Little Nine's plan initially appeared to have succeeded. After I burned all those desert plants, the Poison Fire Scorpion swarm's food supply ran into trouble. In less than half a month, the scorpions began slaughtering one another. Combined with my opportunistic attacks, the swarm's numbers have now fallen by nearly fifty percent from their peak.
However, that third-tier Poison Fire Scorpion King has now realized the severity of the problem. It forcibly stopped the ordinary Poison Fire Scorpions from killing one another and sent the swarm deep into the desert to hunt. For the time being, it seems to have weathered the food crisis.
On Qingping Mountain, Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan gathered all the Zhou Lineage cultivators and explained his achievements over the past month, as well as the intelligence from the front lines.
It was clear that when they heard half the Poison Fire Scorpions had died because of Zhou Yang's plan, every Zhou Lineage cultivator wore an expression of delight.
Yet upon hearing the Old Clan Leader's later words, the joy on their faces faded somewhat, and they could not help lowering their heads in thought.
Poison Fire Scorpions were, after all, demon beasts. Whether in combat ability or desert survival, they far surpassed ordinary desert animals. Once they left their nest and ventured deep into the desert to hunt, starving them to death would truly be quite difficult.
From the looks of it, Zhou Yang's "Ecological Chain Destruction" tactic was not as flawless as everyone had imagined.
"Hey, what are you all thinking about? We've already reduced the scorpion swarm by half without losing a single person. That's already a great victory. Did you really think one spell, cast once, could wipe out the entire swarm? Stop dreaming. Those are demon beasts, not little bugs that ordinary mortals can crush underfoot. In all your years, have you ever heard of anyone killing demon beasts without directly fighting them?"
Just as everyone was pondering the flaws in Zhou Yang's "Ecological Chain Destruction" tactic, Zhou Xuanyu suddenly let out a cold laugh and spoke, breaking the silence with absolutely no politeness in her tone.
Her words were somewhat harsh, but they woke everyone up and made them realize they had fallen into a trap of thought.
There had never been any perfect strategy in this world, yet they had wanted to rely on one tiny scheme to wipe out a group of demon beasts. How laughable was that!
And who were they? They were cultivators. If strategies that even mortals could use were enough to eliminate all demon beasts, what use would there be for cultivators like them? How could they still call themselves "Immortal Masters" before mortals?
"Third Sister's words may be unpleasant, but they are the truth. Not to mention that wanting to destroy the entire scorpion swarm through a single strategy is sheer fantasy, we do not have that much time to wait here slowly for the swarm to consume itself to death."
"The Old Clan Leader's departure from the Lineage's spiritual vein cannot be concealed for too long. If we remain away from the various Lineage businesses we oversee for an extended period, outsiders will grow suspicious as well. Once anyone learns of what is happening here, the harm to our Zhou Lineage will be far greater than anything those Poison Fire Scorpions could cause!"
As Zhou Yang's father, Zhou Xuanhao naturally had to step forward to support his son at this time. Speaking of which, this was the first time in many years that he had taken the initiative to echo Zhou Xuanyu's words.
Seeing these two longtime bitter rivals cast aside their old grievances and stand united because of a junior, the other Zhou Lineage cultivators found it amusing, but they were also sincerely happy for the two of them.
The Zhou Lineage cultivators had always been united. Though the past disputes between Zhou Xuanhao and Zhou Xuanyu had remained within the bounds permitted and controlled by their elders, they had ultimately been a hidden danger. Now that this danger had been removed, it was a good thing for the entire Zhou Lineage.
Besides, Zhou Xuanyu and Zhou Xuanhao's words did make sense. These important figures of the Zhou Lineage all had duties to attend to. Leaving the Lineage briefly was no issue, but if they stayed away too long, trouble would surely arise.
"Little Nine, do you have anything to say?"
Seeing that no one else spoke, Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan turned his gaze toward Zhou Yang, the person involved.
"Great-Grandfather is wise. It is indeed true that this grandson's plan has flaws. But as my adoptive mother said, Great Power Resides Within Oneself for us cultivators. Schemes are merely minor paths. Since the minor path has exhausted its use, it is naturally time for us to wield the artifacts in our hands and put the Great Dao into practice!"
"Isn't the scorpion swarm splitting into groups and venturing deep into the sea of sand to hunt for food? Then we shall besiege the stronghold and strike the reinforcements, slaughter the Poison Fire Scorpion groups that leave to hunt, lure out the Poison Fire Scorpion King, and destroy it in one stroke!"
Zhou Yang swept his gaze over the Lineage elders looking at him and loudly voiced his thoughts in an impassioned tone.
"Great Power Resides Within Oneself?"
Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan narrowed his eyes, then burst into hearty laughter. "What a fine 'Great Power Resides Within Oneself.' Though simple and easy to understand, those words point straight at the Great Dao. We cultivators endure bitter cultivation for centuries and millennia. Aside from seeking Immortality and Freedom, is not the other thing we seek precisely that Great Power Resides Within Oneself?"
As soon as his laughter fell, the Old Clan Leader's expression turned solemn. Looking at the thoughtful Zhou Lineage members, he ordered, "We shall do as Little Nine says. Follow this old man now and hunt those Poison Fire Scorpions that have gone out to hunt."
"Understood."
With Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's command, the dozen or so Late Qi Cultivation cultivators of the Zhou Lineage swiftly sprang into action.
Riding Sand Camel Beasts, they departed Qingping Mountain and reached the outskirts of the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein in less than two days. Then, using wild beasts such as sand rabbits and Sand Rats brought from the Qingping Mountain Oasis as bait, they easily lured over dozens of Poison Fire Scorpions that had gone out to hunt.
