Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Transformation Pill

"They're here." Without any preamble, the distant elf rushed to Zhou Tian and his companions, uttered this brief sentence indifferently, and then retreated into the ranks of her fellow elves.

Upon hearing her words, Zhou Tian and the other elves instinctively found places to hide, their vigilance heightened. Though they had responded quickly after destroying the snake people tribe, Zhou Tian doubted the Beastman Empire could muster a formidable force against them in such a short time.

Partly to atone for his mistake, and partly to temper his state of mind, Zhou Tian, after being hemmed in by the beastmen for a while, seized the opportunity when the enemy split their forces to search for them. He conceived a plan to counterattack.

Any rational person would likely disapprove of Zhou Tian's decision; after all, given their strength, launching a counterassault on a beastman army seemed almost doomed to fail. Yet, the elves had resolved to make sacrifices when they followed Zhou Tian into the Beastman Empire. As long as they could achieve their goal, they were willing to undertake any risk. Thus, when Zhou Tian proposed attacking the beastmen, they had no reason to object.

"Let's hope it succeeds!" Even though he had prepared thoroughly, Zhou Tian could not help but feel nervous when the beastmen entered the ambush site just as he had planned. This was his first time proactively attacking intelligent beings, and his first time assaulting an entire army. No matter how much he had readied himself, the tension was inevitable.

Lying quietly on the ground, Zhou Tian watched as a beastman force of over two thousand slowly entered the ravine they had chosen, and at that moment, a smile finally appeared on his face.

Zhou Tian's most formidable weapon was undoubtedly the Myriad Serpent Basin, a celestial artifact. Though he had acquired it recently and had not invested much effort in cultivating it, during the battle with the snake people tribe, Zhou Tian had used the basin to devour most of the serpents the tribe had gathered over generations. Harnessing the basin's abilities, those serpents had become its fighting power, and now, when Zhou Tian released the serpent horde within, its might was enough to rival a thousand armies.

Zhou Tian's concern was simply that serpents moved slower than the beastmen; if the beastmen tried to flee, he would have difficulty capturing them all. Therefore, he needed to lure the army into a place where escape was nearly impossible, so he could annihilate them in one fell swoop.

Leading an army into a dead end is no easy task—there are few fools in the world. Normally, in battle, if an army were to advance through such a ravine, scouts would be sent ahead to investigate. Otherwise, if ambushed, the entire force could be wiped out. Yet, because their target was Zhou Tian and his small group, no one imagined they would dare to ambush a force thousands strong. Without such suspicions, the beastmen took no precautions.

Once the entire beastman force had entered the ravine, Zhou Tian gave the command, and tens of thousands of serpents from the Myriad Serpent Basin pushed two massive boulders, nearly ten meters in diameter, into the canyon, sealing both entrances.

"Ambush! Be careful!" As the stones thundered down, the beastmen immediately became alert, shouting warnings to their companions. Some moved to climb the canyon walls, while others prepared to defend against any attack from the sides.

However swift their response, the moment they entered the ravine, their fate was sealed—survival was no longer an option. No matter how quickly they reacted, they could not escape Zhou Tian's grasp.

With a hiss, the sound of serpents echoed. Under Zhou Tian's control, the Myriad Serpent Basin unleashed its countless venomous snakes. The tide of serpents surged like a flood, blotting out the sky as they swept toward the beastmen.

"My heavens!"

"How can there be so many snakes?"

In just an instant, as billions of serpents slithered over their position, the beastman army vanished without a trace. Apart from some scattered armor and bones left on the ground, nothing remained to prove they had ever existed.

While the elves looked down at the heap of remains with joy, Zhou Tian stood motionless, as if stunned, for a long time.

Though Zhou Tian knew he could kill ‘monsters’ to level up, he had always found it hard to slaughter intelligent beings. Until now, he had rarely advanced in level. But as he used the Myriad Serpent Basin to massacre thousands of beastmen in one stroke, he finally realized just how powerful his golden finger truly was.

"Experience full, level up!"

"Experience full, level up!"

A dozen system notifications rang in Zhou Tian's ears. When the chimes finally ceased, Zhou Tian was startled to discover he had unknowingly reached level eighteen.

At level eighteen, Zhou Tian's outward form had transformed from a small snake into a giant python. Seven or eight meters long, his body was still not enormous among magical beasts, but beside the elves, he had become conspicuous.

"Damn!" The advancement thrilled Zhou Tian, but as he saw the elves' startled expressions, he immediately became wary.

The system was Zhou Tian's greatest advantage, and its existence must remain his secret. No matter how well he got along with the elves, if they learned of the system, Zhou Tian could not guarantee they would continue to coexist peacefully with him.

He had to hide his difference. Otherwise, even if the elves suspected nothing now, as Zhou Tian continued to level up by killing beastmen, his changing appearance alone would be enough to arouse suspicion.

To prevent his future transformation from exposing the system, Zhou Tian, noticing the elves’ attention on his altered body, immediately opened the system shop and redeemed an item he had long desired but hesitated to purchase.

"Shape-shifting Pill, price: 100,000 spiritual energy. Effect: transforms beast-form beings into human form."

As a human, Zhou Tian's greatest wish after becoming a snake was not to gain immense power or status. From the start, his deepest desire was simply to become human again. Both physically and psychologically, living as a serpent had always felt profoundly uncomfortable.

At first, Zhou Tian lacked the spiritual energy needed, and later, after redeeming the Myriad Serpent Basin, he had spent it all. Only after acquiring a cache of magic cores from the snake people tribe, and now, needing to cover the possible exposure of the system, did Zhou Tian finally resolve to exchange for the shape-shifting pill.

(Thanks to Yu Xun Meng Xue for the generous reward of 500 Qidian coins. This humble monk is deeply grateful!)