Chapter 344

344. Chapter 344: Long Xuan Pits People Against Each Other

"Since no one has chosen to withdraw, then without further ado, let's set off now."

Master Wei sneered inwardly; faced with such enormous benefits, he had predicted that it was impossible for anyone to leave. There was no such thing as a Gu cultivator who wasn't greedy.

He took a small black boat out from his storage ring and placed it on the ground. The black boat slowly grew larger, and once it had expanded to a size sufficient to carry several dozen people, he was the first to jump on.

The others didn't wait for him to speak before jumping onto the boat one after another. The black boat slowly took off and gradually disappeared into the horizon.

One month later, at a coastal location in the Huiyue Empire, a small black boat slowly descended. Twelve people jumped down from the boat one by one, scanning their surroundings with vigilant gazes.

The location they had chosen to kill the spirit beast was naturally a place where spirit beasts were frequently active, so they could not afford to be anything but vigilant.

"Is the Black Giant Salamander in this vicinity?" Yue Niang asked first.

"The Black Giant Salamander is still some distance from here; this is the activity range of the Great Dragon Fish King."

"The condition Master Song proposed for accepting my invitation was that he wanted a third-rank Great Dragon Fish King."

"So I'm afraid I'll have to delay everyone for some time. I trust you all won't mind taking action to catch a Great Dragon Fish for Master Song," Master Wei said with a smile.

"We don't mind. Isn't it just a third-rank Great Dragon Fish King? Leave it to us five brothers, and we don't want any reward," Mei Lao Da immediately laughed, not showing a hint of dissatisfaction at the wasted time.

The five brothers had tasted the sweetness of the limited-edition insect armor, so naturally, they wouldn't pass up this opportunity to get on his good side.

Since the strongest in the team, the Five Ghosts of Mei Mountain, had spoken, the others naturally had no objections. Thus, the group set off toward the location where the Great Dragon Fish appeared.

Half a day later, the Five Ghosts of Mei Mountain threw a scarred Great Dragon Fish onto the ground. Mei Lao Si asked in confusion, "It's truly strange. Great Dragon Fish almost always hide in the water; they are extremely difficult to catch."

"But this Great Dragon Fish actually dared to run onto the shore and came straight for us. Isn't this just delivering its own head?"

"I originally thought it would take quite some time to find a Great Dragon Fish, but I didn't expect to find one so quickly."

Master Wei naturally knew the reason, but he didn't want everyone to delve into the matter, so he hurriedly changed the subject:

"Never mind that. Since the Great Dragon Fish is already in hand, there's no need for us to delve into the reason it came ashore."

"The Black Giant Salamander is not far from here, estimated to be only about two days' journey. Should we first discuss how to deal with that Black Giant Salamander?"

"My plan is to set up a Locking Dragon Universe Array not far from the Black Giant Salamander. Once it enters the array, it will be at our mercy. But the problem is, who will go and lure the Black Giant Salamander into the array?"

Master Wei's gaze swept across everyone's faces, though whether intentionally or unintentionally, he lingered on Master Song's face for a moment longer.

Hearing this, the others looked at each other, wanting to speak but hesitating. For a long while, there was silence; not a single person volunteered.

This was a life-threatening job. If the luring wasn't done well, one would be eaten by the monster. Who dared to risk their life?

Among the group of Gu cultivators, there was no one with a spirit of self-sacrifice. The danger of this matter was simply too great, and everyone remained silent.

"Everyone, don't worry. The Black Giant Salamander is extremely fast in the water, but its speed on land is extremely slow."

"A Gu cultivator at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm who excels in speed can definitely shake off the Black Giant Salamander."

"I don't know who among us excels most in speed. If no one volunteers, we can only decide by drawing lots."

"However, doing so might result in someone slow drawing the lot. If luck is bad, we might end up with more deaths," Master Wei said, looking at everyone with a serious gaze.

Yet, even with him saying this, no one stood out voluntarily. Even those who excelled in speed couldn't be sure they could outrun the Black Giant Salamander, so naturally, no one would volunteer.

Yue Niang cast her gaze toward Master Song on the side. She knew very well that this Master Song was a famous flower-picking thief in the Huiyue Empire; he had been hunted down countless times yet never died. His ability to escape was top-tier, so presumably, avoiding the Black Giant Salamander's pursuit wouldn't be difficult.

But exposing someone's background at this time was too offensive, so in the end, she didn't say anything.

Long Xuan naturally sensed these two gazes. He directly ignored Yue Niang's gaze, but the meaning behind Master Wei's gaze was profound.

Long Xuan suspected that he intentionally wanted to push him out to lure the monster. He just didn't know what excuse he would use next, but he figured he definitely wouldn't be able to escape the task of luring the monster. Master Wei must have already thought of a strategy to target him.

