Although the people of Konoha found it strange, once they saw that the one responsible was Ye Liang, no one dared to interfere with him.
After all, he was a mysterious supreme expert!
"Phew, finally found it!"
Ye Liang wiped the place clean before finally discovering the entrance to Ryuchi Cave!
"So it's right at the center of this forest. No wonder I couldn't find it before—it's definitely genjutsu." Ye Liang reached out and touched the gate of Ryuchi Cave. It felt slightly illusory and gave off a chilling coldness that pierced his bones.
He walked straight inside.
It seemed to be a magnificent palace—luxurious and grand beyond imagination. A plaque above the entrance clearly bore the words "Ryuchi Cave."
But Ye Liang knew better. This heavenly scenery was actually just an illusion created through genjutsu. In reality, this was simply an ordinary snake den!
He tightened his nerves slightly.
In the original canon, entering Ryuchi Cave didn't immediately grant Sage Mode. One still had to pass three trials set by the White Snake Sage; otherwise, those snake women inside would drain you until only bones remained!
A lump formed in his throat as he swallowed hard.
"Just three trials? I've read the canon. What do I have to fear?"
He remembered—the first trial tested abstinence from food. At the beginning, countless delicious dishes would appear on the table. Because of the genjutsu, you'd feel extremely hungry. But if you ate anything from that table, you'd be paralyzed by the poison within.
And then become food for the snake women...
"Hmm... snake women food..." Ye Liang felt somewhat awkward. As a modern person, and especially a shut-in, Ye Liang was actually quite fond of food. So even though this trial seemed simple, he was still a little nervous!
Walking deeper into the cave,
there really was a huge banquet table full of delicacies, and beside it stood a beautiful woman.
Ye Liang looked at the feast, then at the snake woman next to it—he froze.
Snake Woman: "What's your problem? Staring like that?"
Ye Liang: "Staring at an idiot!"
Snake Woman: "Who's the idiot?"
Ye Liang: "You are!"
...
The snake woman felt deeply insulted!
I mean, look at all this food here—why aren't you eating it, and instead keep staring at me, a snake spirit?
It's not like I have flowers growing on my face or something!
Ye Liang locked eyes on her ample cleavage—
Diverting attention was an excellent method for self-restraint!
Ye Liang was resisting temptation—his diversion technique involved focusing on **. In short, he was definitely letting his gut lead the way.
"Damn it! Ran into a total idiot!"
Seeing that the food had no effect on Ye Liang, the snake woman angrily left...
Ye Liang rubbed his eyes in disappointment. Everything around him vanished—including that generous cleavage!
"It looks like I passed this trial, but... why do I feel kind of disappointed? Should I try again or something?"
Soon after, he arrived at the location of the second trial.
It was still that gorgeous palace, but this time there was a deep pit inside!
Ye Liang glanced carefully around the edges of the pit.
The next trial's entrance was sealed behind a massive door with a cross-shaped keyhole—and no key in sight.
Of course, Ye Liang knew about this trial.
In Boruto's storyline, the second level was known as the intelligence test.
In the center of a deep pit lay an endless amount of scattered stones. Ye Liang needed to find two suitable pieces among them and insert them into the keyholes to open the gate.
However, this trial was actually very difficult, because out of several thousand rocks, only two were just right!
In the original story, Boruto spent a long time before finally passing all three trials.
Ye Liang casually picked up two stones and returned to the gate.
He didn't rush to try them, but instead drifted into a memory.
"Uncle Three, I don't want to go to school anymore! I want to learn masonry from you! I want to earn money for the family!"
"Ye Liang! Have you gone crazy? You clearly have the intelligence to get into college; why are you doing something so foolish? Don't you know our family has already exhausted its savings to send you to school?"
"That's exactly why I'm done with school! I wanna work and help lighten the load on my family!"
Poor families always had it tough, and Ye Liang's family was no exception.
When he thought of this, he suddenly stopped.
This memory was a conversation he'd once had with his third uncle.
Because the family was poor, he could only give up his education. After spending a few days working construction with his uncle, he eventually returned to school.
Dammn straight it was tough!
Ye Liang felt his eyes welling up slightly!
As a child, just to afford a notebook computer, he actually went to a construction site to carry bricks! And he even lied to his uncle, saying he wanted to relieve the family's financial pressure!
His third uncle was a contractor! Would he really be unable to pay the tuition?
Swallowing hard, Ye Liang quickly gathered a Chakra Blade in his hand!
It was a simple C-rank Ninjutsu he had learned through daily missions.
"Ah da!"
Looking at the stones in his hands, Ye Liang quickly worked them. Soon, a cross-shaped key had been crafted by him!
"Mason! I wasn't messing around when I learned this craft!"
The entrance to the third trial opened...
"This is the White Snake Sage?"
As soon as Ye Liang entered, he saw a giant white snake lying nearby. It was ten meters long, with the head of an old woman on top, and below was a completely serpentine body—twisted, somewhat hideous!
Of course, Ye Liang was referring to the White Snake Sage's face.
In the original story, Boruto didn't directly encounter this snake because he was still a child—he was deceived by illusions and could only see the puzzle challenge of the third trial. But Ye Liang was an adult, and moreover, a Jonin!
"Oh man, this old lady sure is huge," Ye Liang muttered to himself, glancing nervously at her bulky body. If he were swallowed whole by this giant white snake, he was afraid he'd never come back out.
He pretended not to notice her and marched straight into the inner part of the third trial.
Inside was pitch black. This level tested one's mind, so there was no need for scenery.
In the original version, Boruto underwent the mental trial after being poisoned by hallucinogenic venom. However, Ye Liang was different—he hadn't been poisoned at all. The earlier trials had simply been too easy!
Those Snake Women hadn't even had the chance to poison Ye Liang.
This caused a rather awkward situation: without venom, the trial couldn't begin. Without a trial, there would be no completion. And without completing it, there'd be no access to Sage Mode!
Ye Liang never imagined he'd run into a situation like a nested puzzle!
"If I'd known this would happen, I should've gone a little slower during the trial..." Ye Liang regretted, but there was no solution to his current predicament.
He glanced around—there was absolutely nothing, except for that massive White Snake.
There's no other way... it has to be this?!
Ye Liang slowly approached the White Snake Sage. Right now, besides her, he couldn't find any other way to get snake venom.
The White Snake Sage was fast asleep, completely unaware of Ye Liang's stealthy advance.
"Ugh! When was the last time *she* brushed her teeth—gross!"
Ye Liang reached into the White Snake Sage's mouth, searching carefully. Though the snake had a human face, her essence was still that of a White Snake—her face alone was three or four times bigger than Ye Liang's.
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