"Initially, Xiao Jiu's strategy seems to be a success. After I burned all the desert plants, the food supply for the Poisonous Fire Scorpion Swarm became a problem. In less than half a month, the swarm began to cannibalize, and with my opportunistic attacks, the swarm's numbers have decreased by almost fifty percent compared to their peak."
"However, the Tier Three Poison Fire Scorpion King has now realized the gravity of the situation and forcibly stopped the ordinary Poisonous Fire Scorpions from cannibalizing. It has sent the swarm into the depths of the desert to hunt, seemingly overcoming the food crisis for now."
On Qingping Mountain, the old clan leader, Zhou Minghan, gathered all the Zhou family cultivators to explain his achievements of the month and the frontline reports.
You could see that when the Zhou family cultivators heard that half of the Poisonous Fire Scorpions had died due to Zhou Yang's strategy, they all showed expressions of delight.
However, when they heard the latter part of the old clan leader's words, the joy on their faces slightly diminished, and they couldn't help but start pondering.
After all, the Poisonous Fire Scorpions are demon beasts, and their combat and desert survival abilities are many times stronger than ordinary desert animals. Once they leave their nest to hunt deep in the desert, it would be quite difficult to starve them.
In this way, Zhou Yang's "ecological chain destruction" tactic doesn't seem as perfect as everyone imagined.
"Hey, what are you all thinking? We've already reduced the scorpion swarm by fifty percent without injury; it's already a big victory. Did you really think that without sparing a single magic spell, the entire scorpion swarm could be wiped out? Don't dream. These are demon beasts, not ordinary bugs that mortals can stomp to death. In all these years, have you ever heard of anyone killing demon beasts without direct combat?"
Just as everyone was contemplating the flaws in Zhou Yang's "ecological chain destruction" strategy, Zhou Xuan Yu suddenly scoffed, breaking the silence with an ungracious tone.
Her words were somewhat harsh but also awakened everyone, making them realize they were trapped in a thought error.
There never was such a thing as a perfect strategy in this world, yet they wanted to rely on a minor tactic to wipe out a group of demon beasts. How ridiculous!
Moreover, who are they? They are cultivators. If strategies that even mortals could use could eliminate all demon beasts, what use would there be for them as cultivators? How could they, when facing mortals, still call themselves "Immortal Masters"?
"Younger sister's words, while harsh, are true. Not to mention that the idea of wiping out the entire scorpion swarm with a single tactic is overly fanciful; even we don't have that much time to wait here until the scorpions naturally die off from infighting."
"The old clan leader's absence from the clan's spirit vein must not be concealed for long. If we are away from the family's various assets for an extended period, it will arouse outsiders' suspicions. If others learn of what happens here, the harm to our Zhou family could be far more significant than that from the Poisonous Fire Scorpions!"
Zhou Xuanhao, as Zhou Yang's father, naturally had to stand up for his son at this time, and it was the first time he had proactively agreed with Zhou Xuan Yu in years.
Seeing these old rivals finally set aside their differences for a younger generation, the other Zhou family cultivators found it amusing but were sincerely pleased for the two.
The Zhou family cultivators have always been quite united. Although the disputes between Zhou Xuanhao and Zhou Xuan Yu were kept in check by the elders, it remained a latent problem. Now that this problem has been resolved, it's a good thing for the entire Zhou family.
Moreover, Zhou Xuan Yu and Zhou Xuanhao's words did make sense. The important figures of the Zhou family usually have duties to fulfill. A short absence is fine, but if it lasts too long, problems will certainly arise.
"Xiao Jiu, do you have anything to say?"
Old clan leader Zhou Minghan, seeing that no one else spoke, turned his gaze to Zhou Yang, the person concerned.
"Great-grandfather, your discernment is sharp. My strategy has flaws, which is a fact. But as my foster mother said, we cultivators derive our power from within. Tactics are merely a minor path, and since they have served their purpose, it's time for us to wield our magical artifacts in pursuit of the grand path!"
"Didn't the scorpion swarm split up and venture into the desert sea to hunt for food? Then we should surround and attack, ambushing and killing the hunting Poisonous Fire Scorpion Swarm and luring out the Poison Fire Scorpion King to eliminate it in one fell swoop!"
Zhou Yang swept his gaze over the family elders watching him and loudly expressed his thoughts with enthusiasm.
"Power derives from within?"
Old clan leader Zhou Minghan squinted his eyes and then burst into loud laughter: "What a phrase, power derives from within. It's simple and easy to understand, yet directly points to the grand path. We cultivators have practiced hard for thousands of years, seeking not only longevity and unbound freedom but for power to derive from within, isn't it?"
As his laughter faded, the old clan leader's expression turned solemn as he looked at the Zhou family members, who appeared deep in thought, and ordered, "Proceed as Xiao Jiu proposed. Set out with me now to hunt down those Poisonous Fire Scorpions that have gone out hunting."
"As you command."
At the order of the old clan leader Zhou Minghan, a dozen late-stage Qi cultivation cultivators from the Zhou family quickly sprang into action.
Riding on Shatuo Beasts, they departed from Qingping Mountain and reached the outskirts of the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein in less than two days. There, using sand hares, sand rats, and other beasts brought from Qingping Mountain Oasis as bait, they easily attracted dozens of Poisonous Fire Scorpions that ventured out to hunt.
Sssss—
Dozens of Tier One Poisonous Fire Scorpions, led by a few Tier Two Scorpions, followed the scent of blood only to be ambushed by the Zhou family cultivators who had hidden their presence. The cultivators mercilessly slaughtered most of them with magical artifacts, while the survivors frantically burrowed underground, desperately trying to escape while calling out for help.
