Warning

"That was truly delicious." Su Bai sighed softly.

Before long, Su Bai had swallowed the entire White Fish, leaving his stomach pleasantly warm.

With Spirit Fish to fill his belly and Spirit Tea to cleanse his palate, the benefits at Spirit Moon Lake made Su Bai feel quite comfortable.

"The Warning Array is triggered only once every three or four days on average."

"For safety's sake, under normal circumstances, whenever it is triggered, we investigate together."

"When nothing is happening, we can just stay in our rooms and cultivate."

"Spirit Moon Lake is still considered the edge of Qingshan Spirit Plain, but going any deeper means crossing beyond the edge region. Powerful Demonic Beasts roam there, so don't wander around if there's no reason." Wang Jue spoke.

Su Bai cupped his hands toward Wang Jue. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Wang."

"No need to be so polite. We'll be working together for a long time yet. Only by helping each other as fellow disciples can we live comfortably at Spirit Moon Lake."

Wang Jue's words made sense, and Su Bai nodded repeatedly in agreement.

After chatting with Wang Jue for a while longer, Su Bai returned to his room and began cultivating without wasting time.

Su Bai did not take out the Yellow Dragon Pill he had received to cultivate his Spiritual Power.

Instead, he continued studying spells, especially the offensive Fireball Technique.

If Senior Brother Zhao and Senior Brother Wang discovered that he had yet to master three Tier 1 Mid-grade Spells, it would be difficult to explain.

Su Bai's luck was fairly good.

For five consecutive days, the Warning Array was not triggered.

This gave him ample time to practice his spells.

Over those five days, Su Bai finally gained an initial grasp of the most complicated Fireball Technique.

Afterward, Su Bai began practicing the Water Shield Technique.

At noon on the sixth day, Su Bai, who was practicing the Water Shield Technique inside his room, suddenly felt a faint warmth in his chest.

Picking up the warning token of the Warning Array, he saw that it indeed showed an intruder entering the array from the northwest.

The Warning Array only reacted to foreign objects carrying unusual energy.

Once the warning token reacted, it was basically one hundred percent certain that something requiring attention had happened.

The Spirit Moon Grass and White Fish at the bottom of Spirit Moon Lake held great allure for many Demonic Beasts.

Most of the intruders drawn here came for them.

Su Bai stepped out of the Thatched Hut, where Wang Jue was already waiting outside.

"Let's go. Don't be too nervous. It's usually just some minor trouble."

Su Bai nodded slightly. Together with Wang Jue, he activated the Water Escape Technique, and the two plunged into the bottom of the lake.

The warning token showed that the intruder was still moving.

Su Bai and Wang Jue followed its trail, and before long, they saw the culprit.

A Black Snake seven or eight meters long had already swum into the lakebed. It had caught a White Fish and was swallowing it with the fish clenched in its jaws.

Su Bai could sense a faint, unusual energy aura from the Black Snake.

It gave him an extremely unpleasant feeling.

This aura should have been Demonic Energy.

Su Bai sent a telepathic message. "Senior Brother Wang, is this snake a Demonic Beast?"

Wang Jue replied by telepathic message, "No need to worry. It's merely an Unranked Demonic Beast."

An Unranked Demonic Beast? It did not even count as a First-tier Demonic Beast.

A First-tier Demonic Beast was equivalent to a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, and its physical body was powerful enough to often surpass cultivators of the same rank.

As for this Unranked Demonic Beast, Wang Jue believed that he and Su Bai could handle it.

"It dared to eat our rations!"

"Let's see if we can drive it ashore. If we can force it onto land, one Fireball will finish it." Wang Jue sent a telepathic message.

Su Bai nodded in agreement. Then, he and Wang Jue moved to either side, closing in on the Black Snake.

The Black Snake keenly noticed the two approaching.

Surrounded from both sides, it showed no intention of going ashore and instead darted deeper toward the bottom of the lake.

