Assault on the City

Those who, like Master Zhao, lavishly organize events at night are few and far between; the city of Shu is quiet at night.

But as the watchmen rapidly struck their gongs, many emergency bonfires were lit in the dark city, and large red lanterns were quickly hung up.

"Snake!"

So many snakes!

Screams echoed throughout the room.

In the city of Shu, cries of alarm and the sounds of snakes being struck could be heard from time to time.

The entire city was thrown into turmoil.

Where did these things come from?

Not only on the streets, but also in the homes, snakes and insects have begun to roam.

The Zhao family mansion was no exception.

A maid's scream revealed a second venomous snake in the house.

Before the venomous snake that had emerged from the corner could dart about, an arrow struck its triangular head, pinning it firmly to the corner.

Where did all these snakes come from?

When Zhang Xuezhou began to have doubts, Master Zhao frowned deeply, his uneasy feeling intensifying.

"Blow and knock as hard as you can, and strike them one by one!"

Master Zhao was issuing instructions.

The musical instruments he had invited that evening proved invaluable; whether it was a suona, erhu, or gong, anything that could make a sound emitted sharp, piercing noises.

Snakes are not long-bodied and are cold-blooded creatures, making them extremely adept at hiding.

At present, the only way to startle snakes is to make noise, thus causing them to reveal themselves.

The soft, sobbing music was fine until a sudden burst of random banging startled six venomous snakes wriggling and shaking their tails out of his sprawling mansion.

"A swarm of snakes has appeared in the city!"

When his gaze fell upon the distant firelight and the sound of gongs, Master Zhao had already confirmed his answer.

Poisonous snakes have appeared not only in the Zhao family mansion in Shu County, but also in other places, and may even have spread throughout the entire city.

"Light a fire in the open space!"

Pointing to the fire pit where the fox demon was, Master Zhao instructed everyone to quickly gather firewood and light it, even suggesting that several more fires be lit to drive away the snake.

Snakes' ability to hide, combined with the darkness of the environment, gives them a significant advantage at night.

The biggest problem in driving away snakes is not the number of people involved in driving and hitting them, but the clear field of vision each person has.

"Find the Snake King, see where he is!"

When Master Zhao shouted the order, Zhang Xuezhou's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't even care about Zhao Liang, who was in his hands.

He mingled with the chaotic crowd as he left the Zhao family mansion. Once he disappeared into the darkness, the bronze feathers on his arms were revealed.

With a light leap, Zhang Xuezhou had already soared through the air.

The flickering flames of Shu County City came into view, along with countless chaotic shouts.

The venomous snakes were not found in just one place, but rather they were found almost everywhere.

Whether it's one or two, you can always find some in various places from time to time.

As Zhang Xuezhou continued to follow the direction of the traps set by Wen Weng, he saw flames raging on the city walls of Shu County.

"Pour tung oil on it, then set it on fire!"

Only when the steady voice of Prefect Wen Weng came did Zhang Xuezhou see the dark mass of snakes outside the city by the light of the tung oil flames.

Not only small venomous snakes, but also larger, more robust snakes such as the rat snake have emerged.

As if summoned by the Snake King, all kinds of snakes and insects appeared in the area surrounding Shu County.

"Snakes are solitary creatures, and there are rarely any snake kings. What drew them to Shu County City?"

Zhang Xuezhou glanced at the long-tube trap placed outside the city and found that no snakes were crawling towards it.

This made him quickly dismiss the allure of the Eye of the Serpent.

His figure swept across several miles outside the city, and only when there was nothing left to investigate did he return to Shu County.

With a fold of his wings, he plummeted rapidly into the chaotic city of Shu.

After turning two corners in the chaotic street, Zhang Xuezhou immediately spotted the two young masters of the Zhao family, along with their retainers and others.

Originally, they had asked Prefect Wen to come and help, but these people were all temporarily conscripted and are now helping with work on the city wall.

"Master Zhang, you've come at the perfect time!"

Wen Weng's voice could be heard from more than ten zhang away from the city wall where he was located.

