Chapter 109 - 108: Ten Thousand Serpent Lake

Chapter 109: Chapter 108: Ten Thousand Serpent Lake

"Young Master Lan, please wait."

Seeing Lan Cai Shen about to leave, Luo Fang hesitated for only a moment before stepping in front of him with a smile, blocking his path.

"Don’t be in such a hurry, Young Master. This old man wants to clear out Ten Thousand Serpent Lake, but..."

He only said half of it, but his implication was clear.

Lan Cai Shen paused, glanced at Luo Fang, and then turned his head to look at Tong Zuo.

Tong Zuo’s expression had already returned to indifference. No emotion could be seen swirling in his bloodshot, web-like pupils.

The atmosphere was tense for several breaths.

Tong Zuo’s mouth opened slightly, and a somewhat hoarse voice sounded.

"Agreed."

"In half a month..."

After speaking, a spiritual light flowed over his body, and he quickly vanished.

"Young Master Lan, I still need to make some arrangements, so I’ll take my leave first."

Luo Fang cupped his hands at him, then turned and walked slowly toward the nearby camp.

"In half a month..."

Lan Cai Shen gazed at the calm Ten Thousand Serpent Lake, muttered to himself, then turned his hand over to summon his Flying Ship and soared into the sky.

At night, the moonlight was like water, pouring down into the Spiritual Land.

The small courtyard. The wooden house.

Li Changsheng sat cross-legged on his bed, his consciousness immersed in the vein map, circulating his Spiritual Power to open the veins for the Second Order Magical Spirit Contract.

His progress was very slow.

Ever since the spirit contract covered the insect seal and formed the strange Beast-shaped Vein Map, every time he opened a small vein, the resistance in the next one would increase.

So far, on top of the initial ten percent, he had only managed to open another three percent.

He was still a long way from opening it completely.

And then there was switching his Cultivation Technique to the "Blood River Refining Yang True Skill" and practicing the "Blood Spirit Escape."

All he could say was that a Vein Condensing Technique and its associated magic were truly worthy of their name; practicing them was just too time-consuming.

And this was with the help of his Golden Finger.

’One can only imagine how much harder it must be to advance at higher cultivation realms.’

「Half a month passed quickly.」

For the past half month, other than feeding his Spirit Beasts, Li Changsheng hadn’t even stepped out of his gate. He either took out jade slips to study his Cultivation Technique or circulated his Spiritual Power to open his Spirit Contract Veins.

Fortunately, he could see his cultivation progress at any time, so it wasn’t too tedious.

「On this day.」

Li Changsheng was lying on a recliner with his eyes closed, a jade slip pressed to his forehead as he meticulously studied the Cultivation Technique.

"Junior Brother, you are quite diligent."

A voice tinged with admiration reached his ears.

Li Changsheng’s brow twitched. He removed the jade slip and opened his eyes.

Outside the door, Lan Cai Shen was looking at him with a warm smile.

Li Changsheng quickly put away the jade slip, got up to open the courtyard gate, and cupped his hands with a smile. "Senior Brother, you jest. I’m just familiarizing myself with the Cultivation Technique."

Lan Cai Shen smiled, not dwelling on the matter. He asked, "Today, the Demon Hunting Corps and the Patrol Guard will be clearing the last area of the Spiritual Land. Would you like to go and watch, Junior Brother?" He paused, then added, "If the clearing goes smoothly, we will need you to measure the number of Tier Two Spirit Fields in the Spiritual Land."

"Of course."

Li Changsheng had no reason to refuse. ’Isn’t this why I came here in the first place?’

The two of them arrived before the main hall.

The four Stewards, including Tan Hu and Jin Fang, were already waiting for them at the entrance.

"Changsheng pays his respects, Senior Brothers."

Li Changsheng cupped his hands and stepped forward to exchange a few pleasantries with the Stewards.

Without wasting any words, Lan Cai Shen took out his Flying Ship and took the group soaring straight into the clouds.

Li Changsheng stood by the ship’s railing, looking down.

Amidst a sea of green forest, several bald patches stood out, looking rather ugly.

The small courtyard where he lived was in the southern part of the Spiritual Land, which was mostly plains. The other directions were filled with hills and woods.

