Chapter 602 - 601: Money-Obsessed Snake

Gongxi Yanchang still couldn’t find any clues related to his daughter.

Standing with hands behind his back on a large flying mount, he looked down at the Empty Valley Stream from mid-air, frowning, "Just a moment ago there were flashes of lightning and fierce battles, how could they have disappeared so quickly?"

The valley was filled with swarms of snakes, and occasionally one could see many corpses being devoured by their living counterparts, the intertwined scales creating an unsettling scene.

"They must have used some teleportation object to leave." A subordinate extended his Divine Sense to scan through, concluding confidently: "At any rate, there are no living cultivators left in the valley, only snakes."

Perhaps they were too late, and the cultivators who mistakenly entered Snake Valley had already been devoured by the snake swarm. But that was inevitable, life and death are matters of fate and karma. If fortune favored them, they could naturally hold out until rescue arrived.

Gongxi Yanchang didn’t dwell too much on it, glancing around with a frown, he casually asked, "How come there are so many green-scaled snakes here? I’ve never heard of swarms like this being rampant, could they possibly eat rocks?"

"The Snake Valley might seem like a range of mountains, but in reality, there are many caves leading to underground caverns below, where there are massive subterranean lakes which serve as prime hunting grounds for the green-scaled snakes.

Of course, many do come out, and in the city, there are occasionally Green-Scaled Snake Demon Cores for sale, mostly acquired by cultivators hunting down snakes that have escaped the valley."

The subordinate responded fluently, while Gongxi Yanchang was too weighed down and irritated to listen, merely nodding, "Since we haven’t found the trapped cultivators, let’s extend our search further for Jin’Er. Remember to keep this under wraps; I don’t want my precious daughter to be gossiped about."

The group came hastily and left quickly, entirely unaware that the person they were seeking was submerged under the snake-infested valley.

Jiang Yuan observed the bulky, lengthy remaining spirit, contemplating how to bring Gongxi Jin back to Carefree City, when Bai Yunqi arrogantly remarked, "Challenging with a bloodline suppression is the most interesting. If I can devour and refine this remnant, I can surely transform into a Flood Dragon in less than three years!"

"It’s still too dangerous. Although it’s an unwise remnant, it’s ultimately a Flood Dragon with a strong survival instinct. Approaching it is likely to fall under its hypnosis." He looked back at his pet’s health-bar; both were evenly matched, making the outcome difficult to predict.

Xie Chenyuan nodded vigorously in agreement, "Senior Jiang is right, Brother Bai, do not act rashly."

"I’m not impulsive, nor did I say I’d act now." Bai Yunqi twitched his mouth, pleading: "To me, this remnant is a rare opportunity, especially if that girl is truly the City Lord’s daughter of Carefree City, they must be worried sick over her.

Let’s bring her back to the City Lord’s Mansion and discuss how to remove the threat over Miss Gongxi; this will also allow me, with their setup, to easily devour the Flood Dragon Remnant; and in passing..."

He waved his fan with a cunning smile, "It’s none other than the City Lord of Carefree City, whose vast wealth and power can’t be conveyed even with countless riches; maybe we can strike a beneficial deal—a win-win!"

Jiang Yuan: ...

Since when did you, a snake, become so fond of fortune?

Seeing his hesitation, Bai Yunqi, fearful of missing this chance to seek wealth amidst danger, thought if he absorbed it solidly now, he’d have the power to contend with his main body after successfully transforming into a dragon.

By then, without needing the Venerable Family’s help, he wouldn’t face the risk of being devoured and summoned back at any moment.

Therefore, he urged again, "If the Venerable Family isn’t assured, could you kindly injure that remnant severely, so it’d be easier for me to handle?"

"I’ll give it a try." Jiang Yuan also somewhat tempted, imagining how cool it’d be to travel with a dragon once his contracted pet transformed rapidly.