This prompted Zhang Xuezhou to wave.

He felt around in his bag and then took out a vertical flute.

This is a nearly forgotten Law Treasure, a casual gift from Wu Chao, originating from his senior brother Wu Ti, whom he only met once before he died.

This vertical flute is of very little use; it can only be used to ward off various poisonous insects.

For cultivators, this vertical flute is practically useless unless they are in a place like the Yedie River Holy Land, which is teeming with poisonous insects.

Zhang Xuezhou touched the vertical flute, then reached out and channeled his Law Power into it. A series of mournful sounds immediately rippled outwards with the Law Power.

Several venomous snakes hidden in the darkness wagged their tails and quickly escaped the area covered by his Law Power.

"My darling!"

On the city wall, Wen Weng was overjoyed upon seeing this.

The swarm of snakes' night attack on Shu County was sudden and unexpected, much to Wen Weng's surprise.

For Wen Weng, his current response was limited to conscripting city defense troops for military defense, temporarily mobilizing strong young men within his sight, and waking up the residents of Shu County to fight snakes. He didn't have many other options.

Even his aura of cultivation and his intimidating presence couldn't cover very far, making it difficult to effectively drive away these ignorant, cold-blooded creatures.

He was also unable to sustain a deterrent drive.

What's more troublesome is that he knows the harm of killing snakes.

This expulsion would consume a lot of his Law Power, making it difficult for him to deal with more unexpected events that are likely to occur later.

While snakes may seem useless, they consume large numbers of small animals that harm crops, such as field mice. If too many snakes die, a rat infestation is highly likely to occur around Shu County.

Zhang Xuezhou's flute melody came at just the right time.

Upon seeing snakes and hearing the flute, Wen Weng was overjoyed and retreated in panic.

"This is a magic flute made from a cassia tree that is at least five hundred years old, and it has been repeatedly refined. It is especially effective in suppressing ordinary poisonous insects. Where did you get such a treasure?" Wen Weng asked happily.

"It was a gift from someone!"

Zhang Xuezhou used his Law Power to blow for a short while, gave a brief demonstration, then removed the Technique Method mark and handed it to Wen Weng.

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

A deep blue aura of Law Power enveloped the flute, and a sound as serpentine as a snake drifted out.

Compared to Zhang Xuezhou's effect in driving away snakes and insects, Wen Weng's terrifying magic Law Power caused the magic flute to spread for more than tens of meters. Within a range of hundreds of meters along the city wall, the snakes seemed to be experiencing an extremely terrifying stimulus, desperately trying to escape. Moreover, the area covered by this Law Power continued to expand.

As Wen Weng drove the Jue Ming Dharma Flute, he felt as if the attack on the city by poisonous snakes had come like a flood, and in a short time had built a dam that was difficult to cross.

"Found you!"

The siren exuded an aura that made poisonous insects tremble, while the occasional stubborn individual was given special attention by Wen Weng.

When the ethereal aura of the fable encountered an immovable mountain, Wen Weng's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Zhang Shu!"

He shouted and pointed at Zhang Shu, who was looking out from a high place, drawing his bow in the night.

An arrow flew out, and a cry of pain rang out. Two of Li's retainers quickly leaped up and headed in that direction.

"It's Old Master Jiang!"

"He's a snake demon!"

After running only a few hundred meters, the two guest retainers of the Li family had already spotted a familiar face.

Snake demons as invulnerable as the Bashe are ultimately few and far between, and demons possessing great Divine Ability are even rarer.

Jiang Taigong, who had transformed into an old man, was shot down by an arrow and eventually appeared in a corner of the street as a white python two zhang long.

He lowered his head and uttered a loud, human-speaking cry.

"I beg Prefect Wen to spare my life! This lowly demon was also coerced into coming here!"

By whom?

Wen Weng urged the flute to approach.

He looked at the old snake demon who knew his name.

The opponent's cultivation level was higher, but his strength was just as weak as his. He had been shot in the snake's belly by Zhang Shu's arrow, making it extremely difficult for him to cause any trouble now.