Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 361

Almost all multi-team river traversals share a common characteristic: the river itself acts as a platform, creating conflict and fierce competition among those who traverse it.

Being on the river, with hundreds of boats racing, you have to compete and grab.

However, the competition here is not uniform.

Since arriving in Luoyang, the boy has faced numerous conflicts, killed many people, and recovered many lost items.

This is Xiao Zheng.

The usual way many teams operate is this: squeeze out the competitors and take the biggest slice of the pie for themselves.

However, placing it in this wave would be somewhat unworthy of the Dragon King's court as a testing ground.

Li Zhuiyuan habitually viewed each wave as an exam paper, comparing the river to the examiner.

Therefore, after the commotion at the Yu family ancestral hall, Li Zhuiyuan not only guessed that the spirits of the Yu family's Dragon Kings from previous generations still existed, but he also further guessed the true intention behind this wave.

It's testing who truly possesses the aura of a dragon king.

And this is the real battle!
If you have a deep enough understanding of the river, you will find that the river is good at labeling the existence of each layer in each wave with a function.

The larger the team, the more pronounced this phenomenon becomes.

Li Zhuiyuan suspected that the spirits of the Dragon Kings of the Yu family throughout the ages would be "passively" made to serve as examiners in this wave.

The boy didn't know how many river travelers had died in this wave, but according to tradition, a group of survivors with excellent character and strength would eventually gather together.

Then, at the end of this wave, which is also the most difficult point, at least half of them die quickly.

Heaven always has a way out.

At that time, whoever had a greater chance of survival would depend on how many impression points the "examiner" gave them.

Those who deserved to die died, but those who survived gained more than just living; they took a step further!
This is what is meant by stepping over the corpses of competitors to reach a higher position.

Therefore, what Li Zhuiyuan is doing now is racking up points.

Moreover, he not only did it himself, but he also got Chen Xiyuan to do it with him.

Chen Xiyuan could not understand why the spirit of the Yu family's Dragon King still existed despite the misfortune that befell the Yu family.

Li Zhuiyuan understood.

The other inheritors of the Dragon King's lineage live in a honey pot, taking a whiff of sweetness as everything.

When Li Zhuiyuan entered the sect, what he saw was the broken memorial tablet from A Li's dream, a Dragon King's sect that possessed the inheritance of two Dragon Kings but had no spiritual existence.

For the greater good, the dragon king spirits of the Qin and Liu families were all sacrificed, leaving none to protect their descendants.

From Ah Li's perspective, this is undoubtedly cruel, but from the perspective of the Qin and Liu families' Dragon Kings throughout history, this is a choice they had no choice but to make.

Why is the spirit of the Dragon King of the Yu family still alive?

Li Zhuiyuan felt that it was probably because the evil spirits that the Dragon Kings of the Yu family had suppressed in the ancestral home were still there.

Even if that old dog is very capable and makes many promises, it is not enough to make so many once extremely ferocious evil spirits in the Yu family's ancestral home still have the patience to behave.

The reason why the spirits of the Dragon Kings of the Yu family have stood by and watched their descendants being slaughtered and enslaved is because they need to keep these evil spirits in check. If they were allowed to escape from the Yu family's ancestral home, the Central Plains, being a densely populated area, would inevitably trigger a turbulent natural disaster.

One family crying is better than ten thousand families crying.

From a personal perspective, it's hard to understand, yet I can't help but feel deep admiration.

Therefore, Li Zhuiyuan felt that his current behavior was somewhat inappropriate.

Jiang Shui wants to select those who truly possess the vision of a Dragon King and push them upwards; the spirits of the Dragon Kings of the Yu family throughout the ages want to see younger generations with integrity and the courage to shoulder responsibilities.

What I saw was myself, a person whose emotions were almost nonexistent, "performing" here.

But he had no choice; he couldn't just deliberately answer the question wrong after "glimpsing" the correct answer, could he?
Li Zhuiyuan felt a warm sensation under his nose, and blood started flowing from his nose.

The boy raised his hand, signaling to pause for a moment.

Just as Tan Wenbin took out tissues and water, Chen Xiyuan snatched them away. She squatted down in front of the boy and carefully and gently helped him stop the bleeding.

When she noticed Li Zhuiyuan staring intently at her, she spoke:

"Little brother, lift your head up, don't look down."

Nosebleeds caused by overexertion are inherently difficult to stop.

