Chapter 123 - 121: Snake’s Lair, Advancement

Chapter 123: Chapter 121: Snake’s Lair, Advancement

’Plants can become demons? A Tree Demon?’

Although he was astonished, since the Golden Finger had provided a cultivation method, it must be feasible.

Li Changsheng’s expression grew thoughtful as he murmured softly, "Hide the spirit to raise the grade, nurture the spirit to transform into a demon..."

One method involved irrigating with the filth from the copulation of ten thousand snakes to hide its spiritual nature and accelerate the Spirit Plant’s growth.

The other involved irrigating with the flesh and blood of spirit snakes to enhance its spiritual nature, causing it to transform into a demonic creature.

The first method required waiting until next year for the ten thousand snakes to breed, and it was far too uncertain. The second could be done now, but spirit snakes were dangerous and not so easy to catch.

Moreover, he had a concern: if he chose to nurture it into a demon, it was uncertain whether the Snake Saliva Spirit Liquid could still be used to cultivate his insects.

He mulled it over for A Cup of Tea’s Time.

Li Changsheng shook his head, clearing his mind of distracting thoughts.

’I’ll consider the two options after I’m done planting the Spirit Medicine.’

Returning to the soft couch, Li Changsheng took out a Refining Jade Pill, swallowed it, and closed his eyes to focus.

After some time, a complex network of meridians, faintly outlining the shape of a strange beast, appeared in his mind’s eye. A small portion of the meridians was shrouded in a spiritual glow, while the majority was dim and lightless.

With a thought, Li Changsheng directed his Spiritual Power to flow gently like a fine rain into the meridians, clearing them bit by bit.

And every time he cleared a meridian, the patterns on the surface of his contracted insects would change slightly, becoming more intricate and their colors deepening.

He spent a sleepless night. Just as Li Changsheng finished feeding his Spirit Beasts and was riding Xiaohua to the Spirit Field...

「At the Demon Hunting Corps’ residence, in the central hall.」

Steward Ye and Tan Hu were seated to the side, talking in low voices and glancing at the entrance from time to time.

Before long, Luan Jian, dressed in practical attire, strode in. He glanced at the two men, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Vice Commander Luan."

The two stood and clasped their hands in salute.

Luan Jian returned the salute, took his seat, and got straight to the point. "What brings you two here?"

Steward Ye and Tan Hu exchanged a look.

Steward Ye clasped his hands and said, "To be frank with you, Vice Commander Luan, I have come regarding the matter of the island’s Spirit Field."

He didn’t hide anything, explaining in detail how planting Spirit Medicine in the island’s Spirit Field had attracted an infestation of snake beasts.

A Cup of Tea’s Time later.

Steward Ye once again clasped his hands. "I must ask Vice Commander Luan to inform Steward Tong and have him lead the Demon Hunting Corps to clear out the snake beasts in Ten Thousand Serpent Lake again."

"Otherwise, if the Spirit Medicine planting is delayed, neither of us will be able to answer for it."

"This..."

Luan Jian hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I will report this to the Commander."

"Please do so as soon as possible."

Steward Ye and Tan Hu then took their leave.

Luan Jian rose to see them to the door. After a moment of thought, he turned and returned to the hall.

「Ten Thousand Serpent Lake, on the island.」

Two streaks of Escape Light landed one after another not far from the edge of the Spirit Field on the side of the island’s mountain peak.

The light faded, revealing the figures of Steward Ye and Tan Hu.

Xu Li, who had been ordered to guard the Spirit Field, hurried forward and bowed. "Greetings, Lord Steward."

Steward Ye waved his hand dismissively, his gaze fixed on the Spirit Field in the distance.

The Spirit Field was densely packed with countless colorful snake beasts.

Although most of them were Mortal Snakes, there were also a dozen or so spirit snakes of various shapes. No other snake beast dared to come within three meters of them.

Wherever they coiled, there was one or more Spirit Medicine seedlings. The other Mortal Snakes, however, gathered in groups of ten or even dozens to occupy a single Spirit Medicine.

After watching for a while, Steward Ye turned and said, "Steward Tan, if you would please handle the cleanup."

