Fishing

After observing the battle between the Thunder Department of Xun Kingdom and the Qingqiu White-Haired Nine-Tailed Fox, Li Fan came to a conclusion.

The two groups were evenly matched, but they were both no match for him.

Ahem, my Daoist heart is too restless, please be understanding.

Okay, let's analyze this seriously. The Heavenly General of the Thunder Department is indeed quite powerful. Taking the Tanuki Maid as a reference, the maid, whose martial arts were not too bad, couldn't even withstand a single move and was instantly killed by the Thunder General. In the end, if it weren't for the fact that the Nine-Tailed Fox's tail was obviously refined, she would probably have been injured by an axe.

Moreover, they even possessed ranged lightning attacks specifically designed to counter demons, as well as lightning eagles capable of rapid maneuverability. Their individual Divine Sense senses were also extremely sharp, clearly indicating they were seasoned veterans, and they became wary as soon as Li Fan locked them down. If there were only three or five of these heavenly generals, they would be easy to kill, but if thirty or fifty of them were gathered together in a formation, they would likely become quite troublesome.

Moreover, whether it's Lei Jiang, the maid, or even that bearded man, they are clearly similar to front-line melee protectors, primarily serving to protect their own mages and launch surprise attacks on them.

In comparison, the Nine-Tailed Fox's sonic magic is quite powerful, and when released, it's like a flying sword or magical weapon, capable of instantly killing various enemies. However, it once hid behind the maid, patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike, suggesting that it's not particularly adept at close combat. Perhaps its sonic attack is some kind of area-limited, targeted skill with high mana consumption and a high chance of missing.

After this analysis, Li Fan felt that if he encountered Nangong Wuqing and her group, charging in headfirst to fight might not be the wisest course of action.

Although the Feathered Forest Army and Heavenly Soldiers of the Nangong Family were mostly incompetent compared to Lei Jiang, they still numbered around a hundred. Li Fan, lacking the magical ability of Real Person Wei to devour a thousand people on one side, was bound to be entangled by these cannon fodder.

He also saw about twenty Golden Core Stage mages in the palace. If each of them used magic weapons and spells to attack from a distance and desperately output damage, even with all the life-saving enhancements from Li Fan's many Dao bodies and Dao robes, it probably wouldn't last long.

Not to mention that Nangong Wuqing also had four Nascent Soul Stage by her side, along with bodyguards who were clearly her helpers from the Xuanmen sect, protecting her in the shadows. Whether it was a direct breakthrough or a covert infiltration, the risks were quite high.

Ideally, the best-case scenario would be to capture the Nangong Family's scattered subordinates and launch a surprise attack while they were exploring Lei Marsh, gradually weakening their forces. However, given the situation in Xun Kingdom, it's likely that the Nangong Family's independent cultivators also possess Vermilion Bird signal talismans similar to the Purple Fire Phoenix signal, allowing them to call for support at any time. Therefore, a surprise attack in that scenario would easily lead to them being surrounded again...

Hmm? Wait a minute, this might be a good opportunity!

Li Fan's eyes lit up. Perhaps he could try to replicate the Nangong Family's Vermilion Bird Fire Talisman, summoning their support and luring them into his planned ambush location in stages! What do you think of Sword Intent?

'Profound Heaven Sword Intent, hmm... ah...'

Well, my sword intent has been dampened again. We haven't even found a trace of the Nangong Family yet, and my confidence has already been completely crushed...

It seems that the apprentice only cares about his wife and not his master. This is quite a blow to the elderly man, causing him a drastic change in temperament and mental trauma.

However, this kind of emotional matter, involving both master-disciple relationships and human-demon romances, is far too complicated for Li Fan to understand, and he doesn't want to get involved. So, as soon as it was light, he took Chen Asha and flew into the sky, intending to return to the Middle Valley Dojo to regroup. Ideally, he would also like to prepare a jar of wine to soak the Profound Heaven Sword Intent, so that it wouldn't falter again when fighting Nangong.

However, once Li Fan entered Lei Marsh, it seemed destined that his plans would not go smoothly, as he encountered new unexpected twists and turns along the way.

This time, they encountered two powerful demons fighting.

One was Golden-Haired, Green-Faced, Two-Headed Lion, and the other was Red-Backed, Black-Haired, Pink-Toed Big Spider. Both were enormous beasts, each over ten feet tall, and their battle shook the earth and caused ghostly wails. It was unclear how these two creatures, so different in nature, had started fighting, but seeing them tearing each other apart, bleeding profusely and oozing thick fluids, it was clear they were fighting for their lives, probably vying for some kind of 'opportunity'.

