Ye Liang carefully caught a few drops of her saliva in his palm.
"To drink or not to drink—that is the question..." Ye Liang remembered something Xingji De once said.
Xingji De was a great man from a past life who devoted himself to studying poisons and eventually died testing his own medicine—an admirable spirit!
Ye Liang felt it worth emulating.
But drinking an old woman's saliva... that was a bit much.
As he hesitated, the giant white snake lying before him suddenly shot its eyes open!
"Young one! Want power? Then you must pay the price—with your body or your soul!"
Ye Liang nearly collapsed to the ground in fright!
He stared in shock at the white snake, but soon realized it was barely awake. Then just like that, it fell back into slumber again.
"Was that just sleep talking?"
Ye Liang felt puzzled, yet after weighing the pros and cons, he gritted his teeth and swallowed all the saliva in one gulp!
He had no choice—the overwhelming presence when the white snake awoke earlier had been far too terrifying.
Merely frightened by her words, he almost wet his pants. If that power truly attacked him head-on, Ye Liang knew he wouldn't stand a chance.
His only choice was to get this done fast.
Ye Liang wasn't someone chosen by fate—he had forced his way into Ryuchi Cave. Thus, whether the White Snake Sage would attack him remained uncertain. However, Ye Liang believed that if he completed her trial ahead of time, she would naturally recognize his strength, ensuring his safety.
"That's right! A true qiangzhe fears no challenge—let alone a mere insignificant woman like her!" Ye Liang growled under his breath before scurrying away from the large white snake.
"What an insignificant woman indeed!"
The moment Ye Liang left, the drowsy White Snake Sage opened her eyes once more.
"I originally planned to just eat you outright, but since you said that, I'll give you a chance. Don't disappoint me now, huh?" She sneered playfully.
The White Snake was a mighty being—and also a woman!
Most ninja who came here in previous times were geniuses, many even stronger than Ye Liang. Yet none of them managed to pass the third trial.
Long story short—they all ended up eaten!
Devoured by the White Snake Sage herself!
Even the strongest prodigies couldn't clear the starting gate—how could they possibly escape Ryuchi Cave then?
Past talents may have had impressive power, but they all shared the same fatal flaw: trying to please the White Snake Sage.
That went against common sense.
As everyone knows, women should never be spoiled. Give them an inch, and they take a mile. Though the White Snake Sage was a serpent, she was still very much a woman!
Those so-called geniuses lost her favor precisely because they fawned over her—but Ye Liang's boldness actually stirred something inside her!
Even though she was an elderly woman, she actually blushed slightly.
At the center of the room, Ye Liang sensed a wave of dizziness—it must have been due to the poison.
In the original story, Boruto fell unconscious from this exact toxin, then hallucinated seeing former comrades hurl cruel insults at him. The Island Nation (referring to the shinobi country that values loyalty among comrades) placed immense value on companionship, making such verbal cruelty extremely difficult for them to bear.
But Ye Liang was different...
How could a shut-in have friends!
He didn't give a damn about loneliness!
"Ye Liang! Liang, wake up!"
Ye Liang suddenly felt someone shaking his back. He glanced instinctively—Orochimaru!
"What's wrong? Any business?" Ye Liang replied coldly.
His motto was to show off to the extreme—that was Ye Liang!
Seeing this reaction, Orochimaru clearly showed surprise.
"Ye Liang, let's go play soccer. Boruto's already waiting for us..."
"Soccer?"
Ye Liang was a bit taken aback.
Soccer had been part of Ye Liang's past life. Although there was soccer in this world too, it came much later, after Boruto's time. During Shippuden, when wars were constantly breaking out, naturally no one played soccer.
But that wasn't what Ye Liang focused on.
"Orochimaru holding my hand and calling me to play soccer? How bizarre could things get in this world!"
With a glance, Ye Liang unleashed [Shinra Tensei]!
BOOM!
The Orochimaru before him hadn't even reacted yet when she was blown away by an invisible wall of force.
"How did you see through me!" she screamed, then transformed into a snake woman before collapsing dead onto the ground.
From afar, the White Snake Sage's eyes gleamed with intrigue.
"This young one is quite intriguing. Facing the one closest to him and the thing he cherishes most, he still kept his composure. A true prodigy indeed."
The White Snake Sage mused with admiration.
Their illusions automatically adjusted according to their opponent's inner thoughts.
For example:
If a certain person's hobby was becoming Hokage, and the most significant figure in his mind was his father,
then the illusion would become: the father holding his hand while attending the Hokage coronation ceremony.
That originally would be something perfectly reasonable.
But with Ye Liang, things went wrong...
Ye Liang loved soccer; the person who left the deepest impression on him was Orochimaru, since he was the first boss Ye Liang encountered after being reincarnated—an extremely deep impression indeed.
Thus, the illusion became: Orochimaru holding Ye Liang's hand, going to play soccer together...
"F***! This Ryuchi Cave trial is rigged!"
Ye Liang saw the approaching Third!
Hiruzen swayed his rotund figure, leaned in closely, and whispered playfully into Ye Liang's ear.
"Customer, want some bodybuilding service?"
"..."
Hell no to whatever that was!
Ye Liang shouted again. Another snake woman died!
Then...
Anko appeared cradling a child.
"How despicable! You don't even want your own child! You're heartless, shameless, and unreasonable!"
"Uh... Maybe you could be a bit less harsh?"
Ye Liang weakly responded.
"Pfft! No, it's you who's worse!"
This repeated endlessly...
[Shinra Tensei]!
Ye Liang hated to do it, but after so many cycles...
Another woman appeared.
It was Miss Ayame from Ichiraku.
Observing how long Ye Liang hesitated before killing Anko, the snake woman naturally saw through Ye Liang's weakness—women!
"Ayame, would you like some noodles?"
"I'll offer you my lower half."
"Go to hell!"
[Shinra Tensei!]
[Tailed Beast Ball!]
[Planetary Devastation!]
[Triple Rashomon!]
Ye Liang unleashed countless S-ranked ninjutsu at her, even using techniques he normally wouldn't due to his rage...
"How could this happen? Isn't this what you like?"
The Snake Woman screamed in horror, while the White Snake Sage, off in the distance, appeared visibly stunned as well.
These genjutsu were all designed around Ye Liang's inner desires—specifically his love for ramen. He should never have been able to escape their torment!
"This is an insult to me! I don't prey on women!"
Ye Liang bellowed in shock.
Once again, he insisted—he was not a macho guy!
Seeing that all the genjutsu had no effect on Ye Liang, the White Snake Sage found himself in a difficult spot.
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