Luring It to Its Death

Someone had died,

and there were Demon Beasts in the river.

Either of these matters was undoubtedly a huge problem.

Han Qinhu stood to one side, waiting for Shen Changchuan's response.

Shen Changchuan pondered for a moment.

"Record the names of the two who died. When the Spirit Grain is harvested, allocate ten jin of Spirit Grain to each household as compensation."

From what he understood,

during the time Shen Shiying had guarded Great Bay Village, whenever someone died while cultivating the Spirit Fields, they would simply be wrapped in a straw mat and the matter would be settled. There had never been any compensation.

But Shen Changchuan felt that was wrong.

They had been injured in the line of duty. Compensation was necessary, and it could more or less help stabilize people's hearts.

He consoled himself inwardly.

If there's an opportunity in the future, I'll look after them a little. That's all I can do.

Ten jin of Spirit Grain might not sound like much—only worth one Spirit Stone.

But they were mortals, while Spirit Grain was a Spirit Item.

These ten jin of Spirit Grain

were practically priceless among mortals.

Perhaps it could even allow a mortal to successfully awaken their spirit and step onto the path of immortality overnight.

Such compensation was already enough for them.

Any more would instead be a bad thing.

The consequences of a child carrying a gold brick through a bustling market

had already been explained clearly by the ancients.

If he still felt guilty,

then if any of their descendants successfully awakened their spirit in the future, he could simply take better care of them.

"As for the Demon Beast in the river, we need to try and see whether we can kill it."

"After all, this river is too close to the village. It will always be a hidden danger."

Shen Changchuan gazed at the murky river water before him, his eyes deep and shadowed.

"Changchuan, you truly are righteous and benevolent. With this, I imagine those two will be grateful for your generosity even in the Nine Springs."

Han Qinhu sighed with emotion.

There was even a trace of envy in his words.

Those two had truly struck it lucky.

How many mortal martial artists served immortal cultivators like dogs and lost their lives without ever receiving even a reward related to a Spirit Item?

If those two came back to life,

they would probably say it had all been worth it!

"How should we deal with that beast in the river? If we enter the water, it will hold the advantage of the terrain. If we act rashly, won't we give it an opening to take advantage of us?"

Han Qinhu gathered his thoughts and hesitantly asked when he thought of the Demon Beast in the river.

"A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. Naturally, I won't run into the water and fight it."

"So we need a method."

"Maternal Grandfather, please prepare a goat for me."

Though he did not understand what Shen Changchuan intended to do, Han Qinhu still went to make the preparations as requested.

Meanwhile,

Shen Changchuan stood on the riverbank.

He formed a hand seal, and a faint white glow rose in his eyes.

At that moment, his gaze seemed to pierce through layers of mist, seeing the wisps of water-vein essence flowing beneath the river's surface,

as well as the faint threads of demonic aura rising from the water.

"Sure enough, it won't be that easy."

"With the water-vein essence concealing it, there's no way to locate it so easily."

Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly.

He then dismissed the Spirit Eye Technique, no longer wasting his mana.

Fortunately, he had never placed his hopes on the Spirit Eye Technique from the beginning. Its progress was only at 51% and had not yet reached perfection or developed Traits.

The Spirit Eye Technique's usefulness

was not for now.

Shen Changchuan could only wait patiently.

A quarter of an hour later,

Han Qinhu finally arrived with several people, carrying over a goat whose front and hind legs had all been tied together.

"Changchuan, are you planning to use this goat to 'fish'?"

As they carried over the goat, Han Qinhu asked Shen Changchuan at his side.

Though he had not understood at first,

he had later guessed Shen Changchuan's general plan.

"That's right."

"If I enter the water, I'm afraid I won't even be able to use thirty percent of my strength. I cannot fight it in the water."

"The only method is to lure the snake from its hole, using this goat as bait to create an opportunity for me to strike."

Shen Changchuan did not keep them guessing and directly explained his plan.

"All right, wait a moment!"

Han Qinhu then summoned Han Dayong.

Although Han Dayong was somewhat dull-witted and was often cursed as an idiot by his father, Han Qinhu, his strength was excellent.

Very quickly,

a bamboo pole over ten meters long was brought over.