Earth-to-Steel!
Zhou Yang, who hadn't made a move until now, finally cast this newly learned Tier Two High-grade Technique after nearly a minute of spellcasting.
Once your cultivation reaches the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation, you can practice Tier Two High-grade Techniques, and the first Tier Two High-grade Technique Zhouyang practiced is the "Earth-to-Steel" technique.
This technique is not very useful against cultivators but is a divine skill against demon beasts in the desert that are adept at burrowing or grounding, and it's a must-learn for every late-stage Qi cultivation cultivator in the Westernmost Cultivation Realm.
However, the technique is easy to learn but difficult to master. Zhouyang has only been learning this technique for a few months, and successfully casting it even once is already challenging. To accelerate the casting speed to Elder Zhou Quan's level is practically impossible without a decade of rigorous practice.
Among late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators who can cast the Tier Two High-grade Technique "Earth-to-Steel" in a few seconds, only one or two out of a hundred might achieve it, and they are usually old cultivators over a hundred years old.
Generally, unless they possess a special talent for learning techniques, ordinary cultivators aiming to reduce casting time to a few seconds, or even one second, must either practice diligently like Elder Zhou Quan for decades or exert lower realm techniques with higher realm cultivation.
Among the many techniques Zhouyang has learned, excluding those Tier One techniques with no combat effectiveness, the fastest casting technique now is the Tier Two Middle Grade Fire Spell "Fire Snake Technique," with a casting time of less than five seconds—it can barely be used in normal combat.
Because techniques are easy to learn but hard to master and difficult to utilize in battles of the same level, cultivators developed two skills: Talisman Making and Artifact Refining.
Talisman Makers can seal magic within special talisman paper, allowing cultivators to activate the magic stored in the spirit talisman with just a magical power infusion, which is very convenient.
On the other hand, artifacts refined by Artifact Refiners, once cultivated by the cultivator, can be used freely and not just once like spirit talismans, which can be repeatedly utilized.
A cultivator with artifacts and spirit talismans has a strength gap compared to one without them that is not just one or two points but several times or even tenfold.
At this moment, as Zhouyang used the "Earth-to-Steel" technique, the Poisonous Fire Scorpions attempting to dig holes and escape immediately found that the originally soft sandy ground suddenly became as hard as refined iron, and sparks splattered when their scorpion claws struck it.
All those Zhou Family elders were veterans of countless battles and wouldn't miss this good opportunity; various artifacts and techniques immediately began bombarding the scorpion swarm on the ground, swiftly ending this one-sided battle.
Just then, a distant angry hiss suddenly came from afar.
Then everyone saw the huge dark-red Poison Fire Scorpion King, resembling a calf, rushing towards them like a whirlwind, carrying a sky full of sand and dust.
At the same time, numerous ordinary dark-colored Poisonous Fire Scorpions rapidly drilled out of the sandy ground in other directions around them.
"You continue clearing out those ordinary Poisonous Fire Scorpions; leave the Poison Fire Scorpion King to me,"
The Zhou Family Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, who had been inactive, finally sprang into action, his sword light flickered beneath him as he went to intercept the assaulting Poison Fire Scorpion King.
With Zhou Minghan absent, command naturally fell to Elder Zhou Quan, who held the highest seniority among the nineteen Zhou Family cultivators present.
The elder swept his gaze across the battlefield and quickly issued orders based on the situation.
"Xuan Hao, Xuan Yu, Yu Ting, Xiao Jiu, you four are responsible for clearing the demon beasts to the east."
"Lao Qi, Lao Jiu, Xuantai, Xuan Bin, Xuan Yan, you five handle the south side."
"Fifth Brother, Xuan He, Xuan Ying..."
Zhouyang followed closely behind his parents, swiftly heading towards the dozens of Poisonous Fire Scorpions that appeared to the east as per Elder Zhou Quan's orders.
Among these dozens of Poisonous Fire Scorpions, there were only seven Tier Two Poisonous Fire Scorpions, and only one Tier Two Top Grade demon beast—the weakest group of demon beasts appearing from all directions.
This was Zhouyang's first time fighting side by side with his parents, and he had some desire to show off, wanting his parents to witness the results of his cultivation over the years.
As soon as he approached the scorpion swarm, he immediately unleashed the Tier Two High-Grade Spiritual Artifact "Armor-Piercing Dagger" made from the four incisors of the Gold-Eating Rat by the clan leader, instantly pinning four Tier One Poisonous Fire Scorpions to the ground.
Under the blade of the Armor-Piercing Dagger, the shell of these Tier One Poisonous Fire Scorpions, as hard as refined iron, was only a bit thicker than a sheet of paper.
Seeing this, Mrs. Zhou immediately praised, "Well done! Yang'Er, you handle these Tier One Poisonous Fire Scorpions; as for those Tier Two ones, leave them to Dad, Mom, and your foster mother!"
Upon hearing the first sentence, Zhouyang was quite happy. However, when he heard his mother's words afterward, his face fell, understanding his mother still considered him a child in need of their protection.
"I got it,"
He replied weakly, not showing any intent to protest, knowing full well they wouldn't heed him even if he did.
So he could only turn his frustration into strength, channeling all his anger onto those Tier One Poisonous Fire Scorpions as the four Armor-Piercing Daggers he wielded began to harvest the lives of these low-tier demon beasts like the scythe of Death.