Bait

Soul power surged, and the Dark Iron Blade materialized in his palm.

He stomped his foot heavily, launching himself forward instantly. He did not dodge or weave, meeting the beast head-on.

Just as the two were about to collide, with the Mandala Snake opening its maw and its fangs poised to pierce Ye Luochen's arm, he finally made his move.

In a way that the Hongchen siblings could not fathom, he forced his body to a dead halt in mid-air.

With a slight twist, he evaded the Mandala Snake's strike.

Then, his soul ring lit up, the Dark Iron Blade glowed, and he swung down.

The Mandala Snake, hampered by the momentum of its charge and lacking any leverage in mid-air, could not adjust its posture in time.

It could only suffer the blow of Ye Luochen's blade.

Crack!

The sound of something shattering echoed out.

The next moment, the Mandala Snake crashed heavily to the ground.

On its body, the tough scales renowned for their formidable defense were now visibly damaged.

The scales lay scattered on the ground, exposing the bloodied, soft flesh beneath.

Hiss!

Feeling the intense pain radiating from its body, the Mandala Snake's eyes flared with malice.

A faint yellow-green gas began to rise from its skin, and it slammed its tail down, preparing to launch a second attack at the human before it.

Yet, a bizarre scene unfolded.

As its tail struck the ground, the expected force that should have propelled it forward failed to manifest.

Not only that, but its torso, previously taut with exertion, instantly turned limp and powerless.

Lacking the strength to support itself, its raised head soon slumped to the ground.

Even its tongue hung out, unable to retract.

If not for the venomous glint still lingering in its eyes and the absence of a condensing soul ring, it would have looked no different from a corpse.

"What is this?"

Seeing the Mandala Snake, which had been ferocious just a moment ago, suddenly reduced to this state, Xiao Hongchen was stunned.

"Strike a snake at its seven-inch mark. Ye Luochen's blade didn't just strike that exact spot; it severed the main nerve controlling its body."

"This Mandala Snake has lost all ability to move and is now at our mercy."

Meng Hongchen's voice followed immediately.

Hearing this, Ye Luochen sheathed his Dark Iron Blade and couldn't help but glance back.

Meng Hongchen had shed her usual whimsical demeanor, her expression now incredibly serious.

Though she hadn't moved, she felt immensely dangerous to Ye Luochen.

Seeing this, Ye Luochen narrowed his eyes slightly.

At the academy, he had mostly heard about Xiao Hongchen—that his cultivation was powerful and his soul tool technology was exceptional.

As for Meng Hongchen, aside from the fact that she was Xiao Hongchen's sister, there was almost no other information.

It gave the impression that she was merely a sister standing in her brother's shadow.

But the contrast shown by the siblings now made Ye Luochen realize that this seemingly flighty girl might be even more unfathomable than Xiao Hongchen.

However, Meng Hongchen only maintained this posture for a moment before returning to her usual grinning self.

"Not bad, not bad! You won in a single move; your strength is impressive!"

Beside them, hearing his sister's words, Xiao Hongchen returned to his usual state, fiddling with his hands as he spoke indifferently:

"It was only a three-thousand-year beast. What's so difficult about defeating it in one move?"

"Slaughtering it in one strike isn't hard, but Ye Luochen crippled it instead. The difference in difficulty is massive. Besides, don't forget, Ye Luochen isn't over level fifty like you; he's only just reached level forty. Could you have done this when you were level forty?"

"Meng! Whose side are you on?!"

"Hehe, is it really that hard to admit someone else is better than you, my dear brother?"

Seeing the siblings begin their daily bickering, Ye Luochen shook his head helplessly.

He stepped forward and hoisted the immobilized Mandala Snake onto his shoulder.

"Why not just kill it?"

Seeing Ye Luochen's actions, the gray-robed elder who had been watching silently finally spoke.

Ye Luochen explained:

"Its age is only three thousand years, and its attributes are not compatible with mine; killing it would be useless to me.

It would be better to use it as live bait to lure other soul beasts here, which will save us the time of searching."

The Evil Demon Forest is vast; if we were to wander around aimlessly trying our luck, I fear we wouldn't find a suitable soul beast even in a month.

This Mandala Snake, however, has arrived at just the right moment.

Three thousand years of cultivation, and deliberately left in a severely wounded state by Ye Luochen.

Weaker soul beasts would likely fear a counterattack from the Mandala Snake and wouldn't dare approach easily;

Those that are very powerful would have no interest in such a small meal.

But for soul beasts at the intermediate level between those two, this is a perfect supplement.

And this is precisely the level Ye Luochen needs.

After hoisting the Mandala Snake onto his shoulder, Ye Luochen looked around, then tapped his feet and leaped up, placing the snake onto a tree branch and carefully coiling it into position.

"This should be more conspicuous, right?"

"It's conspicuous, sure, but how is this any different from hanging a sign that says 'no treasure buried here'?"

Xiao Hongchen ended his argument with his younger sister and turned his focus back to Ye Luochen.

Hearing this, Ye Luochen didn't mind.

Having spent this time together, he had grown accustomed to it.

For some reason, Meng Hongchen loved using him to provoke Xiao Hongchen.

And every time, she could break Xiao Hongchen's composure with just a few precise words.

Whenever Xiao Hongchen couldn't win a verbal spat against his sister, he would turn his spearhead toward Ye Luochen to vent his frustration.

It wasn't that he was truly targeting him or anything.

Let him say his piece; he looked rather pitiful anyway.

"It doesn't matter. Soul beasts with enough intelligence to discern that there's a problem were likely never in my consideration to begin with.

As for those soul beasts that aren't as strong, this temptation is not so easy to resist; their appetite will overcome their reason."

"Alright, let's hide ourselves a bit and wait."

Seeing that Ye Luochen had a plan, the elder leading the team waved his hand.

Two thin membrane spaces appeared once more, one enveloping the Hongchen siblings, and the other wrapping around himself and Ye Luochen.

Then, a faint light rippled, and the two spaces quietly merged with the surrounding environment.

Yet, they waited until the sun set and night fell.

Not a single soul beast had arrived.

"Something is wrong. Even if the bait was seen through, it's impossible that not a single soul beast showed up."

Inside the membrane space, Ye Luochen frowned.

"Forget it, let's stop waiting. We should move to another location and keep looking."

Just as those words fell and they prepared to drop their concealment, a figure appeared not far away.