Li Fan, riding his Sword Light, glanced at them from afar. These two exuded a stench of blood; they were clearly animals who had eaten too much human flesh and could be hunted without a second thought. Not bad, not bad at all. He'd finally witnessed a battle between two rivals, allowing him to reap the benefits!

Li Fan was eager to try, and the barbarian girl Asha had also spotted the two giant beasts in the distance. She was quite clever and realized Li Fan intended to get involved, so she spoke to him in her dialect, "Immortal, those spiders are great monsters from the Kun Country, extremely poisonous. Be careful of their scattering poisonous hairs. This sachet contains antidote powder; please keep it close to your body and use your aura to shield yourself from the poison powder for complete protection."

Li Fan asked curiously, "How did you manage to prepare the antidote in advance? Could it be that someone is your enemy?"

Asha shook her head and continued to explain in her dialect, "Grandma's natal Gu was killed by the people from Hachiman Shrine. This time, we came to Lei Marsh to catch the spider demon and refine it into Gu, but unfortunately we couldn't catch it in time."

Li Fan then understood. It seemed this plot was part of Asha's escort mission, probably involving capturing the spider alive for Asha to use in her martial arts practice. "Leave it to me, I'll catch it for you."

Asha was stunned. "It's not that I want to use it, it's that Grandma wants it..."

Before she could react, Li Fan had already flown his sword towards the giant beast.

That poisonous spider was indeed formidable. The Golden-haired Lion had already been poisoned, both of its heads were severely affected, which was why they had turned bluish-black and died. It was probably only because it was a naturally two-headed mutant and its large size that it had managed to hold on until now, but it was clearly about to give out.

Although the lion was undoubtedly stronger in a fight, tearing off three of the spider's eight legs and blinding two of its eight eyes, it could no longer withstand the continuous venom. Unable to escape, it lay sprawled on the ground, the blood from its mouth and nose turning black. It could only helplessly endure the spider's pair of iron-hook-like fangs, which would occasionally grab its thigh flesh and inject venom into its muscles little by little.

Not to mention the lion, several rogue cultivators who shared Li Fan's plan to profit from the conflict between the two great demons were also poisoned to death. They were probably enjoying watching the fight from the sidelines when they weren't paying attention and were poisoned. They hurriedly sat down to regulate their breathing, which only exacerbated their blood circulation. The Antidote Pill they had also given them was ineffective, so they bled from all seven orifices and died while sitting far away on the outskirts.

Li Fan couldn't help but sigh at his good fortune. Saving Asha, this country girl, triggered a lot of plot developments, and now he'd picked up a bunch of corpses for free, indirectly saving him from a near-death experience. He felt a little embarrassed to just casually dump them in the mountains...

However, this spider's venom is so potent that even a Golden Core Stage cultivator couldn't withstand it. Could it be specifically designed for Human Race? Look at how long that lion lasted. Of course, that's also possible. The spider's venom itself isn't particularly potent, but its true form is so large, with its scales and hairs flying everywhere, leading to an excessively high concentration of venom in the surrounding environment. These cultivators were too close, the contact time was too long, and they inhaled too much venom. Being smaller than the lion, they probably died so quickly...

Hmm... But this does reveal that the native cultivators of this world probably don't have a very intuitive understanding of common knowledge such as toxin levels, infection Pathway, minimum lethal bacteria count, toxin levels, and median lethal concentration.

They probably encountered fewer poisonous creatures in the Central Plains, so they intuitively assumed that as long as they weren't bitten, they wouldn't be poisoned. That's something they could take advantage of...

Li Fan, carrying Asha, lowered the Sword Light, then formed a hand seal to control his qi, gathering his true qi into a gas sac to protect himself. With the antidote sachet Asha had given him, he felt more at ease after securing the poison protection. Then, he raised his hand and threw out the Qiankun Twin Dragon Sword, sending eight sword dragons swirling and charging around the spider lion like flying discs.

The two monsters fought for a long time, exhausted and with no energy left to react. They immediately unleashed a horde of Tyrannosaurus Rex, tearing off the spider's remaining legs, while the lion was dismembered into eight pieces, wiping out the entire area in one fell swoop.

What else can be done? The Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword, a wide-area damage Cultivation Method, is best for large targets. Just unleash a full-damage attack and kill them instantly.

Then, Li Fan unleashed a surge of palm power, grabbing the spider from afar and asking Asha, "Is this spider beneficial to your cultivation? I caught one for you alive."

Asha stared dumbfounded at the spider, its eight legs torn off and leaving only a Fourth Department, mangled torso, suspended in mid-air by the force of the palm strike. She was speechless. Although she had only known Li Fan for two days, she had already keenly sensed that this guy beside her seemed rather abnormal—absurdly strong...

