regarded Tu Xiao'an as its mortal enemy. It was utterly furious. Its bewitching red eyes glowed brighter, and that red light seemed to stain its pure white fur, turning it a deep crimson.

The Snake Race aura around it intensified. If Tu Xiao'an hadn't already ascended to his throne, he feared he too would have been forced to submit to this aura.

If the awakened Taiyin Snake were here, it would be prostrating itself in worship, completely unable to withstand this Snake Race aura.

"What's it doing? Is it going to transform?"

Tu Xiao'an was stunned speechless. He then sucked in a sharp breath. A cat turning crimson was one thing, but it was still small. Suddenly, however, the entire laboratory began to shake violently.

With a deafening RUMBLE, the laboratory shook. When Tu Xiao'an looked again, his eyes filled with a bizarre expression.

The Cat Spirit, which exuded a Snake Race aura, also possessed size-changing Divine Techniques. Its petite body had suddenly expanded several dozen times, now standing nearly two meters tall and a meter wide. It had transformed from a cute little cat into a monstrous beast, larger and more imposing than a tiger.

What shocked Tu Xiao'an the most was that after its body had expanded, its cat tail underwent an earth-shattering transformation.

It had become a long, thick, and powerful snake tail that dragged on the floor.

'Is this some kind of cat and snake hybrid?'

Tu Xiao'an was truly taken aback, but he quickly composed himself. He had seen his fair share of the world and witnessed plenty of bizarre things.

His mental fortitude had long since become strong.

'No matter how strange something is, there's always an explanation. I just haven't found the source of it yet.'

'I don't care if you're a cat or a snake. In front of me, the Snake King, you will grovel.'

Just as a domineering look filled Tu Xiao'an's bewitching eyes, his vision blurred, and an indescribable force slammed into his chest.

BOOM...!

A clean white wall in the laboratory instantly caved in, and a spiderweb of cracks spread rapidly across it. Tu Xiao'an felt as if he had been branded into the wall, his whole body about to fall apart.

Pain, pain, pain! He was actually feeling the illusion of pain, even though this was just a fake body.

That transformed Cat Spirit was so fast! It had turned into a monster, yet its speed had increased. And its power was even more incredible—it was far beyond a thousand catties of force.

Tu Xiao'an was hit before he could even react. Perhaps it was because the distance between them was too short; after all, they were only in a single laboratory.

Tu Xiao'an's handsome face contorted. In his peripheral vision, he saw the monstrous Cat Spirit's demonic, venomous-snake-like eyes locked onto him, looking as if it wanted to swallow him whole.

At that moment...

"Ding... Host's human form has sustained 50% damage. If damage exceeds 80%, it will immediately disintegrate."

As the system's notification sounded, Tu Xiao'an frowned. 'A fake body is a fake body. It's all for show.'

'If this were his true snake body, he could have taken that terrifying hit without any issue.'

'Give me Insight. I want to see just what kind of monster you are.'

Taking advantage of the fact that the Cat Spirit hadn't attacked again, Tu Xiao'an immediately used Conscious Insight on it.

"Ding... Haitang, Level 29 High Rank Feline Creature. Lifespan: 162 years. Possesses size-changing Superpower abilities. Docile when calm, brutal when provoked."

The data file for the monstrous version of the Cat Spirit instantly appeared in Tu Xiao'an's mind.

But just a moment later, Tu Xiao'an dismissed the data. 'This information is completely wrong.'

The data said it was a High Rank Cat Spirit as high as Level 29, with the potential to break through to Level 30 and become a Rank Three Creature.

Its lifespan was even more exaggerated, longer than a human's. A mere cat had somehow lived for over a hundred years.

But Tu Xiao'an could understand all that. After all, it wasn't unusual for Rank Two Creatures to live a long time. The problem was that the system data didn't mention a single thing about a snake.

This was clearly a cat-snake hybrid. Nothing else mattered; its long, thick snake tail dragging on the ground behind it was shocking enough.

High Rank Creatures had titles, like the Peacock, Azure Owl. This Cat Spirit was called Haitang.

Haitang? Haitang?

'Why does that name sound so familiar?' Tu Xiao'an thought for a moment and was suddenly reminded of Chen Gaoyang, the man who was born blind and always wore sunglasses.

Wasn't his girlfriend's name Haitang?

In that instant, it was as if he had been struck by lightning. He looked at the Cat Spirit, his face a mixture of bewilderment and complexity.

"Brother Gaoyang, from now on, Haitang will be your eyes, your hands, and your feet."

Recalling the memory he stole from Chen Gaoyang, Haitang's voice was soft, gentle, and pleasant to the ear. Even though Tu Xiao'an knew that Chen Gaoyang's girlfriend was just a Cat Spirit in disguise...

...now, with the actual Cat Spirit before him, he found it impossible to connect its vicious, brutal side with that gentle, whispered voice.