Hermit Purple caught Sasuke midair and gently lowered him to the ground.
Sasuke brushed his wind-tousled hair back and jogged over to meet Logan.
He poked the massive snake head and asked, "Is the White Snake Sage dead?"
Logan nodded.
The system prompt had clearly stated "killed" rather than "defeated," confirming that the thousand-year-old immortal reptile was truly dead.
Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation faded. Dust returned to dust, and the earth fell silent once more.
Logan scanned the surroundings. The green snake was still standing there in a daze, its eyes locked on the decapitated head of the White Snake Sage.
Not far away lay the corpse of Princess Tsujin.
Her mind had moved faster than the green snake's. Realizing the White Snake Sage was losing, she feared Logan would come for her next. She had transformed into a snake and tried to flee.
At that moment, in a desperate attempt to defeat Logan, the White Snake Sage had unleashed a frenzied storm of Inorganic Reincarnation, warping the ground into chaos.
If Tsujin had simply stayed put, she might have survived. But instead, she tried to escape Ryūchi Cave—expecting her master to spare her?
In the end, the devoted snake princess who had served the White Snake Sage her whole life was killed by his own jutsu, sent ahead to the underworld to continue her eternal service.
"What a pity," Logan said sincerely.
That was 400 soul fragments. Since she was doomed either way, she should've just died by Logan's hand.
After this encounter, Logan had a fairly solid grasp of Ryūchi Cave's personnel structure.
At the top was the powerful White Snake Sage. Below him were the three priestesses—responsible for serving guests and testing those who sought immortality and enlightenment.
The cave's military strength came from giant snakes like Manda, Aoda, and the green snake—beasts who hadn't chosen to transform into humans.
Still, killing the entire cave's inhabitants before fully mapping out its hierarchy… that felt a bit excessive.
Logan walked up to the green snake.
"Why didn't you run?"
The green snake looked embarrassed. "I… forgot."
The battle between Logan and the White Snake Sage had been so intense that the green snake had become completely absorbed in watching. It forgot to flee.
"Have you ever eaten humans?" Logan asked next.
The green snake quickly shook its head. "I wanted to, but… it was never my turn."
The White Snake appeared and held out a palm.
The green snake shrank its head but didn't resist. It obediently took the slap from the white snake.
Hermit Purple pulled out a memory disc, examined it, and nodded toward Logan. "This one's always been bullied. Never eaten a soul."
The disc was reinserted.
"Do you know where the White Snake Sage's treasures are hidden?" Logan asked. "Take me there, and I'll spare your life."
The green snake bowed deeply. "Yes, sir! Please, follow me!"
It began to dig through the soil ahead. Soon, a downward-sloping tunnel emerged.
Logan and Sasuke followed behind. After many winding turns, the view opened up.
They stepped into a vast underground cave filled with a strange, glowing light. Below was a lake of crystal-clear, viscous liquid—like melted jade.
Logan frowned as his eyes settled on the lake.
Over two hundred men and women, all unnaturally beautiful, floated within it.
The oldest looked barely in their twenties. The youngest couldn't have been older than six or seven. All were completely naked, their hair removed, their skin perfect. They looked less like humans and more like embryos returned to the womb.
The green snake explained, "They're from different nations. The White Snake Sage used Sage Art and mixed in his own saliva to create this pool. It keeps them in peak condition—pure inside and out, so…"
"…they taste best when eaten."
Hermit Purple activated, vines reaching out to lift all two hundred captives from the water. Ripples of energy flowed into their bodies, stimulating their dormant vitality.
A few seconds later, coughs echoed through the chamber.
Their bodies were now dirty, tainted by reality—but their souls were awake again. Once they realized what had happened, the entire group knelt before Logan.
Logan sat cross-legged and studied each of them in silence. After a long pause, he said, "Get up and wait outside."
"I'll take you home."
"Home."
That single word lit a fire in their blank eyes—memories, longing, hope.
Sasuke led the group back up to the surface.