After figuring out Li Zhuiyuan's purpose, she did not persuade the boy to rest or slow down.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I feel a bit stuffy in my chest, don't block the wind for me."

Chen Xiyuan was stunned for a moment, then realized what was going on. She moved her body and squatted down next to the boy. The boy also looked up and asked Chen Xiyuan to help him stop the bleeding.

The woman glanced in the direction the boy was facing, which was the center of the Yu family's ancestral home, where the ancestral hall was located.

Therefore, when the little brother first started rescuing the Yu family members, he consciously set his sitting posture and orientation.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Chen Xiyuan's hand was trembling slightly.

This caused his nose to bleed, and he couldn't stop it even after several attempts. Instead, the lower half of his face was covered in blood, which flowed onto his clothes, staining them red.

There's no need to go to such an exaggeration. Performances should be done in moderation; going overboard will only make them less effective.

Li Zhuiyuan shifted his gaze to Chen Xiyuan.

The boy realized he was wrong; she wasn't trying to embellish his story, she was genuinely afraid.

Who are we afraid of?

Are you afraid of me?
Li Zhuiyuan simply closed his eyes.

Tan Wenbin walked over and said, "Miss Chen, let me do it. I have experience."

"okay."

Chen Xiyuan stood up and moved aside; she had indeed been suddenly frightened.

She suddenly realized that the reason she found the little brother cute was because he was still young and hadn't practiced martial arts.

If the little brother is now an adult and practices martial arts, would I still find him cute if he stood in front of me for the first time?
The person who ambushed and schemed against the younger brother, forcing him to light a lamp and cross the river ahead of schedule, seems to be...

Chen Xiyuan shook her head violently: What am I thinking!

Runsheng, holding the shovel, watched Chen Xiyuan standing there, her gaze constantly shifting. Then, seeing her toss her head, he scratched his head. He knew why Chen Xiyuan was acting this way. It was because:
The aftereffects of having a large brain.

While helping Li Zhuiyuan stop the bleeding, Tan Wenbin asked, "Brother Yuan, the Yu family is still in great danger. Now that we've saved them all, shouldn't we arrange for them to be safely transported out?"

Now that we've saved them, we can't just leave them here to fend for themselves.

But this would require setting aside someone specifically to escort them away.

Moreover, one person may not be enough. Even if the nail is pulled out now and their "minds" are restored, they are completely out of the realm of normal life. They were raised like pigs from childhood and cannot even speak.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Let's continue saving people first."

After a pause,
The boy continued, "If there are no 'accidents', then you and Ayou will lead the way back from where we came, leave the Yu family through the back door, and then notify the village so that Grandpa and the others can come and pick us up."

For these members of the Yu family, living in the village is the most suitable option. After a period of adjustment, most of them should be able to leave the village and integrate into normal society.

Tan Wenbin: "Yes."

He didn't ask if the cost was too high; he believed that Xiao Yuan must have weighed the pros and cons before deciding to do it.

After stopping the bleeding, Li Zhuiyuan waved to signal that he would continue to provide assistance.

The white flames danced incessantly on the boy's fingertips.

Previously, Li Zhuiyuan was only used to playing with karmic fire, but now he has discovered that other types of fire are also quite interesting.

However, he doesn't intend to use this on his own soul.

The Ming family members are "soul augmentations," but he is not. As a "heart demon" and his "original body," he is the same being. Although his situation seems similar to that of the Ming family, it is fundamentally different.

But vaguely, the boy felt a sense of "closeness" to the white flame.

It wasn't because I'd seen it before, but rather because the combination of this flame with the side effects of the Ming family's original technique... seemed somewhat familiar.

He had this feeling when he was learning the "Burning Soul and Purifying Heart Technique".

To develop and create a cultivation method, you have to keep trying and making mistakes. But with this thing, trying and making mistakes means certain death. How do you even manage to try and make mistakes?
Are we supposed to find a large group of experts skilled in this field, and have them willingly risk their lives to measure the data?

But regarding the soul, how is sample control achieved when a thousand people have a thousand different souls?

Moreover, it can be promoted and become the secret formula of a Dragon King's sect?

However, looking at what I'm doing right now, the "Burning Soul and Purifying Heart Technique" is indeed suitable for saving the Yu family here.

Therefore, this treatment and performance score should have been tailor-made for the eldest daughter of the Ming family.

But the boy felt that she shouldn't have time to do these troublesome little things that would waste her time.

