Chapter 58: The Black Water King Snake

  Black Water King Snake

  Zhou Yuan quickly helped the kneeling women to their feet, "Everyone, don't be like this. Punishing evil and chastising wickedness is what I should do. I am a student of Zhenwu Academy, these are our duties."

  "No matter what, thank you, sir. Without you, our revenge would not have been possible, and my sisters and I would have fallen into the hands of these demons. Our fate is bleak, we know that, and we are already broken bodies, unworthy to follow you. We don't ask for much, but please accept our gratitude!!"

  After that, these women knocked their heads against Zhou Yuan several times. They did it very carefully and seriously, even knocking out blood from their foreheads.

  This time, Zhou Yuan did not stop them again. He could feel the mood of these women, whose family members had been brutally killed and who had been ravished by bandits. If it weren't for Zhou Yuan, their fate would have been extremely miserable. Zhou Yuan had done a great favor to them, so it was only normal that they bowed to him in gratitude. If someone else had shown great kindness to Zhou Yuan, he would also thank them in the same way.

  "Gentlemen, your homes have been destroyed and there is no point in staying here any longer. What are you going to do?"

  "We have relatives in other towns, we decided to scatter and go to our respective relatives!"

  Zhou Yuan nodded slightly, their family was destroyed and they had no other choice but this.

  Then a group of women wept bitterly for a while before bidding farewell to Zhou Yuan and scattering in all directions, while Zhou Yuan continued on his journey.

  Three days later, Zhou Yuan felt that the road from Fahwang City to Nanhuang was already halfway through, and in a few more days, he would be able to reach Nanhuang, where his true training ground lay.

  Just now, Zhou Yuan came out of another big city. This city is extremely grand and has a scale equivalent to half that of the Imperial City of France. The name of this city is Guangyuan City.

  In the city, Zhou Yuandao found an inn, had a big meal and drink, then changed clothes and took a bath, rested well for a night, refreshed his spirit, removed the dust from his body, and continued to leave the city and hurry on the road.

  "That Guangyuan City just now is really grand, compared to the Imperial City of Fa, it's not much different. It's a famous large city in the south, and the former Tianyuan City can't be compared with it at all."

  Out of Guangyuan City, Zhou Yuan also felt that the scenery around this city was incredibly beautiful. The high mountains and rivers were crystal clear, with wildflowers everywhere, and from time to time, there would be a fragrance wafting through, making Zhou Yuan feel a refreshing natural atmosphere, and his mood inexplicably improved.

  The dullness of traveling day after day has also faded a lot.

  Zhou Yuan left the Zhen Wu Academy to cultivate, so he wouldn't take a good path to walk on. Instead, he headed straight towards the Nan Huang direction, crossing high mountains and rivers, and traversing wide rivers, all of which were Zhou Yuan's necessary courses.

  In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Zhou Yuan had already entered the mountain forest.

  After entering, Zhou Yuan felt that the sunlight had gradually disappeared and was completely blocked by the towering ancient trees, and the humidity had increased a lot.

  Sometimes there are bursts of beastly roars, with an aura that is by no means ordinary wild beasts, but rather more ferocious demonic beasts.

  Suddenly, from a distance, came faint voices, even Zhou Yuan's powerful strength couldn't make out what was being said.

  "It's strange, deep in this dense forest, how can there be people, and it seems not just one, but many!!" Zhou Yuan cautiously crept forward with a puzzled expression.

  Before long, I saw many people gathered in front of a deep mountain cave.

  "Older brother, you say that the Black Water King Snake has really fallen into a deep sleep? It's a Golden Elixir realm demon beast, more formidable than human tribe mages of the same realm. We're only at the Spellbound realm, if we rashly enter now, won't there be a risk to our lives?" A man wearing bright silver battle armor asked another middle-aged man.

  Zhou Yuan's eyes gleamed like torches, and at a glance, he saw that the two were cultivators of the Magical Technique Realm. Zhou Yuan was even more shocked by their words - in this dark and gloomy cave, there was actually a Golden Core Realm demon beast hiding - the Black Water King Snake.

  That middle-aged man said, "What's there to fear? On the other side, Qin Mingyue is also a Golden Elixir Realm cultivator. When the time comes, we'll follow behind him and go in. Even if that Black Water King Snake isn't asleep, Qin Mingyue will be able to hold it back. Then, we'll make a mess and snatch away that Fire Origin Crystal. We'll slip away, and none of them will be able to find us. By then, we can make a big profit!"

  The young man immediately smiled and said, "Brother is indeed clever, what you said is not bad. When the time comes, we will seize the Huoyuan Crystal by force, find a large family or sect, sell it to those powerful fire-attribute cultivators, and we will definitely make a fortune. Moreover, perhaps we can also exchange for their foundation-establishing techniques. You and I have been stuck in the technique-practicing realm for too long, our accumulation is already sufficient, once we get that foundation-establishing technique, we can break through to the Golden Dan realm in one go, becoming a powerful figure."

  The two of them suddenly burst out laughing, however, their voices were extremely soft and stealthy; if Zhou Yuan hadn't been close to them, he probably wouldn't have heard.