After pondering for a moment, Long Xuan suddenly had a plan in mind and thought of a way to trap Master Wei to his death.

Thus, not waiting for Master Wei to take the initiative, Long Xuan immediately said, "Since no one is volunteering, I will go and lure that Black Giant Salamander over."

"To tell you the truth, I excel in speed. Luring that Black Giant Salamander into the array shouldn't be difficult."

Hearing this, everyone was shocked. They didn't expect Master Song to volunteer. Among this group, only this Master Song had the lowest cultivation realm.

"Master Song, you..."

Mei Lao Da was just about to say something, but was interrupted by Long Xuan raising his hand: "No need to say more. You all helped me hunt the Great Dragon Fish King for free before, so naturally, I must return this favor."

"Rest assured, if I didn't have absolute certainty, I wouldn't stand out to throw my life away."

With Long Xuan saying this, Mei Lao Da found it hard to persuade him further, so he stopped.

Seeing Song Qian stand out voluntarily, Master Wei was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that someone would actually volunteer for such a thing, which made his scheming go to waste.

"Good! Since Master Song has such courage, we won't try to dissuade you."

"Let's board the boat and set off!"

Master Wei was secretly delighted. After taking the black boat out of his storage ring, he slowly boarded, and the others followed suit.

Two days later, the black boat landed on an island.

"This is the activity range of the Black Giant Salamander. What we need to do next is to split up and search for it. Whoever finds it must immediately notify everyone with a communication talisman, then rendezvous at the nearest location."

After getting off the boat, Master Wei immediately gave instructions to everyone.

Hearing this, a certain Gu cultivator at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm in the crowd frowned and couldn't help but say, "That is a fourth-rank spirit beast. When we see it, it will surely see us too."

"If we split up to search, wouldn't it be very unsafe? I suggest everyone stays together to search slowly. At worst, we'll just waste a bit more time."

Master Wei immediately turned to look at him and retorted, "You make it sound easy. This place is so big; if we don't split up to search, who knows how long it will take."

"This matter cannot be delayed. Since we can discover that Black Giant Salamander, others might too. The longer we drag it out, the greater the possibility of it being discovered by others."

Mei Lao Er also said at this time, "You're also stupid. Do you really have to let the Black Giant Salamander discover you?"

"Can't you send Gu insects ahead to scout the path? Does the Black Giant Salamander really have to waste effort chasing a tiny bug?"

"This matter must be handled by splitting up. Whoever is afraid of death, withdraw now."

Hearing this, the man also realized he had said something stupid and said no more.

At this time, Yue Niang said again, "We have already spent a month just on the road. In such a long time, are you sure that Black Giant Salamander is still here? Is it possible it has already been hunted by someone else?"

Master Wei showed a solemn expression and hesitated, "This possibility cannot be ruled out. If the Black Giant Salamander has indeed already been hunted, we can only accept our fate."

"Rest assured, if such a situation really happens, I will still give the King-Breaking Pill as promised; I will never let you all make this trip in vain."

"Now we can only pray that the Black Giant Salamander hasn't been discovered by anyone else. Time is urgent, let's split up and search now."

Master Wei didn't dare to delay. Once he finished speaking, he immediately chose a direction and walked away.

The others nodded and also dispersed, each choosing a direction and leaving.

This was an archipelago terrain, with countless islands of all sizes. The Black Giant Salamander could be on an island, or it could be hiding in the water.

Finding it here was truly not an easy task. If the Black Giant Salamander were so easy to discover, it would have been hunted long ago; how could it have been discovered only by Master Wei?

Long Xuan also randomly chose a direction where no one went and headed off. In fact, he had already discovered the Black Giant Salamander's figure using the long-distance vision ability of his Heavenly Mechanism Eye.

It was just that he didn't say it.

At this moment, the Black Giant Salamander was lying on a small island sunbathing. Its whole body was pitch black, so it was no wonder it was called the Black Giant Salamander; it was indeed quite black.

The direction he chose was also destined to be a direction where he wouldn't see the Black Giant Salamander, because the direction Master Wei had inadvertently chosen was precisely the Black Giant Salamander's hiding spot. His luck was truly quite good.

He believed it wouldn't be long before Master Wei discovered this Black Giant Salamander and then notified everyone with a communication talisman.

Since Master Wei was destined to find this Black Giant Salamander, there was naturally no need for him to be a busybody.

Things went exactly as he expected. In less than half an hour, Master Wei sent a communication talisman to everyone, claiming to have found the tracks of the Black Giant Salamander. Everyone was overjoyed and immediately converged toward Master Wei's location.

The island where Master Wei was currently located was the very island where the Black Giant Salamander was sunbathing, only the Black Giant Salamander was on one side, while Master Wei was on the other.

The man and the beast were quite far apart, separated by many mountains, so the Black Giant Salamander hadn't discovered him.