Small disputes are necessary and should be fought for; otherwise, you won't even survive.

However, if one's vision is limited to minor disputes, then one is picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons.

Grandma Liu had actually told her the correct answer to this wave long ago.

The boy glanced at Chen Xiyuan standing next to him. Chen Xiyuan's grandfather had actually told her the same thing.

"Ok?"

Although he was constantly distracted by other thoughts, Li Zhuiyuan still managed to maintain his focus on the rescue efforts.

He immediately noticed that the young man in front of him, with his long hair and angular face, was somewhat different.

When Runsheng removed the nail from his head and was about to release a flame to help it heal, he discovered that his soul had already healed.

The young man still seemed bewildered, drooling from the corner of his mouth and with a vacant look in his eyes.

He's faking it.

It's possible that the demon beast made a mistake when nailing the soul nails, resulting in a member of the Yu family not being completely nailed in.

It's also possible... that he was exceptionally gifted and, having failed to be discovered and moved to another animal enclosure beforehand, was able to resist the soul nails on his own and silently seek healing.

But in any case, this means that for all these years, he has been playing the role of "a pig".

They ate and slept with their fellow tribesmen in these pigsties.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped what he was doing, his gaze sharpening as he looked at him.

After the others noticed the boy's actions, they immediately focused their attention on the naked member of the Yu family.

The pressure of being constantly watched gradually broke the young man's composure.

At first, he seemed uneasy, unsure of what expression to wear, and his eyes betrayed his panic.

Li Zhuiyuan took out a calming talisman and stuck it on the young man's forehead. The young man calmed down and then knelt down in front of Li Zhuiyuan.

He wasn't bowing; rather, he knew these people weren't there to torment them, they weren't enemies. But the long-standing pretense and guardedness had made him hesitant and unwilling to let his guard down.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I am not your enemy. I am here to save you and all of you."

The young man looked up at Li Zhuiyuan, then at the boy's lips. He couldn't understand the meaning of the words, but he could roughly sense the "emotions," so he nodded.

Li Zhuiyuan could sense that he was very intelligent, a gem born from a harsh environment of survival.

The current problem is that we cannot communicate.

Tan Wenbin: "Brother Xiaoyuan, should we let Ayou talk to him alone first?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

Tan Wenbin patted the young man on the shoulder, signaling him to come with him. The young man understood and crawled on all fours to Lin Shuyou's side.

"Ah You, it's up to you now."

"But Brother Bin, what should I talk to him about?"

"what ever."

"There has to be some scope and guidelines, right?"

Tan Wenbin waved his hand and said, "You are a genius, and geniuses hate being constrained the most."

Lin Shuyou knew that Brother Bin was just trying to comfort him, but he was genuinely happy to hear it.

The young man lying on the ground looked at Lin Shuyou with great curiosity.

Lin Shuyou also bent down, got on all fours, and started "communicating" with the young man.

After chatting for a while, seeing that there were many people around, Lin Shuyou decided to take the young man to a quieter corner.

Before leaving, Lin Shuyou went to get his backpack, but when he lifted it, he found it was very heavy, probably Runsheng's.

I'll just take Runsheng's then, I'm too lazy to change it.

With a wave of his hand, Lin Shuyou crawled forward, and the young man obediently followed him out.

Li Zhuiyuan continued to help the remaining members of the Yu family.

Time passed second by second. During this time, occasional noises could be heard from afar, but none were as significant as what had happened in the ancestral hall earlier.

After the last person's nail was pulled out, Runsheng couldn't help but rub his wrist.

Li Zhuiyuan's vision had become slightly blurred.

Fortunately, his mental state had been further honed and tempered at home before this wave, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to complete this huge project in the animal enclosure.

The Yu family members who were the first to receive assistance have regained consciousness. They are not used to the environment outside their respective small enclosures and appear quite uneasy.

Some were crying, some were yelling, and some were even thinking of jumping into the pigsty.

Runsheng had to raise his shovel and make a scary face to calm their agitation.

Chen Xiyuan went to fetch the food. There were several large vats outside the animal shed, containing today's feed, which was indeed pig feed.

Feeding them put some pressure on Chen Xiyuan, but the food they brought was far from enough to feed so many people. Besides, she had to make sure that her own people would have enough to eat first. She was very clear about this.

When the first bucket was brought over, the Yu family members rushed over and quickly overturned it, spilling the already mushy food onto the ground. They then began to grab at it with their hands or simply lick it off the ground.