The Magic he practiced was all fire-based. While he could also clear out the snake beasts in the Spirit Field, the Spirit Medicine seedlings would certainly not survive.

"Alright."

Tan Hu nodded in agreement. With a single leap, he landed at the edge of the Spirit Field.

Looking at the snake beasts in the field, he bent down slightly. Coarse hairs, like steel wires, appeared on his face, and a marking resembling the character for ’King’ emerged on his brow as a ferocious aura spread out in all directions.

The bodies of the Mortal Snakes nearest to him instantly stiffened. The spirit snakes, on the other hand, coiled up, raising the upper halves of their bodies high. Their cold, vertical pupils stared at Tan Hu as they flicked their tongues.

Tan Hu sneered and opened his mouth slightly.

The next moment—

ROAR—

A tiger’s roar suddenly erupted. The ferocious pressure multiplied exponentially, crashing down upon the snake beasts.

Under this pressure, even the spirit snakes prostrated themselves, and the Mortal Snakes simply collapsed limply to the ground.

A smile appeared on Tan Hu’s face. Spiritual light pulsed across his body as he waved his sleeve.

Countless tiny Wind Blades materialized and shot into the Spirit Field.

SLICE...

In just an instant, hundreds of snake beasts were killed by the Wind Blades.

The thick stench of blood filled the air.

Steward Ye’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Xu Li was trembling like a leaf, his normally fierce, indigo-hued face unable to hide his terror.

A few moments later.

The Spirit Field was like a mire of flesh and blood. Only the dozen or so spirit snakes had survived; the rest of the snake beasts had all been turned into pulp.

Tan Hu nodded in satisfaction. The next moment, the shadow beneath his feet suddenly stretched and expanded, slowly extending into the Spirit Field.

GULP GULP...

A sudden swallowing sound was heard.

The mire of flesh and blood in the Spirit Field began to disappear at a rate visible to the naked eye.

A Cup of Tea’s Time later.

Tan Hu’s shadow returned to normal, and his face was slightly flushed. After collecting the remaining spirit snakes into a wooden cage, he gave a slight nod to Steward Ye and strode towards the mountain peak.

Steward Ye did not leave. He found a green rock, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes to rest.

Xu Li stared at the withered husks of the snakes left in the Spirit Field, swallowed hard, and felt an inexplicable terror in his heart.

Before long, however, more snake beasts swarmed into the Spirit Field, their numbers growing as time passed...

「At the mountain peak.」

Li Changsheng stood a hundred meters from his Spirit Field, his expression grave yet tinged with a hint of excitement.

He had underestimated the allure of the Spirit Medicine. Even though he had placed his five poisons in the Spirit Field, they didn’t seem to be having much of an effect.

In the Spirit Field,

The insect swarm surged back and forth, dragging out snake beasts one by one and devouring them until only empty husks remained.

Half an hour had passed like this.

The number of snake beasts in the Spirit Field had only been reduced by a little less than half. The majority still remained, including quite a few spirit snakes.

’At this rate, it won’t be long before the rest of my insects reach the stage for advancement...’

Li Changsheng gazed at the Spirit Field, his mind stirring. ’Nurture the spirit to transform into a demon...’

Just as he was thinking about this,

A connection in his mind suddenly became several times heavier.

"Hmm?"

Li Changsheng quickly closed his eyes to focus, probing the mental connection.

A moment later,

He opened his eyes and smiled. "So, one of the five poisons has advanced."

With a flicker of his thoughts,

A Ghost-faced Scorpion the size of an adult’s fist, purplish-black all over with what looked like a distorted, ghostly face on its back, crawled out of the Spirit Field and came to his feet.

Li Changsheng crouched down, his gaze fixed on the seemingly writhing ghost-face on its back.

[Target: Ghost-faced Scorpion]

[Race: Ghost-faced Scorpion]

[Tier One Mid-Grade: 1%]

[Innate Magic: Ghost-faced Poison Needle.]

[Status: Healthy.]

’As expected of a variant species...’

A look of delight appeared on Li Changsheng’s face as he stared at the magic column.

[Ghost-faced Poison Needle: The ghost-face Enchants the Spirit, while the scorpion’s tail can shoot three poison needles.]

Before he could dismiss the panel, another piece of information appeared.

