Chapter 344: Long Xuan Sets a Trap |
"Since no one has chosen to quit, let's not delay any longer and set off now."
Master Wei sneered inwardly. In the face of immense profits, he was certain no one would back down—Gu cultivators were inherently greedy.
He retrieved a small black boat from his storage ring and placed it on the ground. The black boat gradually enlarged until it was big enough to carry dozens of people. Master Wei leapt aboard first.
Without waiting for further instructions, the others followed suit and boarded the black boat. It slowly rose into the air and eventually disappeared into the horizon.
A month later, near the coastal region of the Glorious Moon Empire, a black boat descended slowly. Twelve people jumped off the boat, cautiously surveying their surroundings.
They had chosen this area because of its frequent spirit beast activity. Vigilance was necessary.
"Is the Black Giant Salamander around here?" Madam Yue inquired.
"The Black Giant Salamander is still a distance away from here. This is the territory of the Dragon Fish King."
"The condition Master Song set for joining my expedition was capturing a Grade-3 Dragon Fish King."
"No problem! A mere Grade-3 Dragon Fish King? Leave it to the five of us brothers. We won’t even charge you." Old Mei laughed heartily, showing no dissatisfaction despite the potential time loss.
The Mei family brothers had already benefited from the limited-edition Gu armor and wouldn’t miss this chance to strengthen their relationship with Master Wei.
Since the strongest group—the Plum Mountain Five Ghosts—had spoken, the rest of the group had no objections. They all headed toward the area where the Dragon Fish King was known to appear.
Half a day later, the Plum Mountain Five Ghosts tossed a heavily injured Dragon Fish onto the ground.
“This is strange,” Fourth Brother Mei muttered. “Dragon Fish usually stay in the water and are incredibly hard to catch.”
“But this one actually ran ashore and even charged straight at us. It’s practically offering itself on a silver platter!”
"I thought it would take us a lot longer to find a Dragon Fish, but here we are already."
Master Wei knew the real reason for this but didn’t want the others digging deeper. He quickly changed the subject:
"Who cares why? Since we’ve secured the Dragon Fish, there’s no need to dwell on why it came ashore."
"The Black Giant Salamander is only about two days away from here. Let’s discuss how to deal with it."
"My plan is to set up a Dragon Sealing Heaven-Earth Formation near the Black Giant Salamander. Once it steps into the formation, it’ll be completely at our mercy. But the problem is, who will lure the Black Giant Salamander into the formation?"
Master Wei’s gaze swept across the group. Whether intentional or not, his eyes lingered on Master Song for a moment longer.
Hearing this, the group exchanged glances but remained silent. No one volunteered.
This task was life-threatening—if the lure failed, the Black Giant Salamander would devour the bait. None of them were willing to risk their lives.
Gu cultivators were not known for selflessness, and the danger was simply too great. The silence dragged on.
"Don’t worry," Master Wei reassured them. "The Black Giant Salamander is extremely fast in water but very slow on land. A peak Spiritual Sea cultivator skilled in speed should be able to outrun it."
"I don’t know who among us is best at speed, but if no one steps forward, we’ll have to draw lots."
"However, this might result in someone slow drawing the lot. If luck is bad, we could lose more people than necessary." Master Wei’s tone grew grave as he surveyed the group.
Despite his words, no one volunteered. Even the fastest among them dared not guarantee they could outrun the Black Giant Salamander.
Madam Yue glanced at Master Song. She knew him well—he was infamous in the Glorious Moon Empire as a flower thief, constantly hunted but never caught. His escape skills were top-notch. Surely, he could evade the Black Giant Salamander.
However, exposing someone’s secrets at this time would make her enemies, so she stayed silent.
Long Xuan noticed these glances. He ignored Madam Yue’s gaze but found Master Wei’s particularly meaningful.
Long Xuan suspected Master Wei intended to push him forward as bait. He was curious about the excuse Master Wei would use but knew he couldn’t avoid this role. Master Wei had probably already devised a strategy to force him into it.
After a moment’s thought, Long Xuan devised a plan to turn the tables on Master Wei.
Before Master Wei could speak, Long Xuan said, "Since no one is volunteering, I’ll lure the Black Giant Salamander."