Chen Xiyuan looked at the feeding trough over there.

Li Zhuiyuan: "They need to have enough to eat before they have the strength to leave the Yu family and go to that village to learn to be human again. Let's pour the food into the trough as their last meal as livestock."

Chen Xiyuan knew that the boy was trying to comfort her.

This little brother sometimes makes me feel terribly cold, and other times he makes me feel very warm and cozy.

After pouring buckets of food into the feeding trough, the Yu family began to squat together and eat in an orderly manner.

After they had eaten their fill, their emotions calmed down. Some lay there lazily, intending to take another nap, while others chased and played with each other, and still others picked lice from each other's lice.

Just then, Lin Shuyou and the young man from the Yu family climbed over together.

The young man had crumbs of compressed biscuits around his mouth and kept burping as he walked.

Clearly, Lin Shuyou gave the young man some special treatment, or perhaps the two friends had just finished a picnic.

The young man was still clutching an empty can of Jianlibao in his right hand.

Runsheng's backpack was the heaviest of all, and it contained the most supplies.

The young man looked at the group of his fellow tribesmen in front of him, opened his mouth, and let out a cry:
"Woo-le woo-le woo-le~"

That sound is for calling pigs.

Li Zhuiyuan was very familiar with it.

When we first arrived in Nantong, Grandma Cui Guiying would call the children home for meals in this way every time she did so.

The young man's shout had an immediate effect.

All the members of the Yu family sat down properly on the ground and looked at him.

If an outcast emerges in a small group, he will either be besieged, killed, or driven out, or he will become the leader.

The youth clearly belong to the latter category.

His unusual behavior was probably just something he kept hidden from the monsters here; he didn't really hide it much from his own kind.

Among a group of "pigs" who had been nailed with soul nails, one of them stood out as the most human-like, and everyone assumed they would obey him.

Then, the young man turned around and raised his hand holding the Jianlibao bottle.

Most of the Yu family members tacitly agreed to follow, while those who were hesitant or confused eventually followed after seeing the others take action.

Tan Wenbin was somewhat surprised: "He just left like that? Does he even know the way?"

Lin Shuyou straightened up and replied, "He knows the way; I taught him how to get there."

Tan Wenbin: "I didn't see him have a map in his hand."

Lin Shuyou: "He doesn't need a map. He's very smart, really."

Tan Wenbin: "That's beyond doubt."

If this person had been born into a normal Yu family, even if they weren't a member of the main branch, they could have gained the status of a core member through their talent.

Tan Wenbin walked up to Li Zhuiyuan and asked, "Brother Xiaoyuan, should we send someone to follow him?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I believe in Ayou."

Tan Wenbin nodded.

Lin Shuyou nudged Tan Wenbin gently: "Brother Bin, I also gave him a name."

Tan Wenbin: "Yu Yi?"

Lin Shuyou: "How could I possibly choose such a simple name?"

Tan Wenbin: "What is that?"

Lin Shuyou: "Yu Da."

Tan Wenbin: "A good name."

The group packed their things and prepared to continue their journey. Having had enough time to spare along the way, their next destination was the Yu Family Ancestral Hall.

Li Zhuiyuan climbed onto Runsheng's back and quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't know exactly how long he had slept before he woke up; he was "choked" awake.

The concentration of malevolent resentment in the air is doubled here.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up and saw that everyone was standing still, and Chen Xiyuan, who was originally supposed to lead the way, was now walking towards Runsheng.

"Little brother, you're awake? I was just about to wake you up."

The boy had told her before that he hoped the concentration of demonic resentment could increase tenfold, and she remembered it.

This place is some distance from the Yu Family Ancestral Hall, but the concentration of demonic resentment here is significantly higher than in other places.

Li Zhuiyuan looked in a direction in the darkness and asked, "Has that area been explored?"

Chen Xiyuan: "Wait for your orders."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Investigate."

"Okay." The demonic resentment from that direction was noticeably stronger.

Chen Xiyuan rushed into the darkness.

She returned shortly afterward, carrying a wet head in her hand.

Chen Xiyuan: "There is a relatively large pond there. The closer you get to the pond, the stronger the demonic resentment becomes. I found her head on the pond."

I remember her; she was one of the people who attacked me at the museum that day.

I haven't found the bodies of her subordinates; as for her, all I've found so far is her head.

