Chapter 243: The Charm of the Snake-Slayer

Sun Sun Zhengfang knelt on one knee, one hand pressed against the ground, his face grim.

In his hand, he gripped the Divine Art: Two Two Biwu Trees, yet he delayed its activation.

That towering tree, though possessing ten thousand branches, was utterly useless before the Jade-Faced Snake clan.

The Jade-Faced Snakes needed only to exhale a single breath of immortal energy, and the Wutong tree would swiftly wither and vanish into nothingness.

Of course, the fundamental reason Sun Sun Zhengfang had not yet activated this art was his fear that the appearance of the massive Wutong tree would provoke the Jade-Faced Snake into summoning a giant python!

As the team captain, Sun Sun Zhengfang considered far more factors.

Since the battle began, the Jade-Faced Snake had summoned a giant python only once, precisely when Lu Ran first bleated like a sheep.

Fortunately, that giant python had streaked diagonally across the night sky; had its charging angle shifted even slightly to fly toward the buildings—

The consequences would have been unthinkable!

"Da Long!" Sun Sun Zhengfang shouted, "If there's no other way, activate the Great Demon-Imprisoning Formation!"

The Two Biwu Sect's divine arts were countered, easily dissolved by the Jade-Faced Snakes, but the Qiumoyi Sect's divine arts were entirely different.

Given the strength and efficacy of the Divine Art: Great Demon-Imprisoning Formation, the risk was worth taking!

Wei Long's brows knitted tightly together.

Should he activate the Great Demon-Imprisoning Formation?

Would countless chains erupt from beneath his feet, completely submerging and tearing the Jade-Faced Snake apart?

Wei Long hesitated, not because this art consumed immense energy, nor because he was unwilling to aid his teammates.

Rather, it was because Lord Qiumo's original intention in creating this art was to allow believers, when deeply surrounded, to stand against a hundred foes and fight desperately to the death!

In other words, this was a technique meant to be used only in dire straits.

The mainstream view held that this was Lord Qiumo showing great mercy, allowing believers who joined his sect to leave this world with dignity.

Yet the current battlefield situation clearly did not match the scenario anticipated by the deity Lord Qiumo.

Before taking any action, believers in this world naturally considered the deity they revered.

No one wished to incur the displeasure of the Lord Deity.

On one hand, it was the influence of faith, a form of self-restraint, an absolute reverence for the deity.

On the other hand—

If you acted recklessly and defied the deity's will, there might come a moment when the Lord Deity simply refused to grant you the power to cast spells!

By that time, everything would be utterly ruined!

Therefore, at this moment, Sun Sun Zhengfang used a tone of consultation rather than command.

"Sigh," Sun Sun Zhengfang sighed inwardly, not pressing Wei Long.

At this moment, the old captain's mind inevitably turned to Deng Deng Yuxiang, the team's former spearhead.

If the North Wind disciple were still in the squad, why would they need to take such desperate risks?

Since Deng Deng Yuxiang's departure, Lu Ran and Jiangjiang Ruyi had joined the squad; while these two young people were indeed exceptionally talented, the squad's capabilities in terms of damage output and breakthrough assaults...

"Yes!" Wei Long steeled his resolve, "I'll—hmm?"

Wei Long did not hesitate for long, having already made a decision that "defied the ancestral founder."

After all, the battlefield was very close to the residential district; every second the Jade-Faced Snake survived meant another second of danger for the people.

However, just as Wei Long was about to charge forward, a figure darted from the other side of the battle group, killing toward the Jade-Faced Snake:

"Baa!!"

"Lu Ran?" Sun Sun Zhengfang glanced over, his expression changing instantly.

After several exchanges of fire, the experienced Sun Sun Zhengfang had roughly deduced:

This Jade-Faced Snake must be a River Realm, fifth-stage evil spirit!

At this moment, the Jade-Faced Snake's eight immortal tails were frantically lashing at their surroundings.

True, when Lu Ran faced the Thread-Shadow clan, he had dared to charge through those ten thousand red threads, but that Thread-Garment relied merely on overwhelming numbers.

The force and speed of the red cloth and red threads could not compare to the Jade-Faced Snake's eight immortal tails!