"Thank you for your concern, but my natal Gu has not yet been refined, so I don't need a new one."

"Suit yourself, here you can have the demon core..."

So Li Fan casually squeezed the spider, causing it to burst open with a bang. A whole bunch of baby spiders instantly popped out of the spider's belly; it had actually been carrying eggs! It was truly disgusting.

"Please wait a moment, Immortal. I can use these."

Asha quickly stopped Li Fan from unleashing a powerful palm strike that nearly blew up the mountain. She took out her small incense burner and performed a spell, summoning the scattered spiders back, which then crawled into the cauldron to feed the snake. On the other side, she took out a wine jar, made a hand seal, and with a flick of her finger, collected the exploding spider venom cloud and demon core into the wine jar.

This was probably how they prepared the poison wine. Li Fan watched for a while, and this barbarian girl was indeed as Jian Yi had described, gathering materials and picking herbs with great skill, her fingers not trembling at all. So he asked, "Asha, can you control poisonous creatures to poison Golden Core Stage cultivator?"

Asha hesitated for a moment, then looked at Li Fan and said, "I have learned it, but Grandma said that using poison and Gu is despicable in the Central Plains... Besides, with your great abilities, do you, a deity, still need to use poison?"

"What's so shameful about it? Killing someone is killing someone, it's just the whining of a defeated dog. Besides, the more trump cards you have, the better. And scattering lime isn't necessarily more honorable than using witchcraft..."

"Ahem, alright, no need to call me a god. My Daoist name is Qingyue, and I'd like to ask Asha for a small favor."

Using the two readily available monster corpses, Li Fan decided to test his fishing tactic.

The plan was straightforward: gather the corpses of the lion, the spider, and the surrounding rogue cultivators together, piling them up to resemble the carnage of a battle where both sides were severely injured, then spread some poisonous Gu venom to test its effect on Golden Core cultivators. Li Fan also tried to simulate this with a fire talisman, releasing a Vermilion Bird's distress signal. He and Asha hid in the shadows to see if they could lure the rogue cultivators from the Nangong Family into a trap.

He also wanted to see firsthand how the Gu poison would affect Golden Core cultivators, how they would react after being poisoned, how they would receive first aid, and what methods they would use. Having a reference was better than experiencing it firsthand and being at a loss. Of course, to avoid harming innocent bystanders or unlucky passersby, Li Fan had Asha choose Gu poisons that would soften muscles and bones and not be fatal for the experiment.

After making these preparations, Li Fan tried to control the Chisha Zhenqi, simulating the appearance of the Vermilion Bird he had seen before, and released a mark into the sky.

After waiting for a while, he indeed detected with his Divine Sense that a flying boat carrying some cultivators was heading towards the marked direction, but it was coming from the south. Moreover, Li Fan was hiding in the magic array and watched the flying boat approach, and found that it seemed to be a mechanical flying boat from Ink Bamboo Mountain.

Damn, could it be that accurate and caught one of our own on the first try? But it's better than going home empty-handed. At least we didn't use a poison...

The flying boat approached from afar, but circled the Vermilion Bird and Firebird pattern that Li Fan had forged, refusing to come closer, and no one disembarked to examine the corpses on the ground. It seemed these people were quite cautious. Of course, it was also possible that they had noticed a flaw in Li Fan's Firebird. If even the cultivators of Ink Bamboo Mountain could see something was wrong, then unless the Nangong Family were all fools, this trick would probably not catch any fish.

Just as Li Fan thought the ship from Ink Bamboo Mountain had realized something was wrong and was about to leave, another figure flew out of the flying boat and into the air, scanning the wreckage left by the battle on the ground with his Divine Sense.

Li Fan didn't recognize this cultivator. His attire wasn't the linen robes of the Ink Bamboo Mountain Daoist sect, but rather a mixed-and-matched style typical of rogue cultivators. Over his robes, he wore a talismanic armor covering his chest, neither scholarly nor martial. He held a Copper Coin Sword in one hand and a copper bell in the other, his face obscured by Unknown Face. He took three steps forward and looked back two steps back, so wary—clearly, he was an experienced rogue cultivator...

Li Fan, with his arms crossed, was about to see how the other party would handle the situation when he suddenly felt a jolt in his Divine Sense and abruptly turned his head to look east.

Suddenly, more than a dozen divine thoughts appeared on the horizon, intruding into Li Fan's Divine Sense detection range and rapidly approaching this direction!

This speed! There's no mistake!

He is the Thunder General of the Xun Kingdom!