Each person here had the kind of looks that, in Logan's world, would've made them instant celebrities or idols.
Yet here, they had nearly been turned into livestock.
Who knows how many others over the centuries had been consumed as mere snacks by the White Snake Sage?
Logan turned to the massive head of the White Snake Sage and grabbed it tightly.
"You deserved to die."
The green snake flinched, but when Logan called its name, it hurried over.
"Y-Yes, my lord?"
"Where's the money?"
Before their battle, the White Snake Sage had promised Logan a fortune in gold and jewels if he would leave in peace.
Logan didn't necessarily need money, but research, development, and spreading his theories all required funding.
The green snake turned and led them down another tunnel—this one much longer and deeper. Nearly a hundred meters down, they arrived at a sealed chamber.
A treasure vault.
But the moment Logan stepped inside, something felt wrong.
He sensed lingering life force from the White Snake Sage.
Impossible. The system had already confirmed the kill.
Platinum Star emerged, brushing aside mounds of gold and gems.
They reached the vault's deepest chamber, and there, Logan spotted it—a broken "golden egg."
He picked up one of the shattered shells.
The exterior was gilded to look like gold, but the interior revealed it had been a real snake egg.
The faint slime left behind hinted at something recently hatched.
And the faint life aura Logan sensed was indeed the same as the White Snake Sage.
Logan crushed part of the shell in his hand.
"Orochimaru's old bloodline… still not dead?"
Nearby, a night pearl sat in a dish. Logan lit a candle and held it behind the pearl. Its glow cast shimmering light across the cave wall.
"Hermit Purple."
Purple vines snaked up Logan's arms.
"Target: White Snake Sage."
Read/Write — No response.
"If there's no response, either the karmic link is broken, or the target no longer exists in this world."
But Logan knew—after that intense battle, their karmic connection should've been overflowing.
So, the White Snake Sage no longer existed?
Logan changed tactics.
"Target: Any creature that carries the life breath of the White Snake Sage."
The screen pulsed violently.
Then, images appeared: forty or fifty tiny snakes of various species slithered across the screen. Some crawled through forest grass, others swam in underground rivers or burrowed through soil.
As if sensing Logan's gaze, every single one turned its head at once.
Their eyes burned with resentment—exactly like the White Snake Sage's.
"So that's it…"
The true White Snake Sage was dead.
But a thousand-year-old being would never go down without a backup plan.
That golden egg had likely contained a portion of his soul and memories. When the main body died, the egg hatched. The newborn snakes—each carrying a fragment of him—scattered.
Later, when things calmed down, they would likely devour each other.
Eventually, only one would remain.
And that one would become the new White Snake Sage.
But…
Would it really be him?
Logan didn't think so.
Neither did the system. Nor Hermit Purple.
What survived was just a new creature with old memories.
Logan had no interest in diving into philosophical questions like whether memories equaled the soul.
Instead, he looked around at the mountains of gold and treasure the White Snake Sage had amassed over centuries.
"Well," he muttered, "I guess I won't be worrying about money anymore."
Under Logan's orders, the green snake began transporting the riches outside.
Meanwhile, Logan dragged over a golden jade throne, tossed a tiger pelt over it, and sank down into the chair.
Finally, the physical and mental exhaustion caught up with him.
Logan leaned back, opened his system interface, and checked his recent gains.
White Snake Sage: 3,000 points
Xinya + Manda: 1,600 points
Wood Golem: 1,100 points
Remaining points after Platinum Star upgrade: 714
Daily soul fragment income: 63
Total: 6,477 soul fragments
Logan adjusted his posture slightly, a satisfied smirk tugging at his lips.
Without even realizing it, he had saved up quite a bit.
Now came the real question—what to do with all these soul fragments?
He had three options:
Option one: Use them all to upgrade the White Snake..
Option two: Save them for a future six-star draw after acquiring a new star core..
Option three: Draw. A. Card.
Logan stared at the system screen in silence for a few seconds.
Then smiled.
"Draw a card."
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)