Chapter 31: Planning a Sneak Attack
Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Planning a Sneak Attack
Liu Fengchun took a deep breath and said, "I may be a few years older than the rest of you, so I’ve seen a bit more."
"When I was young, I once encountered a vine-type Spirit Plant in symbiosis with a Demon Beast. It was an unforgettable experience."
"Later, after much investigation, I learned that some vine-type Spirit Plants have a natural Talent for symbiosis with Demon Beasts."
"As long as the Demon Beast is within range of the Demon Vine’s roots, they can share Life Essence. As long as the Demon Vine is not destroyed, no matter how badly beaten its symbiotic Demon Beast is, it will cling to life."
"Judging by its aura, that beast is likely at the Peak of Tier One Middle Stage. Coupled with its symbiotic Cyan Vine, it’s probably even more difficult to deal with than an ordinary Late-stage Tier One Demon Beast."
"Then what should we do? Are we supposed to give up?" Yin Jiu, who had a somewhat aggressive personality, spoke up.
Liu Fengchun slammed his Snake-Head Staff onto the ground, his Jade Eyes reflecting the cavern’s dim light. "We’ve come this far; of course we can’t give up! But this beast and the Demon Vine are already symbiotic. It’s no ordinary Demon Beast!" His withered fingers crushed half a piece of Scorpion Armor. "If we charge in blindly, who knows how many of us will die. Someone needs to lure it away from the Demon Vine."
Cold Qi seeped from the holes in Yin Jiu’s mask as the Red Centipedes in his Pottery Jar frantically slammed against its walls. "My poisonous insects are formidable, but they aren’t suited for a frontal assault."
A new crack appeared on Chen Moyang’s Array Disc with a CRACK. He stuck a silver needle into the Xun Position. "I’m ashamed to say, a Tier One Middle-Grade Trapping Array takes half an incense stick’s time to set up. If I’m struck by its tail before the Array is complete..."
"I will lead the attack."
Lu Zhao spoke up suddenly, the deep blue Water Curtain from his Profound Water Turtle Shell Shield spreading past his elbow. "With my Magical Artifact, my Ironwood Guards, and Elder Liu’s Snake Staff, it shouldn’t be too difficult to hold off the Snake King temporarily."
His gaze swept over Yin Jiu’s sleeve. "But Mr. Yin, how long will your Fire Centipede Devouring Vine technique take?"
"Fire Centipede Devouring Vine?" Yin Jiu fell silent for a moment after saying this. Then, seemingly having made up his mind, a sound like a grinding wheel on iron rasped from his throat. "Give me one incense stick’s worth of time, and I can corrode through that Demon Vine!" He slammed a withered claw onto the Pottery Jar, and the carapaces of three Red Centipedes began to glow with molten patterns.
Liu Fengchun, holding his Snake Staff, said, "If I use my Magical Artifact at full power, I can only sustain it for ten breaths. We need to trap the Snake King first!"
"The Array will be set up behind the stalactites to the northeast," Chen Moyang said. "Mr. Lu, just lead the Snake King into the Array. Leave the rest to me."
Four gazes, sharp as knives, crossed. Outside the cave, the Dark River roared as it crashed against the rocks.
"Then how should we divide the spoils? Same as last time?"
Liu Fengchun spoke first. "The Poison Sac goes to me. That’s the old rule!"
Yin Jiu rasped in his hoarse voice, "The Snake Shedding is mine."
The vertical pupils beneath his mask swept over Chen Moyang. "An Array Master wouldn’t try to steal food for my insects, would he?"
Chen Moyang pinched a cracked Array Plate Jade Fragment between his fingers. "The Snake Bone naturally corresponds with the principles of ’Arrays.’ I require the entire spinal column."
Lu Zhao stroked the wet snake blood on his Water-Splitting Needle. "The remaining vines are all mine." Seeing the sharp glares from the other three, he added, "The Cyan Vine can be split evenly among you. I’ll also compensate you all with thirty Spirit Stones."
"How many Spirit Stones is that Cyan Vine even worth?" Liu Fengchun sneered. "Kid Lu, those remaining vines are worth at least a hundred Spirit Stones! You casually say to split it and act like we’re beggars?"
He slapped a withered palm against the cave wall, sending pebbles rustling down, and held out his hand. "Compensate us with sixty Spirit Stones!"
A half-foot-long Red Centipede emerged from Yin Jiu’s sleeve, its venomous mandibles clacking. "The toll of Poisonous Fire Burning Vine is not small. Compensating us with sixty Spirit Stones is the bottom line."
Chen Moyang silently arranged the Array Disc fragments into the shape of a hexagram, then suddenly looked up. "The wear and tear on my Array Disc isn’t cheap either. Mr. Lu needs to add another sixty Spirit Stones."