[Magic Enhancement: Crush a Bright God Flower, mix it with a highly toxic liquid, and feed it to the target for one month.]

’The requirements aren’t too high...’

Li Changsheng smiled and, with a thought, commanded the Ghost-faced Scorpion to re-enter the Spirit Field.

Time passed bit by bit.

During this time, the Red Jade Toad and the Thousand-legged Poison Centipede both advanced to Mid-Grade, but unfortunately, neither of them awakened an Innate Magic. However, their bodies became tougher, and their internal toxins grew more potent.

Just as he was waiting for the insect swarm to clear the Spirit Field, a burly, dark-skinned man carrying a wooden cage strode over.

His voice arrived before he did.

"Haha, Junior Brother, need your Senior Brother to help you clean up these snake beasts?"

Li Changsheng turned his head. Seeing who it was, he smiled slightly and clasped his hands. "Greetings, Senior Brother Tan."

Tan Hu walked to his side, set down the wooden cage, and watched the insect swarm flying about in the Spirit Field. He said admiringly, "Junior Brother, this swarm of yours isn’t bad. If you can raise it to Tier Two, it won’t be much worse than Tong Zuo’s Purple Crystal Scorpions."

’Purple Crystal Scorpions?’

Li Changsheng asked curiously, "Steward Tong also practices an Insect Control Technique?"

Tan Hu nodded and clicked his tongue twice. "Yes. The Purple Crystal Scorpions he controls are all Tier Two Low-Grade. When hundreds of them swarm together, even a Late-Meridian Condensation cultivator might not be able to withstand their siege."

’All of them are Tier Two...’

Li Changsheng shook his head and said with envy, "My swarm can’t compare to Steward Tong’s. At best, they’re only Tier One Mid-Grade."

According to the Insect Breeding Record, the Red-winged Blood Bamboo Insects did have a chance to advance to Tier One Top-Grade Insects by a stroke of luck, but there was no record of them being able to reach Tier Two.

’But I have my Golden Finger. Maybe it’s possible...’

Li Changsheng was quite optimistic. Even if the Red-winged Blood Bamboo Insect swarm couldn’t reach Tier Two, he could just switch to a different swarm.

Tan Hu didn’t dwell on the matter. His gaze shifted to a spot in the Spirit Field as he praised, "Junior Brother, that Ghost-faced Scorpion of yours is very good. It awakened an Innate Magic at only Tier One Mid-Grade. With careful nurturing, it has a high chance of advancing to Tier Two."

"At that point, it won’t be any worse than an ordinary spirit pet."

Li Changsheng nodded slightly, but thought to himself, ’That’s because you don’t know about Xiaohai...’

Xiaohai, the mutated Black Blood Moth, was arguably the strongest and highest-potential insect in his possession. But he had always kept it hidden in his sleeve, and no one besides him knew he had such a creature.

"Oh, right, Junior Brother. Here are some spirit snakes I caught for you."

Tan Hu said, kicking the wooden cage at his feet with a smile. "Don’t worry, I’ve already shattered their bones. You can feed them to your insects without any trouble."

"This..."

Li Changsheng felt a surge of joy, followed by some hesitation.

’This treasure-delivering Senior Brother truly lives up to his name, giving me one gift after another, and they’re all things I need.’

’But always taking and never giving back makes me seem like too much of a freeloader.’

Seemingly sensing his hesitation,

Tan Hu laughed. "Just take them, Junior Brother." He paused, then added teasingly, "And when I come asking you for a favor in the future, I hope you won’t refuse..."

"Oh?"

Li Changsheng was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "Senior Brother, if you have any matter, just say the word. As long as it is something I, Changsheng, can help with, I will not refuse."

Tan Hu’s heart stirred, and he thought to himself, ’I might as well tell him the reason now. If anything unexpected happens, it will be easier to make amends.’

With that in mind, he pondered for a moment and asked, "Junior Brother, do you know why Tong Zuo and Luo Fang came to blows?"

Li Changsheng paused, then said hesitantly, "Wasn’t it because of the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land...?"

"Yes and no."

Tan Hu slowly shook his head. "The reason for their conflict is a Tier Three Spirit Plant within the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land: the Senluo Flower."