"To be honest, I’m very skilled in speed, and leading the salamander into the formation shouldn’t be too difficult."
The group was stunned. They hadn’t expected Master Song to volunteer, especially since he was the weakest among them.
"Master Song, you—"
Old Mei began to speak but was interrupted by Long Xuan.
"No need to say more. You all helped me hunt the Dragon Fish King earlier without asking for anything in return. It’s only right for me to repay the favor."
"Rest assured, I wouldn’t volunteer if I wasn’t confident."
Hearing this, Old Mei could no longer dissuade him and fell silent.
Master Wei was momentarily taken aback. He hadn’t expected someone to step forward so readily, making his scheming unnecessary.
"Very well! Since Master Song is so bold, we won’t try to dissuade you."
"Let’s board the boat and set off!"
Master Wei, secretly delighted, retrieved the black boat from his storage ring and boarded it. The others followed suit.
...
Two days later, the black ship landed on an island.
“This is the territory where the Black Salamander is active. Next, we will split up to search for it. Whoever finds it should immediately notify everyone using a communication talisman, and we’ll converge at the nearest location,” Master Wei instructed the group as soon as he disembarked.
Hearing this, a peak-grade Spiritual Sea Gu cultivator in the crowd frowned and couldn’t help but say, “That’s a Grade 4 spirit beast. If we see it, it’ll definitely see us as well. Splitting up to search is too dangerous. I suggest everyone stay together and search slowly, even if it takes more time.”
Master Wei immediately turned to him and retorted, “You speak as if it’s easy. This area is huge. If we don’t split up to search, how long will it take to find it? This matter can’t be delayed. If we discovered the Black Giant Salamander, others might too. The longer we wait, the higher the chances someone else will find it.”
At this moment, Old Mei also chimed in, “You’re being foolish. Do you have to let the Black Giant Salamander spot you? Can’t you send Gu insects ahead to scout? Do you think the Black Giant Salamander would waste energy chasing a little bug? We must split up. If anyone is too afraid to continue, they should just quit now.”
Hearing this, the person realized they had said something foolish and fell silent.
Madam Yue then added, “We’ve already spent a month traveling here. Are you sure the Black Giant Salamander is still around? Could it have been hunted already?”
Master Wei’s expression turned grave as he hesitated. “We can’t rule out that possibility. If the Black Giant Salamander has already been hunted, we’ll have no choice but to accept it. Rest assured, if that happens, I’ll still provide you with the Breaking King Pill. I won’t let you waste your efforts for nothing.
“For now, we can only pray that the Black Giant Salamander hasn’t been discovered. Time is tight; let’s split up and start searching immediately.”
Not daring to delay, Master Wei chose a direction and started walking.
The others nodded and scattered, each heading in a different direction.
This area was a chain of islands, with countless large and small islands scattered everywhere. The Black Giant Salamander could be hiding on one of these islands or underwater, making the search extremely difficult. If it were easy to find, it would have been hunted long ago and wouldn’t have been discovered by Master Wei alone.
Long Xuan chose a direction where no one else was headed and set off. In truth, he had already used his Far-Sight ability from the Eye of Heavenly Secret to locate the Black Giant Salamander. He simply chose not to reveal this information.
At that moment, the Black Giant Salamander was sunbathing on a small island. Its body was entirely pitch black, living up to its name.
The direction Long Xuan chose ensured he wouldn’t encounter the salamander, as Master Wei had unknowingly chosen the exact location where it was hiding—an incredible stroke of luck.
Long Xuan was confident that Master Wei would soon find the Black Giant Salamander and notify everyone with a communication talisman. Thus, there was no need for him to speak up.
As expected, less than half an hour later, Master Wei sent everyone a message through a talisman, announcing that he had found the Black Giant Salamander. Everyone was overjoyed and immediately rushed to his location.
The island where Master Wei was located happened to be the one where the Black Giant Salamander was sunbathing. However, the salamander was on one side of the island, while Master Wei was on the other, separated by many mountains. As a result, the Black Giant Salamander hadn’t noticed him.
When the other eleven people arrived, they found that Master Wei had already set up the Dragon-Sealing Heaven and Earth Formation.
