Outside the valley, Su He felt a sense of foreboding, a crisis instinct unique to beasts.

Due to being a transmigrator, Su He's beastly intuition was never as sharp as other wild animals, and it was only recently that it had slightly improved through evolution, albeit at the slowest pace among all his abilities.

Inside the valley, Green Snake was aware of his presence and was highly vigilant.

This was normal. Among beasts, predators with comparable strength rarely entered each other's territory unless they intended to seize it.

Su He stood at the mouth of the valley and roared inward, "Ang~"

I mean no harm, just want to make friends!

He wasn't sure if Green Snake could understand his roar, but he intended to convey this message. Since they were all on the path to becoming demons, they should at least have some spiritual intelligence, right?

Turtle evolved vocal cords precisely for communication, didn't it?

Perhaps, just like how ears evolved to understand crocodile roars, the sounds made by evolved vocal cords could naturally be understood by all beasts?

The valley remained silent as usual, with no response.

Even the hissing of other snakes was just meaningless noise, at most carrying a hint of hostility.

"Ang~"

I want to make friends!

Su He simplified his message.

Still, there was no response from the valley.

"Ang~"

If you don't answer, I'll take it as a yes, and I'm coming in!

After roaring, Su He still received no response, and the hostility within the valley neither increased nor decreased.

This was a tough nut to crack, less responsive than those ordinary crocodiles.

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Su He muttered to himself, unsure of what to do. Returning now felt unsatisfying, but going in directly might provoke even greater hostility from Green Snake, leading to a fight, which wouldn't be good since this was its lair.

Su He wasn't afraid of snakes—as long as they didn't use poison.

He hesitated, just as he was about to move. Three venomous snakes simultaneously struck at his exposed hind leg and tail.

Su He's turtle face changed instantly. He flicked his tail to look, finding three venomous snakes clinging to him, their sharp fangs gnawing at his skin, but—they couldn't penetrate.

Several evolutions had not only made his shell incredibly hard but also toughened his skin, and the snakes' bite force wasn't enough to pierce turtle skin.

The venom sprayed on him just slid off.

Su He quickly rubbed the venom off on the grass and hurried back to the lake to wash it off.

A quarter of an hour, two quarters...

There was no discomfort at the bite site, not even an itch. The snake venom hadn't penetrated his skin.

Unconvinced, Su He caught a wild chicken by the neck, stepping on its tail and letting it spray venom on him. It was a mildly venomous snake, not even lethal to chickens.

Su He didn't go into the water, keeping an eye on the skin soaked in snake venom, and still felt no discomfort. Testing with other venomous snakes yielded similar results.

Feeling reassured, Su He crawled into the valley with an indifferent gait.

Venomous snakes appeared frequently around him, their hissing warnings incessant. This time, meaningful sounds emerged, mostly telling Su He to get out of Snake Valley.

Su He was unfazed; this place was like a warehouse of spicy snacks. If not for needing something from Green Snake, each one of them would be like a small spicy strip.

Snake Valley was shaped like the character "甲," with a narrow, dark entrance thirty meters long and just over ten meters wide. Inside, it opened up to a space as large as a football field, even featuring a pond with an old willow tree by its edge.

A large Green Snake coiled on the willow tree.

In just a few days, it had grown again. Clearly an Emerald Green Snake, yet it had the size of a python, unlike typical pythons with small heads and large bodies. It was well-proportioned, swaying gracefully.

Green Snake coiled on the willow tree, lowered its head, and hissed at Su He.

Amidst the hissing, there was only hostility, no other meaning, not even a complete word.

Communication was definitely out of the question. It had only been two months since the beasts consumed the Demon Morphing Fruit, not enough time to engage in philosophical discussions.

Being able to understand each other's simple words was already good enough.

Su He had come just to see how Green Snake obtained and practiced demon magic, but in this hostile state, Green Snake certainly wasn't in the mood to practice.

He needed to find a way to make it lower its guard.

Ang~

Little snake, you're very beautiful.