In addition, I went down into the pond, which was much deeper than it looked. There seemed to be a cave inside. The closer I got to the cave, the more unbearable the demonic resentment became. Luckily, I had my domain, otherwise I might have gone crazy.

I think she must have encountered an accident while looking for opportunities here, which led to the annihilation of the entire team.

There should be a surviving great demon beast in that cave.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Your analysis is correct."

Chen Xiyuan: "Wrong direction?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Well, you have to put her in the role of a river traveler. She's definitely not as strong as you, but she'll have more experience in other areas."

In this kind of wave, you have to accept that everyone will have their own opportunities and can take advantage of them.

Therefore, her accident was most likely not due to opportunity itself, but rather to external interference.

Furthermore, any old-timer who passes through this area will definitely be able to detect the changes in the concentration of demonic resentment.

They were there to divide up the Yu family's ancestral home, that's true, but they also had their own basic tasks and responsibilities, which was to kill all the demonic beasts of the Yu family that were visible to the naked eye.

I think she was attacked by some old geezer while she was down there seeking an opportunity.

Li Zhuiyuan slid off Runsheng's back and walked to the head that Chen Xiyuan had lifted. The boy stretched out his finger and pressed it against the center of the head's forehead.

The Black Book technique was activated. Too little of the corpse remained, so not enough information could be extracted, but fortunately, the head was preserved.

Even so, when the boy successfully activated the secret technique and his consciousness entered her "memory," he discovered that she had been specially treated.

It must have been that when she died, the surrounding environment changed drastically, and the strong demonic resentment here caused her traces of life to be severely eroded.

Despite his efforts, Li Zhuiyuan only managed to obtain two barely complete images.

The first-person perspective of the female head owner.

In the first scene, she stands above a pool of blood inside a cave, holding a mirror in her hand, staring at a blood python that is poking its head out from below the pool.

The second scene was upside down. She saw a headless corpse and a middle-aged woman standing next to the headless corpse with a guilty expression. Behind the middle-aged woman was a blood python with eerie light emanating from its eyes.

The image is upside down, indicating that her head had already separated from her neck at that point.

That middle-aged woman didn't look old, but you could still tell from the details that she was actually much older than she appeared. She should be classified as an "old thing".

Li Zhuiyuan withdrew his hand and opened his eyes.

The head that Chen Xiyuan was holding began to melt and ooze pus. When she let go, it splattered on the ground with a "plop".

She had gotten used to her little brother's tendency to use some kind of secret technique all the time.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I need to go down."

He needs the resentment within the cave.

The fish fry in the pond deep within my consciousness are crying out for food.

Chen Xiyuan: "I'll go down with you."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Binbin, Ayou, you two keep watch outside the pond. Runsheng, you stay underwater and wait."

Runsheng never contradicted Xiaoyuan, but he had just heard "old guy," so he gripped the Yellow River shovel in his hand to show his attitude.

The old guys were all quite strong, and no matter how strong Chen Xiyuan was, he couldn't handle them alone. He felt that they should all go together and charge in.

Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou thought the same way.

Seeing that Xiao Yuan and Chen Xiyuan had already walked towards the pond and showed no intention of changing their instructions, the three of them silently accepted the order.

Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou stood on the left and right, maintaining a sense of each other's presence while trying their best to hide themselves.

Runsheng jumped into the pond with him, and the thick resentment beneath the surface made him feel comfortable.

One by one, the vents opened like fish gills, and began to breathe in and out.

In an instant, even the injuries caused by enduring Li Jun's flames were rapidly easing.

Chen Xiyuan, supporting herself on the domain and holding the boy's hand, continued to sink. She glanced at Runsheng above and murmured to herself: Runsheng is such a special person.

Li Zhuiyuan looked down, staring at the cave that was getting closer and closer.

He knew perfectly well how difficult the old guys were to deal with, so there was no need to rush in headlong and gamble on a chance of winning.

By leaving everyone behind in batches, in case the situation inside the cave becomes critical and unsolvable, Chen Xiyuan can quickly lead herself to retreat, and her companions can also engage in segmented attacks to increase the success rate of their escape.

"Little brother, how are you doing?"

"After sleeping for a while, I feel okay."

"My domain might be a bit unstable going forward, you'll have to hold on."

"I'm OK."

Chen Xiyuan nodded. "Little brother can't practice martial arts, so he has honed his spirit and consciousness to be so strong and resilient."

When the two arrived at the cave entrance, Chen Xiyuan's domain indeed began to tremble.