Since entering the wilderness, he had only seen an old dragon, Zhou Jian, which couldn’t possibly become a pet.

If he could personally raise a dragon; then nurture the old dog into a Heaven-Devouring Divine Beast; help the blue bird return to its peak; find a way to snatch the stone tiger as a pet once he’s had enough fun...

His small courtyard could assemble a Divine Beast’s mahjong table!

Who’d have thought he could engage in a nurturing game within a farming simulation. He looked at the Flood Dragon Remnant still feeding, and nodded: "I’ll give it a try; don’t force it if it’s too dangerous, transforming into a Flood Dragon is not a hastening task."

With that, Jiang Yuan raised his hand, launching a Five Elements Cloud-Piercing Thunder at the semi-transparent squirming remnant.

Critical Strike -46000!

The health bar took a considerable dip, the Flood Dragon Remnant was knocked dizzy, instinctively activating its built-in sleep skill.

Then Jiang Yuan witnessed a dim yellow glow light up, a 5*5 range centering on the remnant.

Gongxi Jin, soaking in the blood pool, slept sounder, the massive snake swallowing the souls closed its eyes completely, entering sleep too, its once subtly struggling body now at rest.

"Did you see that stone?" He knew the two beside him didn’t have a system, couldn’t see the attack range, thus marked a boundary line, "The Flood Dragon Remnant’s attack has only one sleep skill, with this scale of range, be sure you don’t get too close. Moreover, it’s got an escape..."

Jiang Yuan hadn’t spilled the full details identified by the system to his contracted pet when it tried to flee after a missed shot, immediately throwing a Heaven-Burning Storm.

Considering that ’Devouring Mountains and Rivers’ was a group attack skill which might consume Gongxi Jin’s lifespan, he used only individual skills to avoid unnecessary harm, aiming to whittle down as much health as possible, making it easier for Little White to devour later.

The Flood Dragon Remnant lacked the range to silence, couldn’t escape nor dodge, so it plunged into the blood pool, trying to return into Gongxi Jin’s body, manipulating it with the Power of the Moon to escape.

Yet it never expected that Jiang Yuan equipped a game system, which wouldn’t lose sight of a target even unaided by visual contact post-selection.

One skill control after another, striking until the opponent is nearly depleted, only then did he stop, "This should be about right; it has one escape skill left, keep a close watch..."

After stopping the attack, Jiang Yuan remained in a selected remnant soul state, ensuring the target wouldn’t suddenly disappear.

So, Xie Chenyuan and Bai Yunqi watched as the blood surged and the translucent remnant soul worm crawled into Gongxi Jin’s body, and then her body twisted like a snake and vanished in an instant!

"Invisible?"

"Not right! How did even the aura disappear?"

"Let me calculate a divination!" Xie Chenyuan flipped his right hand to take out the compass, ready to divine and locate.

Jiang Yuan watched as the little girl’s body, enveloped by the remnant soul of the Flood Dragon, turned transparent without revealing any aura, and the selected target red dot crawled from the blood pool towards the edge, immediately throwing a capture net to trap it.

"The remnant soul of the Flood Dragon has only these two methods; it won’t disappear without reason but hides its aura to escape stealthily." He patiently explained, "To unravel it isn’t difficult, smear some black ink on Gongxi Jin’s feet, or sprinkle a layer of flour on the ground, she won’t escape quietly anymore."

Bai Yunqi’s eyes lit up, the fan slapped into his palm as he praised, "This tactic is excellent, I’ve noted it!"

"Now trapped with the capture net, the Flood Dragon’s remnant soul without elixir to replenish spiritual power won’t last, and soon its true form will be revealed. Remember, during your attempt to devour and refine the remnant soul, ensure no one provides Gongxi Jin with any items to replenish spiritual energy. Otherwise, the remnant soul will seize the spiritual power first and retaliate against you."