Su He flirted a bit.

"Sha!"

Green Snake suddenly sprayed a thick mist, its tail flicking the mist to envelop both itself and Su He.

Su He immediately held his breath and closed his eyes.

Emerald Green Snake was non-venomous, but this one clearly couldn't be judged by common sense. If Su He could evolve teeth, why couldn't Emerald Green Snake evolve venom?

Su He slightly lowered his head, straining to listen in all directions.

Whoosh!

A snake slithered through the grass.

Here it comes!

Ordinary Emerald Green Snakes typically fed on insects and earthworms, lacking combat power. Who knew what abilities this Green Snake, on the verge of becoming a demon, possessed to dare attack directly?

Clearly, it was a timid snake at heart, yet it acted so recklessly, unwilling to exchange even a word, attacking on sight.

A miscalculation.

He should have observed it for a few more days.

Suddenly, the mist trembled, and Green Snake coiled around Su He like a hemp rope, squeezing tightly.

...

No movement.

It squeezed again, still no reaction. Su He's turtle shell didn't even show signs of caving in; high-quality meat wasn't eaten for nothing.

This little snake was quite strong. Su He suspected it could strangle an ox to death, but unfortunately, today its opponent was Su He.

Su He feared nothing more than a contest of toughness and strength.

If he didn't want to learn demon magic from Green Snake, he would have bitten its neck off in an instant. A snake that had digested most of the Demon Morphing Fruit, even without the dice's blessing, was still a great supplement.

This little snake had suddenly obtained the Demon Morphing Fruit and started evolving, completely unaccustomed to fighting with such a massive body! If it were Su He, he wouldn't be so reckless; weren't there at least thousands of venomous snakes outside ready to join the fray?

Why fight alone when you can gang up?

After several failed attempts to strangle, Green Snake quickly retreated, slipping away without a trace.

Su He listened intently.

"Sizzle~ Pop!"

A faint sound of water breaking came from the lake; Green Snake had gone underwater.

Inexperienced indeed, what snake fights a turtle underwater?

Su He crawled toward the pond with his eyes closed, relying on memory, entered the water, and opened his eyes.

The underwater scenery was nice, with a stone bottom and crystal-clear water. In the middle of the small lake, a gap opened, forming a natural tunnel. The gap was quite large, about six meters long and three meters wide.

Underwater, there was no sign of Green Snake; it must have escaped through the tunnel.

Su He paddled after it.

The tunnel was winding, lined with strange rocks, some draped with snake skins of various sizes. Green Snake must have shed its skin here over the past two months.

Following the tunnel forward, Su He emerged from an opening, and the view suddenly opened up—it was Listening Sea Lake.

The tunnel connected Listening Sea Lake and the small lake in Snake Valley.

There was no sign of Green Snake, nor the scent of the Demon Morphing Fruit. Green Snake must have swum far underwater, with its scent not yet rising to the surface.

A failed visit, gaining nothing.

Of course, it couldn't be said that way. If Green Snake remained uncooperative, Snake Valley would be a decent place to stay, much better than the pill furnace Su He had prepared.

Su He oriented himself and swam toward Crocodile Beach. The tunnel entrance wasn't far from Crocodile Beach, making him and Green Snake true neighbors.

Emerald Green Snake was timid and likely wouldn't dare return to Snake Valley for a day or two. He'd try again in a couple of days, bringing gifts this time. No one minds more gifts, and Su He didn't believe he could get along with Old Crocodile but not with Green Snake.

As long as he shamelessly showed up repeatedly, he could eventually make Green Snake accustomed to his presence and stop viewing him as an enemy.

Su He swam toward Crocodile Beach, and even from ten miles away, a strong scent of blood wafted over.

Something must have happened at Crocodile Beach. Su He cautiously quickened his pace, and as he got closer, he could hear the crocodiles' roars rising and falling.

Looking up, Crocodile Beach was in chaos, with two groups of crocodiles locked in a fierce battle, staining the entire water area red with blood.