Father and Son Join Forces

"Little Nine's plan seems to have worked initially. After I burned all those desert plants, the Poison Fire Scorpion swarm ran into food supply problems. In less than half a month, the scorpions started killing each other. Coupled with my opportune attacks, the swarm's numbers have already decreased by nearly fifty percent compared to its peak."

"However, that Tier 3 Poison Fire Scorpion King has now realized the severity of the situation. It forcibly stopped the ordinary Poison Fire Scorpions from killing each other and has sent the swarm deeper into the desert to hunt. For now, it seems they've overcome their food crisis."

On Qingping Mountain, the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan gathered all the Zhou family cultivators and explained his month's worth of achievements and front-line intelligence.

It could be seen that upon hearing that fifty percent of the Poison Fire Scorpions had died due to Zhou Yang's plan, all the Zhou family cultivators showed expressions of joy.

However, when they heard the Old Clan Leader's later words, the joy on everyone's faces slightly faded, and they couldn't help but lower their heads in thought.

After all, Poison Fire Scorpions were Demonic Beasts. Their combat capabilities and desert survival skills were many times stronger than ordinary desert animals. Once they left their nests to hunt deep in the desert, it would be quite difficult to starve them to death.

In this light, Zhou Yang's "Ecological Chain Destruction" tactic didn't seem as perfect as they had imagined.

"Hey, what are you all thinking about? We've already achieved a great victory by reducing the scorpion swarm by fifty percent without a single casualty. Do you really think you can wipe out the entire swarm without casting a single spell? Stop dreaming. Those are Demonic Beasts, not mere insects that any mortal can stomp on. In all these years, have you ever heard of anyone killing a Demonic Beast without directly fighting it?"

Just as everyone was contemplating the flaws in Zhou Yang's "Ecological Chain Destruction" tactic, Zhou Xuanyu suddenly spoke with a cold laugh, her tone impolitely shattering the silence.

Although her words were a bit harsh, they did awaken everyone, making them realize they had fallen into a mental trap.

There had never been a perfect plan in this world, yet they wanted to rely on a small scheme to eliminate a swarm of Demonic Beasts. How ridiculous!

And who were they? They were cultivators. If a plan usable by mortals could eliminate all Demonic Beasts, what use would they, cultivators, have? How could they call themselves "Immortal Masters" in front of mortals?

"Although Third Sister's words are a bit unpleasant, they speak the truth. Not to mention that the idea of eliminating the entire scorpion swarm with just one plan is too wishful thinking, even we don't have that much time to wait for the scorpion swarm to slowly dwindle away from internal strife."

"The Old Clan Leader's departure from the family's Spirit Vein cannot be concealed for too long. If we don't return to oversee the family's various industries for an extended period, it will arouse suspicion from outsiders. Once people know what's happening here, the harm caused to our Zhou family will be far greater than those Poison Fire Scorpions!"

Zhou Xuanhao, being Zhou Yang's father, naturally had to stand up and support his son. Speaking of which, this was the first time in many years that he had actively echoed Zhou Xuanyu's words.

Seeing these two old rivals, who had been at odds for years, unite and set aside their past grievances for the sake of a junior, the other Zhou family cultivators felt amused while also genuinely happy for the two of them.

The cultivators of the Zhou family had always been very united. Although the disputes between Zhou Xuanhao and Zhou Xuanyu had always been within the scope of tolerance and control by the elders, they were still a hidden danger. Now that this hidden danger was removed, it was a good thing for the entire Zhou family.

Moreover, what Zhou Xuanyu and Zhou Xuanhao said was indeed reasonable. They, as important figures of the Zhou family, were usually busy with their own tasks. Leaving the family for a short period was fine, but if it went on for too long, it would definitely cause trouble.

"Little Nine, do you have anything to say?"

Seeing that no one else spoke, the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's gaze shifted, and he looked at Zhou Yang, the person involved.

"Great-Grandfather, please enlighten me. My grandson's plan has flaws, that is a fact. But as my Godmother said, we cultivators possess great power within ourselves. Schemes are merely minor paths. Since the minor path has served its purpose, it is naturally time for us to practice the Great Path with our artifacts!"

"The scorpion swarm is hunting and foraging in groups in the desert, aren't they? Then let us lay an ambush, surround and annihilate the foraging Poison Fire Scorpions to lure out that Poison Fire Scorpion King, and eliminate it in one fell swoop!"

Zhou Yang's gaze swept over the elders looking at him, and he spoke his thoughts loudly and passionately.

"Great power resides within oneself?"

The Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan narrowed his eyes, then let out a hearty laugh. "Well said, 'Great power resides within oneself.' Although these words are simple and easy to understand, they point directly to the Great Dao. We cultivators toil for thousands of years, and besides seeking eternal life and freedom, what else do we seek if not great power residing within ourselves?"

As his laughter subsided, the Old Clan Leader's expression turned serious. He looked at the thoughtful Zhou family members and ordered, "We'll do as Little Nine suggested. You will accompany me now to hunt those Poison Fire Scorpions that have gone out to forage."

"As you command."

With the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's order, over a dozen Late Qi Cultivation stage Zhou family cultivators quickly took action.

The group rode Sand Camel Beasts and set off from Qingping Mountain. In less than two days, they arrived at the outskirts of the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein. Using sand rabbits, sand rats, and other wild beasts brought from the Qingping Mountain oasis as bait, they easily lured out dozens of foraging Poison Fire Scorpions.

Hiss hiss—

After dozens of First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions, led by a few Second-tier Poison Fire Scorpions, arrived, drawn by the scent of blood, they were quickly ambushed and killed by the dozen Zhou family cultivators who had concealed their presence and were wielding their artifacts. The survivors, while letting out "hiss hiss" distress signals, desperately dug holes to escape underground.

