Using Water to Nourish Wood, Turning His Water Against Him

Mo Chen immediately felt dense demonic qi surging toward him from behind, accompanied by an unbearable fishy stench.

A cursory sweep of his divine sense revealed that the demon snake was as thick as his waist and probably sixty or seventy feet long.

What a huge snake!

But its cultivation was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Mo Chen remained calm in the face of danger. He stamped hard on the Vine Net, launching himself upward, while his fingers jabbed rapidly several times. More vines sprang forth in response, coiling toward the water snake.

The water snake was exceptionally agile. It twisted in midair and easily dodged the entwining vines.

Pretty slippery!

Mo Chen increased his Dharma Power output, controlling the entire Vine Net as it suddenly closed around both himself and the Snake Demon.

He changed his Hand Seal again. The vines deftly avoided his body and wound tightly around the water snake, trussing it up like a sticky rice dumpling with only its hideous head exposed.

Fortunately, despite its cultivation, the demon snake did not seem very intelligent.

Mo Chen darted back to shore and recalled his flying sword. He was about to bring it down when he noticed something strange about the demon beast's eyes.

Its gaze was dull, and a strange spiritual light glimmered deep within both pupils.

Something's wrong.

Mo Chen did not rush to kill it. Instead, he extended his divine sense into its body.

Inside the snake's brain, he sensed a deep-red mark slowly revolving, emitting an almost imperceptible fluctuation of Spiritual Power.

A Master-Bonding Mark?

This is a tamed spirit beast?

Mo Chen pressed his hand against the snake's head and cautiously injected a thread of Dharma Power into the Spellmark.

The Spellmark suddenly lit up, releasing its master's aura. The demon snake began thrashing violently as well.

Mo Chen formed another hand seal, tightening the Vine Net further and binding the Snake Demon fast.

Then he sensed the aura within the mark once more.

His expression changed abruptly.

This aura...

The proprietor of the Four Directions Teahouse!

This was his trap from the very beginning.

Fuck!

He used five entrances to separate us, then sent these water snakes to hunt us down individually?

So he treated the five of us as feed for these demon beasts.

Mo Chen slowly stood up, glanced at the tightly bound water snake, then looked at the gradually dissipating spiritual imprint in his palm.

What exactly are you trying to do, proprietor?

But I can't be bothered with that.

This is your spirit beast, right?

Very nice.

Too bad it's mine now!

Mo Chen finally understood the cryptic saying about rewriting a Master-Bonding Mark and immediately began performing the Spirit Beast Rebinding Art.

Following the instructions for the Spirit Beast Rebinding Art recorded on the Jade Slip, Mo Chen bit the tip of his tongue to draw blood.

Holding the blood in his mouth, he used it as a guide and his divine sense as a brush to trace a twisted, blood-colored Runes in the air.

The instant the Runes took shape, his Dharma Power poured out like water bursting through a breached dam.

This damned spell consumes so much Dharma Power?

It drained a third of my Dharma Power in one go!

Mo Chen's face paled. Gritting his teeth to steady himself, he slowly pressed the blood-colored Runes into the center of the water snake's forehead.

The snake's body shuddered violently.

The two Soul-Locking Marks collided and corroded each other, like two pieces of red-hot iron being melted down and recast.

Mo Chen dared not stop and continued pouring in Dharma Power.

If this works, I'll have another fighter. If it doesn't...

At worst, I'll slaughter the snake and stew it into soup.

Before long, the two marks fused into one, their color changing from deep red to dark gold.

Mo Chen's divine sense followed the mark into the snake's body, clearly sensing the Snake Demon's thoughts.

The water snake's struggles gradually subsided. A trace of bewilderment appeared in its vertical pupils, followed by obedience.

Mo Chen dismissed the Vine Net.

After bonding with its new master, the water snake slowly swam back into the pool and flicked its tongue at Mo Chen.

Is it... asking me to follow?

Through the mark, Mo Chen sensed that the Snake Demon wanted him to follow it.

His heart tightened, and he followed the water snake into the dark pool.

The water snake used Water Escape, while Mo Chen formed the hand seal for the Water-Repelling Art and descended to the bottom, clutching Spirit Stones to replenish his Spiritual Power.

