The guards of Loulan watched with tense expressions as Orochimaru and the Nine-Tails entered the city. However, their Queen had ordered them to stand down, and they could not disobey their most beloved sovereign.
After following Orochimaru, who was now referred to as Kong Chen, for a short distance, and seeing that the ninja indeed made no disrespectful moves, the guards slowly dispersed.
Led by their Queen, the man and the fox descended through a secret passage beneath the central tower, eventually arriving at a spacious underground palace.
The palace's interior was simple. Apart from the smooth walls dotted with holes around the perimeter, there were only four statues encircling an altar in the center.
The so-called altar was merely a small platform slightly lower than the ground. The only distinguishing feature was an eye in the center of this small platform, surrounded by countless intricate sealing runes.
The eye was slightly ajar, emitting a hazy purple chakra light that continuously radiated outwards. This light seeped through the holes in the surrounding walls, and under Saya’s control, formed a barrier capable of resisting the wind and sand.
"As expected of the Dragon Vein!"
Orochimaru sensed it briefly and exclaimed in admiration.
"Even a minuscule amount of its power can protect the thousands of lives living here."
"If it hadn't been destroyed, what a magnificent sight it would have been!"
Saya stood silently beside Orochimaru, gazing at the Dragon Vein's seal for a moment before slowly speaking.
"Is it ready?"
Orochimaru glanced at her and gently shook his head.
"I have not yet accessed the Dragon Vein's power, so I cannot obtain the desired results for now."
"If Your Majesty the Queen has matters to attend to, you may go handle them."
"Of course, if you find it not tedious, Your Majesty the Queen may also wait here."
"However..."
"I cannot guarantee how long you will have to wait."
Saya looked at Orochimaru with a complex expression and slowly shook her head.
"There is usually not much going on in Loulan. I will wait here for you."
"If you need anything, I can also have someone bring some food."
Orochimaru smiled faintly at Saya and said no more. He walked directly to the eye, and under Saya's anxious gaze, slowly reached out and pressed down.
...
Ordinary.
The Dragon Vein's power gave Orochimaru the first impression of being ordinary.
Aside from its immense volume and slightly stronger life force, it was not significantly different from the chakra flowing within a ninja's meridians.
It even lacked the various attributes that individual ninja chakras possessed.
Pure energy.
But, it was nearly inexhaustible!
"Kurama, help me refine senjutsu, I want to enter Sage Mode to examine it closely."
Orochimaru instructed without looking back. The Nine-Tails shook its head, casually conjured a mass of natural energy, and poured it into Orochimaru's body.
"What a bother!"
"I knew it, being by your side always means doing some thankless work."
Orochimaru ignored Kurama's casual complaint. Feeling that he had enough senjutsu energy, he immediately activated Sage Mode.
"Sage Mode - Activate!"
The enhanced perception of Sage Mode immediately allowed Orochimaru to detect the fundamental difference between the Dragon Vein's power and human chakra.
"If chakra is the blood flowing in a ninja's meridians, then the Dragon Vein is the earth's veins in the ninja world, and the Dragon Vein's power is the blood flowing within those veins."
Orochimaru felt the rhythm emanating from the Dragon Vein's energy and suddenly had a moment of enlightenment.
"It's just..."
"Unlike human chakra, the Dragon Vein's power seems to have its own consciousness!"
All-encompassing, warm, and nourishing, Orochimaru's spirit experienced a feeling akin to being embraced by a mother within the ocean of the Dragon Vein's power.
What surprised Orochimaru even more was his spirit delving deep into the Dragon Vein. Under the nourishment of the Dragon Vein's power, his spiritual energy was rapidly growing stronger.
The speed of its growth was so rapid that it almost instantly reached a level capable of disrupting the balance of natural energy within Orochimaru.
"Rumble..."
A thunderous muffled sound echoed from Orochimaru's soul. Under Saya's shocked gaze, white snake scales began to grow on Orochimaru's body, which was previously enveloped in a layer of green light.
The Nine-Tails' expression changed, and it immediately stopped supplying natural energy.
