Invincible Snake Emperor-Chapter 196 - 192: Myriad Snakes Surging
Sharing the joy with the people.
Many people had benefited from the Snake King Water specially prepared by Tu Xiao'an, their every ailment cured. Naturally, their whole families rejoiced.
Tu Xiao'an was also overjoyed. The feeling of doing a good deed was a happy one, and beyond that happiness, there was also a reward.
Power of Faith: 12,050,000.
In just one afternoon, the Power of Faith in his system had skyrocketed to over twelve million. What an insane concept.
He had become a multi-millionaire in an instant.
He could even go to the System Mall and purchase the heaven-shaking bloodline of a Divine Beast.
In front of the temple, the sea of people was as vast as ever, a roiling mass of heads. All who had received their Snake King Water and statue breathed a sigh of relief as if a great weight had been lifted, having feared that by the time their turn came, there wouldn't be a single drop left.
「Three hours later.」
After sunset, around 5:00 PM.
There were simply too many people—hundreds of thousands of them. It was impossible to wait for everyone to receive their share, so the distribution had to be postponed. Why?
Because the Snake King statue had to be enshrined in its rightful place inside the temple. How could it be left outside indefinitely?
Order was restored at the scene. Before the statue entered the temple, there was another major event to be held: the release of the snakes on She Mountain.
Inside a massive basket, tens of thousands of snakes awaited their release. Venomous snakes of every color and species hissed, seeming to be extremely excited as well.
They were about to be free, to return to the natural world they knew.
Releasing the venomous snakes was a major feature of the Snake King Festival, much like how a newly enthroned emperor in ancient times would grant a general amnesty to the world.
The great diversity of snakes on She Mountain, the sheer number of venomous species—it was all, in the end, thanks to the Snake King Festival. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
A festival passed down for hundreds of years, every year people would offer their most precious snake species to the Snake King. Many of these venomous snakes were not native to She Mountain, but came from all over the country, and even from all over the world.
Every year, on this day, many precious snake species were released on She Mountain. For example, in the basket right now was a venomous snake, completely black, called a Mexican Black Kingsnake. It was the special offering from that middle-aged, heavy-set uncle.
He was even interviewed by Li Qingzhao's team.
The uncle had done it to add another snake species to She Mountain, and also to contribute to the people of Bai Town.
The vast majority of people tried their best to offer famous snakes from various countries. In ancient times, when technology was less advanced, the release was more of a formality, and the snakes released were usually common local species.
But in modern times, the ritual had escalated. To express their utmost piety to the Snake King, people would go to great lengths to find venomous snakes not yet present on She Mountain.
Now, with tens of thousands of snakes writhing in the basket, the sight was terrifying to even think about. The scene of countless venomous snakes coiled around each other was enough to make one's skin crawl.
You could easily find many foreign snake species inside. Once these foreign snakes entered She Mountain, they would rest, recuperate, and reproduce, naturally adding another type of snake to the mountain's ecosystem.
The so-called "Mountain of a Hundred Snakes," She Mountain itself, was the result of human protection and cultivation. Otherwise, with so many generations of Snake Catchers making a living from them, the snakes of She Mountain would have been hunted to extinction long ago.
The number of venomous snakes in the basket today was also exceptionally, astonishingly high, breaking a centuries-old record.
Special personnel had been recording the number of snakes up until the start of the Snake King ceremony. As of now, the number of venomous snakes in the basket had reached 23,758, with 369 different species.
How absurdly high was that? It was probably enough to apply for a Guinness World Record.
Nearly twenty-four thousand venomous snakes, and not a single one was common. The vast majority were rare species. What was even more shocking was the number of different species: 369.
In previous years, it was already considered incredible if the number of released snakes broke ten thousand, to say nothing of the species variety. Having fifty different species was considered excellent.
And another thing had to be mentioned: the economic value of these twenty-thousand-plus venomous snakes was surely an astronomical, unimaginable figure.
But the people of Bai Town didn't care. They were practically flaunting their wealth. They were proud of their Snake King and willingly offered the best snakes for the release. At the same time, it was also a way to ensure She Mountain would have even more venomous snakes.
These 369 snake species taking up residence on She Mountain would bring a new atmosphere to the mountain, and with it, more wealth.
Bai Town's economy thrived on the snake industry.
As the tens of thousands of snakes were about to be released, people constantly held up their phones to film. Who had ever seen so many venomous snakes? Densely packed and piled on top of each other, their different striped colors and varying species formed a vibrant, multicolored oil painting of serpents.
Though such a scene was enough to make one's skin crawl and break out in goosebumps, it couldn't dampen the crowd's enthusiasm.
Over twenty thousand venomous snakes! How could they not capture such a moment? In the future, they could even brag about it. "I've seen more snakes than you have hairs on your body, believe it or not!"
Of course, this was just a bit of morbid humor, but it indirectly illustrated just how grand and extraordinary the Snake King Festival in Bai Town was.
The release of tens of thousands of snakes was a massive undertaking. If these snakes were released in a city, it would be an absolute catastrophe. An untold number of people would die from their venomous bites.
Moreover, the vast majority were highly venomous, with immense killing power. They could easily take a person's life.
Usually, people would use dozens of baskets to carry the snakes up to She Mountain for the release. But this year, so many venomous snakes had been contributed that just releasing them was no simple matter.
Suddenly, the man in the Daoist robe, Li Shun, shuddered as if he had received some kind of command. He walked over to the basket containing the twenty-thousand-plus venomous snakes, but his next action scared everyone witless.
He was opening the basket to release the snakes.
What? He was releasing the snakes right here?
Everyone was shocked. The emergence of over twenty thousand venomous snakes would create a scene of such terrifying malevolence that it would be completely beyond human control.
'Has Li Shun gone mad?'
Many people felt their hearts pound with terror just thinking about the image of ten thousand snakes surging forth. Their hair stood on end as if possessed by a cold demon, and their minds went blank, utterly bewildered.
This act was far too dangerous. If control was lost for even a moment, an unknown number of people would die by the fangs of these venomous snakes.
There were hundreds of thousands of people at the scene!
Even though this was Bai Town, where people made their living from snakes, it was for that very reason that everyone clearly understood the nature of venomous snakes.
No one could control over twenty thousand venomous snakes at once—not even the best Snake Catchers in Bai Town. Li Shun's actions were, without a doubt, putting everyone in grave danger.
CRACK...
The snake basket was opened. Instantly, an unending cacophony of hisses filled the air. The venomous snakes inside, as if they had found an outlet for their pent-up energy, poured out of the opening like an overwhelming torrent.
In that instant, everyone scrambled backward, their faces turning deathly pale.
A torrent of snakes surged forth, slithering out endlessly. The hot air was instantly obliterated by the cold, sinister aura emanating from the snakes.
"Li Shun, what are you doing? Why are you releasing the snakes like this?"
Many people roared, questioning the man in the Daoist robe. On such a joyous day of universal celebration, was he trying to get people killed?
