Chapter 89: Picking Up Bargains

Wang Yaohuan also broke out in a cold sweat. If they had been a moment later, they would have become a meal for the wolf pack.

"Oh no, we've encountered demonic birds!" Wang Yaohuan cried out.

He saw dozens of black dots appear ahead. The dots moved incredibly fast, and before long, they could clearly make them out: they were huge black crows.

Wang Yaohuan took out two Flying Talismans and handed them to Wang Changge and Wang Changsheng, instructing, "Changge, Changsheng, use these Flying Talismans to escape. We definitely won't make it if we try to escape together. Meet up in Immortal Fate City. First, exchange the materials you have for contribution points, then re-enter the mountains."

"Twelfth Uncle-Grandfather, I have a spirit horse whose speed is no slower than a Flying Talisman. You should keep it for yourself!" Wang Changsheng tactfully refused.

"I told you to take it, so take it! It could save your life at a critical moment. Don't hesitate, escape quickly!" Wang Yaohuan commanded in an unquestionable tone.

Wang Changge took the Flying Talisman and slapped it onto himself without hesitation. A green light flashed, and a pair of ten-foot-long green wings sprouted from his back. With a gentle flap, he flew out of the green flying boat and headed east.

Wang Changsheng released his Azure-Scaled Horse and mounted it. The Azure-Scaled Horse spread its wings and flew west.

Wang Yaohuan did not rush to escape. Instead, he summoned his red gourd, which shot out several large fireballs, hurling them at the incoming black demonic birds. Wang Mingzhan, Wang Mingxiao, and Wang Mingfeng summoned spirit talismans, which transformed into wind blades, water arrows, and fireballs, striking the demonic birds. They aimed to buy time for Wang Changge and Wang Changsheng, preventing the demonic birds from pursuing them.

Wang Changsheng heard explosive sounds. He turned his head and saw Wang Yaohuan and the other three staying behind to block the demonic birds. He hurriedly urged his Azure-Scaled Horse to speed up. The faster he left, the sooner Twelfth Uncle-Grandfather and the others could escape.

After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the Azure-Scaled Horse could no longer fly and slowly descended at the foot of a tall mountain. Not far away, there was a cave.

"I wonder how Twelfth Uncle-Grandfather and the others are doing," Wang Changsheng murmured to himself. "I hope they can escape this ordeal." He put the Azure-Scaled Horse back into his spirit beast pouch.

Wang Changsheng released a puppet beast, letting it walk towards the cave, and he followed behind. The cave wasn't large, and there were no demonic beasts inside.

After eating some dry rations, Wang Changsheng began to consider his next step. Wang Yaohuan had told them to return to Immortal Fate City, but truthfully, Wang Changsheng didn't want to. In the past half-month, he had accumulated valuable experience hunting demonic beasts. He could now control four puppet beasts simultaneously, and he also possessed a top-grade spirit artifact and a second-tier spirit talisman.

He wanted to rely on his own efforts to accumulate contribution points. If he continued to act with Wang Yaohuan and the others, all materials obtained would be kept by Wang Yaohuan, and even if a bottle of Purple Jade Spirit Water was exchanged, it wouldn't be his turn to use it. Even without him, Wang Yaohuan could continue hunting demonic beasts.

From the very beginning, Wang Changsheng had planned to rely on himself to hunt demonic beasts and exchange them for contribution points. This concerned his path to immortality, and he would not back down. The area managed by cultivators from Ningzhou was in the western part of the Hundred Beast Mountains, so he decided to try his luck in the southern part.

Early the next morning, Wang Changsheng rode his Azure-Scaled Horse and headed south.

Seven days later, Wang Changsheng emerged from a dense black forest, his face full of joy, holding a palm-sized black ganoderma lucidum in his hand. He had searched painstakingly for many days, only encountering two mid-tier first-order demonic beasts, which had truly disappointed him. Fortunately, his Dual-Eyed Rat had a keen sense of smell, helping him find over a dozen spirit herbs. This fifty-year-old Black Jade Ganoderma grew under a towering tree, surrounded by thick weeds, making it difficult for cultivators to discover. However, his Dual-Eyed Rat still found it. He dotingly patted the Dual-Eyed Rat's head and fed it some top-grade spirit grain.

