Chapter 125 - 123: Clearing Ten Thousand Serpent Lake

Chapter 125: Chapter 123: Clearing Ten Thousand Serpent Lake

"Has Steward Tong recovered from his injuries? Now that Steward Lan is away, he’s the only one who can watch over the Spiritual Land."

Panic bloomed in Steward Ye’s heart, and he quickly voiced his question.

A Dao Foundation Realm Cultivator was on the same level as an Elder in the Cyan Yang Sect. The very thought made his scalp tingle with fear.

Especially with Lan Cai Shen absent from the Spiritual Land, they could only rely on the exceptionally skilled Tong Zuo to fend off their enemies.

Luan Jian’s expression remained unchanged upon hearing this. He shook his head and said, "The Steward is still recuperating. It is not a good time for him to make an appearance."

Before Steward Ye could ask another question, Mingzhuang shot him a look and said, "What’s there to be afraid of? If an enemy we can’t handle appears, the Steward will naturally show himself."

Steward Ye opened his mouth, then shut it and nodded in resignation.

Luan Jian shot a glare at Mingzhuang, then cupped his hands and said, "The Demon Hunting Corps still needs to patrol the area around the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land, so we can only spare thirty Late-Stage Qi Cultivation Cultivators." He paused before adding, "Besides, most of the snakes in Ten Thousand Serpent Lake are Mortal Snakes. If you two Stewards gather the Spirit Farmers from the Spiritual Land, it shouldn’t be too difficult to clear them out."

Tan Hu nodded slightly.

With the four of them as Nascent Soul Cultivators, plus thirty Late-Stage Qi Cultivation experts from the Demon Hunting Corps leading several hundred Spirit Farmers from the Spiritual Land, their numbers were just barely enough.

"I suppose this is the only way," Steward Ye said with a resigned nod.

After that, the group discussed the cultivators from the Power Demon Sect who were expected to appear soon.

In the end, they decided that Mingzhuang would lead a small team to continue scouting outside, while Luan Jian would remain to guard the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land and monitor its surroundings.

Furthermore, as a precaution, Steward Wu and Steward Jin were to head to Miscellaneous Peak to request reinforcements, while Steward Ye and Steward Tan would stay behind to gather the Spirit Farmers and clear out Ten Thousand Serpent Lake.

Once the plan was settled, the group dispersed, each heading off to their respective tasks.

At home, engrossed in his cultivation, Li Changsheng was completely unaware that trouble was once again brewing in the outside world.

「The next day.」

Steward Ye and Tan Hu moved quickly. Led by the thirty cultivators from the Demon Hunting Corps, they assembled three hundred Spirit Farmers, divided them into thirty teams, and gathered them by the shores of Ten Thousand Serpent Lake.

The weapons in their hands were a motley assortment.

Things like hoes, sickles, kitchen knives, and other farm tools...

In contrast to the calm expressions of the Demon Hunting Corps cultivators, the Spirit Farmers’ faces were a mix of emotions, but their eyes all betrayed a hint of fear...

"Ten Thousand Serpent Lake... there aren’t actually ten thousand snakes in there, are there?!"

"Why are they making us kill snakes? Don’t we have the Demon Hunting Corps for this?!"

"Sigh, I wonder what the Stewards are thinking..."

"Haha, hey Han, why are your hands shaking?"

"Screw you! Your legs are shaking too..."

The crowd chattered back and forth, their combined voices creating a ceaseless, buzzing din like a swarm of mosquitoes.

And among the crowd were quite a few people Li Changsheng knew.

Dong Yao, Wu Yong, Yun Wan, Sun Wen Yu, Huang Ping...

Dong Yao and Wu Yong, seemingly oblivious to the dangers of Ten Thousand Serpent Lake, were huddled together whispering. They even let out a soft laugh from time to time, earning them a round of angry glares from the others.

Yun Wan, Sun Wen Yu, Huang Ping, and a few other neighbors were gathered together, their eyes occasionally flicking toward Ten Thousand Serpent Lake as they exchanged a few words in low voices.

Just as the crowd was murmuring amongst themselves,

two streaks of light flew over and landed by the shore of Ten Thousand Serpent Lake.

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

The two men scanned the crowd of Spirit Farmers behind them and nodded slightly.

With a flick of his wrist, he produced a fist-sized, jet-black pill. It was the Snake-Attracting Medicine, and it emanated waves of a pungent, fishy stench. He tossed it out with a wave of his hand.

The pill soared through the air, and just as it began to descend, it suddenly burst apart, turning into a cloud of black powder that settled along the edge of Ten Thousand Serpent Lake.

In that instant, an overpowering, fishy stench filled the air.

The many Spirit Farmers standing nearby frowned, circulating their Spiritual Power to block the stench from their noses.

At that moment,

the expressions of the thirty cultivators from the Demon Hunting Corps suddenly turned grim. They shouted at the Spirit Farmers behind them, reminding them to prepare themselves.

The words had barely left their mouths when the azure water of the lake suddenly began to turn black.

"Snakes... a Snake Tide!"

A horrified voice suddenly cried out from the silent crowd.

"HSSSS..."

The other Spirit Farmers looked toward the lake, unable to stop themselves from drawing in a sharp, cold breath as they instinctively stumbled backward.

A dense, writhing mass of snake beasts had surfaced in Ten Thousand Serpent Lake. There were simply too many to count; as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but snakes.

Just as the crowd began to panic,

"ROAR..."

A tremendous roar suddenly erupted.

The crowd felt a momentary wave of dizziness. When they opened their eyes again, they saw an enormous Mountain Monarch standing before them on its hind legs like a man, radiating a ferocious and terrifying aura.

As its pale golden, beastly eyes swept over them with indifference, a horrifying chill rose in all their hearts.

A bone-chilling voice echoed in their ears.

"Anyone who flees dies!"

The moment the words fell,

spiritual light surged across the surface of the enormous Mountain Monarch. A pale-cyan vortex of wind suddenly coiled around its body. Without any perceptible movement, countless palm-sized Wind Blades materialized and shot toward the Snake Tide in the lake.

BOOM...

The dense barrage of Wind Blades descended upon the Snake Tide. In a single instant, hundreds of snake beasts were shredded to pieces.

A deep, rich crimson bloomed in the azure lake water, slowly spreading outward.

Before the crowd could even recover from their shock, they felt a wave of searing heat wash over them.

They saw Steward Ye, now shrouded in billowing black smoke that radiated a scorching heat. The lake water beside him began to steam and evaporate.

"Go!"

Steward Ye pointed forward with the pipe-shaped Magical Artifact in his hand.

Billowing black smoke surged forth, instantly blanketing the Snake Tide. In a matter of moments, the lake water began to boil, and the skin of the snake beasts split open as their flesh rotted away.

The corners of Steward Ye’s mouth lifted into a slight smile. He formed a hand seal for his Technique and shouted, "Ignite!"

No sooner had he spoken,

than a tinge of crimson appeared on the surface of the black smoke. A single, weak flame flickered to life, and as if setting off a chain reaction, the billowing smoke instantly erupted into a monstrous inferno. The countless snake beasts floating on the water’s surface were instantly incinerated into charcoal by the raging flames.

Billowing heatwaves surged out in all directions.

The crowd stared at the terrifying sea of flames, their expressions utterly dazed.

Only when the scorching heat, mingled with the stench of blood and burnt flesh, washed over them did they finally snap back to their senses, staring in horror at the scene before them.