Finger Points to Steel!

Zhou Yang, who had not acted until now, finally unleashed this recently learned Tier 2 High-grade Spell after nearly a minute of casting.

Upon reaching Qi Refining Layer Seven, one could cultivate Tier 2 High-grade Spells. And Zhou Yang's first chosen Tier 2 High-grade Spell was "Finger Points to Steel."

This spell wasn't very useful against cultivators, but it was a divine skill against Demonic Beasts in the desert that were adept at digging or burrowing. It was a spell that every Late Qi Cultivation stage cultivator in the Land of Extreme West's cultivation world had to learn.

However, spells were easy to learn but difficult to master. Zhou Yang had only been learning this spell for a few months, and being able to cast it successfully once was already quite difficult. To speed up the casting time to the level of Elder Zhou Quan would likely take more than a decade of diligent practice.

For Late Qi Cultivation stage cultivators like Elder Zhou Quan, who could cast the Tier 2 High-grade Spell "Finger Points to Steel" in a matter of seconds, there might only be one or two out of a hundred, and they would definitely be old cultivators over a hundred years old.

Generally speaking, apart from geniuses with special talent in spell learning, ordinary cultivators who wanted to reduce their casting time to seconds or even one second either had to practice diligently for decades, as Elder Zhou Quan did, or use their higher cultivation level to cast lower-level spells.

Among the many spells Zhou Yang had learned, excluding the First-Rank Spells that had little combat power, the spell with the fastest casting speed was the Tier 2 Mid-grade fire-elemental spell "Fire Serpent Technique." With a casting time of less than five seconds, it was barely usable in normal combat.

Precisely because spells were easy to learn but difficult to master, making them difficult to use in battles of the same level, cultivators had developed the two skills of Talisman Crafting and Artifact Forging.

Talisman Masters could store spells within special talisman paper. As long as cultivators injected mana, they could activate the spells sealed within the talismans, which was very convenient.

As for the Artifacts forged by Artifact Forgers, after being refined by cultivators, they could be used at will. Moreover, unlike talismans, they were not single-use items and could be reused.

Cultivators with Artifacts and Talismans possessed a gap in strength that was not just a little bit, but several times or even ten times greater than those without them.

At this moment, as Zhou Yang cast the "Finger Points to Steel" spell, the Poison Fire Scorpions that were trying to dig their way out immediately discovered that the previously soft sandy soil had instantly become as hard as fine steel. When their pincers struck it, sparks flew everywhere.

The Zhou family elders were all battle-hardened veterans and would not miss such a good opportunity. They immediately unleashed various artifacts and spells on the scorpions on the ground, and in a short while, this one-sided battle concluded.

Just then, an enraged roar suddenly came from a distance.

Then, everyone saw the dark red Poison Fire Scorpion King, as large as a calf, charging towards them like a fierce wind, kicking up a sky full of sand.

At the same time, from the sandy ground in other directions, black ordinary Poison Fire Scorpions quickly emerged.

"You all continue to clear out the ordinary Poison Fire Scorpions. The Poison Fire Scorpion King is mine."

The Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, who had not made a move until now, finally acted. With a shift of his feet on his sword light, he intercepted the charging Poison Fire Scorpion King.

With the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan absent, command naturally fell to the highest-ranking Zhou Family cultivator present, the elder Zhou Quan.

The elder's gaze swept across the battlefield, and he quickly issued orders based on the situation.

"Xuanhao, Xuanyu, Yuting, Little Nine, you four are responsible for clearing the demonic beasts on the east side."

"Old Seven, Old Nine, Xuan Tai, Xuan Bin, Xuan Yan, you five are responsible for the south."

"Old Five, Xuan He, Xuan Ying..."

Zhou Yang followed behind his parents, moving swiftly according to Elder Zhou Quan's orders to attack the dozens of Poison Fire Scorpions appearing on the east side.

Among these dozens of Poison Fire Scorpions, there were only seven Second-tier Poison Fire Scorpions, and only one was a Tier 2 High-grade demonic beast. This was the weakest group among the four directions where the beast hordes appeared.

This was Zhou Yang's first time fighting alongside his parents, and he felt a desire to show off, wanting them to witness the results of his cultivation over the years.

As soon as he approached the scorpion swarm, he immediately summoned the Tier 2 High-grade artifact "Armor Piercing Dagger," refined by the Old Clan Leader from the four fangs of a Gold-Eating Rat. He instantly pinned four First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions to the ground.

Under the blade of the "Armor Piercing Dagger," the shells of these First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions, as hard as fine iron, were no thicker than a piece of paper.

Seeing this, Mother Zhou immediately praised him, "Well done! Yang'er, you just deal with these First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions. Leave the Second-tier Poison Fire Scorpions to your father, mother, and godmother!"

Upon hearing the first part, Zhou Yang felt quite pleased. However, when he heard his mother's words afterward, his expression drooped. He knew his mother still saw him as the child who needed their protection.

"Your son understands."

He replied listlessly, but he had no intention of protesting. He knew that even if he protested, his mother and father would definitely not listen.

At this point, he could only channel his frustration into strength, directing all his anger at the First-tier Poison Fire Scorpions. Under his control, the four "Armor Piercing Daggers" were like the scythes of the Grim Reaper, frantically harvesting the lives of these low-level demonic beasts.

Continuing to ask for recommendation tickets, to join the new book investment group, and also asking big shots with reading lists to help add a recommendation to their lists. This book doesn't have a single reading list yet! I'm having such a hard time