The resentment here is seven or eight times stronger than it was outside. If you want to carve out your own space here, you have to endure the rejection from the surrounding environment.

Chen Xiyuan took a deep breath, crossed her hands, and with a firm gaze, stabilized the turbulent domain again.

"Little brother, you can continue walking now."

Chen Xiyuan maintained her hand seal posture and walked in front, with Li Zhuiyuan following diagonally behind her.

Without Chen Xiyuan, he really couldn't have come to this place; his physical condition wouldn't allow it.

The cave wasn't deep, nor did it have any bends. After walking straight down for a short while, the space suddenly opened up into a bright area ahead. Chen Xiyuan's pressure disappeared, and the demonic resentment seemed to vanish all at once.

Because the demonic resentment here all turned into blood and condensed in that blood pool.

At the edge of the blood pool, directly opposite Li Zhuiyuan and Chen Xiyuan, a woman who appeared beautiful but whose age was unknown had her arms across the edge of the pool, her wet hair hanging down on both sides, looking as if she were taking a bath.

The headless corpse was still standing there, and in the corner lay several other mutilated corpses, probably the headless woman's henchmen.

What was thought to be an opportunity for the team turned into a disaster because of the old man's arrival.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze lingered on the headless female corpse. She must have had a special method to bring her men here, and she had many ornaments on her body.

However, all of these pendants were dyed red. If their owner were still alive, this could have been avoided, but after their owner's death, they were no longer protected.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Continue to ensure the expansion of the domain."

Chen Xiyuan: "I understand. Although the demonic resentment here has decreased, even a little bit of moisture can cause greater harm than before."

At this moment, the woman in the pool of blood slowly raised her head and opened her eyes.

If she then says "monster," it means she's about to take action.

However, such a blatant attempt to "call a deer a horse" is ultimately no match for a swift and powerful strike from the shadows, because the former is not so easy to cleanse itself of.

Woman: "Whose children are you?"

This statement implies that the woman does not intend to take action.

Li Zhuiyuan did not believe that the other party was kind-hearted.

After all, she had just personally killed an entire Jiangzuo team under the pretext of a "misunderstanding".

If the tiger isn't biting, it must be because she's sick.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Who are you, old man?"

Upon hearing this, the woman's lips curled into a cold smile as she suppressed her anger.

Li Zhuiyuan started walking forward, with Chen Xiyuan following closely behind.

The boy stopped at the edge of the blood pool and pointed inside.

Chen Xiyuan drew out her jade flute and waved it forward.

"boom!"

The surface of the blood pool exploded, splattering blood everywhere. Inside, a blood python's tail began to writhe, and the python's head was none other than that woman.

She merged with the blood python.

And that's where we're stuck.

Previously, when reading the memories of the head above, in the second scene, Li Zhuiyuan saw the blood python behind the woman reveal a strange look in its eyes.

It's like a painting or a photograph, a hint at what's to come, or you could call it a huge omen of bad luck.

Even so, Li Zhuiyuan never expected that he would be so lucky.

Of the three old men they encountered, one was half-dead from being blown up by Zhou Yunfan's puppet, another rushed into the tower on his own, and the one in front of them... was going mad.

Seeing that she had been discovered, the woman simply stopped hiding. She straightened her back and rose from the pool of blood.

Her lower body still barely showed her legs, but they were now covered with snake scales, and the rest of her body was the body of a blood python.

"Little one, my patience is limited."

Li Zhuiyuan looked up and met her gaze, saying, "Suppressing your emotions is bad for your health."

As soon as the words were spoken, the pool of blood began to boil, and the concentration of resentment in the air instantly intensified.

After twirling the jade flute in her hand, Chen Xiyuan's sharp gaze fixed on the woman. She knew that as soon as her little brother gave the order, she would rush up with him to beat her.

Miss Chen could also tell that the woman in front of her was in a very bad state.

The woman looked surprised and said, "The young Chen family member? I visited your Chen family when I was young."

She's trying to save face.

Chen Xiyuan had managed to get into the domain, so she must have discovered it long ago.

However, it was indeed because of the Chen family's identity that she was very wary.

You have to gamble on the Chen family heirs and those who have traveled the river; they are either mediocre or... very troublesome.

Chen Xiyuan: "My home is not a fairy palace. People who have been to my home are not saying that they can escape birth, aging, sickness and death."