"Kong Chen, quickly exit Sage Mode! You're about to be assimilated by the power of senjutsu."
But Orochimaru seemed not to hear, maintaining the circulation of senjutsu chakra within his body without any sign of stopping.
His spiritual power grew stronger and stronger, and his powerful spiritual energy began to spread uncontrollably around Orochimaru. The inherent instinct of his Body Reanimation Jutsu to repair wounds was activated, and it began to rapidly divide and reorganize, helping Orochimaru alleviate the burden on his body from the overwhelming spiritual energy.
"Crack!"
A crisp bone-breaking sound was heard. The Nine-Tails' pupils constricted as a snake tail covered in white scales grew from Orochimaru's spine.
"You..."
"Are you trying to risk this body and attempt the highest level of Snake Sage Mode from Ryūchi Cave?"
"Transforming into a dragon... you are truly a madman!"
That's right!
After perceiving the emotions contained within the Dragon Vein's power, a thought had occurred to Orochimaru.
"To all living beings in the ninja world, the Dragon Vein, as a great power, sees them as its own offspring."
"They are neither good nor evil, neither strong nor weak."
"As long as they ask, the Dragon Vein will generously offer its power."
"Because those who seek its power are its children..."
However, this also completely overturned Orochimaru's previous plan to sever White Snake Sage's connection to the earth's veins and then kill her.
Impossible!
There was no power that could sever the connection between a mother and her child.
Therefore, to deal with that sinister viper, Orochimaru had only one option.
That was to become like her, or even stronger.
And then, to devour and assimilate White Snake Sage.
It had to be said that apart from Orochimaru, who possessed two bodies and two lives, no one else would gamble their body and life on an unknown outcome.
Since the decision had been made, he would transform into a dragon!
The moment this thought arose in Orochimaru's mind, the Dragon Vein seemed to sense it, and the energy surging into his body through his spirit and palm became increasingly immense.
As the power flowing into his body surged, the senjutsu chakra fluctuations within Orochimaru became more potent. The snake tail behind him gradually thickened and lengthened, only stopping its growth after reaching a certain extent.
After the tail stopped growing, the excess power within his body seemed to have nowhere to go. After circulating within Orochimaru for a while, it gradually dispersed around him. Then, a snake head sprouted from Orochimaru's shoulder.
The moment the snake head emerged, the previously calm and gentle Dragon Vein energy suddenly became violent. After surging back and forth within Orochimaru, it frantically rushed towards the newly formed snake head.
"Bang!"
With an explosion, the snake head, which had not yet opened its eyes to see the world, was blasted into a bloody mess by the impact of the violent Dragon Vein power.
Orochimaru grunted and used his Yin-Yang Release and Body Activation Jutsu to quickly repair the wound, then used his spirit and the Dragon Vein's power to communicate.
"Why are you stopping me?"
The calmed Dragon Vein power surged, and a faint dragon's roar could be heard. After that, there was no response, and it continued to wash over Orochimaru's body with energy.
After thinking for a moment, Orochimaru seemed to understand the meaning of the Dragon Vein's power. Gritting his teeth, he controlled the senjutsu power within his body and slowly directed it towards his head.
Indeed, this time the Dragon Vein's power did not react. Even as Orochimaru's body transformed into a thick, white-scaled great snake before Nine-Tails and Saya, the Dragon Vein's energy remained calm and normal.
"So that's it!"
"You think my evolution into the form of the Eight-Headed Serpent is incorrect?"
"That's right..."
"Even with White Snake Sage's profound senjutsu mastery, her true form only has a single head."
"The essence of transforming into a dragon is to turn a snake's body into a dragon's form!"
"It seems there aren't really dragons with eight heads either!"
With his thoughts settled, Orochimaru fully activated the energy within his body, and with the cooperation of the Dragon Vein's power, he slowly progressed towards transforming into a dragon.
Putting aside Saya, who was looking at him with a look of existential doubt, Nine-Tails couldn't help but grin as he watched Orochimaru completely transform into a snake.
"Tsk tsk!"
"You guy, I don't know if you were a snake before!"
"But you're definitely not human anymore!"