Furthermore, the area where the Jade-Faced Snake stood was churning with quicksand...

Whip after whip of sand kept erupting, determined to drag the Jade-Faced Snake down and bury it alive.

Once Lu Ran drew near, he too would become a target for live burial.

Relying on its special physical structure and its eight immortal tails, the Jade-Faced Snake could still maneuver within the yellow sand, but Lu Ran, being human—

Human?

No!

At this moment, his name was "Ran Mei"!

"Hiss—"

Mist churned beneath Lu Ran's feet as he charged alone into the quicksand zone.

Suddenly, a thin sand whip attacked, moving with incredible speed and a treacherous angle.

Lu Ran had already pushed the Xie Fa: Evil Awareness to its maximum, naturally observing in all six directions and listening in all eight!

"Snap!"

He bounced off the ground; though it appeared he was stepping on quicksand, in reality, a layer of wind waves manifested beneath his soles.

Ye Mei Xie Fa: Night Dance Toppling the City!

Lu Ran liked this name.

He liked it even more to slaughter through arrogant evil spirits amidst this city-toppling night dance!

"Whoosh~"

Lu Ran's darting figure suddenly skewed; turning sideways with the momentum, he allowed the sand whip to sweep past his chest.

This scene was quite amusing.

Jiangjiang Ruyi's Divine Art, the Quicksand Talisman, was originally meant to restrict the Jade-Faced Snake's movements, but now it had become an obstacle for Lu Ran to kill his enemy.

Yet Lu Ran did not speak, nor did he ask Jiangjiang Ruyi to cancel her Divine Art.

He needed the quicksand to restrict the Jade-Faced Snake, and even more, he needed those whips of sand to entangle those immortal tails.

"Lu," Jiangjiang Ruyi's beautiful eyes narrowed.

Knowing Lu Ran's capabilities well, she uttered only a single word before focusing all her attention on the Jade-Faced Snake.

Helping him was the only thing she should be doing right now!

Hovering in the air, Jiangjiang Ruyi suddenly raised her hand.

High up in the distant night sky, the Liang Ye Sword, which had been surging upward, immediately halted its thrust and swiftly reversed its blade.

"Hiss!!"

The Jade-Faced Snake let out a sharp hiss, slightly raising the jade Jiang Ruyi scepter in her hand.

Immediately, a phantom giant python rapidly took form and lunged toward the night sky.

Jade-Faced Snake's Xie Fa: Immortal Sky Python!

Jiangjiang Ruyi remained fearless; her foundational knowledge was solid, and she knew the characteristics of this Xie Fa well, so she immediately chose to drift sideways.

This Immortal Sky Python was indeed massive and possessed terrifying destructive power.

However, it moved in a straight line, unable to turn or automatically lock onto targets.

"Hiss."

The Jade-Faced Snake cried out in pain again; just as she raised her jade Jiang Ruyi scepter, she was entangled by a chain of blood.

Wei Long decisively cast his spell, vigorously channeling energy to make sharp spikes grow along the blood-colored chains.

Piercing the demon's arm was, of course, not the goal.

Wei Long wanted even more to strangle the Jade-Faced Snake's neck and wrap around her head.

Unfortunately, the snake body of the Jade-Faced Snake's true form constantly coiled around her upper torso, covering nearly her entire trunk and constantly protecting her vital points.

"Hiss!!"

The Jade-Faced Snake's screams had not yet subsided when they suddenly rose in volume.

The originally hoarse hissing became incredibly shrill, sending chills down the spine of anyone who heard it.

Because—

That little lamb cub had forcibly charged in!

Right behind the Jade-Faced Snake, Lu Ran, wielding dual blades and treading on immortal mist, pierced through the wildly churning quicksand to strike straight at the heart of the enemy!

"Whoosh!"

A flash of blade light swept past, drawing a crescent arc.

One immortal tail was actually severed clean off by the Ji Ye Dao!

The severed tail fell to the ground with a "patter," only to be dragged into the churning yellow sand.

The divine power within Lu Ran's body surged violently, nearly boiling; his entire attribute of power was astonishing!

Lie Hun Xie Fa: Power of Soul-Splitting, unleashed at full force!