There's no need to save face for elders. Here, anyone who lays a hand on a junior has no right to act like an elder.

Woman: "My surname is Ming, and my name is Ming Qiushui. Your grandfather should have mentioned my name to you."

Chen Xiyuan shook her head: "No."

My grandfather never mentions the names of women of similar age when he's at home.

Grandma, on the other hand, would occasionally say to Grandpa, "This is delicious, Sister Liu should like it too," "These flowers are beautiful, Sister Liu loves flowers," and "This willow tree is growing so well, it must have been taken very seriously by someone."

Grandpa was always embarrassed, but he couldn't retaliate.

After all, what happened back then might be a secret to others, but to his wife, it was completely transparent, because she was his strategist when he was pursuing Liu Yumei.

Ming Qiushui: "Considering that we are all from the same Dragon King's clan, I will not hold it against you. May you all be well and go your separate ways."

Chen Xiyuan: "But our opportunity is here, and you can't just occupy the space like this."

Ming Qiushui: "Go and seek other opportunities. There are countless opportunities in the Yu family's ancestral home."

Chen Xiyuan: "That won't do. It's very dangerous outside right now. There are a lot of shameless old bastards deliberately killing young people."

Ming Qiushui: "As a member of the Ming family, I hereby promise that if you ever visit the Ming family in the future, I will grant you a special opportunity. Is that acceptable?"

Chen Xiyuan shook her head: "Taking your things is like owing you something. My grandfather taught me not to owe others favors casually, because it's troublesome to pay them back and you can't explain it clearly."

Ming Qiushui: "Two chances... three chances!"

Chen Xiyuan looked at Li Zhuiyuan beside her.

Ming Qiushui: "You, a descendant of the Dragon King's lineage, why should you be beholden to others?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "No matter what, she is still an elder, and she should be treated with the respect she deserves."

Ming Qiushui's gaze softened. Clearly, the young man was moved. After all, this was an opportunity bestowed by the Dragon King's clan.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Isn't she herself a great opportunity?"

Ming Qiushui: "You brat, how dare you be so insolent!"

A powerful pressure emanated from Ming Qiushui, whose snake tail whipped out and lashed downwards.

However, the snake's tail was unable to break through Chen Xiyuan's domain.

Just as Chen Xiyuan was about to swing her flute in retaliation, Li Zhuiyuan stopped her again:

"Don't hit her snake body; that would be helping her escape."

Chen Xiyuan: "Little brother, come up on your sister's back, and I'll take you to beat her in human form."

"No need to bother."

Li Zhuiyuan took out the Purple Gold Compass with his left hand and held it up, while his right palm opened and the Dragon Spirit Array Flag appeared.

The boy planned to use a formation to slowly wear down Ming Qiushui until she died.

Take advantage of her illness and seize the opportunity to kill her.

As the first temporary formation was set up, Ming Qiushui felt a pressure descend upon her.

Next, the second temporary formation, the third, the fourth...

Ming Qiushui's eyes widened as she watched the boy's effortless movements:
"Are you from the Four Mysteries Sect?"

Li Zhuiyuan did not answer, and continued to stack up the effects of the formation.

This kind of one-sided, foolproof operation is something you would never have the chance to use when facing a real person.

Against weaker opponents, Runsheng could finish them off with a single shovel strike; against stronger opponents, he would never give you such a leisurely opportunity to set up your formation.

Ming Qiushui kept flapping its tail and lashing out, but even if Chen Xiyuan just stood still, Ming Qiushui couldn't break through the defense.

She wasn't originally that weak; in fact, she was very strong.

The reason for the current situation is that when she killed the group of people who had arrived earlier than her and was preparing to melt and absorb the heavily injured blood python hiding there into her body to nourish and replenish her soul, an accident occurred.

To this day, she still doesn't know why this accident happened. She was already very familiar with all the procedures of the operation, and the probability of any step going wrong was extremely low. Even if any step did go wrong, she could calmly remedy the situation. But this time, after a sudden jolt in her heart, all the procedures went wrong.

This made it possible for an accident that was only theoretically possible to actually happen to me.

She can no longer use the Ming family's techniques and methods, and she doesn't know how to use some of the Blood Python's supernatural abilities, so she can only attack using the python's body.

What she didn't know was that the reason she was so unlucky at that moment was precisely because, under the old dog's influence, the calamity energy of the Yu family began to flood into the Ming family on a large scale.