Hiss—
Dozens of First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions, led by several Second-tier Poison Fire Scorpions, followed the scent of blood over. They were soon bombarded to death by the artifacts wielded by the dozen or so Zhou Lineage cultivators who had concealed themselves and suppressed their auras. The survivors shrieked "hiss, hiss" as they sent out distress signals while desperately digging into the ground to escape.
Finger Points to Steel!
Zhou Yang, who had not acted until now, finally unleashed this Tier 2 High-grade spell he had learned not long ago after nearly a minute of casting.
Once one's cultivation reached Qi Refining Layer Seven, one could cultivate Tier 2 High-grade spells. The first Tier 2 High-grade spell Zhou Yang had cultivated was Finger Points to Steel.
This spell was not particularly useful against cultivators, but against demon beasts in the desert that were highly adept at burrowing or traveling underground, it was a divine skill. It was a spell every Late Qi Cultivation cultivator in the Cultivation World of the Land of Extreme West had to learn.
However, spells were easy to learn but difficult to master. Zhou Yang had studied this spell for only a few months, and successfully casting it once was already no easy feat. As for increasing his casting speed to Old Zhou Quan's level, that was basically impossible without more than a decade of bitter training.
Late Qi Cultivation cultivators like Old Zhou Quan, who could cast the Tier 2 High-grade spell Finger Points to Steel within a few breaths, might only number one or two in a hundred, and they would certainly be elderly cultivators over a hundred years old.
Generally speaking, aside from geniuses with special talent for learning spells, if ordinary cultivators wanted to reduce their casting time to a few seconds or even within a single second, they either had to train every day for over a decade or even several decades without fail, like Old Zhou Quan, or use high-level cultivation to cast low-level spells.
Among the many spells Zhou Yang had learned, excluding those first-tier spells with little combat power, his fastest-cast spell was currently the Tier 2 Mid-grade fire-element spell Fire Serpent Technique. With a casting time of less than five seconds, it could barely be used in normal combat.
It was precisely because spells were easy to learn but difficult to master, and hard to use in battles between opponents of the same level, that cultivators developed the two arts of talisman crafting and artifact forging.
Talisman Masters could use special talisman paper to seal spells within it. Cultivators only needed to inject spiritual power to activate the spell sealed inside the spirit talisman, making them extremely convenient.
As for artifacts refined by Artifact Forgers, cultivators could use them freely after refining them, and unlike spirit talismans, they were not limited to a single use but could be used repeatedly.
The difference in strength between cultivators with artifacts and spirit talismans and those without them was absolutely not merely slight. It was several times, or even ten times, greater.
At that moment, as Zhou Yang unleashed Finger Points to Steel, the Poison Fire Scorpions trying to dig their way out immediately discovered that the originally soft sandy ground had turned as hard as refined steel in an instant. When their pincers struck it, great showers of sparks flew.
Those Zhou Lineage elders were all battle-hardened veterans. How could they let such a fine opportunity pass? At once, all kinds of artifacts and spells rained down upon the scorpion swarm on the ground, ending this one-sided battle in the blink of an eye.
Just then, an angry screech suddenly rang out from afar.
Then everyone saw that dark-red Poison Fire Scorpion King, as huge as a calf, charging toward them at high speed from far to near like a wild gale, kicking up sand and dust that filled the sky.
At the same time, ordinary Poison Fire Scorpions with pitch-black bodies rapidly burrowed out of the surrounding sand in every other direction.
"You continue clearing out those ordinary Poison Fire Scorpions. Leave the Poison Fire Scorpion King to this old man."
Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, who had not acted until now, finally moved. The sword light beneath his feet flashed, and he shot forward to intercept the charging Poison Fire Scorpion King.
With Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan absent, command naturally fell to Old Zhou Quan, the highest-ranking among the nineteen Zhou Lineage cultivators present.
The old man swept his gaze across the battlefield and swiftly issued orders according to the situation.
"Xuanhao, Xuanyu, Yuting, Little Nine, you four will clear the demon beasts to the east."
"Old Seven, Old Nine, Xuan Tai, Xuan Bin, Xuan Yan, you five will handle the south."
"Old Five, Xuan He, Xuan Ying..."
Following behind his parents, Zhou Yang moved swiftly according to Old Zhou Quan's orders and charged toward the dozens of Poison Fire Scorpions appearing in the east.
Among these dozens of Poison Fire Scorpions, there were only seven Second-tier Poison Fire Scorpions, and only one Tier 2 High-grade demon beast. They were the weakest of the four demon beast groups.
This was Zhou Yang's first time fighting shoulder to shoulder with his parents. He still had a desire to show off, wanting them to witness the fruits of his cultivation over the years.
Thus, as soon as he approached the scorpion swarm, he immediately unleashed the Tier 2 High-grade Artifact Armor Piercing Dagger, which the Old Clan Leader had refined from four Gold-Eating Rat incisors. In an instant, he nailed four First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions to the ground.
Before the blade of the Armor Piercing Dagger, the armor shells of those First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions, as hard as refined iron, were only a little thicker than a sheet of paper.
Seeing this, Zhou Yang's mother immediately praised him. "Well done! Yang'er, just deal with those First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions. Leave the Second-tier Poison Fire Scorpions to your father, mother, and godmother!"
Upon hearing the first sentence, Zhou Yang was quite pleased. Yet when he heard the rest of his mother's words, his face fell. He knew that in her heart, she still saw him as a child who needed their protection.
"This child understands."
He replied listlessly, but he had no intention of protesting at all, because he knew that even if he did, his mother and father would certainly not listen.
So he could only turn his frustration into strength and vent all his anger on those First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions. Under his control, four Armor Piercing Daggers were like the scythes in Death's hands, madly reaping the lives of these low-tier demon beasts.
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