Just then, a sudden loud noise came from ahead.

"Is someone hunting demonic beasts?" Wang Changsheng was startled and quickly swallowed the dry rations in his mouth. After careful thought, he cast an invisibility spell to conceal himself and cautiously walked forward.

After a short while, he passed through the dense forest and arrived outside a narrow valley, from which the explosive sounds emanated. Wang Changsheng cautiously walked into the valley and clearly saw the situation inside.

A giant silver python with a silver crest on its head was fiercely battling two men and one woman. A yellow-robed old man lay on the ground, several ice spikes embedded in his body, with two gleaming magic artifacts fallen beside him. The silver python was heavily wounded and bleeding profusely. The two men and one woman were clearly pale-faced and couldn't hold on much longer either.

The silver python was in a pond over ten *zhang* in size, where an open black lotus flower bloomed. The three people had angered the silver python. It opened its mouth and shot out a dozen white ice spikes, striking towards the woman in the green skirt. The woman in the green skirt was only at the sixth level of Qi Condensation and was enveloped in a dim green light barrier.

"Fourth Sister, be careful!" A young scholar's face changed, and he hurriedly shouted a warning. The woman in the green skirt hurriedly took out several talismans, slapped them onto herself, and several protective shields appeared around her. With a series of muffled bangs, the dozen white ice spikes were blocked by the shields. However, a gaping maw descended from above, biting through several shields and biting the woman in the green skirt in half.

The silver python crawled out of the pond. After devouring the woman in the green skirt, its icy gaze turned towards the two men. "This is bad! This beast is too powerful; retreat quickly!" The young scholar grabbed his companion and hastily rushed out of the valley.

They had thought that several second-tier spirit talismans had already severely injured the second-tier demonic python, but they had still underestimated it. They hadn't run far when a dozen white ice spikes shot over, piercing through their dim protective shields.

After killing the other two, the silver python opened its gaping maw and moved to bite the yellow-robed old man. A cultivator's physical body was a great tonic for demonic beasts, second only to spirit herbs.

Just then, several whistling sounds of arrows were heard. Three green arrows shot over, one of which pierced through the silver python's head crest. Three humanoid puppets stood before Wang Changsheng, each holding a green longbow. They drew their bows, nocked arrows, and shot out rays of light arrows. The bow-and-arrow puppet beasts were mid-tier first-order puppet beasts, capable of long-range attacks with their longbows.

Wang Changsheng held a gleaming golden talisman in his hand, his expression very tense. Although this second-tier demonic python was severely injured, he wasn't entirely sure he could kill it. The light arrows' attack power wasn't great, but they had the advantage of being numerous.

Enraged by Wang Changsheng, the silver python opened its mouth and shot out dozens of white ice spikes, flying towards Wang Changsheng's position. Wang Changsheng hastily summoned a green shield and placed it in front of himself. Dozens of white ice spikes knocked down the three puppet beasts, and the Azure Cloud Shield rattled loudly.

Taking this opportunity, the silver python opened its gaping maw and lunged forward. Wang Changsheng was already prepared and quickly summoned the golden talisman in his hand. This was the second-tier low-grade spirit talisman, the Golden Blade Talisman, which Wang Changsheng had bought for eight hundred spirit stones from someone claiming to be a disciple of the Purple Cloud Sect.

The golden talisman transformed into a ten-foot-long golden greatsword, which fiercely slashed onto the silver python's body. With a scream, the second-tier demonic python, already severely weakened by several second-tier spirit talismans, was utterly unable to withstand the Golden Blade Talisman. It was sliced into two by the golden greatsword, undeniably dead.

Wang Changsheng breathed a long sigh of relief. If his Dual-Eyed Rat hadn't smelled the Black Jade Ganoderma and tracked it to the dense forest, he wouldn't have discovered the battle in the valley and gained such a great windfall.