He could see many people busy on the hills as well, even more than on the plains of the Spiritual Land.

Just as he was lost in thought, a splash of jade green came into view.

They had arrived at Ten Thousand Serpent Lake.

At this moment, over a hundred Cultivators were positioned on both sides of Ten Thousand Serpent Lake.

The arrival of the Flying Ship seemed to be a signal.

Li Changsheng felt two immense waves of Spiritual Power ripple out from below.

From one side of the island, a Cultivator with a face that looked as if it had been crudely hewn by a knife and axe flew out.

He squatted on the lake’s surface and plunged his hands into the water.

A massive, dark whirlpool slowly formed beneath his feet. In just over ten breaths, specks of blood surged from the whirlpool, and a large snake as thick as a thigh was swept out, already lifeless.

The other side of the island was no less impressive.

A burly man over two meters tall, with a three-headed python tattooed on his exposed skin, stepped onto the lake.

He was seen fiercely pounding his chest and abdomen. The three-headed python tattoo on his body lit up with specks of fluorescent light. As he spat out a mouthful of blood, a three-headed python over a hundred feet long, crimson all over, and as thick as a water bucket, materialized and crashed into the water with a thunderous splash.

ROAR...

A sound like the lowing of an ox rang out as the three-headed python stirred up waves and submerged into the water.

A moment later, blood churned to the surface, and the three-headed python emerged, tearing apart a large snake with dark black scales.

Their actions caused the once jade-green lake water to suddenly turn dark and murky.

The next instant.

A dense, uncountable swarm of snake beasts emerged from the bottom of the lake, rushing madly toward the two men and the crowd of Cultivators on the shore.

Most of the snake beasts were ordinary beasts, of all different kinds.

There were small, extremely venomous blue-ringed snakes; powerful, thigh-thick green-scaled pythons; and ruby-red snakes, crimson all over and carrying a blood poison, among others...

And this was the origin of the name Ten Thousand Serpent Lake.

The lake nurtures thousands upon thousands of snake beasts.

Seeing the Snake Tide surging toward them, the Cultivators by the lake remained calm and unhurried. They flipped their hands over, took out several talismans, and activated them with their Spiritual Power.

Clusters of orange-red Fireballs, each about the size of a human head, smashed down into the Snake Tide.

Without pause, they then took out and activated Water Vortex Talismans and Ice Arrow Talismans one after another...

After this barrage, the Snake Tide had just barely reached the shore, but only a small portion remained. The majority of the snake beasts had been torn to shreds by the three types of talismans.

This was also the most dangerous moment. Facing these thousands upon thousands of snake beasts, a single moment of carelessness could mean death.

"Die!"

"Kill!"

BOOM...

The two sides clashed, erupting with waves of Spiritual Power. The sounds of slaughter were endless.

In the sky, aboard the Flying Ship.

Lan Cai Shen and the others were not focused on the slaughter below. Instead, they stared grimly at the central island. In their perception, several sinister auras were awakening on the island, each one no weaker than a Mid-Meridian Condensation cultivator.

Because his cultivation realm was not high enough, Li Changsheng was unaware of this. He gazed at the brutal slaughter below, his mind wandering as he was inexplicably reminded of the wolf tide at Beast Valley.

’I wonder how many will die or be injured this time...’

Li Changsheng sighed inwardly, his eyes searching the crowd for Dong Yao.

Before long, Dong Yao’s figure came into view.

There were two people beside her. One was her dao companion, Wu Yong, who, as a Spirit Binder, controlled a Thousand-legged Poison Centipede with incredible speed. Snake after snake died at its hands.

The other person was a man in gray robes using a sword. Although there was no sword glint, his Swordsmanship was superb, and no snake beast could withstand more than a few strikes from his blade.

The three of them formed a defensive triangle, slaughtering the snake beasts.

Just then.

Three powerful streams of Demonic Power erupted from the island, causing a commotion among the snakes and making them attack the surrounding Cultivators even more frantically.

"Demons..."

Li Changsheng’s head snapped up, his expression changing slightly.

At the edge of the small island, three pythons, each as thick as a water bucket and about a hundred feet long, slithered out.