After some maneuvering,

the goat, which weighed over a hundred jin, was suspended by a rope, with the other end tied to the tip of the bamboo pole.

Han Dayong exerted his strength and lifted the bamboo pole, which was over ten meters long.

The goat, bound hand and foot, was lowered toward the surface of the river.

The goat sensed the danger

and struggled desperately.

But it was clearly useless.

At this moment,

Shen Changchuan's eyes lit up with white radiance once more.

The Spirit Eye Technique activated,

to observe the changes on the river's surface.

At the same time,

his right hand had already formed the seal for the Golden Thorn Technique.

As mana light brewed and circulated, a golden glow flickered in and out of sight, and the phantom of a Golden Thorn could vaguely be seen.

That was right,

only a phantom.

This time, Shen Changchuan had no intention of using his two quasi-low-grade Dharma Artifact Golden Needles.

The reason was simple.

Before an immortal cultivator reached the Out of Body Stage realm, they could not extend their Spiritual Sense beyond their body to control Dharma Artifacts.

If he failed to kill the Demon Beast in one strike,

and the Golden Needles fell into the water, he would have no way to retrieve them.

That would be a tremendous loss!

The Golden Thorn Technique itself was a spell like the Fireball Technique and Wind Blade Technique.

It was merely because it was a metal-element spell that, when used together with Dharma Artifacts, its killing power could be doubled.

But even without using the Golden Needles alongside it,

as a Perfect-grade spell, its killing power was still far stronger than Shen Changchuan's offensive spells such as the Fireball Technique and Wind Blade Technique, which had yet to reach perfection.

All preparations had been completed.

Everything was ready.

They only had to wait for the Demon Beast in the river to emerge.

The suspended goat descended little by little, slowly reaching the spot where the boat had overturned.

The goat struggled without cease,

and ripples began spreading across the water beneath it.

A row of villagers stood behind Han Dayong, all holding their breath and not daring to make the slightest sound, afraid that they would scare off the Demon Beast beneath the river.

Suddenly,

a shadow appeared in the waters beneath the goat.

"It's here!"

Shen Changchuan's mind instantly tensed!

At that very moment,

Splash!!!

The water burst apart,

and the black shadow shot out from beneath the surface.

A savage maw broke through the water, baring rows of chillingly sharp teeth, and swallowed the entire goat in one bite!

Splash!

A fierce demonic aura swept outward, striking the villagers behind them and making their hearts feel as though they had been gripped tight. They could not help crying out in alarm.

All of them were startled by the sudden attack.

Their feet involuntarily backed away.

A Demon Beast!

It was a real Demon Beast!

But at this moment,

Shen Changchuan had no mind to pay attention to anyone else's reaction.

An opportunity!

His eyes abruptly sharpened!

"Go!"

The Spell Attack of the Golden Thorn Technique that had long been prepared in his hand shot forth in an instant!

Under the effects of the Spirit Eye Technique,

Shen Changchuan saw everything clearly!

It was a Demon Beast that resembled a crocodile.

Under the gaze of Shen Changchuan's Spirit Eye Technique, the opponent's lightning-fast attack had been completely revealed!

He even saw its weakness!

Thus,

a flash of golden light streaked through the air like lightning. In the span of a breath, it crossed more than ten meters, and the Golden Thorn formed from condensed mana shot toward the Crocodile Demon's head!

With the Spirit Eye Technique's enhancement, Shen Changchuan's Golden Thorn Technique became even more precise!

It struck almost without the slightest deviation,

piercing directly toward the vulnerable place where its head connected to its ear!

Yet just as the mana-condensed Golden Thorn was about to pierce the Crocodile Demon's head,

it seemed to sense the approaching danger. Its demonic aura instantly boiled, and its skin took on the color and texture of stone.

Clang!

A crisp sound like metal striking metal rang out.

Visible sparks exploded,

and the Golden Thorn formed by the Golden Thorn Technique shattered.

A small burst of mana shockwaves spread outward, even knocking away the splashing water around it.

At the same time,

the Crocodile Demon seemed to let out a howl. Its huge leaping body suddenly rolled over, twisting the bamboo pole tied to the goat into a spiral before snapping it apart, and it fell back into the water with the goat clamped in its jaws.