Wang Lin's attention shifted toward the cold corpse of the light deer spirit beast. The fight between the man-faced demon spider and the fire mastiff kept other spirit beasts at bay.
Wang Lin had ample time to slither down from his tree to the nearby light deer corpse.
He stared at the corpse up close, quickly taking in its scent and the warmth still emitting from it. The smell of blood awakened a primal hunger in his body.
After all the chasing and hiding, he was tired. He didn't want to waste such an easy source of food, so he decided to store the light deer spirit beast's corpse in his inventory to eat at his leisure. He was aware that beasts might catch the smell of blood in the air and attack him.
The roars of beasts like the fire mastiffs would only keep them at bay for a while. Without the aura of the fire mastiff present, other creatures would soon come sniffing for easy pickings. He had to quickly store the corpse, so he opened his system.
---
**ON-HOOK PANEL**
Name: Wang Lin
Race: Datura Snake
Attribute: Poison
Age: 476
**Grid 1:** Blue Silver Grass (Age: 544)
**Grid 2:** Locked
---
He looked at the glowing square containing the blue silver grass he had stored a few hours ago. He noticed something different. The size of the blue silver grass now compared to when he first stored it was completely different.
The image of the blue silver grass in front of him was lusher and thicker than before. Upon closer observation, he noticed a number dangling at the edge of the glowing grid: **Age: 544**.
As he stared at it, something finally clicked. He understood why only one space was available for storage. Calling his system an "inventory" was an understatement—his storage was more than that. Anything stored in his system increased in age.
Considering when he had stored the blue silver grass, approximately five hours had passed. For every hour, the blue silver grass grew older. In one day, 1,000 years of growth would occur; in a month, 30,000 years, and in a year, 365,000 years.
Now that he understood the real function of the system, he knew he could use it to his advantage. But now wasn't the time to think about that—he needed to avoid becoming some random spirit beast's meal.
He quickly removed the blue silver grass from the system and stored the light deer spirit beast's corpse.
---
**ON-HOOK PANEL**
Name: Wang Lin
Race: Datura Snake
Attribute: Poison
Age: 476
**Grid 1:** Bright Light Deer (Age: 2044)
**Grid 2:** Locked
---
Wang Lin flicked his tongue into the air, picking up traces of scents and searching for a way out from where the battle had taken place. He turned toward the direction that had the fewest traces of beasts.
Just as he was about to set off, he noticed the fishy smell coming from the blue silver grass he had just discarded. The scent was similar to his own, with a grassy touch. Fearing that this would leave traces, Wang Lin quickly swallowed the blades of blue silver grass and set off in his chosen direction.
Hours passed as he continued moving without rest. Eventually, he began to feel strange. His body felt lethargic, and a swelling sensation overtook his stomach, as if he was going to throw up. The only thing he remembered eating was the blue silver grass, and he knew snakes weren't herbivores.
His stomach's contents were expelled reflexively. What he threw up was the remains of the blue silver grass, though now there were only a few blades left.
After vomiting, Wang Lin felt a little better. To recover, he burrowed into a nearby anthill and called up his system.
---
**ON-HOOK PANEL**
Name: Wang Lin
Race: Datura Snake
Attribute: Poison
Age: 513
**Grid 1:** Bright Light Deer (Age: 2,444)
**Grid 2:** Locked
---
The changes in the system were immediately apparent. His age had jumped from 476 to 513, and the bright light deer's age had increased by an additional 400 years. While the growth of the bright light deer could be attributed to the system's special properties, the increase in his own age was due to the blue silver grass. He now understood that consuming it caused his biological age to increase.
However, the increase in age didn't cause any noticeable changes in his body, likely because the amount of growth was too small.
The past few hours of his new life had been filled with ordeals. At every turn, he faced life-threatening danger in this ruthless jungle, where death could strike at any moment.
Deciding to take refuge in the anthill, Wang Lin resolved to stay hidden until he was stronger. Only then would he have a chance to survive this harsh environment.
But there was a problem: sustenance. Both food and water were critical for survival.
Wang Lin could only make do with the bright light deer stored in his system. He began a long period of hibernation, his body's functions slowing down. Periodically, he would wake to quench his hunger and thirst by drinking mouthfuls of the bright light deer's blood.
With each awakening, the amount of blood he drank decreased, but each portion contained more energy than the last.
This cycle of blood drinking and hibernation continued for two months. Unknown to him, his body grew from 4 meters to 10 meters, and his scales changed from ink green to pink.
---