Transforming the Spell Seals Again

Two enormous Snake Demons suddenly burst out of the underground river, while dazzling light flared beneath Mo Chen's and Yuan Ming's feet.

It's an Array Formation!

Dozens of formation markings rapidly spread across the ground, radiating heart-palpitating fluctuations of Spiritual Power.

Two Binding Formations, one inside the other, enclosed the entire cavern hall.

Mo Chen accelerated and slammed into the Array Formation's light barrier, only to be forcibly bounced back. He burrowed underground, but discovered a light barrier there as well. His Earth Escape technique could not pass through it.

Thwarted twice, Mo Chen emerged from the ground again. Since he could not escape, he had to preserve as many of the people inside as possible.

The more people survived, the better their chances of staying alive.

Mo Chen sent out his flying sword to help the two women, but the Array Formation's light barrier easily repelled it.

The two Array Formations had expanded around Mo Chen and Yuan Ming respectively, forming two intersecting circles.

Fuck, this is going to be a problem.

Xiao Liuwan, Yang Yiliu, and the three giant pythons were trapped precisely within the narrow overlap between the two Array Formations.

Damn it.

The two Array Formations, one inside the other, enclosed the entire cavern hall.

Mo Chen activated his spell, sending his flying sword crashing into the light barrier several times in succession. It merely raised a few rings of ripples, leaving the barrier completely unmoved.

This was the teahouse owner's handiwork.

That old bastard really had planted contingencies elsewhere!

The two women faced three serpent demons: two at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining and one at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

Their chances of survival looked slim.

Mo Chen tried smashing through the Array Formation with his physical strength, but the light barrier merely trembled a few times before settling.

Even his years of practicing the Flame-Drinking Art, with its body tempering effects, were not enough.

Useless.

It seemed there was no way to break through anytime soon.

Mo Chen calmed himself and swept his gaze across the cavern hall.

One of the three giant pythons had a swollen belly, presumably from swallowing half of Shen Lekang's corpse. As for the two female cultivators...

He could not save them. The Array Formation had cut him off...

So... it had been a setup from the very beginning.

The teahouse owner had never been kindly showing them the way. The five of them had probably been intended as live bait for the serpents from the start.

On the other side of the light barrier, they only realized something was wrong after finding themselves trapped within the Binding Formation.

"Damn it! Why is there a second Array Formation?"

Xiao Liuwan gritted her teeth and formed hand seals. The short sword before her turned into a streak of azure light, darting swiftly between two giant pythons.

Its edge struck their scales, throwing off sparks and leaving only faint white marks.

These two beasts had freakishly tough scales.

Xiao Liuwan pushed lightly off her toes and drifted backward. At the same time, she formed a hand seal with her left hand, and several vine roots appeared.

The vines grew wildly, weaving into a wall in an instant to halt the two giant pythons' advance.

Yet the pythons merely twisted their bodies, and the vine wall shattered inch by inch beneath their charge, scattering fragments everywhere.

Xiao Liuwan froze at the sight.

That momentary pause was all it took.

The Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Snake Demon on the left suddenly opened its mouth, spewing a cloud of dark green poison mist straight at her face.

Unable to dodge in time, Xiao Liuwan hastily summoned her Protective Aura. It hissed under the poison mist's corrosive assault, rapidly dimming before collapsing entirely.

"Sister Manyun, save me!"

Yang Yiliu cried out involuntarily.

Xiao Liuwan whipped her head around.

But Xiao Liuwan could barely protect herself. The other two pythons had her pinned down, and the circulation of her Dharma Power was disrupted by their venom. How could she spare any strength to help someone else?

The Eighth Layer of Qi Refining python had already coiled around Yang Yiliu's legs. Its body tightened, hoisting her upside down.

Yang Yiliu struggled desperately, thrusting wildly with her flying sword. She tried to form a hand seal, but the Snake Demon's crushing coils burst her internal organs.

Yang Yiliu suddenly felt as though hot water had flooded her insides. Then she knew nothing more.

Xiao Liuwan tried to rush over, but the moment she moved, the two giant pythons cut off her path from either side.

Two serpent heads the size of millstones slowly rose, releasing another mouthful of poison mist.

With nowhere left to retreat, Xiao Liuwan raised two layers of Earth Shield and struggled to hold them off.

As the poison mist penetrated deeper into her body, most of Xiao Liuwan's Dharma Power circulation grew sluggish. The azure glow on her short sword flickered, as though it might go out at any moment.

Just before her death, Xiao Liuwan glanced at Mo Chen beyond the light barrier. Then the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining python suddenly lowered its head and bit into her shoulder.

The next instant, its jaws opened, swallowing Xiao Liuwan whole.

At the same time, Yang Yiliu's legs kicked twice outside the other serpent's mouth, then went still.

With the Array Formation blocking their way, the Snake Demons could not reach him for the moment, and swallowed the remaining half of Shen Lekang's corpse instead.

Watching helplessly as the pythons devoured the two women, Mo Chen felt a chill shoot up his spine to the crown of his head.

But afterward, the three giant pythons did nothing more. They slowly coiled up, then lay motionless.

Mo Chen recalled similar accounts he had read in the Classics. After feeding, serpents entered a prolonged period of inactivity, moving sluggishly and becoming much less inclined to attack.

No wonder.

But he had to break the formation during that time. Otherwise, once they finished digesting, he and Yuan Ming would be their next targets.

He could not worry about anyone else now. He had to look after himself first.

Mo Chen immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing to prepare for breaking the formation.

About half a day later, Mo Chen emerged from meditation, his Spiritual Power almost fully replenished.

