With Manda leading the way, Ye Zi and Orochimaru quickly reached the palace of the White Snake Sage.
On a massive stone throne lay an enormous white serpent. As Ye Zi and Orochimaru entered the palace, a pair of serene and unfathomable snake eyes, like stagnant water, turned to observe them.
Manda slithered forward and bowed respectfully. "White Snake Sage."
The White Snake Sage's gaze lingered briefly on Orochimaru before shifting to Ye Zi.
"He is also a summoning contract holder of our kind and seeks to train in senjutsu," Manda explained hastily. During the journey, Ye Zi had informed him of the purpose of this visit. Frankly, Manda welcomed Ye Zi's decision to attempt senjutsu training, he secretly hoped for Ye Zi's failure, which would lead to the White Snake Sage devouring him.
Compared to Orochimaru, Manda harbored a deep dislike for Ye Zi.
The White Snake Sage had a black conical hat, orange hair, a body covered in white scales, and a pair of tranquil, bottomless eyes.
As Ye Zi looked at the White Snake Sage, he suppressed his inner astonishment. Despite the creature's presence before him, he could barely sense its aura. Yet when he focused his perception, the faint presence of the White Snake Sage exuded an overwhelming sense of danger, a feeling more visceral than even the oppressive presence of tailed beasts.
This was the White Snake Sage.
The White Snake Sage scrutinized Ye Zi for a moment, noting that his chakra reserves exceeded Orochimaru's and that his body radiated vitality, making him a promising candidate for senjutsu training.
"Are you aware of the risks involved in learning senjutsu?" the White Snake Sage asked calmly.
Ye Zi nodded and replied evenly, "I am aware."
The White Snake Sage had previously explained these risks to Orochimaru, who had relayed them to Ye Zi.
Seeing no need to repeat himself, the White Snake Sage turned to Orochimaru. "And you?"
Orochimaru gave a sly grin and said, "I'm not planning on it for now."
The White Snake Sage showed no reaction, his gaze shifting back to Ye Zi. "Then let us begin."
Ye Zi took a deep breath, his expression calm and composed. Despite knowing that what lay ahead could threaten his life, he showed no fear.
Having faced death countless times, he was determined to acquire the power he sought this time as well.
Sage Mode...!
The White Snake Sage slowly opened his mouth, revealing razor-sharp white teeth. Suddenly, he arched his body and struck forward, biting down on Ye Zi's shoulder.
The sharp fangs pierced into Ye Zi's shoulder without mercy, and natural energy was injected into his body through the bite.
As the White Snake Sage's fangs sank in, Ye Zi, who was accustomed to pain, couldn't help but let out a muffled cry. A searing pain, as if his entire skeleton was being ground into powder, spread throughout his body.
After injecting a measured amount of natural energy, the White Snake Sage withdrew, coiling himself once more on the throne to observe what would happen next.
Orochimaru and Manda, standing off to the side, watched silently.
Gritting his teeth against the intense pain, Ye Zi closed his eyes and focused on the natural energy coursing through his body. Unlike the chakra he produced himself, this energy couldn't be controlled at will, it rampaged through him like an uncontrollable train.
At first, an inability to control it was expected. However, if he continued to fail to regulate it, the inevitable outcome would be the same as those who had failed before: first losing rationality and then transforming into a snake.
Ye Zi had no intention of failing and becoming a snake. He could clearly sense the natural energy rampaging within him. As long as he could sense it, he believed he could find a way to control it.
The clarity of his perception stemmed partly from his substantial chakra reserves and partly from the White Snake Sage's forceful injection of natural energy. This method had its benefits, namely, making the energy more tangible but it also had clear drawbacks, as the natural energy was significantly more volatile.
Compared to the gentler approach of sensing and gradually absorbing natural energy on one's own, this forceful method was akin to injecting liquid directly with a syringe rather than administering it via an IV drip.
One was mild; the other was harsh.
The reason many previous practitioners had failed was precisely because they couldn't withstand this harsh method.
If there were another guiding method, one that employed a gentler approach, the failure rate might not be 100%.
Ye Zi tried to control the rampaging natural energy using mental intent and drove his chakra throughout his body, attempting to merge it with the natural energy.
However, when his intent made contact with the natural energy, it seemed as though he had been infected by its wild nature, his own emotions became noticeably more volatile.
Realizing he couldn't recklessly engage with the natural energy, Ye Zi quickly withdrew his intent and focused on directing his chakra to find a way to integrate it with the natural energy.
When he sent his chakra toward the natural energy, the latter, being excessively violent, outright rejected it, not by simply pushing it away, but by forcefully kicking it out.
Ye Zi's brows furrowed tightly. He gradually increased the amount of chakra and tried once more to approach the natural energy, hoping to strike a balance.
Fully immersed in his efforts to tame the natural energy, Ye Zi remained unaware of the changes occurring in his body.
Under Orochimaru's watchful gaze, Ye Zi's exposed skin began to turn pale, and patches of white scales gradually surfaced, slowly covering parts of his body.
Seeing this transformation, Orochimaru's expression grew serious. He turned to look at the White Snake Sage and noticed an unexpected emotion flickering in the sage's otherwise tranquil eyes.
Was that… surprise?
Orochimaru was taken aback to see an emotion he could only describe as astonishment in the White Snake Sage's gaze.
Ever since his first encounter with the White Snake Sage, Orochimaru had observed that the sage's eyes always remained as calm as stagnant water, as if, in the White Snake Sage's perspective, all life was no different from lifeless stones.
Yet now, Orochimaru could clearly discern surprise in the White Snake Sage's expression.
"Could Ye Zi be succeeding?"
Orochimaru silently considered the possibility before quickly dismissing it.
He had seen Sage Mode before, specifically in Jiraiya and Minato.
Jiraiya's Sage Mode seemed incomplete, requiring the assistance of two toads and manifesting obvious toad-like features on his face and body.
Minato, on the other hand, displayed a stark contrast. In his perfected Sage Mode, aside from changes to his eyes, no other parts of his body exhibited any animalistic features.
From this, Orochimaru deduced that the success of Sage Mode was determined by the extent of these transformations.
Jiraiya, having not fully mastered Sage Mode, exhibited clear toad-like traits, while Minato's mastery resulted only in subtle changes to his eyes.
Currently, Ye Zi was exhibiting pronounced snake-like features across his entire body. So why was the White Snake Sage surprised?
It wasn't just Orochimaru who was puzzled. Manda, noticing the unrestrained astonishment on the White Snake Sage's face, was equally confused.
At this moment, Ye Zi's snake-like features were so pronounced…
Yet it had only been a short time. What, then, was the reason for the White Snake Sage's astonishment?
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