Jiang Yuan noticed it was getting late, searched through the warehouse linked to his storage bag, found the fragment of the Shen Family Treasure Map (1/3) he had seized from Shen Laoliu’s storage bag, and handed it over. "I have to hurry back to resolve Zhile’s issue, Gongxi Jin’s matter is entirely up to you."

This is a fragment of the treasure map, the ancestor of the Shen family hid the family’s heritage cultivation technique and other heavy treasures in secret places, the other two parts are with the Shen ancestor and the Shen family’s eldest grandson.

After solving the troubles for Gongxi Jin at a risk to your life, you might as well consider having the City Lord exchange the other two pieces, or you can decide to want other things."

"Ah? What trouble did Miss Hu encounter?" Xie Chenyuan was quick to catch the point and hurriedly asked, "Is it very tricky? Do you need my help?"

Jiang Yuan didn’t deny it, nodded, "Indeed very troublesome, but I can still cope for now; the issue makes it difficult to allocate time. I need to help Zhile solve the problem, so I can’t attend to Xiao Bai.

Finding Gongxi Jin this time is all thanks to you; I think with your usual steady handling and familiarity with Xiao Bai, it would be better to entrust you to help team up and head to the City Lord’s Mansion. If the situation looks wrong, you can assist him. As for the remuneration..."

Before he finished speaking, Bai Yunqi smiled and said, "Since asking Brother Xie to lend a hand, the reward should naturally be paid by me. Brother Xie, borrowing your venerable family’s influence, how about we gather this key and explore the treasure together?"

Xie Chenyuan was eager for it, the reward was not important; what mattered was fostering a good relationship with Senior Jiang.

Listen to this address—"Xiao Bai," how affectionate!

Just hearing it, you know Bai Yunqi holds an unusual position in Senior Jiang’s heart; if he aids in devouring and refining successfully, wouldn’t this ship sail even more stable!

"You two speak too highly; with our relationship, it’s only natural to lend Brother Bai a hand, why talk about thanks?" He exchanged pleasantries, feeling merry inside.

Must learn from the ancestor!

In order to stay in Senior Jiang’s small courtyard, the ancestor is willing to use any tactics, so naturally, he must seize the opportunity to climb up.

After repeatedly reminding them of the system appraisal details, Jiang Yuan provided them with some elixirs, capture nets and other resources, then used a teleportation scroll to send the two of them along with the now visible Gongxi Jin to the City Lord’s Mansion, and hurriedly returned to the small courtyard himself.

"Sir, you’re finally back!" Yun Shu saw him and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, whispering, "Miss Hu’s condition is not good; although she keeps reassuring me not to bother you, she is clearly becoming weaker."

"No need to worry, I have already found a solution." He comforted, quickly went inside to check, and indeed the situation was grim.

Lying on the bed with a pale face, Hu Zhile was in a deep sleep, her health bar almost dropping to critical!

Fortunately, not too much time was delayed.

Without worrying about anything else, Jiang Yuan clicked to use a disposable array map from his storage bag, and a line of operation instructions popped up in his view.

He followed the foolproof guide, placed the array map over Hu Zhile ensuring she was in the center of the array, then began clicking to add and drag collected materials onto the array map, once done clicked to finish, save.

"Buzz~"

A sound wave reverberated through the air, as a spectacularly designed array emerged mid-air, flashing with golden light, and then suddenly landed on Hu Zhile.

"What amazing runes!" Yun Shu immediately noticed the runes within the array drawn by the teacher were incredibly arcane, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes trying to memorize and comprehend them, yet was overwhelmed by the power contained within.

Once she recovered and looked again, that array had already settled on Hu Zhile, followed by faint dark aura resembling indecipherable text being expelled.

Moments later, Hu Zhile’s health bar stopped its slow descent, her dantian finally became capable of absorbing enough spiritual power, no longer so dry, and her spirit root visibly perked up.

The whole person was enveloped in a faint protective glow, safeguarding against those twisted dark curse symbols from infiltrating her body again.