He was anxiously waiting in place. Upon seeing everyone arrive, he smiled and greeted them warmly.
When Master Song arrived, Master Wei approached him with a smile and said, “We’re in luck! I didn’t expect to find the Black Giant Salamander so quickly. I thought it would take at least a month. Now it’s up to you. The salamander is on the northern shore. Please lure it here. Whether we succeed in hunting it depends entirely on you.”
Long Xuan nodded without hesitation and headed north.
The group watched his departing figure, their expressions varied.
“How likely do you think it is for Master Song to survive? After all, he’s just a Spiritual Sea beginner-stage Gu cultivator. Even if the Black Giant Salamander is slow on land, it shouldn’t be too difficult for it to catch up with a Spiritual Sea beginner, right?”
Old Mei asked worriedly.
“Don’t worry. He volunteered for this task himself. No fool would willingly court death. Since he dared to step forward and lure the Black Giant Salamander, he must be confident in his ability to escape from it,” Master Wei replied, appearing completely assured of Master Song’s capabilities.
However, inwardly, he sneered coldly.
He wasn’t certain whether Master Song could escape the Black Giant Salamander’s pursuit. But even if he survived the chase, during the collective assault on the salamander, Master Song was as good as dead.
By then, the Black Giant Salamander would be trapped in the Dragon-Sealing Heaven and Earth Formation, a formation entirely under his control. Killing someone inside his own formation would be all too easy.
After crossing several mountain ridges on the island, Long Xuan quickly spotted a dark figure by the shore.
The creature had charred-black skin, thick limbs, a long tail, and a large mouth full of sharp teeth. Its massive body made it clear that it was not something to be trifled with.
The Black Giant Salamander had already awakened. It stood on its hind legs, urinating into the sand and creating a small pit in the process.
Long Xuan studied the protruding area carefully before smirking and, without hesitation, transformed into Master Wei’s likeness. A sinister grin played on his lips.
He raised his hand, quickly gathering a ball of water in his palm. The water slowly condensed into the shape of a blade.
He decided to test the combat effectiveness of a new spirit technique he had recently developed.
The highly compressed water blade swiftly formed in his palm. He lifted his arm and hurled it forward with great force. The blade flew at an astonishing speed, slicing through the air toward the Black Giant Salamander with precision.
The principle of his Raging Wave Palm technique was based on water-jet cutting from his previous life. The highly compressed and propelled water could slice through metal, and Long Xuan was confident even the Black Giant Salamander wouldn’t emerge unscathed.
The water blade struck from behind, hitting its mark with pinpoint accuracy. Whether intentionally or not, the blade sliced into the protruding part of the salamander’s underbelly, cutting it short by half an inch.
The Black Giant Salamander immediately let out an ear-splitting scream.
“ROAR!”
Its red eyes locked onto the figure behind it. Letting out a furious roar, it charged forward in a blind rage.
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Long Xuan shouted as he turned to flee. “Besides, can’t you just grow it back?”
With the salamander now completely enraged, Long Xuan activated his trump card, cloaking himself in Life-Destroying Thunder. His speed became as fast as lightning, and within mere breaths, he left the salamander far behind.
Turning back to look at the now-distant creature, Long Xuan couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
The salamander was much slower than he had anticipated. He had thought he’d need the help of the Wine Gu’s slowing domain field to hinder the creature, but now it seemed unnecessary.
Just as Master Wei had said, the Black Giant Salamander was indeed sluggish on land. It might not even be capable of catching up to a Spiritual Sea Gu cultivator.
Helpless, Long Xuan doubled back to continue luring the beast.
The Black Giant Salamander, now utterly enraged, roared in frustration as the annoying figure vanished from its sight. However, when it spotted that same figure reappearing and tauntingly throwing another water blade at its underbelly, it was driven to the brink of madness. Ignoring everything, it charged again, vowing to shred the offender to pieces at any cost.
Seeing the salamander giving chase once more, Long Xuan smirked sinisterly and ran toward the Dragon-Sealing Heaven and Earth Formation.
The island wasn’t very large, and Long Xuan soon arrived at the other side, where the formation was located.
By this time, Long Xuan had already shed his disguise as Master Wei, reverting to his original appearance.
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