The dim glow from Lu Zhao’s Profound Water Shield washed over his face. "I am leading the attack and facing the Snake King head-on. Furthermore, this Snake King is worth significantly more than an ordinary Tier One Middle Stage beast. Since I’m not taking a share of it, your gains should already be substantial."
He kicked away a half-melted scorpion pincer at his feet. "If I don’t step up, none of you would even get to see the Cyan Vine. I will compensate the three of you with thirty-six Spirit Stones."
"Forty-five!" Bloodshot veins appeared in the Jade Eyes on Liu Fengchun’s staff. "Not one Spirit Stone less!"
Yin Jiu said, "Forty-five Spirit Stones is the lowest we’ll go!"
Lu Zhao tapped the ground with his Water-Splitting Needle, and frost instantly spread across the red earth. "Forty-two." Seeing Liu Fengchun’s withered lips about to open, he cut him off with a cold voice, "Don’t you all forget, we still have to work together to kill this Snake King. If we get distracted over a few Spirit Stones..."
In the dead silence, only the whimpering of the Dark River could be heard. Liu Fengchun suddenly gave a bitter smile. "Forty-two it is, then. But you must give it your all."
Over the course of their journey, Liu Fengchun had realized that in terms of true strength, Lu Zhao was the strongest of the four.
The other three might have their own specialties in other areas, but they couldn’t compare to Lu Zhao in raw power.
"Deal," Lu Zhao said with a nod after a moment’s thought.
As they re-entered the grotto, the Hundred Waters Magic Disc in Lu Zhao’s possession began to spin rapidly on its own. The Crystal Stone at its center shot out a blue glow like an ice needle.
"The flower bud is moving!" Chen Moyang stabbed a silver needle on his Array Disc into the Zhen Position. The Bronze Vine Cocoon hanging upside down from the ceiling throbbed faintly. The scab of dried blood on its surface split open, and an amber-colored fluid seeped out!
"Not good!" Just as Liu Fengchun’s Snake-Head Staff began to glow with cyan light, the rock wall to their left suddenly rippled like the surface of water!
The fifty-foot-long Snake King burst out of the rock. There was no sound of scraping scales, no foul wind tearing through the air—it was like a specter ripping through space itself! Chen Moyang, who was directly in its path, saw his Array Disc explode with a BANG, and his Protective Spiritual Light was annihilated like paper!
"Kan Position!" Lu Zhao roared, frantically pouring his Magical Power into the Profound Water Shield. The instant the deep blue Water Curtain swelled into a wall, the snake’s tail had already whipped across Chen Moyang’s chest—a sound like clashing metal mixed with cracking bone erupted!
Chen Moyang flew like a kite with a snapped string, crashing into a stalagmite as a bloody mist sprayed out like rain.
The Red Centipedes had just sprung from Yin Jiu’s sleeve when the Snake King’s Poison Sac swelled, and it spat out a waterfall of venom. The Red Centipedes dissolved on contact, turning into puffs of green smoke before they could even let out a shriek!
"It has an innate magic that lets it merge with rock! Be careful!" Yin Jiu shouted.
Liu Fengchun finally activated the wind-splitting shard on his staff’s head, but its cyan light only swept through the Snake King’s lingering afterimage.
The rock wall rippled again. The snake’s head emerged from behind Lu Zhao, the venom dripping from its fangs hissing as it corroded his Profound Water Shield!
The Hundred Waters Magic Disc activated abruptly. As Lu Zhao spun around, three Ice Cones shot toward the snake’s eyes in a triangular formation.
The Snake King opened its mouth again, and a thick, blue-black poisonous mist spewed out, rapidly melting the three Ice Cones!
Yin Jiu scrambled away from the corrosive venom in a sorry state, half a corner of his mask eaten through.
The Snake King’s amber, vertical pupils split into multiple overlapping images within the mist, each gaze carrying a soul-devouring chill.
Lu Zhao took a deep breath, and two Ironwood Guards appeared in front of him, their bodies covered in an earthen-yellow glow.
Its surprise attack successful, the Snake King’s body slithered, retreating like a phantom back to the Cyan Vine’s side.
As if possessing spirituality, the Cyan Vine extended its roots to envelop the Snake King upon its return. It moved like a gentle wife, softly caressing her husband.
Liu Fengchun spoke up then. "Fellow cultivators, we can’t drag this out any longer. We need to use our most powerful techniques. We can’t win a battle of attrition against this Snake King."
His gaze turned to Lu Zhao, clearly saying, ’It’s up to you now.’
At that moment, Lu Zhao also spoke. "The rest of the plan remains unchanged. I will go all out to trap the Snake King."
’Who would have thought,’ Lu Zhao appeared heroic, but inwardly he was complaining bitterly, ’the Snake King had an innate magic that let it merge with earth and rock, allowing it to severely injure one of us right at the start.’