Bai Yuan finally found the source of the demonic aura in a corner of the back kitchen where wild game was kept.

It was a small cyan snake, only the size of his palm.

"This is it?"

Bai Yuan gazed at the Little Cyan Snake lying motionless on the ground as if it were dead. The demonic aura was indeed emanating from its body.

’A third metamorphosis!’

The three words surfaced in his mind involuntarily.

A snake undergoes nine metamorphoses to become a dragon.

A Snake Demon molts once every hundred years. After each molting, it becomes extremely weak, but if it survives, its power will increase dramatically.

It was just like the Snake Demon that Bai Yuan had killed in Zhu Huan’s secret chamber.

But that large snake had only undergone its first molting, while this little snake before him had already undergone its third. This meant the little snake had three hundred years of cultivation!

The more times a Snake Demon molts, the weaker it becomes after each one.

This little snake in the back kitchen was so weak it couldn’t even maintain its original form, which was why it had shrunk to the size of a palm.

Bai Yuan reached out and poked the little snake with his finger.

There was no reaction.

A snake this small was probably brought to the Five Flavors Pavilion by accident, scooped up into a game basket by a Hunter.

It had probably just molted, which would explain why it was so weak.

He called over Master Chen, who was in charge of the back kitchen.

"Who delivered this little snake?"

Master Chen stared at the little snake, pondering for a long while before speaking. "It was probably delivered by a Hunter from Cao Valley County."

Bai Yuan nodded slightly.

’So it’s not a demon from near Qinghe County,’ he thought. ’No wonder I’ve never heard of it.’

This Snake Demon was quite unlucky. Normally, before molting, a Snake Demon would choose a hidden location. For some reason, this one’s nest had been raided by a Hunter.

Bai Yuan fetched a small wooden box and placed the little snake inside.

Killing this little snake might yield a considerable number of enhancement points, but he chose another path: to tame it.

Besides finding demons, a Demon Hunter possessed another ability: demon taming.

And the condition to unlock the Demon Taming skill was to keep a demon by his side for seven days.

Most demons were free and proud. Unless suppressed with overwhelming martial force, they would never obey. This little snake, however, was the perfect subject for unlocking the Demon Taming skill.

’Don’t tell me I’m the chosen one?’

Finding a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon in the kitchen... it was hard not to see this as a blessing from the heavens.

To refuse a gift from heaven is to invite misfortune.

Bai Yuan decisively tucked the wooden box containing the little snake into his sleeve.

...

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.

To prevent any accidents, Bai Yuan hadn’t gone out to fool around. Instead, he had obediently stayed in the Five Flavors Pavilion.

Once the time was up, his panel quietly changed.

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Swordsman, Boxer, Chef]

[Skills: Cooking (Master), Demon Finding (Skilled), Demon Taming (Uninitiated), Tiger-Crane Form (Skilled), Blood Tiger Saber (Proficient)...]

[Enhancement Points: 51]

The Demon Taming skill had indeed appeared in his skill list.

Bai Yuan had saved his enhancement points for seven days just for this moment.

"Add points!"

[In your first year of practicing Demon Taming, you start by training like breaking a hawk.]

...

[In your tenth year of practicing Demon Taming, you gradually begin to master the techniques for taming demons.]

...

[You practice Demon Taming day and night for fifteen years without rest. You can finally tame some weaker demons.]

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Swordsman, Boxer, Chef]

[Skills: Cooking (Master), Demon Finding (Skilled), Demon Taming (Initiate), Tiger-Crane Form (Skilled), Blood Tiger Saber (Proficient)...]

[Enhancement Points: 0]

His enhancement points were exhausted, and the Demon Taming skill had been raised to the Initiate level.

The Initiate-level Demon Taming was perfect for use on the little snake.

Although the little snake’s original cultivation was high, it was now incredibly weak. Its consciousness had even dissipated, making this the perfect time to take advantage of its vulnerability.

A Demon Pet with the power of a third metamorphosis was far more useful than the enhancement points he would get from killing it.

Bai Yuan would have loved to tame thousands of Demon Pets at once to help him farm enhancement points, but unfortunately, the system had thoroughly quashed that idea.

For every level he raised his Demon Taming skill, he could acquire one more Demon Pet.

Still, one Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon was better than ten weasel-like demons. One shouldn’t be too greedy.

Demon Taming was actually quite similar to animal training. It involved getting the demon to gradually familiarize itself with its master’s aura, supplemented with herbal medicine.

Bai Yuan immediately made a trip to the largest herbal medicine shop in Qinghe County.

The Huwei Arts Hall’s medicine shop only sold medicines that benefited Martial Artists. Other, more obscure remedies could only be found at the Liu Family’s pharmacy.

His luck was good; the pharmacy had all the pills he needed for the initial taming process.

However, the Liu Family monopolized the herbal medicine business in the city, so the prices were steep.

Bai Yuan could be considered a wealthy man now, so he readily bought the herbs he needed.

This bit of silver was nothing compared to taming a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon.

Following the images that had appeared in his mind, he ground up the herbs and rolled them into small, pitch-black pills.

These little black pills were a potent poison to humans, but a great tonic for demons.

He placed a little black pill in the wooden box.

The Little Cyan Snake seemed to have smelled the fragrance of the medicinal pill. Its motionless body gradually started to react.

The Little Cyan Snake slowly opened its mouth and swallowed the entire black pill. Its body was so slender that the pill created a comical-looking bulge in its belly.

Seeing the Little Cyan Snake swallow the pill without any trouble, Bai Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

Taming a demon was a test of patience; it couldn’t be rushed.

He would need to feed it the medicinal pills for three months before the demon would understand his commands. To make it move like an extension of his own arm would take even longer. But spending extra time for a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon was well worth it.

After eating the little black pill, the Little Cyan Snake returned to its previous state, lying motionless in the wooden box.

Satisfied, Bai Yuan closed the small wooden box and tucked it into his robes.

Before long, he would have a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon as a helper, which would surely produce some unexpected results when the time came.

This heaven-sent fortune put him in a great mood.

But he was the only one in all of Qinghe County who could seize such an opportunity. If an ordinary person saw the little snake, they would just think it was a common creature and might even step on it and kill it.

In fact, the Little Cyan Snake’s encounter with Bai Yuan was also a stroke of fortune for it.

If it hadn’t met Bai Yuan, a Demon Hunter, its current state was a hair’s breadth from death. It would have been impossible for it to survive until its power recovered.

"I should give you a name."

Bai Yuan thought for a moment, then blurted out a name.

"Xiaoqing?"

"That’s a good name. From now on, you’ll be Xiaoqing."

Xiaoqing still lay silently in the small wooden box in his robes, showing no reaction. Bai Yuan took this as the Little Cyan Snake’s tacit approval of the name.

He felt his naming skills were truly excellent.

If he had the chance in the future, he’d have to catch a white snake and call it... Lady Bai?