Chapter 86: Winning with Intelligence

The water was four *zhang* deep. Wang Changsheng's magic power couldn't freeze the clear water in the giant pit. Fortunately, Wang Mingzhan had several freezing talismans, which would be sufficient to temporarily immobilize the Flame Pythons.

Wang Mingfeng directed a small dog puppet to walk ahead, while he followed several *zhang* behind, clutching a handful of Iron Thorn seeds. His expression was a little tense.

After a while, he felt the temperature increase and his pace began to slow.

Just then, a dazzling firelight illuminated the darkness. A giant fireball shot out and struck the small dog puppet.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the small dog puppet turned to ashes.

Wang Mingfeng pulled out an entirely green orb and threw it forward.

With a dull pop, the green orb shattered, and a large plume of thick green smoke billowed out.

A brilliant green light radiated from under Wang Mingfeng's feet as he cast a protective shield on himself, then fled back the way he came.

"Rumble!"

With several loud bangs, firelight shot into the sky as two enormous red pythons, as thick as human waists, burst out of the cave.

Hearing the loud bangs, Wang Mingfeng's expression flickered. He threw the Iron Thorn seeds in his hand behind him.

As soon as the seeds landed, they immediately took root and sprouted, transforming into over a dozen thorny green brambles that blocked the passage.

With two loud "booms," two giant fireballs successively struck the green brambles, burning them to ashes.

Wang Mingfeng ran towards the cave exit, continually throwing Iron Thorn seeds behind him to obstruct the two Flame Pythons.

Explosive roars continued; the Iron Thorns were utterly ineffective against the two second-tier Flame Pythons.

Seeing a bright light appear ahead, Wang Mingfeng was overjoyed, knowing he was about to escape the cave.

Just then, an unbearable heatwave surged from behind him—he had run out of Iron Thorn seeds.

He quickly pulled out two yellow talismans and threw them behind him.

A yellow light flashed, and the two talismans transformed into two tall yellow earthen walls.

With a deafening "rumble," giant fireballs shattered the two yellow earthen walls.

Seizing this opportunity, Wang Mingfeng increased his speed, burst out of the cave, and crossed the water pit using the wooden planks.

Wang Mingzhan pulled away the wooden planks and cast a spell to conceal himself.

When the two Flame Pythons burst out of the cave, they spotted Wang Mingfeng not far ahead. Instead of giving chase, they opened their mouths and spat out two giant fireballs towards him.

"Be careful, Mingfeng!" Wang Yaohuan shouted from a distance.

Feeling the scorching heat from behind, Wang Mingfeng quickly lunged forward, then rolled to his right after hitting the ground.

"Boom!"

With two loud bangs, two giant pits, each about a *zhang* in size, appeared where he had been standing.

The spells unleashed by the second-tier demonic beasts were incredibly powerful; his protective shield couldn't withstand them at all.

Their first attack missed, and the two Flame Pythons were about to unleash more fireballs to attack Wang Mingfeng. Just then, several white ice cones shot out and struck the pythons. Although they didn't injure them, they did divert their attention. Seizing this chance, Wang Mingfeng quickly fled far away.

Wang Changsheng and the others rushed down the mountain, only returning half a *ke* later.

The two Flame Pythons had already crawled back into the cave, and a giant water pit remained at the entrance.

Clearly, Wang Changsheng's plan had failed.

"Uncle Twelve," Wang Yaohuan said, "I previously bought a bottle of Blood Frost Powder from a disciple of Medicine King Valley. It's refined from century-old Blood Dissolving Flowers, incredibly poisonous, causing instant death upon contact with blood. Let's use smoke to drive them out. Then, we'll jointly attack their tails to make them bleed, use the Blood Frost Powder to severely injure them, and then finish them off."

Wang Yaohuan considered this, made a few additions, and then they began to implement the plan.

They filled the giant pit at the cave entrance with soil, then piled dry branches inside the cave, lit them, and frantically fanned the flames, causing a large amount of thick smoke to billow into the cave.

Before long, explosive roars echoed from inside the cave.

The six of them, including Wang Changsheng, hid behind a large yellow boulder a dozen *zhang* away, ready to attack the two Flame Pythons.

Soon, the two Flame Pythons burst out of the cave. Wang Changsheng then controlled four small dog puppets, sending them rushing towards the pythons from different directions.

The two Flame Pythons paid no mind to the four small dog puppets. They opened their mouths and spat out thick crimson flames, burning the puppets to ashes.

Seizing this opportunity, Wang Mingxiao unleashed the Great Strength Art. Two yellow hands, each about a *zhang* in size, suddenly emerged from the ground and grabbed the bodies of the two Flame Pythons.

The pythons were greatly alarmed. They quickly twisted their heads and spat crimson flames, striking the yellow hands.

The yellow hands were shattered by the crimson flames. But just then, Wang Yaohuan conjured a yellow-glowing talisman. It quickly flew above the two Flame Pythons, transforming into dozens of giant boulders, each about a *zhang* in size, which then crashed down towards them.

The attack was sudden, and the two Flame Pythons were completely unprepared. Several boulders struck their bodies, immobilizing them and causing them to bleed profusely.

Wang Mingzhan threw a white porcelain bottle, hitting the two Flame Pythons. He then released a wind blade, shattering the bottle and causing a large cloud of reddish powder to fly out, a significant amount of which landed on the two pythons.

The two Flame Pythons let out strange cries and spat out crimson fireballs. Several giant fireballs crashed towards the hiding spot of Wang Changsheng and the other five.

"Earth Wall Art!"

Accompanied by Wang Mingxiao's soft shout, a yellow earthen wall, several *zhang* tall, rose from the ground, blocking them.

A white cloud, several *zhang* in size, appeared under Wang Changsheng's feet, lifting him into the air.

"Rumble!"

The yellow earthen wall was shattered, and the large yellow boulder where Wang Changsheng and the other five had hidden was also blown to pieces.

The two Flame Pythons let out miserable screams, their bodies writhing. However, they were crushed by several boulders and poisoned by the Blood Frost Powder.

They continuously spat out crimson fireballs, hitting the ground and blasting multiple craters.

All of this was destined to be in vain as their auras slowly weakened.

Half a *ke* later, the six of them, including Wang Yaohuan, summoned their spirit tools and chopped off the heads of the two dying Flame Pythons.

The two Flame Pythons did not die unjustly. Wang Yaohuan and the other five had planned meticulously beforehand, and every reaction of the pythons was within their calculations. Coupled with Wang Yaohuan's activated second-tier spirit talisman, the "Falling Meteor Talisman," and the Blood Frost Powder, they were finally able to kill the two second-tier Flame Pythons.

The Falling Meteor Talisman was a second-tier mid-grade spirit talisman, priced at over a thousand spirit stones. The Blood Frost Powder was a bit cheaper but still cost three hundred spirit stones.

In addition, six first-tier low-grade puppet beasts were destroyed by the pythons, and Wang Mingfeng almost died.

If not for the fact that demonic beast corpses could be exchanged for contribution points, Wang Yaohuan would not have dared to take such a risk. This was only possible because they were snake-type demonic beasts; if they had been demonic tigers or wolves, he wouldn't have dared to provoke them.

Wang Mingzhan put on gloves and took an antidote pill. He then used a short knife to peel off the Flame Pythons' skin, keeping only the useful materials. Since the pythons had been heavily poisoned, their meat was naturally inedible.

After tidying up, the six of them, including Wang Changsheng, continued forward.