They moved to the edge of the lake but didn’t enter the water. Instead, they raised the upper halves of their bodies, their vertical pupils like flecks of gold staring intently at the Cultivators on the shore. The dense Demonic Power hovering around them sent gravel flying in all directions.

"Heh... Is this beast trying to intimidate me?"

Mingzhuang, who had already killed countless snake beasts with his whirlpool, sneered at the sight. He glanced behind him as his pupils gradually turned azure, rippling like ocean waves.

On the shore.

Tong Zuo nodded slightly at him, then looked at the beleaguered Cultivators from the Demon Hunting Corps. After a moment’s thought, he instructed a lean, stern-faced middle-aged man beside him, "Luan Jian, go clean them up."

"Yes."

Luan Jian nodded in acknowledgment and turned to walk toward the battlefield where the Demon Hunting Corps was fighting the Snake Tide.

Halfway there, he turned his hand over to produce a sword. Reaching the front of the Snake Tide, he swung it forward gently.

An arcing blade of Spiritual Power shot out. Wherever it passed, snake beasts were sliced in two. Blood spurted out, and after a few moments of frantic writhing, they went still.

Having received Tong Zuo’s approval, Mingzhuang grinned. Blue light flowed from his pupils as his body slowly sank into the lake.

Just a moment later.

The lake water churned, and a muffled sound rose from the depths.

BOOM...

A massive wave over a hundred feet high suddenly surged up, carrying tremendous force as it crashed toward the Snake Demons on the shore.

As the giant wave approached, the three Snake Demons’ vertical pupils contracted. Their Demonic Power flared, and a shimmer of light covered their bodies as they suddenly sprang forward to meet it.

BOOM...

A massive roar spread out.

The turbulent wave, carrying sand and stones, crashed into the small island. It carved a deep trench where it passed, sending trees and dead branches flying and leaving a trail of devastation.

But Mingzhuang, still in the lake, wore a grim expression. In his perception, three colossal sources of Demonic Power were rapidly approaching him.

The auras grew closer, and soon, three serpentine black shadows came into view.

A savage smile appeared on Mingzhuang’s face. He formed a hand seal for a Technique, frantically pouring the Spiritual Power from his body into his veins.

Around him, chains slowly materialized, making him look like a tentacled monster.

On the other side of the island.

The burly man stood atop his three-headed python, looking grimly at the three Snake Demons opposite him. Even though Mingzhuang had made a move, he didn’t dare to act rashly.

He was only at the Mid-Meridian Condensation realm. Dealing with one Mid-Demon Realm Snake Demon was manageable, but three... that would require him to risk his life.

Clearly, he was not willing to risk his life.

On the shore.

Seeing this, Luo Fang sighed inwardly. ’His resources are still no match for theirs...’ He took a leap, landed beside the burly man, and instructed quietly, "Go help the Patrol Guard clean up the snake beasts. Leave this to me."

"Yes, my lord."

The burly man cupped his hands in acknowledgment. The three-headed python beneath him let out a hiss and turned to charge toward the shore.

Luo Fang shook his head slightly and turned his hand over to reveal a thumb-sized seal engraved with a strange beast. His gaze was complicated. Then, with a flicker of thought, an immense pressure radiated outward.

The three Snake Demons on the shore felt this unnerving aura. They shook their heads, agitated, then simultaneously sprang up, leaped into the lake, and lunged at Luo Fang.

"Sigh..."

Luo Fang sighed again and gently tossed the seal.

The moment the seal floated up, the intricate patterns on its surface lit up. Tiny runes linked together, and a blazing light flared, expanding the seal to a size of several dozen feet before it smashed down on the three Snake Demons in the lake.

The three Snake Demons roared. A green light emerged from their mouths, and a solid layer of Demonic Power covered their bodies.

However, before they could unleash their innate magic, the seal had already fallen.

BOOM...

With a tremendous bang, a massive wave of Spiritual Power swept out in all directions. In the hundred-meter radius where the seal fell, the water level sank by several meters.

"Hm? They’re not dead yet?"

Luo Fang sensed the auras of the Snake Demons under the seal. With a flicker of thought, the seal’s surface lit up again, and an immense weight pressed down.

The three Snake Demons let out a final, mournful cry, and then their life signs vanished.