Chapter 91: The Scent of Spring

This underground karst cave must have been formed by the long-term erosion of rock by an underground river, resulting in a complex interior with numerous branching passages. Lu Chen crawled forward for over a thousand meters and once again detected the lingering scent of water anacondas.

One, two, three...

In just moments, he distinguished nearly ten different scents.

This made Lu Chen even more cautious. Every time he advanced a certain distance, he would pause for a while, wary of any potential danger.

In this way, he moved slowly along a subterranean river, stopping and starting, unsure of how much time had passed, when suddenly the roar of rushing water echoed from ahead.

A waterfall—an exit!

Lu Chen couldn’t help but quicken his pace. Turning past a fork in the passage, he was greeted by a sudden burst of light.

A strange, alluring fragrance wafted toward him.

Faintly, he also heard a continuous hissing sound.

With several agile leaps, he approached the exit, using the dense curtain of vines and foliage as cover, cautiously surveying the outside world.

The cave, he realized, was halfway up a sheer cliff. Not far ahead, a waterfall tumbled nearly thirty meters down, more than ten meters wide, sending up a mist that shrouded the entire valley in a hazy veil.

On a stone platform jutting out at the edge of the waterfall, there grew a verdant plant, its dense foliage cradling several bizarre, crimson flowers in full bloom.

It seemed the flowering season was coming to an end; many of the red blossoms were wilting. As the mountain wind blew, petals drifted down in a flurry.

The strange scent Lu Chen had noticed back in the cave emanated from these very flowers.

It was the breath of spring...

As the fragrance continued to fill his nostrils, Lu Chen felt a primal restlessness stirring within him.

Only the hissing below snapped him back to his senses. Realizing something was wrong with his emotions, he quickly held his breath, not daring to inhale any more pollen.

Soon, his reason returned.

He peered out once more to study the valley and noticed that beneath the waterfall was a massive pool, several thousand square meters in size.

In the pool swam more than a dozen mutated water anacondas, their eyes glowing with a demonic red light. The injured one was among them. Their bodies were entwined, constantly raising their heads to devour the petals drifting down from above.

What a massive serpent king—no, a serpent queen!

In nature, most male animals are stronger than their female counterparts, and the stronger the male, the more advantage he holds in competing for territory and mates.

But in the world of anacondas, the opposite is true; they are a matriarchal species. Female water anacondas are much larger, often weighing over a hundred kilograms, several times the weight of the males.

It is said the largest can even exceed two hundred kilograms.

During breeding season, the female water anaconda releases a special scent, attracting males from kilometers around.

Then, one queen and many kings gather for a spectacular mating frenzy, which can last for over a month.

These mutated water anacondas before him were following the same deeply ingrained instincts.

But when Lu Chen saw the female in the midst of the group, he was utterly stunned.

Her body was mostly obscured by the entwining males, so it was impossible to gauge her full length, but the part exposed—a black, menacing head the size of a washbasin—glowed with the same demonic crimson in her eyes.

Like most snakes, water anacondas have an acute sense of smell, able to detect prey within dozens of meters. On a normal day, they would have noticed Lu Chen at once.

But now, these creatures were so engrossed that they didn’t realize a huge predator was nearby.

The Undying Blossom—Blood Serpent Orchid!

Seeing the frenzy among the anaconda group, Lu Chen immediately recognized the strange plant clinging to the cliff as the Blood Serpent Orchid that humans had sought so desperately.

Whether it could truly slow aging was unknown, but its stimulating effect on animal behavior was undeniable.

Lu Chen had originally considered risking a few blooms of the Blood Serpent Orchid to see how much energy they might provide, but now dismissed the idea at once. As a solitary golden bay crocodile, he feared he might not be able to withstand it.

Still, just the mutated water anacondas in the pool below made this trip worthwhile.

According to his previous calculations, a single jin of their flesh could provide seven energy points. With over a dozen of them, weighing several thousand jin in total, devouring them all would yield at least ten thousand energy points.

Especially that female serpent queen—her flesh would surely be of even higher quality.

The thought made Lu Chen tremble with excitement.

But... how could he separate this party of revelers?

Hunting a single mutated water anaconda would be no trouble for Lu Chen. The problem was that, feasting on the Blood Serpent Orchid and deep in their mating frenzy, none of them would willingly leave.

If he plunged into the pool and disturbed their gathering, he’d likely be strangled by the furious swarm.

Especially that enormous female serpent queen—her constricting power could easily reach four or five thousand jin.

Even one-on-one, Lu Chen wasn’t sure he could win with his current strength.

As he pondered, he suddenly noticed movement in the forested slope opposite.

It was the group of humans searching for the Blood Serpent Orchid—they had arrived as well.

They, too, cried out in shock at the sight of the anaconda swarm. One burly black man even pulled out a camera and began filming the scene below.

Lu Chen was struck with curiosity—would the scent of the Undying Blossom affect humans as well?

Wait... humans!

Perhaps he could use their power.

Seeing the firearms in their hands, Lu Chen immediately had an idea.

In the face of modern firearms, these mutated anacondas likely stood little chance. He could easily remain hidden and play the role of the “mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”

From their conversation, it was clear that these humans were also wary of the mutated anacondas. But with the Blood Serpent Orchid’s blooming season ending soon, they couldn’t wait for the mating spree to finish before making a move.

In the end, greed got the better of them.

Under Lu Chen’s watchful gaze, a man armed with a gun climbed onto a tall boulder and aimed at the pool, pulling the trigger.

Rat-a-tat-tat...

As gunfire erupted, the water immediately bloomed with blood.

Writhing in pain, the anacondas snapped out of their frenzy.

“Hiss, hiss...”

They raised their heads, eyes burning with fury, and soon fixed on the humans up on the slope.

“Hiss...” the serpent queen let out a sharp cry and swiftly disappeared beneath the water.

The remaining males vanished as well.

To Lu Chen’s surprise, though several mutated anacondas were wounded, none had died.

It was likely that, after their mutation, their scales had grown incredibly tough; Lu Chen himself hadn’t been able to pierce them with his claws.

There was also the nature of snakes themselves: their vital spots are the neck and head—shots elsewhere, even if hit, aren’t immediately fatal.

In fact, injuries only made them even more savage and violent.