That was largely thanks to his spring water Spiritual Root, which continually restored his Dharma Power on its own.

Ironically, he had come specifically to obtain a treasure that would suppress the negative effects of that spring water Spiritual Root.

It truly proved the old saying.

Xiao He made the victory, and Xiao He made the defeat!

Mo Chen finished circulating his power and stood. Looking at the Array Formation's light barrier again, he could not help feeling like the fox mourning the hare's death.

The three giant serpents had devoured Shen Lekang, Xiao Liuwan, and Yang Yiliu respectively.

What a clever scheme!

The entire treasure hunt had been an intricately designed trap. Every member of their party was a human-shaped pill meant to help these Demon Beasts advance.

Fortunately, the Array Formation was steadily weakening.

It seemed there was still hope of breaking out.

About half a day later, Mo Chen emerged from meditation, only to discover that Yuan Ming's condition in the other Array Formation had grown much worse.

Yuan Ming's face was purplish-black. His seated body suddenly swayed, his head drooped limply, and he toppled sideways onto the ground. Clearly, the poison had rendered him unconscious.

The three pythons remained coiled at the intersection of the two formations.

After another full day passed, the light of Yuan Ming's Array Formation suddenly dimmed. Its markings flickered before finally dissolving into specks of spiritual light that dispersed throughout the cavern.

"It looks like Shen Lekang set up that Array Formation."

Although this Array Formation was far more sophisticated than the one Shen Lekang hastily set up, after running for two straight days, its Spiritual Power should be almost exhausted, Mo Chen thought.

Once the Array Formation around Yuan Ming disappeared, the two intersecting circles became one, leaving Yuan Ming outside it instead.

The Snake Demons previously trapped in the overlap were now effectively locked in with Mo Chen.

The three great serpents clearly noticed the change as well. Seeing the light barrier disappear, they began uncoiling and crawling toward Mo Chen.

Forced to stop regulating his breathing, Mo Chen leaped up, hoping to break through from above. But the Array Formation's light barrier was a complete sphere, sealing every direction tight.

Mo Chen tried his Earth Escape technique again, only to crash headfirst into an invisible barrier and tumble to the ground.

Mo Chen could not help cursing again. He sent his flying sword and various spells pounding into the light barrier, but the result remained unchanged. They merely stirred layers of ripples across it, utterly unable to break this sturdy cage.

Meanwhile, the three serpent demons drew ever closer. The hissing of their flickering tongues made his scalp prickle.

Once Mo Chen settled down to think, an idea immediately came to him.

With a flip of his right hand, he flung the Snake Demon he had subdued in the passage out of his Spirit Beast Pouch, putting it in front of him as a buffer.

Then he stepped forward and sank into the ground. When he reappeared, he had retreated to the edge of the Array Formation.

Mo Chen formed hand seals, raising layer upon layer of Earth Shield that enclosed him tightly.

They were all the same old tricks from earlier, but they worked especially well against serpents that could twist and writhe!

Next, vines grew wildly into a woven net, soon filling the entire space within the formation.

First, bind their vulnerable spots seven inches below their heads.

As the vine net entangled the three serpent demons, each spat poison mist from its mouth.

Huh?

The poison mist covered a much smaller area, and it was far thinner too.

But Mo Chen understood in an instant. The Snake Demons had already spat venom once during their desperate battle with Yuan Ming and Shen Lekang. After the Binding Formation activated, they had released another round of poison mist to kill Xiao Liuwan and Yang Yiliu.

Then there was nothing to fear.

Mo Chen channeled Dharma Power into his throat and spat a wave of fire straight into the oncoming poison mist.

The two collided with a cacophony of sizzling sounds. The poison mist burned into wisps of bluish smoke. Even the traces that slipped through were naturally absorbed by the fire poison Mo Chen had accumulated through years of swallowing flames to cultivate.

After spewing their poison mist, the three serpent demons seemed even drowsier and more listless. When the vines wrapped around their bodies, they merely gave a few sluggish twists.

They were even less inclined to attack than the sixth-level Qi Refining Snake Demon Mo Chen had just thrown out.

It seemed the serpents' underlying code had kicked in!

That period of inactivity after a full meal truly had reduced their fighting spirit to its lowest point.

The vines wound tighter and tighter, gradually squeezing down the three giant pythons' room to move. The Snake Demon that had just accepted him as its master was also wrestling with them.

Soon, the Snake Demons became tangled into a single knot, barely able to move.

The moment had come.

Mo Chen took a deep breath and formed the hand seals for the Spirit Beast Rebinding Art...

An hour later.

Mo Chen's face was pale, and beads of sweat covered his forehead, but it had all been worth it.

The contract marks on the foreheads of the three giant pythons before him had quietly changed to bear his aura!

Looking down at the three enormous serpent heads resting obediently by his feet, he finally let out a low chuckle.

He had subdued three more serpent demons: two at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining and one at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

Together with the seventh-level one from earlier, that made four.

This feels fucking amazing!

That teahouse owner probably never dreamed that his carefully laid Binding Formations, meant to turn the five of us into human-shaped pills for his spirit beasts' advancement, would end like this.

It all ended up benefiting me.

Mo Chen stroked one Snake Demon's head, unable to restrain the smile on his face.

Owner, what do you call this little maneuver of yours again?

"Losing your wife and your troops?"

"...No, losing your Snake Demons and your formations. I'll gladly accept these precious darlings of yours."

Four fighters no weaker than me. Once these Snake Demons finish digesting those fellow cultivators, won't they advance to Foundation Establishment?

This trip was no loss. Better my fellow cultivators die than this poor cultivator.

No, this was simply the richest haul Mo Chen had made since entering the cultivation world.