Liu Ruoyun

Han Changming and the others worked together to process the Tide Cloud Crab carcasses.

The Tide Cloud Crabs' souls, pincers, and shells could all be used to craft magical artifacts. Their shells were especially useful for making defensive artifacts.

After processing the beasts' carcasses, they washed the blood off the beach, scattered fresh conch meat, and continued luring the beasts.

Two days later, a group of emerald-green demonic snakes slithered ashore. Their bodies were marked with rings of green patterns, and each was about as thick as an adult's arm.

Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes were venomous demonic beasts. A cultivator who came into contact with even a little of their poison would die without a Detoxification Pill.

Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes were water-attribute demonic beasts. They usually attacked by spitting water arrows, though sometimes they spat venom as well.

One of the Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes was much larger than the rest, measuring three zhang long. It flicked its forked tongue and slithered forward slowly.

This was a Second-Rank Low-Grade Green-Eyed Spirit Snake, and it wouldn't be easy to deal with.

There were quite a lot of Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes—over forty in all. One was a Second-Rank Low-Grade snake king, while the rest were First-Rank.

They soon entered the formation, but several of the Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes were slower and fell behind.

The Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes ate quickly, and the conch meat on the beach wasn't enough to satisfy them.

Suddenly, large amounts of white chill surged up all around them. A pale white screen of light appeared out of nowhere, quickly trapping most of the Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes.

Seven or eight Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes escaped the white screen of light and hurried toward the sea.

Dozens of Crimson Fireballs came hurtling at them, striking them squarely.

A series of booming explosions rang out, leaving several large craters in the beach.

A vast swath of scorching flames engulfed five Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes. They twisted and writhed, trying to put out the fire on their bodies.

The Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes weren't nearly as well-defended as the Tide Cloud Crabs. They struggled and scrambled toward the seawater.

The air whistled as a great many green Wind Blades shot toward them, striking true and easily severing their heads.

At the same time, the Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes trapped beneath the white screen of light attacked it under the snake king's lead.

They spat Transparent Water Arrows or sprayed venom from their mouths, striking the white screen of light.

The water arrows hit the screen, but it didn't budge. The venom, however, splattered across its surface, and wisps of green smoke immediately rose with a hissing sizzle.

The snake king's venom was the strongest, and a broad cloud of green smoke rose from the white screen of light.

Countless wisps of white chill surged up from the ground. At first, the Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes could still move. They had few ways to attack and were trapped by a Second-Rank formation, unable to escape. Gradually, they were all frozen solid, turned into ice sculptures.

After freezing all the Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes, the Han Clan cultivators withdrew the formation. A Golden Brick as big as a small mountain dropped from the sky and smashed into the ice sculptures.

Rumble!

A thunderous boom rang out. The ice shattered, and the Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes frozen inside were reduced to a heap of minced flesh.

Having wiped out a group of Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes so easily, Han Changming and the others all wore pleased expressions.

"The Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes aren't very strong attackers. Don't let your guard down. If the snake king hadn't been trapped by the formation, it would've taken a lot more effort to deal with them," Han Deling reminded them gravely.

"Exactly. The most dangerous thing isn't the demonic beasts—it's other cultivators," Han Debiao agreed.

No matter how strong demonic beasts were, they could still be killed with enough preparation. The same couldn't be said of cultivators; who knew what trump cards they had?

Han Deling had extensive experience hunting demonic beasts, and Han Changming quietly committed her words to memory.

For the next half month, they set up ambushes on the island, hunting Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes and Tide Cloud Crabs.

The Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes and Tide Cloud Crabs weren't very strong attackers. Han Changming and the others worked in clearly assigned roles, targeting the beasts' weaknesses, and neither species stood a chance against them.

They encountered danger once, when two Second-Rank Tide Cloud Crabs appeared and frantically attacked the formation. Fortunately, they had two formations, which kept the crabs from breaking free.

The two Second-Rank Tide Cloud Crabs were difficult to deal with. In the end, it took Han Deling's intervention to kill them.

Since they were hunting demonic beasts on behalf of the clan, the logistics team would hold everything they obtained for the time being and distribute it once they returned to the market.

After half a month, their teamwork had grown increasingly smooth.

Second-Rank demonic beasts were relatively rare; First-Rank beasts were much more common.

"Enough. There aren't many Tide Cloud Crabs or Green-Eyed Spirit Snakes left. We need to head to our destination. There are more low-rank demonic beasts there, and it'll be more dangerous too. Put on your markers so we can distinguish friend from foe," Han Deling instructed. She took out a piece of red cloth and tied it around her left shoulder.

The other Han Clan cultivators followed suit. Whenever the Ten Thousand Monsters Pilgrimage came around, cultivators from the Green Carp Sea and the Red Algae Sea headed for places where demonic beasts gathered to hunt them. Everyone wanted to kill as many beasts as possible, so cultivators from the two seas frequently clashed. To identify themselves, cultivators from the Red Algae Sea wore a piece of red cloth. If they encountered cultivators without one, those from the Red Algae Sea would join forces to kill them.

Disguise themselves as cultivators from another sea? That was even worse. One Monster Hunting Squad had tried it before and was attacked by cultivators from their own sea.

All in all, wearing red cloth didn't mean much. There was competition within the Red Algae Sea as well.

The Han Clan now had three Foundation Establishment cultivators. Clan Chief Han Zhangxiang had to remain behind to oversee the clan, Han Deling was responsible for leading the beast hunt, and Han Daogan was a Second-Rank Formation Master in charge of operating and maintaining the formations on the clan's more than twenty islands. He couldn't leave.

During the Ten Thousand Monsters Pilgrimage several decades ago, the Han Clan had suffered heavy losses, losing two Foundation Establishment cultivators and a group of Qi Refining clansmen. Now, whenever the pilgrimage came around, the Han Clan cooperated with the Liu Clan.

There were several hundred small islands along the border between the Green Carp Sea and the Red Algae Sea. The spiritual energy was thin, and there were no other cultivation resources, so few people went there under normal circumstances.

Whenever the Ten Thousand Monsters Pilgrimage came around, cultivators from both seas occupied islands and used them as bases, each relying on their own methods to attract demonic beasts.

Of course, cultivators sometimes crossed the border and trespassed on another force's territory. When that happened, fighting broke out and a number of cultivators died. Even so, large numbers of cultivators still flocked to the border between the two seas to hunt demonic beasts.

A little over half a month later, Han Deling led the clansmen to an island more than ten li across. Its spiritual energy was thin, and it had few trees.

The Liu Clan's Foundation Establishment cultivator leading the group was Liu Ruoyun. He was at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage and had brought thirty Qi Refining cultivators. Their overall strength was about equal to the Han Clan's.

Han Changming's aunt had married Liu Ruoyun's son. By seniority, Han Changming could call Liu Ruoyun grandfather.

Liu Ruoyun was of average height, with a somewhat dark complexion. He looked rather simple and honest.

Han Changming didn't dare underestimate him. Han Deling had told the clansmen about Liu Ruoyun beforehand.

Liu Ruoyun was a smiling tiger. Many enemies had been fooled by his appearance. Once a falling-out occurred, he turned ruthless without a second thought.