As the saying goes, showing off is the driving force behind human progress.
(Please remember the website for the fastest chapter updates)
Fang Weishan loves to show off, and when he finally gets a chance to brag, he's not going to let it go.
"Mysterious Star. Spirit Tree, born in the heart of the realm, stealing spiritual energy for a thousand years, absolutely... Giant Spirit Grass, ten thousand feet tall, rooted in the heart of the spiritual vein, breaking through the realm, its sap can pierce the void..."
Fang Weishan's thoughts were fragmented and contained many errors, which made Zhao Sheng feel very frustrated and anxious for him. He felt that Fang Weishan had chosen the wrong hobby.
Just then, someone else walked into the living room.
"I apologize for keeping you all waiting. I was delayed on my way here, so I'm a little late."
As soon as Meng Quyi, dressed in a plain white scholar's robe, entered, he said with a face full of apology.
Upon seeing Meng Quyi, Fang Weishan immediately burst into laughter: "Haha, Brother Meng, you've come at the perfect time! You're skilled at copying the Taiyi Lingwen (a type of ancient Chinese script), come and see how well you've written the Taiyi Lingwen on this painting!"
The two had known each other for nearly a century and were both cultivators who followed the path of Confucianism, so their friendship was naturally very deep, far surpassing that of Zhao Sheng.
Upon hearing this, Meng Quyi looked distressed, but out of consideration for face, he eventually went over and began to examine the pictures and text on the wall.
Seeing this, Zhao Sheng didn't bother to join in the fun. He simply sat down to enjoy his tea and quietly waited for his host to appear.
Before long, Fang and Meng had only exchanged a few words in their argument.
Ge Chen, dressed in black and exuding the fragrance of elixirs, strode into the living room with a smug look on his face.
"Fellow Daoist Ge!"
"Brother Ge!"
Upon seeing their master appear, Zhao Sheng, Meng Quyi, and Fang Weishan immediately greeted him.
After exchanging pleasantries, Ge Chen sat in the main seat and invited the three of them to sit down as well.
"With the addition of three fellow Daoists, the plan to wipe out the Black Poison Python horde will surely be a success," Ge Chen said to Zhao Sheng and the other two with a smile.
"Brother Ge, you're too kind! If it weren't for the poison-resolving pills you refined, we would never have dared to lay a finger on the Black Poison Python," Meng Quyi said politely.
The idea of eradicating the Black Venomous Python was proposed by Ge Chen, and his purpose had been explained to everyone beforehand.
His master Xu Chongda's birthday was approaching, and the king of black venomous pythons was one of the birthday gifts that Ge Chen prepared.
Meng Quyi was moved by the generous reward promised by Ge Chen.
He then went to great lengths to invite Fang Weishan, who was invited by him. Zhao Sheng also became interested after learning that the initiator was Ge Chen.
Don't get me wrong, Zhao Sheng isn't interested in Ge Chen, but rather in his master, Master Xu Chong, who is a master who can refine Golden Core pills.
In addition, Meng Quyi also invited a Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Lan, but for some reason, he hasn't come yet.
After exchanging pleasantries, the group began to discuss hunting the black venomous python.
"These black venomous pythons live in the bottom of a deep trench. We will go there first..." Ge Chen, as the initiator of this hunting operation, first gave a general overview of the detailed plan.
"Ten days ago, I went to investigate again. Currently, there are about two hundred Black Venomous Pythons in this group. Among them, there are about four of them that are at least level two. The most troublesome one is the king of the Black Venomous Pythons, the Poison Dragon Python. It is a huge beast, extremely poisonous and ferocious, and very difficult to deal with!" Meng Quyi suddenly added after Ge Chen finished explaining the plan.
"These black venomous pythons probably won't stay still in their nest to hunt. How can we pinpoint their location? Perhaps we could choose to take them down one by one?" Zhao Sheng suggested, his brow furrowing slightly.
Upon hearing this, Ge Chen smiled confidently, flipped his hand, and a bronze Bagua plate appeared in his hand, with the eight directions written on the edge of the plate.
After a spell was cast, the Bagua plate flashed with light, and a trace of blood suddenly appeared on the silver needle in the center.
After spinning for a while, it suddenly jerked and pointed northeast, then stopped moving.
"With this tracking compass, the Black Poison Python horde will have no chance of escaping my grasp. Fellow Daoist Zhao, do you have any other questions?" Ge Chen explained.
Seeing this, Zhao Sheng shook his head.
"Very good, then let's set off now." Ge Chen said excitedly, holding the tracking disk in his hands.
"Aren't we going to wait for Fellow Daoist Lan?" Fang Weishan asked, puzzled.
"We can't wait any longer, Fellow Daoist Lan has something to attend to and can't come," Meng Quyi immediately explained.
Upon hearing this, Fang Weishan and Zhao Sheng both frowned, but didn't say anything more.
A moment later, the two flying boats suddenly took off from the island and sped off towards the northeast.
Night fell, and the moon was high in the sky.
Zhao Sheng and his three companions flew over two thousand miles and arrived at an unfamiliar sea.
The pointer on Ge Chen's tracking compass trembled incessantly, with the tip subtly tilting downwards.
"We've arrived! This is the sea area! The Black Venomous Python should be somewhere down there." Ge Chen said, his spirits lifted as he looked at the unusual state of the tracking disc in his hand.
"I have Water-Repelling Pills and Detoxifying Pills here. Take them now!" Ge Chen said, immediately taking out the pills and distributing them to everyone.
Then he put away his compass, swallowed two pills, and flew down into the sea.
At this moment, Zhao Sheng did not take the Water-Repelling Pill and the Poison-Dissolving Pill given to him by Ge Chen, but instead took the Water-Repelling Pill and the Jade Yellow Pill that he had refined himself.
He did this purely out of caution, and had no other intentions.
Seeing this, Meng Quyi and Fang Weishan also took the elixir and flew into the water, with Zhao Sheng following closely behind.
Before long, the group arrived at the bottom of the sea, which was thousands of feet deep.
In the pitch-black depths of the sea, everyone was at the Foundation Establishment stage and had divine sense to guide them, so they didn't need to use the Sunstone for illumination.
Led by Ge Chen, the four of them slowly swam for more than ten miles.
Suddenly, Ge Chen, who was in front, changed his expression and stopped abruptly.
"careful!"
After transmitting a message through his mind, Ge Chen ran his right hand across his storage bag and produced a dull gray talisman.
An invisible, gray barrier suddenly appeared, enveloping the surroundings and blurring the figures of the four people, making them disappear.
Zhao Sheng was somewhat surprised to see this. This was a second-tier Divine Concealment Talisman, an advanced version of the Invisibility Talisman, which was extremely rare. He hadn't expected that Ge Chen would actually have one.
Led by Ge Chen, the four of them quietly approached another fifty feet or so, and in front of them was a boundless seabed beach with a patch of messy coral reefs growing in the middle of the beach.
Above the coral reef, everyone could vaguely see a large, densely packed, dark, strip-shaped mass, resembling a giant clump of seaweed, quietly coiled in the water.
At first glance, Zhao Sheng narrowed his eyes. It turned out that the dark shadows were actually a group of giant black pythons that were intertwined and overlapping.
These giant black pythons range in size from over ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) with bodies as thick as buckets to only three or four chi (approximately 1.3-2.5 meters) in size, though some are as thick as a child's arm.
Their bodies are covered with fine black diamond-shaped scales, and their triangular snake heads are more than twice the size of the python's body. Each one is like a branding iron, black and shiny, and eerie.
These were none other than a swarm of Black Venomous Pythons!