Wang Jue flew into a rage. Channeling Spiritual Power, he accelerated through the water and caught up to the Black Snake, tangling with it in an attempt to grapple with it directly and drag it out from the lakebed.

However, Wang Jue had underestimated the Black Snake's ability in close combat.

It twisted its body, then wrapped around Wang Jue's body in one swift motion instead.

The Demonic Power on its body even shattered Wang Jue's Water Escape Technique.

Caught off guard, Wang Jue choked on several mouthfuls of water and spat out a string of bubbles.

Just as the Black Snake's head was about to bite down on Wang Jue.

A flash of cold light streaked past, and its raised snake head was cleaved into two by a sharp blade.

Bright red blood spread through the lakebed, drawing many White Fish over to feed on it.

Wang Jue focused his eyes and saw that Su Bai had somehow drawn a Magic Sword.

Using the power of the magic weapon, Su Bai broke through the demon snake's defenses in a single stroke and severed its head.

Wang Jue dispelled the hand seal he had been preparing, gave Su Bai a thumbs-up, then casually grabbed the headless snake body that was still twitching unconsciously and shot toward the lake surface like a wisp of smoke.

Su Bai put away the Magic Sword and swiftly followed.

Before long, the two returned to Lake Heart Isle.

"Haha, we're getting an extra meal tonight! The meat of snake-type Demonic Beasts is the most nourishing." Wang Jue laughed loudly, holding the massive snake body in his hand.

"Junior Brother Su, I never expected you to possess a magic weapon."

"It was truly thanks to your magic weapon. Otherwise, dealing with this thing would have been rather troublesome for me."

Wang Jue was somewhat taken aback.

Possessing a magic weapon at the Mid Qi Refining Stage made one as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns even within the Jade Mist Sect.

Su Bai scratched his head. "The magic weapon was a reward from the outer court."

Everyone had their own secrets, so Wang Jue did not press him about why the outer court had given him such a reward.

"I'll go deal with the snake body first. Tonight, we'll call Senior Brother Zhao over and eat Demonic Beast meat!"

"Do you need help?"

"No need. Your Senior Brother Wang comes from a mortal family that has run restaurants for generations. From the age of six, I was forced to study my family's Chef's Secret Manual alongside my relatives."

"I disliked this trade quite a bit when I was young... Who would have thought that after entering the Immortal Sect, it would become my only hobby for passing the time?"

"You and Senior Brother Zhao just wait to eat!"

So that was how it was.

It seemed that while serving on the Spirit Moon Lake Mission, I would be in for some fine meals... Su Bai thought.

By evening, rosy clouds hung along the horizon.

Their glow reflected across Spirit Moon Lake, turning its surface into a sea of brilliant color.

On Lake Heart Isle, Wang Jue had set up a bonfire.

Three ceramic bowls sat atop it, each holding a serving of Demonic Beast Snake Soup.

According to Wang Jue, it had been made using a secret recipe from the Wang Family, and each person was limited to one serving.

Part of the snake meat had been cut into chunks and used as grilled meat.

Of course, a demon snake seven or eight meters long naturally contained far more meat than that.

The remaining meat was Wang Jue's reward for serving as chef, and he tucked it away for himself.

A Storage Bag was a vacuum environment. After a bit of processing, Demonic Beast meat could be stored for a long time.

Unranked Demonic Beast meat still had its uses. It could be eaten or sold for a bit of money.

The Snake Soup was ready.

At Wang Jue's call, Su Bai and Zhao Shanhe stepped out of their Thatched Huts.

The aroma of the Snake Soup had long since seeped into Su Bai's nose, stirring his appetite.

Zhao Shanhe was even more direct, bringing his own spoon in hand.

Having arrived at Spirit Moon Lake five or six days ago, aside from seeing Zhao Shanhe on the first day, this was the second time Su Bai had seen him leave his Thatched Hut.

Just as Wang Jue had said, this fellow was truly a terrifying cultivation maniac.

Had Wang Jue not displayed his culinary skills today, he would probably still have been holed up in his room cultivating.