When the other eleven arrived, they found that Master Wei had already set up the Locking Dragon Universe Great Array.

At this time, he was anxiously waiting on the spot. Seeing the others arrive one after another, he immediately smiled and greeted them one by one.

When Master Song arrived, Master Wei immediately walked over with a smile and said with a grin, "Luck is not bad. I didn't expect to find the Black Giant Salamander so quickly. I thought it would take at least a month."

"Next, I have to rely on Master Song. That Black Giant Salamander is on the northern shore. Go and lure it over now. Whether we can successfully hunt the Black Giant Salamander depends entirely on you."

Long Xuan nodded and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately searched toward the northern direction.

The crowd watched his departing back with various expressions.

"What do you think are the chances of Master Song surviving? After all, he is only a Gu cultivator at the early stage of the Spirit Sea Realm. Even if the Black Giant Salamander's running speed on land is very slow, catching up to an early-stage Spirit Sea Realm Gu cultivator shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Mei Lao San asked with concern.

"Rest assured. He volunteered for this. No fool would throw their life away. Since he dared to take the initiative to go and lure the Black Giant Salamander, he must have the certainty of escaping from its hands."

Master Wei appeared full of confidence in Master Song, yet inwardly he was sneering.

He couldn't be sure if Master Song could shake off the Black Giant Salamander's pursuit, but even if he didn't die under its pursuit, this Master Song would definitely be dead when everyone surrounded and killed the Black Giant Salamander later.

By then, the Black Giant Salamander would be in the Locking Dragon Universe Array, and this array was entirely controlled by him. It was simply too easy to kill someone in his own array.

After Long Xuan crossed several mountain peaks on the island, he quickly discovered that pitch-black figure on the shore.

This figure had charred black skin, thick and sturdy limbs, a long tail, and a large mouth full of sharp teeth. It was massive in size, and one look told you it wasn't to be trifled with.

At this moment, the Black Giant Salamander had already woken up and was lifting its hind leg to urinate, peeing a pit into the sandy beach.

After Long Xuan took a serious look at that protruding part, he no longer hesitated. After transforming himself into Master Wei's appearance, a sinister smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He raised his hand, and a mass of water rapidly condensed in his palm, slowly forming the shape of a sharp blade.

He decided to use the newly created spirit technique to test its actual combat effectiveness.

Soon, a highly compressed water blade condensed in his palm. He raised his arm and swung it forward with force, and the water blade flew forward at an astonishing speed, accurately flying toward that Black Giant Salamander.

His Surging Waves Palm drew on the principles of the water blade from his past life. After the water was highly compressed and then sprayed out, its sharpness was already fully capable of cutting metal. Long Xuan predicted that even the Black Giant Salamander wouldn't be able to remain unscathed under the attack of the water blade.

The water blade ambushed from behind and accurately hit the Black Giant Salamander, but whether it was intentional or unintentional, the water blade hit the protruding part of the Black Giant Salamander's lower body, directly cutting the protruding part short by half an inch.

The Black Giant Salamander immediately let out a deafening scream.

"Roar!"

The Black Giant Salamander immediately turned its head and looked at the figure standing behind it with red eyes. After an angry roar, it charged toward that person like a madman.

"I didn't mean it!"

"Besides, can't you grow it back?"

Seeing that the Black Giant Salamander had gone mad, Long Xuan turned and ran.

In the absence of anyone else, Long Xuan directly used his trump card, wrapping himself in Life-Extinguishing Thunder, making his speed as fast as lightning. In just a few breaths, he shook off the Black Giant Salamander.

Long Xuan looked back at the figure that had already disappeared and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

This Black Giant Salamander's speed was much slower than he had imagined. He had originally thought he would need to use the Wine Gu's slowing domain to decelerate the Black Giant Salamander to escape from its hands, but now it seemed completely unnecessary.

It was just as Master Wei had said; the Black Giant Salamander's speed on land was extremely slow, and it might not necessarily be able to catch up to a Spirit Sea Realm Gu cultivator.

Long Xuan was helpless and had to turn back to continue the luring.

Originally, the Black Giant Salamander saw that the hateful figure had disappeared from its line of sight and couldn't catch up at all, so it was roaring angrily.

But soon, seeing that figure turn back again and provocatively throw another water blade at its lower body, it was instantly about to go mad with rage. Regardless of anything else, it chased after it, swearing to tear that figure to shreds at all costs.

Seeing that the Black Giant Salamander had chased after him again, Long Xuan revealed a sinister smile and ran toward the direction of the Locking Dragon Universe Array again.

The island wasn't large, and Long Xuan soon ran to the other end of the island, which was the location of the Locking Dragon Universe Array.

Only, at this moment, Long Xuan was no longer in the appearance of Master Wei from just now; he had transformed back into his original appearance. (End of chapter)