A sweep of his divine sense revealed that the pool's bottom was where the true Cave-Dwelling Ruins lay. There were not only the remains of a cultivator who had passed away in meditation, but also many scattered jade bottles buried in the silt.

Mo Chen expanded the Water-Repelling Art's range, clearing a space ten feet square around himself, then opened the jade bottles on the pool floor to inspect them.

Most of the jade bottles were empty. He was about to give up when, after removing a Spirit-Sealing Restriction from the one in his hand, he suddenly discovered spiritual qi inside.

Legendary loot?

Mo Chen sniffed it a few times, only to be disappointed. Although he did not recognize the pills, they were undoubtedly ordinary pills for Qi Refining Stage cultivators.

Only one out of ten had anything inside, and it was just ordinary stuff.

This really is fishing for gold in a cesspit.

But the Snake Demon was clearly interested not in these jade bottles, but in something beneath the skeleton.

Mo Chen carefully scanned the skeleton several more times with his Divine Sense. Although there was nothing special about the remains themselves, beneath them lay a Spirit-Gathering Formation the size of a meditation cushion.

This was the simplest kind of formation in the cultivation world. With such a tiny range, it was typically placed beneath the cultivator to increase cultivation speed a little.

Yet this Spirit-Gathering Formation had continued operating after the cave dwelling's owner died. Through years upon years of gathering spiritual qi, several pieces of jade beneath the skeleton had become natural formation eyes, while the jade itself had transformed into spirit jade.

Mo Chen picked up the four pieces of spirit jade and found that they contained exceptionally pure water spiritual qi. Their grades were slightly higher than those of Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

If left in the Spirit-Gathering Formation for another few centuries, they would probably reach the grade of middle-grade spirit stones.

The Sixty Na Yin Compendium recorded that treasures containing water spiritual qi like these could be used to supplement one's water spiritual root after birth.

Moreover, there was a substantial market for them as a means of amplifying the beneficial spirit effect of a water spiritual root and temporarily suppressing the adverse spirit effect of a fire spiritual root.

Whether he kept them for his own use or took them back to sell later, there would be no shortage of buyers!

Not bad. This trip wasn't a loss!

But whatever happens, I need to get out alive first.

As for the Four Directions Teahouse, we'll settle that score slowly.

Mo Chen put away the water spirit jade and took out another Storage Bag.

Connected to Mo Chen through the Master-Bonding Mark, the Snake Demon naturally understood his intentions. It turned into a streak of spiritual light and entered the Storage Bag.

Looks like I'll need to buy a Spirit Beast Pouch as soon as I get out, or the spirit beast will suffocate in there.

This snake is pretty obedient.

If the proprietor finds out I've taken his spirit beast, he'll probably be furious enough to curse his mother.

Once everything was settled, Mo Chen burst out of the water and flew back into the passage he had come through, retracing his route.

He had traveled only two or three hundred feet along the stone passage when he suddenly noticed a plump figure hovering in midair a short distance ahead.

It was Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming?

Why is he in my passage?

Mo Chen's heart tightened, but his expression remained composed. Instead, he sped up slightly and called out:

"Oh! Isn't this Brother Lang?"

Yuan Ming turned at the sound of his voice and squeezed a faint smile onto his round face.

Mo Chen drew closer, cupped his hands, and said with a smile, "What brings you into my passage, Brother Lang? Don't tell me you've already slain the beast, claimed the treasure, and accomplished your mission? Your strength truly commands my admiration!"

Butter him up first and see what he says.

Yuan Ming waved a hand. "Please don't tease me, Fellow Daoist Mo."

He heaved a heavy sigh. "There wasn't any Burrowing Rat on my side. I didn't even catch a glimpse of treasure."

"Oh?"

He didn't encounter a demon beast?

Did the Four Directions Teahouse only put a snake in my passage, or did Yuan Ming simply fail to run into his?

No, Yuan Ming doesn't sound like he's pretending.

Yuan Ming's expression grew solemn. He slowly floated closer to Mo Chen and lowered his voice. "Actually, that isn't what I wanted to discuss with you, Fellow Daoist Mo."

Mo Chen's heart tightened, but he wore a false smile. "Please go ahead, Brother Lang."

A sharp glint flashed in Yuan Ming's eyes. "Fellow Daoist Mo, I can see that you're the youngest and the purest of heart. That's why I'm willing to be frank with you..."