A day passed quickly. Darkness fell and the moonlight was like water. All was silent.

A figure flashed out from a residence and began to roam the Ancient Academy.

This person was, of course, Tu Xiao'an. The strange lake was on his mind, and he wanted to investigate it.

In the dim surroundings, he walked toward the lake behind the flower garden. It was nearly dawn, and the students were all asleep in their dorms, leaving the campus quiet.

As he reached the lake, the faint, sorrowful sound of a flute drifted strangely from the calm surface, sometimes near, sometimes far. Tu Xiao'an stood before the small lake, the hallowed moonlight bathing him and making his handsome features look exceptionally refined.

The flute's melody was still just as mournful and melancholic, as if recounting the world's most bitter sorrows.

Tu Xiao'an listened intently, trying to understand the meaning the flute sought to convey. His mind was as clear as a mirror; closing his eyes, he could silently perceive every blade of grass and every tree nearby.

He saw two birds sleeping neck to neck on a tree. He saw a rat scurrying furtively in a dark corner by the lake. In the sky, an unknown bird flapped its wings and flew past.

'Consciousness Power: Penetrate.'

Tu Xiao'an projected his powerful Consciousness Power onto the lake's surface. He wanted to penetrate it and find the source of the flute music.

But then, Tu Xiao'an frowned. The lake's surface shimmered and rippled faintly, seemingly shrouded by a mysterious force. His Consciousness Power couldn't penetrate the water.

'Could there really be an Ancient Array down there?'

'And is a Rank Three Demon Spirit being suppressed within it?'

Tu Xiao'an's mind raced with wild thoughts. After pondering for a long while, he came to a simple conclusion.

'I'll just go in and take a look. As a snake, I've never actually been in the water before.'

Even if it were a dragon's lair or a tiger's den beneath the lake, Tu Xiao'an had the courage to venture in. Who knew, he might even have a fortuitous encounter.

'Cat Spirit Haitang said there seemed to be some kind of monster at the bottom of the lake, something between a snake and a fish. I might as well see what it is.'

His mind made up, a sharp glint flashed in Tu Xiao'an's eyes. He took a great leap and plunged directly into the lake.

He vanished beneath the surface in an instant. It was a good thing no one saw him; otherwise, they might have thought he'd thrown himself into the lake to commit suicide.

Upon entering the lake, he found the water was incredibly cold and the light was dim. Tu Xiao'an's gaze was as sharp as electricity, so his vision wasn't greatly affected, but he could only see his surroundings within a hundred-meter radius.

In the water, Tu Xiao'an could still faintly hear the sorrowful, phantom-like flute music. It seemed to come from all directions, making it impossible to discern its source.

Tu Xiao'an could only keep descending. The deeper he went, the more shocked he became. The bottom of the lake seemed to be a bottomless abyss.

As he continued his descent, it became clear this was an underground lake. The pressure from the deep water was immense, something that would be fatal to an ordinary person, but it was no great issue for Tu Xiao'an.

After diving several hundred meters, Tu Xiao'an scanned his surroundings in the underground lake. He was suddenly taken aback; he had spotted a subterranean karst cave. It was a marvelous sight.

Inside were stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars, stone flowers, stone curtains, and stone waterfalls—all sorts of karst formations, each unique and magnificent.

The flute music... The faint, phantom-like melody was closer now, so close it was as if someone were standing right in front of him, playing.

'Could it be coming from inside this cave?'

'It seems a bit supernatural. If I weren't so confident in my own strength right now, I really wouldn't have dared to enter the water. This lake is just too mysterious.'

Tu Xiao'an swam toward the karst cave. Next to its entrance, a large mass of what looked like weeds swayed densely, like a cluster of tentacles.

'A closer look... weeds? No, that's not overgrown weeds.'

When Tu Xiao'an got a clear look, he saw that the so-called weeds were actually countless water snakes, writhing in a shocking dance before the cave.

'That's right, snakes. In this world, there is probably no one who knows snakes better than I do. Since they're in the water, they must be water snakes.'

These water snakes were about a meter long with grayish-brown stripes. There was nothing remarkable about them, except for their sheer numbers.

The area around the karst cave was crawling with these water snakes, and there were even more inside. It seemed the cave was a Snake Cave for them.

It was a good thing it was Tu Xiao'an who had come down here. Anyone else faced with this dense mass of writhing water snakes, dancing like weeds, would have been driven to despair, not daring to take a single step closer.

Tu Xiao'an continued swimming toward the cave. When he was less than ten meters away, the water snakes seemed to awaken all at once. The water filled with hissing sounds as they surged toward him like a storm, threatening to engulf him.

The scene was absolutely terrifying.

"Hmph. How dare you act so brazenly in the presence of this Snake King!"

Tu Xiao'an snorted coldly, and the aura of a Snake King erupted from his body, sweeping outward.

Suddenly, the vast swarm of water snakes froze, letting out panicked hisses. They were completely unable to withstand Tu Xiao'an's Snake King aura.

These water snakes were only around Level 5 or 6. How could they possibly endure the aura of an enthroned Snake King?

Having intimidated the swarm of snakes, Tu Xiao'an swam smoothly into the subterranean cave. As soon as he entered, he saw many uniquely shaped stalactites, stone pillars, and stone curtains.

The rock walls on both sides were covered in beautiful and varied, naturally formed patterns. There was no discernible order to them, but they were crawling with writhing water snakes, which was rather disgusting.

Tu Xiao'an saw that the cave, too, was bottomless, and it was likely fraught with danger inside.

The flute music... Tu Xiao'an was now certain it was coming from the depths of this cave, like a guiding beacon leading him deeper on his exploration.

Suddenly, a strong sense of unease washed over Tu Xiao'an. He felt an immense sense of crisis as the water currents began to surge violently.

He looked up to see a water monster that was neither fish nor snake shooting toward him like an arrow. The creature was about ten meters long, with a single horn on its head, a snake's body, and a fish's tail. It was lunging at him with its cavernous, blood-red mouth wide open.

"Holy crap!"

Tu Xiao'an was startled and hastily dodged to the side. The monster's sword-sharp teeth grazed past him, but its snake-like tail instantly wrapped around his waist.

'In the water, I can't move with complete freedom unless I reveal my snake form.'

'What the hell kind of monster is this?'

Though the monster's tail was wrapped around his waist, Tu Xiao'an wasn't particularly panicked. He threw a Conscious Insight at it.

"Ding... Fish Demon Giant Snake, mixed breed. Level 15. Devouring it will grant 300 Evolutionary Energy."

'A Fish Demon Giant Snake? Never heard of it. I suppose it can only be found deep in this underground lake.'

'Merely Level 15, yet it grew so huge—a full ten meters long.'

'Its appearance is truly bizarre and terrifying. Could it be a hybrid of a fish and a snake?'

'I don't care if you're a mixed breed. As long as you have snake genes, you're committing insubordination.' With that thought, Tu Xiao'an unleashed his Snake King aura.

"Submit to me, now!"

ROAR—

The Fish Demon Giant Snake's eyes glinted menacingly, exuding a chilling intent. Immediately, Tu Xiao'an felt the snake tail around his waist tighten, preparing to crush him to death.

'It's not affected by my Snake King aura?'

'What the hell, is this thing a snake or not?'