The problem of his Spirit Power being drained away had finally ended. Either the transformation to gain the properties of the Serpent had helped out, or the process of starting the transformation seed to save him. Now he had a treasure inside his body, yet he had no idea what he could do with it. Thankfully, it seed stable within his body he was wasnt about to start ssing around and ruining things. Instead he rely gave it a cursory scan with his spirit sense. Although this action had caused the problem in the first place, he had faith that his new body would be safe. This faith ca from the fact that his spiritual sea no longer had a roiling whirlwind of fog within it. The rging with the Serpent had cleared his head.
The imdiate issue solved, Sage made sure nothing else was left behind before swimming out from the now empty Well and checking the array formations. Looking around, he noticed that the barrier that had been holding back the dark water seed to be thinning out. Even more surprisingly, the dark water had changed colors. It used to be black as oil, yet now it was rely a muddy brown. The massive swarms of spirits that had been circling around the barrier had dispersed. Having already copied down the array around the Well, Sage made one last check to ensure he didnt miss anything before swimming out of the barrier and into the dark waters once more. The strangest part was looking down to notice that his lower half was a giant snake tail yet it felt as familiar to him as his legs had. He still had all the mories and experiences of the life of a Serpent and swimming in an undulating snake style was now second nature.
Soon he reached the surface and poked his head out of the water. Looking around the room, Sage realized it looked exactly the sa as before. Nothing stood out as being changed under his scrutiny save that there were far more of the spirits rising up out of the water and floating around the room than before. Leaving the water, Sage didnt know how much ti had passed so he decided to et back up with the Ding Zhen and the other four inner court disciples. Glancing down, he noticed that his trousers, undergarnts, and shoes had been completely destroyed when he grew this new serpent tail. The robes hanging from his shoulders were still intact but only the waistband of his trousers had not been shredded into tatters. Seems I lost that set of boots, I hope they werent that great. Oh well, as long as I still have my beast bag, storage bag, and storage ring Ill be okay. Good thing I didnt put on any of the full outfits.
Slithering over towards the door, Sage was surprised to find that it was closed. When hed first entered the door had stayed wide open and he hadnt heard it shut while he was still above the dark water. Curious. It must have closed on its own, or soone shut it while I was changing. How long was I down there anyway?
Sage traced so of the array symbols and added Qi to them in the way he had before and smiled as he saw the circular stone door roll open again. Glad that he wasnt trapped inside, Sage climbed up the staircase, marveling at how simple it was to slither his way up the stairs. It was quite a different experience climbing stairs as a snake compared to when he had legs. It seed to take less effort, but at the sa ti it was like walking over a grate barefooted. He could feel the corner of each and every stair pushing against the underside of his snake body. It didnt hurt, nor did it even itch as Sages new snake body was many tis stronger than his human one. It was rely a strange sensation that hadnt ever felt before. Even the Twin Ringed Serpents mories were clear of such a sensation as the Serpent had lived most of its life below ground and the few stairs it had experience were at a different scale. Sages snake body was at least four tis wider than the Serpents had been.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Sage moved back towards the throne room and didnt run into anyone on the way. Confirming that things were the sa as he left, he hoped that the others of the Sect were still here. Not wanting to get lost in the rest of this mystery compound, Sage retraced his steps in order to return to the entrance. It wasnt until he took the last turn, only a hundred yards from the entrance door, did Sage et another person. Smiling with relief as he recognized the beautiful woman at the front of the crowd. She had a sky blue ribbon tying back her hair and looked like she was in her late thirties, despite being hundreds of years old. Bowing to the group, Sage said, Greetings Peak Master Zhen. Forgive for my absence. As you can see, I had a bit of a mishap.
He had suddenly grown far more cunning and grown himself a smoother tongue. This new appearance was astounding but at least he still wore his Holy Fla Sect robes with the many profession badges on the front. Each badge had a symbol in the center to indicate profession and stars beneath and around the symbols to denote rank. Not many people walked around with ten badges on their chest like Sage did. Most people only wore the badge of their main profession and didnt bother with the badges of their supporting professions. Just like how people didnt list their grade schools on professional resus, it would be silly for a six star Chef to go around flaunting a one star Farr badge and a two star Butcher badge. Sage was the anomaly as he had so many badges that their quantity rather than quality was his most admirable trait.
The group on the other side was shocked at this creature in front of them. At first they had been confused to see a Naga but then put up their guard further when the Naga claid to be soone familiar. It was only after examining the badges, and after asking a few identity confirming questions did they relax their guard. At the sa ti, they were all very astounded by his appearance. Demonic Beasts could gain human like intellect as they grew more powerful and high ranking ones could transform into a human form. As such it wasnt extrely uncommon to et strange tribes or peoples that carried Demonic Beast bloodlines, many of them were even so of the dominant powers in the world.
Sage was a shocking sight now. Completely hairless, his skin was now replaced with small scales the sa shade as tanned skin. His teeth were all sharply pointed and that didnt even include his folded fangs. His skull had shortened and elongated which when combined with his flattened nose it made him look distinctly reptilian. Even worse were his eyes that had lost all of their whites. The black sclera led to colored irides and then black pupils again. The now violet iris of his eye was like a hollow ring on a sea of darkness.
How long have I been in here, and what has happened to the others?
Sage asked the Elders only to learn it had been less than a day since they first opened these Hidden Grounds. The five hed arrived with were at the back of this group and he learned that they had already explored the whole place and found three doors that were locked with unique arrays of which one seed to be the room he was in. After explaining the deadly lake he found within, Sage left the Eye of the World out of his story.
I battled with a Twin Ringed Soul Serpent and then so strange liquid splashed on us. I woke up just a few minutes ago in this state.
He didnt want to explain any more than he had to. Having had his nature changed he instinctively realized that surprise was the greatest weapon. Keeping his true strength hidden, and hiding his wealth were both sorts of surprise. Anything that could be concealed could act as hidden weapons and help to ensure his safety in the future. At the sa ti he would need to reveal many things that others would wish to hide, creating a contrast that could build him a reputation as soone open, honest, and transparent. The best liar was the person everyone thought was trustworthy.
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