Poisonous Snake Strikes at the Heart, Schemes Shattered

The team entered the dense forest on the left, and the atmosphere around them abruptly turned cold and oppressive.

The crisp chirping of insects and roars of beasts vanished without a trace. A faint, sickly-sweet scent hung in the air, and the ground, layered with rotting leaves, was slick with moisture. Even the plants seemed tinged with an eerie dark green. Any Soul Master with even a hint of perception could sense the danger lurking here.

Ma Hongjun furrowed his brow. Phoenix Soul Power stirred faintly around him as he lowered his voice. "Something feels really wrong here. The yin energy is too strong, and there's a strange smell." Oscar tightened his grip on the sausage in his hand and warily surveyed their surroundings. Ning Rongrong, who came from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, paled slightly and quietly warned them, "That's the scent of a Soul Beast's poison, and it's no ordinary one!"

Only Tang San, bringing up the rear, had a barely perceptible, sinister smile flicker in his eyes.

His fingertips, hidden inside his sleeve, twitched faintly. Strands of Blue Silver Grass, finer than hairs, were quietly spreading along the roots beneath the earth, reaching precisely toward the thousand-year Datura Snake lurking in a nearby cave. Drawing on the affinity between Blue Silver Grass and the plants and ley lines around it, he prodded the vicious Soul Beast bit by bit, driving it toward the team.

This time, he wasn't using a method like hiring bandits, which could easily leave clues. Instead, he was borrowing a knife to kill, using a wild Soul Beast from the Soul Beast Forest to launch the attack. Even if he aroused suspicion afterward, he could claim the Soul Beast's assault had been an accident. No one would be able to produce hard evidence. He was going to make Lin Chen suffer a crushing setback—preferably by having the Datura Snake bite him with its deadly venom. Even if Lin Chen survived, he would still be left with damaged cultivation, finally washing away the humiliation he had suffered before!

"Watch out! There's something underground!" Zhu Zhuqing sensed the movement first, thanks to the keen instincts of her Hell Spirit Cat. As she cried out a warning, she sprang backward, claws already unsheathed.

But she was still a step too late!

Boom!

The ground suddenly burst apart, sending dirt flying. A massive, dark-green snake as thick as a barrel shot out. Its body stretched several yards long, its triangular head hideous and terrifying. A scarlet tongue flicked wildly, and its two sharp fangs gleamed with a cold, inky sheen. It was the thousand-year Datura Snake Tang San had deliberately lured here! Its potent venomous aura swept through the area. The moment the surrounding plants touched even a trace of its poison, they withered and blackened at a visible speed.

"It's a thousand-year poisonous Datura Snake! The moment it bites you, your Soul Power will collapse, and there's no cure!" Ning Rongrong cried, her face deathly pale. She instinctively ducked behind Lin Chen and clutched his sleeve.

Caught off guard, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others scrambled to fight back. But the Datura Snake was incredibly fast. Its tail swept out with a gust of foul wind, lunging straight at Xiao Wu, who was nearest! Its jaws gaped wide, and drops of venomous saliva fell to the ground, where they ate through it and sent up black smoke. The danger was extreme!

"Brother Chen!" Xiao Wu cried. She tried to dodge, but the fierce wind swept up by the snake's body trapped her, leaving her unable to break free.

At that critical moment, Lin Chen moved.

He didn't panic in the slightest. Dark Soul Power erupted around him, forming a solid barrier that instantly shielded Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing behind him. His powerful Soul Power completely blocked the Datura Snake's venomous assault. Then he lightly tapped the ground and shot forward like a phantom, moving even faster than when he had subdued the bandits. The claws of his Ink Shadow Spirit Cat gleamed with a cold light that seemed to pierce the air as he struck straight for the Datura Snake's vital spot!

"Overestimating yourself! How could you break through a thousand-year Datura Snake's defenses?" Tang San rejoiced inwardly, convinced Lin Chen's reckless charge would backfire. He had even prepared himself for Lin Chen to be struck by the snake's venom.

