In the dark underground, snakes hissed.
Orochimaru licked his lips and followed Tagorihime into the depths of the underground. The darkness confined his vision to a few meters around him.
But countless interwoven three-dimensional lines appeared in his mind, outlining all the cave passages of Ryuuchi Cave.
He focused his mind on the lines, and he could see what was happening at any location within Ryuuchi Cave at this moment.
Honestly, this was not very useful.
This mental map didn't have any labels. The information was complicated and redundant. Looking at it one line at a time would probably take three days and three nights.
"Don't worry, this will take some time."
The genie chuckled. The messy lines gradually faded away, and a thick, colorful graphic character appeared in his mind.
It was a huge "Dragon" character.
Orochimaru asked in surprise, "What is this?"
"The 'dragon' of Ryuuchi Cave, or rather, the White Snake Sage who is coiled up there."
The genie said, "I have filtered out the usual dog-eat-dog, snake-fighting stuff for you. What's left is the key to Ryuuchi Cave."
Orochimaru heard this and carefully browsed with his mind, his expression becoming increasingly strange.
Ryuuchi Cave appears to be a whole to outsiders, but in reality, it is divided into three parts by a "zhi" character, with the White Snake Sage's body as the boundary.
The lowest area is where the mother snakes lay their eggs. In the image transmitted by the genie, dense layers of snake eggs can be seen piled up like mountains.
Countless small snakes hatch every moment, crawling out from the gaps between the eggs, crawling toward the White Snake Sage, gathering into streams of snakes.
This area is both below the 'dragon' and in the deepest part of the underground, the place where the earth's energy is most concentrated. Resources are abundant, and the small snakes that are born weak and eliminated are used as supplements, so the food is barely sufficient.
When the small snakes approach the White Snake Sage, they split into two streams as if water hitting a rock.
The standard for this division would have taken him a long time to understand if he had come alone.
But with the genie's perspective, Orochimaru saw the difference between the two at a glance.
In the genie's words, one group is mage snakes that can use Sage Art, and the other is warrior snakes whose bodies are only soaked in natural energy.
There's not much to say about the latter. The bigger the body, the older the age, the stronger the strength. Manda, that stupid snake, is the most powerful snake king in that area.
The situation in the other area is much more complicated, and it is the core of the Ryuuchi Cave experiment field.
Here, there are both large snakes that are constantly expanding their size, and small snakes that are constantly shedding their skin and condensing their bodies.
If the latter are not careful, they will suffer the backlash of natural energy and be petrified into snake-shaped stone statues.
On the rugged rocks, thin snake skins and broken snake stones can be seen everywhere.
Orochimaru saw this scene and realized that the three snake princesses were very likely from here.
To the White Snake Sage, they are like Uchiha Jinsuke to him, pioneers of transformation and experimental subjects providing data.
Orochimaru's heart was filled with shock, "This is truly amazing."
Like a craftsman, she reconstructs the survival mode of the snakes, using the entire race as experimental samples to build a path to 'becoming a dragon'.
The White Snake Sage's ambition is not small.
"Indeed."
The genie's tone was also filled with emotion, "The White Snake Sage was just a snake before. Now, she may not be called a 'sage', but she deserves the title of 'person'."
Orochimaru was slightly stunned when he heard what the genie said.
The ruthlessness and viciousness displayed by the White Snake Sage were far beyond even his, Orochimaru. Could such a monster be considered a person?
"If we are talking about snakes, or beasts, then it's dog-eat-dog."
The genie glanced at Orochimaru, "But the White Snake Sage has suppressed her cold-blooded instincts. She shelters the snakes, provides them with resources, and allows them to grow. How can she not be called a 'person'?"
"In the end, raising a certain creature and then eating it is something only 'people' do."
Hearing this, Orochimaru couldn't help but slow down.
His face was distorted, and the concepts in his mind were also distorted, feeling ridiculous.
He wanted to refute what the genie said, but he couldn't find a single mistake in the logic. He even vaguely felt that the difference between the survival methods of humans and animals seemed to be like this.
But something was wrong. If he admitted what the genie said, wouldn't he also have to admit the White Snake Sage's ruthlessness and viciousness?
"Why are you reacting so strongly?"
The genie blinked in surprise, "Although the forms are different, and the scales are different, wasn't your previous approach the same as the White Snake Sage's? Why are you so surprised?"
The genie didn't understand. It was just cutting leeks. Orochimaru was happily doing it before. Now, he just saw a larger field of leeks. Why such a big emotional fluctuation?
As humans, seeing farmers harvest wheat fields should only feel natural.
Even if it's replaced with squealing pigs, poking chickens, shouldn't they still be eaten?
This is the human way of life. Otherwise, why spend energy and money to raise them so big?
There's no need to be ashamed or embarrassed. It's just practicing the human way of life.
Orochimaru looked conflicted, even ignoring the secret observation of Tagorihime, and said earnestly with his mind,
"But wheat fields and people, and snakes and the White Snake Sage, are ultimately different. They are of the same race."
Once upon a time, when Orochimaru first crossed the line, attacked humans, and began to regard them as items to squeeze value from, he was also hesitant and very conflicted.
It shouldn't be as natural as the genie said.
"Oh, oh, I see, you're struggling with racial morality and good and evil."
After careful consideration, the genie suddenly understood, raised his hand, and transmitted some images into Orochimaru's mind,
He smiled and said, "These are just definitions that humans use for convenience.
There are many monarchical systems in other worlds, with dictators oppressing the country, emperors treating people like cattle, and nobles and slaves who consider themselves noble...
This is not just snakes and snakes, but people and people."
The genie pointed to the hissing snakes in the shadows and then pointed to the floating snake princess in front of him, "Do you think she still sees these snakes as her own kind? They're just resources that can be replenished at any time."
They are not of the same kind, they are regarded as pigs and chickens, so there is naturally no talk of good and evil or morality between them. It's a difference in concepts.
In his not-so-long journey, the genie had seen a lot and was no longer surprised.
Orochimaru didn't resolve his confusion when he heard this, and still looked like his worldview had been shattered.
This was somewhat unexpected by the genie. He thought Orochimaru would easily accept the concept of 'everything is a leek'.
After thinking about it, the genie said again, "Let's not talk about emperors treating people like cattle for now, but didn't Danzo also create Root and cultivate Root ninja to act as expendable materials?"
"But I'm different from him."
Mentioning Danzo, the Danzo who had always been at the bottom of the food chain, Orochimaru suddenly regained his composure,
He looked at the genie and said, "You have also been practicing the path of 'person', cultivating me and harvesting my value. Are you the same as the White Snake Sage and Danzo?"
"Of course it's different."
The genie, who had been advising Orochimaru not to be troubled by good and evil, smiled and said, "They are bad people, but I am a good person."
"My way of harvesting is more advanced!"
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