  Zhou Yuan observed his surroundings and found many Taoist priests, all whispering to each other. It was clear that they were thinking the same thing as the two men earlier. Among these people, Zhou Yuan saw a young man who appeared to be around thirty years old. However, the aura emanating from him was incredibly powerful, surpassing everyone else present. Clearly, this young man was Qin Mingyue, the Gold Core Realm expert that the two men had been discussing earlier.

  Also the strongest among this group of people, the only powerful wizard in the Golden Elixir realm.

  Zhou Yuan also understood the situation in front of him, it seems that these people are a powerful demon beast from this mountain cave, the mind of the Black Water King Snake, to be precise, is the Fire Origin Crystal guarded by the Black Water King Snake.

  Huoyuanjing, this treasure, Zhouyuan had also heard of it, is the favorite of fire-type mages. Legend has it that if a fire-type mage wears a piece of Huoyuanjing on their body, the power of the magic they cast can be doubled. This is simply a heaven-defying treasure, extremely precious in value.

  "Huo Yuanjing is a treasure that's worth more than the combined value of several cities. Compared to my Purple Thunder Knife and Sacred Chime Clothes, these two Earth-grade artifacts are even more precious. I must get my hands on this treasure, even if I don't need it myself. Later, I can take it to some big auction houses and exchange it for many other treasures that I really need."

  Having made up his mind, Zhou Yuan slowly approached these people.

  "Who's there? Sneaking around, come out!!" Qin Mingyue, indeed a great master of the Golden Elixir realm, was the first to discover Zhou Yuan approaching. He lowered his voice and shouted at Zhou Yuan.

  Zhou Yuan revealed a smiling face, "Don't worry, I'm also here to find treasure, let's take care of each other!!"

  Everyone heard Zhou Yuan say this and also felt relieved. After all, there were many people who came here today to deal with the Black Water King Snake, and its strength was extremely powerful, at the Golden Core Realm level. In places outside of Nan Chao, it belonged to a relatively strong demon beast.

  Moreover, the strength of the demon beasts and humans is not the same. They are naturally gifted with extraordinary abilities, born stronger than humans. If it weren't for their limited intelligence, this world might still be uncertain as to who would reign supreme.

  Such talent is destined to be in the same realm, and the strength of the demon beast will be much stronger than that of human mages. Although there is only one Black Water King Snake, the number of mages who came this time is not small, and everyone does not have the idea of monopolizing treasures, because they do not have that strength after all. After all, the Black Water King Snake is too powerful, even Qin Mingyue cannot deal with it alone.

  In this case, the more people unite, the greater the chance of defeating the Black Water King Snake.

  So having one more also means having a bit more possibility, a bit more opportunity. And everyone's mind is focused on defeating the Black Water King Snake and then going in to grab the treasure, so having one more or one less person doesn't make a difference to them.

  When Zhou Yuan said this, the crowd didn't pay attention to him anymore, but instead focused their attention back on the cave, as if observing the movements of the Black Water King Snake.

  Zhou Yuan also understood that the Black Water King Snake had a habit, which was to hibernate for half of the year and then molt, this was an essential process for its power to increase.

  At this time, its senses will be reduced to a very low level, and its responsiveness to the outside world will weaken by 90%.

  This is also the best time to kill it.

  Huoyuan Jing is a treasure, and since ancient times, when a treasure is born, strange monsters will be born to guard it. These guardian beasts can successfully protect the treasure, and this treasure will become the mouth of the guardian beast.

  It's just that Zhou Yuan felt it was strange, by reason, the Black Water King Snake is a water-based demon beast, why would it guard this fire-based treasure? Even if it got it, it wouldn't have any benefits for it. However, there are very few records of the Black Water King Snake in the book, and Zhou Yuan didn't dare to confirm whether this Black Water King Snake had some other special characteristics.

  At this moment, Qin Mingyue waved her hand, "Everyone, it's been so long, and there's still no movement in the cave. That Black Water King Snake must have fallen into a deep sleep by now. Let's go in."

  "Everything is up to you now, Brother Qin!"

  Qin Mingyue suddenly stopped again, "Everyone, I'll say it first. If we solve the Black Water King Snake, then in the end, everyone will take the Huoyuan Crystal by their own strength. But if someone takes the Huoyuan Crystal ahead of time and ruins our final plan, causing the Black Water King Snake to wake up, at that time, I won't let him off first."

  Everyone felt Qin Ming's killing intent and nodded in agreement, indicating that they would abide by the agreement, first kill the Black Water King Snake, and then seize the Fire Yuan Crystal.

  Zhou Yuan sneered inwardly, "I'm afraid none of these people are good, when the time comes, seeing Huo Yuanjing, who will still care about your words, Qin Mingyue? Everyone will think of seizing Huo Yuanjing and escaping immediately, leaving those left behind to deal with the Black Water King Snake. This is probably what most people are thinking."

  "Everyone, let's go in!!"

  Everyone held their breath and followed Qin Mingyue, quietly sneaking into the cave. Zhou Yuan was sandwiched between the crowd, walking in together with them.