But in the next instant, the smile froze on his face.

Lin Chen's claws landed precisely on the Datura Snake's vital spot. His dark Soul Power carried such extreme penetrating force that it ignored the rough scales and plunged straight in! The thousand-year Datura Snake couldn't even let out a scream. Its massive body convulsed several times, black blood gushed out, and it instantly went still. A deep purple thousand-year Soul Ring slowly rose into the air.

A one-hit kill!

A fearsome thousand-year poisonous Soul Beast had been utterly helpless before Lin Chen. The whole thing had taken no more than a single breath!

Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others stared in stunned silence. Their tense expressions relaxed at once, and they looked at Lin Chen with overwhelming awe. Xiao Wu's eyes shone as she rushed to his side, her heart full of lingering fear and admiration. "Brother Chen, you're amazing! I was so scared just now!" Zhu Zhuqing hurried over and carefully examined Lin Chen's hands. Only after confirming that no snake venom had touched him did her tense, cool gaze soften slightly. Her worry made it impossible to hide how much she cared for Lin Chen. Ning Rongrong patted her chest repeatedly, her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda shimmering as she praised him sincerely. "Lin Chen, you're incredible! You killed a thousand-year Soul Beast in one move!"

Lin Chen gave a faint nod. After reassuring the three girls, he turned his gaze to Tang San at the back of the group, his eyes cold as ice.

He stepped onto the Datura Snake's corpse, bent down, and picked up a fine, pale-blue strand of grass tangled among its scales. With a slight press of his fingers, the strand immediately turned into specks of Soul Power and disappeared. A faint trace of Blue Silver Grass Soul Power surfaced in the air.

"Tang San, you controlled a thousand-year poisonous Soul Beast to ambush your own companions. Do you really think everyone here is a fool?" Lin Chen's cool voice rang through the entire forest, every word cutting to the bone.

At his words, everyone froze. They looked from the strand of grass to Tang San, and instantly understood.

The Datura Snake's appearance had been far too suspicious. It had attacked the team with uncanny precision, and there were traces of Blue Silver Grass on its body. Aside from Tang San, who possessed the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, no one else could have done it!

Tang San's face changed abruptly. The last shred of hope in his heart crumbled. He had never imagined that Lin Chen would so easily uncover the fine strands of Blue Silver Grass he had concealed with Soul Power! He forced himself to stay calm and shouted in denial, "You're talking nonsense! It's just an ordinary strand of grass. What gives you the right to pin this on me? The Soul Beast attacked us on its own. It has nothing to do with me!"

"Nothing to do with you?" Lin Chen gave a cold laugh and took a step, appearing in front of Tang San in an instant. His powerful Soul Power locked Tang San firmly in place. "You sent Blue Silver Grass underground to provoke the Datura Snake and drive it to attack us. Did you really think you could do that without anyone noticing? I was in control of the team's route the whole time. If I hadn't deliberately led you along, you wouldn't have had a chance to lure the snake close."

"After the bandits' ambush failed, you started plotting this scheme to borrow a knife to kill. First, you secretly scouted the Soul Beasts in the forest and located the Datura Snake's nest. Then you deliberately led the team into the trap, planning every step just to kill me—and drag all your Shrek companions down with me. Just how vicious can you be?"

Lin Chen's words rang clearly in everyone's ears, each one striking at the heart of Tang San's schemes. With the Blue Silver Grass on the snake's body as evidence, Tang San's denials sounded feeble and hollow.

"Tang San, you're disgusting!" Ma Hongjun exploded first, his face full of fury as Phoenix Fire Line surged around him. "First you hired bandits, and now you've lured a poisonous snake here. Are you trying to kill every one of us?"