"Whoosh!"

Treading on wind and waves, concealed by the immortal mist, Lu Ran suddenly darted sideways.

The Xia Guang Dao in his left hand once again swung out a crescent arc.

In an instant, golden-red light burst forth!

Beneath the rosy glow, another immortal tail was mostly severed.

"Hiss!!"

The Jade-Faced Snake's face twisted in agony as she shrieked miserably, yet she dared not turn around.

Because a long sword was thrusting down rapidly, carrying an incredibly terrifying sound of tearing through the air.

The Jade-Faced Snake only felt the killing move approaching; how could she worry about the lamb cub causing trouble behind her?

She used her true-form snake tail to swiftly coil around her upper body, then exerted all her strength to cast a spell.

Xie Fa: Immortal Scales!

"Zhi!"

This time, the divine weapon was not rebounded.

The defense that the Xia Guang Dao failed to break was pierced open by the Liang Ye Sword striking with full force!

However, even with the Liang Ye Sword carrying unparalleled momentum, it merely split the snake scales and penetrated a few inches into the snake's body, failing to truly pierce through.

The defensive power of the Xie Fa: Immortal Scales was absurdly strong!

Behind such superlative defensive power, there was naturally a price to pay—body rigidity.

Including several immortal tails, the entire Jade-Faced Snake was frozen in place.

In an instant, the sand whips surging out from the quicksand struck the immortal tails one after another, binding the Jade-Faced Snake and attempting to drag her deep into the earth.

"Zhi—"

The sound of the immortal mist gushing forth made everyone's blood boil with excitement.

Furthermore, the scene unfolding in the rear battle group left people utterly dumbfounded.

The wildly swinging sand whips and the entangled snake tails all became footholds for Lu Ran!

Within the incredibly chaotic battle group, immortal mist jetted from beneath Lu Ran's feet, swift and brief, as his figure darted up and down.

In the world constructed by sand whips and snake tails, Lu Ran doubled back several times, retreating and advancing, rapidly killing his way to the very center!

His pair of cold eyes stared deathly at the Jade-Faced Snake, who was coiled into a ball.

Amidst the coiling rings of the serpent's tail, Lu Ran spotted a sliver of a gap!

With the Xie Fa technique, Evil Consciousness, activated, the battlefield never appeared gray to Lu Ran's eyes, and his gaze was sharper than ever!

A gap?

See a gap, thrust the blade!

"Hiss—"

This was the sound of Lu Ran treading wind and waves, jetting forth immortal mist.

"Hiss!"

This was the sound of the Zhan Ye Dao piercing the gap between the serpent's scales and stabbing into the beauty's head.

The scales were indeed peerless in defense.

But the Jade-Faced Serpent's upper body remained flesh and blood.

"Wait for her Xie Fa to vanish before stabbing—ah?!"

"Thrust, did it go in?"

"A genius, our genius!"

By the residential compound wall, the crowd of Moon-Watching people guarding the apartment buildings and poised to plug any breach all turned to look.

Lu Ran's final strike carried terrifying momentum.

Clutching the Zhan Ye Dao, he continued to impale the Jade-Faced Serpent's skull, shooting forward along the street at high speed.

The Jade-Faced Serpent's several tails now hung limp, swaying back and forth in the wind and rain.

This immensely powerful evil demon was utterly slain.

"Team Leader Sun," Wei Long said softly, gazing down the distant street.

"Ah?" Sun Sun Zhengfang kept turning his head, his eyes tracking the one man and the one demon.

Wei Long: "It seems I won't need to activate the Great Demon-Binding Formation."

Sun Sun Zhengfang: "."

Just moments ago, he had made a difficult decision and consulted his teammates: "If all else fails, you activate the Great Demon-Binding Formation."

The facts proved:

Lu Ran could do it!

"Pfft~"

Amidst layers of rain curtains, the Jade-Faced Serpent shattered into mist.

Lu Ran passed alone through the white fog, yet in his mind, the Jade-Faced Serpent's terrified face still lingered.

His gaze remained cold and grim as he murmured, "Be silent."

"Hum!"

The Zhan Ye Dao trembled gently.

Asking for some monthly votes.

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(End of chapter)