Upon hearing the Earth Snake’s description, Qi Xia recalled the note he had read before.
**To make a “Native” gain an “Echo,” have them consume the eyeball of an “Echoer.”**
At the time, the “Celestial Snake” had claimed this was his research finding, but Qi Xia had never imagined that such a discovery was made through such brutal and absurd methods.
“You see…” the Earth Snake continued, “Natives also need to eat. They live by instinct, and if they go too long without food, they’ll starve to death. So, if you put a group of hungry Natives together and apply a little manipulation, they’ll resort to cannibalism.”
After speaking, the Earth Snake let out a slow sigh, as if recalling something deeply horrifying.
“My teacher had me coat one of the Natives with spices, like marinating meat for roasting, then locked him up with seven other hungry Natives.” The Earth Snake chuckled. “Qi Xia, guess who among these seven would be the first to try eating the one covered in spices?”
Qi Xia pondered for a few seconds before answering, “None of them tried to eat him.”
“You even know that…”
“I can imagine,” Qi Xia said. “Natives survive on instinct, but ‘wanting to eat a person’ isn’t instinctual. Their subconscious doesn’t even register ‘cannibalism’ as an option. So, I think the first one to start eating was the person covered in spices—he was the first to turn on himself, wasn’t he?”
“Only a madman can truly understand another madman…” The Earth Snake let out a dry laugh. “You’re absolutely right. Natives are numb to common sense and pain, so after a few days, the one coated in spices finally couldn’t take it anymore. Every time he raised his right hand to examine it, his gaze looked like he was staring at something else… Then one day, he couldn’t resist. After staring at his own palm for half the day, he finally bit down.”
The listeners all reacted with varying expressions of horror at the sheer grotesqueness of the scene.
“But he didn’t realize there was nothing in his hand—biting down only meant gnawing on his own flesh… How utterly bizarre, don’t you think?” The Earth Snake continued narrating with eerie fascination. “Yes… Humans are such peculiar creatures… I watched it happen with my own eyes…!!”
Growing increasingly agitated, the Earth Snake stepped forward and gripped Qi Xia’s shoulders again. “I watched him slowly devour himself…!! He chewed until his mouth was full of blood, until only red bones remained!! I saw him bite through tendons one mouthful at a time… Do you have any idea how much that scene resembled hell itself? Even though everyone here has died horribly before… I still get chills just remembering it.”
“Yes… I can imagine,” Qi Xia said calmly.
“People! Humans!” the Earth Snake shrieked. “Qi Xia, guess again! What do you think the other seven did when they saw this horrifying spectacle?”
Qi Xia thought for a few seconds before sighing once more.
“The other seven watched, their hunger gnawing at them,” he said. “Without reason, there’s no room for ’empathy.’ They would only act on their desires. Once they realized the spiced person was edible, they’d want to eat him too.”
“Madman… You’re truly a madman…” The Earth Snake trembled. “Only a madman could come up with that answer…”
“Is that so?” Qi Xia replied ambiguously. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t believe me…? Your thought process is identical to that of a lunatic… How are you any different from the mindless Natives?” the Earth Snake demanded, frowning.
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence,” Qi Xia countered. “Or maybe I just have strong empathy and can imagine the mental state of the Natives.”
“Fine, fine… Keep making excuses,” the Earth Snake sneered. “Then guess again—what do you think the spiced man did when he realized the others wanted to eat him?”
Qi Xia lowered his head in thought before answering, “What makes humans ‘human’ is that they’re fundamentally different from animals—their intelligence is higher. In the scenario you described, he would’ve realized that more survivors meant a better chance of escape. So, after eating his fill, the spiced man would’ve willingly shared the ‘food’ he found with the others.”
“You son of a—!” The Earth Snake grabbed Qi Xia by the collar. “If I hadn’t handpicked those eight myself, I’d swear you were there!”
“I just have a good imagination,” Qi Xia said. “People without reason may resemble animals, but they’re not animals.”
The Earth Snake’s grip slackened as he seemed to lose himself in thought.
“You guessed right…” he murmured darkly. “Right before my eyes, that man tore into the ‘food’ he’d discovered, then enthusiastically invited the others to join him. And they didn’t hesitate—like seven beasts, they tore into him, ripping and pulling, dismantling the ‘food’ with their teeth. Their hands and faces were smeared with blood, like primitive humans from hundreds of thousands of years ago…”
His voice trailed off. Even as an Earth-level Zodiac, even after countless killings, that scene had shaken him to the core.
A few seconds later, a deep sorrow flashed in his eyes.
“Qi Xia… For a moment, I felt no different from them,” the Earth Snake admitted. “The only difference is that they acted on instinct—tearing each other apart with teeth and raw savagery—while we do it with wisdom and schemes. Tell me… What’s the real difference?”
Qi Xia gave him a complicated look before frowning. “Don’t twist the truth… The only reason we’re killing each other here is because of people like your teacher. Nobody comes here with the intent to murder, and nobody wants to be here in the first place.”
“Maybe so…” The Earth Snake nodded. “I just… feel an overwhelming sadness for them. And for us.”
“What happened next?” Qi Xia pressed. “Seven Natives devoured one… What followed?”
“What happened next didn’t match my teacher’s expectations… Not all seven gained fragments of ‘immortal power,’ nor did they all receive immense power. Instead, six of them got nothing, while the last one became extraordinarily strong.”
Qi Xia already knew the answer, but the sheer inhumanity of this “survival of the fittest” method sickened him.
“So, my teacher sought a new method to ensure Natives could reliably obtain ‘immortal power,'” the Earth Snake continued. “Once they adapted to cannibalism, all we had to do was coat more people in the same spices—to them, it was just ‘food.’ After that, things became much easier…”
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