As the closest member of the Ming family, she would naturally be the first to suffer the most severe calamity, and her fortune would plummet to an all-time low.

In other words, her current state of being a human and a snake is unpredictable. If she were to turn back into a normal person, even a street fortune teller would be terrified upon seeing her and exclaim: "Her forehead is dark, a very bad omen!"
With the array formations nearly complete, the young man pressed down with his palm, and all the temporary arrays collectively exerted their maximum effectiveness at this moment.

"boom!"

Ming Qiushui was pressed outside the blood pool, spitting out a mouthful of green blood, and the process of snake scales covering her upper body was accelerating.

"You...you...you can't do this..."

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the headless corpse next to him and said, "He who kills will be killed by others."

At this moment, the boy noticed that the dragon spirit was excitedly circling around his fingertips.

The original spirit of the black dragon had long been worn away by Li Zhuiyuan. Now, it was like a reserved child who, while shopping with an adult, deliberately looked at a toy on a stall multiple times, not saying it directly, but wanting it very much.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his index finger, and the dragon spirit immediately and obediently wrapped itself around it, resting its head on the boy's fingernail.

Jiaoling wanted this blood python as a tonic for herself.

"I'll give it to you, but you have to clean it up first."

Whether the Blood Python completely devours Ming Qiushui or Ming Qiushui completely merges with the Blood Python, they will not only regain their past strength, but may even become stronger.

Because of Li Zhuiyuan's targeted suppression, Ming Qiushui is now struggling to hold on, but the young man will not stand idly by and watch her be swallowed by the blood python.

He had to remove her from the body of this blood python.

The Blood Python portion can be left for the Jiaoling to absorb; it has been diligently helping me set up the formation, and it deserves a reward.
As for Ming Qiushui's part, he could throw it into the wordless book, giving the "Evil Book" another prisoner. On the one hand, he could continue to test the "Evil Book's" capacity to hold things, and on the other hand, he could extract the secrets of the cultivation techniques through torture.

As for this pool of blood, it was the feed he left for the fishpond.

Li Zhuiyuan: "The environment here is special. I will set up a traction array for you later. Standing inside the array will deepen your understanding of the domain and enrich the changes in your domain."

Chen Xiyuan smiled and said, "Okay."

She discovered that although the little brother was very poor, he was truly generous.

Li Zhuiyuan squatted down in front of Ming Qiushui.

Ming Qiushui's eyes flashed with hatred as she said, "A dragon stranded in shallow waters is mocked by shrimp..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "You are not qualified to call yourself a 'dragon' in front of me."

With a determined heart, Ming Qiushui accelerated the process of her snake scales covering her body. She would rather be swallowed by the blood python and let it kill everyone in the cave than give Li Zhuiyuan a chance.

Li Zhuiyuan calmly raised his right hand and snapped his fingers:
"Snapped!"

When the white flames appeared, Ming Qiushui's face showed shock:
"You...how could you do this...why did you..."

Li Zhuiyuan said nothing, but manipulated the white flames to pierce directly into Ming Qiushui's body.

"what!!!"

Amidst Ming Qiushui's piercing screams and the snake's tail thrashing about, the young man calmly turned to look at Chen Xiyuan and asked:

"When I was sleeping on Runsheng's back, did you all get here without any problems?"

Chen Xiyuan: "Something was disturbed along the way, which caused a mirage to appear in front of us, and we lost our way for a while."

Seeing that you were sleeping soundly, we didn't rush to wake you. We wanted to think of a way out ourselves first. In the end, it was thanks to Tan Wenbin's ability to locate sounds that we were able to get out of that area.

Although the route was a bit longer than expected, fortunately the deviation was not significant. When you woke up, we had already recalibrated the direction to the Yu Family Ancestral Hall.

Fortunately, it was a lucky coincidence; if we hadn't gone astray, we wouldn't have found this place...

Chen Xiyuan stopped talking, a possibility came to mind:
That is because the boy had saved so many members of the Yu family, shed so much sweat and blood, paid such a high price, and delayed precious time in his search for the opportunity...

These things were all seen by the spirits of the Dragon Kings of the Yu family throughout the ages, and they began to protect them.

Although Chen Xiyuan didn't have much experience navigating the river before, she understood a very simple principle: in the waves, never believe in any coincidence.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded, tacitly agreeing with Chen Xiyuan's guess, and at the same time gave her some advice:
"Remember, your work must be documented."

(End of this chapter)