"We were classmates, and you still acted so maliciously!" Dai Mubai frowned deeply. His White Tiger Martial Soul gathered power, and disgust filled his gaze as he looked at Tang San. "We didn't blame you before, out of consideration for our former friendship. I never thought you'd only get worse!"

Oscar also looked deeply disappointed and shook his head. "For a personal grudge, you were willing to sacrifice the whole team. Tang San, you don't deserve to stay at Shrek anymore!"

Xiao Wu trembled with anger and pointed at Tang San, scolding him furiously. "Tang San, I was so wrong about you! Your mind is full of schemes. You don't have the slightest regard for your companions!" Killing intent rose around Zhu Zhuqing as the claws of her Hell Spirit Cat slid free. She stared coldly at Tang San, ready to attack the moment Lin Chen gave the word. Ning Rongrong's face flushed with anger, and the light of her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda flared as she cried, "You're treacherous and vicious, stopping at nothing! My Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would never associate with someone like you!"

Everyone's accusations and contempt surged toward Tang San like a tide. His face flushed red, then turned pale. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms and drew blood. He glared at Lin Chen, hatred practically spilling from his eyes, yet he was powerless to refute him. All his plots and schemes had been torn to pieces and exposed in broad daylight by Lin Chen's overwhelming strength and insight, leaving him utterly humiliated.

Just then, Zhao Wuji appeared again. His face was ashen, and the weight of his Soul Power pressed heavily around him. Clearly, he had witnessed everything that had just happened.

"Tang San! You refuse to learn your lesson. You've repeatedly harmed your fellow students and disrupted the team's training. You have no regard for the rules!" Zhao Wuji roared. His voice shook the leaves from the trees. "You completely ignored my earlier warning. If Lin Chen hadn't been so powerful today, everyone from Shrek would have suffered a calamity! From this moment on, you're leaving the team and training alone. If you dare come near the group again, or try any more tricks, I'll cripple your Soul Power and expel you from Shrek for good!"

It was an extremely severe punishment, tantamount to kicking Tang San out of Shrek's core team and leaving him to fend for himself in the dangerous Soul Beast Forest.

Tang San shuddered and lowered his head, the hostility around him suppressed to its limit. He made no further excuses. He only clenched his teeth and turned toward the depths of the forest, every step like walking on the edge of a blade as hatred surged wildly in his heart.

The bandit ambush and the poisonous snake trap—both schemes had ended in utter failure. Not only had he failed to harm Lin Chen in the slightest, he had become a laughingstock, been expelled from the team, and suffered one humiliation after another. Ordinary methods could no longer shake Lin Chen. A ruthless glint flashed through his eyes as he quietly reached into the depths of Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, where he had hidden a prototype of a Hidden Weapon he had spent countless hours crafting but had yet to complete: fragments of Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus.

"Lin Chen, I'll remember today's humiliation, Tang San!" Tang San roared inwardly. "Soon, I'll make you pay a hundred, a thousand times over!"

Lin Chen watched Tang San's retreating figure coldly and paid him no mind.

Tang San was at the end of his rope. If he dared use any more underhanded tricks, Lin Chen wouldn't hesitate to finish him off once and for all, eliminating any future trouble.

"Clear the area. The Datura Snake's poison sac can be used as an ingredient for refining poison. The Soul Ring isn't suitable for any of us, but it may be useful to someone else. Let's keep moving." Lin Chen turned his gaze away and calmly gave his orders. After these two upheavals, the Shrek team's trust in him had reached its peak, and their unity was stronger than ever. Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong stayed so close to his side that they never left him, full of dependence and devotion.

Sunlight pierced the treetops, driving away the forest's chill. Lin Chen led the team onward, his presence growing ever steadier.

What he didn't know was that Tang San, expelled from the team, was hiding nearby, nourishing the fragments of the Hidden Weapon with his blood essence. A final assassination attempt, one that would decide life or death, was quietly brewing, and the Soul Beast Forest expedition was about to face an even more dangerous storm!